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schalliol · Dec 14, 2008, 02:29 PM

D'oh!

Hal Itosis · May 8, 2009, 01:56 AM

BackupLoupe

Simon · May 8, 2009, 02:22 AM

It looks nice, but other than that, can it do more than CharlesS' free TT?

MacNNUK · May 8, 2009, 07:24 AM

Originally Posted by idea2go

All I get is a blank 3 column window (nothing to click on). Could this be because I use Time Capsule?

I found the same until ...

Open Time Machine

Then open the app.

Hal Itosis · May 8, 2009, 07:10 PM

Originally Posted by Simon

It looks nice, but other than that, can it do more than CharlesS' free TT?

Haven't used it as yet (just wanted to make its existence known to the thread).
So do their results seem to agree then, or are any differences being reported?

I do agree though, something like that shouldn't cost much.
(and it would be best if Apple provided that feature anyway).

steve626 · May 9, 2009, 10:31 PM

Another thing for people to be aware of with respect to being surprised when big files are backed up:

For people that use Entourage, Microsoft saw fit to put ALL the emails into one single data base file. So if you get one little email, the entire database gets changed/updated. Since it is one file, backup programs have no choice but to copy it over when checking for changed files. People who save/archive lots of emails with large attachments can easily accumulate gigabytes of stuff in a few months.

For people who use their Intel Macs as a PC via programs like Parallels, they also put the entire PC (memory plus hard disk) into one big multi-Gigabyte file. So just booting into Windows via Parallels can result in a 10 or 20 Gigabyte file needing to be backed up next time.

Simon · May 10, 2009, 03:47 AM

Originally Posted by steve626

For people who use their Intel Macs as a PC via programs like Parallels, they also put the entire PC (memory plus hard disk) into one big multi-Gigabyte file. So just booting into Windows via Parallels can result in a 10 or 20 Gigabyte file needing to be backed up next time.

That's right. Which is why I ended up removing my Parallels disk image from TM's backup list.

JoshFofer · Jul 28, 2009, 09:43 AM

Originally Posted by CharlesS

I've put up a new build of TimeTracker that should (hopefully) work with AFP-connected drives and Time Capsules:

http://www.charlessoft.com/TimeTracker.zip

I haven't been able to test either of those things myself...

FWIW, I just wanted to chime in here: I am a Time Capsule user, and neither the original TimeTracker, nor the "new build" mentioned in the quote above, seem to work for me on my MacBook Pro running 10.5.7. Yes, my sparse image is mounted (I have just entered Time Machine, and the TM backup is running currently.) However, both apps do the same thing, they merely show me three blank columns.

BackupLoupe and the modified GrandPerspective seem to work fine, however.

Any hints appreciated.

CharlesS · Jul 28, 2009, 10:58 AM

The problem likely has something to do with the fact that I don't have a Time Capsule, so it's a little hard to test things like this. Do any errors appear in the Console?

JoshFofer · Jul 28, 2009, 11:19 AM

No, not seeing anything relevant in Console... what should I be looking for? I am using the "modified" version posted here.

My sparse-bundle is mounted (a backup is happening as I type) but the TimeTracker UI just shows me three blank panes. Just like the unmodified version does.

I just thought it was weird that it worked for other folks (like Drakino) but not me, since there's nothing all that strange about my system. Just a unibody MacBook Pro, connected to a Time Capsule, backing up wirelessly and hourly.

As a side note... if I had a desktop (or worked at a desk, heh) I'd probably be using an external firewire drive instead. But the convenience and peace of mind that backups are made for me automatically, whereever I happen to be in my house, without having to stop what I am doing and plug something in... has been a dream. Yes, I've had my share of TM problems over the months (slow backups; having to clear out the TC 2 or 3 times and start fresh; and the most recent, using the widget Time Machine buddy to individually identify precisely which files my fresh backup was choking on, so I could remove them. But I'm still grateful for the solution. It works well enough, and I look forward to it maturing.

CharlesS · Jul 28, 2009, 12:45 PM

Originally Posted by JoshFofer

No, not seeing anything relevant in Console... what should I be looking for? I am using the "modified" version posted here.

My sparse-bundle is mounted (a backup is happening as I type) but the TimeTracker UI just shows me three blank panes. Just like the unmodified version does.

I just thought it was weird that it worked for other folks (like Drakino) but not me, since there's nothing all that strange about my system. Just a unibody MacBook Pro, connected to a Time Capsule, backing up wirelessly and hourly.

As a side note... if I had a desktop (or worked at a desk, heh) I'd probably be using an external firewire drive instead. But the convenience and peace of mind that backups are made for me automatically, whereever I happen to be in my house, without having to stop what I am doing and plug something in... has been a dream. Yes, I've had my share of TM problems over the months (slow backups; having to clear out the TC 2 or 3 times and start fresh; and the most recent, using the widget Time Machine buddy to individually identify precisely which files my fresh backup was choking on, so I could remove them. But I'm still grateful for the solution. It works well enough, and I look forward to it maturing.

Could you send me an e-mail? It's "support", then the symbol you get by typing shift-2, then "charlessoft", then a period, then "com". I can send you some debug builds and see if we can't track down what's going on.