How to repair a corrupt Time Machine Backup

I have been Googling & searching also here in the support community about how delicate Time Machine is. I think I've broken so many Time Machine "don'ts" that I NOW know what I did and where I need to do things differently. Moving forward.
I have a Time Machine backup on an external HD. I have also recently re-installed Mountain Lion and now need to restore my files from Time Machine.
This is where the problem starts. Time Machine won't restore, and when I (yes, I NOW know it's a no-no, please hold your foul comments) go into the Backups.backupdb folder manually, all the folders are now shortcuts, and they lead no where.
I have tried to no avail:
To repair permissions with Disk Utility
To repair the drive with DiskWarrior
Does anyone have any (constructive) suggestions? This backup contains the usual personal documents & photos that we can all agree are most important, but also I have stuff pertaining to legal matters that I can not lose under any circumstances. Having invested $99.95 on DiskWarrior just really burns me up at this point because that was the recommended fix for this problem.
Any advice or assistance I can get from anyone would be deeply appreciated!

When I go into the "star wars" Time Machine screen, all the backups are blank & black. My Backups.backupdb folder has gone from 483Gig, to 4.72TB on a 2TB drive. When I use the finder to manually look in the Backups.backupdb folder, all the folders inside are alias' and when I double-click them, they say that the alias is broken, do I want to delete it or fix it.
I know that all the Backups.backupdb is just a database that links to the files stored on the hard drive, and I need a utility that will repair the links to each file. If no one has something that does this, perhaps this is a great opportunity for someone to create such a utility.
I'm going to try using Data Rescue to just restore the drive completely and pick through it manually.

Similar Messages

How do I reformat my time machine backup disc

My time machine backup disc comes up with error:
Files can’t be copied onto the backup disk because it appears to be read-only.
Disc utility can't fix it and gives me the following message:
Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.
How do I reformat that drive?

Re: How do I reformat my time machine backup disc Oct 13, 2012 5:32 PM (in response to Jim Tee)
Hi again Niel:
Regarding "use the Erase option in disc utility to reformat my backup disc:
I tried the erase again and came up with the following fault messages.
"Mac OS X can’t repair the disk “Time Machine.
You can still open or copy files on the disk, but you can’t save changes to files on the disk. Back up the disk and reformat it as soon as you can."
Also
"Disc erase failed
Disk Erase failed with the error:
Couldn’t unmount disk."
Thanks for your patience
jt

How can I copy a time machine backup from one Time Capsule to another ?

How can I copy a time machine backup from one Time Capsule to another ? I bought a 1 Tb Time Capsule to replace my 512Mb Time Capsule. Now, I like to copy my time machine backup from the old Time Capsule to the new one so I can keep using my backup.

from this support article:
(click on image to enlarge)

How Can I Migrate My Time Machine Backups To A New External Hard Drive?

I have a external hard drive that has 500 GBs left, but I want to buy a larger drive.

ivan wrote:
How Can I Migrate My Time Machine Backups To A New External Hard Drive?
I have a external hard drive that has 500 GBs left, but I want to buy a larger drive.
Hi iVain
Fire up *Disk Utility*, click the Restore tab, then drag your old and new TM drives into the Source and Destination fields. Click Restore, and a complete copy of your old TM files will be made on the new drive. Go to TM preferences and select the new drive, and it will continue backing up just as it left off.
Hope this answers your question. See:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2595485&tstart=0

How does one SUCCESSFULLY transfer Time-Machine backup to a new (larger) hard disk drive using OSX 10.5.8

I have read a number of articles about how to transfer a complete Time-Machine backup to a new (larger) hard disk-drive. Some of these articles are specifically for OSX10.6 users, which are not applicable to me since I am operating with OSX 10.5.8.
However, I have tried several times to use the Disk Utility 'Restore' function, dragging my old time-machine volume into the 'Source:' box and my new volume into the 'Destination:' box. This works, of sorts, BUT the newly created volume on the new larger hard disk-drive remains the same size as the original volume on the old Time-Machine HDD, with no apparent way of increasing the new volume's size. So I am not really any better off:
E.g. the total capacity of my new HDD is stated by 'Disk Utility' to be 465.8 GB, of which I'm told 228.2 GB is used for the Backups.backdb folder, but only 4.6 GB of free space is actually available. Yet under the 'Partition' tab of 'Disk Utility' it tells me that there is still 236.4 GB of available space.
Does anyone know how to resolve this issue without upgrading to OSX 10.6?

