Can time machine restore in new HDD?

if i backup my mac os in an external hdd with time machine and then ill change my mac hdd, can time machine restore my os in new hdd?(for example by Recovery Disk Assistant)

Naming it the same tends to make things easier. Time Machine can backup your entire OS as long as you haven't excluded anything in System Preferences/Time Machine/Options.
Another option is to make a bootable clone. You should have more than one backup on 2 different drives since hard drives do fail.
Clone - Carbon Copy Cloner (Often recommended as it has more features than some others)
Clone – Data Backup
Clone – Deja Vu
Clone - SuperDuper
Clone - Synk
Clone Software – 6 Applications Tested

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Time machine restore on new hdd - freeze!

ive upgraded my hdd to a 500g drive from my 160g. in an attempt to restore a backup from time machine, i backed up, switched disks, installed tiger - no option to backup from time machine. so i upgraded to leopard (when i tried to originally boot up from leopard it wouldnt work, so used the install 1 disk of tiger) - and was able to restore from time machine there.
id already partioned the new disk using disk utility, and the restore seemed to work fine.
however, when i tried to start up my computer, within a few moments of the startup apple screen, i would see a system crash message asking me to restart my machine by keeping the standby switch pressed for a few moments.
when i booted from an osx disk, and looked at disk utility, it showed that the requisite amount of my ew drive had been used up, indicating that the transfer had happened, and when i had restored from time machine, it also stated the restore was successful.
ive switched back to my old drive to log on now, adn am currently trying a clone with superduper - but any idea as to why i would have encountered the crash message? tried restarting several times, and tried restoring again from scratch using time machine, but with the same result each time.

moretoexplore wrote:
I'm getting ready to install a new 1TB internal drive for my iMac and trying to determine the best way to do my system restore. I have two questions...
Question #1: Should I use Time Machine to restore my data, etc, to my new internal hard drive? Is this the best way to accomplish this or should I start fresh and restore everything manually?
that's up to you. the easiest is to restore from TM. if you are having problems with your current system you can do a manual restore but it's a lot more work.
Question #2: I have two external drives. One is used only for iMovie Events (1TB) and the other is used for Time Machine backups (2TB). I use Time Machine to back up both the internal drive (soon to be 1TB) and the 1TB external drive (once again, my iMovie Events). If I use Time Machine to restore, can I restore only those files that were associated with the internal drive?
yes. the easiest option is to do a full system restore which will restore your system drive. to do that boot from the leopard install DVD and choose 'restore system from backup" from the Utilities menu at the top. you don't need to install leopard on the new drive first. the drive can be blank.

Can Time Machine restore to a new internal HDD?

hi all, i've got a 1tb external drive that's exclusively used by Time Machine. the 1tb drive is connected to my 500gb mac mini. i've been running time machine for 6 months now daily, i just wanted to know if it was backing up everything on my 500gb drive or not. how can i check that it's working properly?
also, does anyone know how i'd go about restoring my mac mini in case i had to replace the 500gb hdd? can time machine restore everything if i needed it to? if i bought a new HDD tomorrow for example, how could i get my system running back to where it was running today with all of the current settings and files etc? is there any way for me to check that Time Machine will actually restore OS X, all my videos, music and my work should the HDD actually die?
is there an apple link i can read?
thanks for any help.

