Turning TM Off and On?

[Charles218]

I would like to set SD to clone my Time Machine files each night and as suggested in the FAQ would like to turn TM off during the operation. How do I go about automating this process? Say, turn TM off at midnight and back on at 2:00AM. I'm absolutely no good with scripting and have never used Automator, so will need exact, precise steps if either is involved in the answer.

Thanks!
Charles

[dnanian]

There's no documented way of automatically turning Time Machine off, Charles, although I believe someone in the forums has previously posted the way they do it.

That said, given the size and complexity of a typical Time Machine backup volume, I'm not sure it's practical to copy it every night...

[Charles218]

Dave,

I assume from you answer that using smart update the entire TM files would have to be rewritten each time, is that correct? That being the case, I would maybe go for weekly backups of TM.

I've searched for instructions on automating TM off and on without success. If anyone knows the name of the thread I would appreciate hearing from you.

Charles

[sjk]

Have you tried a more general Google search for info with something like:

disable "time machine" superduper

?

[Charles218]

Well no, I had not tried a general Google search, but, now I have and with success. I did find a posting here at Shirt Pocket that gave two short scripts to turn TM off and then back on. Now we will see if my limited knowledge of scripts will get the job done.

Thanks!!!

[sjk]

My experience has been that relatively simple Google/web searches that include a forum's posts will sometimes have more fruitful results than using that forum's own built-in searching. I'll always enjoy learning something new/more/different about searching methods than I currently know… and sharing it.