Time Machine is ready to go, and will begin its first backup in a few minutes. Before you turn Time Machine loose, you may want to configure one or two options. To prevent the first backup from beginning, click the ‘Off’ button.
Configure Time Machine Options
Click the ‘Options’ button to bring up a list of items that Time Machine shouldn’t back up. By default, your Time Machine backup disc will be the only item on the list. You may want to add other items to the list. Some common items that shouldn’t be backed up are discs or folders that hold Windows operating systems, because of the nature of how Time Machine works. Time Machine initially makes a backup of your whole computer, including the operating system, software applications, and your personal data files. It then makes incremental backups as changes are made to files.
Windows data files used by Parallels and other Virtual Machine technology look like one big file to Time Machine. Sometimes, these Windows VM files can be very large, as much as 30 to 50 GB; even small VM Windows files are at least a few GB in size. Backing up large files can take a long time. Because Time Machine backs up the whole file every time you use Windows, it will also back up the whole file every time you make a change within Windows. Opening Windows, accessing files in Windows, or using an application in Windows can all generate Time Machine backups of the same large Windows data file. A better option is to eliminate these files from your Time Machine backup, and instead back them up using the backup tools available in the VM application.
