HELP: I can't enter the Time Machine for critical backups I need

I made a boo-boo today and removed a home directory that had everything in it. No problem, I thought... just enter Time Machine.
Well, it isn't working. And I did try removing the /Library/Preferences/*.plist for TimeMachine -- no luck. I've re-selected the disk, no luck.
This is very disappointing, but I'm also a bit panicked. I need that data restored.
How can I get this to work properly?
Thanks.

Forrest wrote:
Even though I turned off Time Machine backups, it just happily runs in the background.
Correct; turning it off means it won't start any new backups; but if one is running, it won't cancel it. You have to do that manually.
Also, restoral of files ended up getting interrupted as it said I didn't have permission to access something (and it didn't tell me what).
You can't restore an entire user home folder that way -- OSX won't let you delete the old one, as it's in use. You should have gotten a message to that effect (although some of them are rather cryptic).
It also sounds like the backups may be corrupted. Try to Repair them, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
Your best bet, unless the backups are damaged, is to do a full system restore, per Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #14.

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Can I have 2 Time Machines for 2 backups?

I have an external hard drive that I use for my time machine. Recently I've been having some problems with my iMac that are hard drive related. I wasn't able to repair using disk utility and had to erase and reinstall Snow Leopard and then transfer everything back from time machine.
After this I realize just how fragile this all is. I have many photos and videos of my family from years ago and was relieved that I had everything backed up. Hard drives are so inexpensive these days, I feel it may be wise to have another backup in the unlikely event both hard drives were to have problems at the same time.
Can I have two Time Machines? If not, what are my options?
Thanks for any suggestions on this topic.

Yes, but not simultaneously. You can switch the desired backup drive using TM preferences, but TM cannot backup to two drives concurrently. However, I would suggest not using TM for your second backup. Instead consider making a bootable clone on the second drive. You can then use a third-party backup utility to incrementally update the clone. Because this software is running independently of TM you can have both a TM backup and a third-party backup. With TM backing up hourly you can set the second backup schedule to backup weekly and/or monthly.
If something does go amiss with your main system drive, then you can boot from your clone in order to restore function to the main drive.
To avoid using up space on the TM drive be sure you add your second backup drive to the TM Exclude list.
Basic Backup
Get an external Firewire or USB drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. (Note: Most PPC Macs cannot be booted from a USB drive.) You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Retrospect Desktop (Commercial)
2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
3. Synk (Backup, Standard, or Pro)
4. Deja Vu (Shareware)
5. Carbon Copy Cloner (Donationware)
6. SuperDuper! (Commercial)
7. Intego Personal Backup (Commercial)
8. Data Backup (Commercial)
9. SilverKeeper 2.0 (Freeware)
10. MimMac (Commercial)
11. Tri-Backup (Commercial)
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Although you can buy a complete FireWire drive system, you can also put one together if you are so inclined. It's relatively easy and only requires a Phillips head screwdriver (typically.) You can purchase hard drives separately. This gives you an opportunity to shop for the best prices on a hard drive of your choice. Reliable brands include Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. You can find reviews and benchmarks on many drives at Storage Review.
Enclosures for FireWire and USB are readily available. You can find only FireWire enclosures, only USB enclosures, and enclosures that feature multiple ports. I would stress getting enclosures that use the Oxford chipsets (911, 921, 922, for example.) You can find enclosures at places such as;
Cool Drives
OWC
WiebeTech
Firewire Direct
California Drives
NewEgg
All you need do is remove a case cover, mount the hard drive in the enclosure and connect the cables, then re-attach the case cover. Usually the only tool required is a small or medium Phillips screwdriver.

My time capsule says it only has 473.24 gb for my back up of 534gb. the only back up I can access when I enter the time machine was yesterdays so what has happened?

my time capsule says it only has 473.24 gb for my back up of 534gb. the only back up I can access when I enter the time machine was yesterdays so any idea what is happening? I have the latest irmware update.
Marmimag

There is an issue with latest Lion update.. it is killing TM.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/19858557#19858557
Otherwise check via the airport utility if there is something else using space on the hard disk.

