Help (please) w/ Full System Restore after downgrading from Snow to Leopard

Yes. I should have created a separate partition, cloned the drive, etc…. But everything was working so well I figured an upgrade to SL would make things amazing. Wrong.
So I downgraded from Snow Leopard to Leopard, using a clean Erase and Install from the OSX DVD that came with my Mac. Told by an AppleCare techie that I could restore my system from a Time Machine BackUp, I was confident that when the install successfully completed I would be able to restore from the TM Backup I made PRIOR TO installing Snow Leopard.
However, the 'restore system from time machine…' option that came up at the end of the Leopard installation told me I only have one TM backup, the latest one made under Snow Leopard (which obviously cannot be used to restore a system now running on Leopard.
When I log into the OS, I can open TM and choose the last 10.5 (Leopard) backup I made, but it seems to only let me restore the 'Macintosh HD' as a folder. So here is where I am stuck:
How can I restore my system - now on a clean install of Leopard - to the last TM backup I made under the selfsame OS. {Sorry if this is a simpleton question - I just really do not want to ** anything up}.

.adamo wrote:
Thanks, Pondini -
Good to know the AppleCare rep. I talked to (apparently) knew nothing about time machine or how to restore a system from it. I was given nothing but wrong and bad advice…
Yeah, unfortunately that seems to happen on occasion. They don't seem to have access to decent info on things they don't understand, or just "wing it" or something.
Anyway, the erase and install happened, so at least my system is 'fresh'. I booted from the OSX DVD, went into the Utilities menu, found the TM Back-up I wanted, et voila. But it seems I could have bypassed the whole erase/install thing and just restored with the BackUp from TM.
So I must say, to Apple's credit, that TM works extremely well, and exactly as described; couldn't have been more painless (not what I'm used to with computers, at all).
That's why you got a Mac! (They're certainly not perfect, but they're pretty good!).
Glad it's sorted out, and thanks for the star!

Similar Messages

Full System Restore with Snow Leopard Upgrade DVD

I'm trying to do a full system restore to go from OS 10.6.4 back to 10.6.3, can I do the full restore with the Snow Leopard Upgrade DVD, or do I need the original Installation DVD that came with my computer?
Thanks.

Hi,
have a look at Pondinis Time Machine FAQ here http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/14.html
Regards
Stefan

After Full System Restore, Time Machine Won't Complete Back Up

I successfully did a full system restore using Time Machine. The Restore worked but Time Machine has not worked since I completed the Restore.
It says "Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume.." Please help. I don't know what to do. The TM Widget Activity Log is posted below:
Starting standard backup
BStarting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
No pre-backup thinning needed: 529.6 MB requested (including padding), 30.58 GB available
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /private/var/CheckUpAgent/data.float.net.sent.ca_history to (null)
Copied 5546 files (34.6 MB) from volume Macintosh HD.
No pre-backup thinning needed: 526.8 MB requested (including padding), 30.54 GB available
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /private/var/CheckUpAgent/data.float.net.sent.ca_history to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying /private/var/CheckUpAgent/data.float.net.sent.ca_history to /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Akili Nickson’s iMac/2011-03-17-080109.inProgress/25E02D47-EB07-4E59-B2D8-0A9CF26A0042/Macintos h HD/private/var/CheckUpAgent
Stopping backup.
Error: (-8062) SrcErr:NO Copying /private/var/CheckUpAgent/data.float.net.sent.ca_history to /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Akili Nickson’s iMac/2011-03-17-080109.inProgress/25E02D47-EB07-4E59-B2D8-0A9CF26A0042/Macintos h HD/private/var/CheckUpAgent
Copied 57 files (23.1 MB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Copy stage failed with error:11
Backup failed with error: 11

Akili wrote:
Hi, and welcome to the forums.
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /private/var/CheckUpAgent/data.float.net.sent.ca_history
There seems to be a problem with that file. See the blue box in #C3 of [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).
Note that the /private folder is normally hidden, so you'll need to click the +Show inisible items+ box.

Hey I'm a novice on computers, but i've just done a full system restore on my laptop after backing it up on an external hard-drive long story short in the back up process all my itunes converted to mpeg4 files and now i can't get them back into my my libr

Hey I'm a novice on computers but i've just done a full system restore on my laptop and put it back to factory spec, obviously i backed up all the data on an external hard-drive but when i have re-installed itunes and gone to import all my old music files from my previous itunes library as mpeg4 files it keeps telling me i don't have permission??!! *** someone please explain or tell me how to get music on to my new itunes without having to re-import every cd i own which is alot!!!

