Can't access Time Machine backups on Yosemite

Hi guys
I'm having some trouble with TIme machine. I did a clean install on my mac. Upgraded it to Yosemite. I could then access my backed up files (although Apple hides most of it for any reason). As soon as I chose the same external hard drive to again be my Time Machine backup drive, all the older backups got unaccessible. When I open Time Machine I can see my older backups but they won't show any files. If I manually look for them in Finder I am locked out.
Is there any way to tell OS X to please let me have my files back?

While in Time Machine, press the key combination shift-command-C. The front window will show all mounted volumes. All snapshots should now be accessible. Select the one you want and navigate to the files you want to restore.
If you need to restore from a backup of the hidden user Library folder, first select a snapshot, then press shift-command-G. A Go to Folder dialog will open. In it, you'll enter the path to the folder. The dialog will help you by automatically completing the parts of the path when you start to type them.
The path begins with slash character ("/"). Enter that. The rest of the parts will be separated by slashes.
The next part is the date and time of the current snapshot. Enter a "2", and the rest of the date should be filled in automatically. Press the right-arrow key to jump to the end of the path. Enter a slash to start the next part.
Next is the name of the volume (usually "Macintosh HD" unless you gave it a different name.) Start to type that, then jump to the end and enter a slash.
The next part is "Users", followed by a slash.
Next is your (short) user name, which is also the name of your home folder.
Finally, enter "Library", then press return. You should now be in the Library folder. From there you can get around as in the Finder.

Similar Messages

Can't access Time Machine backups through GUI

Here's what happens when I tried to access Time Machine backups. This description is when I try to "browse" backups from within iPhoto. I believe that a similar thing happened when trying to look directly after opening the Time Machine from within the Dock:
The window goes to the center of the screen (smaller than normal) and the top menu bar disappears (you can see the desktop through the empty translucent bar). Nothing else happens. You can't apply expose hot corners or activate the dock.
It looks like maybe the Time Machine layout is TRYING to activate (as in the original demos), but doesn't complete. There is no timeline of windows or the sidebar timeline.
Any ideas what I need to do to fix this? Once it happens, the only way that I can back out (since the Dock is inaccessible) is the hit the escape key a couple of times.

When I do it from within iPhoto, I'm not getting the multiple panes or the forward backward arrows. All I get is the first/current frame in the centered pane.
Here is a screenshot of iPhoto before I select "browse backups":
[IMG]http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m29/teacher24_70/MiscScreenShots/iPhoto-1.jpg[/IMG]
Here is a screenshot after I select "browse backups":
[IMG]http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m29/teacher24_70/MiscScreenShots/iPhoto-Brows eBackups.jpg[/IMG]
By the way, I don't use Mail.app, so I can't really test it through there. Is there another Apple app that has this functionality built in?
-(.)^(.)- wrote:
Hmmm... not exactly sure what you are trying to do with Time Machine. If you are in iPhoto, you will see the folder you are viewing. For example, I can view my Last Import folder for Aug. 20. Now I can clip on the pane behind it and go back in Time to what my Last Import Folder on, say, Aug. 13, one week ago. Obviously, I will be viewing photos I Last Imported as of Aug. 13. I can also click on the forward and back arrows on the right side to view on a different date. Sorry, not that comfortable posting personal pics to show you what it should look like, but I hope this description helps.
Using Mail as an example is much simpler as the Inbox will change on a daily (even hourly) basis. In the case of Mail, if you start deleting mail on Aug. 20 from the Inbox and suddenly realize you deleted something you didn't want to, simply click the TM icon and you will be in a TM interface. Go back to the dated backup BEFORE you deleted that email and RESTORE it. It will restore it into a NEW TM folder to indicate this is a restored mail. Use the gear icon on the top when using Finder to restore files.
Good luck!
Message was edited by: teacher24_70

Still cannot access time machine backups after Yosemite install

Can anyone tell me what to do to be able to access my time machine backups. When I enter time machine nothing except apps and desktop are accessable. Thus I cannot restore anything that was "backed up" even this morning, much less any other day this year. Yosemite was installed on Oct. 19, took 2 days to download to an 2013 iMac. The first time machine backup took over 24 hours. I have made 1 backup per day since, only problem is that I cannot access any of this data. Please help me.

