Fresh install + Time Machine restore = incorrect password

I cleanly installed Leopard today, from a previous version, and after re-intating the 2 users, it wont let me logon - although it will let me log on to my girlfriends account.
This is a big problem for me, as I considered TimeMachine backups to be pretty solid.
Any ideas on how I can login??

See if this helps.
Mac OS X: Changing or resetting an account password

Similar Messages

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

Time Machine restore password problem

I had my HDD replaced by Apple. Was running latest Lion OS version before the fault, and had fully backed up with Time Machine. Booting up the iMac with the restored Lion was going well. Had selected restore from time machine. Then i was asked for my password. I know 100% that the password i entered (several times) is correct. There isn't any possibility at all that it is wrong but my iMac will not proceed further saying the password is wrong.
As I can't get past this stage I cannot access anything including the operating system - I can't get to the desktop even without any data. So I cannot get to any Lion recovery partition either. Have tried Lion interent recovery but that simply hasn't worked. Apparently I didn't purchase Lion through my Apple ID - utter rubbish. I've tried every Apple ID that I have used and no records of Lion purchase in any of them - how the **** did I download it and use it for ages then?!!
I bought the iMac originally with Snow Leopard so have that install disk but it seems I can't go back to that.
Going back to the apple store is a real pain the proverbial.
I am happy to wipe the HDD completely and start over, with Snow Leopard then pay (again) for Lion and then copy across the data I need from Time Machine manually and/or thru migration assistant. So here's the main question: How should I do that - wipe the HDD when I have no access to the desktop? I guess I'm going to have to boot up using Cmd C or similar and then type in some code. I have no experience/knowledge of that code so any help will need to be idiot proof please!.

As I had a brand new HDD installed by the Apple store this was the sequence of events (slightly different from the original post due some new info):
1     The external HDD which was the original Time Machine back up was plugged into the firewire port.
2     Booted up (as normal) for the very first time to be met with a fresh installation process just the same as when you buy an entirely new iMac - setting up language etc.
3     During that set up sequence I was asked if I wanted to restore from Time Machine, I selected that option.
4     About 3 hours later, c450GB of data is seemingly successfully loaded from the Time Machine external HDD to the internal, new HDD
5     The only option I now have available on screen is to log in using the same password as had on my original set up (before the internal HDD replacement). The forgot password hint is available, and clearly indicates that I should be able to enter my password to move, but no matter how many times I input the correct password (and, just in case, all other possible password options each with all conceivable varieties of CAPS on and off etc.). Nothing is accepted. No option to go backwards (eg uninstall the restore or anything else), and no ability to get to the desktop.
6     Several expletives later....I decide the only option is cmd+R reboot, internet recovery....and this is the udpate from the original post....
7     I'm in the UK and I try doing internet Lion recovery at about 11pm UK time. Indications are this will take 4+ hours. The trick is, I have now discovered, instead, if based in the UK at least, is to try this at 6am (when most people in the US will be asleep) and it takes about 10 minutes!
8     That brings up a chance to recover the "OS X". Great I think, just enter my Apple ID....error: "This Apple ID did not buy Mountain Lion"...cannot proceed. Mountain Lion? Where was the Lion only option? Doesn't exist seemingly. (Q: has Lion internet recovery been withdrawn? If not how on earth does one get to it?) BTW, I cannot see any partition on the internal HDD with the Lion recovery.
9     However, with the failed internet recovery (inviting me to install Mountain Lion, if only I'd actuall bought that before, but no option to select Lion or buy Mountain Lion there an then!), what I do get is a menu option to "Choose Startup Disk". "Choose the the system disk you want to use to start up your computer". One icon is there...my internal HDD...BUT I see that says "Mac HD OS X 10.6.8" - what? That's Snow Leopard, not Lion. I bought my iMac (from new) with Snow Leopard then upgrade to Lion when that came out. On the original set up (step 2 above) there's nothing to indicate what OS is running. I just assumed that as I had Lion the Apple store would have reinstalled Lion when the swapped by HDD. Likely then this is not the case. V annoying Apple Store (Brent Cross, London!). Idiots.
I guess there's a possibility that my Time Machine restore won't work because it is a Lion based backup.
Not had time to do this next step yet but likely to be my only option before admitting defeat and driving to the store again...internet recovery, get to disk utility from there, wipe the internal HDD and load Snow Leopard from the installation CD I still have (phew). BTW have tried to cmd+C and boot from the Snow Leopard CD. No joy..just ejects. Doesn't want to know!
If you've got this far..thanks for your patience. Thanks even more if you've got any ideas.

IMac won't accept password after time machine restore

Restored 2009 IMac after an HD replacement by Apple. All proceeded smoothly until IMac wouldn't accept my password after the restore from Time Machine. Any ideas will be appreciated.

