My old backups on the Time Machine disk are not accessible.

Hi everyone,
I installed a fresh OS X Mountain Lion yesterday. I tried to use Migration Assistant (in the Utilities folder) for the first time, to migrate my old data from the Time Machine back-up disk.
After almost 6 hours, my data was completely in place from the backup disk. In fact, the data was gotten from the latest version of backups as I expected. But now, when I go to Time Machine to browse my old backups, it seems that all backups are still there, detected by the Time Machine itself, but it is not possible to access any of them.
In fact, selecting one of the past backups from the Time-Line on the right edge of the screen, has no effect. All the windows behind the current finder window in the Time Machine are also dimmed, seems that no backups are there. But the Time-Line on the right edge of the screen displays several items from the first backup on my disk to the latest which was for the day before yesterday.
This is not what I expected from the Time Machine. I was so glad when the Migration Assistant read all my data from the backup disk and put them in place. But I did not expect to lose my old backups which are still there on the disk, but Time Machine behaviour is like the times where there are no backups.
It is important to note that before migrating data using Migration Assistant, I was able to browse all my backups in the Time Machine. This was also one the great features of Time Machine, since I had a fresh OS installation, and all my data from the past were accessible in the Time Machine.
I could also get my data one by one and restore them in-place using Time Machine but it was some how cumbersome.
Now is there any one to let me know why this has happened? I Appreciate your time to write.
Mani Hamedani

Troubleshooting information:
Time Machine Troubleshooting
Time Machine Troubleshooting Problems

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Hitachi HDS722020ALA330:
Capacity:          2 TB (2,000,398,934,016 bytes)
Model:          Hitachi HDS722020ALA330
Revision:          JK0BB37B
Serial Number:                JK11H1B9K0AE9R
Native Command Queuing:          Yes
Queue Depth:          32
Removable Media:          No
Detachable Drive:          No
BSD Name:          disk0
Rotational Rate:          7200
Medium Type:          Rotational
Bay Name:          Bay 1
Partition Map Type:          GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status:          Verified
Volumes:
EFI:
Capacity:          209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
BSD Name:          disk0s1
Content:          EFI
Macintosh HD:
Capacity:          2 TB (1,999,404,957,696 bytes)
Available:          1.24 TB (1,242,122,113,024 bytes)
Writable:          Yes
File System:          Journaled HFS+
BSD Name:          disk0s2
Mount Point:          /
Content:          Apple_HFS
Volume UUID:          B2577A0B-FA2F-32CE-B8C5-70B9F0C6EB21
Recovery HD:
Capacity:          650 MB (650,002,432 bytes)
BSD Name:          disk0s3
Content:          Apple_Boot
Volume UUID:          02A41955-B1E4-320A-8FB6-D01019433BEB
ST2000DL003-9VT166:
Capacity:          2 TB (2,000,398,934,016 bytes)
Model:          ST2000DL003-9VT166
Revision:          CC3C
Serial Number:                      5YD7LBYV
Native Command Queuing:          Yes
Queue Depth:          32
Removable Media:          No
Detachable Drive:          No
BSD Name:          disk3
Rotational Rate:          5900
Medium Type:          Rotational
Bay Name:          Bay 2
Partition Map Type:          GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status:          Verified
Volumes:
EFI:
Capacity:          209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
BSD Name:          disk3s1
Content:          EFI
Alternative Boot:
Capacity:          2 TB (2,000,054,960,128 bytes)
Available:          1.26 TB (1,262,551,388,160 bytes)
Writable:          Yes
File System:          Journaled HFS+
BSD Name:          disk3s2
Mount Point:          /Volumes/Alternative Boot
Content:          Apple_HFS
Volume UUID:          7295CED3-FC3E-3DCC-BACF-414390B5DBFC
ST31000528AS:
Capacity:          1 TB (1,000,204,886,016 bytes)
Model:          ST31000528AS
Revision:          CC38
Serial Number:                      9VP3A6X2
Native Command Queuing:          Yes
Queue Depth:          32
Removable Media:          No
Detachable Drive:          No
BSD Name:          disk1
Rotational Rate:          7200
Medium Type:          Rotational
Bay Name:          Bay 3
Partition Map Type:          GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status:          Verified
Volumes:
EFI:
Capacity:          209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
BSD Name:          disk1s1
Content:          EFI
Internal Storage:
Capacity:          999.86 GB (999,860,912,128 bytes)
Available:          999.19 GB (999,194,480,640 bytes)
Writable:          Yes
File System:          Journaled HFS+
BSD Name:          disk1s2
Mount Point:          /Volumes/Internal Storage
Content:          Apple_HFS
Volume UUID:          3074E4E5-9A3A-3C5E-81A9-473C36586C7C
ST32000542AS:
Capacity:          2 TB (2,000,398,934,016 bytes)
Model:          ST32000542AS
Revision:          CC95
Serial Number:                      5XW29K61
Native Command Queuing:          Yes
Queue Depth:          32
Removable Media:          No
Detachable Drive:          No
BSD Name:          disk2
Rotational Rate:          5900
Medium Type:          Rotational
Bay Name:          Bay 4
Partition Map Type:          GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status:          Verified
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EFI:
Capacity:          209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
BSD Name:          disk2s1
Content:          EFI
Time Machine:
Capacity:          2 TB (2,000,054,960,128 bytes)
Available:          1.3 TB (1,302,342,303,744 bytes)
Writable:          Yes
File System:          Journaled HFS+
BSD Name:          disk2s2
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Volume UUID:          BC10CF45-B06F-3044-A51E-CBB6A85934BB
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It was the alt key that did it
Interesting, since it is the control key that works on my Mac....not option or alt.
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If it were me, I would probably erase the Time Capsule disk and simply start over again with a new backup set.

