Accessing parts of Time Machine backup...

I have a new MacBook Pro and instead of restoring it from a previous Time Machine backup, I was hoping I could access part of the backup and copy some contents on to the new MacBook Pro. Can it be done?
For example, my Time Machine backup has 80gb of music in it, can I access that from my new MacBook Pro and copy the music?

Your best bet is not to try to restore things "piecemeal."  It's much too easy to miss things, and depending on the situation, you can have permissions problems.
It's best, by far, to use Setup Assistant when your new Mac first starts up; if you didn't, you'll end up with an extra user account and/or the transferred account(s) may lose permission to the backups.  Instead, use one of the workarounds in the green box of Problems after using Migration Assistant.
Note that you can omit some broad categories of things, but you can't "pick and choose" individual items.  So use the assistant to bring in what you want, and if that includes some things you don't want, then just delete the unwanted stuff.

Similar Messages

  • My MacBook w/ OSX 10.6.8 cannot access my external Time Machine Backup USB Drive.  It says it is a Read Only drive.  When I went to change permissions I found all pernissions were listed as "Custom" and I could not reset them to "Read Write".  Any help!

    My MacBook w/ OSX 10.6.8 cannot access my external Time Machine Backup USB Drive.  It says it is a Read Only drive.  When I went to change permissions I found all pernissions were listed as "Custom" and I could not reset them to "Read Write".  Any help would be appreciated.

    This can be done easily with ethernet.
    Please follow the instructions strictly.
    To make it easier I want you to do this overnight so you can turn off all your current connection to the internet.
    Just go to the airport fan in to the top right and turn airport off.
    Get ethernet cable and connect the laptop to the TC lan port.. ie <-> ones.
    Press and hold the reset on the TC for about 10sec. until the front led flashes rapidly.
    Open the airport utility.. go to manual setup and change the wireless to off. (so other people around you cannot join your network of one).
    Ignore all the errors.. they won't stop the backup working.
    Go to the TM and reselect the backup target disk as the TC.
    It should start after 2min and run through to completion.
    That is it.. for a backup of many GB it might take a few hours.. so make sure the laptop has power plugged in and the sleep is off.. (on early ones I think this is needed but I am a late arrival to the scene).. sleep doesn't affect later OS.

  • I can't access my wireless time machine backup.

    When I try to access my backup files wirelessly it says enter your name and password for the server "Base Station ddb9a1".  I do not know my name and password.  I had did a clean install to upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion.  I used the migration assistant, but I can't access my wireless time machine backup. Please someone help.

    Hello,
    I would like an answer to this question as well. As this is a time capsule and not a Airport extreme question I think here is a better start.
    I'm planning on getting a Time Capsule but have been backing up to a 500GB USB drive connected directly to my MacBook. It's probably only a month or 2 worth of back ups and not that big of a deal but if i get a Time Capsule and want to access the old back ups it would be nice to know if that is possible and if so how it can be done. I was thinking it might be possible to use something like Carbon Copy Cloner and move the back up file to the Time Capsule drive and erase the external that I have now, and have Time Machine use that file like it has been doing from the wired drive.
    I will look around the posts and see if I can find anything. In the mean time if someone finds something it would be nice if you could put the link in this discussion.
    Cheers,
    Shadowrider

  • Unable to restore from Time Machine after an erase and reinstall - MacbookPro cannot access my old Time Machine backup volume. Desperate for help please?

    My MacbookPro would not move past the Apple logo and spinning wheel for a number of hours.  After trying the numerous suggestions to solve the issue I eventually opted to erase and reinstall feeling confident my Time Machine backups would come to the rescue.  After a successful erase and reinstall I tried to restore all my data from my TIme Capsule using Command-R during start up and by using the Migration Assistant.  Neither worked and I have received messages to the effect that the backup volumes on my Time Capsule cannot be access because I have entered a wrong password or because the backup volume is damaged.
    When I open my Time Capsule in Finder and click on my sparsebundle I get an eror message saying that the disk image could not be opened and that the resource is temporarily unavailable.
    Desperate for some help and comfort that many years of personal data have not been lost.
    Thank you.
    M

