Back ups not visible in Time Machine interface

They are in the sparsebundle when I mount it I can see backups all the to 11/30/08, but when I open the Time Machine interface it shows only now.
I have tried everything I can think of and the few things Apple can suggest. I upgraded to 10.5.7 and renamed the disk in case it was the naming issue.
There are no errors reported in the Time Machine preferences and that shows that Time Machine is backing up regularly and correctly, which it is.
I tried turning Time Machine off and deselecting the disk. Then turning it back on and re selecting the disk.

Tryagin wrote:
Wow. I spent all day researching and even spoke to Apple and didn't find that anywhere! Where did you come up with it? Yes it works, but I do have to mount the disk image, and then Time Machine sees all of my backups including the most recent. So there should be a way to make it see this as the regular time machine disk and save the extra steps, no?
Probably not.
Have you had any of the following lately: hardware repairs to your Mac (if so, what); done a full restore; gone several days without a successful backup; changed your System Name (via System Preferences > Sharing)?
Do you have a Time Capsule, or a USB drive attached to an Airport Extreme?
There's another thing you need to watch for. TM may not delete ("thin") the backups in the old set of backups, which means when it runs out of room, it may delete newer ones instead.
If none of your backups appear via +Enter Time Machine,+ you're probably ok. But if recent ones do, and older ones don't, you may not be.
To monitor this, Download the +Time Machine Buddy+ widget from: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/timemachinebuddy.html. It shows the messages from your logs for one TM backup run at a time, in a small window.
Among other things, each deleted backup will be documented here. If the proper ones are being deleted, you're not going to have a problem. Note that many recent backups ("daily" backups) should be deleted after 24 hours, in accord with the schedule on the TM Preference panel.
More info on some of the common messages are in item 7 of the +Frequently Asked Questions+ post at the top of this forum.

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AirPort Extreme USB Connected Disk Drive Not Visible To Time Machine

My AirPort Extreme USB connected disk drive is visible in the Finder and desktop. It is not visible to Time Machine. When I open Time Machine and bring up the "Choose Backup Disk" the AirPort Extreme USB connected disk drive is not visible.
What am I missing here?

Hi Pete Mackie-
Nope. You aren't missing anything.
Mac OS X 10.5: Time Machine doesn't back up to AirPort Disks
Luck-
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Does anyone know why since upgrading to ML notes are not visible in Time Machine. They used to be part of mail and could be recovered from Time machine but since ML I don't seem to be able to access notes in Time Machine. Any help would be useful.

Does anyone know why since upgrading to ML notes are not visible in Time Machine. They used to be part of mail and could be recovered from Time machine but since ML I don't seem to be able to access notes in Time Machine. Any help would be useful.

Welcome to Apple Communities
Mail doesn't support notes. If you use iCloud, you have them in it because Notes is an application

Backupos not visible in time machine window

I wanted to put back a backup of my system today and noticed that only today's backup is visible in time machines window. In Finder i can see the other backups but don't know how to put those back.
Don't know if this is related, but I installed the 10.6.4 OS update. Before this I could see my backups in Time machine's window.
Is there a way to repair my backups? I do need them...
Regards,
Paul

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
There are several possible causes, and fixes, for this. See #E4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

How do I restore my iPhoto library from a number of different back-ups (different dates) in Time Machine?

I recently upgraded my internal hard drive to a 1TB. Prior to this, I had been backing up to an external hard drive using Time Machine and then deleting the older photos to make room for the newer ones. Now that I have a large internal hard drive, I would like to restore ALL my photos back onto my MacBook so that they are readily available. I thought I could just go to each of the individual back-ups in Time Machine prior to deletion and "Restore All" and they would be ADDED to my existing iPhoto Library on my MacBook. However, once restored, it had REPLACED the existing library. Luckily, I had just done a back-up prior to this, so I haven't lost anything. But, I want to restore all photos from all back-ups stored on my external HD back onto my MacBook. How do I do this? I have made note of the 3 dates I did back-ups prior to any deletions, so I know exactly which back-up dates to restore.
Thanks for any help!

