How to restore from playlists Time Machine?

I replaced my hard drive and restored everything from Time Machine and now all my playlists are gone. How can I get tham back. All the music appears to be there still.

The playlists are stored in both iTunes Library.itl and iTunes Library.xml files located in your iTunes folder. They should have been restored with the rest of the iTunes folder. Restore from your recent Time Machine backup just these 2 files inside your iTunes folder, then hold down option key while starting up iTunes and select the current iTunes folder that holds both library files. If this doesn't fix it and you don't have another recent backup of these files, you might be out of luck and have to re-create your playlists from scratch. See the following articles 1 and 2 on iTunes library files.

Similar Messages

  • Restoring from a Time Machine backup manually ?

    Hi all,
    To make a long story short, I reorganized my disk space to create a Fusion drive from the initial hard disk drive and an added SSD one, confident in being able to restore everything from my Time Machine backups.
    The creation of the Fusion drive went well but the restore from Time machine failed. This happenned probably (but I realized this too late) because the hard disk drive contained initially my own home directory and Time Machine had backuped 2 drives whereas I was asking it to restore on a "single" Fusion drive now.
    So my question is simple : is there a way for me to recover the data (actually my own user directory, I reinstalled a clean system and all applications from scratch) that is available in my Time machine backups "by hand" ? And, if yes, how ?
    Many thanks and happy new year to all
    Jacky

    If you can't restore from a Time Machine snapshot in Recovery, Setup Assistant, or Migration Assistant, then restore as much data as you can in the time-travel view.
    Starting from a fresh installation of OS X, set up a new administrator account and log in. Enter Time Machine and press the key combination shift-command-C. The front window will show all mounted volumes. All snapshots should now be accessible.* Select the one you want and navigate to your home folder (in the Users folder at the top level of the old startup volume.)
    You should now be able to restore your user data. I suggest you do this in two stages. Quit all applications except the Finder before you begin.
    Restore all the visible items at the top level of your home folder.
    Hold down the option key and select Go ▹ Library from the Finder menu bar. Enter Time Machine and restore all items in the Library folder. Log out and log back in as soon as the restore is complete.
    Any other invisible folders or files at the top level of your home folder that you want to preserve will have to be restored separately. For most users, that isn't necessary.
    Then either restore or reinstall all third-party applications, or restore them from another kind of backup, if you have one.
    You'll have another problem if this is a new computer, or if you erased the startup volume: The next time you back up, Time Machine won't recognize any files as being the same as they were before, and will make a full copy of all files. There might not be enough space on one or more of your backup volumes for that. There are different ways of dealing with that situation, depending on your needs. The easiest way is to set your backup drives aside, if possible, until you're sure you'll no longer need the data on them, then erase them and start over. Meanwhile start a new backup on one or more empty storage devices. If that solution isn't workable for you, ask for instructions.
    *If you don't see any snapshots in Time Machine, exit the time-travel view and then hold down the option key while selecting
    Browse Other Backup Disks...
    from the Time Machine menu, which has an icon that looks like a clock running backwards. Select the backups of your computer by its previous name. If you don't have the Time Machine menu, open the Time Machine preference pane in System Preferences and check the box marked
    Show Time Machine in menu bar

  • Restoring from my time machine backup

    My macbook pro OS crashed...the local apple store reinstalled OSx 10.6.8, told me to restore from my time machine backup drive.  How do I get the backup to go?  I've plugged the drive in, the machine finds it, but I see no place to click and start the restore...

    To restore your backup:
    1. Insert the Mac OS X disc and hold the C key while your Mac is starting.
    2. Choose your language, go to Utilities menu (on the menu bar), choose the option to restore a backup and follow the steps.
    Another way is to use Migration Assistant > http://pondini.org/OSX/Migrate.html It will create a new user with the transferred files

  • Restoring from a Time Machine back up: iMac can't find them

    A series of set backs after initially attempting to update Pages to be consistant and usable across my devices. iMac required me to update to Mavericks to be able to download the latest Pages update. After doing this, my iMac failed to reboot - just stuck on the white apple screen. This happened again next tie I attempted a Mavericks installation. So, I tried to restore from a Time Machine back up. After restarting in recovery mode I selected Restore from Time Machine back up - message reads "Searching for Time Machine back ups" (and hard drive is plugged in and switched on) but nothing is found.
    How to enable the connection to the TM back up?
    How to install Mavericks in this situ?
    Thanks!