One thing to try, if you didn't already do this, is to reinstall OS X and use Setup Assistant (which is only available at first boot of a new HD or a reinstalled OS) to migrate your data. A full Time Machine restoration on a new HD can have file permissions problems and/or duplicate User Account problems if Setup Assistant is not used.

User Account Passwords Not Working Following Time Machine Restore

Hard Drive failed; restored using Time Machine, but the Passwords for two user account don't work. The "hints" are correct.
Help, please.
JD

Can they be altered from another admin account?
Sound like they were backed up when the drive was failing & we have some corruption.

HT201250 Will the Time Machine restore lost SMTP server password?

Lost SMTP password.... will using time machine reset old password and allow me to use email server again?
I can backup all new files on ext. drives

It won't. Time Machine doesn't interact with the EFI hardware (the successor to the BIOS, if that helps), which is where Firmware Passwords are set up.
HTH.

IMac freezes during 10.10.1 install, needs full-on Time Machine Restore.

I failed to use Disk Utility to Verify/Repair permissions before the 10.10 -> 10.10.1 upgrade on a 27" iMac (early 2009, first 27").
The computer restarts and partway through the grey-screen with progress bar, the iMac simply, stops.
I eventually have to power down, and always the same stop.
I boot into the Recovery area, where Disk Utility Repair Permissions first said the drive was un-fixable, then ran fine and made repairs and said it was fine.
I then had to restore the entire machine from Time Machine since it WOULD NOT recover enough to boot.
Time Machine restore was amazing. Many hours, but it restored the iMac to the previous state from the day before, including what e-mails were open.
I figured all the diagnostics had "shaken up" the drive enough to try 10.10.1 again, but the same result. Partway through grey-screen with progress bar, permanent freeze.
Needed 2nd Time Machine restore.
Now I'm afraid to try again.
Is that a dead sector on the hard drive? On a system file that's never used? So confusing. I wish a scan could find it and mark it as unusable.
5 year old Mac drive though. Could be getting Tired.
Thoughts welcome.

I boot into the Recovery area, where Disk Utility Repair Permissions first said the drive was un-fixable, then ran fine and made repairs and said it was fine.
To be clear, use Disk Utility's Repair Disk function, not Repair Disk Permissions. Once it finishes, back up that disk's contents to another device, preferably two or more, and then discard it. If you are concerned about securing its contents, physically destroy it first.
A permanent repair for hard disk corruption does not exist. Firmware contained within the hard disk drive already automatically maps bad sectors "unusable" as you desire. The problem is that as a disk ages and is subject to the inevitable environmental abuse that occurs with all consumer electronics, the number of bad sectors will increase exponentially with time. Replace it.

Time Machine Restore Mangles Permissions and Groups

Circumstance:
My Macbook Pro running 10.5.5 gave a gray spinner after a restart last week. The restart was to clear out a couple of system processes eating up CPU when I had left it alone for a few hours.
Action:
After Disk Utility, zapping PRAM, and the probably some other standard trouble-shooting actions didn't fix the stuck start-up problem, I decided to try a full system restore from my Time Machine backups. I had previously successfully restored individual folders and files. Time Machine backs up wireless to a USB hard drive connected to my AirPort Extreme. To speed up the restore, I ran an Ethernet cable to the MBP from the Airport. The restore completed successfully. All the folders & files are correct, looks the same, etc. I restarted using the restored boot drive.
Problem:
The MBP is like a museum now--I can look but I can't touch. I first noticed something was wrong after logging in the first time because I couldn't move a file into a folder via drag-n-drop. Then Terminal went into a spinning beach ball when I opened it. Spotlight was not running. Then I noticed that my entire boot disk was read-only. I got info on the boot disk, and the Users & Groups list was strange--everyone was read-only, "wheel" had read-write and was the owner, and staff had read-write. Basically, it's like me, the Finder, an all applications have lost all their write/execute permissions on the entire drive.
*Unsuccessful Steps Taken:*
Ran Disk Utilities' Repair Permissions from Leopard dvd. Ran fsck -fy after mount / -uw from Leopard dvd Terminal and from single-user boot mode. Time Machine restore direct from TM disk via USB. Joined my user to wheel group. Changed my user password from Leopard dvd (which repairs home folder permissions). Played with chown to make all wheel-owned items staff-owned.
*Open Theories:*
Airport Time Machine restores strips ACLs and Permissions. I have to restore over wireless, not ethernet or usb. My TM backup is screwed up somehow.
Whew. This has been going on for a while, so I'm ready to give up and do an Archive & Install and begin manual migration from the backups, but my MPB is a fine-tuned machine and I hate to lose that, especially since it taunts me by being so close to normal (I can see everything! My desktop background and apps are there!).
Any help much appreciated!