First, how did you prepare your new drive? See:
Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must boot from your OS X 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 (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
If you plan to partition this new drive then be sure you create a larger partition for TM than your old volume.
Next, clone your old TM volume:
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4.Check the box labeled Erase destination.
5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.

HT201250 How long should an initial time machine backup of tack for 675 GB?s with a USB external hard drive?

How long should an initial time machine backup of tack for 675 GB?s with a USB external hard drive?

Not much faster than 40 GBs-60GBs per hour. So, minimally, around 12 hours.

How do I repair a damaged time machine backup drive/remove pictures from library on locked/failing external drive

I have a WD 1TB external hard drive that I use as my time machine backup drive as well as to store a number of things including my iphoto library (due to its size of about 85 GB) as well as documents. I began using the WD 1TB external drive with my 2007 13" MacBook and when I purchased a brand new 13" MacBook Pro in 2013 I used the WD to transfer what I wanted to the new laptop. My new MacBook Pro is running OSX 10.8.4 (2.9 GHz Interl Core i7 with 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3) (not the retina display). The WD 1TB product # is WDBACX001... and it's only about one year old so I'm super bummed that it's failing and trying to take my life with it It has only ever been used with my two MacBooks, never with a PC.
The external WD was working fine until this week when I noticed that it wasn't appearing on my desktop. I rebooted, unplugged and replugged the WD drive in each USB portal, and still nothing. I ran Disk Utility to verify and repair the disk, which did force it to show up on the desktop again, though it made everything painfully slow. After running the repair function Disk Utility told me that the drive couldn't be repaired, and that I should backup whatever is on it and restore the WD drive. I managed to pull off most of the documents before it decided to freeze up my laptop (I had a couple of folders with a few documents each left), but I wasn't able to move the iphoto library over before the drive disappeared again. I got it back by running the repair option in disk utility, with the same message that the WD drive is failing and to back it up, and tried to move the iphoto library. It told me it would take 180+ days, and kept going up. I left it up anyway for about a day to see if it would change, and instead it gave an error message, and moved nothing. I can't open the library in iPhoto- it tells me it's on a locked disk. I checked the permissions and it's set to Read & write by me (the admin user) but then under that it says read only for "everyone." I can't get into the library to pull out my pictures, which I cannot afford to lose.
I would appreciate any help or advice on how to crack into my iphoto library on this failing drive to remove the pictures. I read a lot about DiskWarrior but I also read that it won't work on newer macs (anything after June of 2012 supposedly), so I'm wondering if that's true or not, and if not is that a good program to use?
I can't afford to take it to a professional right now, so any help or advice would be so greatly appreciated! Also if anyone then could suggest the best way to back up in two places (digitally and perhaps a better brand of external drive) it would be amazing.
If you need more info let me know!

If you're very lucky, you might be able to salvage the drive mechanism, and the data, by removing it from the enclosure and installing it in another one, or in a drive dock.

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.

How might I move my Time Machine Backups.backupdb file to a partition on a different drive to enable reformatting the drive it is on, so that might put it back in place later?

I have an external drive I use as my Time Machine backup location.
Recently, I started getting an error on it. It tells me there is a problem, and to repair it with Disk Utility. Disk Utility cannot verify the disk, and needs me to repair it, but it cannot repair it. It advises me to copy all of the important files from this disk to another location, and then reformat the drive.
So, I have copied all of the files that were not part of the Backups.backupdb folder structure to a partition on another disk, and removed them from the defecting drive, leaving ~250GB of files in the Time Machine backups files.
I cannot seem to get this to copy to a ~350GB folder on another drive, formatted Journaled, Extended as recommended.
What do I do?