To answer your question about replacing a hard drive and recovering what was on your old one ...
Yes, Time Machine was designed for that. You may have one of two scenarios:
(1) Your hard drive is replaced by the Apple Store or another Apple repair shop, in which case they usually restore it with the operating system you had before and configure it so it has a new system with no users set up; the first time it starts up it runs Setup Assistant. When Setup Assistant runs, you select the option to restore from a Time Machine backup. It will then automatically restore your entire hard drive to the newly installed one. Everything will be just as it was with the old drive. Exceptions: you MAY have to enter user keys for software like MS-Office and Adobe Photoshop. and you MAY have to reinstall your printers and scanners.
(2) If the hard drive is replaced but no operating system or anything is put on it, you need to boot from your Install-OS-DVD and install a new operating system on the new drive. Then, on the first reboot, Setup Assistant runs and you can follow the instructions from (1) above.
A good informational site about Time Machine is here: http://pondini.org/TM/Home.html
How do you know that your Time Machine backup is a good one? You can peruse through all the backups by running Time Machine and manually inspect that the files in those key folders (photos, music etc.) are all there and have the right sizes. You can "test recover" selected folders to a scratch location just to check that it works. I suggest you obtain another external drive and use it to make a "clone" of your internal drive using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. This is like a second backup, a failsafe in case, say, your Time Machine drive were to fail. This is not unheard of, since a power failure could cause both your internal drive and Time Machine drives to crash at the same time. The "clone" should be unplugged and stored separately to avoid this issue. You can update the clone, say once a week or once a month.

I replaced the original hdd in my early 2008 iMac. I can't move my files that were backed up with Time Machine to my new hdd using Migration Assistant. When prompted to select the "from drive", the ext. hhd does not appears as a selection. Please help!!

I replaced the original hdd in my early 2008 iMac. I can't move my files that were backed up with Time Machine to my new hdd using Migration Assistant. When prompted to select the "from drive", the ext. hhd does not appears as a selection. Please help!!

I'd recommend staring over, Pondini has created an excellent guide on how to use Setup Assistant. I'd recommend begin reading Pondini Setup Assistant tips where he talks about "Second Chance." Assuming your Time Machine backup is sound the restore should be very smooth.
Roger

Time Machine restore to new computer

My iMac G5 has completely failed, and I am getting a new iMac Core2Duo. As the old computer is dead, I won't be able to use migration assistant to copy my stuff from the old computer. So I will need to restore my files from the Time Machine back-up.
Slightly worried because I'm moving from a PowerPC to Intel machine.
Any tips or ideas? I know I will need to go through the install DVD to initiate the restore process.
Any help would be really useful!

I was just going to make a post myself but thought perhaps I could do it as a reply to this post.
I have had the same issue and ... Time Machine doesn't work. Apple Care has been pretty much useless in solving my problem. Background: 6 month old 24' iMac, I'm doing a software update and the OS update (10.5.6) fails. System resources are corrupted so I have to do an OS reinstall. Except that doesn't work. Bad file system. Only fix is to wipe the disk and reinstall. That doesn't work, Apple replaces the hard drive "bad firmware". Hmm.. So I go to restore from Time Machine - the restore won't work either from the new install or the migration assistant. The symptom is that the Time Machine app can see the external hard drive, knows it's a time machine disk, but says no system is present. I don't get the list of folders (dates) I'm supposed to get at the various restore points. The Time Machine disk is fine. I can use the finder and see all the files and folders. I can do the painful drag and drop restore. I'll have to reinstall apps from scratch but the data is there. I've deleted the interrupted backup, deleted the "Latest" folder, done a variety of stuff Time Machine tech support has suggested. It just doesn't work. No explanation. I've got a good Time Machine backup and essentially a new machine and no-go.
What I would do is make a back up of your time machine disk. I would get another disk and do a drag and drop copy of the data you care about. Make a backup of the backup in other words. Then use the Time Machine restore function to selectively restore folders.
What I think is happening here is that despite the assertion that Time Machine is a simple incremental backup, I think that there are ties between the source and the target at the system level. In my case I had a more complex file system than usual, multiple user accounts, and probably a corrupted OS that migrated itself onto the time machine volume. I think Time Machine is looking to the system files somewhere on the Time Machine disk and if those are corrupted your Time Machine disk as a source for a full restore is useless.
I'll probably make a separate post on this so sorry in advance on that but if anyone has any ideas on how I can solve this and help the original poster Mr. Tanner avoid this, it would be great. Maybe a Time Machine system engineer is reading and can offer some help. I live in San Jose and I'm happy to bring my Mac and Time Machine disk over to Cupertino....

