How to access Time Machine backups after using migration assistant?

Can someone please help me with a TM issue.
My HD died so I fitted a new one. I figured that I would do a clean install rather than use TM to bring across a whole bunch of 5 year old junk and Aps that all broke after the Leopard -Snow Leopard -Lion -Mountain Lion upgrades.
Installed 10.8.2 Mountain Lion, no issues. Then used TM to drag and drop all the Applications I actually wanted, still good. Then used Migration assistant to bring in the remainder of the settings, documents, mail etc. For some reason you cannot migrate to the current default user so you have to create a new user profile which I did. New profile was great so I deleted the other profile created at install that was pretty much blank.
At this stage everything looks awesome but I noticed a video clip was missing in a Final Cut project so I went back into TM to retrieve it. Now, all the documents in my old user profile in TM have a little no entry symbol on them and I do not have permission to look at those files.
It looks as though I am now being treated as someone else on a different machine and no doubt TM will continue to work from this point on but how do I tell it that there is just one user on this machine and I want access to all the historic backups too?
Any advice will be gratefully received.

Many thanks for your response Mende,
I am trying to specifically NOT do a full TM restore because I have some issues with some programs that I cannot delete. I wanted a fresh start but from what I understand the TM will bring back everything as it was, including all the corrupt system files. Fixing the TM permissions would be the preferable option.
(I attempted to make a windows partition on my system once, thinking it would make some sort of clever fake-windows desktop supported by Mac coding. It actually wanted me to do a full windows 7 install on the partition with windows install disks so I cancelled the process. Because it was a partial install I have not been able to uninstall the modifications and my system was crashing regularly due to some sort of stray code).
Just out of interest, if your OSX install is perfectly good, will TM use that or will it still take your OSX from the TM backup?
Apart from that one stray file, my system is now super clean and faster than ever... but maybe there are still some things missing that I haven't noticed yet.

Similar Messages

How can I access Time Machine backups after doing an erase/reinstall of Mavericks?

I recently did a complete erase of my hard drive and re-installed Mavericks. I chose to start clean rather than use any Time Machine back-ups. I used the same external hard drive for my new Time Machine back-ups. Now I cannot open any back-ups/items prior to the re-install via Time Machine. They are listed along the right hand sidebar in Time Machine (star wars view) but will not open when clicked on.
Some files I can access if I go to the actual backup folder - ex a Pages doc BUT ff I try to open the iPhoto library from the back-up folders stored on the external drive, I get the following error message -
I cannot open the iPhoto "package" to access individual photos from these back-ups.
So - how can I get Time Machine to allow access to the pre-install back-ups??
thnx
Message was edited by: Rant&Raver
corrected some spelling errors!

To restore the library from your TM backup follow the instructions in this screenshot.
If you want to restore all of your Home folder documents you can use Migration Assistant.

Still cannot access time machine backups after Yosemite install

Can anyone tell me what to do to be able to access my time machine backups. When I enter time machine nothing except apps and desktop are accessable. Thus I cannot restore anything that was "backed up" even this morning, much less any other day this year. Yosemite was installed on Oct. 19, took 2 days to download to an 2013 iMac. The first time machine backup took over 24 hours. I have made 1 backup per day since, only problem is that I cannot access any of this data. Please help me.

A bit more information would help figure out the problem. Maybe a screen shot of what you're seeing or not seeing (use Command+shift+4 to save an area of the screen or a window -type space first to capture an entire window- to a file and then attach that file to your posting reply). You might look at the Console app to get more information about what actually happened during your backups - suggest putting "backupd" (without the quotes) in the search field at the top right of window in Console - with the "All Messages" query selected on the left part of the window). Console is located in the /Applications/Utilities folder. After you enter the backupd in the search field only those messages that contain that string will appear which helps a lot since so many messages are normally shown without any search field string.
Depending on how long ago the backups happened, you might need to select previous versions of the system log files - they get archived and compressed to files like system.log.0.bz2 or system.log.1.bz2 (these are in the /var/log query choice if you don't see them in the existing query choices - just click on the triangle to the left of the "/Var/log" entry if needed). Console knows how to show the messages that are in these compressed files, so you don't need to do anything other than click on the query name.
Also if you look in TimeMachine in System Preferences are there any exclusions (click on the Options button in TM System Preferences to show what the existing exclusions are)? A screen shot of those would be helpful also.
Is there only one drive with the single Mac OS partition on it?
Hope this helps a bit...