    When I try to Verify option it says Unable to Verify - Resource temporarily unavailable.
    Here is the past of the log screen:
    2013-06-09 15:00:00 -0500: Disk Utility started.
    2013-06-09 15:09:01 -0500: Disk Utility started.
    2013-06-09 15:19:53 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
    2013-06-09 15:19:53 -0500:
    2013-06-09 15:20:00 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
    2013-06-09 15:20:00 -0500:
    2013-06-09 15:20:05 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
    2013-06-09 15:20:05 -0500:
    2013-06-09 15:20:13 -0500: Verifying Image “Macajee’s MacBook Pro”
    2013-06-09 15:20:14 -0500: Unable to verify “Macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
    2013-06-09 15:20:14 -0500:
    2013-06-09 15:25:21 -0500: Verifying Image “Macajee’s MacBook Pro”
    2013-06-09 15:25:23 -0500: Unable to verify “Macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
    2013-06-09 15:25:23 -0500:
    2013-06-09 15:25:27 -0500: Attach Image “Macajee’s MacBook Pro”
    2013-06-09 15:25:27 -0500: Initializing…
    2013-06-09 15:25:31 -0500: Attaching…
    2013-06-09 15:25:31 -0500: Finishing…
    2013-06-09 15:25:32 -0500: Unable to attach “Macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
    2013-06-09 15:25:32 -0500:
    2013-06-09 20:02:06 -0500: Disk Utility started.
    2013-06-09 20:05:22 -0500: Disk Utility started.
    2013-06-09 20:07:11 -0500: Disk Utility started.
    2013-06-09 20:18:34 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
    2013-06-09 20:18:34 -0500:
    2013-06-09 20:19:34 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
    2013-06-09 20:19:34 -0500:
    2013-06-09 20:19:36 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
    2013-06-09 20:19:36 -0500:
    2013-06-09 20:22:29 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
    2013-06-09 20:22:29 -0500:
    2013-06-09 20:22:33 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
    2013-06-09 20:22:33 -0500:
    2013-06-09 20:22:45 -0500: Verifying Image “Macajee’s MacBook Pro”
    2013-06-09 20:22:45 -0500: Unable to verify “Macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
    2013-06-09 20:22:45 -0500:
    2013-06-09 20:34:53 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
    2013-06-09 20:34:53 -0500:
    2013-06-09 20:34:56 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
    2013-06-09 20:34:56 -0500:
    2013-06-09 20:38:17 -0500: Verifying Image “Macajee’s MacBook Pro”
    2013-06-09 20:38:17 -0500: Unable to verify “Macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
    2013-06-09 20:38:17 -0500:
    2013-06-09 20:47:35 -0500: Disk Utility started.
    2013-06-09 20:53:06 -0500: Disk Utility started.
    2013-06-09 20:55:30 -0500: Disk Utility started.
    2013-06-09 20:56:40 -0500: Disk Utility started.
    2013-06-09 21:06:32 -0500: Verifying Image “macajee’s MacBook Pro”
    2013-06-09 21:06:32 -0500: Unable to verify “macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
    2013-06-09 21:06:32 -0500:
    2013-06-09 21:07:08 -0500: Verifying Image “macajee’s MacBook Pro”
    2013-06-09 21:07:08 -0500: Unable to verify “macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
    2013-06-09 21:07:08 -0500:

  • I can't access my own Time Machine backups in ML

    A couple days ago I did an "erase and install" ML in my MacBook Pro. I had tested Time Machine backups and a bootable clone of my Lion system, so I was truly confident I had everything safe.
    But no. When registering my Mac as "new", I chose a subtle different name for my main account. Maybe that was the problem? When I tried to recover my old files using TM, nothing was available. The dreaded "read only" batch was on every folder. I don't have permission to access any. I tried to use my Admin password to unlock and change permissions, to no avail, even using "apply to enclosing folders". In the Info window I can see myself now as the "owner", and my privileges as "read and write", but it's not working.
    Is there a bug or anything fixable about this issue?
    JJ

    There doesn't seem to be an exact solution for this, but here are some suggestions:
    Have you tried gaining access by connecting your Mac to the LAN port on the AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS)?
    Have you tried disabling the Firewall on the Mac?

  • How do I access an old Time machine backup from my new MBP?

    I wanted to access my Time Machine Backup from a new MBP. Time machine recognized my backup drive but could not find my Backup file. What's wrong here? I use another Login name on my new MBP - could that be the reason?

    Take a look on this page at item #17:
    http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html

  • I cannot access an older time machine backup after installing an new hard drive.

    After installing a new hard drive I tried to access my older backups in time machine but cannot. They are there but do not light up and allow me to access them, or select them.

    First, if you're worried about the possibility of losing a backup set, then your backup strategy is inadequate. You will certainly lose those backups, no matter what you do, when the drive hosting them fails, as it will eventually. If you take data safety seriously, you should have at least two complete, independent backups of all your data, one of which is off-site at all times. I suggest you make a second backup now, before doing anything else.
    The action I suggested won't delete all the snapshots; only the selected one -- unless something goes wrong, which is always possible. Without adequate backups, nothing you do is safe.