Can't open iWeb 09 even after Time Machine restore to new

Well I broke it!
I tried to open a saved iWeb html file that was saved from my old Intel Mac Mini running iWeb 08 that I Migrated over via Firewire. I even tried to restore iWeb using Time Machine, from when it worked new out of the box, no luck. When I click on the iWeb icon a small window pops up:
Can't open file "~/Desktop/WebSite/About_Me.html."
Locked up. So is there a file that I can modify back to where I had it? Thanks

iWeb can't open html files. It can't import them, either.

How can Time Machine restore older Mac Pro's - But not Disk Utility?

Hey,
So I had posted a discussion earlier last week asking about older MacPro's (2006 - 2008) versions that do not seem to run snow leopard if you just try to install with the MAC OS X 10.6.2 disc - I was trying to use my new Snow Leopard image that i have created for the new school year, and I tried to image a 2006 MacPro model and a 2008 MacPro model, etc... This would not work, it would let me start the imaging process and then it would give me an error that looked like this "ev/disk02o does not have enough space" And i just figured that was the computer code way of telling me that the image i had created was not readable by the computer or the disk utility, but this must be something that was written into the programing of Disk Utility or Snow Leopard because i found a loop hole - I was able to "restore" the backup of the new image that i made using Time Machine on the 2008 MacPro and even the 2006 MacPro - which both have earlier versions of the Intel chip. The restored image works fine, all programs work the same as a 2009 MacPro that i imaged the same image onto using disk utility and i have found no problems yet using any part of the system. MY QUESTION: I'm wondering how i was able to do this and if anyone has had a similar experience trying to get images accross a bunch of different models of MacPro's - Is Time Machine a "better" way to restore the disk image? Did Apple do this on purpose, so that you cant image newer images onto older machines? Very confused as to why it makes you use Time Machine...
Thanks again,
Kyle R.

You are reading things into that error message that are simply not there.
Take the error message at face value.
When it calculates all the "stuff" it has to get onto your disk to do the installation, it does not fit. (including the .dmg, the Virtual Disk created to mount the dmg, and all the temporay files that are added before the new version takes over and discards the old stuff) all that stuff in total does not fit.)
Sure the final image fits, and sure you can restore that final image using other methods: Time machine works, and I'll bet Carbon Copy Cloner and Super Duper work as well.
Using the method you were using, the sum of all the temp files and all the program files do not fit. It is NOT a conspiracy.

Can Time Machine restore files to an external drive?

I normally keep my iTunes folder on an external USB drive because it does not fit on my 80gig internal drive. I was able to successfully use Time Machine to back up my iTunes folder to a dedicated external Time Machine drive (great!). I now want to restore my iTunes folder to a new bigger external drive that I purchased to replace my exiting USB drive which is beginning to have some problems.
Here is my challenge: When I try to restore my iTunes folder (60gig) I am not prompted for a destination. I believe Time Machine is attempting to restore to my desktop? Since my internal drive doesn't have capacity how can I restore my iTunes folder directly to an external drive?

Axel,
Yes, I'm certain. I store my own iPhoto and iTunes libraries on a secondary partition of my internal hard drive, so I am familiar with this usage. As it turns out, I also have a partition created on my external drive, the same one being used for TM, that has the same name as my secondary internal partition.
When I open the mounted partition that has the same name as the internal secondary, then click the Time Machine icon in the Dock, I am taken to the backup of the secondary internal partition. If I select my iPhoto library (for example), then click the "Restore" button, I am returned to the "current" Finder, where the library is being copied to the same-named external partition.
A potentially confusing explanation , but it affirms that Time Machine is looking at the volume's name.
Scott

Time Machine Restore on New Internal Drive

I'm getting ready to install a new 1TB internal drive for my iMac and trying to determine the best way to do my system restore. I have two questions...
Question #1: Should I use Time Machine to restore my data, etc, to my new internal hard drive? Is this the best way to accomplish this or should I start fresh and restore everything manually?
Question #2: I have two external drives. One is used only for iMovie Events (1TB) and the other is used for Time Machine backups (2TB). I use Time Machine to back up both the internal drive (soon to be 1TB) and the 1TB external drive (once again, my iMovie Events). If I use Time Machine to restore, can I restore only those files that were associated with the internal drive? I really wont need to restore all my iMovie events on the external drive.
Thanks so much!

