I've become locked out of my time machine back up--how do I override or re-format the thunderbolt drive?

How do I re-format thunderbolt drive used as time machine backup? Password is not working and I just need to do a new back up and am willing to reformat the drive but can't get past password dialog box.

Hi Oneontarider,
To reformat your external hard drive you would erase it using Disk Utility. See this article for directions -
Disk Utility 12.x: Erase a disk, CD, or DVD
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5849
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L

Similar Messages

Mac Pro early 2008 2 x 2.8GHz Quad Core 10.7.5, replaced 4 x 500ghds with 4 x 3Tb and Raid card Raid5 them OK but can not load time machine back up as it does not see any of the 4 drives, neither does disc utilities, any thoughts?

On my Mac Pro, early 2008 2 x 2.8GHz Quad Core 10.7.5, replaced 4 x 500ghds with 4 x 3Tb. The Raid card Raid 5ed them OK but can not load time machine back up as it does not see any of the 4 drives, neither does disc utilities, any thoughts?

You don't see drives when using a hardware RAID only the volumes.
WD Green are not suitable for hardware RAID (or software RAID for that matter).
USB2 and TimeMachine are a disaster waiting to happen. I've used SATA (internal) and eSATA (using SATA PCIe cards) trouble-free.
I can't say I begin to understand your use or "choosing the install drive for the backup"
Install what?
You don't load TimeMachine. Maybe seems minor but that is not how to describe the behavior of software.
You read FAQ and How To http://www.apple.com/support/timemachine
Time Machine’s Gory Details:
https://www.apple.com/support/timemachine/
TimeMachine 101
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
Lion Recovry & TimeMachine
http://www.apple.com/support/lion/installrecovery/
http://www.apple.com/support/lion/
How To Restore Your System
http://pondini.org/TM/14.htmlMac OS X v10.7 Lion
Pondini's Blog: Time Machine - Troubleshooting -- B5. Would you like to inherit (or re-use) the backup . . . ?

Lightroom 3 not working since Time Machine back up- how to reinstall ?

Hi, in a previous forum i wrote about my Lightroom 3 that stopped working the day after starting Time Machine on my iMac. It was a new formatted external hard drive, replacing an old one for my Time Machine. I have never had any previous problems, and didn't know they can't run together.
A person replied that I have to uninstall my Lightroom 3 and reinstall. How do i stop this happening again ? I am very computer illiterate, so could someone point me in the right direction, with instructions how to uninstall on an iMac and reinstall. Will i loose all my keywords etc from the catalogue. I worked as a portrait photographer, so its important to still have that information for me. What should i do in regard to insuring i have everything I need backed up to an external hard drive, before I uninstall Lightroom 3. I'm scared to do uninstall until i know i have everything I should backed up.
Thanks , in anticipation of a reply

I tried that, it won't let me copy the backups to a new drive. At this point I am not concerned about continuing to back up, I can start a new TM backup if need be, I am more concerned about getting the old back up to a disk which I can then access once I exchange the Time Capsule.
Thanks for the advice though.

Brand new Mac, had to erase drive through disk utility as time machine back up failed. Now disk utility only has the option to install Mountain Lion which my Mac won't allow. Anyone any ideas as my Mac won't load anything up but disc utility!

Brand new Mac, had to erase drive through disk utility as time machine back up failed on initial setup, USB cable popped out Now can only access disk utility as won't load to log in screen. The only has the option in disc utility is to re-install Mountain Lion which my Mac won't allow or loading another time machine back up but after an hour of it processing, that didn't resolve the issue either! The time machine back up is the latest back up of my Mac Book Pro which was using OS X Maverix. I'm guessing I'm going to have to take my Mac to the store but that would be a hassle so does anyone have any ideas?

Follow this guide using another Mac.
Insert your newly created Mavericks USB into you Mac, press the power button and then hold down 'option,' until it gives you an option to boot from the USB. You will then be able to erase the internal disk with Disk Utility and reinstall Mavericks straight after.
After that you should be able to use Migration Assistant to restore your applications and user data.

How do I copy a time machine backup onto my old computer after I've replaced the hard drive?

Hi everyone,
I own a MacBook that I purchased in 2009, and it's served me very well since then; the only exception is that the hard drive suffered after I dropped the computer, and I had to replace it last month.
The old hard drive is now useless, and the new one is nearly blank, and I'd like to upload my old Time Machine contents onto my computer without losing some new files I've gained. What's the best way to do it?
Thanks!

Use Migration Assistant to move over the files from the Time Machine backup to the Mac.
Finder > Applications > Utilities > Migration Assistant

I can not find my seagate hard drive that contain my time machine back ups how do i do that?

my airport extreme can not locate my seagate hard drive with all my back ups how do i fix this i need to restore some settings?