  • Cannot access files in time machine backups

    Greetings all.  Thanks for your help with this.
    I've recently replaced my internal HD in my 2009 MBP.  Of course, I ran a backup to my external 1TB.  Installed the new HD, reinstalled Mountain Lion, and figured...fresh start, let's just grab what I need from Time Machine and start "new." Well, when I get into Time Machine, it shows all of my backups, ever, which it should, but when I access the backup I want to draw from, I can't access the files I need.  Everything in the Finder window, except for my computer name and the applications folder, is greyed out.  THIS IS FRUSTRATING TO ME.
    I've tried this..associating the new backups with the old:
    http://pondini.org/TM/B6.html
    didn't work.
    I don't want to do a full backup from migration assistant.  I like the idea of a fresh start with just my media.  Any ideas? I"m so frustrated right now.
    Thanks

    I can't see backups for a disk/partition that's no longer connected

  • Access to old Time Machine backups in Mountain Lion

    I would like to perform a clean install of Mountain Lion on my Mac and I have a few questions regarding Time Machine. I currently use Lion and Time Machine is set up on an external drive. I do not wish to use setup or migration assistant.
    After the clean install, will I be able to browse AND copy filed from the old backups manually?
    If I do copy the files, will I have permission errors?
    Basically, I wish to copy only select files from the Home Folder and re-install everything else anew. However, I don't want to have problems access files after they are copied. After that, I want to restart Time Machine in Mountain Lion and start a new backup.
    Thank you in advance for your time and advice.

    lukemac77 wrote:
    I would like to perform a clean install of Mountain Lion
    Why?  That rarely accomplishes anything good.
    I do not wish to use setup or migration assistant.
    Why not?   
    If you want to leave apps behind, do the clean install, then use Setup Assistant to transfer your home folders, but omit Applications.  You can also omit some broad categories of things in your home folders if you want.  See Using Setup Assistant on Mountain Lion or Lion.
    1. After the clean install, will I be able to browse AND copy filed from the old backups manually?
    If you mean via the TM browser (the "Star Wars" display), perhaps.  If the user account(s) you set up have the corresponding UIDs as on the backups, yes.  (See the pink box in Problems after using Migration Assistant for an explanation.)
    2. If I do copy the files, will I have permission errors?
    If you copy them via the Finder, possibly.  Especially if the UIDs don't correspond, the new user account may not have permission to change or delete things.  You may be able to put default permissions on them via
    Resetting Password and/or User Permissions.
    Basically, I wish to copy only select files from the Home Folder and re-install everything else anew.
    If you skip Applications, and reinstall them, your best bet is to use Setup Assistant, omitting any broad categories you can.  Otherwise, let it all transfer, then delete what you don't need.
    After that, I want to restart Time Machine in Mountain Lion and start a new backup.
    If you don't use Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant, the next backup will be a full one.  Plus, the previous backups will be treated as if they were made from a different disk.  You can still see them, but via the procedure in #E3 of Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
    You may be able to avoid that by manually telling Time Machine to "associate" the erased drive with the old backups, per #B6 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.

  • Post Lion: How to get access to old Time Machine backups?

    Hi,
    I did a clean install of Lion.  Before doing this, I cloned my Snow Leopard Macintosh HD onto another partition.  After installing, I ran Time Machine using the same HDD for my previous SL install.  Time machine must have recognised I am running the same hardware laptop, and renamed the folder under Backups.backupdb.  It created new backups, but left my SL backups alone.  When I enter time machine, I can view all my backups from the Lion install, but the rest are all greyed out.
    If I bootup into my old SL partition and access Time Machine, do I risk corrupting the Lion backups?  If yes, is there another way to access these backups from Time Machine on SL?  I've tried moving the folders under Backups.backupdb but they are protected.
    The reason I want to do this is I want to run both OSs for a while, until all my apps are Lion compatible. 
    Many Thanks,
    Prashant.

    _prashantp wrote:
    I did a clean install, which is why I have this issue.
    That's correct.
    When you erased the drive, it got a new UUID (Universally Unique IDentifier), so even if it has the same name, it's treated as a different drive, and the "old" one is no longer connected. 
    You can still view the old backups.  See #E3 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
    EDIT: Sorry, I misread your post.  You have two volumes being backed-up, both connected.  Use the same procedure to look at the volume you want.
    One caution; if you have the Lion drive being backed-up by Snow Leopard, and use any of the apps that use Autosave and Versions, the backups will fail because of the hidden /.DocumentRevisions-V101 folder on the Lion volume (and the /.MobileBackups folder).  Either exclude those folders or your whole Lion volume from Time Machine on Snow Leopard.
    Similarly, if you use any of those apps on Lion to edit any files on the Snow Leopard volume, it will create a /.DocumentRevisions-V101 folder on the Snow Leopard drive, too.