moretoexplore wrote:
I'm getting ready to install a new 1TB internal drive for my iMac and trying to determine the best way to do my system restore. I have two questions...
Question #1: Should I use Time Machine to restore my data, etc, to my new internal hard drive? Is this the best way to accomplish this or should I start fresh and restore everything manually?
that's up to you. the easiest is to restore from TM. if you are having problems with your current system you can do a manual restore but it's a lot more work.
Question #2: I have two external drives. One is used only for iMovie Events (1TB) and the other is used for Time Machine backups (2TB). I use Time Machine to back up both the internal drive (soon to be 1TB) and the 1TB external drive (once again, my iMovie Events). If I use Time Machine to restore, can I restore only those files that were associated with the internal drive?
yes. the easiest option is to do a full system restore which will restore your system drive. to do that boot from the leopard install DVD and choose 'restore system from backup" from the Utilities menu at the top. you don't need to install leopard on the new drive first. the drive can be blank.

Can Time Machine Restore the whole operating system ?

Hi there,
I understand Time Machine can be used to locate files which were accidentally deleted.
But can it restore the whole OS system together with all the settings to say a 2 weeks ago ?
If can, I desperately beg someone to be kind enough to guide & teach me how to do it step by step.
Many thanks

RyanManUtd wrote:
Question 1:
I am doing a full restore on the same Mac. For avoidance of doubt, can you kindly confirm that the first paragraph of item#14 does not apply to me ?
Yup. This works fine if it's the same Mac. That's what it's intended for.
Question 2:
I have a Lacie Firewire800 external HDD connected to my Mac, I have already updated & backup data on this Lacie FW800 HDD to yesterday.
As I intend to restore the entire system to 2 weeks ago, I am afraid that my Lacie would also be restored to 2 weeks ago, would it ?
When you say "entire system", it refers only to the Mac internal harddrive or everything connected to it ?
Ah, yes, that's a bit misleading. That procedure will restore your internal HD only. By "entire system," it really means everything on your internal HD (which is all most users have): OSX, apps, configuration, users, settings, preferences, data.
If you want to restore an external HD, you must do that separately, so your LaCie won't be touched. Just to be extra-safe, I'd eject and disconnect it if I were you.

Can Time Machine restore a deleted page???

Please help me...
I accidentally deleted a web page from my iWeb site. I don't want to restore the entire site from Time Machine... just the one page. I've updated the blog and other pages since I deleted the page "gallery" that I wish to restore.
Does Time Machine save individual pages with photos? If so, where?
Can anyone help??

You'll have to restore the domain.sites2 file in your User/Library/Application Support/iWeb folder from a time that would have the missing page. Select Both in the restore window:
Click to view full size
Then you can merge the old and the new domain file into one file with iWebSites. Then drag the missing page from the older site into the newer one and delete the remains of the older site.
OT

Time machine Restore to new mac.

I have been using Time to back up my mac. Now that I have a new Mac Tower is it possible to use Time machine to move files over to the machine.

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
You can't do a full system restore, since there are differences in OSX for the two machines -- one Mac's OS won't run on a different model.
But you can "migrate" from the old one.
If you haven't set up your new Mac yet, at the end of that procedure there's an option to migrate (I'm not sure that's the exact word) from another Mac or a backup. It's probably easiest to connect the old Mac and migrate from it; but you can use your TM backups instead.
If it's already set up, you can use the Migration Assistant (in your Applications/Utilities folder) similarly, either from the old Mac or the TM backups.
You do need to be careful, however, if your old Mac was a PPC machine, as some 3rd-party apps may not work on your new Intel Mac. Take a look at Kappy's post here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7845144#7845144

Can Time Machine restore Mail 5.0?

