Time Capsule, Time Machine and 500gb Drive

[duffer]

Hi Guys,

I have MBP with 160gb hard drive and 2gb space left. This is backed up using Time Machine to a 500gb Maxtor 1touch via FireWire.
I have another ext hard drive of about 80gb containing photos and music and I have just bought a Time Capsule 500gb off Ebay. I will use the 80gb just occasionally.

Firstly, can I put all my photos and iTunes music on the Maxtor 500gb and have the Time Capsule back everything up, i.e., both the MBP and the Maxtor?

Secondly, using Superduper, I can create an image of my MBP. But where is best to store this image? On the Maxtor?

Thanks.

[Big]

Originally Posted by duffer

Secondly, using Superduper, I can create an image of my MBP. But where is best to store this image? On the Maxtor?

I don't think you have any need for this if you are using Time Machine. If you boot via install disk and then select Time Machine you can restore to a previous configuration and you'll have a choice of backups to restore.

[clockworks]

Yes, Time Machine will back up any drive that's mounted on your Mac to the Time Capsule. If you connect a firewire or USB drive, and leave it switched on, it'll get backed up.

I also think that keeping a second backup (using Carbon Copy Cloner or SD) is a very good idea. You should to do this by cloning the drive, rather than creating an image. A USB or Firewire clone is bootable, unlike a Time Machine backup (or any other type of image), so you can get working again very quickly.
Restoring from a Time Machine backup can be an overnight job.


Why not use the 80Gb drive for your clone? Exclude the stuff that doesn't change much (music or videos) to trim the size down from 160Gb to 60 or 70 so that it'll fit.

If you've only got 2Gb left on your boot drive, your Mac must be running like a dog! Try to keep at least 20% of the space free.

So, to best utilise the kit you've already got:

Move the stuff you rarely use off the Mac onto the Maxtor.
Clone your Mac to the 80Gb drive on a regular basis.
Use the Time Capsule for backups on a wired network connection if possible.

[duffer]

Hi Clockworks, I really like your suggestions. Thanks.

I just recently upgraded to 4gb Crucial memory so this is helping a bit but the Mac is not performing like it once did!
The big eaters of space are my iTunes and DVD rips and photos. I definitely need a backup of my photos (wedding, baby, etc) and iTunes. For the DVDs I'm not too bothered. I can move all the multimedia to the Maxtor and get the Time Capsule to back up the Mac and Maxtor.
So I presume with Superduper there is an option for cloning a drive? And to specify which folders to exclude? I just bought it on Saturday and haven't had the time to play around with it.

[clockworks]

I haven't used Superduper, but I'd be surprised if it didn't have those facilities.

I use Carbon Copy Cloner, which will do everything you need. If SD can't, try CCC - it's shareware. I chose CCC because it's pretty easy to use, and "free".

For your really important personal photos, make a couple of copies on optical media as well. I'd keep two copies on DVD and CD, just to be extra safe. Might be worth giving a second set of optical media (or a memory stick) to a family member, in case of a fire or flood.

[richard plumb]

i don't know if time capsule will back up your usb drive if its attached to the time capsule, as it doesn't appear as a mounted drive. I use a usb drive attached to my time machine for music and video. Time machine is just for macbook backups, then i clone the usb drive to a sexond usb drive once in a while, and take that second drive to the office. i also clone the macbook to a separate partition on that usb drive as additional backup

[duffer]

Thanks guys,

Well I just found a pack of 25 Verbatim blank DVD-Rs that I had bought for £4.99 in clearance from Sainsburys last summer! I will back up all my photos onto those after I have sorted them into sensible folders. I can create a second set of these and keep one with the in-laws.

I am moving all iTunes and films onto the Maxtor and connect it to the Time Capsule. Will backup the iTunes to the TC and exclude the films.

I will leave the photos on the Macbook therefore in addition to the backups on DVD they will be backed up to the TC by default.

On the 80gb hard drive I will create a clone of the Macbook using SDuper. I probably should have another copy shouldn't I? Maybe on the Maxtor and also exclude it from the TC backup.

The clone of the Macbook will exclude the photos to save on space.

I think this has me covered.

[Monopot]

OK just want to get a better understanding here on something?

I know Time Capsule backs up my local MBP HDD, but if I plug in my external USB drive to my MBP (holds movies etc), then Time Machine will back this up to the Time Capsule when its connected to the MBP? If this is the case I'll be well chuffed as I didn't realise TM would backup external drives to the TimeCapsule.