Can not access time machine backups. after transfer to new macbook pro

Irecently up graded to a new MacBook Pro. I baked up all my files on an external drive using time machine. Now when I try to retrive my files from the backups.backupdb folder I can not access may of my files. Message: "The folder “Music” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents."
I'm fairly certain I have a diffrent user name on my new machine but dont know what my old user name and password were (never really used them).
How can I access 3 years worth of work in this time machine backup?

Irecently up graded to a new MacBook Pro. I baked up all my files on an external drive using time machine. Now when I try to retrive my files from the backups.backupdb folder I can not access may of my files. Message: "The folder “Music” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents."
I'm fairly certain I have a diffrent user name on my new machine but dont know what my old user name and password were (never really used them).
How can I access 3 years worth of work in this time machine backup?

Can't access Time Machine backups after erase and install

Had iMac checked by Apple Authorized Service Provider after experiencing multiple problems I couldn't fix. No hardware problem. He did an erase and install of 10.5.8. The machine accesses my Time Machine backup, but in Time Machine/ iMacHome/ Sharing & Permissions says, "You can only read." If I access a folder in Home, like Desktop or Documents, it says,"You have no access." Permissions are locked and grayed out.
I spent over two hours on the phone with tech support last evening, and he finally said he'd have to turn it over to Apple engineers, which would take a few days.
Migration assistant only allows "all or nothing" migration, and I need to select just certain folders; I do not want to restore anything that might be corrupted.
Is it possible I could have an undetected hardware problem? Has anyone else done an erase and install and been able to use Time Machine backups to pick and choose what they wanted to restore?

Thank you for your reply. The apple support tech should have known this, but he didn't. However, in the course of our two hour discussion he said "Maybe it's because the computer name is different." I hadn't reached the new-set-up stage where I had changed the name of the computer from Apple's default, so I did that. My short name home folder I had already named the same as before, iMacHome.
But changing the computer name didn't help. After reading your reply, I unlocked the preferences (which were locked and grayed out in TM) to my home folder in the finder and assigned read and write to all folders within for everyone. Back in TM, preferences were no longer grayed out, but changing privileges was. I added iMacHome to the names in addition to staff read & write and everyone read and write. But ImacHome(Me) allows read only, options gray, and even though everyone is read and write, it says "You can only read" and I still cannot access Desktop, Documents, etc...
Fortunately I have a SuperDuper user file backup that I am restoring from, so all is not lost. But it seems to me TM backups should be readily available, and I want to solve this problem. I may still want to go back to a previous month to recover something. But mostly I'd just like to know that TM is a functional backup. It certainly isn't in my case right now.
Don't want to migrate the entire home folder. Too risky. Risky enough to bring over Mail and selected Application Support folders and keychains.
Thanks again. I think your answer is right on, but there must still be something else. I know I have those names correct because I see the old computer name on the sparse bundle, and the old home name in the TM backups. (Haven't read the tips yet. Will do so.)

Unable to access time machine backups after upgrade

I have an airport extreme with an USB disk that I've been using with my 10.8 system.
I've decided to format and do a clean install of mavericks. After that even tough I can access the timemachine and see scroll with the mouse I can't use the arrows or select anything.
Any ideas?
Regards.

desbiss wrote:
After transferring all my data over to the new profile and setting everything back up as I like I deleted the old (presumably corrupt) user profile. To my dismay I no longer have access to any of my time machine backups that were created prior to setting up my new user profile... They appear to still all be there. However, I am unable to select any of the dates prior to the new user profile's creation and the deletion of the old profile...
That's correct. What you see in Time Machine's "Star Wars" display depends on what you have the Finder window set to. While looking at the new profile, you can't see any backups that were done before it existed.
You're right, they're still there, for now, but are grayed-out in the timeline at the right, because what's in the Finder window wasn't backed-up then.
If you select your internal HD or Computer Name in the sidebar, you'll be able to see those backups.
But since they're for a different user, you won't be able to view inside that home folder or restore from it -- one user, even an Admin user, doesn't normally have access to a different user's data.
It's doubtful, but you might be able to create a new user with exactly the same name as the one you deleted, log on to it, and see if the old backups appear.

