Massive Trash file related to Time Machine

I open my trash folder and it only looks like a few dozen odds & ends kinds of items in there - stuff I meant to throw away.
But when I check Trash Info, it shows I have 199,338 items taking up 91.85GB in size!
I'm thinking this must be related to my using Time Machine, and the OS is just flushing out the oldest back-up to make room for the latest one, but the overall back-up size is only about 60 GB, so I'm not sure what's causing this.
So far, I still haven't emptied Trash, thinking I may somehow eat all the folders on my hard drive, but that seems pretty unlikely too.
Anyone seen this before?

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I accidentally deleted my media files from iTunes and Trash when I was trying to move the files to an external hard drive. Is there a way to restore the media files from a Time Machine backup or from iTunes Match? What are the steps to do this?

I accidentally deleted my media files from iTunes and Trash when I was trying to move the files to an external hard drive. Is there a way to restore the media files from a Time Machine backup or from iTunes Match? What are the steps to do this?

If you have been backing up on Timemachine.
All you need to do is enter time machine... Then the rest is obvious.
Find the iTunes folder and hit 'Restor'.
If not the only way to get all your iTunes music back is to enter iTunes Store.
On the right hand side you should see 'Purchased'.
Click 'purchased' and there you have it.

Unable to empty trash with data from Time Machine Drive

Hi there,
Cause of the current issue:
I am hoping the experts can help me with this one. I have an external hard drive which is used for my Time Machine Backups. Recently there has been an error on the backup to this drive on occasion. This error only occurs when the system does the back up, and appears only periodically, never when I do the back up manually. One of the threads I read to solve this issue is to delete some older backup files from your time machine drive, and all is good. This worked for awhile.... but now a new problem:
New Problem:
I have been able to empty all of the trash save one particular set of folders. So the trash always appears with content.
The structure of the trash content appears as such...
Macintosh HD
+-Users
+--<username>
+---Library
+----FK6T0KGc9y4KBB <-- This changes each time I try to empty the trash.
The library folder always has the time/date of the last time I tried to empty the trash.
What I have tried:
1. I have tried to empty the trash Securely. No good.
2. I have tried the terminal command : sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash with no success
3. I have tried this terminal command : sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash/* with no success
4. I have tried just plain old Empty Trash. But I get the message "This operation cannot be completed because the item 'FK6T0KGc9y4KBB' is in use.
Any thoughts, recommendations?

Hey thanks for the help anyway VK.
I tried that command and no go either.
Last login: Fri Jul 25 08:13:39 on console
iMac:~ tmlohnes$ sudo rm -rf /Volumes/Time\ Machine\ Backups/.Trashes/501/*
Password:
rm: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/.Trashes/501/2008-03-28-160634/Macintosh HD/Users/tmlohnes/Library/8xMlmPGUHzilET: Directory not empty
rm: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/.Trashes/501/2008-03-28-160634/Macintosh HD/Users/tmlohnes/Library: Directory not empty
rm: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/.Trashes/501/2008-03-28-160634/Macintosh HD/Users/tmlohnes: Directory not empty
rm: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/.Trashes/501/2008-03-28-160634/Macintosh HD/Users: Directory not empty
rm: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/.Trashes/501/2008-03-28-160634/Macintosh HD: Directory not empty
rm: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/.Trashes/501/2008-03-28-160634: Directory not empty
iMac:~ tmlohnes$
I am wondering, would it make sense to try this same command if I were to do a safe boot?
What about formatting the external hard drive and starting fresh?

How can I clean virus infected files on my Time Machine disk?

I am running McAfee VirusScan and it locates and cleans virus infected files just fine on my computer, but when it finds infected files on my Time Machine backup drive it says "Repair Failed". Is there a way to clean infected files on my Time Machine backup drive?
Related question: Is this because the actual files are saved in a central hidden location and the files I see when I open the backup disk with finder are actually just alias links?

Schmactor,
First, it is unlikely that your software is actually finding a virus of any kind. Many supposed reports of a virus will, in fact, be perfectly legitimate (and harmless) files. While it is possible that you'll receive a virus, it is still unlikely. Most ISPs run anti-virus software on their email servers; if a virus is sent to you in an email, it is usually removed before you download it.
Even if you have downloaded an email, it is even less likely that you're going to send it to a Windows-using friend. Since any Windows virus is going to do absolutely nothing on your Mac, you most likely will just delete it. Are you in the habit of forwarding random emails that have unidentifiable attachments to your friends?
Keep in mind that it is always in the best interest of the developers of anti-virus software titles that the software constantly "finds" things, even when nothing exists. If you were to purchase anti-virus software, only to find that it does absolutely nothing for months at a time, you will not pay for further updates. I have been using a Mac for many, many years, and I have never run any kind of anti-virus software. I have also never sent a virus to someone else.
Scott

How to get my files back from time machine on a new computer

My laptop has been stolen so i bought a new one.
I would like to keep the clean install but also i would like to restore my files from my time machine (on a time capsule)
How can i do that ?