A bit more information would help figure out the problem. Maybe a screen shot of what you're seeing or not seeing (use Command+shift+4 to save an area of the screen or a window -type space first to capture an entire window- to a file and then attach that file to your posting reply). You might look at the Console app to get more information about what actually happened during your backups - suggest putting "backupd" (without the quotes) in the search field at the top right of window in Console - with the "All Messages" query selected on the left part of the window). Console is located in the /Applications/Utilities folder. After you enter the backupd in the search field only those messages that contain that string will appear which helps a lot since so many messages are normally shown without any search field string.
Depending on how long ago the backups happened, you might need to select previous versions of the system log files - they get archived and compressed to files like system.log.0.bz2 or system.log.1.bz2 (these are in the /var/log query choice if you don't see them in the existing query choices - just click on the triangle to the left of the "/Var/log" entry if needed). Console knows how to show the messages that are in these compressed files, so you don't need to do anything other than click on the query name.
Also if you look in TimeMachine in System Preferences are there any exclusions (click on the Options button in TM System Preferences to show what the existing exclusions are)? A screen shot of those would be helpful also.
Is there only one drive with the single Mac OS partition on it?
Hope this helps a bit...

Can not access time machine backups. after transfer to new macbook pro

Irecently up graded to a new MacBook Pro. I baked up all my files on an external drive using time machine. Now when I try to retrive my files from the backups.backupdb folder I can not access may of my files. Message: "The folder “Music” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents."
I'm fairly certain I have a diffrent user name on my new machine but dont know what my old user name and password were (never really used them).
How can I access 3 years worth of work in this time machine backup?

Irecently up graded to a new MacBook Pro. I baked up all my files on an external drive using time machine. Now when I try to retrive my files from the backups.backupdb folder I can not access may of my files. Message: "The folder “Music” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents."
I'm fairly certain I have a diffrent user name on my new machine but dont know what my old user name and password were (never really used them).
How can I access 3 years worth of work in this time machine backup?

Can't access Time Machine backups after erase and install

Had iMac checked by Apple Authorized Service Provider after experiencing multiple problems I couldn't fix. No hardware problem. He did an erase and install of 10.5.8. The machine accesses my Time Machine backup, but in Time Machine/ iMacHome/ Sharing & Permissions says, "You can only read." If I access a folder in Home, like Desktop or Documents, it says,"You have no access." Permissions are locked and grayed out.
I spent over two hours on the phone with tech support last evening, and he finally said he'd have to turn it over to Apple engineers, which would take a few days.
Migration assistant only allows "all or nothing" migration, and I need to select just certain folders; I do not want to restore anything that might be corrupted.
Is it possible I could have an undetected hardware problem? Has anyone else done an erase and install and been able to use Time Machine backups to pick and choose what they wanted to restore?

Thank you for your reply. The apple support tech should have known this, but he didn't. However, in the course of our two hour discussion he said "Maybe it's because the computer name is different." I hadn't reached the new-set-up stage where I had changed the name of the computer from Apple's default, so I did that. My short name home folder I had already named the same as before, iMacHome.
But changing the computer name didn't help. After reading your reply, I unlocked the preferences (which were locked and grayed out in TM) to my home folder in the finder and assigned read and write to all folders within for everyone. Back in TM, preferences were no longer grayed out, but changing privileges was. I added iMacHome to the names in addition to staff read & write and everyone read and write. But ImacHome(Me) allows read only, options gray, and even though everyone is read and write, it says "You can only read" and I still cannot access Desktop, Documents, etc...
Fortunately I have a SuperDuper user file backup that I am restoring from, so all is not lost. But it seems to me TM backups should be readily available, and I want to solve this problem. I may still want to go back to a previous month to recover something. But mostly I'd just like to know that TM is a functional backup. It certainly isn't in my case right now.
Don't want to migrate the entire home folder. Too risky. Risky enough to bring over Mail and selected Application Support folders and keychains.
Thanks again. I think your answer is right on, but there must still be something else. I know I have those names correct because I see the old computer name on the sparse bundle, and the old home name in the TM backups. (Haven't read the tips yet. Will do so.)

Since replacement of logic board I can not access Time Machine backups.

I had my logic board replaced and I can not access my Time Machine Backups. Time Machine app says that b/u's were created on another computer. Also I can not sync my iPhone with iTunes. It says that it has never been sync'd. Local Genius bar suggested that I restore my User profile from earlier back up. I tried to explain that I can not access them. Any ideas?
Thanks,
stanfromreno

I had my logic board replaced
have a look @ this user tip.
also, have you seen this discussion ?