As Bob says, that's problematical.
If you were backing-up to that drive while it was directly-connected to your Mac, and now want to move it to your Airport, there's an extra problem. See the blue box in #E2 of Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
If you had previously been backing-up to the drive over your network, the backups may be corrupted (that happens rather often, and is the reason it's not recommended). If so, you may be able to repair them, per #A5 in the same article.
Or, you may need to reset the Airport. See Resetting an AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule FAQ.

I have lost my disks for my imac computer and now its on a grey screen cause i have no time machine backup. How can i restore my imac to the original out of box state please

Is there anyone that can give me the steps to erase everything and have out of box state again. i lost my disks. i ordered a os from apple
not the lion that my machine had but another one. is there anyway i can just erase everything and start over. please help

You need to contact Apple Customer Service about purchasing replacement discs for the computer. You have posted in the PPC forum, so I assume you do not have an Intel Mac, but since you haven't stated what you have we simply don't know enough to assist you.
Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service - this includes international calling numbers.

Mail app is crossed out in my Time Machine back up so I can't restore any of my emails. Does anyone have experience with this?

I was having problems with my trackpad on my MacBook and it was also running slowly, so in addition to replacing the track pad, I had them cleanout my system. When I went to restore using my TimeMachine back up, my Mail and Address Book didn't restore. When I tried to access the apps through the TimeMachine backup, they are crossed out. All my work emails and contacts are gone! Has anyone had any experience with this? Any and all help would be appreciated.

Please post a screenshot that shows what you mean. Be careful not to include any private information.
Start a reply to this message. Click the camera icon in the toolbar of the editing window and select the image file to upload it. You can also include text in the reply.

Time Machine backs up regularly, but shows up as Empty

Time Machine is doing it's thing, backing up on a regular basis. When I look at the T.M. drive, it's loaded with current files.
BUT...
When I try and enter Time Machine, I'm unable to move back in time at all. It indicates that there's no backups of anything. And even stranger... No matter what finder window I have open when I enter Time Machine, that window switches to a top level view, showing the mounted drives. When I exit TM, the window returns to the previous view.
Any ideas? I'm stumped.

Aftershok wrote:
Hi Pondini, Thanks for responding.
1. Nope, no File Vault.
2. There's a few things in the "Do not back up" box, but nothing relevant. The files ARE getting to the TM drive. They're just not showing up during a TM session.
3. Same thing I described before. No backups available. The only thing on the timeline is "now"
Any other ideas?
Does the "Star Wars" display seem right? Is there a "cascade" of (darkened) Finder windows behind the +Today (Now)+ window? Is the starry background there, and animated?
If they're all "yes," try #E2 in the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip.*
If any of those are "no," it's likely a problem with the display. This can be caused by any of a number of things. Try these fixes:
If you're using a Finder replacement (such as Pathfinder), be sure the Finder is running.
If you're using Spaces, turn it off temporarily.
If you have a second monitor, or anything plugged-in to a video-out port, disconnect it temporarily.
De-select your TM drive via TM Preferences > Change Disk (select "none"), then re-select the correct one.
Do a "complete reset" of TM, as in item #B3 of the Troubleshooting Tip.
Do a +*Repair Disk+* on your TM drive, via Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder.
Try or create another user (System Preferences > Accounts). If it works ok from that user, delete the file:
+*<home folder of the user where it doesn't work>/Library/Preferences/com.Apple.Finder.plist+*

Can't restore from Time Machine back ups

I began having problems with my 2 year old iMac which was not corrected with a re-install of Snow Leopard from the Installer disk.
I decided to restore my startup drive from a Time Machine backup. I followed the procedures. I selected the particular back up to restore from. Restore began and indicated that it would take about 2 hours and 40 minutes. When I came back to check 4 hours later, the progress bar was completely filled in but the text below it says:
"Restoring files (104.4%)
Time remaining: 1690214873 hours and 30 mins"
No progress seems to be going on. But if I just click the mouse I can hear my disks go into action and the numbers start changing on the time remaining for a few seconds and then everything stops.
I have repeated this experience twice now, each time using a different Time Machine backup.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
John

try repairing the TM drive with disk utility on the install DVD, any errors? also, reformat the internal drive using the partition tab in disk utility on the install DVD (don't use the erase tab). then try restoring again. if nothing helps then you'll have to erase the drive again and reinstall SL from scratch. then migrate from the TM backup manually. this is quite tedious but there is nothing else to do if the restore utility is not working.
see this link on what to restore in your home directory.
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=6185507
one correction to this link.
ical data is stored in ~/library/calendars.

C drive running out of space resolve this without formatting the C: drive.