I recently upgraded my internal hard drive to a 1TB. Prior to this, I had been backing up to an external hard drive using Time Machine and then deleting the older photos to make room for the newer ones. Now that I have a large internal hard drive, I would like to restore ALL my photos back onto my MacBook so that they are readily available. I thought I could just go to each of the individual back-ups in Time Machine prior to deletion and "Restore All" and they would be ADDED to my existing iPhoto Library on my MacBook. However, once restored, it had REPLACED the existing library. Luckily, I had just done a back-up prior to this, so I haven't lost anything. But, I want to restore all photos from all back-ups stored on my external HD back onto my MacBook. How do I do this? I have made note of the 3 dates I did back-ups prior to any deletions, so I know exactly which back-up dates to restore.
Thanks for any help!

Back-ups with and without Time Machine + G -MINI

I've got a problem with my new G - MINI 500GB running on an iMac intel 10.5.1/ 230GB. I hope someone can help me with this.
Overview of problem: I need more hard disc space and opted for an external drive. I would have got a G _Tech Q 500 gb drive but there weren't any immediately available so got the G -MINI 500. Basically this is for video and large audio files. Anyway, I plugged the new MINI in and it pretty much set itself up. Time Machine offered to do a back up of my whole system and contents, I clicked 'accept' and excluding a few items in the options pane in TM it came to around 210 GBs now on the MINI. As I need to take the Mac in for servicing a defective LCD I thought a back up of the system a good idea. I added a few other video files in a separate folder on the MINI. I then thought that was way too much- I will need more than the remaining 245 GBs for future stuff. So I wanted to get some more space back and thinking that it would work pretty much like the Mac's own hard disc and Flash USB drives I just tried to send some files from the back-up folder on the MIni to the trash in the dock. I got a message saying I couldn't trash any files included in a back-up! Kinda locked. I tried trashing one of the video files that wasn't in the system TM back-up folder and it did go to the trash but then I checked the available memory on the MINI hadn't reflected change: the size of that file wasn't added to the 'available memory'. Buff, problem.
Anyway, I then decided to trash the whole back-up folder and everything else. All went in the trash can in the dock but again, despite expecting the Mini's space to have been freed up, like any hard drive or other storage device, it hadn't been. It still counted 210 GB used up. To make sure I emptied the trash as well but again with no result.
I couldn't access the trashed files in any way now but the Mini was obviously counting them. What's going on?
So then used DisK Utility to check the MINI, same result, and then completely exasperated I just went ahead and partitioned it, that seeming the best option at the time. I got the space back but lost about 230 MG in the process. Annoying all in all. Now, I didn't want a Drive that you can't eliminate files from without having to erase the whole bl**dy disk! This seems to be the only way to get space back from the MINI's drive but it seems ludicrous. What am I doing wrong, what don't I know?
A related question is what's the difference between 'erasing' a disk and 'partitioning' one (in Disk Utility). I can't work this one out. The important question is whether there is a way to delete items from the Mini in order to get back the space they occupy. If not I should have bought something else. I thought G -Tech was supposed to be top end, it is faster than USB I'll give it that for now.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
Oh and I'm posting this here because there is nothing in G Tech support about this and the post I sent to the G Tech forum goes unanswered after 2 days already - it seems like a simple question that someone should know the answer to. I want to know if I should just simply copy files to the mini and not bother with system files unless I really want to make a back up. A final question would also be: what exact folders are needed to make just a simple system back up but without all the clutter that you could reinstall from the discs anyway?
Thanks!
Message was edited by: Paul Quemades

