Cannot access old backups

So here's the problem from start to finish:
A while back I was experiencing some trouble with my Time Machine backups - they just kept failing. So I turned off time machine on my machine, de-selected the Time Capsule as my backup point, and rebooted the time capsule. Popped on time machine again, reselected "data" and then away we went with the backup. I was a bit concerned by the fact that it said "oldest backup: none" but then discovered that when it started backing up it wasn't doing my whole hard drive just a block of close to 50 gigs or so -- seemed within reason.
Today I went to try and grab a file from a few months back only to discover I could only go back as far as Feb 8th (around the time when I re-setup time machine). There were entries dating back almost a year, which I expected but all of the items were "faded". They had dates - I could jump to March 17th for example, but when I got there I was greeted by a black box and no ability to pull anything down from time machine.
I thought maybe it was this folder - but nope, tried a couple others and they were all the same.
I only have one sparse bundle for this computer on the time capsule "data" drive, and it's ~1.5 TB in size. When I open up the sparse bundle and look there are lots and lots of folders (granted if I try to open any finder just shows the pinwheel in the lower right corner and does nothing) so I'm guessing that things are still there... but for some reason I cannot access them.
Does anyone have any idea what might be going on? Are my files still there? Is my sparse bundle corrupt? Is it because this is all over the network? Is there a way to copy the contents of the time capsule over to another harddrive which I can then use in it's place?
This is for my "old" computer, that has recently been replaced. My new computer is currently not being backed up at all because there's no room left on the time capsule because of the giant backup for my old computer, a backup I'm now not even sure really exists. If that's the case I'll just re-format the harddrive and away we go.
Any insight that could be offered would be greatly appreciated.

Are you on Mavericks now??
Did the problem start when you upgraded to Mavericks?? If so you are one amongst many.
Mavericks does something terrible to the old backups. If you can get access to them is unknown.
Firstly mount the sparsebundle and do a verify via disk utility.
See A5 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Try some of the solutions in the E section.. eg E2-E4
I hope you do realise if you deleted the file from the computer.. then TM will delete it from the backup.. not immediately but eventually it will. TM is not a good way to keep history of backups.. It is a current snapshot.
It sounds like you have tried correctly to open the sparsebundle in finder and locate the file.. This is worth while continuing but you just have to persevere .. open many dates around when you know the file was there. If it is gone.. well sorry it is gone.
TM is not particularly reliable now since Mavericks. you haven't told me you are on Mavericks but the issues smell like that.

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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.)
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Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Try the action that you're having trouble with again. Post any messages that appear in the Console window – the text, please, not a screenshot.
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Cannot access old time machine backups

Hi,
I recently had some issues regarding my MacBook Pro and decided the best course of action would be to ensure it was completely backed up; reinstall OS X Yosemite and pick the old backup for useful files.
Unfortunately, when it came to resetting up Time Machine, it asked me if I wanted to use the existing backup. I imagined the safe answer would've been "Yes" and that it would've been smart enough to create a clean backup at the date of restore.
It seems that this is not the case...
Any backup, despite being listed on the Time Machine interface, prior to the date of restore was "greyed out" and could not be accessible. Unfortunately, the "Browse other Backup Disks" option didn't work (are there issues with this option for NAS backups?), and unfortunately, a repair disk doesn't seem to either.
I have only managed to get the .sparsebundle (encrypted) drive to mount once by using a repair disk; every other time I attempt to remount using repair disk, the button is greyed out. :/
The time I did get into the "Time Machine Backups" volume; only once backup was listed for ".inProgress" – a 70GB file (the sparsebundle is ~500GB+).
Any ideas on steps I can try to find these phantom files?
At present, Disk Utility doesn't have the "Repair Disk" option available and DiskWarrior 4.4 is throwing up error 2154; low memory; on a 16GB RAM rMBP.
Any help would be appreciated.
Regards,
Jamie

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Help - but please, in simple language
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Cannot access old TimeMachine backups