Other than iMovie, GB always incorporates the audio files into the GB package. So just save or move the GB project to the external drive, and you're done - anything you import, edit or record will be saved to the external drive.

Unable to boot after Time Machine full system restore!!

I was having some serious slowdowns with my computer. I did multiple RAM and HD hardware tests, everything seemed to be working fine. I had recently deleted a bunch of files in order to free up some HD space, so I thought that may be the culprit. So I did a Time Machine backup and restored the Powerbook to it's original 10.3 software. All was fine. Then I upgraded back to 10.5 and all was fine. Then I did a Time Machine full system restore overnight and got the message "Your restore was successful, you must now restart your computer" (or something to that effect). Now I get the start-up chime and startup screen (apple logo) but then the computer shuts itself down. I have reset the PMU and PRAM to no effect. I have tried booting up in safe made, also no dice. I have tried starting it up with the time machine HD attached - doesn't help. I guess I'll need to hit the genius bar but wanted to ask the friendly discussion forum folks first. thanks in advance.

Hi coldengray
Did you try to start from your System-CD? Hold down C-key during startup, start DiskUtility from the menu and verify/repair disk and permissions there.
If the CD is not available you can also connect your TimeMachine-Disk, select it as startup volume in System Preferences/StartupDisk, restart and then run DiskUtility from folder Applications/Utilities
Good luck P

Unable to boot up after full system restore

I was having some serious slowdowns with my computer. I did multiple RAM and HD hardware tests, everything seemed to be working fine. I had recently deleted a bunch of files in order to free up some HD space, so I thought that may be the culprit. So I did a Time Machine backup and restored the Powerbook to it's original 10.3 software. All was fine. Then I upgraded back to 10.5 and all was fine. Then I did a Time Machine full system restore overnight and got the message "Your restore was successful, you must now restart your computer" (or something to that effect). Now I get the start-up chime and startup screen (apple logo) but then the computer shuts itself down. I have reset the PMU and PRAM to no effect. I have tried starting it up with the time machine HD attached - doesn't help. I guess I'll need to hit the genius bar but wanted to ask the friendly discussion forum folks first. thanks in advance.

Did you sort it? Same thing happened to me and I am having to do another 8 hour restore!

Mail Message Restore Stuck after completing a full system restore

I just completed a full system restore on my Macbook Pro using the "Restore From Backups" function. Upon the first boot up, I was greeted with a "Mail Message Import" Dialog Box asking to import my messages. It began importing alot of my folders but then became stuck on the "Deleted Messages" folder with 4500 out of 7000 messages already imported. The progress bar sits and never moves and the Time remaining amount begins to increase and increase. I have the option to cancel and if I do cancel and attempt to open Mail again, then I must complete the process over again. Ultimately becoming stuck at the same point of the import process each time.
FYI
I have 5 email accounts set up (one iMap) on this machine.
Where is this being imported from?
Can I point it to another backup directory?
Any Help is much appreciated.
THanks,

Thanks Man! That WOrked!!!!! Your the best! and Thank you for those Kind words! Happy MacBooking!!

After Full System Restore

I just did a full system restore using time machine, and I have a question. After this is done, I noticed that I had to set up my external hard drive, which I used to do the system restore, once again to work with time machine. Because of this, time machine starts over from the very beginning and the previous backups seem to be lost. However, when I drill down on my external hard drive, I see two folders "mynameImac1" and "mynameImac2". Imac 2 is my newest backup. So what about my old backups? Apparently they're still on my external hard drive under Imac 1. Can I access these time machine backups or should I just delete this folder?
Thanks,
Nick

Whatever you do, do NOT delete that folder via the Finder. You will hopelessly choke your Mac. Never change or delete anything of Time Machine's that way; it may get very grumpy.
TM has started a new sequence of backups.
To view them via Time Machine, hold down the Option key while selecting the TM icon in your menubar. That will change the +Enter Time Machine+ option to +Browse Other Time Machine Disks.+ It's a bit misleading in your case, but will show you the old set of backups.
If your TM drive/partition is big enough, you may want to keep the old backups. If not, your best bet may be to erase the drive with Disk Utility and let it start over.
If you decide to keep them, monitor TM's backups for a while, to be sure it's "thinning" the old set properly. Otherwise, when the disk gets near full, it will start deleting the oldest of the new set, not the old set.
The easiest way to do that is to download the +Time Machine Buddy+ widget from: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/timemachinebuddy.html. It shows the messages from your logs for one TM backup run at a time, in a small window.
TM should "thin" most backups after 24 hours, but keep the first of the day for a month. Then it deletes the dailies, except for one per week, which it keeps as long as there's room.
If you want, you can manually delete TM backups, from the TM interface, via the instructions in item 12 of the +Frequently Asked Questions+ post at the top of this forum.

