If I restore My Mac OSX Snow Leopard can I get all my files back from a time machine backup made on a portable hard drive?

I want to restore my MacBook Pro running Snow Lepoard, I made a time machine backup on a portable hard drive, can I get all the files back when resseting the OSX from the Hard Drive?

If you're using the Mac App Store version, there is initially no clean install option unless you're running the installer on a different drive or partition; your existing data will remain as is. If you're doing it from Lion's recovery partition or using the USB flash drive after erasing the internal drive, yes.
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  • I have a mac os 10.5.8, i want to upgrade to mac os snow leopard, can i keep all my files (documents, music on itunes) without backing up all the files first on a external device prior to the upgrade?

    I have a mac os 10.5.8, i want to upgrade to mac os snow leopard, can i keep all my files (documents, music on itunes) without backing up all the files first on a external device prior to the upgrade?

    I strongly advise against upgrading the OS without first making a backup. Were something to go wrong you would lose all your files without the backup. See:
    How to Install OS X Updates Successfully
    A. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions:
    Boot from your current OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. Then select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally. 
    If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
    B. Make a Bootable Backup Using Restore Option of Disk Utility:
    Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
    Select the destination volume from the left side list.
    Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
    Check the box labeled Erase destination.
    Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
    Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
    Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
    Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
    C. Important: Please read before installing:
    If you have a FireWire hard drive connected, disconnect it before installing the update unless you will boot from this drive and install the update on it. Reconnect it and turn it back on after installation is complete and you've restarted.
    You may experience unexpected results if you have installed third-party system software modifications, or if you have modified the operating system through other means. (This does not apply to normal application software installation.)
    The installation process should not be interrupted. If a power outage or other interruption occurs during installation, use the standalone installer (see below) from Apple Downloads to update.  While the installation is in progress do not use the computer.
    D. To upgrade:
    Purchase the Snow Leopard Retail DVD.
    Boot From The OS X Installer Disc:
    Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
    Restart the computer.
    Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
    Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
    Wait for installer to finish loading.
    E. If updating:
    Download and install update(s) 
    Use Software Update, or
    Download standalone updater(s).

  • Restore data (iTunes Library, Photo's, files etc.) to Snow Leopard from a Time Machine backup made on OSX Lion?

    Hi,
    I have OSX Lion and have been backing up to Time Machine, I now want to do a clean install of Snow Leopard (not from backup), but can I restore my data (iTunes Library, Photo's, files etc.) to Snow Leopard from a Time Machine backup made on OSX Lion?
    Thanks.

    You should be able to restore iTunes and iPhoto files if the Lion system was running the same version of those applications that you'll have on the Snow Leopard system.  However, you won't be able to restore files for applications like Mail, Address Book, or Safari, as the versions of those won't match.

  • Hi I was doing a back up on time machine to my samsung 1tb exgernal hard drive and now my mac book pro is not recognising my hard drive???? I am devastated as all my photos are on it. Can anyone please help?

    I have tried wating 15min for it to be pick up.....I have shut down my computer and re booted with no luck.  I am devasted as all my photos are on it.  Any suggestions anyone????

    Was this your first TIme Machine backup or were you running an update to Time Machine?  If the latter then most of your data is probably recoverable from that disk.  If not proceed with this emergency recovery.  I would not erase the Time Machine backup you already have in case there is data on it you can recover, even if it did not complete.  (I don’t know if Time Machine will wok on a partial backup.)
    Before proceeding further you should try to secure your data.  You are close to losing it (or have lost it) and the instructions below will try to make a copy of it without having to boot the operating system.  You will need an external drive which you will erase as part of this procedure.
    Boot the recovery partition:
              • Press the power button and as you hear the bong,
              hold down the Command and R keys.
              Once booted, click on Disk Utility.
    Format (and erase) the destination recovery disk:
              Plug in the drive you are about to erase.
              Select the volume that is NOT your system disk.
              Click on Partition.
              Pull down under Partition Layout to 1 Partition.
              Click on Options…
              Select GUID Partition Table.
              Name: Emergency Backup
              Format: Select Mac OS Extended (journaled)
              Click Apply.
              Click Partition.
    Make a copy of your system disk on the recovery disk:
              Drag and drop the named system disk to Source (often called Macintosh HD):
              Drag an drop Emergency Backup to Destination:
              (Do not reverse these.)
              Click Restore (the lower Restore button).
              Be patient for it to do a full backup of your system disk.
    Save the ailing disk/SSD.  You might be able to recover data on it buy placing it in an external enclosure.  Once the disk is in an external enclosure, if the disk will not spin give it a gentle tap.  I have revived several disks that way.  If it still won’t spin then bother with the recovery software below.
    If it will spin try using DiskWarrior or uFlysoft data recovery.
              http://www.alsoft.com/diskwarrior/
              http://www.uflysoft.com/
    Once your system is healthy again be sure to maintain two reasonably current backups.
    More about backups:
    Time Machine Basics: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1427
    Most commonly used backup methods:  https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3045
    Methodology to protect your data.  Backups vs. Archives.  Long-term data protection: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6031

