Deleting From Time Machine

My Time Machine is telling me it is full and is automatically deleting files when it is backing up recent ones. This is ok, I guess and I've read you can delete all backups of a particular folder or individual backups. But can you delete a whole year of backed up files?

I would think about getting a larger drive since TM will continue to delete your oldest backups as it needs space.

This is ok, I guess and I've read you can delete all backups of a particular folder or individual backups. But can you delete a whole year of backed up files?

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You can but it may turn out to be a tedious process. Time Machine will only allow you to delete one backup at a time. In other words, if you made a backup once a day for 365 days, it would show up as 365 individual backups on the right side when you enter Time Machine. Deleting individual backups requires that you right click on it and select "delete". Time Machine will then ask you for your admin password before it will process the delete.

Two suggestions.

Firstly, buy a new Ext HD for Time Machine. It is generally advised that it should be 1.5 to 2 times the storage of your Mac Int HD.

Secondly; ask yourself whether you absolutely need to keep files, folders etc from years' back. Because you can always just re-format your present Time Machine HD and start afresh.

You don't mention which OS you're using. If it's Mavericks, this allows for 2 Time Machines, which would allow you to keep the current Time Machine for the old stuff and have the other start from now.

Ian

Secondly; ask yourself whether you absolutely need to keep files, folders etc from years' back. Because you can always just re-format your present Time Machine HD and start afresh.

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This is great advice. I always advise users to decide whether data they're storing from a year ago or so is something they would want to restore. And if the data is valuable enough to keep, it should be archived somewhere else, not on their Time Machine drive.