Disable internal Time Machine backups. How to Restore Your Mac Using Time Machine's Built-in Tool
Time Machine Lion boasts useful opportunity, which many often forget about - creating local backups. This feature comes in handy for users laptop computers Macs that save backups to external hard disk. This article will discuss how to disable and re-enable this feature.
But what is the benefit of local backups? If an external drive is unavailable, Time Machine will try to compensate by storing additional snapshots on the Mac's main drive. U similar system available obvious advantages because you can return it very quickly previous versions accidentally deleted files.
I don't think so this approach bothers users MacBook Pro with large hard drives, but owners with solid state drives Such backups can seriously spoil your nerves - the SSD is already small in most cases and quickly becomes filled with various information, but here Time Machine takes up a lot of free space with its own, albeit useful, capabilities.
To personally appreciate the “scale of the tragedy,” just go to the Apple menu, select “About this Mac” and click on the “More details” button to display a window with additional information about your computer. After this, you need to go to the “Storage” tab and find the “Archive” category on the chart:
IN in this case Local backups occupy a little over 30 gigabytes - this is more than 12% of the total storage capacity and, in my opinion, quite a lot. To disable this feature you only need to follow a few simple steps:
1. Go to the Programs > Utilities directory (/Application/Utilities) and run the application.
2. Wait until the program window appears in front of you and enter the following command:
sudo tmutil disablelocal
3. All that remains is to enter the password from account, which has administrative privileges (in most cases this will be the password for your Mac account), and saving local backups will be disabled, and the treasured gigabytes will be saved.
Naturally, the advice will only be half useful if I don’t tell you how to put everything back in place. You will need to perform the same sequence of actions, except that instead of the original command you need to enter a slightly modified one into Terminal.app:
sudo tmutil enablelocal
It's also worth remembering: if you disable this feature, you won't have any local copies left at all. Therefore, if something goes wrong, and the external HDD will be unavailable, you're out of luck.
You started to lose free place on the system Mac drive, although backups are being created on another local drive, and you don’t know what to do, this note will clearly come in handy. In this material we will tell you where free space disappears, how to restore it and prevent this from happening in the future.
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One of the most important innovations that appeared in OS X Leopard was new feature- allows you to create backup copies as user files, and system objects. The function is very popular, but is only available when connecting another physical hard drive. But if all the data is not stored on the system disk, why does space regularly disappear on it?
The thing is that in the absence of a main backup storage device (for example, like mine - MacBook Air 13″ SSD 128 GB + external hard drive 1 TB, divided into two partitions - 700 GB NTFS for personal data and 300 GB Mac OS Extended for Time Machine backups), the system automatically creates backups on a local drive, that is, in my case - on a small 128 GB SSD, space in which is already worth its weight in gold.
The “” function (saving all changes in documents), which “eats up” not so much space, stores backup copies in the / directory .MobileBackups root of the system disk.
Function " Local copies of Time Machine"(the culprit of this thread) stores his files in /.DocumentRevisions-V100.
Having disconnected the drive for storing backups, OS X immediately saves copies to local disk until 20% remains in the system free space, and only then begins to overwrite old data. This happens if you have an HDD. The scenario with an SSD is slightly different - the backup is stored for about a week, and copies will be created until there is no free space left.
Apple promises to automatically delete outdated copies when there is not enough free space on the local disk. However, in practice this does not happen and you have to manually delete the directory /.MobileBackups. If local copies are not so important to you, then you can disable the function altogether Reserve copy data on system disk. In this case, you simply need to delete files with a connected drive intended for Time Machine backups.
How to disable Time Machine's ability to back up data to a local drive (" Local copies of Time Machine»)?
1 . Open " Terminal", to do this, open the search Spotlight and type “Terminal” or run through Finder → Programs → Utilities → Terminal.
2
. Enter the command sudo tmutil disablelocal
How to disable Time Machine's ability to back up modified documents to a local drive (“ Autosave and Document Versions»)?
This function does not require free space, and we strongly do not recommend disabling it, however, if you really want to, then follow the following algorithm:
1
. In the Terminal, get root rights by entering the command sudo -s
2 . Remove the directory where the files are saved with the command rm -rf /.DocumentRevisions-V100
After these steps, the system will not create backups.