After you do a clean install, when you first boot up, Setup Assistant will open and you can restore everything from Time Machine.
Set up a New Mac
Migration Assistant/Set Up Assistant - Mavericks

How do I access my back up files from the time machine if my computer was stolen?

Hi, how do I access my back up files from the time machine if my mac book pro was stolen? I have a mac book air and mac too. But not sure how I can get back all the files from the stolen computer from my time capsule

On the Mac Book Air or other Mac that you have, use Migration Assistant to transfer files from the Time Machine backups of the Mac that was taken.
Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > Migration Assistant

Installed new SSD. How do I get my files back from Time Machine?

Hi all, if you take the time to read my issue, thanks a lot. I appreciate any help you can offer, and sorry if anything is unclear...
The 1tb drive eventually failed on my 2009 27", quad core i7 imac. I had USB backup using time machine to an external 2 tb disk.
Repair guy took my mac to his shop, and installed a new samsung 1tb SSD.
He had trouble reinstalling from my time machine backup - so he's just installing Yosemite (I was using 10.8.x?) and giving it back to me with a fresh install of Yosemite.
When he tried to use time machine to restore my system to how it was, he started the process, and it said that it would take 13 hours, so he left it overnight.
When he returned, he found a white screen with a frozen mouse pointer. He did a hard reboot, and then could not access the drive at all - the system would not allow him to read the drive and he had to take the drive out, reformat from another mac, and then install Yosemite again.
Now he has suggested that I simply drag and drop all my folders from the USB time machine backup into my computer, and seems to think this will get things back to how they were. I'm not sure that it works like that though...I'd expect certain applications need to be installed, settings changed, permissions granted, passwords entered...that kind of thing.
Now I have a choice - whether to
A) reinstall my applications one at a time, and then copy the data from my backup drive.
B) manually drag and drop all the files from the most recent backup folder into the "computer" folder. (This was his suggestion)
C) attempt some kind of migration using the Migration assistant. (I believe this is what the guy tried- he started it off, it said "13 hours remaining) he left it running overnight, and came back to a static white screen with frozen mouse, he powered down, then when he switched it back on, the screen did not load any OS (not sure whether it had booted into some kind of BIOS, but he said it was so unresponsive that he had to remove the drive and reformat it from another computer).
D) Try some other application for intelligently restoring my apps and data from the Time Machine backup.
To be honest, my main concern is screwing things up badly! I'm veering towards reinstalling my apps, even if it means fixing up preference settings and typing in codes etc... I would rather take a slow and steady approach rather than a "risk having to take it back to the shop/take it apart" approach.
Also, is migration different from restoring from time-machine?
Perhaps you could advise me? Many thanks

Restart the computer and hold the Command & R keys.
Thanks - I didn't know how to do that!
I did that, and it went through the steps for restoring from the time machine backup. I didn't click on "restore" just yet... My concern is that when the guy in the shop tried that, it resulted in the serious failure that required the drive to be removed and formatted from another computer.
I'm wondering what might have caused that - is it possible that the external drive had a failure, or (more likely) that the drive caddy it sits in briefly lost power or something?
Also, can you tell me if simply drag-dropping the files from the time-machine backup would result in everything returning to its initial state? Or is that (as I suspect) a bad idea?
Right now I have a fresh Yosemite install which works. I'd rather have that, and slowly restore my files and apps manually than risk getting the same result as the guy in the shop. Do you think that restoring from the restore partition is worth trying again?

How can I restore files from a time machine back-up of my iMac to an EXTERNAL hard drive connected to MacBook Pro. Using Migrat

I would like to restore files from a time machine back-up of my iMac to an EXTERNAL hard drive connected to MacBook Pro. When I tried using Migration Assistant it only gives me my internal hard drive as an option to restore to. The internal hard drive on my macbook isnt large enough to store the files.

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
OS X can only restore data to the drive where Time Machine backed up files from.
If you want to restore files from the Time Machine backup onto an external drive, your only option is to access to the Time Machine drive manually (open a Finder window and choose your Time Machine drive in the Finder sidebar), navigate through its folders and copy the files you want to the external drive

Restore files from last Time Machine backup after HD erase and install

I just had to do an "erase and install" ... trying to restore files from my last Time Machine backup but after completing the Airport Utility setup / configure steps, it says "waiting to restart" for a few minutes and then says it cannot find TIme Capsule after restart (though TC never restarted). I'm pretty desperate to get my files back as it's Sunday night and my business needs to be up and running by morning. Any help would be greatly appreciated ... even if it's saying I need to take TC into a Mac store to have them retrieve my files.

