How to delete files from time machine volume

Before selling my old MacBook Pro, I had backed up all my data on to an external WD hard drive using Time Machine. I had since switched to a desktop but since I did not have any need for the MacBook Pro files at the time, I had put aside that WD hard drive. Recently, I wanted to clear some space on that external drive to make way for some of my present files. I drilled down in to Backups.backupdb and tried to delete files, but was met with the error "
An error occurred.The operation couldn’t be completed. (OSStatus error -5000.) Insufficient access privileges for operation".
It did prompt me for a username and password before showing that message. I tried both my current user/pass as well as (what I remember to be) my old user/pass on the MacBook Pro. Both presented me with the same error message.
I also did try to mount the drive as Time Machine on my present system, and then try to enter Time Machine and delete it from there. However, clicking on "Enter Time Machine ... " does nothing.
Any ideas?

Hi Linc,
my back-up data is managed by Time Machine; the actual data is on a second internal Hard Drive with a capacity of 1TB - not partitioned. I am using Time Machine and have access to all data backed up since Mavericks Clean Install but not the data prior to this date.
When I open the 1TB drive in Finder I can see a folder "Backups.backupdb/Sigi's Mac Pro/ followed by many folders of backup dates going back to 2010-09-20-103441 and up to 2014-02-07-142414 all followed with folder Macintosh HD. February 7th 2014 was the date of the clean install.
These Backups are followed by backup date folder 2014-02-08-075554 with a subfolder of MacPro-320GB (this is the name I assigned to my Boot Drive during formatting; I suspect I should have assigned the same name as before ie. Macintosh HD) and 2014-02-11 with a subfolder Macintosh HD, these are the ones I get access to by way of Time Machine > Restore.
Weird thing is on Febr 11 when I relised my possible mistake and renamed the Bootdrive back to what it was initially ie. Macintosh HD despite this I have access to all backup data since the Clean Install in both folders MacPro-320GB as well as Macintosh HD but not to any data prior to the Clean Install.
Is there something that Time Machine knows and prevents access or is it simply a matter of renaming the subfolder 2014-02-08-07554/MacPro-320GB to ........./Macintosh HD?
I like to restore selectively and not everything - It was hard work reinstalling apps that were supposed to be the troublemakers (ref my discussion on Maverick problems) but I now need to get onto data specific to some of these apps as well as other data I may have missed. Long story? Yes and sorry.
Sigi

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How do you delete file from time machine back up?

How do you delete file from time machine back up?

This from Apple KB Article If Time Machine is not in your Dock, you can enter Time Machine from the Menu Bar or System Preferences.
Deleting data from a Time Machine backup
To delete all backups of one or more items from a Time Machine backup, follow these steps:
Click the Time Machine icon on your Dock to enter the Time Machine restore interface.
Click on the item you would like to delete. Command-click to select multiple items.
Control-click (or right click) the highlighted item(s) and select "Delete All Backups of..." from the contextual menu, or select "Delete all backups of..." from the Action Item menu.
Authenticate with an administrator password when prompted.

Is it possible to delete files from time machine?

Is it possible to delete files from time machine? I had a drive crash, restored the files to a new drive, and now the old versions and the new versions of the files are both backed up, taking up a mountain of drive space. Do I just have to wait 'til the drive gets full and then tell it what to delete first?

Hi, I need help in a related problem. I have 500gb time capsule. I needed larger hard drive, so I now use TM to back up to a different 1tb hard drive. So I don't need the TC as a TM back up device. But I want to use the TC's hard drive as an extra external hard drive. I deleted the files that were on it. but it still shows it has a sparsebundle file with a size of over 400gb ( probably the size of the old backups). When I use disk utility to try to erase it, I am not offered the erase tab. This "disk" does show on the desk top as a mounted disk (I think) with only 53 gb free. How can I set this up so all the disk space is free and I can use it for storing files, not as a back up? Thanks

How to restore files from Time Machine after Clean Install of Mavericks

How to restore files from Time Machine after Clean Install of Mavericks. I know the data is there but seems unaccessable because I may have changed the Computer or Owner name. Is there any way to fix that now?