  • Pdf printing problem Mac OSX Snow Leopard Canon MP620 Pixma printer

    After upgrading Adobe Reader version 9.3 to version 10 I cannot print pdf documents using Canon MP620 Pixma printer. Mac OSX Snow Leopard operating system. All other prining works OK. Never had problem before Error message "pstopdffilter/ pstocupsraster failed with err no. 13" comes up. What has happened and how do I put it right?

    See this link for a solution:
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  • Restoring data from a Time machine backup of a potentially corrupted drive

    I seem to be the queen of failing hard drives, heh. I'm on my third in a year, and will be addressing the root cause of these failures, of course, but right now, I'm wondering how safe it is to restore from my Time Machine backup. Here's the scenario:
    -- Drive started throwing I/O errors, detected via SMARTReporter, about 2-3 months ago. No change in how the machine functioned, all OK.
    -- I continued to back up daily to TM & Crashplan
    -- While traveling for a month (and not backing up anymore, I left TM home), the machine started acting funny. Finder freezing, etc. I decided to clear some caches (by booting into safe mode) and see what happened.
    -- This caused the HD to fail completely. Recovery mode, target disk mode, booting into single user mode and command-lining fixes, and DiskWarrior all failed to rebuild the directory. Failures were in multi-linked files/directories, the catalog file, etc.
    -- I ordered a warranty replacment drive (and a new hard drive cable for starters).
    When I got home, I borrowed another machine and just did a Verify Disk on the TM backup. It came back totally clean. So, my question is: is it safe to restore the data from my TM backup to the new drive when it arrives?

    Shouldn't be any problem.
    Boot from your SL installer DVD (hold down the C key on startup or hold down Alt/option on start and choose the installer disc).
    OK the language page (if present). From the installer screen, go to the menu bar and choose Disk Utility; depending on the OS version it may be in the Utilities menu or Tools menu.
    In DU, select your internal drive in the sidebar (the top item with the makers name and serial no.). Run Repair Disk. If that comes up as disk OK, click the partition tab. Select the partiton from the drop-down above the graphic; 1 partiton is all you need. Go to the options button and ensure that the partition scheme is GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for G5 and earlier) and the file system to Mac OS Extended (Journalled). Name the partiton (usually Macintosh HD), click Apply.
    When that's finished, select the new volume in the sidebar (indented to the right below the drive) and go to the Erase tab, select Security options and select zero data (one pass is more than sufficient). Click erase. That will take quite some time; probably measured in hours and dependant on the size of the drive.
    When that's completed, close DU and continue with the installation.
    Shortly into the installation process, you'll be asked if you want to migrate data from another source. Select 'from a Time Machine Backup' and follow the prompts.
    See Pondini's FAQs;
    http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/19.html
    http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/SetupAsst.html
    That should leave you with the same setup as you had on the previous MB.

  • 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.

  • I just purchased Mac OSX Snow Leopard Software Version 10.6.3 before I install I would like to know if it will still keep my documents, etc? and not lose them?

    I just purchased MAC OSX Snow Leopard Software update to Version 10.6.3.  At present my MACBOOKPRO is Mac OS X Version 10.5.8.  Since this is the first time I have purchased new software upgrade for my MACBOOKPRO I would like to know before installation if it will keep my documents, etc. intact or would it lose them?  Appreciate any help?
    Darci13

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    A. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions:
    Boot from your current OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. Then select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally. 
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    Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
    Select the destination volume from the left side list.
    Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
    Check the box labeled Erase destination.
    Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
    Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
    Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
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    You may experience unexpected results if you have installed third-party system software modifications, or if you have modified the operating system through other means. (This does not apply to normal application software installation.)
    The installation process should not be interrupted. If a power outage or other interruption occurs during installation, use the standalone installer (see below) from Apple Downloads to update.  While the installation is in progress do not use the computer.
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    Purchase the Snow Leopard Retail DVD.
    Boot From The OS X Installer Disc:
    Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
    Restart the computer.
    Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
    Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
    Wait for installer to finish loading.
    E. If updating:
    Download and install update(s) 
    Use Software Update, or
    Download standalone updater(s).

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