iMac -Time Machine and new harddrive - help

11/24/2012 05:36:43 PM · #1

For those with a mac.

I purchased a 2TB Seagate harddrive to use as a backup for my mac.
When I first plugged it it in asked if I wanted to use it for the Time Machine, I said yes
It then advised that it needed to be configured for a Mac and did I want to do that, I said yes.
It did all this in its magic way and then it backed up all my stuff.

Problem now is that the harddrive seems to turn off and on all the time and I keep getting messages that the harddrive was not removed properly when I haven't even unplugged it.

What is going on here?
Is there a problem with the harddrive I purchased?
Is there something I did wrong?

Do those of you with a mac use Time Machine or do you just back up certain files to a hard drive (eg Pictures, Documents) when you want to.

The person I purchased the iMac from has advised there is a recall on this models harddrive due to failure (don't know why I didn't get the message as was swapped everything over to my name when I was there with him picking it up?) Anyway, because it has been doing this it also advises that it hasn't backed up as it doesn't seem to be connecting to the harddrive to do it.

Appreciate your help with this as I need to get everything backed up so that I can take the machine in to swap out the hard drive and I gather I use the Time Machine to put everything back on the new drive.

Thanks for the input everyone.
Maria

mrchhas

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

11/24/2012 07:08:26 PM · #2

If you haven't already try switching the USB cable, and check the connection. I'm assuming the external drive is AC powered but if its a portable 2.5" drive it's possible but unlikely that it isn't getting enough current, in which case you'd have to get a ouble USB cable to power it. If these thing don't work, try reformatting the external drive in disk utility and starting over.

11/24/2012 08:04:19 PM · #3

You didn't say what model Seagate drive (there are many). Some of them are set to spin down automatically and may not wake for Time Machine access. I would make sure the firmware is up to date and check for a utility [url=//ow.ly/aDCBf ]like this[/url] to turn off that sleep function.

11/24/2012 09:23:41 PM · #4

Hard drive has it's own power.

Segate Info

2TB Desktop External Drive
STAY2000302
SN: 2GHE171J
PN: 9SEAM2-572

I'll go and check the seagate site

Scalvert, bit lost with what you posted. Can you correct the links please

Message edited by author 2012-11-24 21:24:14.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

11/25/2012 12:09:44 AM · #5

Originally posted by RamblinR:

Scalvert, bit lost with what you posted. Can you correct the links please

Well that was for Seagate GoFlex drives, so no point. Look in your System Prefs for Energy Saver and try turning off "Put the hard disk to sleep when possible."

GAP2012

Canon EOS-550D Rebel T2i

11/25/2012 01:34:53 AM · #6

Originally posted by mrchhas:

i found on the large iMacs that theres not enough power being through put especilly on the keyboard to even power a 32GB thumbdrive let alone a 2.5" ext HDD... get a powered USB HUB that should help!?

11/25/2012 01:41:38 AM · #7

Hey Scalvert

Do you only use this to backup your stuff or do you copy your documents and images to another disc along with the Time Machine that you only plug in at the time you backup?

Also, will this backup any little changes I do to images in lightroom?

And.... how can I tell what is on the backup drive.
I will have to delete information off my mac HD before I take it down for them to change over and I don't want to find all my information isn't on the backup drive.
That would prove to be a huge disaster!!

Thanks

Message edited by author 2012-11-25 01:46:24.

Brent_S

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II

11/25/2012 02:32:39 AM · #8

Maria, I'm not sure what is ailing your hard drive. But if you want to at least verify whether it has backed up your files, just click on the TM icon at the top of your screen and then select "Enter Time Machine". From there you should see all the backups done as plates you can shuffle through. Click on one, and then browse for your files and verify they are there.

Once you get everything in order, you should leave TM and the HD it uses accessible at all times to backup. Myself, I also backup my image files alone to an additional drive once a week and keep that in a remote location.

Hope you get it all figured out. TM is really great once you do :)

11/25/2012 01:34:02 PM · #9

Originally posted by RamblinR:

Hey Scalvert...

I use Time Machine (and an external Seagate drive) to backup my workstation only. My photos are stored on a separate RAID and backed up manually to a3TB drive.

If Time Machine says your backup is complete (Latest Backup...), then you should have everything. TM backs up everything on your computer, then makes incremental backups of anything that changes hourly for a day, daily for a month, and weekly until your drive is full. When you replace the hard drive, you can use Migration Assistant to restore the computer exactly as it was the last time you backed up to TM.

slickchik

OM System OM-1

11/25/2012 02:07:40 PM · #10

Originally posted by scalvert:

Originally posted by RamblinR:
Hey Scalvert...

I use Time Machine (and an external Seagate drive) to backup my workstation only. My photos are stored on a separate RAID and backed up manually to a3TB drive.

If Time Machine says your backup is complete (Latest Backup...), then you should have everything. TM backs up everything on your computer, then makes incremental backups of anything that changes hourly for a day, daily for a month, and weekly until your drive is full. When you replace the hard drive, you can use Migration Assistant to restore the computer exactly as it was the last time you backed up to TM.

Does this include VMWare Fusion and the stuff you would have on the windows side of things? (Not Boot Camp)

11/25/2012 03:40:06 PM · #11

Originally posted by slickchik:

Does this include VMWare Fusion and the stuff you would have on the windows side of things? (Not Boot Camp)

I believe the default is to backup everything, but if you run Fusion or Parallels the large virtual machine files they create would change (and therefore require backup) every time, and that will rapidly burn through your available space in Time Machine. You are better off excluding those and using a separate backup scheme for Windows. That said, newer versions of Fusion can apparently be set to limit the number of Time Machine backups for a more practical solution.