Unable to access time machine backups after creating new user profile

Hi,
I had visited the Genius Bar with some problems with iTunes not opening. The Genius had indicated that I likely had some corrupt files and that the easiest fix would be to create a new user profile... So we did...
After transferring all my data over to the new profile and setting everything back up as I like I deleted the old (presumably corrupt) user profile. To my dismay I no longer have access to any of my time machine backups that were created prior to setting up my new user profile... They appear to still all be there. However, I am unable to select any of the dates prior to the new user profile's creation and the deletion of the old profile...
Please help...
Thank in advance,
Des

desbiss wrote:
After transferring all my data over to the new profile and setting everything back up as I like I deleted the old (presumably corrupt) user profile. To my dismay I no longer have access to any of my time machine backups that were created prior to setting up my new user profile... They appear to still all be there. However, I am unable to select any of the dates prior to the new user profile's creation and the deletion of the old profile...
That's correct. What you see in Time Machine's "Star Wars" display depends on what you have the Finder window set to. While looking at the new profile, you can't see any backups that were done before it existed.
You're right, they're still there, for now, but are grayed-out in the timeline at the right, because what's in the Finder window wasn't backed-up then.
If you select your internal HD or Computer Name in the sidebar, you'll be able to see those backups.
But since they're for a different user, you won't be able to view inside that home folder or restore from it -- one user, even an Admin user, doesn't normally have access to a different user's data.
It's doubtful, but you might be able to create a new user with exactly the same name as the one you deleted, log on to it, and see if the old backups appear.

Time Machine backup/restoring through migration assistant/issues

Hi.
I would like to restore a backup from an external hard drive to my macbook pro.
Not beeing aware of the procedure, I skipped the "set-up assistant" phase where you're proposed the option of transferring informations from an another Mac or from a Time Machine, etc...
My backup files from my previous TimeMachine are on an external hard drive, plugged via USB to my MacBookPro. After looking for the right procedure, I tried to restore my backup through the Migration Assistant.
But the Migration Assistant won't find my external hard drive. Even though, weirdly, I can see and naviguate it via the Finder.
Is there something I should've done? Am I missing something?
I would really like some help on this one.
Thanks.

Quit Notes and temporarily disable iCloud synchronization, if applicable.
Triple-click the line below to select it:
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes
Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select
Services ▹ Reveal
from the contextual menu. A Finder window should open with an item selected. Enter Time Machine and restore the selected item.

HT201250 How can I revert to my internal drive for time machine backups after using an external drive?

Hi. I've been using an external drive for time machine back ups and decided to revert to my internal drive, but it isn't available in the time machine options. The only available option is to set up a time capsule, which I don't own.
Is it because not enough space is available on my internal drive (approx 50GB)?
Thanks!

50 Gb free on your internal drive is relly very low and of course not enought for a any kind of backup.
How big is your internal HD ? If you have left only 50 GB free it is probably 90% full. Let's imagine you have a 500 Gb. This means 450 Gb data and 50 Gb free. How can you backup 450 into 50 ?
Second point. The backup on your internal HD is a nonsense evenif it is big enough. If it stops working you will have no bakup.
Do you have an iMac or a portable ?
The portable automatic uses the internal HD if the external is not connected, but this is intended for a short time.
This could give you some more links to read about https://discussions.apple.com/message/20726927#20726927

Access time machine backup files using Tiger (OS10.4.11)

My G5 with leopard installed is under repair and I am using my old iBook which can not run Leopard so I am on tiger 10.4.11. I wanted to access back up files on my external hard drive (backed up with time machine) but when I enter the back up files they all are aliases and have no data attached. I know the data are there by the memory taken up on the external hard drive. How can I access my files using Tiger - surely it can be done. Where are the real files? If anyone knows how please let me know. Thanks.

I have done as you suggested and clicked on the show original but I get this message " The volume cannot be found. Insert the disk or connect to the server volume and wait for it to appear on the desktop, then try again." I have the external disk already connected as that is what I am trying to recover the file from i.e. where I find the aliases. Any further suggestions. Thanks

Time Machine Backups after using a clone?