TIme Machine - disk volume not showing in history

I have time machine backing up my boot volume, and an external disk that holds my itunes library and iphoto data. The external drive has failed. I have a new drive to restore to, but when I look at the time machine history it no longer shows the old volume attached, it just shows the new one.
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tbrinker,
Well, it should be relatively easy to determine the name of the old volume, with a little bit of detective work. COnnect your Time Machine backup drive, and navigate it using the Finder. Inside the backup folder, you will find nested folders going back into the past. Find one that is named with a date that you know would have included the old iTunes/iPhoto volume, and open it.
You will see at least two folder: One named for your startup volume, another for the iTunes/iPhoto volume. BINGO!
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I have a FileVault2-encrypted Time Machine disk connected to my MBA through a Thunderbolt display in my office (the disk is a Buffalo Thunderbolt drive).
When I leave the office, I eject the drive. put my MBA to sleep and disconnect it from the Thunderbolt display (the drive still connected to the display).
When I return in the morning I reconnect the display, wake up the MBA and log in. But then I always have to manually unlock the external drive with Disk Utility. Otherwise it won't show up in the finder and Time Machine won't make any backups. That's annoying, because I often forget this procedure and TM silently fails to make backups.
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I have had trouble twice with TM, both occasions involving similar odd messages about available space. Once on OS 10.5 and once on Lion 7.1
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http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Home.html

Time capsule sparse bundle reading "temporarily unavailable" and Time Machine files are not in order; what can I do to check on my backup systems?

I have my time machine set-up with my time capsule/airport. I cannot open my backups in the time capsule as it reads "spars bundle temporarily unavailable." Also, my time machine backup files are missing some files and not in oder by name as designed. It seems something is is not working. I have don a disk repair on the time capsule. I have closed and reopened my computer. Still unable to open time capsule. Does anyone know where else I need to check for errors?

