Access specific files in the time machine from another Mac

I bought one mac air with less space than the mac pro backup that I have in the Time Machine, so I can't migrate the old mac to the new mac air. How can I Access specific files in time machine then? Thank you.

You can still get your files out of the TM backup..
There are several methods..
you can do it manually.
See Can't access old files on time capsule
You can also buy a USB drive large enough for the whole backup and simply restore the whole thing to that drive plugged into your computer.. you can then pick and choose what files you want. And at any time you want. Having files in their standard format and location is hugely easier than TM backups.
If you run into permissions issues there is a fair bit of help although a bit outdated in pondini KB.
So read through the info here..
Q14-17 on restore in particular. http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
And check the troubleshooting for specific problems that can arise.
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Section E in particular.
You can pull the hard disk out of your Mac Pro.. that is not hard.. put it in a USB to sata holder and access files that way..
Overall this is what I would do anyway.. because you will not want to junk the computer with files intact.. pull the files directly off the old hard disk.
Let me also commend to you a different strategy in the future..
TM is great when it works.. sadly on every upgrade Apple make changes to it.. and cause utter chaos.
Buy a 3rd party backup software.. I use CCC and like it.. you create bootable clones of your Mac.. that means all files are readily accessible because you can literally boot directly from the backup.. or access the files because they are not hidden, compressed, rewritten in strange formats.. etc.
Recovery of a computer with a dead hard disk is 3min exercise where you hold the options key during boot and choose the backup disk.
You can continue to use TM for the incremental backups which it does very well.. but have the bootable clone as a way of accessing everything. From which you can then easily access the TM backup for whatever might be missing.. I do not do Clones on regular basis.. so it is slightly different method of doing things..
You can never have enough backups.

Similar Messages

Can I access my Time Machine from another mac?

My current mac (an iBook G4, early 2005) has I think died irreparably. I'm waiting to see if it can be repaired but in the meantime I'd like to know if I can plug my Time Machine into another Mac (either a friend's or a family member's, both have 2006 MacBooks) and be able to access my stuff? I read elsewhere in the forum that this was possible if you were setting up a new mac, but I won't be able to buy a new computer for a while and need quite badly to be able to get at my documents.

yes, it's possible. plug it into the other computer. control-click on TM inthe dock and choose" browse other Time Machine disks".

Accessing Backup Files On Time Machine From Another Mac

Hi everyone,
I use 1 Time Machine on both my iMac and MacBook Air.
How can I access the Backup Files of my iMac on my MacBook Air, using the Time Machine?
I hope this is not too confusing! Thanks, everyone!

Unfortunately, what you ask is complex and difficult at best for most users. Please take a look at this User Tip provided by forum expert Tesserax for a review of the methods that might be used to do what you ask.
AirPort Disk - Remote Access (3 Methods)
Among the methods listed, I use Method 3, so can provide a few tips on that. It does require that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) furnish you with a a fixed or static IP address for your Internet connection....and....that you have the correct type of modem and router that would allow Port Mapping to be able to reach the data on the Time Capsule.
Most users choose the Back to My Mac Method, abbreviated as BTMM, which is supported by Apple. Depending on the nature of the network at work, you may or may not be able to access your backups at home. Please contact Apple Support for more details on this.
http://www.apple.com/support/contact/

How do you access files on your time capsule from your mac?

how do you access files on your time capsule from your mac?

i had an old macbook pro that i had all the pictures on and i backed it up to my time capsule through time machine. i got a new macbook pro retina display recently and im wanting to see if i can get some of the pictures off of my time capsule now but i dont want all of them.

My time capsule says it only has 473.24 gb for my back up of 534gb. the only back up I can access when I enter the time machine was yesterdays so what has happened?

my time capsule says it only has 473.24 gb for my back up of 534gb. the only back up I can access when I enter the time machine was yesterdays so any idea what is happening? I have the latest irmware update.
Marmimag

There is an issue with latest Lion update.. it is killing TM.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/19858557#19858557
Otherwise check via the airport utility if there is something else using space on the hard disk.

How do i use a Time Machine from another computer from Time Capsule with multibackups

Can Iuse a Time Machine from another computer from Time Capsule with multibackups

Not sure what you are asking here.
Time Machine is software on a Mac that is used to backup that Mac to a Time Capsule hard drive.
Are you asking if another Mac can backup to the same Time Capsule that other Macs are already using?
Or, if not....please clarify on exactly what you want to do.

I have 2 WD external HD for back up. One is hooked up to the Time Machine and the other is used to store all my large photo files. The time machine excludes the second one. I need to back this up as well . How do I reformat it so it will ?