TimeMachine not backing up, as hard drive is full. Can the time machine clear old backups and replace them with new?

Time Macine not backing up.
As the harddrive is full, Can the time machine clear old backups, and override them with new backups. For example 5 - 6 days +++ old. Backups were proformed dayly
Any help much appreciated
Many thanks,

If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
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.)
☞ 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 Console in the icon grid.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
Enter the word "Starting" (without the quotes) in the String Matching text field. You should now see log messages with the words "Starting * backup," where * represents any of the words "automatic," "manual," or "standard." Note the timestamp of the last such message. Clear the text field and scroll back in the log to that time. Select the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear. Copy them (command-C) to the Clipboard. Paste (command-V) into a reply to this message.
If there are runs of repeated messages, post only one example of each. Don't post many repetitions of the same message.
When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Some personal information, such as the names of your files, may be included — anonymize before posting.

How can I use the Time Machine Backups from my Old Computer?

I have two months of Time Machine backups made using my old Macintosh computer which died and I no longer have. I have now purchased a new computer and am trying to use the Time Machine back ups from the original computer, but it will not recognise them. How can I get my new MacBook Pro to use the Time Machine Backups from my old Computer? I phoned the Apple help line and they said I cannot use them and would have to delete them. This sounds crazy if you can only use the Time Machine back up file with one computer and have to delete it when you buy a new Mac. Surely there must be some way to transfer ownership (not files) from an old to the new Mac?
Thanks
Richard

Thanks Kevin for the suggestion posted on MacOSXHints how to "Repair Time Machine after logic board changes".
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20080128003716101
It seems as though I am not alone with my frustration with the way Time Machine uses the MAC address of a computer to tell one system from another. This means that if you have your Mac repaired with a new logic board, or replace your system with a new one, you can't resume backups where you left off. Reading through the readers who used the fix using Terminal, it appears that the fix does not always work. I contacted Apple again, but they were no help. Surely Apple should come out with a solution as more and more people use Time Machine/Time Capsule.
It is CRAZY that after a change computers or a switch in the computer logic board that you cannot resume your Time Machine back ups.

Since I updated to iPhoto 9.5.1, my library is not listed or available. How can I find it? Can I use the time machine to restore it?

Since I updated to iPhoto 9.5.1, when I open the program, I am now asked what library i wish to use and none are listed. I can not find my photos. How can I find and restore my photos. Can I use the Time Machine to do this?

You may be launching an older version of iPhoto from your Dock. Try to launch iPhoto directly from the Applications folder. Does that find a library to open?
If not, search with Find Any File for traces of your iPhoto library, as described by Old Toad in this post:
Re: My iPhoto Library disappeared...how do I get it back?
Download and run Find Any File to search for a file with "ThumbJPGSegment" in the file name. These are files common to all versions of iPhoto libraries.
FAF can search areas that Spotlight can't like invisible folders, system folders and packages. If there's a library hiding somewhere on your hard drive FAF will find it.
If that does not work, try to restore from your backup:
The photos were stored on the iMac hard drive. I do have the Time machine with backup on my Airport WIFI.
To restore from Time Machine, you need to open the folder, where your iPhoto library should be, before you enter Time Machine. Then go back in time along the timeline to the right of the TimeTunnel window.

HT201250 The back ups are not displaying when i enter the time machine

I'm trying to restore my files to my new MacBook I just purchased. I have the external hard drive connected and entered the Time Machine. But, the back-ups are not displayed "in pink on the right side" as indicated in the directions. I do see the back up folders when I open up the hard drive using Finder. Any ideas on how I can restore my files?
Thanks

You should be using Setup Assistant to import your data, as detailed here:
OSX Tips: Setting-up a new Mac from an old one, its backups, or a PC Using Setup Assistant on Lion

I have just installed a 2TB time capsule on my iMac i7, it see my second 1TB hard drive but the 256 SSD doesn't come up in the list of hard drives I can back up. How can I enable the time machine to see my first SSD 256gb hard drive?