  • Accessing wife's Time Machine backup

    My wife's PowerBook died a sorrowful death.
    Need to retrieve some very key files from her external hard drive with my MacBook Pro.
    We're using Migration Assistant.
    Un-clicked everything except "documents", but "library" is clicked and grayed out, so I can't
    de-select it. The # of Gs being transferred is sizably more than what is in the documents folder.
    What's with the 'library' bit?
    What impact will that have on the current 'library' in my computer?
    Need to get the data, but don't want to mess up my machine in the process.
    Thx.

    spraine wrote:
    My wife's PowerBook died a sorrowful death.
    Sorry to hear that.
    Need to retrieve some very key files from her external hard drive with my MacBook Pro.
    We're using Migration Assistant.
    Un-clicked everything except "documents", but "library" is clicked and grayed out, so I can't
    de-select it. The # of Gs being transferred is sizably more than what is in the documents folder.
    What's with the 'library' bit?
    It's always transferred along with the user account. See #19 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
    What impact will that have on the current 'library' in my computer?
    Nothing. Each user account has a Library folder, containing that user's settings, preferences, and that user's data for many applications, such as Mail, AddressBook, calendars, etc.
    Confusingly, there are two more Library folders on each Mac.
    The top level System folder has one inside it, that contains most of OSX.
    The top-level Library folder contains some parts of OSX, and also various system-wide settings and preferences, caches, logs, etc.

  • I get these crashes regularly, several times a day.. mostly during disk access and/or time-machine backup

    Interval Since Last Panic Report:  91987 sec
    Panics Since Last Report:          5
    Anonymous UUID:                    B0924435-E795-4CE8-94B2-9233830B2071
    Wed Dec 28 14:14:46 2011
    Machine-check capabilities (cpu 0) 0x0000000000000c09:
    family: 6 model: 42 stepping: 7 microcode: 26
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2860QM CPU @ 2.50GHz
    9 error-reporting banks
    threshold-based error status present
    extended corrected memory error handling present
    Machine-check status 0x0000000000000005:
    restart IP valid
    machine-check in progress
    MCA error-reporting registers:
    IA32_MC0_STATUS(0x401): 0xf20000c000010005 valid
    MCA error code:            0x0005
    Model specific error code: 0x0001
    Other information:         0x000000c0
    Threshold-based status:    Undefined
    Status bits:
      Processor context corrupt
      Error enabled
      Uncorrected error
      Error overflow
    IA32_MC1_STATUS(0x405): 0x0980000000000000 invalid
    IA32_MC2_STATUS(0x409): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
    IA32_MC3_STATUS(0x40d): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
    IA32_MC4_STATUS(0x411): 0x0000000000000000 invalid
    IA32_MC5_STATUS(0x415): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
    IA32_MC6_STATUS(0x419): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
    IA32_MC7_STATUS(0x41d): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
    Package 0 logged:
    IA32_MC8_STATUS(0x421): 0x0020000000000000 invalid
    panic(cpu 0 caller 0xffffff80002c2c95): "Machine Check at 0x00007fff8c6d2aa1, registers:\n" "CR0: 0x0000000080010033, CR2: 0x0000000100afe000, CR3: 0x000000005ed16044, CR4: 0x00000000000606e0\n" "RAX: 0x0000000000000000, RBX: 0x0000000000000000, RCX: 0x000000000000000a, RDX: 0x0000000000000000\n" "RSP: 0x00007fff6d1e2dc0, RBP: 0x00007fff6d1e2de0, RSI: 0x00007fff8cfe2838, RDI: 0x00007fff723a3680\n" "R8:  0x0000000000000001, R9:  0x00007fce9ce91ac0, R10: 0x000000010dd79880, R11: 0x000000010dd79ff0\n" "R12: 0x0000000000000000, R13: 0x000000010dde9600, R14: 0x00007fce9eb4d7b0, R15: 0x00007fce9ec602b0\n" "RFL: 0x0000000000000246, RIP: 0x00007fff8c6d2aa1, CS:  0x000000000000002b, SS:  0x0000000000000023\n" "Error code: 0x0000000000000000\n"@/SourceCache/xnu/xnu-1699.24.8/osfmk/i386/trap_native.c:2 78
    Backtrace (CPU 0), Frame : Return Address
    0xffffff800081bd20 : 0xffffff8000220702
    0xffffff800081bda0 : 0xffffff80002c2c95
    0xffffff800081bf00 : 0xffffff80002d83ef
    BSD process name corresponding to current thread: Finder
    Mac OS version:
    11C74
    Kernel version:
    Darwin Kernel Version 11.2.0: Tue Aug  9 20:54:00 PDT 2011; root:xnu-1699.24.8~1/RELEASE_X86_64
    Kernel UUID: 59275DFA-10C0-30B3-9E26-F7B5DFB1A432
    System model name: MacBookPro8,3 (Mac-942459F5819B171B)
    System uptime in nanoseconds: 2602723119878
    last loaded kext at 1911948933880: com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCDC    4.1.15 (addr 0xffffff7f80791000, size 16384)
    last unloaded kext at 2139148857068: com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCDC    4.1.15 (addr 0xffffff7f80791000, size 12288)
    loaded kexts:
    com.apple.filesystems.smbfs    1.7.0
    com.apple.driver.AppleIntelProfile    85.1
    com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor    1.9.4d0
    com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch    66.3
    com.apple.driver.AudioAUUC    1.59
    com.apple.filesystems.autofs    3.0
    com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyHIDDriver    122
    com.apple.driver.AppleHDA    2.1.3f7
    com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyDriver    2.1.3f7
    com.apple.driver.AGPM    100.12.42
    com.apple.kext.ATIFramebuffer    7.1.4
    com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient    3.5.9
    com.apple.driver.AppleMCCSControl    1.0.26
    com.apple.driver.SMCMotionSensor    3.0.1d2
    com.apple.iokit.IOUserEthernet    1.0.0d1
    com.apple.Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X    7.0.0
    com.apple.driver.AppleSMCLMU    2.0.1d2
    com.apple.driver.AudioIPCDriver    1.2.1
    com.apple.driver.ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin    4.7.5d4
    com.apple.driver.AppleLPC    1.5.3
    com.apple.ATIRadeonX3000    7.1.4
    <snip>