While in Time Machine, 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 the files you want to restore.

I just received my new Mac Mini and want to migrate files from my Time Machine. I assume the old OS is on Time machine and I don't want it to supersede the new Yosemite OS. Do I have to Do anything special?

I just received my new Mac Mini and want to migrate files from my Time Machine. I assume the old OS is on Time machine and I don't want it to supersede the new Yosemite OS. Do I have to Do anything special?

Using Migrations Assistant will only move the data and other things over, it will not bring over a previous version of the Os since the 2014 model can run anything earlier than Yosemite.

Multiple "Backup of ..." Entries In Finder / Related to Time Machine

I currently have 17 items under "Devices" in the Finder which are labeled "Backup of System". It seems like each time Time Machine performed a backup (or perhaps failed?), another entry was added. The list has grown over time, although I can't seem to figure out when it occurs.
Anyhow, when a Time Machine backup begins, near the top of the "Devices" list, an entry called "Backup of System" appears with the appropriate spinning animation showing that the backup is in progress. The 17 other entries will each have an eject/unmount button next to them, but nothing happens when the buttons are clicked. As soon as the backup is complete, the eject buttons go away. Clicking on the just flashes the contents of the finder, and doesn't change to any particular folder.
Why is this happening? I'd love to send along a screenshot. It looks like I'm going to have to reboot to get rid of these, since there seems to be no way to remove them manually.
I run PathFinder on this system, and for some reason, these entries do not appear under PathFinder ... only in Finder.
Any suggestions?

Nimiety wrote:
I have the same issue. It is directly related to time machine.
If you notice carefully, each time time machine goes to do it's routine backup, it creates a temporary filesystem under devices. What seems to happen is these filesystems don't get properly cleaned out after TM is done. I suspect it may have something to do with capacity on the receiving device (I have a 1TB time capsule that is nearly full).
It is annoying, and I'd love to see it addressed.
Contact Apple's Canada technical support: (800) 263-3394
Have all your particulars handy, including the serial numbers of both your Mac and Time Capsule, the version of OSX and Airport, etc.
When you get an answer, be sure to post it here so others can benefit.

I am unable to empty my trash w/o getting an 8003 error.Some of what is in the trash is BackUp from Time Machine. I have tried to Secure Empty and also Unlocking folders yet the error continues. There is over 300gb that I need to trash. MacPro 10.6.8

I am unable to empty my trash w/o getting an 8003 error.Some of what is in the trash is BackUp from Time Machine. I have tried to Secure Empty and also Unlocking folders yet the error continues. There is over 300gb that I need to trash. MacPro 10.6.8

See #E6 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.

File Vault and Time Machine

Hi, I am new mac users, and I need to know how to secure my time machine drive so if you plug in to other mac should ask for password, by googling some info, I found some trick to set our mac with file vault, so all user data will be encrypted.
but after my imac sets file vault, time machine only works for shared folders, and not realtime backup my main data and system, it inly backup when I log out or shut down my mac.
so I assume my backup data from my time machine will not work for restoring file as normal time machine backup
any solution for this? thanks

Time Machine and File Vault aren't a particularly good combination.
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I need to drag a file from my time machine backup to a usb

I need to drag a file from my time machine backup to a usb

You can restore it to the original location as a copy, if you have a newer version there that you want to keep. So Restoring a file from TM won't over-write a newer file.

Files Missing From Time Machine Backup

I had a system crash and I'm trying to move the files from my time machine backup onto my new computer.
The problem is that many of my files, which I know where on my desktop in folder at the time of the backups, seem to be missing. I can find the folder, but about three quarters of the files from it are gone. The ones that are in it appear to be mostly newer files that I had created not long before the last backups and the crash. As far as I go back, the files seem to be missing.
Anyone know what might be going on?
Does it have to do with which user I'm logged in as? Would that change what files I can see?
Any suggestions?
Thanks.

Thanks for the comment. I did use the Migration Asst. to move her data and most did move, but key information, like the Safari Bookmarks, the addresses in the Address Book, and every file in the Documents folder were all missing. I finally called Apple and the tech there solved the problem. The source of the problem is that when she registered the new Mac mini, she used a slightly different User name, which then made it impossible for the new Mini to communicate with the external Backup data. The tech walked me through a multiple step process that involved adding a suffix to the original user name and so on, which has made available all the original data on the new mini.
This is the second time in the last few years that a change in the administrator user name has created an enormous problem. While Apple notes that this user name is important, there should be a more thorough explanation of how it functions and the serious consequences that can occur if is not husbanded properly.

Massive Trash file related to Time Machine

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