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If you open up the sparsebundle file.be extremely careful if you do this.and drill down a few layers, you will see the same Backups.backupdb folder.Īs you might have guessed by now, since backups are more complicated over a network, there are more chances for things to go wrong this way. Things are complicated, but the bottom line is simple.the sparsebundle file is a more reliable method over a network. Backups are more complicated over a network and there are more chances for things to go wrong this way.
CHANGE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE TIME MACHINE MAC
If Time Machine backs up to a network drive, then the backups for each Mac all go into a special container called a sparsebundle file. If Time Machine backs up to a drive connected directly to the Mac via USB or Firewire, etc., Time Machine backs up to a normal looking folder called Backups.backupdb. Why? That's the way that Apple designed things to work, for good reason.
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Time Machine backs up to a network drive.like a Time Capsule.differently than it does to a local drive, that is connected directly to your Mac via USB or FireWire, etc. There are more chances for things to go wrong on backups to network drives than backups to local drives. When the drive is connected to the Time Capsule, it becomes a "network" drive. The drive becomes a "local" drive when it is connected directly to the MacBook. If you have a USB 3.0 drive, and your MacBook supports USB 3.0, backups will occur at least 3-4 times faster if you simply connect the USB drive directly to the are fewer chances for errors when the drive is connected directly to your Mac. That might still be OK though, since you are using the drive only for backups. So, MacBook backups are going to be really SLOW compared to the iMac backups to the Time Capsule. Upside.you can add a separate target to back up your MacBook to the drive connected to the USB port on the Time Capsule.ĭownside.the USB port on the Time Capsule is old and slow USB 2.0.and.the internal processor within the Time Capsule further limits speeds to about half that of normal (slow) USB 2.0 on a computer. (I had it on the table next to the computer and with very quiet computer gave out a horrible buzzing sound). and try to keep it open which keeps it spinning. You can also mount the USB drive in Finder. a lot less cheap for USB3 which still might be a better buy into the future. USB powered hubs are very cheap for USB2. a powered hub can sometimes control things better. The one thing that is worthwhile is to use a powered usb hub.
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different disks, different controllers, different USB chips. And it is no use telling you this brand works and this one doesn't because the manufacturers change the insides of these regularly. you will need to hunt through a dozen different brands of USB drives. but the noise drove me up the wall eventually. and that kept it active for Time Machine. having the same experience I forced the drive to keep spinning. There is very little you can do to fix it. and all is well until the next spin down. The reset causes the drive to spinup again. so it will just sit there dead as a door nail. The drive will often spin down and not pickup the spinup command. To get going with this and stop those pop-ups, start by clicking Time Machine’s circle-clock icon in your menu bar and picking “Open Time Machine Preferences.USB drive plugged into the TC (or Airport Extreme) is at the end of a chain. The solution to that is of course to plug in the missing backup and let it run, but what if you no longer own the drive in question? Or if it failed or got run over by a giant chicken or something? Well, to stop Time Machine from warning you about the lost backup drive, you’ll need to remove it from the preferences on your Mac, which is luckily darned easy. You see, if you’ve configured more than one Time Machine disk, your Mac will take turns backing up to each of them when they’re plugged in or connected over your network you’ll get the warning I mentioned when one of your disks hasn’t been used for a while, even if the other backups are working fine. If you back your computer up to multiple drives using Time Machine, you may be familiar with the notification that tells you that you haven’t been backed up in.