A Time Machine backup is owned by TM.. this is standard kind of issue.. the very fact that you cannot copy it suggests it is corrupt.. or you cannot change permissions on the whole file.. let me assure you the way TM works.. what you have so far copied is completely useless.
Have you run a verify of the backup??
The fact that disk utility is not working means something is wrong.. it should be able to fix a drive..
And the fact the drive is only 12-18months old is also not relevant.. the present state of the drive is too poor to be considered reliable.
What type of drive is it.. ie USB2 USB3 and what brand??
It is not just the disk that can go bad but the controller/power supply as well.. and some brands seem to have bad batches.. eg seagate USB drives I was seeing recently.
I prefer drives where I buy a shell and put the drive into it.. so I can move the drive to another shell without breaking warranty (or the case).
The actual command for terminal I always just look up when I want to do them.. I am getting old and I have no space left for command line stuff.. although it was all there in the past.
eg today I hit. http://www.cnet.com/au/news/using-the-os-x-terminal-instead-of-the-finder-to-cop y-files/
This includes the rsync command.. lets try this one..
I can copy my downloads directory to a time capsule disk. I start with login as super user just to make sure I don't have permissions issues.. you should definitely do this. running rsync is great as it will give you info when it fails and it will do incremental if you run it again later. You construct the command by simply dragging the folder from finder into terminal and slightly modifying it as per the article above.. So my actual command as I am copying deliberately to a new folder on the TC.. You don't want files to land on the root.. even if it creates another folder.
$ sudo su
Password:
sh-3.2# rsync -av /Users/Ray/Downloads/* /Volumes/DataTCgen3/downloads/
building file list ... done
#A 12v25v Descrip.doc
$T2eC16V,!)!E9s2fB+iqBQNKwsSzpQ~~60_3.JPG
$_12.JPG
0198f23d9wahwkzzsf20dk15czcy.pdf
0340039AINETCNCTKGS.PDF
I have 60GB or so in this folder and it is copying at about 20MB/s over ethernet.. so it is not super fast.. but there is probably some error checking going on at the same time.

HT201250 How can I migrate a Time Machine backup from an external hard drive to a new TimeCapsuls?

I just got a 2TB Time Capsule. I want to migrate my time machine backups on an external hard drive to the new Time Capsule. I have about 430Gb of files to back up; I don't want to wait 7-8 days for the backup, unless I have to. I am using OS 10.7.5 (forget which cat that is). I have mounted the TC drive as 10.0.1.1; I tried to drag and drop from old to "data" on TC, but I get the error "The volume is the wrong format for a backup." Any ideas how I can move my old files to the new, and bypass creating a brand new backup file?
Thanks.

Rather than do that, which means starting over from scratch, losing all your edits, organisation and so on, why not simply use iPhoto Library Manager to revert the Library to the older version? Easier, less destructive.
The instructions on that are here
If you really want to start over: you can access the Originals folder simply by going to your Pictures Folder and finding the iPhoto Library there. Right (or Control-) Click on the icon and select 'Show Package Contents'. A finder window will open with the Library exposed.

How do I restore a Time Machine backup to a new hard drive in an iMac 5.1?

