Does time machine "restore" change all subsequent versions?

Hi all,
This evening I some how accidently "restored" a document I had been working on to a version I started about a month ago. I honestly have no idea how this happened since I hadn't even opened Time Machine when noticed the document was the old version (the program and document had been open on my laptop for days). Anyway, I thought maybe I could just go back to the version from yesterday or a few days ago, but it seems that once today's version is restored to March 28th's version, all subsequent versions are also restored. Is this right?? Am I missing something here? If there is any way to find a previous version of this document (that is not the March 28th one!), I would be estactic.
Thanks!

Your backups never change. Restore again from a snapshot taken just before the unwanted restoration.

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HT3275 Does Time Machine restore iWeb projects?

I was working in iWeb when it suddenly quit. When it restarted, everything I had done this morning was gone.
Does Time Machine restore this? If so, how do I do it?

Have you looked through Pondini's extensive TM help site?
http://Pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

Does Time Machine Ever Delete All Traces of a File?

I have a question. I have read up on Time Machine on various articles, posts, and documents across the web and I am having a hard time understanding exactly how time machine deletes files.
When a disk is full, does Time Machine ever make the decision to delete the last copy or version of a file, therefore completely erasing it off the disk forever? I know that Time Machine deletes older versions of files, but will it ever completely delete the last, final backup of a file to make space? If so, I can't imagine using Time Machine as a true piece of backup software. It seems like it would be useful in restoring your computer in an emergency, but as far as backing up files, it seems that it would be catastrophic, because it may choose to delete the last remaing version of a file to make space and you end up losing that file for ever.
Here is an example:
I create a file X.doc
Time Machine backs it up.
I modify X.doc
Time Machine backs up the copy, keeping both the original and the new copy on the backup drive.
I modify X.doc yet again.
Time Machine drive runs out of space. Time Machine deletes the oldest version of X.doc and backs up the new copy.
I create 10 more files unrelated to X.doc
Will Time Macine remove all remaining versions of X.doc to make space for the 10 new files???
I hope I am making sense.

Derek Doublin1 wrote:
Will Time Macine remove all remaining versions of X.doc to make space for the 10 new files???
The worst TM can do is delete all your older copies of files, not the most recent version.
If the drive is full, then it can't accept any more files period.
If you had a full 100GB boot drive and a 100GB TM drive, the TM drive would be a copy of the boot drive with no room for saved states.
If you changed a file on the full boot drive, then TM updates that file on it's full drive, there will be no copy of the previous version of that file.
TimeMachine makes for a poor pernament backup system, because lets say you do a major files addition to your boot drive, TM backs that up and can go ahead and delete files you realized you accidentially deleted just a few short days ago.
It's better than nothing and works ok for newbies, but more seasoned types use many backup methods in addition to TM, because corruption creep is possible with TM as well as malware as it's hooked up so often, in a lot of cases all the time.
Most commonly used backup methods

Does Time Machine track changes to disks made by other operating systems?

I run 10.8 Mountain Lion on my main partition but also occassionally boot to a copy of 10.7 Lion on a separate partition in order to run a version of Quickbooks for Mac that isn't supported in 10.8. Time machine is only turned on in 10.8 and backs up all internal disks and partitions when I'm logged into that operating system. My question is does time machine in 10.8 notice changes made to any of the internal disks made by me while I was booted into 10.7 Lion?
Occassionally I reboot into 10.7 Lion to run Quickbooks for Mac 2011, do work, make changes to files, ect. When I log back into 10.8 Mountain Lion and Time Machine does it's normal back up thing, does it recognize changes that were made to internal disks, folders, and files that were made when I was previously booted into 10.7 Lion? Or does Time Machine in 10.8 Mountain Lion only recognize changes that are made when it's running?
Thanks Peeps!
ben

When I log back into 10.8 Mountain Lion and Time Machine does it's normal back up thing, does it recognize changes that were made to internal disks, folders, and files that were made when I was previously booted into 10.7 Lion?
Yes.

Does time machine back up all settings too?

I have a problem with my imac and the internet- after having it looked at at the genius bar it was found that I have transferred all of my prior systems settings into this one (uncovered some from 2003) It was suggested that I do a complete system restore to get all of these older settings out.
The question I have is will time machine automatically copy all the current settings?- if so it won't help. or is there a way to prevent it from doing this?
Thanks

magneto10 wrote:
I have a problem with my imac and the internet- after having it looked at at the genius bar it was found that I have transferred all of my prior systems settings into this one (uncovered some from 2003) It was suggested that I do a complete system restore to get all of these older settings out.
That sound like enormous overkill. Why not just delete/revise whatever's wrong?
The question I have is will time machine automatically copy all the current settings?- if so it won't help. or is there a way to prevent it from doing this?
Correct. You could erase your internal HD, install OSX, then use +Setup Assistant+ to transfer everything from your backups, but omit the network settings. See [Using Setup Assistant|http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/SetupAsst.html] for details. But again, why not just fix whatever's wrong?

