I can't migrate from a time machine Back up. I select my TC and it says "some backups can't be opened." My HD failed and I'm Trying to get everything back... Can anyone make a suggestion?

I can't migrate from a time machine Back up. I select my TC and it says "some backups can't be opened. Make sure that all of your network devices are connected and turned on. It appears that some backups are already in use. If you don't see the backup you need, make sure it is not currently mounted by another machine and try again."
My HD failed and i installed a new one... I'm Trying to get everything back... Can anyone make a suggestion?

Read the section E about restore issues.
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
But you should be able to mount the sparsebundle and backup the major items if they are not damaged. You might also do a disk verify to see if the corruption can be repaired.
Have a look here also for restore of selected items.
http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

Similar Messages

Vexing migration from a Time Machine backup

When I went to set up my new machine I elected to migrate from a Time Machine backup; imagine my surprise when the process was completed and I was staring at an exact duplicate of my old machine-only as it looked back in late 2007. I've been backing up fairly regularly, but only when prompted by Time Machine. The last backup I performed was several days before I purchased the new machine.
I opened Time Machine and was surprised to see no backups displayed, and of course no Restore option. In the course of browsing the backup medium I discovered two folders in the backups.backupdb directory named Joe Blow's Computer and Joe Blow's Computer 2. The last backup in the JBC folder was dated November of 07, and was to the best of my ability to determine, the one that was migrated to my new machine. The JBC2 folder contained all of the subsequent backups; I could browse it directly and using the Browse Other Disks option in Time Machine, but was unable to view any of the backups without first modifying the permissions.
My initial fear, that all of my post-2007 data was lost, is no longer an issue since I've simply copied all of my files from my last backup to my new machine, but I'd really like to figure out a way to re-do the migration and get my old machine moved over to the new hardware in its entirety. Given the clarity of 20/20 hindsight I probably should have just done a machine-to-machine migration via firewire, but at the moment they're not in the same location and won't be for at least a month or two.
In the research I've done so far I've seen the issue of MAC address changes implicated in similar problems; my old machine is in its original configuration with all of its originally installed components. Thanks in advance to anyone who can shed some light on this for me.

Yes this is an interesting issue. I was wondering what would happen in such a given situation because I feared it would create problems. It makes you wonder what the need would be for time machine if it can not assist you in case your computer lets you down.....

Bought a new iMac migrated from a time machine backup and it didn't load contacts music etc

my 4 year old imac died. So we got a new 1Tb intercore i5 imac. Migrated from the time machine backup and it didnt populate itunes or contacts or photos. Am I missing something?

You should have imported the data in Setup Assistant when you first booted the new machine. If you used Migration Assistant instead, you now have another user with all the data from the old machine.

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

How migrate from older time machine backup (not the latest)?

My old Snow Leopard Mac had a dying hard drive. In the last few days, files were disappearing left and right.
I bought a new Lion Mac, but I don't trust the Time Machine backup for the last few days and I would like to migrate the backup from just before the problems started.
I can't figure out any way to do this. Migration Assistant only offers to import the latest backup
And the full Time Machine Restore feature, which DOES allow you to pick a backup, only works on the original machine, which will not boot any more.
Can I somehow trick Migration Assistant by deleting the last few backups from the Time Machine drive and renaming the one I want to use to Latest? (I've made a copy of the entire Time Machine folder just in case...)
Any other way to do this? I'm sure many people are in this situation.

I have this same question. My hard drive died, and the last few Time Machine backups appear to be incomplete or corrupted. New hard drive installed now. Migration Assistant and Setup Assistant first refuse to even recognize my backup drive, then insist on migrating data from the newest backup instead of an older (but definitely complete and reliable) backup. So I haven't migrated anything and am still using my old (OS 10.4) computer until i get this straightened out. Ideas?

How do I migrate from a Time Machine backup of a larger hard driver to a smaller hard drive?