Can't access time machine backup

I've made a backup of my Macbook pro before formating it in order to reinstall OS X snow leopard (the original Os X that comes with the notebook). The back was over 450 Go in size, and I checked in time machine to see if it was saved proprely, and it was. I could access everything that was on my computer in the backup.
I reinstalled snow leopard, and ever since, I can't go back to the first time machine backup i made (the 450Go one). When I look at the HD content, I can see it's still there, but I can't access it from time machine.
Any suggestions ? I don't want to lose everything I had before formating...

help

How can I access Time Machine backups after doing an erase/reinstall of Mavericks?

I recently did a complete erase of my hard drive and re-installed Mavericks. I chose to start clean rather than use any Time Machine back-ups. I used the same external hard drive for my new Time Machine back-ups. Now I cannot open any back-ups/items prior to the re-install via Time Machine. They are listed along the right hand sidebar in Time Machine (star wars view) but will not open when clicked on.
Some files I can access if I go to the actual backup folder - ex a Pages doc BUT ff I try to open the iPhoto library from the back-up folders stored on the external drive, I get the following error message -
I cannot open the iPhoto "package" to access individual photos from these back-ups.
So - how can I get Time Machine to allow access to the pre-install back-ups??
thnx
Message was edited by: Rant&Raver
corrected some spelling errors!

To restore the library from your TM backup follow the instructions in this screenshot.
If you want to restore all of your Home folder documents you can use Migration Assistant.

Can't access time machine backups before yesterday

Yesterday, I reformatted my HD and did a clean install of Mavericks. For the last 2 months, I've been doing daily Time Machine backups via my Airport Time Capsule.
Even though I am not doing a full restore, I would like to restore specific files and this is where I'm having my problems. When I enter Time Machine, I can see all of the backups since doing my fresh install; however anything older than yesterday is "non-selectable" and appears blacked out.
How am I able to access my older backups?

While in Time Machine, press the key combination shift-command-C. The front window will show all mounted volumes. All snapshots should now be accessible. Select the one you want and navigate to the files you want to restore.

Can't access time machine backups

Ever since I upgraded to Mavericks, I can not access my Time Machine backups past a week ago? Specifically, I am trying to restore my old mailboxes. Any advice or help?

TM is clearly trying to make a very large backup, of about 250 GB (it adds 20% for workspace on the TM volume). See #C4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
There are a number of things that can cause extra-large or even full backups. See #D3 and #D4 in that same link.

Can anyone access time machine backup files by connecting to time capsule by ethernet cable?

I operate an imac connected to a time capsule. It works great. My internet is connected to the time capsule with an ethernet cable and I access the internet on my imac using an ethernet cable connected to the time capsule. I can also connect to the time capsule using wireless.
A colleague of mine wants to connect to the internet and because of location issues the only convenient way is to let him connect to my time capsule using an ethernet cable. He can access the internet fine and he uses a windows PC. Now my question is, will he be able to access my time machine backup files if he connects to my time capsule using an ethernet cable? I have not given him my password.
Any help will be appreciated. I want to help him get online but I want to make sure he cannot access my time machine backup files.
Thanks

There are actually 3 passwords on the Time Capsule - assuming it has the same setup as my Airport Extreme Base Station.
One password for the WiFi connection.
One password to access setup of the device
One password for access to the storage drive - most people leave the check-box to just use the base-station setup password again.
And, as I said before, you also have the option to encrypt your TM backups. So even if somebody runs off with the device and breaks in to the disk, it will all be garbage without the TM password.
This is the screen as it is on my computer:
As you can see, to access my drive I have it set to use the device setup password.
Here is a screen shot of the other options:

Replaced hard drive, but can't access Time Machine backups of old drive

My internal hard drive was failing so I replaced it. I told the people that replaced it that I could install the System myself and that I had backups of my data.
So, I got the machine home, booted up from the Snow Leopard Install DVD and selected Restore from Time Machine. I chose the last backup which was Mountain Lion 10.8.2. It crashed after several minutes.
So, I restarted. But I had my finger on the Control key rather than the Option key, so it booted to on-line recovery mode. When it asked me if I wanted to restore Lion I decided, "Sure. Why not? Since the restore from Time Machine doesn't work." That took about six hours.
Then I went to the App store and downloaded Mountain Lion. Another six hours and that is done.
Now I can't access the backups on Time Machine. They appear to be there. It shows backups to Feb 2011, which is when I installed Time Machine on an external drive. But I can only access databacked up from my new drive and Admin account.
Last night Browse Other Drives for Time Machine at least showed the old backups. After shutting down overnight only the new backups show.
I've run verify and repair on the external and it's okay.
Please tell me I can get that data back. There's over a decade of stuff there going back two other Macs. Photos, important documents, all my writing are there. I really need it back and I can't understand why I can't get back.
Thanks in advance.

