Clean Install & Time Machine

If I were to wipe my hard drive and do a fresh install of OS X, is there some way I could maintain the ability to access my old files through time machine?
Thanks for any help with this!

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Clean Install / Time Machine Restore

If I do a clean install of Snow Leopard and then use migration assistant to migrate my user profile, applications, settings, etc. from the time machine backup that was created under my 10.5.8 installation - is the migration assistant going to carry over "junk" from the prior installation or is it "intelligent" enough to not replace newer files with older versions of the same file (i.e. from the backup).
Is this a worthwhile and viable solution to ensuring a "fresh" start with Snow Leopard while insuring that I do not lose my installed Applications? Thanks!

dvassallo,
dvassallo wrote:
What about with the users "Library" directory - does MA preserver newer copies of files?
No. If you migrate your entire HOME folder from a backup, the entire HOME folder (including your Library folder) will be migrated and replace whatever currently exists.
Scott

Clean install / time machine / reinstall

Just came back from Genius bar where we did a clean install & reinstalled my apps only. When I came home I 'entered' Time Machine (top left); selected most recent backup (from Genius Bar this morning) & let it run. Came back; laptop was asleep; my laptop has almost the same amount of memory available since prior to my Genius visit:
- I can't find my music
- I can't find my photos
- Apps were installed properly
- because memory is almost the same, I'm assuming my music/photos are on here somewhere
- not a biggy but things are different:
     - I'm still on 10.8.2 but the left side view of Finder looks different;
     - Mail looks different; my "X" "-" "+" buttons aren't Red, Yellow & Green anymore;
     - I can't remove an App from the Dock by dragging it off to go 'poof';
     - I can't drag an App to add to the Dock
Any help would be grateful

Back up all data.
This procedure will unlock all your user files (not system files) and reset their ownership and access-control lists to the default. If you've set special values for those attributes on any of your files, they will be reverted. In that case, either stop here, or be prepared to recreate the settings if necessary. Do so only after verifying that those settings didn't cause the problem. If none of this is meaningful to you, you don't need to worry about it.
Step 1
If you have more than one user account, and the one in question is not an administrator account, then temporarily promote it to administrator status in the Users & Groups preference pane. To do that, unlock the preference pane using the credentials of an administrator, check the box marked Allow user to administer this computer, then reboot. You can demote the problem account back to standard status when this step has been completed.
Triple-click the following line to select it. Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C):
{ sudo chflags -R nouchg,nouappnd ~ $TMPDIR.. ; sudo chown -Rh $UID:staff ~ $_ ; sudo chmod -R u+rwX ~ $_ ; chmod -R -N ~ $_ ; } 2> /dev/null
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
The command will take a noticeable amount of time to run. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear, then quit Terminal.
Step 2 (optional)
The first step should give you usable permissions in your home folder. This step will restore special attributes set by OS X on some user folders to protect them from unintended deletion or renaming. You can skip this step if you don't consider that protection to be necessary.
Boot into Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at startup. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.
When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select
Utilities ▹ Terminal
from the menu bar. A Terminal window will open.
In the Terminal window, type this:
res
Press the tab key. The partial command you typed will automatically be completed to this:
resetpassword
Press return. A Reset Password window will open. You’re not going to reset a password.
Select your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if not already selected.
Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.
Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.
Select
 ▹ Restart
from the menu bar.

Macbook Pro clean install: Time machine permissions problem

So I just upgraded to Mavericks from Lion this weekend. I backed up my old files onto my 2TB external HD. Because my laptop was really slow I decided to do a clean install and then bring over my music, movies, pics, necessary files, etc. as I needed them. However, I have run into a problem: using my computer on a clean install has made it impossible to access files, music, etc. from my old administrative account. I get this error when I try to open folders with the "do not enter" sign:
The folder “Desktop” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents.
How can I gain access to my old files without having to partition my hard drive, reinstall the OS from my time machine backup, copying the files to the hard drive and not using time machine (just dragging and dropping directly onto the HD)? Or is that my only option at this point to recover those old files?
Thanks guys!

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 this procedureonly 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 from the popup menu.
Try the restore operation again, in the time-travel interface.

I'm trying to install Time Machine and Airport Update V 1.0 but installer

keeps returning error message: You cannot install Time Machine and AirPort Updates on this volume. This update requires Mac OS X 10.5.2 or newer.
I am in fact running 10.5.6. Would the fact that this update was dated in March of 2008 have anything to do with it? I think it's the latest update for TM and Airport.
Any suggestions?

Kappy, how'd you get so smart. On further investigation I discovered that I had already downloaded and installed that update. I will follow your advice in the future, not risking showing off as a fool.

