time machine backup drive is full

time machine won't backup because it says the backup drive is full. What do I do?

iMac 27″, OS X 10.11

Posted on May 3, 2022 6:15 PM

Reply
Question marked as ⚠️ Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 3, 2022 7:13 PM

Plangel66 Said:

"time machine backup drive is full: Don't really have another drive but I do have a Backblaze cloud backup and a SuperDuper backup on another drive. Is there a way to eliminate some of the older T M backups to make room?"

-------


Deleting a TMB:

Sure, you can erase a TMB. But, are you certain you would want to? Doing so, you would not be able to recover data from it. See this link: If the Time Machine Backup Disk for your Mac is Full - Apple Support

3 replies
Sort By: 
Question marked as ⚠️ Top-ranking reply

May 3, 2022 7:13 PM in response to jackostrato

Plangel66 Said:

"time machine backup drive is full: Don't really have another drive but I do have a Backblaze cloud backup and a SuperDuper backup on another drive. Is there a way to eliminate some of the older T M backups to make room?"

-------


Deleting a TMB:

Sure, you can erase a TMB. But, are you certain you would want to? Doing so, you would not be able to recover data from it. See this link: If the Time Machine Backup Disk for your Mac is Full - Apple Support

Reply

May 3, 2022 6:29 PM in response to jackostrato

Plangel66 Said:

"time machine backup drive is full: time machine won't backup because it says the backup drive is full. What do I do?"

-------


Troubleshooting TMB Drives:


I. Use Disk Utility:

View this device's storage in Disk Utility.

  1. Open: Applications folder
  2. Click: Utilities
  3. Open: Disk Utility
  4. Select: [the hard drive]
  5. Verify: The Results


II. If Full:

Use another drive to avoid deleting backups.

Reply

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

time machine backup drive is full

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.