Migration assistant cant see files on time machine backup

Hi all,
I just bought a new 27" iMac, and wanted to transfer files from a time machine backup i have on an external drive, from my old machine.
I dident try this on the first setup, but waitet till i had configured it first, so i use migration assistant.
I startet migration assistant just fine, and it could se my time machine backup(1)
Heres the problem
when i select the backup i want to use and click continue, all i get is a little white box under the imac icon(2).
It whont show me a list of things to transfer. Please help.
Bonus info
I tride to use disk utility to repair my disk, but no luck there.
when i select the drive, it whont let me repair disk permissions, no matter what disk i choose.(3)
I am able to access and mount the time machine image, browes the backup and copy files manually.

No, both the backup and the new system are OSX10.6.
I'm afraid your solution doesn't work.  If I go through finder and open up the folders on the backup, and try, for example, to open my "Movies" folder (which is one I dearly hope to recover), I get a message that:
"The folder "Movies" can't be opened because you don't have permission to see its contents."
I have tried Repair Permissions, but this doesn't help.  All of the important folders have a little red stop sign on them.
Thanks though.

Similar Messages

  • The Migration Assistant can not find my Time Machine Backup

    Hello,
    I had to reinstall Mountain Lion on my iMac. So I made a fresh backup with TM on friday, everything was fine with it.
    Then I formated my HD and installed 10.8.2 from the AppStore. After setting up the Admin-Account I opended the Migration Assistant
    to migrate my User Account from the TM-Backup, but it is not showing up. There are 4 backups on the Time Capsule, but only 3 are
    showing up. And for sure it is mine, which is missing.  :-(
    When I start in Revorery-Mode and choose to set up the iMac from a Time Machine Backup, the latest Backup is from the 1. of November,
    which I really don't want to use right now.
    Would be very nice to get some help in here.
    Thank you

    No, both the backup and the new system are OSX10.6.
    I'm afraid your solution doesn't work.  If I go through finder and open up the folders on the backup, and try, for example, to open my "Movies" folder (which is one I dearly hope to recover), I get a message that:
    "The folder "Movies" can't be opened because you don't have permission to see its contents."
    I have tried Repair Permissions, but this doesn't help.  All of the important folders have a little red stop sign on them.
    Thanks though.

  • Migration assistant can't find my time machine backups?

    Here's the situation: I just bought a new 13" Macbook Pro 2.53 GHz last night to replace my current 13" white Macbook. I've kept Time Machine backups on the white MB for well over a year on an external 500GB USB drive, so I figured I'd use migration assistant to move all my data over. Well, I plugged in my external HD to my new computer, it recognized the disk, and asked if I wanted to use it as my time machine backup disk for the computer: I said no, for the time being. Then I went to migration assistant, opted to restore from my backups.... but when I got to selecting from where, it gave me no options, just a totally blank selection screen. I figured I must have screwed up, so I tried rebooting, then making the external HD my backup location, all to no avail. The only thing I can think of that's messing it up is the fact that I have probably 50GB of virtual machines and other things on the HD in a separate folder from my backups.
    What am I doing wrong?

    mily_pl wrote:
    I've found the solution!
    You have to simply delete from TM disk all backup folders made by Snow Leopard. Then migration assistant will see your backups made from 10.5 Leopard.
    Do that only as a last resort, and only via TM, not the Finder, as that can hopelessly corrupt your backups. See item #12 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum.

  • Does Migration Assistant use the most recent time machine backup?

    About to transfer my old macbook pro harddrive to my new imac..and when im in migration assistant it allows me to select ALL applications (not individual ones unfortuantely) to transfer from my time machine backup...curious, does it transfer all apps I have ever had on all my backups? - there is probably 20 different backups. I have cleared a ton of useless apps off my MBP and did a fresh backup hoping those would be the only ones to get transfered?
    Thanks

    Only one version is transferred, the last saved one.

  • Select certain files for Time Machine backup?

    Is it possible to select only certain files for Time Machine backup? Or does it automatically backup everything, including what you don't want saved?

    Time Machine will backup all user files unless you select the ones you do not wish to have backed up.  see the attached from System Preferences:
    Ciao.

  • I used migration assn't to load a Time Machine backup onto a new mac.  The first TM backup after that took some time, perhaps not surprising.  But the backups thereafter have all taken hours, with huge amounts of "indexing" time.  Time to reload TM?