Cannot locate lost work or install time machine

Is the only way to retrieve "lost" information via time machine? If not, please let me know how, and if so I cannot install time machine on my computer as it keeps coming up saying "Airport Utility cannot find a wireless device installed"-do I need another device to keep this information and cannot just keep it on the hard drive?

toothmom wrote:
Is the only way to retrieve "lost" information via time machine? If not, please let me know how, and if so I cannot install time machine on my computer as it keeps coming up saying "Airport Utility cannot find a wireless device installed"-do I need another device to keep this information and cannot just keep it on the hard drive?
Welcome to Apple Discussions:
If by "lost" you mean deleted, there is no way to recover the data, especially if other files have been created since the original was deleted. The area on the HD has been overwritten.
TM does not backup to a wireless device unless that wireless device is TimeCapsule
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=735
You need an external HardDrive that is 3 to 4 times as large as your internal drive connected directly to your computer.

When I try to install Time Machine update I get this message: You cannot install Time Machine and AirPort Updates on this volume. This update requires Mac OS X 10.5.2 or newer. I have OS X 10.5.8.

When I try to install Time Machine update I get this message: “You cannot install Time Machine and AirPort Updates on this volume. This update requires Mac OS X 10.5.2 or newer.” I have OS X 10.5.8.

It's bundled with 10.5.3 and newer and can't be installed separately on those OSes.
(59310)

I installed time machine but I can't find it in system preferences?

I installed time machine but I can't find it in system preferences? How do I access it? Light is green but is it backing up?

???
You installed Time Machine or Time Capsule? Time Machine is part of Leopard (OS X 10.5.x). If you are referring to Time Capsule, you set it up via AirPort Utility. You should have the install disk. If you are talking about Time Machine, can you confirm you have OS X 10.5.x? Your signature indicates you only have Tiger (OS X 10.4.11). If that is correct, you need to upgrade to Leopard.
Welcome to Apple Discussions!

Clean Install + Time Capsule

My G5 seems to be running slowly, so I want to erase my drive and reinstall everything. I have all of my files backed up on a time capsule.
My question is this: If I do a clean install will I be able to get my files from the Time Capsule? It seems like my time machine backup is 'linked' to my computer - so if I do a clean install will it still be linked?
I am guessing it's linked because I have 2 other computers that also use the Time Capsule as a backup....
I just don't want to do a clean install and then try to recover my files and be unable to do so because Time Machine is unable to locate any backup that is linked to my computer.....

My G5 seems to be running slowly, so I want to erase my drive and reinstall everything. I have all of my files backed up on a time capsule.
My question is this: If I do a clean install will I be able to get my files from the Time Capsule? It seems like my time machine backup is 'linked' to my computer - so if I do a clean install will it still be linked?
I am guessing it's linked because I have 2 other computers that also use the Time Capsule as a backup....
I just don't want to do a clean install and then try to recover my files and be unable to do so because Time Machine is unable to locate any backup that is linked to my computer.....

No destination disk to install time machine back up on to

My hard drive recently died, so I've bought a new one.
I'm trying to install my time machine backup from my external hard drive on to my MacBook Pro.
Everything works fine, except when I get to the "Select a Destination" stage, there is no disk to choose from!
Help??

Perhaps, if your computer is new enough to be able to use OS X Internet Recovery. Boot OS X Internet Recovery by holding ⌘, option, and r (three fingers) while you start your Mac.
At the Mac OS X Utilities screen, select Disk Utility.
If you do not see the Mac OS X Utilities screen, your Mac is too old to have used OS X Internet Recovery and you will need its original System Install disc. Obtain a replacement directly from Apple.

What should i do i cant install time machine back up .I need urgent help please :(

Hey guys ! please help me tomorrow is my exam and I don't have my laptop for study . A while ago I needed windows on my mac and while installing it via boot-camp I somehow managed to wipe whole mac partition even recovery so I was left with only windows on my mac.
My Condition :- No recovery PS. I have external recovery on my USB. I saved those files from internet recovery was tired of downloading 1GB every time to get into recovery. )
No mac OS
no recovery partition .
so now the problem is I always thought that I do have a time machine backup on my hard disk so ill just install it simple .
I tried internet recovery ... then got into recovery ... tried to install my time machine backup and it said .. [ ERROR CREATING RECOVERY PARTITION ]
I had the time machine backup of OSX mavericks .
when I tried the reinstall OSX option it said it will download mountain lion . I was like fine download it whatever .. i tried the download but every time I try it get stuck at a point with some error . (maybe cause of my slow internet )
I have reinstalled the windows 8.1 but I cant use X-CODE on it .
what should I do
I want my OSX backup
my friend have a ISO of Mavericks and mountain lion both will they help ?