Hi there,
I'm new to this forum, and have been using a MacBook Pro for several years so am comfortable with the OS but not an expert. Hence my question that I am about to post to this forum in the hope that someone can steer me in the right direction please.
My wife and I both use MBPs; 7 months ago we bought a NAS and started using TimeMachine for the first time. The backups have been running all this time, and we have both been able to access our own backups without any issues at all. Recently my wife's machine crashed and it needed to be repaired, this included formatting the C: to remove all the old junk that was on there and allow her to start with a fresh new OS install.
I wasn't worried about recovering her data because we had TM running and was hoping to recover certain files from there. I tried to use the Option Key and click on 'Browse other backup disks' and it shows her old backup on our NAS, however when I select it then it takes me straight to the current drive of the computer I'm on (in the Star Wars view) - not the backup as expected. I have tried this from her MBP and also from mine with the same results - it always seem to go to Star Wars for the current machine.
I'm wondering if the problem was that both of the Time Machines MBPs used the same NAS user account to access the NAS folder to make the backups? Should I have used different user accounts?
Basically, I have her sparsebundle file on my NAS and I really need to access it however I cannot find a way. Can you please help me with this? Hours of Googling has revealed that everyone else used the Option Key 'Browse other backup disks' method however as I have described that doesn't seem to be working for me.
We are both on Mavericks (since we started with Time Machine) and have not upgraded to Yosemite yet (if that is any useful info).
I would be really grateful if you could offer some help with this please.
Cheers,
Adrian.

chucma
you craft a question as if an old hand... I have asked our Gracious Hosts to move your question - likely to MBPro, but possibly Mavericks or TimeMachine.
A good trick to get the question posted in the right place is to navigate to the forum first. The SiteWare seems more comfortable with offering the forum you are in in the that final step.
this may be helpful in seeking the forum you really want - SITEMAP | Apple Support Communities - this is a VERY special creation of our friend turingtest2. I make use of these as browser bookmarks:
You may find these links to your own content useful, the first three will highlight threads with new activity:
Authored Discussions
Participated Discussions
Following Discussions
Recently Viewed Discussions
best regards
ÇÇÇ

Cannot access old time machine backup

Dear Community,
as you can see in the image below, Time Machine preferences shows that my oldest backup is from August 25, 2012.
However, if I access the Time Machine, the oldes backup I can access is only 2 days old. All the remaining backups cannot be accessed from the GUI! They can be accessed if I manually mount the time machine, though.
Any idea why this is happening?
Thank you for your suggestions.

Thanks for the suggestion. I didn't know about the option+clik.
Unfortunately the option is grayed out and I cannot select it.
However, if I select "Broswe other backup disks" I am presented with a list in which all items (about 10) except the first one and the last one are like this:
i.e. the drive name is empty. The first option is the name of an old backup (not used anymore), and the last one is the name of the current backup. I tried selecting any of them but the result does not change.
The time machines are correctly mounted, but I still cannot access the data from the TM interface.

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I managed to get a few Time Machine Back Ups before I passed away
I'm not sure whether a ghost can do this, but if you were still alive, you could do as follows.
First make sure you have read & write access to the folder you're trying to restore to. You should be able to see its contents in the Finder, and to move files in and out of it.
This is an exception to the rule that you should never make any changes to backup data. I've tested this procedure in OS X 10.8 only. It should work with later versions, but I don't know whether it works in earlier versions. Use it only for files that were backed up from your home folder, or a folder on another volume created by you, and would normally be writable by you. Do not touch backups of system or application files.
In the Finder (not in the time-travel view), navigate to the backup volume, then to the folder named "Backups.backupdb", and then to the snapshot you want to restore from. The snapshots are folders labeled with the date when they were created. Inside each of those folders is a file hierarchy like the one on the volume that was backed up. Descend through the hierarchy until you come to a folder named "Users," and inside that, a folder with your user name. The procedure will be different if you're trying to restore files on another volume.
Select the folder and open the Info dialog (command-I). Click the padlock icon in the lower right corner of the window and authenticate. In the Sharing & Permissions section, give your account Read & Write access. You may have to close the dialog and repeat this step in order for the change to show up. Then click the gear icon and select
Apply to Enclosed Items
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Try the restore operation again, in the time-travel interface.