    I used migration assn't to load a Time Machine backup onto a new mac.  The first TM backup after that took some time, perhaps not surprising.  But the backups thereafter have all taken hours, with huge amounts of "indexing" time.  Time to reload TM?

    Does every backup require lots of indexing?  If so, the index may be damaged.
    Try Repairing the backups, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
    If that doesn't help, see the pink box in #D2 of the same link.

  • How do I restore files from time machine backups made before reformatting macbook air?

    How do I restore files from time machine backups made before reformatting macbook air?

    The section titled "Restoring data from Time Machine backups" in the following may help: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427

  • HT201250 I just had a new hard drive installed in my iMac.  Migration manager cannot see my external Time Machine hard drive to restore the files and applications.  The drive is operational in Finder

    I cannot seem to migrate the full time machine backup from an external hard drive back to the new hard drive.  Finder sees the drive and files.  When I use Migration managers, it only sees the computer hard drive after I select the time machine option to restore the files.

    Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
    With what OS X version did you make the backup? If it was the same as the version you are using now, you don't have to use Migration Assistant to restore the backup. Instead, there's a safer and better method, but you will lose all the changes you have made since the last time you made the backup.
    Just hold Command and R keys while your Mac is starting to start into OS X Recovery. Then, select the option to restore a Time Machine backup, and follow its steps. Also, you will be able to select the backup you want to restore

  • Migration Assistant fails to recognize a Time Machine disk (itself migrated using Disk Utility)

    So I outgrow my Time Machine disk. I listen to the advice (repeated in multiple places) that one can simply use Disk Utility's Restore tab, select the old time machine disk as source and the new one as destination, and click restore to copy block-by-block, then rename the disk.
    This works very well. I have indeed been able to use Time Machine on the new disk without losing any of the history.
    But now I am in trouble. I am also outgrowing my MacBook disk. I put a larger disk in and install Snow Leopard from scratch. Now Migration Assistant does not recognize the new Time Machine disk (perpetually spinning wheel). Renaming the disk to the old name does not help. M.A. does recognize the old Time Machine disk, but that means manually managing the changes (and giving up on the larger TM disk). I reinstall Snow Leopard and do not miss that time the option to restore from Time Machine, but it still does not see the new Time Machine disk.
    How does one convince Migration Assistant to use a Time Machine disk that duly has Backups.backupdb as a root folder and where "ignore ownership on this volume" is not set?

    Thanks, Pondini, but the Time Machine disk passes the Disk Utility repairs and only the spinning wheel was visible under both the Setup Assistant and the Migration Assistant.
    I now have some good news, and some bad.
    First the good news: Lion's Migration Assistant offers the option to copy user (and other) files from the previous OSX disk, not just the Time Machine disk. If this option was already in Snow Leopard, then I missed it.
    Now the bad news..
    I spent several hours reading (Pondini's and others') suggestions to ensure that my Time Machine is as seamless as possible, namely, for the next backup to be incremental. No luck: all user data are copied. Until the interface of Time Machine stops trying so hard to shield us naive users from making decisions on our own, one idea is to keep the iPod and pictures/video collection backed-up by the straight-forward rsync. Then whether Time Machine is really incremental will not matter, and in any case a spare copy of the documents you wrote by hand is nice in case the some blocks of the disk fail.
    But I may have been the one who messed it. In Preferrences \ Time Machine \ Options... I excluded all users except the user "Admin" who restored the user accounts. The idea was to test first whether the mildest user will get a full backup. It may be that Time Machine does not look in the history to see if a given file or set of files already have some copy in the past. If a file does not exist in the very last backup, it is saved to the Time Machine disk.
    If you're reading this and are keen on an incremental backup, try this: restore your user accounts using a user Admin, but do not start to backup until after the accounts are restored. Will the backup afterwards be incremental?

  • Migration Assistant cant see other computer

    I am trying to migrate some data from my Imac to my MacBook, but cant make the two machines connect.
    They are failing to connect by WifI
    My Macbook - when I click the "From a Mac, Time Machine backup etc" button can find my Imac.
    My Imac - when I click the "To another Mac" button can't see my MacBook.
    To check if there is a hardware fault, I have tried swapping things over - so that the MacBook is labelled as the machine where the data will be transfered from and the Imac is the destination.   In this case the Imac can see the MacBook, but the MacBook can't see the Imac.
    Confused!
    I have done a google search, and tried some of the tips like switching off firewalls.  Hasn't worked.
    Both machines have Maverick.  Both machines are on the same network.  The Macbook is sat right night to the Imac.
    Suggestions?