Hi Linc,
my back-up data is managed by Time Machine; the actual data is on a second internal Hard Drive with a capacity of 1TB - not partitioned. I am using Time Machine and have access to all data backed up since Mavericks Clean Install but not the data prior to this date.
When I open the 1TB drive in Finder I can see a folder "Backups.backupdb/Sigi's Mac Pro/ followed by many folders of backup dates going back to 2010-09-20-103441 and up to 2014-02-07-142414 all followed with folder Macintosh HD. February 7th 2014 was the date of the clean install.
These Backups are followed by backup date folder 2014-02-08-075554 with a subfolder of MacPro-320GB (this is the name I assigned to my Boot Drive during formatting; I suspect I should have assigned the same name as before ie. Macintosh HD) and 2014-02-11 with a subfolder Macintosh HD, these are the ones I get access to by way of Time Machine > Restore.
Weird thing is on Febr 11 when I relised my possible mistake and renamed the Bootdrive back to what it was initially ie. Macintosh HD despite this I have access to all backup data since the Clean Install in both folders MacPro-320GB as well as Macintosh HD but not to any data prior to the Clean Install.
Is there something that Time Machine knows and prevents access or is it simply a matter of renaming the subfolder 2014-02-08-07554/MacPro-320GB to ........./Macintosh HD?
I like to restore selectively and not everything - It was hard work reinstalling apps that were supposed to be the troublemakers (ref my discussion on Maverick problems) but I now need to get onto data specific to some of these apps as well as other data I may have missed. Long story? Yes and sorry.
Sigi

How to delete file from client machine

Hi all,
we are using the DataBase: oracle:10g,
and forms/reports 10g(developer suite 10g-10.1.2.2).
can anybody help me how to delete the file from client machine in specified location using webutil or any
(i tried with webutil_host & client_host but it is working for application server only)
thank you.

hi
check this not tested.
PROCEDURE OPEN_FILE (V_ID_DOC IN VARCHAR2)
IS
-- Open a stored document --
LC$Cmd Varchar2(1280) ;
LC$Nom Varchar2(1000) ;
LC$Fic Varchar2(1280);
LC$Path Varchar2(1280);
LC$Sep Varchar2(1) ;
LN$But Pls_Integer ;
LB$Ok Boolean ;
-- Current Process ID --
ret WEBUTIL_HOST.PROCESS_ID ;
V_FICHERO VARCHAR2(500);
COMILLA VARCHAR2(4) := '''';
BOTON NUMBER;
MODO VARCHAR2(50);
URL VARCHAR2(500);
Begin
V_FICHERO := V_ID_DOC;
LC$Sep := '\';--WEBUTIL_FILE.Get_File_Separator ; -- 10g
LC$Nom := V_FICHERO;--Substr( V_FICHERO, instr( V_FICHERO, LC$Sep, -1 ) + 1, 100 ) ;
--LC$Path := CLIENT_WIN_API_ENVIRONMENT.Get_Temp_Directory ;
LC$Path := 'C:';
LC$Fic := LC$Path || LC$Sep || LC$Nom ;
If Not webutil_file_transfer.DB_To_Client
LC$Fic,
'TABLE_NAME',
'ITEM_NAME',
'WHERE'
) Then
Raise Form_trigger_Failure ;
End if ;
LC$Cmd := 'cmd /c start "" /MAX /WAIT "' || LC$Fic || '"' ;
Ret := WEBUTIL_HOST.blocking( LC$Cmd ) ;
LN$But := WEBUTIL_HOST.Get_return_Code( Ret ) ;
If LN$But 0 Then
Set_Alert_Property( 'ALER_STOP_1', TITLE, 'Host() command' ) ;
Set_Alert_Property( 'ALER_STOP_1', ALERT_MESSAGE_TEXT, 'Host() command error : ' || To_Char( LN$But ) ) ;
LN$But := Show_Alert( 'ALER_STOP_1' ) ;
LB$Ok := WEBUTIL_FILE.DELETE_FILE( LC$Fic ) ;
Raise Form_Trigger_Failure ;
End if ;
If Not webutil_file_transfer.Client_To_DB
LC$Fic,
'TABLE_NAME',
'ITEM_NAME',
'WHERE'
) Then
NULL;
Else
Commit ;
End if ;
LB$Ok := WEBUTIL_FILE.DELETE_FILE( LC$Fic ) ;
Exception
When Form_Trigger_Failure Then
Raise ;
End ;sarah