    It may be that you can't do a full-system restore because system files were inadvertently excluded from your backups. But it could also be that the backups aren't usable at all. Since you don't know and can't check at the moment, you should assume the worst.
    If you want to preserve the data on the startup drive, and it's not already backed up, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data, you can skip this step.
    There are several ways to back up a Mac that is not fully functional. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
    1. Start up from the Recovery partition, from Internet Recovery, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.
    2. If Method 1 fails because of disk errors, and no other Mac is available, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.
    3. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
    4. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.

  • Had a recent crash on my macbook, was previously using OS 10.6 I think. Restored from recent Time Machine backup and updated to OS 10.8.2 and now I cannot open Logic Pro 9. I get a 'No entry' Icon and a not supported on this type of Mac message. I cannot

    Had a recent crash on my macbook, was previously using OS 10.6 I think. Restored from recent Time Machine backup and updated to OS 10.8.2 and now I cannot open Logic Pro 9. I get a 'No entry' Icon and a not supported on this type of Mac message. I cannot update either as anything up to 9.1.1 tells me I don't need it yet 9.1.2 tells me I need an eligable Logic Pro Version was not found in applications.
    All of my files are stored in a separate hard drive with only the actual app having been on my Macbook. Should I just reinstall?

    Hi
    To run Mouitain Lion you need to update Logic.
    For the updaters to work the Logic application must be:
    a) Within the Applications folder, and not in any sub-folder
    b) Named "Logic Pro" with no extra numbers or spaces
    CCT

  • My 27" iMac has just creen issue repaired. I restored from my time machine and now the white screen is back and I am unable to access an recovery option. It looks like its no responding to the USB keyboard

    My 27" iMac has just come back from the workshop after having a white screen issue repaired. I restored from my time machine and now the white screen is back and I am unable to access an recovery option. It looks like its no responding to the USB ke

    Thanks for your reply! I must apologise for the quality of my post. I inadvertently posted it before it was corrected.
    I am very disappointed with this iMac. It is only 18 months old and this will be the third visit to the workshop. I had expected more from Apple and from their repair agents. Luckily I have AppleCare.

  • Restoring from a Time Machine Backup on a new Hard drive

    Hi,
    I have a late 2009 iMac and I had the HD replaced (it was included in the recent HD recall).
    Before I had it replaced, I made a backup using my time capsule and it was on the latest version of Mountain Lion.
    My question is, since I have to install the OS using the original install discs which was Snow Leopard, if I use the restore from Time Machine using Mac OSX Utilities, will my Mac restore my Mountain Lion backup (and have everything like it used to before I had the HD replaced)? Or do I have to reinstall Lion then Mountain Lion then restore from there?
    It would be a pain to re download everything.
    Hope someone can help me out.
    Thanks in advance

    Please visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine.
    You will find that Mountain Lion stores an invisible copy of the Recovery HD. You can boot from your Time Machine backup drive by restarting with OPTION boot:
    Boot Using OPTION key:
      1. Restart the computer.
      2. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "OPTION" key.
      3. Release the key when the boot manager appears.
      4. Select the disk icon for your Time Machine backup drive.
      5. Click on the arrow button below the icon.
    Your computer should boot into the Recovery HD. You will be presented with a main window of options. Select the option to restore from a Time Machine backup then click on the Continue button.

  • Are all programs / configuration settings restored from a Time Machine backup?