I just purchased 2 WD TB external hard drives. I have one formatted to be used with the time machine and it is working well. the other that i am using to store large files is excluded from the time machine. I can't click on it and add as per instructions. It won't allow me to. I need to back t his up as well. Ive backed up this one so I am able to reformat it but it doesn't recognize the drive unless it is formatted in FAT which is what WD advices it be formatted in. It should be in Mac extended journaling but I can't get it to mount in that. Help?

In addition, TM will not backup drives partitioned in FAT as the OP stated his 2nd EHD is formatted. My recommendation to the OP is to reformat the 2nd EHD to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and then include it in his TM backups. Of course in order to do this the OP must first move the data on the FAT partitioned drive to his internal HD and then once the EHD is re-partitioned correctly he can move it back.
In addition as Pondini mentioned the 2nd EHD must be directly connected to the iMac rather than be a network drive, TM is NOT, repeat NOT a network backup solution with the single caveat of using a Time Capsule backup.

Can you search for a particular date in the past to locate a file in the time machine

Using a MacBook, OSX 10.7.5
Is there a way to go back to a certain date in the history of the time machine? Example - is there a quick way to go back to Oct 25, 2012?
Thanks.

All you could ever need to know about Time Machine:
http://pondini.org/TM/Home.html
(from the late and sorely missed ASC contributor Pondini)

Enter time machine of another mac

Hi, I have a problem.
I sold my ancient macbook pro and bought a new one.
In my previous configuration, I saved itens in the time machine. like may folder "works".
But I can't access them now in my new macbook pro.
What should I do to get access to them?
Thanks
Rodrigow

the migration assistent could not read the files.
Migration Assistant worked just fine when I transferred data from an old Leopard (10.5.x) Mac to a new Mac that was running Mavericks (10.9.3). Since you have a new Mac, you might want to enlist the help of Apple Support with your 90 days of free phone support.
I had to run Migration Assistant twice.....once to locate files that were originally backed up using Time Machine and a second time to locate files that were simply on the drive in normal folders.
You must have the disk password for the drive that was used to originally create the Time Machine backups from the older Mac. If you placed a password on the drive, then you would need that as well to transfer data in normal folders.

How to access Time Machine from Another Computer?

My daughter's iBook went down and is in the shop for repair and we want to access her Time Machine back up from another computer. Does anyone know if there is any way to do that?

Time Machine won't do it as far as I can tell.
However, you can access the backups through Finder.
Warning - you *do not* want to do anything but copy out files - no deletes, moves, renames, no nuttin... Doing so will screw up the backups for any future Time Machine use!
If the backups are on an external disk, then just navigate to the folder Backups.backupdb/yourMachineName there you will find each backup by date/time with the contents of the system at that time.
If the backups are to a Time Capsule you need to mount the backups - the sparsebundle file - first then examine the folder Backups.backupdb/yourMachineName.
Time Machine does have a 'Browse Other Time Machine Disks' option, but as far a I can exercise it it only looks at other disks with backups for the same machine.
Again _only copy_ out files. Normally one should only use Time Machine, but here you can't - so be cautious.

Accessing txt files in the App server from web application

Hi All,
We have a use case, where we need to access txt files from the ADF web application.
We will display to the user the path of the file and whenever he/she clicks, it should be downloaded automatically to the users machine.
Environments we need to develop: JDeveloper 10.1.3.4 and Oracle App Server 10.1.3.1
And our server has credentials and only those who have access to the server can access the files.
Point me or suggest me a good solution to this use case.
Regards,
Naga.

Hi Joonas,
i was able to download the files, thanks a lot for your guidance. i will mark your answer as correct.
Can you let me know how to achieve the following usecase.
1. there will be multiple text files in the server i.e., out of our web application context like in some folder
2. And we need to give user a http link and if he clicks on the link that file should be downloaded automatically to his machine.
and we are using oracle app server 10.1.3.4, please point me to some document or example.
thank you.
naga.

Where are the actual files on the Time Machine backup hard drive?

If I take my time machine back up hard drive and hook it up to another computer, I cannot find my files. For instance, the files that would be in my home folder (pictures, music and movies).
When I open the finder window and go to my user folder, all I see are the folders, but they are aliases.
I get the message that the volume "documents" cannot be found.
So where are these files?
Thanks in advance.

I am not running leopard on the other computers, and so Time Machine is not available.
On the other computers, I need to have classic support, so I haven't installed Leopard, so that is not an option.
I just don't understand why these files do not show up on other computers. At some level, if I can't access the files on other computers, it nearly defeats the purpose of Time Machine.

Time Machine from old Mac to new Mac

I recently changed my Macbook Pro (mid 2010) to one of the newer models.
I use an external HD via an Airport Extreme (I know its not recommended, but its been working perfectly for over 18 months)
I attempted to use a time machine backup to setup the new Macbook, but had to opt for using the Migration Assistant. I was able to restore from my last backup, but now Time Machine inisists on creating a new backup, instead of continuing to use the previous backup.
I've noticed that within the actual HD that it has a SparseBundle for the old Macbook, which can be mounted, but I cannot access any of the files due to restricted priveleges?
When TM begins creating the new backup, it creates the Backups.backupdb folder as expected, so I'm just wondering if theres anything I can do to try clean all this up so I can continue to use the same backup hierarchy as from the previus Macbook?
Apologies if I'm missing anything here or lack clarification, but I'm a first time user of the communities

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
Just change the new Mac's +Computer Name+ in System Preferences > Sharing.