    I forgot to mention.. this is a brand new mac book pro + apple genius bar ran hardware test overnight, no failures, they replaced my WS .. same issue!!
    I works fine until I add my personal files (~~100 gig of text and bin files in my home dir), then it fails.. I have file-vault enabled.. but it failed without it.

  • Time machine backups visible but cannot access them to retrieve old photos.

    hello community.
    i recently purchased a newish macbook pro. i restored it from a time machine backup with no problems.  i got a new computer because all my music and photos wouldnt fit. so the old photos i had backed up a few months ago (then deleted because of no space) werent put back on because of more recent backups i made then restored the new comp to. NOW. i cannot access the old time machine backups even though they are visible in the "star wars" screen when i enter time machine. i cannot click on a backup and retrieve those photos i had backed up ages ago but i can see all of them from about two years ago.
    i have tried unplugging, verifying with the disk utility(all of which came up fine), and shouting. all of which do not work. any ideas? i feel like im missing something really simple.
    thanks!

    In the Finder, right-click or control-click the folder icon and select
    Show View Options
    from the contextual menu. In the dialog that opens, select None from the Arrange by menu. Close the dialog, enter Time Machine, and try again.
    Another reason why items in a snapshot might not be selectable is that the time-travel view is open on a secondary display. Move it to the primary display, or if necessary, exit and disconnect the external display.

  • Concerns ALL Time Machine Users. HOW TO MOVE Time Machine backups. Help !

