Hello.

Is it possible to access an external USB HDD's data, that is used for 
Apple Mac OS X 10.5.8's Time Machine backups, on non-Apple Mac machines 
(Windows and Linux)? Or can it be only be accessed with a Mac? I use 
multiple computers and OSes.

Thank you in advance. :)
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Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

In article <LtOdnXZJR92PbvDSnZ2dnUVZ_rKdnZ2d@earthlink.com>, Ant
<ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:

> Is it possible to access an external USB HDD's data, that is used for 
> Apple Mac OS X 10.5.8's Time Machine backups, on non-Apple Mac machines 
> (Windows and Linux)? Or can it be only be accessed with a Mac? I use 
> multiple computers and OSes.

you need to install third party software that can read mac formatted
hard drives.

<http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/standard/>

On 3/24/2012 10:12 AM PT, nospam typed:

>> Is it possible to access an external USB HDD's data, that is used for
>> Apple Mac OS X 10.5.8's Time Machine backups, on non-Apple Mac machines
>> (Windows and Linux)? Or can it be only be accessed with a Mac? I use
>> multiple computers and OSes.
>
> you need to install third party software that can read mac formatted
> hard drives.
>
> http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/standard/

Thanks. :)
-- 
"He who dislikes aardvarks was an ant in his former life." --unknown
    /\___/\         Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
   / /\ /\ \                Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
  | |o   o| |
     \ _ /        If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
      ( )         If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:

> In article <LtOdnXZJR92PbvDSnZ2dnUVZ_rKdnZ2d@earthlink.com>, Ant
> <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:
> 
> > Is it possible to access an external USB HDD's data, that is used for
> > Apple Mac OS X 10.5.8's Time Machine backups, on non-Apple Mac machines
> > (Windows and Linux)? Or can it be only be accessed with a Mac? I use
> > multiple computers and OSes.
> 
> you need to install third party software that can read mac formatted
> hard drives.
> 
> <http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/standard/>

Time Machine volumes are full of hard links to files and folders, so
there might be a problem using MacDrive with them. 

<http://support.mediafour.com/entries/174761-macdrive-files-appear-as-ze
ro-bytes-hard-links> 

In article <1khgnk7.qyfdap8y4apsN%nmassello@yahoo.com>,
 nmassello@yahoo.com (Neill Massello) wrote:

> nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> 
> > In article <LtOdnXZJR92PbvDSnZ2dnUVZ_rKdnZ2d@earthlink.com>, Ant
> > <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:
> > 
> > > Is it possible to access an external USB HDD's data, that is used for
> > > Apple Mac OS X 10.5.8's Time Machine backups, on non-Apple Mac machines
> > > (Windows and Linux)? Or can it be only be accessed with a Mac? I use
> > > multiple computers and OSes.
> > 
> > you need to install third party software that can read mac formatted
> > hard drives.
> > 
> > <http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/standard/>
> 
> Time Machine volumes are full of hard links to files and folders, so
> there might be a problem using MacDrive with them. 
> 
> <http://support.mediafour.com/entries/174761-macdrive-files-appear-as-ze
> ro-bytes-hard-links> 

You'll probably need a MacOS system up and running to serve the 
filesystem with the TimeMachine information via CIFS.  That protocol can 
be accessed by both Windows and Linux.  So, yes you can get at the data 
and no you can't without a running MacOS system to serve that data.

-- 
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[I filter all Goggle Groups posts, so any reply may be automatically ignored]

On 3/24/2012 11:55 AM PT, Michael Vilain typed:

>>>> Is it possible to access an external USB HDD's data, that is used for
>>>> Apple Mac OS X 10.5.8's Time Machine backups, on non-Apple Mac machines
>>>> (Windows and Linux)? Or can it be only be accessed with a Mac? I use
>>>> multiple computers and OSes.
>>>
>>> you need to install third party software that can read mac formatted
>>> hard drives.
>>>
>>> <http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/standard/>
>>
>> Time Machine volumes are full of hard links to files and folders, so
>> there might be a problem using MacDrive with them.
>>
>> <http://support.mediafour.com/entries/174761-macdrive-files-appear-as-ze
>> ro-bytes-hard-links>
>
> You'll probably need a MacOS system up and running to serve the
> filesystem with the TimeMachine information via CIFS.  That protocol can
> be accessed by both Windows and Linux.  So, yes you can get at the data
> and no you can't without a running MacOS system to serve that data.

