Lion Restore Using Time Machine (Full System Rollback)

I recently installed Lion Server to my Imac, and have decided this was not a wise move (I'll use my Mac Mini Instead)
I'm looking to restore my system in its entierty to before I instaled the server.
I have a time Machine Backup for the point in time before the install was done, but I get messages saying that some files are locked, and I need to unlock them before I can do the restore. It does not tell me which files.
Is there an easy way to do the restore?
The IMac was bought in August and has been upgraded to Lion from Snow Leopard, so I am guessing there is no recovery option as standard on the disk.
I can't find anything in knowledgebase, so what are my options?

Sounds like you're not using the right procedure (Apple doesn't make it clear, unfortunately).
See #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.

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    J Double DuBB wrote:
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    Is the way to restore the OS to default, but leave all new media and new software in place?
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  • HT201250 how to restore using time machine backup

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    I downloaded the free Mavericks upgrade to my late 2008 MBP on Friday.  I made sure to plug in my external hard drive so that Time Machine could back up beforehand.  (I should say I'm not clear about the different kinds of backups that Time Machine does - I just plug it in and let it go.).
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    Local Host  Report crash [378]
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    Thanks

  • Retrieving Mountain Lion after a restoration using Time Machine

    Hello,
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    Boot into Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, follow the prompts to reinstall the OS. You don't need to erase the boot volume, and you won't need your backup unless something goes wrong. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade, so make a note of those before you begin.

  • Lion downgrade using Time Machine

    Anyone have a similar issue and might be able to shed some light?
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    Downgrade Lion to Snow Leopard
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    Well, you don't know that the TM backup drive is corrupt. You may just have done the wrong type of restore. Not to worry at this point.
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  • Restored Using time machine, now I have no check boxes.

    So my hard drive deceided to stop working not too long ago, so I got a new one and booted from a time machine back up. After the restore, oddly enough, I do not see check boxes anywhere. Whether it is on a website, or on a system preference page, if there is an option with a check box next to it, it does not appear for me. However, I can still select these checkboxes (assuming of course that I am in the right spot while clicking at essentially nothing).  In addition to this craziness, if I click on my volume option in the toolbar on the top, I see an empty box where the volume selection meter used to be. I can still change the volume by clicking somewhere in the empty rectangle, but the problem is that I do not see anything. Not only that, but I also noticed that my keyboard will no longer allow me to adjust the volume or the brightness.
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     Cheers, Tom

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