I deleted a specific file folder from my Seagate backup drive, via Time Machine. Instead of only deleting that file, it deleted ALL my files for that date.

1. Why? I was quite obviously selecting one file folder ONLY.
2. Is there any way to retrieve the lost items?
3. How do I avoid this happening in the future?

Never had any issues while deleting specific files/folders from a time machine backup.
However, regarding the original post, what do you mean by "file folder"? Did you select a FILE for deletion, or a FOLDER? These two terms tend to be quite different, you know.
If you selected a FOLDER, then ALL FILES inside the folder have been deleted. If you selected a single FILE, then only that file should have been deleted. "Delete all backups of..." is a completely different story.

Similar Messages

  • Unable to back up external hard drive via Time Machine.  Says no room but has back ups from two previous Mac notebooks on it.  Tried deleting them and now can't do anything.  Any ideas?

    Unable to back up external hard drive via Time Machine.  Says no room but has back ups from two previous Mac notebooks on it.  Tried deleting them and now can't do anything.  Any ideas?

    As john noted, eventually that external is probably not going to be big enough, but it certainly is for now. The HD just needs enough capacity to cover the amount of data on your internal HD, not the internal HD's total capacity.
    Format/partition the external as follows and you should be set to go:
    1. Connect the external HD to the MBP.
    2. Open Disk Utility on the MBP.
    3. Select the external HD in the left pane.
    4. Click on the Erase tab.
    5. Choose the Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
    NOTE: if you want to zero the HD (which I always think is a good idea, but does take time), click on Security Options, click the button for Zero Out Data, click OK. The larger the HD, the longer this will take, in some cases several hours.
    6. Click on Erase and wait for the entire process to finish.
    7. Click the Partition tab.
    8. Click on Volume Scheme: and choose the number of partitions (just one in this situation).
    9. Click on the Options button (located underneath the Volume Scheme pane) and select GUID.
    10. Click Apply.
    11. Quit Disk Utility.
    Backup your internal to the external. What application are you using to backup with? I highly recommend both SuperDuper! and CarbonCopyCloner.

  • Had to reinstall Yosemite and CS6 from a seagate backup drive to my iMac HD error message 16 uninstall reinstall cannot uninstall

    I transferred CS6 to my iMac HD from a seagate backup drive after having reinstalled Yosemite. When I tried to open Photoshop i got an error message #16. It said uninstall CS6 and reinstall. When I tried to uninstall it the message was it cannot be uninstalled. What do I do?

    uninstall your cs6, clean per Use the CC Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems | CC, CS3-CS6 and then reinstall using the installation files.
    Downloadable installation files available:
    Suites and Programs:  CC 2014 | CC | CS6 | CS5.5 | CS5 | CS4, CS4 Web Standard | CS3
    Acrobat:  DC | XI, X | 9,8 | 9 standard
    Premiere Elements:  13 |12 | 11, 10 | 9, 8, 7
    Photoshop Elements:  13, 12, 11, 10| 9,8,7
    Lightroom:  5.7.1| 5 | 4 | 3 | 2.7(win),2.7(mac)
    Captivate:  8 | 7 | 6 | 5
    Contribute:  CS5 | CS4, CS3
    Download and installation help for Adobe links
    Download and installation help for Prodesigntools links are listed on most linked pages.  They are critical; especially steps 1, 2 and 3.  If you click a link that does not have those steps listed, open a second window using the Lightroom 3 link to see those 'Important Instructions'.
    window using the Lightroom 3 link to see those 'Important Instructions'.