I have had to revert to a clone of my MacBook Pro as a piece of software broke something.
I have all my data and everything works fine except TM thinks the last backup it did was two weeks ago, when the clone was made. So now Time Machine wants to do a full backup of my MBP, when the last backup was a day ago. Do I have to live with it doing a full backup rather than an incremental? Are there any workarounds for this?
Any help will be much appreciated.

Philip Tyler wrote:
TM thinks the last backup it did was two weeks ago, when the clone was made. So now Time Machine wants to do a full backup of my MBP, when the last backup was a day ago.
The problem is, you're now running from a different disk. So Time Machine is trying to back up the new disk in it's entirety.
As coolio88 says, you may be able to tell Time Machine to "associate" the new drive with the old backups.
That's a permanent change, but can probably be done again when you get the internal HD repaired/replaced. Depending on how you put your data back on it (e.g., if you do a full system restore from your backups per Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #14,) Time Machine may do the association to the repaired/replaced disk automatically.

Concerns ALL Time Machine Users. HOW TO MOVE Time Machine backups. Help !

Concerns ALL Time Machine Users :
MOVE (or COPY) Time Machine backups from a "x"To Disk to an "y"To greater disk.
Hello and thank you all for reading me,
First, excuse me if I make language errors (I'm French).
Secundo, I don't know if you'll find something interesting for you
in what I write about Time Machine and my own problems,
but there's a possibility also that YOU could perhaps help me.
I'm talking about Time Machine and his **** Backups.backupdb folder,
containing "*Name of your Mac*" folder,
this folder containing Time Machine backups, format : YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS
Time Machine doesn't recognize the backups it made *IF YOU MOVE THEM*.
I have perhaps a solution in this message.
You'll see below what kind of problem I (and you could) have.
Since 12/01/10, an Apple Adviser Level Two (and me)
are trying to understand how to move backups from TM1To Disk to, let's say, a bigger one.
My case is TM1,5To.
*Purpose :* Move 19 backups from Time Machine X disk to Time Machine Y disk.
Delete TMX disk Time Machine backups after that.
Make TMY disk the current used Time Machine Disk.
I don't remember exactly what we did before
(we even created a "root" account with password (dangerous to do),
but it didn't solve the problem),
but we finally copied :
TM1To > Backups.backupdb > *MacBook Pro* folder (containing 19 backups) into :
TM1,5To > Backups.backupdb folder.
The Copy application announced *16 hours !* (without antivirus, to remove absolutely).
So I said goodbye and thank you to my Apple Adviser. After *8 hours*, Copy failed.
BUT it had succeeded to copy *4 backups ONLY* (why ?) in TM1,5To.
I immediately verified and checked each of these with Get Info.
They had EXACTLY the same size (Byte to Byte) as in TM1To.
➔ BUT HERE IS MY OBSERVATION :
After designing TM1,5To as Time Machine Disk, I ordered it to Backup (now).
And what did Time Machine do in TM1,5To > Backups.backupdb ?
It created a *NEW folder*, named *MacBook Pro 2* !
➔ *I HAVE NO ACCESS* to TM1,5To > Backups.backupdb > *MacBook Pro* (4 backups copied from TM1To, remember) ;
➔ while I still *HAVE ACCESS* to TM1To > Backups.backupdb > *MacBook Pro* (19 backups) ;
➔ *AND I HAVE ACCESS* to TM1,5To > Backups.backupdb > *MacBook Pro 2*,
where Time Machine makes actually his backups.
*NOTE :* If you *change the name* of your computer,
Time Machine *changes automatically the name* of the folder who is in Backups.backupdb folder.
➔ ① I have *never seen* such protections (Sharing and Permissions).
You are not allowed to do anything. I've tried to change permissions,