Deleting files from Time Machine not possible

Prior to Mavericks it was possible to delete specific files or directories form all TM backups using the action menu.
this option no longer appears. this is an issue since it is no longer possible to prune the backups (remove files you really don't want to keep).
I know it is possible to exclude directories from backup (beforehand) but this does not cover removing files after they have been backed up..

It was always fraught to remove anything from Time Machine and I have read somewhere that there is now a bug that the engineers are working on. It appears you cannot go back beyond the date you download Mavericks.
Perhaps someone will come into the thread who knows more about this.

Problem moving/deleting files from time machine backup

I recently ran into some problems with my hardrive and had to get it replaced at the mac store.
Unfortunatly, i only ran a partial time machine backup on the hardrive before i lost it.
Fotrunatly though, it did manage to save some important stuff, but now for the next problem....
I have dragged my files from my external hardrive with the partial time machine backup onto my new desktop but it wont let me do stuff with them
this includes;
asking for my password whenever i want to delete one of them
saying "cannnot be modified" whenever i try to drag the files to a new location.
as you can imagine, this is a bit of a pain.
anyone have anything similair?
help would be great
thanks
Chris

That is not how you restore from a Time Machine backup.
Repairing the permissions of a home folder in Lion is a complicated procedure. I don’t know of a simpler one that always works.
Back up all data now. Before proceeding, you must be sure you can restore your system to its present state
Launch the Terminal 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 Terminal in the page that opens.
Drag or copy — do not type — the following line into the Terminal window, then press return:
chmod -R -N ~
The command will take a noticeable amount of time to run. When a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) appears below what you entered, it’s done. You may see a few error messages about an “invalid argument” while the command is running. You can ignore those. If you get an error message with the words “Permission denied,” enter this:
sudo !!
You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up.
Next, boot from your recovery partition by holding down the key combination command-R at startup. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.
When the recovery desktop appears, select Utilities ▹ Terminal from the menu bar.
In the Terminal window, enter “resetpassword” (without the quotes) and press return. A Reset Password window opens. You’re not going to reset the password.
Select your boot volume if not already selected.
Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.
Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.
Select  ▹ Restart from the menu bar.

Safe to delete file from Time Machine hard drive?

Is it safe to delete a file from an external hard drive that's being used for Time Machine backups? The file is not a backup -- it's a .dmg from the manufacturer of the hard drive. Other than that one file, I don't use the drive for anything other than Time Machine.
I'm just concerned because I don't want deleting the file to affect Time Machine in any way.
Thank you.

I have done it without issue.

How to recover file from Time Machine ".purgeable" backup

Hello,
My TimeCapsule internal drive recently almost "died". Of course, it died a few days before I lost a very important file... When I enter TimeMachine in the Finder, I can go back in time a few days in the past, but not more, I can not access September backups for example, because the folders are just black rectangles instead of regular Finder folder windows, and the "time scale" on the right hand side is purple instead of white.
I had this warning message in AirPort Utility saying that to do a backup of my TC drive. Fortunately, I was able to do it on an external drive (I took several DAYS, but it finally completed). So now I have an "Archive AirPort Time Capsule_temp" folder on my external drive and inside it a <my computer name>.purgeable file. What to do with it now?
If I rename it with a ".sparsebundle" and I try to mount it, it fails ("image not recognized"). If I right click and select "Open bundle", I get a "bands" folder and inside it there a dozens of thousand of files named like "6392e". But it doesn't seem I can anything with them. Weird, because if I'm not right, before Mavericks, we could actually access "real" files with this method.
Any help would be really much appreciated.
Regards,
Mateo

Enter Time Machine from Finder. To see all mounted volumes shift - command - c. Information learned from Linc Davis.