The "full restore" from Time Machine is only for OSX drives.
For data-only drives, use the Time Machine browser (the "Star Wars" display). See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #15.
Depending on your setup, you may also want to review Transferring Home Folders not on a Startup volume.

Time machine restore selective intonation vs full installation compromised system

I have some questions regarding the above mentioned issue
I have reviewed notes regarding selective app restore method and am aware that there are issues assossiated with failed apps since the original app installer installs files in various libraries and system settings
My backed up Mac contains rogue programs such as the programming app python 3 and various rogue bugs and system settings.
1 Does a full restore reset all backed up system settings or does it keep the fresh installation and include all your apps and settings such as mail accounts mail folders documents pictures movies podcasts etc without the bugs
2 Should the answer to 1 be a yes all compromised settings will be restored, then will I have issues with installing VMware fusion as its an encripted integrated app that I keep all my master business applications but store documents in the Mac documents area.
Other factors
1 My accounting tax business has been hacked over and over again for the last 7 months from start of tax season
2 I have lost 50% of my clients due to the interruptions and been hospitalized twice from sitting on the computer for extended hours and days reinstalling fresh system and restoring Mac documents only, 3 times over, as well as trying to learn everything about best practice, hacks etc
3 I'm using fire vault 2 however the time machine backup is not encripted are there any potential problems with either of the two methods?
4 I will be using a proxy server when I next build the Mac will this be enough to mitigate potential security breach using the full time machine restore method?
5 I have many apps that I have not purchased through the app center and have not kept the keys and will be a headache to get all my details
6 what implications are there as far as the prior keychain access is consurned? How does that get restored?
What is the most effective and efficient method to restore from time machine given above scenario?
Thanking you in advance
Peter

Thank you for your advice
I tried consulting Telstra premium services and other third party security consultants. I explained my steps and procedures upon each fresh installation and the extent of the hacking and they refused to service me. Additionally Telstra security center replied on the issue of using a proxy server that they only support windows operating systems. Last night an apple consultant told me to obtain the proxy server address and he will guide me through to setting it up. I hope this will resolve the security issue. However I'm not entirely sure. My iPhone was also hacked and 8 GB of data used in 1 day untill I caught on. Freaked me out since I had disconnected from the wifi.
I'm currently installing from flash drive and transferring my information from time machine. I think it's a full restore.
I am investing in a website in a couple of weeks however I'm not currently hosting one on my laptop.
Cheers
Peter

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

Log-ins don't work after an OS X Leopard Time Machine restore

I upgraded the RAM and HDD on a Santa Rosa MacBook and then did a Time Machine restore from my old iMac G5 Time Machine backup. Everything seemed to go well but afterwards my login and admin passwords were no longer accepted. Any ideas on how to fix this?
Thanks.

Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu at the top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
(Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.)

Time Machine restore of multiple accounts

Hi folks,
My mac mini hasn't been reformatted for a couple of years now and is starting to creak a bit. I'm going to do a clean install of Snow Leopard from my OS disks and then use time machine to restore iTunes, accounts, documents etc.
My questions/queries/worries (delete as appropriate) are..
1. Will the time machine restore and 'put back' all 4 accounts on the machine automatically or do i select them from a list?
2. Will I be given an option of which backup date/time to select from (i.e a backup done 20mins ago, one an hour ago, last week,last month) or will it just do the most recent backup?
Thanks in advance

iBook fan wrote:
Hi folks,
My mac mini hasn't been reformatted for a couple of years now and is starting to creak a bit. I'm going to do a clean install of Snow Leopard from my OS disks and then use time machine to restore iTunes, accounts, documents etc.
That's unlikely to help much, if at all. Your best bet is to find out why it's "creaking" and fix that.
My questions/queries/worries (delete as appropriate) are..
1. Will the time machine restore and 'put back' all 4 accounts on the machine automatically or do i select them from a list?
If all you want is to restore everything, don't bother with erasing your HD and installing OSX. Just do a full system restore, per #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum). The first thing it does is erase your internal HD. And it restores everything from the backup you select.
If you want a fresh version of OSX, then erase your HD and install OSX. When your Mac boots up, +Setup Assistant+ will ask if you want to transfer your data, from the last (successful) backup. If you accept the defaults, it will copy everything but OSX. Or, you can omit some things, like a particular user, if you want. See #19 in the FAQ.
When your Mac boots up again, download and install the 10.6.4 "combo" update. Info and download available at: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1048 Be sure to do a +Repair Permissions+ via Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder) afterwards.
2. Will I be given an option of which backup date/time to select from (i.e a backup done 20mins ago, one an hour ago, last week,last month) or will it just do the most recent backup?
Depends on which procedure you use.