  • Transfer data from backup disc via time machine

    Have new macbook and want to upload files etc from my Time Machine back up disc off previous macbook, If i plug the back up drive into new machine will i be asked to copy over or will the new machine ask to use as Time Machine backup wiping out existing files.
    Thanks

    celeron wrote:
    Have new macbook and want to upload files etc from my Time Machine back up disc off previous macbook, If i plug the back up drive into new machine will i be asked to copy over or will the new machine ask to use as Time Machine backup wiping out existing files.
    TM won't try to do a new backup or delete old ones unless you select the drive and turn TM on. Don't do that yet.
    You probably want to use Migration Assistant, in your Applications/Utilities folder. It gives you the options of transferring various things, but you can't pick, for example, only certain 3rd-party applications.
    To transfer individual files or folders, hold down the Option key while selecting the TM icon in your menubar. That will change +Enter Time Machine+ to +Browse Other Time Machine Disks,+ and you can see the backups from the old Mac there, and restore them selectively in the usual fashion.
    If your old Mac was a PPC model, be very careful transferring things that may not be compatible with an Intel Mac.
    Once you have your new Mac the way you want it, your best bet is to erase the TM drive via Disk Utility (also in Applications/Utilities) and start backing-up the new one fresh. If you leave the backups from the old Mac there, not only will they take up a lot of space, but they'll never be deleted automatically by TM.

  • Manually migrating mail from Snow Leopard to Mavericks via Time Machine backup

    Just performed a clean install of Mavericks 10.9.2 onto my computer and I would now like to manually bring in my mail from my time machine backup.  Can you tell me what files to copy over and in exactly what folder they should go?  P.S.  I don't want to use migration assistant because Mail is the only thing I care about carrying over.  Thank you.

    If the two machine's have two different username/password combos, you cant' do what you want. The only solution is to create a duplicate account on the MB, mimicking the one on the iMac and then copy the Mail folder into that user's Library folder. Then, use that as your primary user account, deleting the the useless other one.

  • If I move my iTunes media folder to an external hard drive, will Time Machine still back up that externally-located iTunes library?

    To be precise, I've moved my iTunes Media Library to the same external hard drive where my TM backups are stored, although there's plenty of free space on that drive for both.
    As I write that, however, it strikes me that if that external drive fails, I've lost my entire iTunes media directory AND my TM backup. So I suppose I should use a separate external HD for each, right?
    But my main question is whether or not TM will still back up that iTunes media folder even if it's no longer located on the same boot drive as my main machine, which is a Mac Mini.
    The whole reason I'm doing this is because my MM has a 250GB solid-state drive that is rapidly filling up because my iTunes library is 150+GB.

    mende1 says:
    I recommend you to store the library on another partition on the external disk and keep the first volume only for Time Machine backups.
    and you say:
    As I write that, however, it strikes me that if that external drive fails, I've lost my entire iTunes media directory AND my TM backup. So I suppose I should use a separate external HD for each, right?
    From what people report here I'd say more people lose collections through whole drives failing and not just individual volumes becoming corrupt.  A drive failing will take out all volumes on that drive.
    Whatever the scenario, you will need multiple external drives.  For convenience you could do as mende1 suggests and partition the TM drive.  Keep TM on one part and your library on the other.  This would be convenient because then you would only have one external connected to your Mac most of the time.  However, then you should do as you observe and back up the partition used for iTunes to another external drive as often as you deem necessary.  Basically you always want two copies of everything on two different drives, but they don't all have to be on the same two drives.  Your TM drive acts as the backup for your computer and the primary for iTunes.  Your computer acts as the primary for what's on TM and the second external acts as the backup for iTunes.

  • HT201250 Data recovery from WD Elements Hard drive after Time Machine formatted it

    I plugged my brother in laws WD Elements hard drive into my MacBook Pro. It asked me if I wished to use this drive as my time machine back up to which I answered no. I was going to copy and paste some movies onto his drive. I  not sure how it occurred but Time Machine has now "partitioned or formatted " the drive and erased all data that was on it. The drive appears empty on my MacBook and is now unrecognisable on his PC computer. The drive had some important documents and I am praying that I somehow can recover them. Does anyone have Amy suggestions as to where to start ?? Please help !!!

    It probably got reformated to a Mac specification which is why the PC can't recognise it. I am not sure if any of the mac recovery programs would work but maybe someone else can advise you. One of the professional recovery businesses could help but are very expensive.

  • Attempting to transfer music files directly from iTunes to backup drive and get the the item can't be replaced because it's invisible. Its amazing how when something works flawlessly, Apple has to screw it up.  Never saw this until the new iTunes.

