How to delete objects from Time Machine backups

Easier than you might think but why would you want to delete items, folders from Time machine.

Just recently whilst testing Eye TV and the Equinux Tizi I made the mistake of putting recorded TV shows in my documents folder.  This was getting backed up each and every time.  Once I’d watched them I was deleting them so it was became a good idea to delete unwanted guff from my Time Machine.

We have a guide on what to exclude from Time Machine that you might want to take a gander at.

Open time Machine.

1. Go to the top level — the first window; the one with your hard drive.
2. Navigate to the backup you want to delete and use the Actions menu (gear icon) in the Finder’s toolbar. It has an option to delete the backup. Also, when using the Actions menu, with a file or folder selected, there is an option to delete all instances of the file/folder from all backups.
3. You can right click and delete all instances as well.

If you have any Time Machine hints and tips please Yell US! or use the form below.