I have just installed a 2TB time capsule on my iMac i7, it see my second 1TB hard drive but the 256 SSD doesn't come up in the list of hard drives I can back up. How can I enable the time machine to see my first SSD 256gb hard drive?

iLife is preinstalled on all the Macs. If you purchased iLife in the App Store or your computer came without DVDs, open App Store > Purchases and download the applications. If your Mac came with discs, insert the Applications DVD and install iLife applications

HT201250 My MacBook Pro (using OSX 10.7.5) suddenly can't find the Time Machine backup disk, which is on the harddrive of my desktop iMac. What to do?

My MacBook Pro (using OSX 10.7.5) suddenly can't find the Time Machine backup disk, which is on the harddrive of my desktop iMac. What to do?

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HT201250 i can't find the time machine icon on my dock?

I need to restore a file - can't find the time machine icon on my dock?

Is it in the Applications folder?
If so you can open it from there.
If it is you can get back on the Dock by dragging it there from the Applications folder again.
Allan

Tried to restore my mac pro, now it`s not working, can i use the time machine backups?

Tried to restore my mac pro, now it`s not working, can i use the time machine backups?

Yes.

HT3728 since Oct 25 my time capsule is not working properly. I enter the time machine to check my backups and the only thing I see is balck screen on every single day since I put it to work on my house. Any ideas on what's going on?

I am having problems with my time capsule.
It's not backing up... if I enter the time machine, all I see is a black page, any day I look, since the day I bought it.
Was not like this before Oct 25...
Any ideas on what's going on and what should I do to make it work again?

Check the USB cable first to make sure that it is operating correctly on another connection.
You may need to use a powered USB hub with the drive since the USB port on the Time Capsule is not a high powered port like you have on your Mac.
You may need to use the powered hub even if the hard drive has its own external power supply.

I have been unable to retrieve emails from my external disk. I entered the Time Machine and tried to go to April 2013, but could not find emails. I have Lion OS X 10.7.5 .Thanks!

I have been unable to retrieve emails from my external disk. I entered the Time Machine and tried to go to April 2013, but could not find emails. I have Lion OS X 10.7.5 .Thanks!
Cecilia

I have been unable to retrieve emails from my external disk. I entered the Time Machine and tried to go to April 2013, but could not find emails. I have Lion OS X 10.7.5 .Thanks!
Cecilia

HT201250 where can i find the time machine password

Where can i find the time machine password?

There is no such thing.
If you're backing-up to a network drive (Time Capsule, NAS, etc.), that drive may have a password.
If you're backing-up to an encrypted external HD, you'll need the encryption password.
Please clarify what version of OSX you're running (your profile says Leopard, but you've posted in the Lion forum), what you're backing-up to, and exactly what message you're getting and when (a screenshot would be fine).

Restore can't find the time machine backup

I am trying to restore my system from a time machine backup and the Restore option doesn't recognize my time machine backup. Any ideas on how to force it to see it?
Some background:
I am running Mountain Lion on a 2008 iMac. About 1 week ago, my internal HD failed. I had the hard drive replaced and then hooked up my external HD time machine back-up to restore my system. I started the computer with the command-R option and selected restore from time machine backup. It recognized the hard drive itself, but when I get to the screen to select the backup, it tells me there are no backups on the selected volume. I have run the repair in Disk Utility and the drive checked out ok. I have since installed Mountain Lion again on the internal drive, but didn't bring any files.
Also, while the main computer was down I connected the external drive to another computer and used the show hidden files steps to find some files on the time machine backup and copied them to the other computer.
I don't know if this relates, but I want to share all of the info: Back when the HD originally failed, the computer froze. When my son restarted the computer, it then asked what language he wanted. Then it began a restore process and asked him to select a volume to restore the system to. This is the bad part- He selected a partitioned drive where I had stored some files that didn't fit on the hard drive. It erased that drive and began restoring the system. Of course he didn't tell me about any of this until about 2 hours later, so we lost the contents on that drive. This partitioned drive is the same drive where my time machine backup resides. One partition is the Time Machine backup and the other was external data.
Any ideas? I know I can manually restore the files, but it would be nice to be able to automatically do it. Also, is there a way to read the excluded list? I found the file that this is on...
Thanks,

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HELP: I can't enter the Time Machine for critical backups I need

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