Hi every one,
                    i am having window xp pro sp3 running machine with 2GB of RAM, 150GB Hdd, C drive 30GB, D drive 60GB, E drive 60GB. After installing all the application its show the remaining space as 14GB but day after day the space reduced now the space is only 238MB. i Checked the properties of the C drive by selecting all the folder and it show 17.3GB. i dont know what happen to the another 15GB.i cant find which is eating the C drive space. i cant defragment the C drive because to defragment i need 15% of disk space. my doubt is it may be of antivirus (i am using norton internet security). i installed .net2008, sql2008, office,Hpprinter softwares.how can i resolve this without formatting the C: drive. Any assistance is appreciated

This is a little list I have also put together for our 2003 servers, should work fine for XP.
O   C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download   Not confirmed, but suspect is ok. (i have done this)
O   C:\Windows\Ie7updates Not confirmed, but suspect is ok. (i have done this)
O    $Ntxxxxxxx$ files can be removed from the c:\windows directory NOT $hf_mig$
O    Attempt to move the page file
O    Run the disk clean up utility, and compress old files, and empty the recycle bins
O    The temp directories in the user profiles can be cleaned out, also check the desktops for downloaded apps for their setup file
These should be safe to remove, but probably a good idea to leave them alone as the updates may need them, be careful here.
C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Installations
O    Ok to delete log files for Symantec
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Symantec\Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition\7.5\Logs
Configure History in SSC, right click server>all tasks>Antivirus>Configure history
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\Reporting Agents\Win32\ReporterSvc.log
O    Quarantine files can be removed from Symantec, usually here;
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Symantec\Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition\7.5\Quarantine
O    Ok to delete zip files from Symantec, and actually all files in here
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Symantec\LiveUpdate\Downloads
O    IIS web logs ok to remove C:\WINDOWS\system32\LogFiles\W3SVC1
There is no option to do this automatically, this must be scripted
O    Log ok to remove C:\WINDOWS\system32\wbem\Logs\FrameWork.log
There is no option to do this automatically, this must be scripted
{}   If no drivers will be needed again, c:\windows\inf holds all the drivers for new hardware. This has not been tested
{}   c:\windows\downloaded installations\ This folder holds the installers for some programs you download and install, for example, Tweak UI puts its installer in this folder, and so you can repair it or update its components later. Deleting this folder won’t harm any programs I have ever seen, but you should look inside this and see what you are deleting first.
{}   c:\windows\media\   These are the default windows sounds, if you don’t want them, deleting them wont hurt anything.
X   C:\windows\installer can NOT be removed, although duplicate files ca be removed. this is used for uninstalls and installs of new apps
X   C:\windows\assembly can NOT be removed, this is a .NET folder, do not play with or compress
X   $hf_mig$ can NOT be removed, although it can be compressed. this directory tells future updates what has already been doneblankmonkey

Does Time Machine back up my OS?

Hey everyone, haven't actually used time machine yet as I'm still deciding on an ext HD but I'd like to know does using time machine back up everything, include my Leopard OS?
If the answer is yes, does that mean that I could using my external HD as a boot of my OS/files, on another mac?
B./

b_sheridan wrote:
does using time machine back up everything, include my Leopard OS?
Yes. It can will even back up your connected drives if you don't exclude them.
does that mean that I could using my external HD as a boot of my OS/files, on another mac?
No. It is not bootable.
EDIT: Snapped by Paul
-mj
[email protected]
Message was edited by: macjack

Does time machine back up operating system as well as files?

i was told that if i did a time machine back up then i could boot from it and even restore it onto a mac with no os. is this true? if so how do i do it?

Yes, it's true. But a Time Machine backup in Snow Leopard is not bootable. It must be reinstalled from an installer DVD.
Only Time Machine backups made using Mountain Lion can be booted from the backup drive itself. In Mountain Lion Time Machine actually puts a copy of the Recovery HD onto the Time Machine backup drive.

Trying to copy folders from a time machine back up but the operation can't be completed because you don't have permission to access certain files

Good morning,
I am trying to compy some folder from my time machine back up onto my desktop and I have changed the privilige for my back up to read and write...but it;s still not letting my copy the files. How come?

See Pondini's TM FAQs for starters.

How do I prevent my hard drive being used for time machine back ups?

I want to install Snow Leopard but it tells me that the OS cannot be installed because the disk is being used for Time Machine back ups. I don't recall setting up my hard drive to be used this way (why would I?!) but now I can't seem to

Did you have TM turned on at any time? If so, and if you had no external hard drive attached, could it be that it created its own backup on a portion of your hard drive? I don't use TM, but I believe I read that this may be possible. Take a look at Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities) and report what you see on the left - under the top heading, is there more than one partition showing, such as here:
(I have two partitions: one for Snow Leopard, the other for Lion) - what does yours show?

I've become locked out of my time machine back up--how do I override or re-format the thunderbolt drive?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for