How does Time Machine track changes?

My Leopard upgrade got stuck with a minute to go - I had to hold down the power button to restart my Mac, but to my surprise Leopard launched and everything seemed to work fine. I set up Time Machine and it's been running without problems, backing up to my 2nd internal drive. The only problem I noticed was that a few hidden files weren't hidden - presumably it hadn't finished cleaning up after itself. So, I carried on using Leopard until today when I finally decided it might be a good idea to run the installer again. The installation completed fine, and everything is running nicely.
My question is: will time machine track any changes that have been made from re-running the installer, or does it only track changes that are made while Leopard is running? Should I switch off Time Machine, delete the backups, and start again, or will it handle these changes?

When I log back into 10.8 Mountain Lion and Time Machine does it's normal back up thing, does it recognize changes that were made to internal disks, folders, and files that were made when I was previously booted into 10.7 Lion?
Yes.

Does Time Machine restore my hard links?

I have "thousands" of ("ln old new") personal hard links for many different reasons. I decided to test if Time Machine would restore them in an emergency.
I created a folder with two hard-linked files, ran TM, removed the folder, then restored it using TM. The two files came back NOT hard linked.
So the question is, does this prove that TM does not restore hard links?

Király wrote:
I'm not sure what Apple can do to fix this. Files and folders in TM backups are full of a web of hard links. That's how TM works; backup snapshots have hard links to the original file in the backup.
I guess when a file is restored TM assumes there was no hard link on it in the first place, and so removes it. If Apple can set up a way for TM to flag a backup file so that TM knows that it had a hard link on it in the first place, perhaps that hard link can be restored too.
I've been wondering about this, too. It's way beyond my expertise, but wouldn't using Time Machine to back up a hard link require it to hard link to a hard link? I guess it would need a hierarchy of hard links, and a way to only partly "unwind" them to do a restore?
I know you can't make an alias to an alias (OSX lets you do it, sort of, but the new alias is actually to the original, not the previous alias, so you lose the trail). So I wonder if you even could make a hard link to a hard link?

Does Time Machine replace changed files and delete old files?

I haven't upgraded to Leopard yet, but my son is a NEW CONVERT to the Mac; has uses Dells for years. He has a new Macbook Pro with Leopard. I use SuperDuper! with my Tiger Mini Mac.
I don't understand what Time Machine does. Does it continually update files on the target device, and if so how does it handle deleted and renamed files on the source device.
Thanks.

Time Machine takes a snapshot of the drive it is backing up every hour. If a file is new, renamed or modified since its last backup, Time Machine will make a physical copy of that file. To conserve drive space Time Machine will only make hard links back to its previously backed up files for files that exist on its source drive which remain unchanged. Hard links work in a somewhat similar fashion as aliases. If a file has been deleted Time Machine won't make a copy or hard link. You can read about how hard links work in Time Machine in this Ars Technica review.
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/os/mac-os-x-10-5.ars/14
If a file is not on the hard drive for over an hour and is deleted before Time Machine makes its hourly backup that file will not be in any of Time Machine's backups.
Time Machine only retains the first hourly backup of the day as its daily backup. The other hourly backups get deleted in the course of the day. That means that to be retained in the daily backups a file must be on the hard drive for over a day or be physically present on the source drive for the first backup of the day.
After a month, Time Machine retains the daily backup made on the same day of the week as the initial backup as its weekly backup. If a file is on the source drive for less than a week and is not in the daily backup retained as the weekly it will end up being deleted when Time Machine thins its daily backups.
When the Time Machine volume fills up, Time Machine will start deleting its earliest backups to make room for new ones.

Does Time Machine Restore old iLife?

Hello,
I am about to purchase a new iMac and then use TM to clone my HD over to the new iMac, and I wanted to know, if I have a newer iLife on the iMac I buy, will the older one replace the newer on when I transfer everything? Sorry if I am unclear. Thanks in advanced!

ccrosby94 wrote:
Hello,
I am about to purchase a new iMac and then use TM to clone my HD over to the new iMac, and I wanted to know, if I have a newer iLife on the iMac I buy, will the older one replace the newer on when I transfer everything? Sorry if I am unclear. Thanks in advanced!
Depending on how you do it, no. See #19 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.

HT201250 How does Time Machine allocate backup data.