    Hate it! Anywaze, suggestions welcome that can permanently remedy the issue without having to go through file by file, song by song to make copies, renaming, resetting, etc.  Thanks so much.

    Are you dragging the entire iTunes folder across in Finder (which is easiest)?

  • Can't restore my data from hard drive with time machine

    So basically I recently backed up my things on an external 1TB Seagate hard drive via Time Machine on my Mac. I then restored my Mac to its factory settings. However when I plugged in my hard drive it didn't show up in my finder. I opened Disk Utility and it shows up there but when I tried to restore my data it wasn't able to find it. This is so weird and I'm so scared can someone please help me

    vanessayu wrote:
    And another thing, my mac is randomly turning off and then displaying a gray screen saying your mac shut down because of a problem. does this have someting to do with the disk
    Sounds like the TimeMachine drive is defective.
    Uplug it and reboot and see if your problems go away.
    If your TimeMachine is broken it might be possible to do data recovery on it, you can take it to a local PC/Mac tech and they will image it so the files are accessible, then you can pick through the mess as long as it wasn't encrypted or Filevaulted.
    TimeMachine uses a lot of placeholder files, basically the same name but minus the content of the files for each saved state.
    It's a lot of work going through all the folders to find your original files but as long as the drive works the files should be able to be recovered.
    Sorry about your problems, TimeMachine hasn't quite lived up to it's expectations and I try to warn everyone NOT to completely trust it.

  • How do I delete a folder that I moved to Trash from my external backup drive when a virus was detected? Trash will not delete the folder.

    I have tried unsuccessfully to remove a folder from Trash. My anti-virus program (Sophos) detected a virus which had to  be manually removed. I tried (unsuccessfully) to find and remove the infected file. I moved the Folder from my external backup drive and placed it in Trash. Now I cannot get Trash to delete the folder. It asks me if I wish to delete "unlocked" or "all" items. Either selection does not delete the folder. I went to change the permissions to "read & write" and unlocked the folder, but it is still there. I tried to "move" the folder from Trash back to the external harddrive but it seems I can only "copy" it and not "move" it. I am afraid that by copying it, I will not have the folder in two locations (Trash & External HD).
    Would appreciate any suggestions and guidance on this. I hope that I have explained the problem clearly!
    Thank you!

    Before deleting it we should know more about this folder and its contents.
    If it is invected and is using other apps, or other apps are still using it, then it cannot be deleted in the normal manner.
    You might contact Sophos and ask them about it.
    If you are using TM or have a backup of your system before the infection occurred, then you can delete the item(s) in Trash, but there is the possiblity of system corruption and the need for a reinstall, if any of these files are necessary for the OS to work properly, even though they are infected.
    Sophos may not have been able to remove the infection from inside a file which is why they suggested manual removal.
    You might consider downloading and running ClamXav first and see if it can't do better than Sophos.
    All that being said, you can always remove the contents of the Trash using the terminal. Usually as administrator, or in some cases as root (su). Unless you are very familiar with the terminal I do not suggest doing this without some study.

  • My 5 year old iMac's hard drive is at the point of failing.  I'm trying to save al files on it, but it wont allow backup via Time Machine to an external hard drive.  How can I keep from losing all the files and programs if the hard drive fails?

    I'm concerned that my iMac, purchased 5 years ago, is about the crash and I can't back up my files and programs to an external hard drive via Time Machine because the computer freezes after only a couple hundred MB and gets nowhere near the required amount.
    How can I save these files and programs if the computer hard drive fails or has to be replaced without the backup being able to be done? I need to do something quickly, but I'm not sure what I can or should be doing.

    Get an external hard drive, some good ones that I like are the OWC, http://www.macsales.com Mercury Elite Pro drives...they are very good and reasonably priced.
    Get the drive, connect via USB or FireWire, then use Disk Utility to format the new drive as Mac OS X Extended (Journaled), and then use Disk Utility to Restore the current drive to the new drive.  Restore actually clones the drive so you will have a bootable backup on the external drive.
    After you have formatted and named the external drive, click Restore in the main Disk Utility window, drag the name of the old hard drive to the Source box, and drag the name of the new external drive to the Destination box.  DU will make an exact clone of the internal drive on the external drive.
    That clone will be a complete backup of the operating system and all of your data.
    You can test it by restarting the iMac and hold the Option key.  That will give you a grey screen showing all bootable drives.  Just click the external drive, then click the upward pointing arrow under it and the iMac will boot from that drive.