first : "R+W", after that : "Make (Me) the owner", I can tell you : DON'T DO IT !
➔ ② It's impossible to install an OS on a Time Machine disk
(I thought it would allow better permissions).
OS Installer detects the existence of a Backups.backupdb folder
and refuses to install on this disk or partition.
I have now the bad intent to install minimal OS X
1) after deleting (how ?) this folder (but not its contents, how to move it ?)
and 2) declare *after that* the disk as Time Machine disk.
➔ ③ Time Machine doesn't backup OTHER Time Machine backups
(who are in an ancient-not-choosed-for-backups Time Machine disk) NOR backups this disk
(detects, once again, the existence of a Backups.backupdb folder).
AND you can't *absolutely not remove backups from the folder the're in*
(for me, *MacBook Pro* or *MacBook Pro 2*).
➔ ④ I didn't have time to do it, but I think there would perhaps be a solution
in restoring backups in partitions specially created to receive them (having the same name,
that sort of thing) and then re-backup these partitions (vicious and complicated).
There is a function on Mac OS X Install DVD : start with it, and then (do not install)
choose "*restore from Time Machine backup*" from the menu bar (it's called "Utilities", I believe).
➔ ⑤ I *absolutely don't understand* what follows :
— If I add (in my TM1To disk) the bytes of the 19 backups
in Backups.backupdb > *MacBook Pro* folder, I obtain about *1,8 To*.
— It's impossible (and not french).
— When I check the size used with Disk Utility (NOT with Get Info),
I find a correct (?) size : *about 750 Go*.
— What are Time Machine backups made of ?
It can't be aliases (because of their size, and because *aliases suppose originals,
and where could they be ?*), or am I wrong and becoming crazy ?
➔ ⑥ If you refer to the numbers shown at the end of this text (*4 backups*),
you'll see I could *delete duplicate elements* inside these 4 backups,
to win space (but *what kind* of space *if I delete aliases* ?).
Back-In-Time (see below) says he does it.
BUT is it really the OLDEST items I have to destroy (see ⑤),
when I don't know with what kind of ARTEFACT I'm acting ?
What does Time Machine delete to create more backup space ?
Is it REALLY the OLDEST backups it treats, or duplicates, OR ?
*What you can do :*
Find and go to Tri-Edre.fr or Tri-Edre.com/fr site (it's a french company
that creates small Mac applications since fifteen years at least,
I think I already bought them several programs in 1990) ;
Their program *Back-In-Time 1.4.4* is free (Trial) and complete to download (with PDF docs too).
It is *ENTIRELY DEDICATED* to Time Machine and *things you can't do* with.
Price is about 30 €, I think it's worth.
The TRIAL version you will obtain can only work on the LAST Time Machine backup,
but you will see what's featured *AND :*
You will ACCESS to ANY Time Machine backup you want
(It has to be the last of a serie of backups, but the serie you want.
I've bought the application and own an activation key, but you understand I can't give it to you
(it would not be ethic) and anyway you would be obliged to disconnect AirPort, Ethernet etc.
•➔ I have bought the application because I thought (it's said in PDF FAQs) I could IN THE END move Time Machine backup files, but it cannot, (I'm afraid).
*BUT ANY ACCESS PROBLEM IS SOLVED.*
•➔ Back-In-Time 1.4.4 can *delete :* duplicate backups, complete backups,
or duplicate items inside one or several Time Machine backups,
things that I believe impossible with Time Machine itself
(I've seen it offers to delete ALL occurences of an item) ;
•➔ The application can also restore anything you want, where you want
(but I think Time Machine does it too ?)
•➔ Believe it or not, but since I've bought it on 15/01,
I've only worked about 2 hours (no, much more) on it
and didn't make sufficient progresses (enhancements ?)