    The hardrive in my late 2006 Macbook 2.0ghz laptop has finally kicked the bucket.  I confirmed this with an Apple Genius at my local Apple store after she plugged in an external drive and running disk utility to run a diagnostic. However, I forgot to ask her about some details concerning my time machine backup which resides on an external drive that connects via firewire.  I do know that my files and folders should be restored without issues.  Although, I'm not sure about the following:
    1.  Will all my non-apple applications / programs be restored?
    2.  Will my configuration settings for mail be restored?
    3.  Will my itunes settings be restored (I have an iphone and ipad that connects to itunes)?
    4.  Will my contacts in address book be restored?
    I still have the original drive of this laptop which still works just fine and boots up okay (never erased the OS) where the upgraded drive that I installed a few years ago is the one that failed. Therefore, I will be reverting back to the original drive that is smaller and slower.
    The Genius recommended to run disk utility from the Snow Leopard Upgrade DVD (I originally had Leopard installed) to format the drive/install the OS and then do a full restore from my time machine backup.  Although, I'm not sure if all my programs and settings for certain apps will be restored.  I appreciate any help or other optioins I can possibly do to get back my saved files, programs, and settings.

  • REstoring from old time machine backups on new install

    Hi, I've been looking for good documentation on this and haven't seen an answer yet.
    I want to blow away and reinstall my OS (10.5.1) I made a full backup to my time machine disk and I had planned on reinstalling the OS and all my apps for a clean start, then when the time came to move my photos and itunes back just connect my time machine disk to the new installation and copy the data back. Once I was satisfied that everything I needed was restored from the time machine dist to the new install I would go ahead and re-enable time machine on the new install and blow away my old backups starting from scratch. Has anyone done this yet? I do not want to plug in the old time machine disk and not be able to access the data that was created by the old installation. I would be bitter to say the least. Before anyone suggests another means of backing up I have thought of that, but, I'd like to see if this works.
    I understand the scenario of beginning an install and choosing to restore that way, but, the reason I'm reinstalling is to start with a fresh OS form scratch an be able to restore selectively.
    Thanks for reading my wordy post, I look forward to hearing back!
    Thanks again

    I think I'm facing the same issue as you. I ran Time Machine on my MBP. Now I've bought a new iMac. I started it with the Leopard CD and instead of installing Leopard on the new machine, I selected Restore from Time Machine Backup (or something like that). Everything from my old machine is now on my new machine. Sweet!
    Only one problem. I've now enabled Time Machine on the new iMac and it tells me that there's not enough room on my external 320 GB drive for its first backup. It also tells me that its first backup will be 112 GB in size! This large size leads me to conclude that Time Machine will not add to the backups from the old MBP, but instead start a new series for the new iMac. To confirm this, I looked on the backup drive.
    On the external backup drive, there are a series of 4 KB files, one for each machine that has previously been backed up. These names are nearly identical to the machine's MAC address (which you can find by open Network Preferences > Airport > Advanced). Time Machine will create a sparsebundle file for each machine backed up over the network; its name will have the format MachineNameMacAddresssparesebundle (Backups made when the backup drive was connected locally are saved in a folder called Backups.backupdb). So, to delete an old backup from a machine you're not using any more, you need to delete the 4 KB file containing the machine's MAC address, AND either the sparsebundle file OR the machine names' folder inside the Backups.backupdb folder.
    Hope this helps.

  • Just did a system restore from my time machine and I can not find any of my files from my desktop.  How can I find them?

    I am a new apple user...sorry it took so long.  I did a recovery from my time machine but I can not find any of the filesI was saving on my desktop.  Are they gone for good or is there some way I can get them back?  I am desperate...should I save my regular used files somewhere else other than my desktop?
    Can I get the old desktop files back????

    When you open TM you should see all of the desktop items right away.  If they are not there, go back a day before you  made your last retrieval.  (Look for the dates on the time line on the right hand side of the display)
    Ciao.

  • Can i restore from a time machine backup that is not the latest one?

    I am trying to restore from a May 7th time machine backup.  At that time my username was michaelhood.  I had a system crash and when my computer was returned to me I inadvertently set it up under a different username, thinking I would do the restore later.  Between May 13 and today, Time machine did backups under the name mhoo4494.  Changing the name didn't let me access my May 7 backup, nor did creating a different user account.  I have erased the hard drive and am reinstalling from the Install CD.  I have set up a third user name.  I now want to restore my data from the Time Machine May 7 backup.  How do I do that?  Migration assistant saw two users -- mhoo and mhoo4494 (michaelhood was not an option).  I selected them both, but got no data for either  -- no docs, no music, no pictures.  This procedure should not be this hard~!!