Hi all,
I recently had a hard drive failure in my mid-2006 iMac 5.1 and have now installed a new drive. The iMac was previously running an up-to-date version of OSX 10.7 - Lion. However I've struggled to restore the machine from its Time Machine backup, trying using both Setup Assistant which has never allowed me to overwrite my startup files with the restore, and several attempts using Migration Assistant and following Pondini's Migration Problems tutorial, which worked partially, but has left me with a series of files/folders, many of which have Permissions problems.
The most recent attempt, using Migration Assistant is giving me a new error message:
You can't transfer from your other Mac to this one because your other Mac uses a newer version of Mac OS X. You must upgrade this Mac before you can transfer from your other Mac.
I'm getting it that the Time Machine data is more current (in terms of OSX) than my desktop machine - which I have prepared using my Snow Leopard start-up disc (but wonder why this is the first time that I'm getting told this on attempting to restore). But how do I get my iMac to a state whereby I can restore from the Time Machine?
I can't upgrade the Mac using Software Update as this will only get me to OSX 10.6.8 (which is where I currently am, although some applications don't seem to want to work in this state - App Store, Safari on occasion); I can't download OSX 10.7 from the App Store as it is no longer there, and I can't install OSX 10.8 as my iMac is not compatible with this release. I seem to be stuck in an infinite loop from which I don't seem to be able to get out of.
Can anyone help at all?
Many thanks in advance for any contributions & apologies if I've omitted any crucial information that might be needed to help me out.
Paul

Thanks den.thed,
Apologies for not replying back sooner - I've been away.
Although your suggestion helped me in getting a copy of Lion that I could use, it didn't help with the restore from Time Capsule issue. I had to download the Lion app onto my MacBook & then transfer it across but it wouldn't let me upgrade my OS for some reason, so I ended up wiping the iMac completely and restoring via my Snow Leopard install disk. For some reason, this time, it let me have the option of using Setup Assistant to access the Time Capsule for a complete restore.
Now, over a week later, with various bits of tweaking and reinstalling some apps that didn't seem to come across, I have my system back.
Thanks for the help anyway.
Cheers,
Paul

How do I copy the Time Machine backup folder to another folder? (Mac 10.7.5)

Short version: I like to make an initial backup of my Mac OS before I start installing stuff...just in case I need to get back to square one down the road. I travel as a freelancer for work, so every couple of months, I'm on a new rented system. But I need to move that initial backup folder to a sub-folder so that I can continue to run TM without ever deleting anything from that initial backup. When I go to move or copy it to another folder or drive, it tells me I don't have permission. How do I get permission to move it?
I've tried changing the permissions on the folder itself... It won't let me select any other users, and admins are not on the "write" list. No dice.
Any ideas?
I'm on a Mac Pro 8-core
MacPro3,1
OS 10.7.5
Thanks!

Yeah, sorry...but there doesn't seem to be a "Time Machine" forum anywhere, this was the closest I could find. I could have posted in OS 10.7 forum...but I was worried the traffic would be much lighter there. If I should move my question there, I will.
Ok, so my Time Machine has backed up to my external drive which I have split into two separate partitions. I do not have automatic backups on. I just ran it once to get the "footprint" before I start to alter things to my needs. I'd like to compress and put away the backup on that first partition as sort of a general "back to square one" backup. I chose to use Time Machine because I can literally restore it back to all the original settings, etc. This is just a fire plan, but I really want to lock it off.
Then, I want to set my second partition on that same drive as my incremental Time Machine backup. That way, once I run out of space and it begins deleting the old stuff (and I will run out of space...I export several hundred gigs of video files per day), I can always retain that initial backup.
The problem is, when I go to move that backup....AFTER I've pointed Time Machine to the new partition...or any other drive for that matter... It tells me that either the folder doesn't have "ownership rights" or it simply "cannot do that." (I'll snag you a screen grab next time I'm by it if you want.)
So, how do I get it to move where I want it so that I can make a new one?

Corrupted time machine backup on external hd connected to Airport extreme?

I have an Airport extreme 11n (not gigabit) and a Lacie external hard disk connected to the usb port. Time machine is set up to make backups wirelessly from my laptop to this external disk. It used to work fine, but no I have the following problem all the time: Time machine complains that it cannot perform the backup. When this happens, I cannot access the drive from the finder (normally I can). I check the drive physically and I notice that it's LED show that it is constantly reading/writing (is yellow instead of red). The solution is (as also suggested by Apple support) to use disk utility and perform a repair on the drive. This solves the problem, but... only temporarily. After one or two successful backups, the same problem: no backup possible, drive not accessible in finder, disk utility finds problems. What can i do?