HT201250 File deleted on Opperating Drive- will this delete file from Time Machine?

If a file has been backed up to my time machine back ups and I delete the file from my computer, will the file be deleted from my time machine backups as well?

Only if the drive used for the backups is out of space.
(66314)

Yosemite install deleted files from Time Machine!! Yosemite installation deleted a printer application. Went into Time Machine to restore the printer app and it was gone! Now I wonder what else is gone.

Installed Yosemite on iMac desktop. Made sure I backed up and disconnected external hard drive. Yosemite deleted a printer/scanner application. Went into Time Machine to restore it and it was gone. When external hd was remounted Yosemite went into it, probably to index, and deleted the application from all backups. Wonder what else is missing?? Besides being unbelievably SLOW now I have to see what else has been lost.

Can you simply navigate to your Time Machine backup with the Finder? Treat it like an external hardrive and just look for your old Applications folder. /Applications/
Also, quite a few apps put config and support files in ~/Library/Application\ Support/
So you may be able to get the files from there as well.

How to bring files from time machine (ext drive) to another mac?

Getting another Mac and need to install specific files from a Time Machine Backup of another Mac.
Has anyone done this without Time Machine doing a full restore on the new Mac? I'd like to bring over items such as: preferences, Mail files, Safari bookmarks, pictures, etc.
Thanks.

I am not adverse to using migration assistant.
With your suggestion, among others I shall. However, I think it is better to load applications from my DVD's into the new Mac, then open and use the migration assistant. Don't you agree?
Otherwise, I think, the migration assistant on initial startup of the new Mac will migrate files that do not have apps already installed. Maybe that does not matte?? Does it will migrate over apps first? All shall come from my TM backup which I am concerned were from a Power PC G5, to now to run on an Intel based Mac, and I thought it best to load apps without any touch from the PPC.
Please, tell me if I do not need to install apps first and then run migration assistant. Thanks to all...

How to delete folders from time machine

I have all this information backed up onto an external drive , and I want to delete some of the back up folders to make room on that external hard drive.
How is this done? Can someone direct me to a "tutorial" as to how this is done?
thanks

First, why do you want to make room on the external hard drive? If it's for "other" data besides Time Machine backups, that's a losing proposition. What you really need to do is partition the disk so Time Machine has it's own, exclusive space. See #3 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum, for details and instructions.
You can delete individual backups, or all backups of selected items, via Time Machine. See #12 in the FAQ Tip. As it says, do not use the Finder.
If it's because a backup has failed for lack of space, see #C4 in the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.

Can no longer delete files from Time Machine

My Gear icon in Time Machine that allowed me to delete all copies of a file, has disappeared -- as has the magnifying glass. Any one else lost this?

Go into View Menu in Finder and see if there is an option to Show Toolbar, if so click on it. If not click on Customize Toolbar and drag the default set into the toolbar.
Joe

How can I delete undesirable backup files from time machine?

Can anyone give me details of how to delete undesirable backup files from Time Machine,
I'm trying to remove mackeeper which has been running since 2011
And I'm stuck at the first hurdle......
Thanks

The problem I have is that i dont have an option to delete backups of this file on the options menu, and when I click delit or try to drag it to the trash I get a box saying " This operation can't be completed because backup items can't be modified"
Iam really tempted to just delete mackeeper from HD library and Applications but it is stressed that I need to do the TM deletes first?
Am stuck please help

How to delete files from time machine volume

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