From this article you will learn:
How to make a backup Mac OS X?
How to restore a backup using Time Machine?
It is important to understand that without backup copies your life can become much more difficult, exactly from the moment when the device fails or an accident occurs. system failure. In OS Windows there is an integrated tool for creating backup copies (which does not always work reliably, and it is better to do this manually, on a separate storage medium). IN Ubuntu has Deja, and Mac OS X have their own time machine ( Time Machine). Time Machine , carries out data backup starting from system files and ending with yours personal information. Therefore, if your system crashes, the data can always be restored to the state in which it was at the time the backup was created Mac OS X.
Time Machine can create images of the system and carry out maintenance exactly according to the schedule assigned to it by the user (every hour, day, month).
How to perform a system restore using Time Machine?
The first thing we need is removable hard disk (you can make copies onto it, disconnect it when not needed, and store it in safe place). By connecting a removable storage device and logging into Time Machine , you will be asked if you want to create from the mapped drive Time Machine system recovery tool. It's worth noting that your Mac will not force you to create an information store if you don't need it.
At the same time, creating a disk that will be used for recovery is very simple. You agree that Time Machine will create a copy, and the system will do everything for you. However, the copy can be encrypted to create a more secure recovery tool.
It's worth remembering that Time Machine doesn't work with file system OS Windows, NTFS or FAT 32. Such a disk will be reformatted to Mac HFS +, and all data on it will be erased. Therefore, before you start creating a recovery disk, make sure that it does not contain the information you need.
At the same time, Time Machine itself can be turned off on your computer, and all settings can be made from a special menu item in the status bar at the top of the screen. As you can see from the picture, the drop-down menu Time Machine V top corner makes it possible to make a backup immediately, enter the program itself or change settings Time Machine.
In Mac OS X, the Time Machine backup tool can write not only to external drives (although this is recommended), but also to local hard disks, network devices, and via AirPort Time Capsule via Wi-Fi. Time Capsule is recommended Apple device to create backup copies of the system, which are transmitted via Wi-fi and stored in it. Very comfortable, stylish, but not for every pocket, but if you look a little more closely, average price devices 10 thousand rubles, provided that it Wi-fi router+ 2 TB hard drive, that’s it. That being said, you can always back up your Macs to different locations for greater safety.
On a Macbook, it is possible to create copies of the system locally and store them for a short time. This is done in order to provide access to early version files even if there is no disk with a copy of your system nearby. However, it is worth remembering that the option to create backups on your computer is only good if you have installed regular hard disk. If you are working on a device with an SSD, it is better to use removable storage media. This will significantly increase the lifespan of your drive.
While Time Machine works great with the default settings. You can easily change them and customize them for yourself. For example, it is absolutely not necessary to create a backup copy of your applications, this will save space for copies of your documents.
What should you choose, automatic or manual mode?
You need to be prepared for the fact that your first backup will take a long time to create. This is due to the fact that all the data on your hard drive is archived, so the amount of time it takes to create a copy will increase depending on how loaded your hard drive is with information. Subsequent copies will be created quite quickly, since only new or changed files will be entered into them.
Usually Time Machine configured in such a way that it functions automatically. A computer user should not constantly keep in his head the thought of the need to create a backup copy. It's simple: you connect a pre-created hard drive to your computer, and your Mac will create a copy of the system on it.
However, you can set up manual backups. To do this, you need to set the checkbox in the program itself to the “Off” position, and, as necessary, make copies by clicking on the icon Time Machine in the control line ( top part screen).
There is no significant difference in how your system will be backed up. You choose the method that is most convenient for you to work with.
Restoring individual files from a backup
By clicking on the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, you can go to the “Enter Time Machine” program itself. In this menu, you can view the history of deleted files or their previous versions, and, if necessary, restore them.
All you have to do is select the date and time in the bottom right corner. A menu will open where you can return to files and folders previously changed on the computer. If the dates for which navigation is carried out are displayed in pink color, this means that the backup copy is saved on removable media, while white lettering indicates that T ime Machine made a copy on your Mac.
If you find the file you were looking for and want to restore it, the program will do it in the same directory from which it was deleted. Moreover, if the folder contains more than a new version file, or a file with the same name, you will definitely be warned about this by asking if you really want to replace this file?