My old MacBook Pro has a 1 TB drive. My new one has a 256 GB drive (SSD, as you might guess). I want to use Migration Assistant to move my files from my Time Machine backup to my new MBP. But obviously not all the files are going to fit. If I leave out my music and movies and a couple other things then it will work.
So I selectively migrated just the things that would fit, thinking that I could then fire up Time Machine and restore those other files to an external drive. That doesn't work, though, because my new computer is not recognizing the old computer's Time Machine, and instead is trying to create a new Time Machine area.
What's the best way to solve this problem? The end result I want is for my users and applications to be restored to the new computer, and my movies and music to be restored to external storage.

Aha, I think I found my own answer. I had to Browse Other Backup Disks by Alt-clicking the Time Machine icon. Then I could find the directory I wanted (iTunes Music, for example) and right-click on that to restore to a different location.
Thanks to http://pondini.org/TM/17.html!

Can not restore from all Time Machine backup locations

I've just set up Time Machine in Mountain Lion to rotate backups between a Time Capsule (existing) and a Synology NAS (new).
When I select "Enter Time Machine" only the backups created on the NAS are shown.
How can I make Time Machine show restore points from both devices, or at least select a Time Machine location to restore from?
Backups are rotating and operating between the two without any issues.

Pickled Hamster wrote:
How can I make Time Machine show restore points from both devices, or at least select a Time Machine location to restore from?
You have to use the Browse Other Backup Disks option, per Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #17.

Cannot use Migration Assistant to migrate from a Time Machine backup to a new Mac.

I have a supposedly valid Time Machine backup for both of the MacBook Pro's we have (had). My wifes is Pro is working but mine died. I am replacing it with a MacBook Air. Following the steps, I tried to Migrate all my Pro files and apps from a TM backup using the Migration Assistant but it stops at 'Looking for source' and never gets past this.
I have confirmed the wife's back up is valid using 'Enter Time Machine'. However, on that same Mac Pro, if I use the Migration Assistant, it does not find the hard drive, once again , getting stuck at 'Looking for source just like on the Mac Air.
I went back to BestBuy where I bought the Air and worked with the Apple Rep. He tried it himself on a Mac Pro they had in the store and got the same results.
We called this into MyApple and after elevating this to the next level, they still cannot explain it.
I have used this feature in the past prior to upgrading to Mavericks so I am wondering if the fault is there?
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Dave

I may have solved this (partly). A search reveal A LOT of peoplel having the same issue. One solution put forward was that the Time Machine backups were not complete. I noticed in mine, non of the backups for a quite a while have no Applications or System files backup. The solution was to do a TM reset. I did that and ran a new backup of the one MacBook Pro that is still working. After it was complete, the backup had the Applications and System data in it. I was able to open the Migration ssistant and it found the drive.
Now I just have to hope that the repair shop can salvage my malfuncitoning MB Pro so I can solve the main issue either by Migrating fromht MB Pro or make a new back up of the MB Pro after TM reset and use that for the migration. Won't till tomorrow (hopefully).
Dave

I have so many photos in my iPhoto that I can't update with my Time Machine to an external drive. What is another way to backup photos??

I need a solution for photo storage...
Can't run my time machine and store to external drive, probably because i have so many photos...
I either need a way to get more storage on the external drive or figure out a way to store photos

1 - you are fine for now but willneed to do something soon
2 - you can not backup up a 320 GB hard drive to a 320 BG hard drive using Time Machine - TM needs more space
3 - my suggestion is to get at least a 1TB external hard drive (they are cheap - often less than $100) formatted Mac OS estended (journaled) and use it for backup then once that is in place use the 320 GB external hard drive for yoru iphoto library -
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
LN

Cannot Migrate from last Time Machine Backup

My hard drive some how failed or had a file structure problem and I had to completely wipe the hard drive and start over. Fortunately I have been continually backing up my hard drive.
I have tried migration assistant, and now I am trying to transfer the information as apart of the re-loading of Leopard and it is not working out. It moves extremely slow, so far it has taken almost 6 hours and the bar has barely moved. What should I do? I know it shouldn't take this long. When I first got the computer three weeks ago, it only took an hour at best to migrate the 80-100GB of information...
Also, I have no options to stop the transfer when you do it as apart of your instal rather than with migration assistant. Something is pretty darn wrong!