Hi all... I had a very similar issue. I had a hard drive replaced by Apple on my iMac due to a total hard drive failure. I attempted to restore my last time machine back up through my time capsule but I get some type of sparse bundle package error. It appears that something is coming back from the back up as I only have about 180GB remaining space out of 1TB. Any advice? It appears that Apple had re-installed the latest version of Lion back to my hard drive. I'm completely distraught here as like Romantic Heretic, I have over a decade of information currently lost.
Any help with step by step directions would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks

Can't Access Time Machine Backup Files After Reinstall

I just completed a clean reinstall of Mountain Lion. Obviously I've missed some important step(s). When I enter Time Machine, I can see that there are older back ups by the dates on the right hand side of the screen, but they are greyed out. I'm confident the files are there, the issue is being able to access the files.
I've seen some notes about "reassociating Time Machine" with my "new" computer with some terminal commands, but I get lost with the instructions I've read and it sounds like if I do it wrong there is a pretty good chance I could really cause some damage. For the time being, I've turned off TM, but the dirve is still mounted and available.
For some reason, I was able to access and resotre my Documents folder - I just can't get into all the folders/files. Prior to the reinstall, I did visually confirm that I could see and access all my backup files.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks.

Time Machine Troubleshooting
Time Machine Troubleshooting Problems
Time Machine FAQ

Unable to access time machine backup. The folder "Documents" can't be opened because you don't have permission to see its contents.

My MacBook Pro with 750GB storage refuses to startup due to a problem with logic board (unfortunately I'm in Singapore and there is no Apple store here and zero customer support). I'm trying to access some of the files from the time machine back-up using my MacBook Air with 120GB storage, but I'm unable to open the backup. I receive an error message "you don't have permission to see its contents". Unable to access time machine backup. The folder “Documents” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents.
I don't really want to migrate the data from the time machine to the MacBook Air as I simply don't have sufficient storage space on the MacBook Air. The iPhoto library which I'm trying to access is 200GB, which is more than the size of the MacBookAir.
Is there any way I can view the photos and documents stored on the time machine backup.
Thank you very much.

When you setup the Mac, you created a Admin user account with say name X
You ran Migration Assistant and it migrated user Y from the Windows machine.
User Y has different permissions than User X.
User X can't normally access User Y's account.
So what you do is log out of User X via the Apple menu and into User Y, this way you have permission to access the files.
If you want to transfer files from User Y to User X account
Transfer files between user accounts on the same machine instructions
Finder > Go menu > Computer
A window appears with your boot drive, double click on it to open
Inside is Users folder, double click to open it
Inside is your User accounts, double click on the one you want to send files too
Double click on the Public folder drop the files into the DropBox folder,
The permissions will change and can be used in the other user account when you log into it and moved to the appropriate folders.
Applications are typically installed and kept in the Applications folder which is a global access folder all users can access to run them from, but not all users can modify unless they are a Admin user.
Windows programs won't run on a Mac, but they can be instaled into a virtual machine program that is running Windows.
Windows in BootCamp or Virtual Machine?

HT201250 Accessing Time Machine backups from other machines

I am using Time Machine to back up my iMac to Time capsule. The iMac will then be going to work with my husband and we would like to access the music and picture files with our two MBPs. Is this possible? I would be happy to only back up the iPhoto and iTunes libraries but that doesn't seem to work. Any advice on that?

It would be extremely inconvenient. You can Browse Other Time Machine backups, find the photos or music files on the backup, then restore them to your MBPs. Not very easy or convenient.
It would be better to transfer both Libraries to an external drive connected to the network, then set those up as your Music and Photo Libraries. Some network drives also offer iTunes and iPhoto sharing such that you can put the libraries on that network drive and access them from your MBPs. They will be shared out just like they were from the iMac.

Can't access Time Machine backups on Yosemite

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