to talk of it with sufficient experience (I'm a bad guy, don't you think ?)
•➔ Tri-Edre offers on-line support, e-mail support (and so on),
and I EVEN didn't manage to join them, because I did many other things,
and also somewhat have been disgusted *not to be able to move* or copy
*(accessible by Time Machine after that)* backups,
and I also didn't succeed (*another Time Machine inconvenient*) to DESTROY an ".inProgress"
Time Machine (package) which doesn't work anymore (several interruptions while active),
date (and name) 2010-01-27-164345.inProgress, but is used (*with failure results*)
by Time Machine (it's turned off till I find how to destroy its **** ".inProgress" package.
•➔ I've asked my Apple Adviser Level 2 to wait for news from me
before working himself on the problem, and I think I will send him this message
to prove I haven't forgotten him.
•➔ I'll send it to Tri-Edre too, in the same move.
I hope those remarks to be useful for somebody, tell me if it has helped.
I will also publish this in any Time Machine topics I find here, and in MacRumors site too.
As you can see, I need help too … Does anybody have an idea ?
Perhaps if I used a specific Copy software, it could work ?
You'll see below an example of some time I've spent to study my problem
(you will think I'm crazy).
With my kind regards, and good luck if you have other Time Machine problems !
Olivier Herrbach
<Edited by Host>
Le but du jeu est de transférer toutes les sauvegardes Time Machine
d'un volume/partition que nous appelerons "1 To"
sur un volume/partition que nous appelerons "1,5 To".
*Je rappelle que les 4 sauvegardes effectuées par Time Machine sur le 1 To
n'ont pas été reconnues comme siennes par Time Machine sur le 1,5 To,
bien que strictement identiques en taille après leur copie.
J'ai remarqué dans Back-In-Time des fichiers invisibles (tels que "TimeMachine.log"
ou quelque chose de genre), et je soupçonne fort qu'ils n'ont pas été copiés et que Time Machine,
ne les trouvant pas dans le 1,5 To, a ignoré à cause de leur absence les 4 sauvegardes décrites ici.*
*Sauvegardes effectuées par Time Machine sur 1 To :*
Path : MacBook Pro > Volumes > 1 To > Backups.backupdb > MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro contient 19 items (dont un alias appelé "Latest") :
1°) 2010-01-02-045758 Size : 913.207 B for 41.888 items comprenant :
• Hitachi 1 To Size : 907.664 B for 41.887 items 7 folders
Différence avec 1°) = - 5.543 B - 1 item (1 folder)
2°) 2010-01-03-001957 Size : 982.211.325 B for 67.490 items comprenant :
• Hitachi 1 To Size : 901.516 B for 41.886 items 6 folders
Différence avec 1°) = - 6.148 B - 1 item - 1 folder
• Samsung 500 Go Size : 981.302.510 B for 25.602 items 4 folders
Total • + • = Size : 982.204.026 B for 67.488 items
Différence avec 2°) = -7.209 B - 2 items (2 folders)
— *Supprimer • Hitachi 1 To* dans 2010-01-03-001957. Comparer les dossiers.
3°) 2010-01-04-222709 Size : 5.241.032.819 B for 26.509 items comprenant :
• Samsung 500 Go Size : 5.187.330.874 B for 19.392 items 8 folders
Différence avec 2°) = + 4.206.028.364 B - 6.210 items + 4 folders
• StartUp Disk Size : 53.692.703 B for 7.115 items 4 folders
Total • + • = Size : 5.241.023.577 B for 26.507 items
Différence avec 3°) = - 9.242 B - 2 items (2 folders)
— *Supprimer Samsung 500 Go* dans 2010-01-03-001957. Comparer les dossiers.
4°) 2010-01-05-125449 Size : 9.428.705.396 B for 204.915 items comprenant :
• HD 250 Go Size : 9.374.308.265 B for 181.575 items 7 folders
• Samsung 500 Go Size : 692.898 B for 16.222 items 8 folders
Différence avec 3°) = - 5.186.637.976 B - 3.170 items
• StartUp Disk Size : 53.692.703 B for 7.115 items 4 folders
Total • + • + • = Size : 9.428.693.866 B 204.912 items
Différence avec 4°) = - 11.530 B - 3 items (3 folders)
— Supprimer • StartUp Disk dans 2010-01-04-222709. IDENTIQUE.