  • Is it safe to delete the cache file folder from library

    is it safe to delete the cache file folder from library ?

    As I understand it Robo doesn't really 'do' third-party
    source control. We use SourceGear Vault, but really only as a
    repository for the files. We can't really work concurrently because
    Robo needs exclusive access to the top level project files. But it
    kind of works for us, because we're on opposite sides of the globe.
    I see what you're saying on the 'local' versions of (say) the
    cpd files conflicting. If anyone else has an informed view, I'm all
    ears. We've set it up this way ourselves - I don't know of anyone
    doing the same. If someone tells me this is a bad idea, I'm happy
    to think again.
    Cheers!

  • Missing Files After Deleting OS X System Folder from Disk

    This is my first post; I'll try to be brief.
    I got a new computer (G5 dual) and so wanted to "clean up" my G4 tower for my wife's use. I had three hard drives in the G4, one of which was an 80 GB drive with OS X (Tiger, I think) on it. Another drive had OS 9 on it.
    I bought a 300 GB drive for the G4 and put Tiger on that drive. Then I moved OS 9 to the 80 GB drive. In the process, far as I can remember, I deleted only the OS X System Folder from the 80 GB drive (not any prominent folders that appear in "fancy" form on the left side of a Finder Window); so, one OS on each drive.
    I deleted a number of files, and moved a number of files, in the process of doing my "clean up." Those files that I *moved* I can now find, no problem. But I left some files in the Movies folder (the "fancy" folder that is on the left side of a Finder Window in OS X) on the 80 GB, and those I now cannot find. My concern is that perhaps, in deleting the OS X System Folder from that drive I somehow either 1) also deleted the Movies Folder (inside the Home Folder inside the Users Folder) by the very act of deleting the System Folder (which seems unlikely to me) or 2) I managed to "hide" the Movies Folder by deleting the OS X System Folder.
    I have far more available space on the 80 GB drive than I would expect to see, given the steps I had to take to get some files onto CDs, etc. (I needed all the space I could free up, as I recall). So, this suggests the missing files just might still be there. Spotlight can't see them; booting in OS 9 and using Sherlock doesn't reveal them....
    Have I inadvertantly removed these files, or is there hope that they can be restored to life? A related question: If I did delete these files, is there a way to "un-delete" them at this stage?)
    Many thanks for any thought anyone may have.
    Bob ("rsimon")
    G4 Tower (pre-mirror)   Mac OS X (10.4.3)   Also have G5 dual

    If you did actually delete your valuable files, you want to stop using that computer as soon as possible. You'd have a good chance to recover deleted files, unless they're already overwritten by other data.
    Boot your G4 in Firewire Target Disk Mode (hold down "T" at startup) and connect it to your new G5 using a Firewire cable.
    The drives inside the G4 will mount as removable media, so you can browse them and try to find your movies folder. It should be located at
    harddrive/user/username/movies.
    You can use a utility like WhatSize to find large, (maybe hidden) files.
    Post back, in case your data has disappeared and you need a file recovery tool.
    Good luck.

  • How do i delete a contacts sub folder from my iphone?

    How do i delete a contacts sub folder from my iPhone?

    Hi, sure.
    Under "contacts" "Groups" I have the "All Contacts" option at the top, underneath that i have 3 empty subfolders that have come in from my PC Outlook program. I've deleted these from Outlook, shut Outlook down, shut iTunes down, re started both programs and re synced my iPhone4 and iPhone5. They are still on the iPhone 4, just given to my wife, but have disappeared from my iPhone 5!

  • How do i delete an unwanted picture folder from my iphone 4?

    how do i delete an unwanted picture folder from my iphone 4?

    Are these photos that were sync to your phone via itunes?
    If so you unsync them.

Maybe you are looking for