Cannot access "old" sparsebundle" on time capsule

My Macbook Pro broke down. I got a back-up machine now while my mbp is away for repair. My old harddrive was put into this - but now I cannot access time machine backups on the time capsule. Instead time machine produces new sparsebundles but the old one appear not accessible - though they still show up in finder on the capsule.
I urgently need some files - how can I access the "old" sparsebundles/backups?

mor69 wrote:
I really appreciate you guys taking your time trying to help here!!
On the sparsebundles: I can see them no problem in the finder when opening the time capsule - but they simply arent accessed by time machine
trying to repair the bundle right this minute - but I think my problem is not a corrupted file - but time machine not recognizing the file as back-up
If Disk Utility is able to repair it, the sparse bundle is probably good and will be recognized by Time Machine. If not, you're out of options.
(oh my god - am I explaining this correctly??? English after all is not my mother tongue so excuse any stuff that does not make sense, please)
You're doing fine -- better that many native English speakers!

Cannot access previous backup data from Time Capsule.

I have had a Time Capsule running for over a year and, from what I can tell, it has been working properly. There have been a few occasions where I have needed to restore old data and was able to do so from a previous backup in Time Machine stored on the Time Capsule.
I noticed last week that my MacMini and iMac were taking an unusually long time to run the routine periodic backup process and never seemed to finish, so I used "Stop Back Up" and attempted to enter Time Machine. When I go to "Enter Time Machine", my Time Capsule mounts and, after what seems like an unusually long time, I finally get the expected Time Machine window to appear.
The problem is that there are no previous backups to access for either computers. It seems like I have lost all my old backup data. Yet, my 1T Time Capsule shows that it is only about 50% full. So it makes me wonder what is on the TC.
It would seem that the data must be on the Time Capsule but for some reason Time Machine cannot locate/access it. I have not altered any preferences nor configurations.
Any ideas as to what may have happened and how to go about fixing it would be greatly appreicated.
Thank you,
Marcantonio

It sounds like the backups may be damaged/corrupted. Repair them per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
If that doesn't help, see #E4 there.

HT1338 cannot access old back ups on time machine

I cannot access my old backups on time machine, using Gdrive as a back up

Hi.
Are you using the time Machine app to attempt this... or are you simply opening the backup drive in the Finder? This you cannot do.
To access the data that is backed up to your external drive via Time Machine, do this...
• First, navigate in the Finder to the folder that should contain the data you wish to retrieve.
• Now, starting in the Menu bar at the top of the screen... click the Time Machine icon > Enter Time Machine.
The Time Machine will appear, with its display of copies of your Finder window leading back into the distant past.
• Using the timeline along the right edge of the screen, select a date or point in time as far back as you need to go until Time Machine dislplays the file version that you wish to retrieve. At the bottom of the screen, TM will show the backup date of the current window contents.
• Select your file in the display window and click Restore in the bottom right corner.
Time Machine will now move a copy of the backed up file back into place in your Finder window as it closes the Time Machine app.
See more here... Mac 101: Time Machine
I hope this is helpful.

Can't access old backups, but are still there!

So i tried today to access some old backups, and lo and behold, when i open time machine, the only ones i could get to were the ones from today. I looked in sys.prefs. and it said that the oldest backup i had was, in fact what it should be, but i can't access anything older than today! How can I access my older archives?

Confirm that an entirely new backup has not been created. If only one backup folder exists, perhaps the Time Machine interface view is slow in bringing up previous backups to view.