Ho do i restore my files from time machine after a full system restore?

I have just had a full system restore on my MAC, thanks to the genious bar in Bondi, prior to doing this i backed everything on my external hard drive using time machine, i now want to put everything back on to my MAC, including emails, music, photos, movies and important docs etc. what is the best way to do this?
cheers Colin,

See Here > How do I restore my entire system?
From Here > http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
More Info Here > http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

Hi, Hi, Hi I have the old MacBook Pro. Upgraded to Mountain Lion which completely wrecked the system. So downgraded to Snow Leopard. The updated the combo update. Now stuck on blue screen at start-up. Need help. Greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hi,
I have the old MacBook Pro. Upgraded to Mountain Lion which completely wrecked the system. So downgraded to Snow Leopard.
Then updated the combo update. Now stuck on blue screen at start-up.
Need help. Greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Downgrade Lion/Mountain Lion to Snow Leopard
1. Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer
      loads select your language and click on the Continue
      button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the
      Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the
      mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status
      of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then
      the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART
      info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on
      the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions
      from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS
      Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the
      partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on
      the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.
This will erase the whole drive so be sure to backup your files if you don't have a backup already. If you have performed a TM backup using Lion be aware that you cannot restore from that backup in Snow Leopard (see below.) I suggest you make a separate backup using Carbon Copy Cloner.
If you have Snow Leopard Time Machine backups, do a full system restore per #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions. If you have subsequent backups from Lion, you can restore newer items selectively, via the "Star Wars" display, per #15 there, but be careful; some Snow Leopard apps may not work with the Lion files.

Photosmart Premium C309a series: full system restore fails to result in HP Scan functioning

I had to recently have my iMac hard drive replaced. Upon performing a full system restore from a Time Machine back-up, I have found that HP Scan fails to operate at all, despite the printer itself performing its other tasks normally. This means that ABBYY Fine Reader also fails to operate with HP Scan as its 'calling application'.
I am using Mac OS X 10.6.8 and have run Apple Software Update and downloaded all outstanding HP software. Prior to my hard drive failure HP Scan worked fine. The full restore has installed the version I was running then as now, 2.4.1.
In order to obtain the Scan software obviously I originally downloaded the full software package from HP in order to configure its functions -however the current printer driver version is 4.1.2.
From the Error window that appears when I try to launch HP Scan, it appears that the problem may relate to HP Scan profiles not being loaded in the Library folder. However when I look there I am not able to determine if anything is missing. I suspect that they are there, but not being recognised.
As I already have all the software to operate the printer functions, why should I repeat the download to get HP Scan and the scanning function to operate again?
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Hi @MJM_archiver,
I see by your post that you had to replace the hardrive and after doing a full system restore from the Time Machine back-up, you are unable to scan. I can help you with this.
Try scanning through the Apple Software, to see if you have the same result.
How to Scan: Mac OS X v10.6.
The files might not have copied over properly from the back up.
I would verify and repair the disk permissions, reset the printing system on the Mac, then run the full uninstall and reinstall of the software.
Repair the Disk Permissions on the Mac:
Close all applications.
On the Apple menu bar, click Go, click Applications and then click Utilities.
Double-click Disk Utility.
Highlight your hard drive/partition on the left.
Click Verify and then Repair Disk Permissions.
Restart the computer.
Reset the Printing System:
Note: This will remove all printers in the print and Fax/Scan, any printer removed can be re-added later by clicking the plus (+) symbol.
Click the Apple icon ( ), and then click System Preferences.
Click Printers & Scanners.
Right-click (or Ctrl +click) in the left white side panel, then click Reset printing system.
Click OK to confirm the reset.
Type the correct Name and Password.
Click OK to reset the printing system.
Uninstalling the Printer Software.
HP Photosmart Full Feature Software and Drivers - Mac OS X v10.4, v10.5, and v10.6.
Test the printer.
If you need further assistance, just let me know.
Have a nice day!
Thank You.
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos Thumbs Up" on the right to say “Thanks” for helping!
Gemini02
I work on behalf of HP