Recovery Partition Creator 3.8
Recovery Partition – Recreate Without Reinstalling
Recovery Partition – Recreate Without Reinstalling (Requires Installer)
When you go to Internet Recovery use Disk Utility to repair the drive and repair permissions. Then erase the partition, formatting it as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Click the option button and select GUID. Then try to install the OS.

Failed Mavericks Install / Time Machine

My iMac is stuck in a loop after failed Mavericks install. The message told me to back up data, erase and install again. Naturally, I hadn't run Time Machine in a month and had some important files to try and save (stupid, I know). Fortunately, I got the real important stuff backed up using firewire mode and an old MacBook.
At this point, the iMac can't boot into either safe mode or into the disk repair with my old Snow Leopard disk. My question is whether I can now connect my external drive with an existing backup to the MacBook and have it make a backup of the iMacs contents. I'm curious whether Time Machine will recognize the iMac's hard drive as the same volume even though it is mounted on the MacBook as an external drive. Will this work or should I go buy a new external drive and try and clone the iMac's contents?
I have AppleCare but I'd like to take care of this prior to taking it in as they may want to replace the drive. The Time Machine method seems preferable so I can restore the system exactly the way it was very easily.

My iMac is stuck in a loop after failed Mavericks install. The message told me to back up data, erase and install again. Naturally, I hadn't run Time Machine in a month and had some important files to try and save (stupid, I know). Fortunately, I got the real important stuff backed up using firewire mode and an old MacBook.
At this point, the iMac can't boot into either safe mode or into the disk repair with my old Snow Leopard disk. My question is whether I can now connect my external drive with an existing backup to the MacBook and have it make a backup of the iMacs contents. I'm curious whether Time Machine will recognize the iMac's hard drive as the same volume even though it is mounted on the MacBook as an external drive. Will this work or should I go buy a new external drive and try and clone the iMac's contents?
I have AppleCare but I'd like to take care of this prior to taking it in as they may want to replace the drive. The Time Machine method seems preferable so I can restore the system exactly the way it was very easily.

Wiping my iMac clean! Time Machine or Manual drag/drop...?

Hi all
I've done a bit of search but nothing's too clear yet.
I am planning to wipe clean my iMac (it's become a bit slow) but still back up all my current files.
I've bought a passport 2tb.
Now, if I were to use Time Machine on my entire iMac, would I still be able to select files and bring them back onto my clean harddrive, after the clean?
OR is the only option to drag n drop everything onto my passport and go from there once I've formatted my iMac?
For example, re-importing my iTunes library/songs. Pro Tools sessions etc.
I basically want a fresh computer and return select files.
Thanks!

Use Time Machine. Drag and drop will more than likely cause permission problems with your files. With TM you can select what to exclude from the backup and you can restore individual items. Once you've reinstalled continue to use TM as your automatic backup solution.
A complete wipe and reinstall may not be necessary. If we knew more about your problem and your system maybe someone could offer a less painful solution. Consider downloading and running EtreCheck http://www.etresoft.com/EtreCheck and posting it's report here. It's a small free utility that will tell everything about your system and possibly offer some clue to the problem.
Also take a look at Pondini's site for answered to your Time Machine questions http://pondini.org/TM/Home.html

How to install time machine to existing wifi

I previously used my time machine for wifi and backup then switched to ISP provided router/modem (upon their request after months of poor reception) I know want to connect my time machine to this wifi to continue with regular backups. Its plugged into to the router/modem and have green light but is not showing in airport utility. How do I properly install this or is it not recommend. I'm guessing the other option would be to connect directly to my iMac.

I am trying to avoid having you reset the Time Capsule and start all over.
Make sure that the iMac is the only device connected to the Time Capsule. There should be no other Ethernet cables connected to the Time Capsule at this time, other than the iMac connection.
Power off both the iMac and Time Capsule, wait a minute, then start up the iMac for a minute, then start up the Time Capsule and let it run a minute.
Try again with AirPort Utility. Click the Other WiFi Devices tab in AirPort Utility to see if there is an option there for Ethernet. If yes, click on Ethernet.
See if AirPort Utility can see the Time Capsule now.

No destination to install time machine backup

I recently bought a new internal hard drive, as my old one died on me.
I've installed the hard drive and have started the system. It all seems to be working fine, except when I go to Restore from TIme Machine Backup, there is no destination for me to install my back up on to.
Help??

I am using an external hard drive for my time machine backup

Clean Install & Time Machine

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