There are two key but related bugs in Yosemite..
The big one IMHO at least is the network one.. and the secondary one is TM which is itself unreliable.
To fix the Network ones we have a long list of things to do.. but you do apparently have access to the TC so for now that is not the major one.
However some of your statements mean I am a bit lost on what you have done.
I cannot open my backups in the time capsule as it reads "spars bundle temporarily unavailable."
If you cannot open your backups how can you find that the backup files are missing. The files are missing from the sparsebundle which you cannot open??
my time machine backup files are missing some files
You cannot repair the disk of the Time Capsule.. only the Sparsebundle can be checked.. that means that you have accessed it and mounted it for disk utility to check it.
I have don a disk repair on the time capsule.
So I am confused about the comments.
What I would recommend is the standard set of fixes to Yosemite.
Factory reset universal
Power off the TC.. ie pull the power cord or power off at the wall.. wait 10sec.. hold in the reset button.. be gentle.. power on again still holding in reset.. and keep holding it in for another 10sec. You may need some help as it is hard to both hold in reset and apply power. It will show success by rapidly blinking the front led. Release the reset.. and wait a couple of min for the TC to reset and come back with factory settings. If the front LED doesn’t blink rapidly you missed it and simply try again. The reset is fairly fragile in these.. press it so you feel it just click and no more.. I have seen people bend the lever or even break it. I use a toothpick as tool.
N.B. None of your files on the hard disk of the TC are deleted.. this simply clears out the router settings of the TC.
Setup the TC again.
ie Start from a factory reset. No files are lost on the hard disk doing this.
Then redo the setup from the computer with Yosemite.
1. Use very short names.. NOT APPLE RECOMMENDED names. No spaces and pure alphanumerics.
eg TCgen5 and TCwifi for basestation and wireless respectively.
Even better if the issue is more wireless use TC24ghz and TC5ghz with fixed channels as this also seems to help stop the nonsense. But this can be tried in the second round.
2. Use all passwords that also comply but can be a bit longer. ie 8-20 characters mixed case and numbers.. no non-alphanumerics.
3. Ensure the TC always takes the same IP address.. you will need to do this on the main router using dhcp reservation.. or a bit more complex setup using static IP in the TC. But this is important.. having IP drift all over the place when Yosemite cannot remember its own name for 5 min after a reboot makes for poor networking. If the TC is main router it will not be an issue.
4. Check your share name on the computer is not changing.. make sure it also complies with the above.. short no spaces and pure alphanumeric.. but this change will mess up your TM backup.. so be prepared to do a new full backup. Sorry.. keep this one for second round if you want to avoid a new backup.
5. Mount the TC disk in the computer manually.
In Finder, Go, Connect to server from the top menu,
Type in SMB://192.168.0.254 (or whatever the TC ip is which you have now made static. As a router by default it is 10.0.1.1 and I encourage people to stick with that unless you know what you are doing).
You can use name.. SMB://TCgen5.local where you replace TCgen5 with your TC name.. local is the default domain of the TC and doesn't change.
However names are not so easy as IP address.. nor as reliable. At least not in Yosemite they aren't. The domain can also be an issue if you are not plugged or wireless directly to the TC.
6. Make sure IPv6 is set to link-local only in the computer. For example wireless open the network preferences, wireless and advanced / TCP/IP.. and fix the IPv6. to link-local only.
There is a lot more jiggery pokery you can try but the above is a good start.. if you find it still unreliable.. don't be surprised.
You might need to do some more work on the laptop itself. eg Reset the PRAM.. has helped some people. Clean install of the OS is also helpful if you upgrade installed.
Tell us how you go.
Someone posted a solution.. See this thread.
Macbook can't find Time Capsule anymore
Start from the bottom and work up.. I have a list of good network practice changes but I have avoided Yosemites bug heaven.
This user has had success and a few others as well.
RáNdÓm GéÉzÁ
Yosemite has serious DNS bug in the networking application.. here is the lets say more arcane method of fixing it by doing a network transplant from mavericks.
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2015/01/why-dns-in-os-x-10-10-is-broken-and-what-yo u-can-do-to-fix-it/
That is all to cover the network side of things.
Time Machine issue is a harder one because there is no simple work around I can give you.
My recommendations are to stop using a TC and test TM to an external hard disk plugged into the computer.. Do a whole new backup and see if that is fully working and accessible.
Or change over to third party program for backup.. I do recommend Carbon Copy Cloner as I use it personally but SuperDuper has a good reputation and there are others. It is far easier and quicker to test a bootable clone made with CCC as you simply boot from the backup.

External Time Machine Disk Will Not Unmount

This past weekend I did clean installs of Lion on new SSD drives in my MacBook and MacPro. The MacBook backs up to a Time Capsule with Time Machine and is working perfectly. The MacPro backs up fine and says the backup is completed but it will not unmount the external Time Machine disk I use for the backup after completion. This was not a problem using the same setup with Snow Leopard. I looked at the Console which says Backup completed successfully. Any idea what is going on with this? Thanks in advance.

RecalcitrantRon wrote:
The MacPro backs up fine and says the backup is completed but it will not unmount the external Time Machine disk I use for the backup after completion.
Wait a minute . . . I missed that before.
Is that disk connected directly to the Mac? If so, no, Time Machine doesn't unmount directly-connected drives after a backup, only sparse bundles on network drives.

Losing the time machine disk

I have a 2g disk used for time machine and it's signaling it's demise. It's not repairable. I tried to transfer the contents to a new drive but it's been nothing but problems. Is this possible to do if the original time machine drive is failing? I'd like to keep the history - I don't see the point of backing up if the info is still vulnerable too lose from a hardware problem. Indeed, the signal is advsing me to backup the disk contents. It's frustrating

If the drive is dying then the best thing to do is buy a new drive and start over. The only reliable way to transfer a TM backup to another drive is to clone it:
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
Select the destination volume from the left side list.
Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
Check the box labeled Erase destination.
Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means a backup drive. Source means the old Time Machine drive.

My old backups on the Time Machine disk are not accessible.

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