    I see this issue frequently. There does't appear to be a solution and I don't know if Apple is addressing it.
    I would just forget about Wifi and use a hardwire solution.(ethernet , firewire/thunderbolt).

  • Migration assistant finds no volumes in time capsule backup

    I hadn't updated my mac mini for ages and it started to run slower and slower.  Before upgrading to Mavericks (from 10.6.8) I checked that Time Machine (backing up to a Time Capsule) had backed up recently (it had with no error messages), unfortunately the install failed (disk error) and I had to take it into the Genius bar.  They wiped the machine and set it up for me to finish the install (via migration assistant) at home.  Unfortunately once home and when selecting the option to migrate from a time machine backup it finds the Time Capsule but then displays the message "no volumes found in backup".  Any ideas?  Can I just skip migration assistant, set up a new account (with a different name to those in back-up) and then manually go into Time Machine to restore??

    Yes.
    Most likely, some folders were excluded from the backups as the result of a failed or aborted software installation.
    Starting from a clean installation of OS X, set up a new administrator account and log in. Enter Time Machine and 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 your home folder (in the Users folder at the top level of the old startup volume.)
    You should now be able to restore your user data. I suggest you do this in two stages. Quit all applications except the Finder before you begin.
    Restore all the visible items at the top level of the home folder.
    Hold down the option key and select Go ▹ Library from the Finder menu bar. Enter Time Machine and restore all items in the Library folder. Log out and log back in as soon as the restore is complete.
    Any other invisible folders or files at the top level of the home folder that you want to preserve will have to be restored separately. For most users, that isn't necessary.  
    You'll have to reinstall all third-party applications from scratch, or restore them from another kind of backup, if you have one.
    You'll have another problem if this is a new computer, or if you erased the startup volume: The next time you back up, Time Machine won't recognize any files as being the same as they were before, and will make a full copy of all files. There might not be enough space on one or more of the backup volumes for that. There are different ways of dealing with that situation, depending on your needs. The easiest way is to set the backup drives aside, if possible, until you're sure you'll no longer need the data on them, then erase them and start over. Meanwhile start a new backup on one or more empty storage devices. If that solution isn't workable for you, ask for instructions.
    *If you don't see any snapshots in Time Machine, exit the time-travel view and then hold down the option key while selecting
              Browse Other Backup Disks...
    from the Time Machine menu, which has an icon that looks like a clock running backwards. Select the backups of the computer by its previous name. If you don't have the Time Machine menu, open the Time Machine preference pane in System Preferences and check the box marked 
              Show Time Machine in menu bar

  • Trying to copy out files from Time Machine backup.

    I'm really frustrated here any help greatly appreciated. Order of events:-
    1. Basically I have been backing up my files through time machine on a external drive for my mac mini.
    2. I formatted my mac mini and sold it to my friend.
    3. I am having troubles copying files(iphoto library) from my timemachine backup on to my imac.
    4. I don't need anything else except a few particular files, but everytime i try drag or copy it gives me the 'no privilege/permission error'.
    It's really frustrating i've changed permissions and everything and still doesn't work. It will work if I go copy the individual files. But any folders doesn't work.
    Any advice?
    Many thanks in advance.

    chadnchady wrote:
    3. I am having troubles copying files(iphoto library) from my timemachine backup on to my imac.
    That's correct. Time Machine backups retain the original ownership and permissions. So one user doesn't have access to another user's data. Usually, that's a good thing.
    4. I don't need anything else except a few particular files, but everytime i try drag or copy it gives me the 'no privilege/permission error'.
    Your best bet may be to use +Migration Assistant+ to migrate the user account and selected data. Then log on as that user and use/copy the data as desired. See the pink box in #19 of Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

  • Pulling Files From Time Machine Backup?