Want to move time machine from a mac os external to larger drive?

I have been reformatting a 120gb (ex-ntfs) external drive to "mac os external (journal) . I simply want to move the backup(s) to a larger external drive. I have moved 9000 mp3's over to my Mac and the backup drive filled up fast. Being a ex-windows user since pre-Win 3.11 I am kinda intimidated , more just ignorant to Mac but trying to reformat my brain the MAC way.... Is it as easy as this? New Time machine drive will be a 250gb external "copy" the "backup.backupdb" folder to new drive? and then tell TM to use the 250gb drive? doubt it can be that simple... but... the only dumb question is the one u don't ask.

Here are the instructions to use Disk Utility for this:
You can duplicate the current backups to a different disk via Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder). You cannot use the normal "drag & drop" with the Finder, as that won't copy their unusual structure properly.
You can duplicate to a disk/partition of the same or larger size. You may be able to copy to a smaller one, but you might not. If the old (source) disk has ever been near full, the files may be scattered over it in a way that you can't duplicate them to a smaller disk/partition.
Note that you must duplicate an entire disk/partition to another entire disk/partition -- you cannot copy only selected backups, or backups of selected items, or merge two or more sets of backups. And if you have other items on the disk, they will be copied also (this is a bad idea: see item 3 above).
In addition, if your backups were made wirelessly, you cannot copy them to a directly-attached internal disk, or an external FireWire or USB disk, and continue making backups to that disk, or vice-versa. This is because backups made wirelessly are stored differently from those done directly.
Here's how to copy the backups from one disk/partition to a different one:
a. Turn TM off, via TM Preferences, and de-select the drive (select "none"), quit System Preferences.
b. Be sure to format the new drive correctly. See item #5 Frequently Asked Questions post at the top of this forum. for detailed instructions.
c. Connect both drives to your Mac, then open a Finder window. Make sure both partitions are shown in the sidebar (if not, from the Menubar select Preferences > Sidebar, and check the box to show +External disks+ in the sidebar). Leave the Finder window open.
d. Start Disk Utility, select either partition (indented under the main drive line), and click the Restore tab.
e. Drag the old partition to the Source box, and the new partition to the Destination box.
f. Be sure to check the +Erase destination+ box, then the Restore button. This may, of course, take a long time.
g. When the duplication is complete, note that DU has *changed the name* of the destination partition to be the same as the source. You do not want to leave it that way, so immediately rename one of the partitions. In the sidebar of the Finder window opened above, control-click (right-click) the one you want to rename. When done, look back at the Disk Utility display to be sure you renamed the right one, then quit Disk Utility.
h. Go to Time Machine Preferences and select the new or renamed drive.

Time Machine from 2 Macs on 2 Drives

First post, hope I can make sense.
With Time Machine, it seems there are many different and unique situations for various users, and it seems there are options for everyone, but with all the searching I've done so far, and that's a lot, I can't seem to find the answer to my particular question/situation. I'll try keep it simple. Wife and I been sharing a Macbook Pro 13" for 2 years, 1 TM backup between 2 external disks, simple. But we can't share the same comp any more, so we got another of the same. What I want to do now is back up both computers to the same 2 drives, her computer now has all our photo's 57 000 of them, and my comp has our music, 16 000 tunes, and about 400gig home video, on another external drive for just that purpose(iMovie)
We travel a lot, so one of those drives is a 3T Seagate which stays at home, then we take a 2T WD with us, now add another computer to the mix and this is where I'm stumped. It's taken us the better part of 4 years to collect all this stuff, so I don't particularly want to mess it up.
I have just wiped the Seagate 3T, decided what it had was not needed anymore. I then proceeded to plug in my wifes new computer (to the Seagate) which now holds the photo's, and the 1st ever backup of her new computer was done successfully. I am now busy moving the WD backup to the Seagate, but when I did this, it asked if I wanted to replace the existing Backups.backupdb, or keep both.....I kept both. Now I have a Backups.backupdb, and a Backups.backupdb (Original) in the root of the Seagate.......is this a problem? should both laptops be inside one Backups.backupdb file, and then 2 separate computers can be seen?

Went through all backups and decided there was nothing to keep, so I just wiped the lot and have started fresh, made things a whole easier. Kinda like my basement....can't keep everything, otherwise I'll need another house, although hard drives are cheaper than houses!

Access specific files in the time machine from another Mac

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