So one would have to use another Mac machine to access Time Machine's 
backups then. I am surprised non-Macs doesn't have a way to acccess them 
by now.
-- 
"Since the world began, we have never exterminated. We probably shall 
never exterminate as much as one single insect species. If there was 
ever an example of an insect we cannot destroy, the fire ant is it." 
--an entomologist quote mentioned by Leonard Nimoy on In The Search Of: 
Deadly Ants (1978)
    /\___/\         Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
   / /\ /\ \                Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
  | |o   o| |
     \ _ /        If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
      ( )         If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

In article <3JqdnUQ0vcPnuvPSnZ2dnUVZ_uSdnZ2d@earthlink.com>, Ant
<ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:

> >>>> Is it possible to access an external USB HDD's data, that is used for
> >>>> Apple Mac OS X 10.5.8's Time Machine backups, on non-Apple Mac machines
> >>>> (Windows and Linux)? Or can it be only be accessed with a Mac? I use
> >>>> multiple computers and OSes.
> >>>
> >>> you need to install third party software that can read mac formatted
> >>> hard drives.
> >>>
> >>> <http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/standard/>
> >>
> >> Time Machine volumes are full of hard links to files and folders, so
> >> there might be a problem using MacDrive with them.
> >>
> >> <http://support.mediafour.com/entries/174761-macdrive-files-appear-as-ze
> >> ro-bytes-hard-links>
> >
> > You'll probably need a MacOS system up and running to serve the
> > filesystem with the TimeMachine information via CIFS.  That protocol can
> > be accessed by both Windows and Linux.  So, yes you can get at the data
> > and no you can't without a running MacOS system to serve that data.
> 
> So one would have to use another Mac machine to access Time Machine's 
> backups then. I am surprised non-Macs doesn't have a way to acccess them 
> by now.

i don't know where he got that idea. there is no need to use a mac for
accessing time machine backups. it's a standard hfs+ drive. the only
issue is hard links, which isn't a big deal.

On 03-24-2012 15:58, Ant wrote:
> So one would have to use another Mac machine to access Time Machine's
> backups then. I am surprised non-Macs doesn't have a way to acccess them
> by now.

HFS+ drivers are available for both Linux and Windows.

-- 
Wes Groleau

Always listen to experts.  They'll tell you
what can't be done and why.  Then do it.
                     — Robert A. Heinlein

On 3/24/2012 1:24 PM PT, nospam typed:

> i don't know where he got that idea. there is no need to use a mac for
> accessing time machine backups. it's a standard hfs+ drive. the only
> issue is hard links, which isn't a big deal.

Oh. I thought Time Machine did something special to do encryptions, 
backups, and synchronizations.
-- 
"There's an ant crawling up your back in the nighttime." --They Might Be 
Giants' Ant Song
    /\___/\         Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
   / /\ /\ \                Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
  | |o   o| |
     \ _ /        If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
      ( )         If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

In article <240320121312138420%nospam@nospam.invalid>,
 nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:

> In article <LtOdnXZJR92PbvDSnZ2dnUVZ_rKdnZ2d@earthlink.com>, Ant
> <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote:
> 
> > Is it possible to access an external USB HDD's data, that is used for 
> > Apple Mac OS X 10.5.8's Time Machine backups, on non-Apple Mac machines 
> > (Windows and Linux)? Or can it be only be accessed with a Mac? I use 
> > multiple computers and OSes.
> 
> you need to install third party software that can read mac formatted
> hard drives.
> 
> <http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/standard/>

Aren't Time machine backups sparsebundle images?

-- 
PRAY, v.  To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf
of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy. -- Ambrose Bierce

In article <tom_stiller-E663E1.20004324032012@news.individual.net>, Tom
Stiller <tom_stiller@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Aren't Time machine backups sparsebundle images?

if they're on a network device they are. for a directly attached drive
it's the entire drive.

nospam <nospam@nospam.invalid> wrote:

> the only issue is hard links, which isn't a big deal.

Well, it's a fairly big deal for Time Machine backups. 

"This is how Time Machine builds its sparse trees. The very first backup
is a full copy. All subsequent backups contain hard links to the
unchanged portions of the previous backup."
<http://arstechnica.com/staff/fatbits/2006/08/4995.ars>

MacDrive apparently does work with Time Machine backups, which are
mentioned in the version histories for 8.0.1 and 8.0.5. 

<http://www.mediafour.com/support/macdrive8>

In article <1khh5d2.1a1dy041g838bgN%nmassello@yahoo.com>, Neill
Massello <nmassello@yahoo.com> wrote:

> MacDrive apparently does work with Time Machine backups, which are
> mentioned in the version histories for 8.0.1 and 8.0.5. 

so it's not a problem at all.

In article <tom_stiller-E663E1.20004324032012@news.individual.net>,
 Tom Stiller <tom_stiller@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Aren't Time machine backups sparsebundle images?

Only if the drive is a remote drive; if it's a USB or FireWire (and 
probably a Thunderbolt) drive, then the backups are discrete files.  At 
least, that's how it was originally.

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