It’s also easy to view a found file without restoring it: press the spacebar in the Time Machine window, and the file will open as if in preview.
By the way, Time Machine provides the ability to search for files. There is a search bar for this. Enter the name of the object you are looking for and get all possible options.
Restoring the entire system
Of course, one of the important features of Time Machine is the ability to create copies with which you can restore the entire system. However, you will not be able to restore the copy on another Mac, only on the machine on which the backup was created.
To enter the recovery menu, hold down the cmd + R key combination while your Mac boots up, thereby bringing up the system recovery menu. This window has an option to restore the system from Time Machine backups.
There is another option for system recovery, when at boot time you hold down the "Option" key, and in boot menu select the disk on which Time Machine was copied, and restore from it.
Restoring Time Machine on Another Mac
In a situation where you have a backup copy of your system created in Time Machine , and there is another worker Mac , it is possible to restore all your files and tools using a migration program. To do this, you must go to Programs/Utilities and open the migration assistant.
Migration Assistant allows you to transfer all your data from one Mac to another, so that you don't feel the difference when you switch to a new device. After all, all your files, folders and applications will be in the same places.
Many Mac owners use the Time Machine feature to back up files, documents, and settings to external storage. However, over time, free space becomes less and less. The best way free up space on external drive- delete old Time Machine backups.
By default, Time Machine deletes old copies as the disk becomes full. To get rid of all backups created in certain period time, follow the instructions.
1. Click on the desktop and open a new window by selecting the “New Window in Finder” option from the file menu or using the keyboard shortcut Command + N.
2. Connect your backup drive to your computer and wait for it to appear under Devices in the Finder sidebar. The system may require you to enter an administrator name and password to further actions. If you are using an AirPort Time Capsule, you must provide a password to access the backup drive.
3. Go to the “Backups.backupdb” folder on your Time Machine drive.
4. Find the folder with the computer name. For example, if your computer is called an iMac Retina, then Time Machine will store backups in the "iMac Retina" folder.
5. Inside you will see many folders, the names of which indicate the date they were created. To delete a backup, right-click on it, then “Move to Trash.”
6. Repeat this process with all backups you plan to delete. After that, disconnect the drive by selecting its icon on the desktop, and then click “Eject” in the Finder menu.
You can only delete folders in “Backups.backupdb”, deleting individual elements in subfolders with dates is not allowed.
Previously, the mysterious “backups” on my MacBook didn’t take up much space and therefore didn’t bother me much; I didn’t really want to spend time on them. However, once again checking the free disk space, I was surprised to find that backups now take up more than 30 GB of the 120 GB SSD disk in my MacBook Air. This is, to put it mildly, a bit much, especially since the space was urgently needed for other purposes.
If anyone doesn’t know, it’s quite easy to see what your hard drive is doing on a Mac. IN apple menu go to - About this Mac ▸ More details ▸ Storage.
What are local backups and where do they come from?
There's a great article on the Apple website about local Time Machine snapshots. I wouldn’t want to engage in plagiarism, so I always send my readers to the original source.
For the most impatient or those who are too lazy to read the whole thing, I’ll briefly explain what the point is.
When using a laptop, your Time Capsule or backup disk where Time Machine stores copies is not always nearby. At these moments, Time Machine saves copies of the files it creates, changes, and deletes on the local disk. These copies are called local snapshots. Once the backup disk is available, Time Machine copies these local snapshots to it, after which they are stored both there.
As a result, you can restore files from local snapshots even when you are away from the backup drive.
I note that Time Machine does not create and save local copies until the disk runs out, but leaves a certain space on the disk, deleting old ones. If you want more details, still read the article, I gave the link above :)
Deleting local backups
Now let's move on to the most interesting thing, which is not in Apple's article, namely how to disable the function of creating local backups and delete those already created. Actually, there is nothing terrible here, and many people live without backup copies, even though this is not correct. In any case, copies will continue to be created on our Time Capsule or backup disk when available.
To delete local backups, open a terminal and write the command:
Sudo tmutil disablelocal
Your local backups will be deleted and the feature will be disabled. You can enable the function back in the same way with the command:
Sudo tmutil enablelocal
This way you can simply delete local backups (they are stored in hidden directory/.MobileBackups). Maybe someone else will need a command to create an instant backup of the current system state.