Time Machine Questions

Very basic questions from a newbie. I have set up a Western Digital Hard Drive after formatting for a Mac and run my first Time Machine backup. Seemed to work perfect. But I have 2 questions.

1. The WD is an AC powered one. After it finished the backup I noticed the cord was laying on too of another cord and would be neater under it so I unplugged it from the WD and straightened it up. Well, dumb me! I got the 'Disk not Ejected Properly' msg. I immediately plugged it back in and its icon shows up on the desktop again and I can still see files on the backup in Finder. But What damage could I have done and how will I know?

2. I dont understand 'Mount the Drive'. I see that when I read instructions on how to get this time machine process started. Did it mean it automatically mounted when it showed up on my desktop (meaning initially when I first started the setup/formatting of the drive). Or do I need to perform some kind of step?

Your fine.

1. When you removed the power the system warned you. If the disk was being accessed at the time you could have conceivably caused disk corruption due to data that was being written had gotten interrupted. Since you have plugged the drive back in and it remounted it all should be fine but if you want to make sure run Disk Utility -> First Aid and it will fix any issues.

2. All operating system "mount" and "unmount" drives. Apple just makes it a noticeable step to prevent disk corruption. If you see it on your desktop it is mounted. If you open Time Machine preferences you can check to see if the disk is listed as the one being used. On the Time Machine window you should see a bluish disk icon and the word data with the name of your WD drive next to it. It will list the time of the last backup and the next one that is scheduled.

Lisa

Thank you Lisa. The first backup had finished or the progress bar said it did, when I unplugged it and then plugged it back. Something is not right tho. When I enter Time Machine Preferences, I do see the name of my backup drive and the last backup time. I do not see a blue icon with a hardrive in it, just the name. The real problem I have is, I cant find the files, photos tgat should have backed up. I put the little TM icon at the top of my desktop screen. When I click there and choose Enter Time Machine, I go to Finder-Desktop and on the right side I see folders that are all empty. What am I doing wrong?

You would probably benefit from doing a Google search for how to use Time Machine. A good article will provide you with pictures of what you should see in the different windows associated with the app and how to modify its preferences and use its features.
Bear in mind TM does not make a copy of your hard drive in the usual sense. It is not formatted like your computer and cannot be searched in the same way as the rest of your files and folders. It is designed to be accessed via the TM interface ie. Enter Time Machine. For the purpose of restoring lost or damaged files or restoring your files to a new computer all of which it does very well.



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Try reading this article from Apple: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201250

To look at what drive your time machine has backed up to you access it by clicking on the little clock on the menu bar and select Ope Time Machine Preferences:


You can also scroll down on that same menu and click on "Enter Time Machine" to see what has backed up.

LisA