Dear James Pond,
Thank you once again, and, don't be afraid, I will be as short as possible,
but I need to use your last reply (I've cut all what was already said).
JP ➔ You can copy an entire set of backups, but you cannot copy part of it successfully. See #18 etc.
JP ➔ Read this from the first paragraph: "you cannot copy only selected backups,
or merge two (or more) sets of backups." The structure of the backups simply will not allow it.
I've read it, and found it regrettable. And I've also read, after that, what were the solutions under Leopard and Snow Leopard, and my conclusion is that it's a *dead end* for me. In short,
— I can't move (by drag and drop) the 1To's Backups.backupdb folder (containing MacBook Pro, 19 backups, access) to 1,5To, because there exists already the Backups.backupdb folder created by copy on 12/01 with Apple Assistance (containing [MacBook Pro, 4 backups of 19, no access] and [MacBook Pro 2, 15 backups, access]). I don't even know if it could be deleted by the copy (and I don't wanna do that anyway) ;
— I can't rename (and what for, I already forgot it) any Backups.backupdb folder nor delete it ;
— I can't copy any Computer'sName folder (entire set containing backups), being in a Backups.backup.db folder, into another Backups.backupdb folder ;
— I can't copy any (or all of an entire set) YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS backup(s), being in a Computer'sName folder, into another Computer'sName folder (even if it would be empty).
— Saying NONE in Time Machine Preferences and putting it to OFF is simply no use.
All is said. What I can try to do is :
— Delete (not with Finder, but with Back-In-Time) all duplicate things I find in all backups and also entire duplicate backups (I have full access to all with the software) ;
— Restore each of the reduced-to-minimum backups obtained in specially right-sized partitions wearing the YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS name of each restored backup. Time Machine doesn't backup his backups, but will backup these partitions.
I'm afraid to be actually completely running out of the target, when I read what I write … It's time to go to bed !
Reminder (OH) : Where did you find these amazing informations ?
JP➔ Some of it is detailed here: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/10/12/roadto_maco[]sx_leopard_timemachine.html
➤ Thank you ;
JP➔ and here:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2007/10/mac-os-x-10-5.ars/14
➤ Thank you too ;
JP➔ You have to understand the structure. When TM does the first backup, yes, it copies everything.
On subsequent backups, it copies what's new or changed, but also makes "hard links" (sort of like aliases) to the copies of the things that didn't change. That's how it can only back up a few things each time, but show you a complete "snapshot" of the way your entire system looked at the time of every backup.
➤ I'll do my best to understand.
JP➔ Time Machine deletes backups under two conditions. See the first part of #12 in the Frequently Asked Questions User Tip, also at the top of this forum.
Under normal circumstances, you should not have to delete any backups. See the rest of #12.
➤ I understood why Time Machine didn't delete oldest backups : they were not weeklies ones.
Reminder (OH) : How can I destroy the (corrupted ?) not working "2010-01-27-164345.inProgress" in 1,5 To, which causes Time Machine to abort any backup of any size I ask ?
JP➔ Why do you think it's corrupted? TM is designed to "recover" a partial backup.
➤ I'll verify that with the little Tools/Apps I discovered in your FAQ User Tip document and downloaded immediately.
Why didn't Apple tell me anything ? It's my fault, I'm perhaps not clear and not demanding enough more from them.
JP➔ You cannot install OSX on a disk containing TM backups. That's because they need to be on separate disks.
Technically, you could put them on separate partitions of the same disk, but that would not be a good idea.
➤ I never told you that (there would be no interest at all). I talked about the same location, to see if it would allow me more permissions, but if all works without doing it, it's really no use.
JP➔ Sorry, I don't know what that means.
➤ I'm sorry, I didn't explain : "but if all works" meant : Copy Backups.backupdb, "without doing it" meant : Install OSX.
➤ If I install an OSX BEFORE, Time Machine will REFUSE completely to backup on it, it's understood.
JP➔ Correct. The partition you're running from will not be an option in TM Preferences > Select Disk. That prevents TM from backing-up it's own backups!
➤ Would it be so absurd ? Maybe it could resolve my actual problem ?
I think you are right, but I don't know why. I trust you.
Reminder (OH) : "I will not bore you again except if I don't find a specific answer to an unknown-never-seen-incredible malfuction."
JP➔ Don't worry about that -- thats what this forum is for, especially if you're still having problems.
➤ It's seems in fact that there is no possible solution, except what I said above and is certainly crazy/out of subject.
Just try to be as clear and concise as you can.
And please don't post the same things repeatedly -- it wastes your time and ours, and can confuse other folks.
➤ You're absolutely right and I tried to do so this time, and I'm sorry because I see it's still (far) not enough (short).
Thank you once more. I wish you a good evening and week-end. Here it's 01:40 AM.
With my kind regards
Olivier Herrbach
[email protected]