I have over 150GB to back up with time machine and only 256GB HD to use, does Time Machine back up all files each time or only files updated after the last backup?

Time Machine first makes a full backup, and then, it makes incremental backups backing up only the files that have changed since the last backup. When the Time Machine drive gets full, Time Machine will start deleting old backups in order to be able to make new backups. If you want more information about Time Machine, see > http://pondini.org

HT3275 does time machine back up email?

Does time machine back up all the emails in your apple mail?

Yes, assuming of course, that you have not specifically excluded Mail from backups.

Does Time Machine really restore all files of app?

Hi mac people,
I have done a clean install, then i don't want use migration assistant to move back things, but when i move back garageband 6.0.5, i open it, then i realise that only app is been restore but all the loops and audio is not, then i search online found that i have to move those things by my own,
So this problem make me wondering does time machine really fully restore?
I also wondering how about other apps or files do they really all been restore even they SEEN like no problems?
Thanks for helping !!!!!

then i realise that only app is been restore but all the loops and audio is not, then i search online found that i have to move those things by my own,
If you want everything restored from Time Machine, don't use Migration Assistant but use Setup Assistant - migrate al files when you are first prompted to restore from Time Machine or another Mac, after a clean install.
you can select what to restore - the settings, the libraries, the user data.
Since you do not want to use the assistants - to restore Garageband 6.0.5 manually, you transfer all files and folders in the system library:
/Library/Application Support/GarageBand/
and the loops from
/Library/Audio/Apple Loops/
Your plug-ins from
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/
and the corresponding folders in your user library ~/Library/

ALL Photos missing after Time Machine restore (help)

So, I accidently formated the wrong drive while in Windows, (big oops) which gave me the opportunity to take Time Machine for a test drive.
I put the DVD in, and was able to restore from the TIme Machine drive. Very impressed! Everything came back just as I had left it except - whats this? The default Leopard wallpaper instead of a picture of my son? Huh strange, I thought. Until I noticed I had no photos in iPhoto.
There seems to be reminents of photos in the iphoto database - the size is 1.3gb instead of the 7gb it used to be. But 0 photos in iPhoto 08.
I went into iPhoto and choose File/Browse Backups. I selected Nov 8th, which was the last day of my backup and showed all 7000+ photos, and clicked "Restore All". This brought up something odd - a 2nd iPhoto icon in the dock, which showed a progress bar for the restore. Once the restore was completed, I still had a 2nd iPhoto icon the the bar, which was iPhoto running - but no photos in iphoto! I exited the 2nd iphoto, which disappeared, and launched my normal Iphoto icon. Still no photos! (That just seems odd that it would launch iPhoto with a 2nd icon)
So, I moved my iphoto database, and launch iPhoto in order to create a fresh database - thinking maybe that was the issue. I then did File/Restore again, and went through the whole processes again, including the odd 2nd icon. Still, no photos! And another 1.3gb iphoto database!
Is it normal for a Time Machine restore to not include your photos? Surely you are not supposed to restore them separately from within Iphoto?
What do I do now? At this point, everything went very well - except no photos! Which is awful and not at all expected! 7000+ family photos! At least, if I ask iPhoto/Time Machine to restore 'all photos' you would think it would restore 'all photos' - not show a progress bar, and then show me no photos!
p.s. I just tooked at the iPhoto Library. The 1.3gb is in /Data/ which contains folders 2000-2007, my Events, and thumbnails of all the photos - but no actual photos (the 'Originals' folder is missing).
I then went back in time, and found the 8gb iPhoto Library database. I supposed I could copy it over manually via Time Machine, and not iPhoto's Restore/TM - but - i'm so far off track of how this should have went I don't know what to think!
p.s.s. So I did just that - copied the 8gb iPhoto Library manually from TM, and pasted it in place. I help down option, and launch iPhoto, selecting the 8gb library - and BOOM... no photos!
Something is #$%# up here.
Message was edited by: metzen79

This is what it says in the help file:
Reverting to a previous Mac OS X version
If you’ve used Time Machine to back up your computer, you can easily revert to a previous version of Mac OS X if you’re experiencing trouble after installing an update.
IMPORTANT: 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.
To revert to a previous version of Mac OS X:
Insert the disc you used to install the new version of Mac OS X, and double-click the Install Mac OS X icon.
In the Installer, choose Utilities > Restore System From Backup.
In the Restore Your System dialog, click Continue.
Select your Time Machine backup volume.
Select the Time Machine backup you want to restore. To restore your computer to the state it was in before you installed a new version of Mac OS X, choose the most recent backup.
Follow the onscreen instructions.
If you backed up any individual files as described under the Important message above, you can restore them now. If you backed them up using Time Machine, recover them using the Time Machine application. (You’ll find the Time Machine application in the Dock or in the Applications folder.)
Hope this helps
Denisimo

