Migration Assistant won't recognize Time Machine Backup

I recenly got my old thunderbolt-less macbook pro back from a repair and I can't seem to resotre my data. My external drive it reconized in finder, but not in Migration Assistant. I have updated to the newest OS and still nothing. I was tunning mavrics before the repair so this should be working right? Thanks for any help you can offer.

A possible reason for backups not to be available in Migration Assistant is that the computer doesn't have a name, or the name is corrupt. Open the Sharing preference pane and check the name. If you can't do that, reset the PRAM. Credit to ASC member Csnote for this observation.
Most likely, some folders were excluded from your 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 your 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 your 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 your backup volumes for that. There are different ways of dealing with that situation, depending on your needs. The easiest way is to set your 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 your 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

Similar Messages

  • Migration assistant does not recognize time machine backup

    Hi Guru,
    I made a time machine backup today, 10.8.2, then made full reinstall of system in Apple store, in Berkeley, because my iMac experinced some unstability.
    we installed new Mac OS, and now I face a  problem: migration assistant does not recognize hard disk with buckup.
    Finder sees this disk, it has Backups folder.
    OS: 10.8.2
    BackUp made: Time Machine 10.8.2
    Hard Disk: Lacie 500MB
    any ideas?
    Thank you

    I am conserned about restoring using setup assistant because I need to transfer personal files and applications only.
    You can do that in Setup Assistant.
    Migration Assistant doesn't accept Time Machine backups of the computer it's running on; it only accepts compatible backups of other computers. You can't migrate a system to itself. To restore files from the same computer, enter Time Machine in the usual way, or else boot into Recovery and either restore the whole startup volume or erase, reinstall OS X, and restore in Setup Assistant.

  • Migration Assistant Won't Recognize Time Machine Disk

    Hi,
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    This is very frustrating. What am I doing wrong?
    Frank

    You may have been bitten by a bug we've just identified.
    See #D10 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
    If so, home folders are not affected, and there may be a way to recover them.
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    I am conserned about restoring using setup assistant because I need to transfer personal files and applications only.
    You can do that in Setup Assistant.
    Migration Assistant doesn't accept Time Machine backups of the computer it's running on; it only accepts compatible backups of other computers. You can't migrate a system to itself. To restore files from the same computer, enter Time Machine in the usual way, or else boot into Recovery and either restore the whole startup volume or erase, reinstall OS X, and restore in Setup Assistant.

  • Trying to use Migration Assistant to restore from Time Machine backup but it keeps "Looking for other computers..."

    Hi!
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    Do you have any idea to solve the problem?
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    At the screen in Migration Assistant titled "Select a Migration Method," select From a Time Machine backup or other disk.
    How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac

  • Migration Assistant in Lion won't recognize Time Machine backup from Snow Leopard

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  • HT1338 HELP! iMac won't recognize time machine backup!

    My hard drive failed in my iMac 2.8 Intel Core i5. Luckily, I had a time machine backup on a usb hard drive. Also luckily, there was a free replacement available for my iMac because the Seagate hard drive in my iMac was prone to failure. I brought it to the Apple Store for a replacement, which took about a week. When I got home to restore my system from the backup, it won't see the time machine backup. It sees the drive but no backup is selectable. I know it is there because I updated my System software to the latest Mountain Lion and you can see the files on the backup drive, with dates for the backups and everything. It won't allow me to restore in Migration assistant or Recovery Mode or anything.
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    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 your home folder that you want to preserve will have to be restored separately. For most users, that isn't necessary.
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    Yes, but depending on which you may need to deactivate and re-activate. This question would be better put to the software vendor. I am guessing Quark?
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    Message was edited by: macjack

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