Permissions issue accessing old backups

Hi - I've recently upgraded to a new Macbook Pro and updated to Mountain Lion Presently on 10.8.3
I've been backing up via Time machine and earlier today I tried accessing older folder which, when I clicked on them, advised that I didnt have permission to access. I did a few searches and tried looking in and achanging permissions by right clicking Get Info, which I was unable to do (the options were greyed).
I just did a back up and thought I'd try again - now I can even check the earlier backups beyond 2 back ups prior, even though i see the purple back up dates listed on the right hand side - i click and nothing happens
Hmmm - very frustrated

No, I can see all the folders and dates there, but it wont allow me to access them saying that I dont have permission to view. I can scroll thru and see all the revious backup finder windows but certain folders (like documents and desktop are greyed) and when I go via my computer to users, movies, library and pictures have the red circle / white line icon
These are the backups from my old Macbook which I replaced earlier this year - I remember at the time, Time machine asked me would I like to add to old backups which i agreed too - now I cant seem to be able to get permission to access

Accessing old backups

Evening all..
Recently purchased new Time Capsule (4th gen) to replace my old Time Capsule (1st gen).
Followed the instructions on this site to copy all of the backups from old TC to new TC (which took nearly 3 days) and now need to access those old backups which have been copied to the new TC.
Am not able to see them via Time Machine, only the backups created since installing new TC.
Any ideas ?

In addition to the above info..
I've looked at the new Time Capsule in Finder and have 2 Sparsebundle files on it..
One is the current set of backups (approx 210gb) and the other is what's been copied from the old TC (approx 970gb)..
So, the data is there, but I can't see a way to access it through Time Machine.

Cant access old backups

i have recently had to reinstal leopard on my imac,the problem i have is i can now only access time machine backups from after the new instalation.I remember that i changed my user name from my original one and deleted the old one can anyone tell me how to access the old backups or tell me how to delete them so i can regain the space.most of my backup space is used by the old backups and i have very little space left, thanks in advance jamie.

rellmac wrote:
hi thanks for your advice.Ive tried what you told me to do but i still cant get access to anything before may 2009.Theres nothing showing up as if it dident exist.
How do you know there are older backups? TM does delete your oldest backups when it needs room for new ones.
I know that i changed the name of the computer after i reinstaled leopard and there was two user names before, there not there now,
Try the Browse option while signed-on as an Admin user. You should see all the backups.
its like theres 80 gigs of time machine space that cant be read or accessed.
How do you know this? Where are you getting the 80 gb number?
Depending on what you did earlier, such as deleting backups, or parts of backups, via the Finder, it's possible the backups are corrupted. If in doubt, do a +*Repair Disk+* (not permissions) on your TM drive via the Disk Utility app (in your Applications/Utilities folder).

Cannot Find Old Backups On Old Computer

So I had some major issues with my computer and had to delete the HD and do a fresh install of ML. After I try to access my backups from my "old HD", they are not there. I also tried "browse other disks". All I see is my current computer, and my wife's backups on her computer. I do not see my "old" disk. When I enter TM, and try to access "Shared", it is unhighlighted. I am unable to click on it. I know my "old" HD was backing up. I had no issues accessing the backups on my HD untill I deleted the HD and started over. The perevious backups on that HD are no where to be found.
I have no clue what to do at this point. I just want to get my itunes library and my photos back! Please help!

mluman83 wrote:
I clicked on the DMG on the desktop and I do in fact see Backups.backupdb. I also explored this folder and it dead ends into a .inProgress file. Thats all thats in there.
No date-stamped backup folders besides the .inProgress one? That means no backups ever completed. The .inProgress package (a special kind of folder that's often treated like a single file) is where backed-up data is collected; once it's all there, it's converted into a date-stamped backup folder.
The only (slim) hope is to see if you can repair them, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting. You may need to eject the disk image first.
You may be able to recover some stuff from it manually, but it will be tedious and hit-and-miss. Post back with the results of the repair attempt, and if you need to try to recover.

Cannot access old backups

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