Thanks very much for that Ronni, I realise that Entourage database creates massive files on TM and that by switching off automatic back-up I am not really using Time Machine the way it has been designed to work. However, with a 4GB plus Entourage file, hourly automatic back-ups would fill even a 3TB disk in a few months!
My manual backup approach has allowed the 1TB drive to accommodate my growing TM back-up over 4 years and it probably has several months before it finally fills (depending, of course, on how often I run TM). I do realise that this approach relies on my discipline in running TM whenever I have done an hour or two of work I would be upset to lose ;o) I did save a copy of your Jan 2013 tutorial 'Migrate to a Larger Time Machine Disk') and I expect that this will be my route when I finally run out of space. Since I am still running Snow Leopard, I will heed your (& Apple¹s) warning and refrain from deleting the individual backups from TM. > You have two choices: delete a single entire snapshot (that is, all the files > from a particular hourly run of Time Machine) or delete all instances of a > single file from a certain location, regardless of how many times that file > was backed up. Neither of these approaches does what I need deleting entire snapshots offers me no advantage over letting Time Machine automatically delete old backups to make space for new ones whilst deleting all instances of a single file leaves me with NO versioned back-ups (though I would still have a back-up on my last HD ³clone²). I guess that a kludge would be for me to copy a few recent TM backups of the bloated database to an alternative (non TM) location and then do the ³delete all instances of a single file from a single location² which would free up a huge amount of space - then have TM continue to back-up the file and then, once I had a few TM backups under the belt, I could get rid of the alternative (older) copies. - Would you see any problems with this (admittedly inelegant) approach? I don¹t have a copy of your October 2010 document: "How Time Machine Works - How Time Machine Works Its Magic" - so if you could email me a copy it definitely might help focus my thinking on this ;o) I¹m not in immediate danger of filling the disc, but it¹s always better to have thought it out before the event! Thanks again for your very helpful explanations and advice. Cheers Neil -- Neil R. Houghton Albany, Western Australia Tel: +61 8 9841 6063 Email: [email protected] on 23/7/14 15:38, Ronni Brown at [email protected] wrote: > Hi Neil, > > On 23 Jul 2014, at 12:41 pm, Neil Houghton <[email protected]> wrote: > >> A quick question for the TM gurus. > > Might be a quick question for you... but it will be a very long answer for > anyone to give you advice. > > Firstly you are not really using Time Machine the way it has been designed to > work. Plus I would be using a 3TB External Drive or 3TB Time Capsule to store > your TM Backups on. > > I created a document back in October 2010 explaining and showing "How Time > Machine Works - How Time Machine Works Its Magic". > There are two main bits of "Magic" behind Time Machine: > 1. The File System Event Database -- How changes are found > 2. Multiple Hard Links -- How backups are stored > > It might be beneficial for you to read this document first so you understand > more about how Time Machine works. > If you wish I can email my document to you "Offlist". Post back to WAMUG if > you do. >> >> I have my entourage database included in my TM backup - it has masses of >> emails filed in various folders & sub-folders and I need a back-up of these >> filed emails. >> >> Since the file is very large (my main identity folder is currently 4.32GB) >> and changes with every email send/receive - it takes up a significant chunk >> of space!! > > Entourage database creates massive files on TM - database programs do: Any > change, no matter how tiny, means the whole file or database is marked as > changed, and will be backed-up the next time. >> >> I don't have TM set to automatically back up - I prefer to do it manually as >> any valuable work is done - which keeps it manageable - but I am approaching >> the point where my 1TB TM disk will become full and TM will start deleting >> the oldest backups. > > When your backup volume gets close to being full, Time Machine automatically > deletes old backups to make space for new ones. > It doesn¹t warn you about this, by the way, but the first time it happens and > optionally thereafterTime Machine does inform you that it has just deleted > some backups, suggesting that you select a different disk to avoid having more > files deleted. (If, instead, you¹d like to migrate your Time Machine backups > to a larger volume you can 'Migrate to a Larger Time Machine Disk'). > I have done this when I upgrading from a 2TB Time Capsule to a 3TB Time > Capsule. > >> >> My problem is that I would prefer not to delete most of these oldest backups >> across the board. I know that I could slash the space currently used by TM >> if I could selectively just delete the oldest backups of my Microsoft User >> Data main identity folder (whilst still keeping more recent back-ups of >> this). If I could do this manually I could soon free-up a few hundred GB >> whilst still retaining maximum backups of the other files. >> >> What I am not sure of is the safest way to do this. >> >> Whilst I could easily go into the TM volume using finder and manually select >> the earliest instances of the files/folders I wish to cull, I seem to >> remember dire warnings about messing with the innards of the TM volume >> structure - is it OK to manually delete individual back-ups that I know I no >> longer need - or is this likely to give problems. > > In Snow Leopard Apple warning was: never, ever, move, change, or delete > anything in your backups via the Finder or Terminal. That can corrupt them > beyond repair. > > While deleting backups via the Finder is, technically, supported on Lion, > Mountain Lion & Mavericks, you may have some of the same problems. > > I can give you instructions - How to delete individual backups from Time > Machine - but I take absolutely NO Responsibility if any corruption or > problems occur after deletion. > That out of the way: > If you decide to exclude a file from Time Machine after Time Machine has > already backed it up. Contrary to what the user interface implies, Time > Machine doesn¹t let you purge just one instance of a particular file from your > backups. > You have two choices: delete a single entire snapshot (that is, all the files > from a particular hourly run of Time Machine) or delete all instances of a > single file from a certain location, regardless of how many times that file > was backed up. > > Delete an Entire Snapshot > > To delete all the files Time Machine backed up during a particular hourly run, > follow these steps: > > 1. Click the Time Machine Dock icon or choose Enter Time Machine from the Time > Machine menu to show the ³time warp² display. > > 2. Using the arrow buttons or the timeline control on the side of the screen, > navigate to the snapshot you want to delete. Note that if it occurred within > the last day, you¹ll delete just that hourly run; if it occurred earlier, you > will delete the only remaining backup for a particular day or week. You can > verify which backup you¹ll be deleting by looking at the large bar at the > bottom of the window. > > 3. From the pop-up Action menu, choose Delete Backup. (It doesn¹t matter > whether you have any file or folder selected.) > > Time Machine removes that entire snapshot from its backup. (You may be > prompted to enter an administrator password first.) > > Delete All Instances of a Single File > > To delete every backed up copy of a given file from your Time Machine backup, > follow these steps: > > 1. In the Finder, navigate to the folder that contains (or once contained) any > version of the file you want to delete; if you¹re unsure where it is (or was), > do a Spotlight search. > > 2. Click the Time Machine Dock icon or choose Enter Time Machine from the Time > Machine menu to show the ³time warp² display. > > 3. Using the arrow buttons or the timeline control on the side of the screen, > navigate to any previous version of the folder that contains the file you want > to delete. Click the file once to select it. > > 4. From the pop-up Action menu, choose Delete All Backups of ³File Name². > (You can also right-click or Control-click the item and choose Delete All > Backups of ³File Name² from the contextual menu.) > > Time Machine removes from its backup every copy of that file, in that > location, that it ever backed up. (For some files, you may be prompted to > enter an administrator password first.) > >> >> Is there a "right way" to selectively delete, say, the first 2 years worth >> of backups of one specific large item - whilst not compromising later >> backups of the same item - and definitely not compromising any (old or new) >> backups of any other items. >> >> >> I hope the above makes sense ;o) >> >> >> Any thoughts/advise? > > Cheers, > Ronni >> >> >> Cheers >> >> Neil
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