Network Error in Client Full System Restore

Hi,
I've been attempting, as a test, to restore a full system backup to a client computer using a boot flash drive. When I attempt to do so, I get a "Unknown Network Error" at the point where the client has attempted to contact the server, been unable
to and offered the opportunity to enter a name or an IP address. When I enter either one, I immediately get an "Unknown Network Error". There's no error number or other specific identifying informations.
Details:
The client computer is a UEFI motherboard PC running Windows 7 Professional. It connects with no difficulty whatsoever on a normal basis to the Windows 2012 R2 Essentials server. It gets backed up every night by the server over the network with no problem.
When I boot from the Network Client Computer Restore USB key, everything works fine except that it is unable to find network drivers. When given the chance to load missing drivers, I use the "Drivers for Full System Restore (from the full system backup)"
on another USB key and they are found just fine.
Then when we get to the point of searching for the server, it appears to look for 30 seconds or so, then a dialog comes up asking whether to search again or if I want to enter a IP or name. Searching again doesn't yield results, and when either an IP or
the server name is entered, I get the "Unknown Network Error".
I feel certain there must be some logging that is either available or could be turned on if I knew how. I feel concerned that I would not be able to restore my client computer if something were to happen. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Jeff

Hi Justin,
Thanks for your response. I'm sorry that I didn't see it sooner - I guess I assumed I'd get an email if there was a response...
Anyway, at the time when the error occurs, the OS is not running. We have just booted via PXE over the network and started the "Full System Restore" Wizard, so it is not possible to "ping" the server. However, the fact that we successfully
booted via PXEs tells me that basic connectivity exists to the server, because otherwise the PXE boot wouldn't work.
Thanks for the pointer to the logs - I'll check them.
What I have done since I last updated was to do a few experiments. I added a Windows 7 boot image and install image with the Windows Distribution Service, so that on PXE boot I'm given 2 options - a Full System Restore and a Software Install.
I also roped another PC into service, one that is running from BIOS rather than UEFI. On that PC, both the System Restore and Software Install via PXE boot work fine. This tells me the server is at least nominally working, and that the problem is related
somehow to the specifics of the PC being connected. Could be server setup still, could be something on the PC.
On the computer with the UEFI, neither Full System Restore nor Software Install works. However, there is at least a clue in the error response from the Windows Setup - I get a lengthy error message that essentially says that \Windows\Boot\EFI\bootmgr.EFI
is corrupted. I'm not clear whether at this point we are referring to a file extant on the PC or one that is being downloaded that's being claimed to be corrupted.
This took me down a path in which, to eliminate variables, I changed the boot drive on the UEFI system from MBR to GPT. No joy. Also broke up my mirrored drive and changed the SATA from RAID back to AHCI. Also no joy. But everything I am reading is leading
me to believe that the problem has to do with the fact that my target PC has a UEFI BIOS. I continue to investigate - and will look through the logs you mention.
Jeff
Update 8/24/2014
Made some progress yesterday. I'm now able to use Windows Deployment Service to deploy Windows 7 over the network to the UEFI computer. I had to do two things to get that to work.
Turn off driver signing in the UEFI bios. That got me past the error screen complaining about a corrupted driver (which I'm pretty sure I don't have). But then it got hung up saying it couldn't find a driver for the network.
To fix that, I added the driver package to the boot image using the tools in the Windows Deployment Service applet.
After that, it found the server just fine, allowed me to authenticate, and would have proceeded to install Windows 7 if I hadn't aborted.
I then added the exact same driver package to the Full System Restore boot image, but it made absolutely no difference. Exactly the same symptoms as reported previously.
So, where am I and what do I know?
I can do both a Remote Windows 7 install and Client Full System Restore using Windows Deployment Services on an X64, BIOS based computer.
I can do a Remote Windows 7 install to my X64 UEFI based computer.
When I attempt a Client Full Restore to the X64 UEFI computer, I get all the way to the Full System Restore Wizard, which tells me that it can't find network drivers (even when they've been installed to the boot image). It finds network drivers when provided
via a USB key, but then when the Wizard looks for the server, it's unable to find it. When a manual option is presented, and I enter the server's IP address, I get an "Unknown Network Error" popup message, and I can't proceed further.
On the UEFI computer, I've tried all combinations of Compatibility Support Module (CSM) settings, but they make absolutely no difference to the Full System Restore process.
I've also tried converting the boot disk from MBR to GPT, didn't make any difference.
I "unmirrored" my mirrored RAID drives and changed the SATA bios from RAID to AHCI. Made no difference.
So, at this point I'm kind of stuck. I'm out of ideas for things to try for now. I did look at the logs as suggested, but didn't see much of anything relative to WDS. Possibly logging has to get turned on?
As always, any help or ideas would be much appreciated.
Jeff

Question Regarding A Full System Restore...