I accidentally removed a mailbox (Mailbox B) which is alias of mailbox A. Then mailbox B has gone, but mailbox A's emails all gone together! It happened in the past in Mail 4.5 then I got into Time Machine and restore the last hour. But this time nothing was restored under Lion and Mail 5.0.
After the restore failure, I went back into the Time Machine. I can still see mailbox B, mailbox A and their email headers and details in every hourly backups. But they are just not restored! Did I miss any steps under Lion?

Justice,
Yes, what you want to do might be possible, but you will need, as others have said, a Mac OS X 10.5 DVD.
Next you should probably have a second external hard disk (We'll call it HD #2) available and do a full Time Machine backup to it. Then set it aside.
Next, using the Mac OS X DVD, and your original Time Machine backup disk (We'll call it HD #1), do a ”Restore System From Backup...”, choosing the earlier system software version.
Reverting To A Previous Mac OS Version
[http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/15216.html]
As the article says, +"Reverting to the previous version of Mac OS X will erase any additions or changes you’ve made to the files on your computer after installing the new version of Mac OS X. To save new or revised files, copy them onto a different disk or back them up using Time Machine before you follow these instructions. Use Time Machine only if you’re reverting to a previous version of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), since Time Machine is not available with Mac OS X 10.4 or earlier."+
Once the restoration is complete, remove HD#1 and attach HD#2. Now use Migration Assistant to migrate the user accounts, apps, and other data from the full TM backup you perform before starting the "Restore System From Backup...”. When it detects that there are already accounts with the same usernames choose to "Replace" the existing ones with the one being migrated over.
You should now have an earlier Mac OS X version, but your most recent user data.
Let us know of this was helpful.
Glenn
Message was edited by: Glenn Carter

Can Time Machine restore to a diffent OS installation?

I am currently running Time Machine and have done a complete backup of my iMac.
I now want to completely reinstall Mac OSX to try to fix some problems and I want to know if my new installation of MAC OS X Leopard will be able to use Time Machine to restore from my backup of the iMac?
I plan on only restoring certain files, such as videos, pictures, and iTunes...
I'm worried that after I reinstall OSX, the system will try to erase my external drive to start a new Time Machine backup.
Many Thanks!

first, the system will not erase the external drive with TM backups unless you tell it to. If you designate this drive as TM drive it will simply start a new backup series. You'll be able to browse your old backups in browse mode before you start the new backup sequence. to do that control-click on TM in the dock and choose "browse other TM disks". this will let you browse your old backups and restore what you want. You'll be prompted for restore location each time you try to restore something. Also, you can always open the TM drive in finder and copy what you need using finder.

Time Machine restore to new drive not even starting

I have a Macbook that came with Tiger. I upgraded a few months ago to Leopard and started using Time Machine - last time backed up about 10d ago.
Internal hard drive crashed and I installed a new one. I don't have my original Leopard media so I borrowed from someone else, thus can't install Leopard but can boot the machine from the CD.
When I go to utilities and select "restore from backup" (i.e. Time Machine) nothing, whatsoever, happens. It's as if I didn't even hit the button. I can see the contents of the TM disk so I know it's good. The new drive formatted fine too.
Am I going to have to get my Leopard disks (which are 50 miles away, thus not handy) and do this in two steps (first get a working Leopard install, then try to restore from TM)?
Thanks- really hoping that Time Machine is more than a backup placebo.

I'm in the same situation as the original poster, the leopard DVD is at work, and on a Saturday my laptop crashed. I get this "Unable to load XIPanel_RestoreIntroduction nib file" error and I'd like to know if others have been able to:
1) understand what this message is about, e.g. are there additional checks in the nib file or is it just not found?
2) work around the issue one way or another.
Apple making computers -- deterministic creatures of all, and not casinos I'm not fully satisfied with the idea that this is a gamble to work around the issue. Unless of course there is a list of "other issues" that's been published somewhere in which case I'll be grateful to not embark on a useless and ultimately doomed effort to get my mac to work.

Can time machine restore in new HDD?

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