If you just want to drag a few files around how about create a folder on the external drive. I know some say you shouldn't do this, but TM will still work even if there is another folder on the same volume you use for backing up with TM. In that folder you can drag whatever into it, just as you are able to do on any flash drive.
But let's revisit how TM works. I don't understand the detailed operation of TM but once it establishes the initial large copy of your Operating System, subsequent small changes are linked back to the big one, so when in the Time Machine window with all of the different backups over the past days or weeks, clicking on any one of them will show you what appears to be the same thing - the contents of your hard disk. In amongst that will be the small changes or added files.
To save it recreating by and large the same appearance of your hard disk each time it reuses the initial copy and just adds any changes. It does this by associating any newly changed or newly added file to the base copy, by using links. It is like creating a context for the file, so TM is making file X linked to folder Y which is part of application Z. If we want that file back using TM, it will know that file X has certain associations and it will put it back where it got it from.
When we drag that same file to another location, it is just that file in isolation. It has no context. The only association it has, is what we remember about it, "that photo was taken at Lucy's wedding" for instance. TM or the computer for that matter doesn't know who Lucy is, or even that she is a human being.
So in our flesh and blood reality, we see files as objects that have meaning to us, but to the computer it is all just data that has a place and a function. Time machine is a kind of illusion. It is also a Place machine by replacing files in previous places.
You say to use TM to just store "things like personal documents, music, video and other such stuff, unrelated to system back ups, seems such a fussy and tedious way to do it,..." I agree, but TM has the advantage of being able to restore any file no matter how obscure, or even restore your whole OS if you needed to. You can always retrieve any document or song or photo from TM by going into TM and having it restore that document. Not you dragging and dropping but letting it do it. The other advantage of TM is that it will keep variations of the same file as it is changed, such as various drafts as they are edited.
Maybe a more suitable backup application for you may be SuperDuper, where you can greatly control what is backs up. The disadvantage of superDuper is it won't keep older versions of something, rather make a fresh copy of that folder each time you use it.
So you have a few options, but I think if you can get used to opening TM and locating the files that it automatically saved, and telling it to restore those back to your hard drive, it may well serve your needs.
roam

Is there any way to retrieve overridden back ups without icloud or time machine?

I was trying to update my phone and a error messgae popped up and unfortunately whiped out my phone. Luckily, I had a back up of all the information before it was whiped out. I had an encrypt password on the back up but I had forgot it. So my first problem was trying to figure out the password. The next day, the phone backed up again but some home overrided the first back with all the information. Is there any way I can get retrive the old back up without using icloud or time machine. Anywhere in the software I could look. Please help me!! THANKS!

Thanks for you help - my G4 is not supported by leopard so I am going to look at other options.

Laptop doesn't recognise back-ups on my old Time Machine disc

The Apple store switched out my logiboard and RAM. In the process, they re-set my system. I want to re-install files and programmes from Time Machine, but when I plugged in the Time Machine disc, my laptop didn't recognise it. When I went to Time Mchine it wasn't showing any previous back-ups, even though they exist on the disc.
How do I get Time Machine to recognise the back-ups on my Time Machine disc?
Thank you!

Hi brat1836
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
I presume that the HD in your Laptop is still the same one therefore when you connect the Time Machine drive and then open Time Machine preferences can you click on "Change Disk" and then select the disk that you have attached? My thinking is that by "changing" the disk and re-connecting to the one you have been using it should re-establish the connection.
Chris

Find Application Support Folders That are Not Visible in Time Machine

I would like to restore an application support file and a preferences file that are no longer visible in the Finder or in Time Machine since I upgraded to 10.8. I was able to do this in the past and am a little frustrated I cannot do it now. I know how to find the folders on my computer using the Finder Go to Folder method, but cannot use this method to find the files in my Time Machine backup. Please help. Thanks!

See http://osxdaily.com/2011/07/04/show-library-directory-in-mac-os-x-lion/ and permanently unhide the user's Library. That should allow TM to update itself, making them visible, but maybe only in the latest updates. I don't use TM, so all I can point you for that is Pondini's TM FAQs.

Files not visible after Time Machine restoring

Hi,
I've had some problems with my Mac and decided to format the hard drive. After the formatting I tried to restore some of the older folders from the Time Machine backup disk. The program copied them onto the harddrive without any problems and when I look at how much space is left it's obvious that they are there but I can't see them. I've also tried to restore some small documents but the same problem occurs, they are invisible! They don't show up when I search for them either.I would be very happy if someone could help me out!! Thanks a lot!

Ardarve wrote:
Thanks a lot Pondini!! Different name of the user account was the problem. I changed it back to the previous name and the problem was solved
Yay!
The reason for the formatting was that I've had problems during the starting up for quite some time. The start up process didn't go any further than the grey backdrop. After the 30th attempt or something the computer started up. I've tried to solve the problem in several ways but without any success. At first I thought that there were some hardware problems but the formatting did the thing. My computer works fine now!! Thanks again!
If such a thing happens again, don't jump immediately to the most drastic solution.
It's very rare that a complete erase is required on OSX.
Simply reinstalling OSX is far simpler. You've posted in the Leopard forums -- in that case you'd do an +*Archive and Install, preserving users and settings.+* If you're on Snow Leopard as your signature says, you'd just do an Install. Afterwards, you'd download and install the "combo" update to get back to the correct version of OSX.
Neither will affect your data. The main difference is, the Archive & Install leaves a +Previous System+ folder on your Mac that you need to delete when you're sure you don't need anything from it; the Snow Leopard Install doesn't.