    Hi uclamikey90,
    It is possible, using Migration Assistant, to restore the contents of your hard drive selectively. See this article -
    Mac OS X v10.6: How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from a Time Machine backup - Apple Support
    In particular -
    To migrate data from a Time Machine backup
    In Finder, press Command-Shift-U.
    Double-click Migration Assistant.
    Click "Continue" and enter an administrator name and password when prompted.
    Select the "From a Time Machine backup or other disk" option, then click "Continue".
    Select your Time Machine backup disk or Time Capsule (enter the user name and or password if prompted), then click "Continue".  
    Select the Time Machine backup you would like to restore (such the most current one you just made), then click "Continue".
    Select Items to Migrate, then click "Continue".  Note: The "Continue" button will be dimmed until the "Calculating…" stage is complete.  
    A user account sheet may appear if you have a user name on your Mac that is the same user name in your Time Machine backup.  You will have to give the username in your Time Machine backup a new username to avoid conflicts.  Note: This will create a new user account on your Mac to hold the data from the Time Machine backup. After migration, you can use the /Users/Shared folder to transfer data files the accounts.
    Migration Assistant will begin the process of transferring the items you selected to migrate. When it is finished, click "Quit" to exit.
    When you reach step 7, deselect items that you do not wish to migrate. Videos, photos and music are likely candidates for this as they take up a lot of disk space. You can later put items on an external hard drive.
    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
    Best,
    Brett L 

  • Moving files from a Time Machine backup manually vs restoring from a Time Machine backup

    I have read several articles saying that contemporary Macs and OSs are built such that they clean themselves up - defragmentation, general sweeping, etc. I was told by the Genius, however, that there are many little files that are left lying around after installs, uninstalls, file making, and file deletion that will gum up the works. He recommended that I set up my computer as though it's brand new and manually transfer files over from my Time Machine backup folder on my ExtHD.
    Because I couldn't find a discussion of this specific topic online, I thought I'd bring it to the community myself. Is there an advantage to setting up the computer from scratch and manually moving the files (provided I use Migration Assistant for applications)?
    For background:  My Mac was running slowly, and after doing some research and talking to a "Genius", I thought it would be wise to reformat my HD and restore my system. Aside from sluggish performance, I was experiencing strange symptoms - like free disk space remaining the same even after deleting huge files, permissions errors, etc. I tried doing a permissions repair (a process I'd been told to do before when experiencing issues, even though I never knew what that really did), and read that I should verify my disk as well. Disk Utility told me that I had to reboot from the repair disk to perform the necessary repairs. The repair disk Disk Utility told me that my disk had some major issues and needed to be reformatted and restored.
    HOURS LATER: I am back up and running now and Disk Utility is showing the appropriate amount of free disk space.

    Let's start with some basics.
    Check under the Apple in the Menu bar About this Mac > More Info
    How much Memory do you have installed?
    What size is our hard drive and how much free space?
    You'll find the term Genius does not necessarily mean they are expert. Even on this forum, you'll find varying difference of opinions and levels of expertise.
    I have read several articles saying that contemporary Macs and OSs are built such that they clean themselves up - defragmentation, general sweeping, etc.
    This is true. Apps like MacKeeper, CleanMyMac, TuneUpMyMac, Washing Machine or anything like these apps might appear to be helpful, can do too more harm than good. As a result of the 'cleanup' it can leave your Mac non-functional Mac. The forums are full of users with computers that no longer work correctly after running these so call 'cleaners'
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4171
    Your Mac runs maintenance in the background for you > Mac OS X: About background maintenance tasks
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2319
    I was told by the Genius, however, that there are many little files that are left lying around after installs, uninstalls, file making, and file deletion that will gum up the works.
    I'm going to disagree here. Get rid of the installer from downloads after installing. After removing an app, most of the little files do no harm and take up very little space. However some applications mostly crapware/cleaners will leave files that continue to run silently in the background takeing up resources.
    Don't install stuff you don't really need. There is no magic bullet to clean up your messes.