Lost list of my wifi networks after using migration assistant / time machine

After using migration assistant / time machine to set up my new Mac I now miss the list of stored preferred Wlan/WiFi networks. So the passwords of wireless networks I. Used in the past are all gone.
Why is time machine not putting those on my new Mac as it does with many other settings?
How can I manually grab this list from my old Mac and out it on the new machine?
Will I find that time machine missed some other lists and settings as well?
Thanks for help.

I've been working through this procedure this week. It's pretty good, and when it works it appears to work quite well, but there's still some bumps in the road:
(1) Once you've migrated, Time Machine itself seems to be a little confused and future backups may fail. You might have to start again by changing to a new Time Machine disk on your new laptop. You may lose your older backups, it's not yet clear to me.
(2) You can't restore from a previous backup during the migration, only the most recent one. (You can restore from an older backup using tools on the install CD if you need to.) I suspect this won't be an issue for you.
(3) Migration Assistant once you've logged in a Migration Assistant while you're starting up a new machine seem to work slightly differently. For example, sometimes the newest copy of the applications in your Applications folder (say, iMovie) is preserved, sometimes it makes an exact restore of the old Applications folder even if it's an older version of the application.
Overall it's been a pretty good experience, and what you want to do does work, but be prepared for the possibility of some issues. I tried this back in 10.5.0 a few months ago and had a lot of problems, things seem better now under 10.5.2.
- Ert

Can't access Time Machine backups through GUI

Here's what happens when I tried to access Time Machine backups. This description is when I try to "browse" backups from within iPhoto. I believe that a similar thing happened when trying to look directly after opening the Time Machine from within the Dock:
The window goes to the center of the screen (smaller than normal) and the top menu bar disappears (you can see the desktop through the empty translucent bar). Nothing else happens. You can't apply expose hot corners or activate the dock.
It looks like maybe the Time Machine layout is TRYING to activate (as in the original demos), but doesn't complete. There is no timeline of windows or the sidebar timeline.
Any ideas what I need to do to fix this? Once it happens, the only way that I can back out (since the Dock is inaccessible) is the hit the escape key a couple of times.

When I do it from within iPhoto, I'm not getting the multiple panes or the forward backward arrows. All I get is the first/current frame in the centered pane.
Here is a screenshot of iPhoto before I select "browse backups":
[IMG]http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m29/teacher24_70/MiscScreenShots/iPhoto-1.jpg[/IMG]
Here is a screenshot after I select "browse backups":
[IMG]http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m29/teacher24_70/MiscScreenShots/iPhoto-Brows eBackups.jpg[/IMG]
By the way, I don't use Mail.app, so I can't really test it through there. Is there another Apple app that has this functionality built in?
-(.)^(.)- wrote:
Hmmm... not exactly sure what you are trying to do with Time Machine. If you are in iPhoto, you will see the folder you are viewing. For example, I can view my Last Import folder for Aug. 20. Now I can clip on the pane behind it and go back in Time to what my Last Import Folder on, say, Aug. 13, one week ago. Obviously, I will be viewing photos I Last Imported as of Aug. 13. I can also click on the forward and back arrows on the right side to view on a different date. Sorry, not that comfortable posting personal pics to show you what it should look like, but I hope this description helps.
Using Mail as an example is much simpler as the Inbox will change on a daily (even hourly) basis. In the case of Mail, if you start deleting mail on Aug. 20 from the Inbox and suddenly realize you deleted something you didn't want to, simply click the TM icon and you will be in a TM interface. Go back to the dated backup BEFORE you deleted that email and RESTORE it. It will restore it into a NEW TM folder to indicate this is a restored mail. Use the gear icon on the top when using Finder to restore files.
Good luck!
Message was edited by: teacher24_70

Ow can I use my time capsule as a time machine backup without using it wirelessly and not as a wireless router?

How can I use my time capsule as a time machine backup without using it wirelessly and not as a wireless router?

bzb888 wrote:
I have a wireless transmitter already, would like to use the capsule just as a back up drive, I tried hooking up from the ethernet port on the imac to the one of the ports on the capsule but then my Wifi would not work. do I hook the cable to the port with the circle or the arrows?
It is better to have the TC as part of the main network in bridge. You do not need to run wireless.
If you want to use the TC plugged in by ethernet and still use wireless for internet, that is possible but the setup is rather more complicated.. the computer must not get confused about which device to use as a gateway or dns server.
See info in this thread on setting this up.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4817218?tstart=30
I need to add.. a USB drive would be cheaper, faster and more reliable. It is really poor use of a TC.

How to access Time Machine backups after using migration assistant?

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