[gasman1]

Thats correct, do your initial backup with the ext drive attached, then whenever you plug it in, tm will look for the changes and back those up, meaning it will not try to recopy the entire 500gb drive each time.

[duffer]

I think I might have confused myself .
Will Time Capsule definitely backup the MBP as well as the Maxtor connected to the MBP?

[gasman1]

If Im understanding correctly, currently you have the MBP backed up to a 500gb drive you have specified as the time machine drive.
You now have a time capsule, so want to copy all the large files off your MBP onto the old usb drive, then back the whole lot up via time machine to your time capsule. The usb drive wont be plugged in all the time.

If Im correct with my previous statements you'll be fine. Wipe your time machine backup off the ext usb drive, and put your large files on it.
Then when you initially start time machine, have your usb drive attached. TM will do a backup of your MBP and the usb drive. When you unplug it, it will ignore that part of the backup, then when you plug it back in, it will just make backups of any changes to those files.

The only problem I can forsee is that your time capsule may be a bit small. If you fill your external drive, you will have a total of 660gb to backup, and only a 500gb time machine. Because its a sequential backup program, the total size you require is larger than your total required backup. However, if you exclude certain folders in the backup, it can still be usable.

Hope this helps.

[Monopot]

Originally Posted by gasman1

Thats correct, do your initial backup with the ext drive attached, then whenever you plug it in, tm will look for the changes and back those up, meaning it will not try to recopy the entire 500gb drive each time.

Excellent!! Didn't realise TM+TC would backup locally attached USB/Firewire drives. This is exactly what I want as I currently have 750gb USB drive (400gb TM / 350Gb large files) but I wanted to have a Time Capsule for the seamless backup. I wanted to use the 750gb partitioned for a dumping ground and then a backup of large files not on my MBP but have this backed up elsewhere, so if TM+TC do this then thats awesome and I can get the 1TB model.

Dam you Apple for bringing products out to actually do what I need! Need to stop my credit card leaping out my wallet like a spawning salmon now!

[clockworks]

Originally Posted by duffer

Thanks guys,

Well I just found a pack of 25 Verbatim blank DVD-Rs that I had bought for £4.99 in clearance from Sainsburys last summer! I will back up all my photos onto those after I have sorted them into sensible folders. I can create a second set of these and keep one with the in-laws.

I am moving all iTunes and films onto the Maxtor and connect it to the Time Capsule. Will backup the iTunes to the TC and exclude the films.

I will leave the photos on the Macbook therefore in addition to the backups on DVD they will be backed up to the TC by default.

On the 80gb hard drive I will create a clone of the Macbook using SDuper. I probably should have another copy shouldn't I? Maybe on the Maxtor and also exclude it from the TC backup.

The clone of the Macbook will exclude the photos to save on space.

I think this has me covered.

Not sure if I read all of that correctly, but you seem to mention connecting the Maxtor drive to the Time Capsule.

The one thing that Time Machine/Time Capsule won't do is backup a USB drive connected directly to the USB ports on the Time Capsule. You can use drives connected this way as network drives, but Time Machine will ignore them.

Time Machine will only back up drives that are connected directly (internal, USB or firewire) to the computer that Time Machine is running on.

[duffer]

Hi guys,

Yes I would like to keep the Maxtor 500gb hooked up to the Time Capsule because at the moment I have the MBP on the coffee table and the power point to the left whereas the Firewire port is on the right of the MBP and since Saturday I have tripped on the Firewire cable 3 times knocking the Maxtor on its side.

So reading the posts correctly, to backup the iTunes music found on the Maxtor, I will need to plug the Maxtor directly into the MBP, when it will be backed up to the Time Capsule. I can do this once a week and the rest of the time I can leave it connected directly to the Time Capsule. The large files such as the DVD rips will also be on the Maxtor but I do not need these backed up so I reckon I'll have the 160gb of the MBP plus about 100gb of iTunes both backed up to the Time Capsule.

Excellent!

[duffer]

Originally Posted by gasman1

The only problem I can forsee is that your time capsule may be a bit small. If you fill your external drive, you will have a total of 660gb to backup, and only a 500gb time machine. Because its a sequential backup program, the total size you require is larger than your total required backup. However, if you exclude certain folders in the backup, it can still be usable.

Hope this helps.

Hi Gasman, Are you saying that by default, Time Machine will make an uncompressed backup of the whole MBP 160gb harddrive and the whole 500gb ext drive? regardless of how much is used?