My MacBook is just over a year old and I'm noticing some odd behaviors of late. More beach balls and jumping cursors when typing emails etc. ( The cursor issue is irritating... I'll be typing and suddenly the entire message will delete, or the cursor will jump to another area within the email and I don't realize it... as I'm typing it's inserted in the middle of something I've already typed.)
I was wondering if I should do a full system restore? This is my first Mac, so my only experience doing a system restore back to the factory settings has been with a Microsoft PC and THAT is a pain. I do regular SuperDuper and Time Machine backups on my MacBook, but if I do a system restore and THEN do a restore from my SuperDuper or Time Machine won't that just put back onto my MacBook whatever is causing the beach balls and cursor issues? I would prefer to not have to do a full system restore and then reinstall individually all of my current applications as well as reconfigure my Airport Extreme/ Express and Apple TV etc.
Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks !
Chuck

Hi - there's a few things i would do first if you haven;t done them already of i were you. Firstly, check your disk permissions in disk utility - go to spotlight and type in disk utility - click on the application and then in the right hand pane select you macintosh hd - once you've selected that go to the bottom middle of the whole pane where it says repair disk permissions - this can sometimes help rectify any cranky issues you have.
You can also fix your preferences - this site tells you how along with some other useful tips on sorting out system problems:
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html
Another thing to try is to run your routine maintenance scripts - your machine will run these automatically but only if your machine is on in the early hours of the morning! I've heard that under Leopard if your machine is not on the scripts will run as soon as they can after missing the scheduled time but i've no evidence of this in my Console logs. Anyway, manually running them is easy - there are daily, weekly and monthly scripts. To run them all at once:
open the terminal application from spotlight
at the command prompt type:
sudo periodic daily weekly monthly
press return and it may ask you for your system password. type that in and press return
it will take a few minutes to run these scripts.
you may also need to clean out your caches as per the detail in the article listed above. you can get software that performs these tasks for you e.g. macjanitor, onyx, maccleanse etc
and if you do have to reinstall, i'd go for the fresh install - yes it is a bit time consuming but it loads and loads quicker than windows! make sure you back up your important data first.
all the best!

Can I do a full system restore of a 10.5 system by booting on a 10.6 CD?

Dear all,
I am trying to support my parents whos MacBook just failed (harddisk dead). They have now gotten a new harddisk installed and wants to restore the setup from their TimeCapsule.
I would prefer to do a full system restore, so that it gets back to exatly how they had it before. A 'user only' setup would require them to reinstall all third party apps including MS Office etc., which will be tricky for them.
Few questions:
1. Does a 'full system restore' restore everything, including applications and system files? Will it be going back to an exact clone of what they had?
2. They ran a Mac OS 10.5.x system, but cannot find their installation CD. Can I lend them my Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) CD to boot, while still restoring their 10.5.x system? (I don't want them to have 10.6 as I am not sure about compability with all their 3rd party software/drivers etc.)
3. Any other things I should keep in mind for a successful restore?
Thanks,
Magnus

Magnus Olsson wrote:
2. They ran a Mac OS 10.5.x system, but cannot find their installation CD. Can I lend them my Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) CD to boot, while still restoring their 10.5.x system?
No. Well, you can do the restore, but it won't boot.
You need a Leopard disc. It can be the original that came with their Mac, or a Retail (black) version, and it doesn't matter what version of Leopard it is, since you don't load OSX but only use the Installer utility. Thus borrowing one doesn't violate the license.
They really should have a Leopard disc, not only to do a restore, but also if they need to do a +*Repair Disk+* on the internal HD. And they would need the original disc, for the Apple Hardware Test on it; AppleCare will send them a replacement for a nominal fee.
3. Any other things I should keep in mind for a successful restore?
Yes. See #14 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum, for detailed instructions. Note the caution there, under the green box, about turning TM off immediately after the restore.

How can one do a full system restore from Time Machine to a Macbook Air

I recently had a major crash on my two internal disc DualG5. The system internal disk failed completely and I used Time Machine to do a full system restore to the second internal disc. It worked PERFECTLY!! I followed the instructions in support
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/15638.html
This involved inserting the Leopard DVD into the optical drive and backing up from my external LaCie time machine backup.
I also have a MacBook Air. I use an external USB HD drive as Time Machine backup. The Air only has one USB port. I have an external DVD drive for the Air. Clearly, I will not be able to mount the DVD and External disk at the same time unless I use a small hub. I guess this will work but is there any other work around. Could I do a full reinstall and then connect the external HD?

Richard,
Alternatively, you could use Remote Disc Sharing (via the DualG5) to do the install and reserve the USB port for the Time Machine disk.
[http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1131]
[http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1777]
Let us know if this was helpful.
Cheers!

Help (please) w/ Full System Restore after downgrading from Snow to Leopard

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