    Concerns ALL Time Machine Users :
    MOVE (or COPY) Time Machine backups from a "x"To Disk to an "y"To greater disk.
    Hello and thank you all for reading me,
    First, excuse me if I make language errors (I'm French).
    Secundo, I don't know if you'll find something interesting for you
    in what I write about Time Machine and my own problems,
    but there's a possibility also that YOU could perhaps help me.
    I'm talking about Time Machine and his **** Backups.backupdb folder,
    containing "*Name of your Mac*" folder,
    this folder containing Time Machine backups, format : YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS
    Time Machine doesn't recognize the backups it made *IF YOU MOVE THEM*.
    I have perhaps a solution in this message.
    You'll see below what kind of problem I (and you could) have.
    Since 12/01/10, an Apple Adviser Level Two (and me)
    are trying to understand how to move backups from TM1To Disk to, let's say, a bigger one.
    My case is TM1,5To.
    *Purpose :* Move 19 backups from Time Machine X disk to Time Machine Y disk.
    Delete TMX disk Time Machine backups after that.
    Make TMY disk the current used Time Machine Disk.
    I don't remember exactly what we did before
    (we even created a "root" account with password (dangerous to do),
    but it didn't solve the problem),
    but we finally copied :
    TM1To > Backups.backupdb > *MacBook Pro* folder (containing 19 backups) into :
    TM1,5To > Backups.backupdb folder.
    The Copy application announced *16 hours !* (without antivirus, to remove absolutely).
    So I said goodbye and thank you to my Apple Adviser. After *8 hours*, Copy failed.
    BUT it had succeeded to copy *4 backups ONLY* (why ?) in TM1,5To.
    I immediately verified and checked each of these with Get Info.
    They had EXACTLY the same size (Byte to Byte) as in TM1To.
    ➔ BUT HERE IS MY OBSERVATION :
    After designing TM1,5To as Time Machine Disk, I ordered it to Backup (now).
    And what did Time Machine do in TM1,5To > Backups.backupdb ?
    It created a *NEW folder*, named *MacBook Pro 2* !
    ➔ *I HAVE NO ACCESS* to TM1,5To > Backups.backupdb > *MacBook Pro* (4 backups copied from TM1To, remember) ;
    ➔ while I still *HAVE ACCESS* to TM1To > Backups.backupdb > *MacBook Pro* (19 backups) ;
    ➔ *AND I HAVE ACCESS* to TM1,5To > Backups.backupdb > *MacBook Pro 2*,
    where Time Machine makes actually his backups.
    *NOTE :* If you *change the name* of your computer,
    Time Machine *changes automatically the name* of the folder who is in Backups.backupdb folder.
    ➔ ① I have *never seen* such protections (Sharing and Permissions).
    You are not allowed to do anything. I've tried to change permissions,
    first : "R+W", after that : "Make (Me) the owner", I can tell you : DON'T DO IT !
    ➔ ② It's impossible to install an OS on a Time Machine disk
    (I thought it would allow better permissions).
    OS Installer detects the existence of a Backups.backupdb folder
    and refuses to install on this disk or partition.
    I have now the bad intent to install minimal OS X
    1) after deleting (how ?) this folder (but not its contents, how to move it ?)
    and 2) declare *after that* the disk as Time Machine disk.
    ➔ ③ Time Machine doesn't backup OTHER Time Machine backups
    (who are in an ancient-not-choosed-for-backups Time Machine disk) NOR backups this disk
    (detects, once again, the existence of a Backups.backupdb folder).
    AND you can't *absolutely not remove backups from the folder the're in*
    (for me, *MacBook Pro* or *MacBook Pro 2*).
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    in restoring backups in partitions specially created to receive them (having the same name,
    that sort of thing) and then re-backup these partitions (vicious and complicated).
    There is a function on Mac OS X Install DVD : start with it, and then (do not install)
    choose "*restore from Time Machine backup*" from the menu bar (it's called "Utilities", I believe).
    ➔ ⑤ I *absolutely don't understand* what follows :
    — If I add (in my TM1To disk) the bytes of the 19 backups
    in Backups.backupdb > *MacBook Pro* folder, I obtain about *1,8 To*.
    — It's impossible (and not french).
    — When I check the size used with Disk Utility (NOT with Get Info),
    I find a correct (?) size : *about 750 Go*.
    — What are Time Machine backups made of ?
    It can't be aliases (because of their size, and because *aliases suppose originals,
    and where could they be ?*), or am I wrong and becoming crazy ?
    ➔ ⑥ If you refer to the numbers shown at the end of this text (*4 backups*),
    you'll see I could *delete duplicate elements* inside these 4 backups,
    to win space (but *what kind* of space *if I delete aliases* ?).
    Back-In-Time (see below) says he does it.
    BUT is it really the OLDEST items I have to destroy (see ⑤),
    when I don't know with what kind of ARTEFACT I'm acting ?
    What does Time Machine delete to create more backup space ?
    Is it REALLY the OLDEST backups it treats, or duplicates, OR ?
    *What you can do :*
    Find and go to Tri-Edre.fr or Tri-Edre.com/fr site (it's a french company
    that creates small Mac applications since fifteen years at least,
    I think I already bought them several programs in 1990) ;
    Their program *Back-In-Time 1.4.4* is free (Trial) and complete to download (with PDF docs too).