Time Machine restored an older version of my system

Hi!
I had to wipe my drive clean before bringing my macbook pro to applecare technicians, and restored the whole back up from time machine upon reinstalling.
Now I realize there are weird discrepancies between my backups and what is reinstalled. I had the latest version of Leopard installed originally, but Time Machine restored the version from the DVD (10.5.1) - so I have the old version of iTunes, for example. I did pick to move ALL my old files back, including the system prefs and apps.
How weird, right?
Or is that normal? Since I have to bring my machine back to the techs on Monday (I will wipe it clean again), anything I can do to avoid this in the future? I'd love to have just one button to push and my computer would be back up and running Tuesday morning, as it is today, with no difference.
Let me know what you think?
Thanks!

Princess Karlotta wrote:
Oh crap. I didn't do that. I waited until the end of the install and chose the "migrate my info back from a TM backup" or something like that.
That's the +Setup Assistant+ (see #19 in the FAQ Tip).
It gives you 4 yes/no options: Users, Applications, Settings, Other Files and Folders.
Now I wonder whether I should do that. It sounds a bit like a pain (I had like 560 new emails, and I downloaded 1500 pictures from my camera since then) but maybe it won't be as horrible asfinding out all the bugs and discrepancies on the way.
What would you advise?
First, if you haven't already, download and install the "combo" update to get back to the proper version of Leopard. That's a combination (thus the clever name) of all the updates to Leopard since it was first released, so installing it should fix anything that's gone wrong since then, such as with one of the normal "point" updates. Info and download available at: http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacOS_X_10_5_8_ComboUpdate (If you weren't on 10.5.8, change the last digit of the link accordingly). Be sure to do a +Repair Permissions+ via Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder) afterwards.
Then you've got three options:
Have you done any backups since the reinstall? If not, you can use +Migration Assistant+ in your Applications/Utilities folder. It's almost the same as +Setup Assistant.+ Choose Applications (and Settings, if you didn't before). If you have done backups since then, this won't work, as +Migration Assistant+ uses the most recent backup -- you don't get a choice like you do with the full restore.
If all you omitted were Applications, you should be able to selectively restore the ones you're missing with the normal "Star Wars" display.
I don't think it's a good idea, but if you have done new backups, you could do the full restore from the last backup before you reinstalled (in that case you don't need the "combo" update). That will, of course, erase all the new data.
Then use the normal "Star Wars" display to selectively restore the new stuff from the last backup. Take a look at #15 in the FAQ Tip -- depending on where the new emails are, you may be able to selectively restore from the various mailboxes, then move the restored items into the proper mailboxes.
Ditto your photos. Again there's special handling for iPhoto, but if you tell it to restore the whole thing, you'll get a prompt about what to do with duplicates, so although it may take a while, you should be able to get them all back.
But if you have a lot of other things, and aren't real sure what and where they are, this could be trouble.
Think about this, and post back if I've missed something or you have more specifics or questions.

FCP X does not recognize projects and events on USB drive after a time machine restore of the MBP macintosh disk

FCP X does not recognize projects and events on USB drive after a time machine restore of the MBP macintosh disk.
I upgraded from an i5 to an i7 15" MBP and restored my files using my time machine backup. All seemed to go ok, except I had to use the migration assistant because on the initial boot the MAC didn't recognize the backup database on the USB device. MAybe this is a hint.
Since when I start FCPX it too cannot finnd the project or event directories.
Before my upgrade, I had a choice of files either on the Macintosh disk or the 2TB USB disk.
Now only files on the Macintosh are accessible to FCPX. The USB drive is visible under events and project but it finds no projects or events.
Please help if you can.
Thanks
Barry

Thanks... alas no one has responded.
I think I have the structure that you are recommending.
I have a root level directory (Final Cut Events) with the files in them.
The puzzling thing is that it used to work before the migration!.
Anyway I'm going to move the contents to the root and see what happens.
On a slightly different note...
I also posted a question about CPU utilization. Can I ask a question or two?
While rendering a short clip, I noticed burst of disk activity when the render started (likely loading the media files into ram since I have about 4Gigs available, then almost no activity while the render is happening, then more disk activity when its done.
However the cpu activity is not as high as I would have expected since rendering requires a lot of cpu.
What is your experience? I know some render is done by the GPU, but in my older i5 the CPU was about 100%, now in my i7 its about 50%.
Please look at the attached utilization for CPU and disk activity.
Thanks for any thoughts... Barry

Does time machine "restore" change all subsequent versions?

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