Resolving a Time Machine Backups.backupdb file No No. Is this ok?

jds2 wrote:

• I periodically backup my MacBook Air using Time Machine, and for years have copied other files to the backup disk; I just recently learned this is a No No. So now, Time Machine does not delete the oldest backup. Instead I get an error - lack of disk space. And worse, I deleted one of the backup files in this folder. So now most likely Backups.backupdb files corruption. Oops!

I do not need all that Time Machine backup does. Is there any reason I can not do the following?

Delete just the Backups.backupdb files.

Deleting any of the backup files from the TM backup drive will corrupt the set.

If you've done this, then the best thing to do will be to erase the drive and start a new backup set.

For years it was possible to copy other files to the TM backup drive. That has changed since macOS Ventura where TM wants to own the drive and it is now a read-only volume. You still can copy files to the external drive, but you must add an APFS volume to the drive container for that use. However, it is never a good idea to mix live file storage with backup storage on the same device for the simple reason that should the drive fail, you lose both live files and their backups. Avoid this by simply using a second external drive for one or the other.

• Start over again like i do for an old Windows 2000 based laptop, and just copy the relevant directories / files to the backup disk, e.g. Desktop, Documents, Downloads.

You actually can have TM backup only your relevant directories and files to the TM drive. You have to setup exclusions in the Time Machine settings.

Since you feel TM might not be the best fit for your process, you might look at Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper! as options for backing up your stuff. Both are popular and very configurable.

Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support

Or asked another way, will my deleting the Backups.backupdb files in any way corrupt the other files I copied to the backup disk?

No, deleting the TM backups files will not affect the other files you have copied to the disk. They will corrupt the entire TM backup set, though, as you suggest.

FYI moving forward, if you find TM refusing to backup your Mac and grumbling about a lack of disk space, consider the possibility that the lack of space may be on the startup drive itself rather than the backup drive. If the startup drive free storage is critically low - say something less than ~50 GB - then you should find a way to free up storage. Best amount of free storage for smooth macOS ops is 10%-15% of total capacity on the startup drive.

You can delete the Backups.backupdb folder if you’ve decided not to use Time Machine anymore, but do it the right way.

Don’t just drag it to Trash, macOS protects these backups with system integrity.

You can use Disk Utility to erase the entire Time Machine drive, or disable Time Machine and format the drive (APFS or exFAT, depending on your use). This won’t touch the other files you manually copied unless you wipe the whole disk. So if you want to keep those, move them somewhere else first.

Going forward, if you’re comfortable with manual backups like copying Documents, Downloads, etc., that’s totally fine, just be aware you lose features like system restore points and automatic snapshots backup that Time Machine provides.

Time Machine also supports MULTIPLE backup destinations, even on wildly different media.

You can ADD an additional Time Machine destination drive at any time. Time machine will, starting from right now, create a separate stand-alone backup set on that added drive.

Then every-other backup goes to every-other drive until you change it.

This can allow you to avoid "working without a net" while you re-arrange things.

Once you have an additional backup, you can freely ERASE the old drive and add it back, set that drive aside as-is for a few months, or repurpose that old drive for different use.

Time Machine's "claim to fame" is that it is the backup that gets done. It does not ruin performance of the rest of the computer while doing its backup operations. You do not have to set aside a "Special Time" when you only do backups. When you need it, your Time machine Backup is much more likely to be there and be current.

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Time Machine saves, and can re-create, ANY Moment in time for which it still holds backup files.

Example: a user posted that they had installed software that messed up their files. it was installed mid last week. They had done an ordinary restore to recover, but that restored to yesterday, and the problem was still there.

Readers were able to guide them to Time Machine.APP (not to be confused with Time machine preferences). This allowed them to look at the state of the major folder involved, back in time through each previous backup, until right BEFORE the bad software was added -- mid last week-- and restore as of that moment. They were thrilled.