    It is *ENTIRELY DEDICATED* to Time Machine and *things you can't do* with.
    Price is about 30 €, I think it's worth.
    The TRIAL version you will obtain can only work on the LAST Time Machine backup,
    but you will see what's featured *AND :*
    You will ACCESS to ANY Time Machine backup you want
    (It has to be the last of a serie of backups, but the serie you want.
    I've bought the application and own an activation key, but you understand I can't give it to you
    (it would not be ethic) and anyway you would be obliged to disconnect AirPort, Ethernet etc.
    •➔ I have bought the application because I thought (it's said in PDF FAQs) I could IN THE END move Time Machine backup files, but it cannot, (I'm afraid).
    *BUT ANY ACCESS PROBLEM IS SOLVED.*
    •➔ Back-In-Time 1.4.4 can *delete :* duplicate backups, complete backups,
    or duplicate items inside one or several Time Machine backups,
    things that I believe impossible with Time Machine itself
    (I've seen it offers to delete ALL occurences of an item) ;
    •➔ The application can also restore anything you want, where you want
    (but I think Time Machine does it too ?)
    •➔ Believe it or not, but since I've bought it on 15/01,
    I've only worked about 2 hours (no, much more) on it
    and didn't make sufficient progresses (enhancements ?)
    to talk of it with sufficient experience (I'm a bad guy, don't you think ?)
    •➔ Tri-Edre offers on-line support, e-mail support (and so on),
    and I EVEN didn't manage to join them, because I did many other things,
    and also somewhat have been disgusted *not to be able to move* or copy
    *(accessible by Time Machine after that)* backups,
    and I also didn't succeed (*another Time Machine inconvenient*) to DESTROY an ".inProgress"
    Time Machine (package) which doesn't work anymore (several interruptions while active),
    date (and name) 2010-01-27-164345.inProgress, but is used (*with failure results*)
    by Time Machine (it's turned off till I find how to destroy its **** ".inProgress" package.
    •➔ I've asked my Apple Adviser Level 2 to wait for news from me
    before working himself on the problem, and I think I will send him this message
    to prove I haven't forgotten him.
    •➔ I'll send it to Tri-Edre too, in the same move.
    I hope those remarks to be useful for somebody, tell me if it has helped.
    I will also publish this in any Time Machine topics I find here, and in MacRumors site too.
    As you can see, I need help too … Does anybody have an idea ?
    Perhaps if I used a specific Copy software, it could work ?
    You'll see below an example of some time I've spent to study my problem
    (you will think I'm crazy).
    With my kind regards, and good luck if you have other Time Machine problems !
    Olivier Herrbach
    <Edited by Host>
    Le but du jeu est de transférer toutes les sauvegardes Time Machine
    d'un volume/partition que nous appelerons "1 To"
    sur un volume/partition que nous appelerons "1,5 To".
    *Je rappelle que les 4 sauvegardes effectuées par Time Machine sur le 1 To
    n'ont pas été reconnues comme siennes par Time Machine sur le 1,5 To,
    bien que strictement identiques en taille après leur copie.
    J'ai remarqué dans Back-In-Time des fichiers invisibles (tels que "TimeMachine.log"
    ou quelque chose de genre), et je soupçonne fort qu'ils n'ont pas été copiés et que Time Machine,
    ne les trouvant pas dans le 1,5 To, a ignoré à cause de leur absence les 4 sauvegardes décrites ici.*
    *Sauvegardes effectuées par Time Machine sur 1 To :*
    Path : MacBook Pro > Volumes > 1 To > Backups.backupdb > MacBook Pro
    MacBook Pro contient 19 items (dont un alias appelé "Latest") :
    1°) 2010-01-02-045758 Size : 913.207 B for 41.888 items comprenant :
    • Hitachi 1 To Size : 907.664 B for 41.887 items 7 folders
    Différence avec 1°) = - 5.543 B - 1 item (1 folder)
    2°) 2010-01-03-001957 Size : 982.211.325 B for 67.490 items comprenant :
    • Hitachi 1 To Size : 901.516 B for 41.886 items 6 folders
    Différence avec 1°) = - 6.148 B - 1 item - 1 folder
    • Samsung 500 Go Size : 981.302.510 B for 25.602 items 4 folders
    Total • + • = Size : 982.204.026 B for 67.488 items
    Différence avec 2°) = -7.209 B - 2 items (2 folders)
    — *Supprimer • Hitachi 1 To* dans 2010-01-03-001957. Comparer les dossiers.
    3°) 2010-01-04-222709 Size : 5.241.032.819 B for 26.509 items comprenant :
    • Samsung 500 Go Size : 5.187.330.874 B for 19.392 items 8 folders
    Différence avec 2°) = + 4.206.028.364 B - 6.210 items + 4 folders
    • StartUp Disk Size : 53.692.703 B for 7.115 items 4 folders
    Total • + • = Size : 5.241.023.577 B for 26.507 items
    Différence avec 3°) = - 9.242 B - 2 items (2 folders)
    — *Supprimer Samsung 500 Go* dans 2010-01-03-001957. Comparer les dossiers.
    4°) 2010-01-05-125449 Size : 9.428.705.396 B for 204.915 items comprenant :
    • HD 250 Go Size : 9.374.308.265 B for 181.575 items 7 folders
    • Samsung 500 Go Size : 692.898 B for 16.222 items 8 folders
    Différence avec 3°) = - 5.186.637.976 B - 3.170 items
    • StartUp Disk Size : 53.692.703 B for 7.115 items 4 folders
    Total • + • + • = Size : 9.428.693.866 B 204.912 items
    Différence avec 4°) = - 11.530 B - 3 items (3 folders)
    — Supprimer • StartUp Disk dans 2010-01-04-222709. IDENTIQUE.