    I want to do clean install of Snow Leopard on my Macbook Pro because it's becoming overly cluttered with files that have been over the years first put on my Powerbook then my Macbook and then this computer. Currently everything is backed up to a hard drive with Time Machine. Would it be possible to do a clean install and then just pull the files I want from the Time Machine backup without just restoring the entire thing?

    capnamazing wrote:
    When I went to the Apple store they told me to run a fresh install and rather than use Migration Assistant (I'm assuming that is the same thing as Setup Assistant, correct?)
    No. They have similar screens and "works" but are different. +Setup Assistant+ runs when a new Mac first starts up (or after installing OSX on an empty volume), and can transfer everything from another Mac or its backups "as is." It's used mostly to set up a new Mac exactly like an old one.
    +Migration Assistant+ is an app in your Applications/Utilities folder, and runs only after at least one user account has been set up. It's used mostly to add a user account from one Mac to a different one that already has one or more. Depending on the circumstances, accounts transferred this way can lose their permissions to files on other volumes, such as backups.
    Unfortunately, may folks, including some Apple folks, don't distinguish between the two, causing problems.
    I went home to do this, plugged in my time machine backup to my MacBook Pro which has a fresh Snow Leopard OS X installed, and tried to drag and drop files from the time machine backup to my hard drive. It kept asking for my password when transferring, which is no big deal. But now when I move some of these files around or edit them on my hard drive, it keeps asking for the password again. Is there a way around that so I can just put the files and applications that I want onto my Mac without it requiring a password every time?
    That's because the account you set up on the fresh install of OSX wasn't recognized as being the same one as on your backups. One user, even an Admin user, doesn't normally have access to a different user's files, and that's also enforced on backups.
    If you really want to do it that way, you'll have to change the permissions on those files, via +Get Info.+ But be careful; do not use the +Apply to enclosed items+ to your entire home folder or the default folders (Desktop, Documents, etc.) inside it.

  • Help: cannot retrieve old files from Time Machine backup on new computer!

    I backed up my old Macbook Pro for several months. I've got a new Macbook Pro and I succeeded to restore the last content of the old one using the migration assistant.
    However, now I need some older files that I know are in the backup, but I can't restore them because you apparently can only do that with the computer from which you made the backups... a Time Machine backup is 'tied' to the sparsebundle using the MAC-address of the computer...
    I don't have my old computer anymore, does this really mean that all the old file in the backup are lost for me? Or is there an other way?
    Please help.
    Wim

    Wimek,
    According to this KB article (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1760)
    "When upgrading from one Leopard-based Mac to a new Leopard-based Mac, and you wish to use Time Machine backups from the previous Mac, make sure the computer name of the new Mac (in Sharing preferences) is the same as your previous Mac's computer name was when its Time Machine backups were made. Afterwards, if the previous Mac is still on your network, give it a different computer name."

  • Can't restore files from Time machine backup?

    I kinda successfully restored my files from Time Machine after a clean re-install of Snow Leopard (Time Machine thought they were new files, though, so backed up the 26 GB... waste of space), but now I'm trying to restore the files of the other user on the computer. In her pictures folder, I can't copy the iPhoto Library because I don't have permission to access it! The same problem occurred on my account too, but I was able to go to my Time Machine drive and manually change the permissions for the files I wanted, which doesn't work on her account.
    I have made a Youtube video of the error:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1__PdyAetVg
    Can anyone assist me in restoring the files? That's all I need help in. Thanks

    wrongusername wrote:
    But if I transfer everything with the Setup Assistant, won't I once again be experiencing the problems I had?
    If the problems were caused by your data. But that's extremely unlikely. It may have been an app, or, much more likely from your description, something corrupted in the Leopard OS. That's one of the problems with upgrading a sick system without knowing what or where the causes are. It's a bit like a brain surgeon operating on himself: if he isn't in tip-top shape to start with, his condition is likely to change, and not for the better.
    Most of us would have recommended first simply doing a +*Repair Disk+* on your internal HD; if that didn't help, installing the "combo" Leopard update; if that didn't work, doing an +Archive and Install+ and re-installing the "combo."
    After a clean re-install of Snow Leopard, my Mac worked fine again (except for the TM trouble). So it probably had something to do with my old files.
    Probably not. Much more likely OSX was somehow damaged. And you got a whole new one.
    How come I could read the files on my external HD and yet not be able to copy the files?
    Time Machine uses special "deny everybody everything" permissions on it's backups, among other things, in an attempt to keep us mere mortals from moving, changing, or deleting things and corrupting them.

Maybe you are looking for