Do not boot with time machine

Using Mac OS 10.8.5 on a MacBook.
After a full restore from Time Machine it does not boot unless it starts with Time Machine disconnected.
To be noted also tha restored files and applications were not the latest but quite old back-ups.
Majority of Time Machine history does not show-up despite it can be read using the Finder.
I had to copy most important files by copy and paste using the Finder.
Any help?

Well first you have to figure out what is wrong with the machine and solve that problem first.
Your post is very vague on what occured, and there are many types of "crashes" it really depends upon what see on the screen and what the hardware does, we can't see it to tell you, so you have to tell us.
I suggest you run through these user tips and provide more information about your hardware.
Disconnect the TimeMachine drive for now
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
Help us to help you on these forums
Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive
If this is going way over your head, there are local PC/Mac techs that will assist you for a fee, Apple only does hardware repairs and is advised to use them if you discover it is, especially if under warranty/AppleCare.
Hard drive and RAM upgrades can be handled yourself or by a outside tech in many older models of Mac, but don't expect Apple to cover the new parts.
Install/upgrade RAM or storage drive in Mac's

I need to create a second back-up of iPhoto from Time Machine to a separate external drive. The old iPhoto in TM will not open. Please help!

I need to create a second back-up of iPhoto from Time Machine to a separate external drive. The old iPhoto in TM will not open. Please help! And thank you!

Most Simple Back Up:
Drag the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to another Disk. This will make a copy on that disk.
Slightly more complex: Use an app that will do incremental back ups. This is a very good way to work. The first time you run the back up the app will make a complete copy of the Library. Thereafter it will update the back up with the changes you have made. That makes subsequent back ups much faster. Many of these apps also have scheduling capabilities: So set it up and it will do the back up automatically.
Example of such apps: Chronosync - but there are many others. Search on MacUpdate or the App Store

I have not been able to back up for2 days. Time machine error message: /Volumes/Data/David's MacBook Air.sparsebundle" is already in use.

I have not been able to back up for2 days. Time machine error message: /Volumes/Data/David’s MacBook Air.sparsebundle” is already in use.
What now?
Macbook Air.
Was working fine for the past year until now.

See more like this on the right.. this is the most common error reported here since mountain lion came out..
Or read C12.. http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Or just restart the whole network.. in right order from off.. modem.. router / TC.. clients 2min gap.

Why do I get message "back up disc is not available" for Time Machine? It

why do I get message "back up disc is not available" for Time Machine? It's plugged in.

If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
Enter the word "Starting" (without the quotes) in the String Matching text field. You should now see log messages with the words "Starting * backup," where * represents any of the words "automatic," "manual," or "standard." Note the timestamp of the last such message that corresponds to a failed backup. Now
CLEAR THE WORD "Starting" FROM THE TEXT FIELD
so that all messages are showning, and scroll back in the log to the time you noted. Select the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear. Copy them (command-C) to the Clipboard. Paste (command-V) into a reply to this message.
If all you see are messages that contain the word "Starting," you didn't clear the text field.
If there are runs of repeated messages, post only one example of each. Don't post many repetitions of the same message.
When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Some personal information, such as the names of your files, may be included — anonymize before posting.

I have mac os x 10.6.8. I am trying to back up my information via time machine and it's not letting me click on the "use for back up" option.

I have mac os x 10.6.8. I am trying to back up my information via time machine and it's not letting me click on the "use for back up" option.

Using Cloning as a Backup Strategy
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7032/carbon-copy-cloner
http://www.bombich.com/software/updates/ccc-3.5.html
OS X Lion Install to Different Drive
How to create an OS X Lion installation disc MacFixIt
Migration Assistant Update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard
http://www.apple.com/support/lion/installrecovery/
Create an OS X Lion Install disc
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20080989-263/how-to-create-an-os-x-lion-ins tallation-disc
How to clone your system:
http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone-backup.html
http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone.html
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7032/carbon-copy-cloner
http://www.macperformanceguide.com/blog/2012/20120711_2-MacPro-internal-clone-ba ckup.html

Back ups not visible in Time Machine interface

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