    Dear James Pond,
    Thank you once again, and, don't be afraid, I will be as short as possible,
    but I need to use your last reply (I've cut all what was already said).
    JP ➔ You can copy an entire set of backups, but you cannot copy part of it successfully. See #18 etc.
    JP ➔ Read this from the first paragraph: "you cannot copy only selected backups,
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    I've read it, and found it regrettable. And I've also read, after that, what were the solutions under Leopard and Snow Leopard, and my conclusion is that it's a *dead end* for me. In short,
    — I can't move (by drag and drop) the 1To's Backups.backupdb folder (containing MacBook Pro, 19 backups, access) to 1,5To, because there exists already the Backups.backupdb folder created by copy on 12/01 with Apple Assistance (containing [MacBook Pro, 4 backups of 19, no access] and [MacBook Pro 2, 15 backups, access]). I don't even know if it could be deleted by the copy (and I don't wanna do that anyway) ;
    — I can't rename (and what for, I already forgot it) any Backups.backupdb folder nor delete it ;
    — I can't copy any Computer'sName folder (entire set containing backups), being in a Backups.backup.db folder, into another Backups.backupdb folder ;
    — I can't copy any (or all of an entire set) YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS backup(s), being in a Computer'sName folder, into another Computer'sName folder (even if it would be empty).
    — Saying NONE in Time Machine Preferences and putting it to OFF is simply no use.
    All is said. What I can try to do is :
    — Delete (not with Finder, but with Back-In-Time) all duplicate things I find in all backups and also entire duplicate backups (I have full access to all with the software) ;
    — Restore each of the reduced-to-minimum backups obtained in specially right-sized partitions wearing the YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS name of each restored backup. Time Machine doesn't backup his backups, but will backup these partitions.
    I'm afraid to be actually completely running out of the target, when I read what I write … It's time to go to bed !
    Reminder (OH) : Where did you find these amazing informations ?
    JP➔ Some of it is detailed here: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/10/12/roadto_maco[]sx_leopard_timemachine.html
    ➤ Thank you ;
    JP➔ and here:
    http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2007/10/mac-os-x-10-5.ars/14
    ➤ Thank you too ;
    JP➔ You have to understand the structure. When TM does the first backup, yes, it copies everything.
    On subsequent backups, it copies what's new or changed, but also makes "hard links" (sort of like aliases) to the copies of the things that didn't change. That's how it can only back up a few things each time, but show you a complete "snapshot" of the way your entire system looked at the time of every backup.
    ➤ I'll do my best to understand.
    JP➔ Time Machine deletes backups under two conditions. See the first part of #12 in the Frequently Asked Questions User Tip, also at the top of this forum.
    Under normal circumstances, you should not have to delete any backups. See the rest of #12.
    ➤ I understood why Time Machine didn't delete oldest backups : they were not weeklies ones.
    Reminder (OH) : How can I destroy the (corrupted ?) not working "2010-01-27-164345.inProgress" in 1,5 To, which causes Time Machine to abort any backup of any size I ask ?
    JP➔ Why do you think it's corrupted? TM is designed to "recover" a partial backup.
    ➤ I'll verify that with the little Tools/Apps I discovered in your FAQ User Tip document and downloaded immediately.
    Why didn't Apple tell me anything ? It's my fault, I'm perhaps not clear and not demanding enough more from them.
    JP➔ You cannot install OSX on a disk containing TM backups. That's because they need to be on separate disks.
    Technically, you could put them on separate partitions of the same disk, but that would not be a good idea.
    ➤ I never told you that (there would be no interest at all). I talked about the same location, to see if it would allow me more permissions, but if all works without doing it, it's really no use.
    JP➔ Sorry, I don't know what that means.
    ➤ I'm sorry, I didn't explain : "but if all works" meant : Copy Backups.backupdb, "without doing it" meant : Install OSX.
    ➤ If I install an OSX BEFORE, Time Machine will REFUSE completely to backup on it, it's understood.
    JP➔ Correct. The partition you're running from will not be an option in TM Preferences > Select Disk. That prevents TM from backing-up it's own backups!
    ➤ Would it be so absurd ? Maybe it could resolve my actual problem ?
    I think you are right, but I don't know why. I trust you.
    Reminder (OH) : "I will not bore you again except if I don't find a specific answer to an unknown-never-seen-incredible malfuction."
    JP➔ Don't worry about that -- thats what this forum is for, especially if you're still having problems.
    ➤ It's seems in fact that there is no possible solution, except what I said above and is certainly crazy/out of subject.
    Just try to be as clear and concise as you can.
    And please don't post the same things repeatedly -- it wastes your time and ours, and can confuse other folks.
    ➤ You're absolutely right and I tried to do so this time, and I'm sorry because I see it's still (far) not enough (short).
    Thank you once more. I wish you a good evening and week-end. Here it's 01:40 AM.
    With my kind regards
    Olivier Herrbach
    [email protected]

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