Do you have the same problem with both, the migration assistant (after install) and the setup-based time machine recovery ?

I have an iPad, gen. 2, and it says that I need to update it to download apps. I was trying to get 'Netflix' and it said I need iOS 5. I don't have a computer with me so I can't connect it to iTunes, please help?

My iPad will not update or let me download Netflix, help?

If you have an iPad 1, the max iOS is 5.1.1. For newer iPads, the current iOS is 6.1.3. The Settings>General>Software Update only appears if you have iOS 5.0 or higher currently installed.
iOS 5: Updating your device to iOS 5 or Later
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4972
How to install iOS 6
http://www.macworld.com/article/2010061/hands-on-with-ios-6-installation.html
iOS: How to update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4623
If you are currently running an iOS lower than 5.0, connect the iPad to the computer, open iTunes. Then select the iPad under the Devices heading on the left, click on the Summary tab and then click on Check for Update.
Tip - If connected to your computer, you may need to disable your firewall and anitvirus software temporarily. Then download and install the iOS update. Be sure and backup your iPad before the iOS update. After you update an iPad (except iPad 1) to iOS 6.x, the next update can be installed via wifi (i.e., not connected to your computer).
Tip 2 - If you're updating via wifi, place your iPad close to your router to preclude getting a corrupted download.
 Cheers, Tom

I just bought a new macbook pro and after doing the data migration from my time machine I cannot get pages to work

the error message said to check with the developer to make sure that pages works with this version of iOS

"the error message said to check with the developer to make sure that pages works with this version of iOS"
IOU is operating system for iPhone, iPad not MBP. Is Pages the only issue you are having? What version of Pages are you using? Post in the Pages forum where those experts are.

HT4191 Can I restore my NOTES mailbox to MAIL from a Time Machine backup?

I am new to the world of discussion so please bear with me. In trying to resolve a syncing problem between the iMac and iPad, I seem to have somehow deleted all the Notes we had stored. Can I restore from a Time Machine backup?

In theory - yes. The backup should restore all of the iPad settings - including mail settings.
If you backup the iPad with regularity, you do not need to resort to Time Machine. The backups should still be on your Mac.
iTunes: About iOS backups
iOS: How to backup (and restore from a backup)
A very quick rundown on how to restore from a backup. But read the articles above.
Turn off auto sync first. Launch itunes and go to iTunes>Preferences>Devices. Check the box at the bottom - Prevent iPods, iPhones .... you will see what I mean. Click OK . Quit iTunes.
Connect the iPad to the Mac and launch iTunes.
Right Click on the iPad name on the left side under devices.
Select - Restore from backup
Then sync with iTunes.

My HD has been replaced and when backing up from my time machine the transferred got interrupted

My HD has been replaced and when backing up from my time machine the transferred got interrupted. When Mac book booted only half the data. So I erased the hard drive to start again although I now can't restore from my time machine as its saying not enough space on HD to restore. Please help coz I'm freaking out!

I seriously doubt that you can do that. I've never heard of anyone doing something like this. I also strongly suspect that that windows software didn't preserve all the resource fork, ownership and hard links correctly.
You are left with manual migration of your data back to your computer. this isn't as hard as you make it sound. You just need to copy you own stuff back. also use the following [post|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=6185507] to migrate important parts of you user library, Mail, iphoto etc. You will have to reinstall your applications by hand.

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

I can't migrate from a time machine Back up. I select my TC and it says "some backups can't be opened." My HD failed and I'm Trying to get everything back... Can anyone make a suggestion?

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