Copying from a Time Machine backup to a Mac with Tiger

I've got a Time Machine Backup of my MBP, which is running Leopard (obviously). I'd like to grab all of the files (recursively) from the latest TM backup of my "Documents" directory onto another Mac with Tiger.
From the command line (on the Tiger machine with the TM firewire backup drive connected), I've tried:
sudo cp -RL /Volumes/Daily/Backups.backupdb/My MacBook Pro/Latest/Macintosh HD/Users/sbrown/Documents/* ~/Documents
However, it does not follow the hard links. How can I get it to follow whatever links it needs to to give me a complete set of the files in the Documents folder?

Confirmed best practice (after hours with AppleCare)--will allow you to create a comprehensive backup of whatever you need from a former TM backup, without traversing aliases or needing to keep a Leopard install around after the initial step.
You DO need to have Leopard still installed, just once. Simply boot into Leopard, navigate to your backup volume and go to Latest--> in the Backup DB. This is your entire system as it most recently appeared. If you have enough hard drive space on your TM volume, you can copy every folder here to the root level of the same TM volume. This would ensure a complete, up-to-date and Tiger-visible backup at the root level. However, you can also just copy the folders you need--to the same root level of the TM backup--and the OS will break all the hardlinks and create normal (duplicate) files in the new location.
This is good because it bypasses your likely-small internal hard drive (which, if you're on a Powerbook, is a precious commodity). It just makes a dupe of your most recent backup. The other method (Show Original) won't let you get the entire drive state back easily. It requires manual lookup of every file you think you need, then a reboot into Leopard if you need another. This method lets you create a working archive.
Hope that helps...
Message was edited by: dmaterialized

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Time Machine backup created on Mac with a large hard disk. What happens when restore to MacBook Air with small SSD drive?

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Hi,
I have a late 2009 iMac and I had the HD replaced (it was included in the recent HD recall).
Before I had it replaced, I made a backup using my time capsule and it was on the latest version of Mountain Lion.
My question is, since I have to install the OS using the original install discs which was Snow Leopard, if I use the restore from Time Machine using Mac OSX Utilities, will my Mac restore my Mountain Lion backup (and have everything like it used to before I had the HD replaced)? Or do I have to reinstall Lion then Mountain Lion then restore from there?
It would be a pain to re download everything.
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Please visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine.
You will find that Mountain Lion stores an invisible copy of the Recovery HD. You can boot from your Time Machine backup drive by restarting with OPTION boot:
Boot Using OPTION key:
1. Restart the computer.
2. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "OPTION" key.
3. Release the key when the boot manager appears.
4. Select the disk icon for your Time Machine backup drive.
5. Click on the arrow button below the icon.
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How can I restore my EQ settings from a Time Machine backup?

I recently reinstalled Mavericks, and restored my user account from a Time Machine backup. In doing so I appeared to have 'lost' my personal EQ settings in iTunes, of which I had perfected quite a few to suit various headphones and speakers I've found myself using over the years.
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/Users/username/Library/Preferences/com.apple.iTunes.eq.plist
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Is there a way to restore iTunes and iPhoto libraries from an unmountable Time Machine backup?
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Thank you for the reply. I tried the Disk Utility to repair my TC's Time Machine backup disk with no luck, it stopped with the message:
Disk utility stopped repairing "iMac"
Disk Utility can't repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.
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I'm having trouble restoring my iPhoto library from a time machine backup.
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JBF80 wrote:
I want to copy all of my files, but not settings or applications. I'm happy to copy/paste the Documents, Pictures and Music directories from the TM disk.
Well, that is what I said ("You can customize what to transfer")

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OS X Yosemite version 10.10.1
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I bought Lion,burned it on dvd,put a new hard drive in my macbook,installed lion,import my folders and now i can't restore my mail settings.I don't want to download al my mails again but i want to import my mails,settings &co. from my time machine backup.I tried copying the folder /gio/Library/Mail from time machine to /gio/Library/Mail to Lion but it didn't work
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See if you can inherit the backup.
Inherit a Backup
Inherit a Backup (2)
See 17.
Time Machine FAQ
Time Machine Troubleshooting

Do I need startup discs to upgrade hardware on MacBook Pro or can I restore the hard drive from from a Time Machine backup?

do I need startup discs to upgrade hardware on MacBook Pro or can I restore the hard drive from from a Time Machine backup?

Ok, well go and grab a small 2.5" hard drive enclosure so you can put the new drive in & temporarily use it like an external hard drive.
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So much easier.

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Yes this is an interesting issue. I was wondering what would happen in such a given situation because I feared it would create problems. It makes you wonder what the need would be for time machine if it can not assist you in case your computer lets you down.....

Restoring from a Time Machine backup manually ?

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Many thanks and happy new year to all
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If you can't restore from a Time Machine snapshot in Recovery, Setup Assistant, or Migration Assistant, then restore as much data as you can in the time-travel view.
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Hold down the option key and select Go ▹ Library from the Finder menu bar. Enter Time Machine and restore all items in the Library folder. Log out and log back in as soon as the restore is complete.
Any other invisible folders or files at the top level of your home folder that you want to preserve will have to be restored separately. For most users, that isn't necessary.
Then either restore or reinstall all third-party applications, or restore them from another kind of backup, if you have one.
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Browse Other Backup Disks...
from the Time Machine menu, which has an icon that looks like a clock running backwards. Select the backups of your computer by its previous name. If you don't have the Time Machine menu, open the Time Machine preference pane in System Preferences and check the box marked
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I need to drag a file from my time machine backup to a usb

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I need to access one folder in user library folder from my time machine backup......but the backup disk won't show show a library folder.
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Copying from a Time Machine backup to a Mac with Tiger

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