Time Machine malfunction.

Hello every-one, I am two weeks into ownership of a brand new iMac 21.5inch running High Sierra and having trouble with Time Machine. I used a Mac Mini for a number of years but NEVER used Time Machine! OK I now know it was wrong but I used SuperDuper instead, which sadly has been lost in the change over. I am now trying to used Time Machine and the operative word is "trying". I still get a notice informing me it is "seven hundred odd days since I used Time Machine" but have not used it since about week number two of having my Mac mini. I have an external hard drive (labeled time machine back ups) that I would like to use but have not got a clue as to whether it is being used because of that notice informing me the "it is seven hundred odd days since TM was used". I have opened the hard drive and it has a back up of three days ago!!! Why not every day since I first tried to use TM on my iMac? I have looked at TM in applications and have not seen anything regarding setting it up or indeed opening/switching it on. How on earth does it actually work? After all the time of not being used perhaps it will not work at all now? I am at a complete loss yet again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.

Hi, Further comment on TM. Have had a notice that TM cannot find a hard drive labeled time machine back ups. By golly I have checked and it is plugged into a usb slot in the iMac. Just what is going wrong? Keith in Derby.

Keith, Go to System Preferences, on bottom tool bar, and open it. Go to Time Machine, 4th row down, and click on that. Click on Select `Disc and select the disc you want for time machine backups. That will install the time Machine disc. That's it. You should be done.

Hi Gandalph, sorry but system preferences etc does not show "select" disc tab, I get five rows of "installed software"? and TM is as you describe4th row down. If I click on TM I see three discs all with different logos, I cannot see how to "install' the TM disc. Somewhere along the line I feel that I have (yet again) fouled things up! Thank you very much for your assistance.

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.

I use both Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner - which is just like SuperDuper. I have my Time Machine setup to use with a Time Capsule so it is done wirelessly. The way it works is it makes a full backup when first started and then adds small incremental backups on an hourly(?-Not sure about how often) basis. If you have a drive that is not attached all the time to the mac, time machine will store the incremental backups on the main computer drive until the time machine drive becomes available.

But - I have found Time Machine can work flawlessly or can have issues - like everything else in computer land.

I have this setup on five macs - four backup to two Time Capsules and the other one has it's own Time Capsule. One of my macs tells me it has been over 400+ days since the last backup yet when I check the backup is current. The other mac that backups to the same Time Capsule never has this error message yet both macs are current.

I have two suggestions. Open your Time Machine by clicking on the little time machine icon at the top of the screen and then enter time machine. It may take a bit of time to show them but be patient. You can check the dates backups were made and even look at the different files. I believe you said three days was the last backup - but check anyway.

If there are no backups or backups are not occurring regularly, when you check as I explained above, I suggest going to system preferences -> Time Machine and set it up again. Select your backup drive, remove it and erase it then set it back up again.

Here is a link that has more information on time machine: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201250

Lisa

Hi Gandalph and Iclev,Between you you have both set me on the right road; it would appear that by following both of you I have sussed it out and I think that TM is now up and running. I think somehow I had "three" different discs when in actual fact there is only one. By rich clicking on two of the discs, one at a time, I was able to dismount them in turn leaving only one disc connected. TM is now up and running and I am yet again a happy bunny; thank you both very much indeed, without your help would still be floundering.

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.

Glad you got it working!

Lisa

Thank you very much Lisa.

Keith in Derby England.

Pleased I could help Keith!

Gandalph I also thank you for all your help, between you, you and Lisa have sorted things out for me! Thank you both very much indeed.

Best regards from Keith in Derby England.

bobbypin, You would be better served by having this be a separate thread rather than hijacking this thread. Maybe a MOD will move it for you.

Keith, glad you got it sorted out with Time Machine, but I wanted to address what you said in the first post. You said

OK I now know it was wrong but I used SuperDuper instead, which sadly has been lost in the change over.

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There is nothing wrong with using SD as a backup, in fact it would be better if you used both TM and SD to make different backups. As for SD being lost in the transition, you could always to back to the developer's site and download it again. If you have lost the registration for it, the developer may be able to help you get it registered (if required).