Time Machine restore fails from Snow Leo disc. iMac 24" 2007

My hard drive sufferd some kind of crash yesterday. I booted to the SL-disc and formatted the drive. I then verified it with no errors before formatting again - this time I told it to write 0´s. The drive verifies fine in disk utility. I go into the Time Machine restore dialogue and selects the latest recovery point and it goes to work and I go to bed. Wake up the error "the OS X install could not be completed" or something like that only in norwegian. I try again with an earlier recovery point, but after a few hours it displays the same message.
The only weird thing about my setup is that the TM drive is connected through my firewire audio interface. I am at work now and came to think of this little weirdness. Can this be the problem? I seem to remember having recovered before without this causing a problem. Any other suggestions? Is my drive really troubled even though it reports no problems after the format?

It's hard to tell, but just to be safe, I'd connect the drive directly.
It might have been damaged by the crash; you might also want to repair it, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
When you do the restore, select Window, then Show Log and Show All logs from the menubar. These selections may require several seconds to take effect, but you can tell how far the process has gotten.
If the restore seems to get most of the way, but fails again, see if it will start up. If not, try installing a fresh copy of OSX. See what didn't get copied; you may be able to recover the missing stuff by restoring it selectively.

IWork free with new purchase but not available after time machine restore

Tried to find the best place to put this and this is the best I can surmise.
iWork is now supposedly free with the purchase of a new Mac. I received a new MacBook Pro 2 days ago. The problem is, I wanted to keep all my old settings/apps/features/files without spending 2 weeks resetting everything back up, so I used time machine to restore my machine to the state of my old MacBook Air. Unfortunately, it does not look like any iWork apps remained in the Applications folder (makes sense), but now I go to the App store and Pages, Numbers, and Keynote are all listed as $19.99.
I only assume that my time machine restore was the issue (I don't know if the apps were ever in the Applications folder at all), but since time machine is a feature Apple supports I would assume they support some way to make this work as well. How do I go about getting iWork without paying $60?
Thanks

There are several reasons why the updates don't show as free for those who already have iWork '09 installed.
1. You must have iWork '09 apps installed & they must be updated to the x.3 version. You can also download the standalone updater from this page.
2. If you are not using English as the primary language for your Mac, change to English & run Software Update. You can then switch back to your preferred language.
3. Go to Mac App Store (MAS) > Click on Store > Check for Unfinished Downloads. You will need to individually click into each application > Click update > enter in your Apple ID & password and then it will start updating.
4. Open App Store on your Mac & look at the buttons under Keynote, Pages & Numbers. If it does not say “Update” click Account under Quick Links, enter your password & click “View Account.” Next, click the “Reset” button to the right of “Reset all warnings for buying and downloading” at the bottom of this page, & click Done. Check your updates tab & iWork & iLife updates should now appear.
These are the ones I've seen work for others.

Time Machine restore fail - best method to reinstall OS?

I've just had a Time Machine restore fail on me, startup gets to blue screen but no further. Also tried the next previous backup. Trying to decide whether to reinstall Snow Leopard on my not-quite-restored drive and then do the combo update to the last OS version, or whether to do a clean install (wipe drive) and then use the Migration Assistant to import everything.
I have a ton of software / plugins authorised which will take me an age to reinstall, hoping that whichever method will retain all the pref files in macintosh hd/library and user/library. That being said I was in the process of trying to fix my intermittent system freezes, it was happening at the last TM backup so maybe aiming to return to duplicate system / user folders is a bad idea?
Many thanks for any help.
Harry

hazza26 wrote:
Hi again
I have ended up having to erase my drive and do a fresh install of SL. When I get to the welcome page I opt to import all my setting from my TM backup. It started ok this morning but the progress bar has been stuck at "4 hours 46 mins left" for the whole day. How best to proceed now?
Cancel it. You'll probably have to turn your Mac off via the power button.
Can I do a disk repair on the backup data, and if so how?
Yup. See #A5 in [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum). Then you'll have to erase your OSX volume and install OSX again, since the transfer was incomplete.
Or, if the repair finds and fixes problems, you might want to try a full restore again (much less likely to have problems with transferred apps), but perhaps from an earlier backup, before the problems started. If that seems to complete normally, but won't boot, then just install a fresh version of OSX over the old one, then download and install the "combo" update and repair permissions.
Or should I try to mount the backup and manually pull off all my critical data?
Only as a last resort. You may have all sorts of permissions problems that way, and of course will have to reinstall all your 3rd-party apps.
Thanks again for your much appreciated support
You're quite welcome. Hang in there!

Fresh install + Time Machine restore = incorrect password

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