How do you set Time Machine to do backups manually? The linked knowledge base article doesn't go into any detail.

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Just turn it off and then back on later. It will perform a backup 2 minutes after you turn it on, assuming more than the normal interval has already passed. Turn it off when the backup is done!

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Actually to do manual Time Machine backups you don't have to switch it off and on and off.

You only have to switch it off once, then in the Finder right click on the drive you use for the Time Machine backup, that will give you the "Backup now" option, left click that and it will do a one off back up then and there. Then next time you want to back up do that again.

You can also right click the Time Machine icon if you have it in the Dock and it will give you that same option.

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Gavin

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I think they probably recommend this due to the way Time Machine works. Unlike a source control system, it does not do diffs of file contents, just diffs of the file system. This means if you change one byte in a given file, then the whole file is backed up again, rather than the change.

There are pros and cons, but this probably makes the engine simpler. Having something too smart often ask for problems.

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Since Aperture has its own backup feature with "Aperture Vaults", it might be easier to just exclude the Aperture Library from being backed up by the Time Machine [Click options in Time Machine Preferences and add Aperture Library to the list of excluded files.]

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What does one have to do for this to be in effect (beside reboot, I assume)? I switched TM to OFF, changed the interval to 4 hours (14,400), then switched TM back ON and it is still doing them hourly.

I also tried using launchctl to unload/load that config file to no avail.

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I answered my own question: even though the prefs screen indicates a time within the hour, it actually doesn't do the backup until every 4 hours as specified in the file

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Another way to change this setting without messing around with text files (not that there is anything wrong with that) is to use Lingon (http://lingon.sourceforge.net/). Time Machine's settings are available under "System Daemons" -> "com.apple.backupd-auto". Change the run interval from "Run it every 1 hour" to whatever you want.

This way, you can even run it at specific times of day (I haven't tested that option, so do it at your own risk).

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FYI, Apple is reporting this aperture/time machine conflict is fixed in 10.5.2

See http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306853

Steve

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Steve

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Hi. I implemented this hint as instructed, but it never quite worked as advertised. Time Machine would not start backing up at the requested interval (whether this was 24h, or 2h). I then went back to the original setting of 3600sec, but now Time Machine would not even do the normal hourly backups anymore! Only manually could I initiate a backup.

I tried deleting the backup database, changing disk, and starting from scratch. Then, while fooling around with Time Machine, all of a sudden I had a file corruption issue in an important Microsoft Word 2008 doc, and as a result have now lost 1 week's worth of work. Thank you Microsoft, and Mac OS X Hints!
Yes, I know the usual disclaimers. This time, they really have proved justified. I've been burned, and I shall never again implement any Mac OS X hint in my life. I will leave all system settings exactly as the manufacturer intended.
One last favour to ask from the Mac OS X community: how can I make Time Machine behave as normal again? - it still wouldn't do hourly backups. And all of this because I changed one numerical value in a plist file... Nightmare
Thanks for your help
Robert

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To get it to start working again, deselect your T/M disc and then reselect as if setting up from scratch.

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FYI: I had changed the interval using this method a while ago and the change survived some minor system updates, but with one of the latest security updates ("Security Update 2008-002" or, more likely, "Time Machine and AirPort Updates"), com.apple.backupd-auto.plist was reset to the default 3600-second interval.

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My machine went into an endless reboot (Leopard 10.5.2) after I did this and forgot to change permissions back to normal after making the change. Booted back up in target disk mode and reset the permissions manually via another Mac, and all was well again with the world. So, if you do this, just remember to put the permissions for the file and folder back to normal when you're done.

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