Somehow I thought that with OS X 10.6 Time Machine did support disks connected to Airport devices, but I guess I'm wrong.
The LaCie disk has indeed its own external power supply brick. Is this relevant?
I found this article http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1550
which is not about airport disks, but I checked my LaCie disk and it has a Master Boot Record Partition Scheme. Should I change that?
It is also formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I thought that this was the recommended format, but checking in the Help of OS X 10.6, I found an article "Disks that can be used with Time Machine" which says: "The most common format for a Time Machine backup disk is Mac OS Extended format, but Time Machine also supports Mac OS Extended (Case sensitive, Journaled) and XSan formats"
implying that the Extended format is more preferable than the Journaled format, right?
I don't think the disk drive is defective: I after "repairing" it with disk utility, I could back up again, at least one time, before the problem reappears.

HT201250 How do you browse other time machine backups of other drives?

It seems to me that Time Machine used to display an option to "Browse other Time Machine backups."
For example, my iMac has its Time Machine external drives attached to it.
Both my iMac and my MacBook Pro back up to it, though my MacBook Pro does so wirelessly by connecting thru the iMac.
So how can I browse thru the backup of the MacBook Pro from my iMac, since the backup is actually located on the iMac's attached drive.
In Time Machine (or somewhere) it used to say "Browse other Time machine Backups."
I cannot seem to find that option any longer?

chaseholden wrote:
It seems to me that Time Machine used to display an option to "Browse other Time Machine backups."
[snip]
In Time Machine (or somewhere) it used to say "Browse other Time machine Backups."
I cannot seem to find that option any longer?
If you have TM in the menu bar or the Dock, hold down the option key as you choose the TM menu or the TM icon in the Dock.

How can I resolve repeated Time Machine backup failures?

Time Machine stopped backing up from my wife's iMac 2 GHz Intel to a designated Iomega FireWire drive on August 6th. I have since erased, reformatted, and reselected the external drive. The profile for the external drive is as follows:
Manufacturer: Iomega
Model: 0x1
GUID: 0xD0B80E5B000BE6
Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
Sub-units:
HDD USB 2.0/1394A Unit:
Unit Software Version: 0x10483
Unit Spec ID: 0x609E
Firmware Revision: 0x12804
Product Revision Level:
Sub-units:
HDD USB 2.0/1394A SBP-LUN:
Capacity: 149.05 GB
Removable Media: Yes
BSD Name: disk2
Mac OS 9 Drivers: No
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Not Supported
Volumes:
Iomega Time Backup HD:
Capacity: 148.73 GB
Available: 148.31 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk2s2
Mount Point: /Volumes/Iomega Time Backup HD
I have also performed Tech Tool Pro 4.6.2 Advanced Tests on all related hardware to repair any damaged volumes and files but the Time Machine backup stops after at 97.5 MB of approximately 60+ GB of data.
I have been unable to detect a cause for the failure in the Console logs but I note that the following entry has been repeated every few seconds in the system log since about August 23rd:
Aug 26 10:55:30 Dee-Coopers-iMac mds[37]: (Error) Import: importer:0x844400 Importer start failed for 501 (kr:268435459 (ipc/send) invalid destination port)
Aug 26 10:56:00: --- last message repeated 7 times ---

I had experienced the similar problem when I first upgraded to Leopard. The problem was caused by spotlight indexing my hard drive and at the same time Time Machine was trying to backup the spotlight index file. The solution was to temporary exclude most of the documents (I have a lot of pdf files) from spotlight and let it runs through the indexing process before starting Time Machine.
I don't know if my experience help you or not but it might be something worth looking into.
Good luck.

How to repair a corrupt Time Machine Backup

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