  • How to restore from a time capsule backup

    Just wondering this - say my 27 inch iMac just died. But I was backing up to my Time Capsule. And then the next day I buy a new 27 inch iMac (same model HD space, etc OR maybe even greater and better). Can the new 27 inch iMac restore EVERYTHING to how it was from the original 27 inch imac? Would all my photos from iPhoto be restored? My music/movies from itunes?

    Can the new 27 inch iMac restore EVERYTHING to how it was from the original 27 inch imac? Would all my photos from iPhoto be restored? My music/movies from itunes?
    Yes.
    An application called Setup Assistant will appear on the new iMac at startup to ask if you if want to setup the iMac from a Time Machine backup. The "new" iMac will look just like the "old" iMac when  you do this.

  • Restoring from  the time machine

    I back up regularly with the time machine. Some time back in late May or early June, I installed a program (for a USB wi-fi stick for use in China)  which hi-jacked my air-port. though I trashed the program afterwards and other experts had offered advise how to restore the setting of the air-port, it didn't work, my air-port can no longer detect any network in the air. It appears that I have to reinstall my OS.
    1. Can I re-sinstall just my OS and application to, let say, early May via the restore function of time machine while keeping the rest of the document data (in particular photo library) in my computer untouched and up to date. Or do I have to do a clean install with the OS DVD that comes with the computer.
    2. If I reinstall the OS, will it keep the problematic internet (airport) setting or restore everything to default? that program hi-jacked my airport through assigning an IP address to my air-port such that my computer can no longer detect any existing network, (it appears that way). I hope through the restoring process, be it via the time machine or a clean install, that something (invisible program) which keeps assigning IP address to my airport is gone.
    3. which is more appropriate (simple), time machine or clean install. I am not good at dealing with these sort of things, I am just another simple minded end user. Looking for precise, simple and easy to follow advise.
    4. I hope that I do not have to reformat the HD and reinstall everything from scratch. That's going to kill me.
    Image showing the hi-jacked air-port icon

    Allen Young wrote:
    1. Can I re-sinstall just my OS and application to, let say, early May via the restore function of time machine while keeping the rest of the document data
    No, unfortunately.  A full system restore is just that; everything. 
    However, what you can do is reinstall OSX and the default Apple apps from your Install disc; that won't disturb anything else.  See: Installing the ''combo'' update and/or Reinstalling OSX.
    Not sure you need to do either, though.
    2. If I reinstall the OS, will it keep the problematic internet (airport) setting or restore everything to default? that program hi-jacked my airport through assigning an IP address to my air-port such that my computer can no longer detect any existing network, (it appears that way). I hope through the restoring process, be it via the time machine or a clean install, that something (invisible program) which keeps assigning IP address to my airport is gone.
    Have you tried resetting your Airport, per http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3728?  I'm far from a networking guru, but that might do it. If not, you might do better in the Airport forum, at https://discussions.apple.com/community/wireless/airport
    3. which is more appropriate (simple), time machine or clean install. I am not good at dealing with these sort of things, I am just another simple minded end user.
    A full restore from Time Machine is much easier, of course, but that' may not be what you want or need.  See #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.
    If you know what's been changed since the date of the backup you restore, you could restore selected items from the latest backup, per #15 there.  After this long, that sounds pretty tedious, though, and may not work well on complex apps.

  • Clean Install of Mountain Lion and restore from NAS Time Machine

    Dear all
    Sorry if this question was answered elsewhere but I could only find basic information.
    Seek your advice on this. I am currently running Lion 10.7.4 on my mid-2009 MBP and now that Mountain Lion update 10.8.1 has been released, I am thinking of doing a clean install of the OS to clear out all the previous clunk. My Time Machine backups are stored on an NAS and with the clean install of of Mountain Lion intend to do the following:
    a. Restore the applications and data from the NAS Time-machine backup
    b. Keep/retain the backup history as per the NAS Time Machine for future backups
    How can I do this in the most efficient, painless and safest way, please?
    Thanks for your kind advice.
    Stan

    I did a mountain lion install (to clean new Hard Drive) and restored everything (including Applications) from time machine on my ReadyNAS Duo. It did not override applications. It actually seemed to have realised that they were old and imported NONE of the applications from my time machine back up.
    I've had to manually access it and go through...that said time machien doesnt see the back ups as my own so i
    've had to log in manually and such....

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