My old Time machine backup's will not restore after lion upgrade. Ugh!!!!!

I had old backups that were accessible while running snow lepoard. Aftering installing Lion, the backup are still there, but I can't restore from any of them. Do I have to change the file name? Or am I SOL!!

Hey Linc,
Here's what happens: I log in TM, I can scroll through my old backups, I can choose the folders I want to restore, I can click on the folder, but when the systems tries to restore it, it stops saying that I don't have the privileges to access file A in the folder (and then all the procedure is stopped).
Oddly (at least for me) if I try to restore just that same file A (and not the whole folder) that I should have no privileges for, from the same old backup, I can do it, but I have to give the system my password: It pops up a window saying something "Finder is willing to make some modification, can you authorize?" (forgive i'm translating the alert from another language) and then I can restore it.
Many thanks
Ps: I did a simple upgrade on Lion, no partition, no blank disk, and never changed anything in my user preferences, it's always the same, administrator
Pps: Before Lion I could restore easily exactly the same folders and files I tried to restore with Lion

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Welcome to Apple Support Communities
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A couple of days ago, I noticed that the backup volume was not mounted (I backup to one of my four internal drives) and launched Time Machine. I got the error:
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If Disk Utility can't see any partitions, it's not good.
First, turn TM off.
Then try ejecting, disconnecting and powering the drive off for a few minutes, then reattaching it. Then try again with Disk Utility. If still no help, the drive is likely dead.
There's a very small chance that +Disk Warrior+ (version 4.1.1 or 4.2 only), or another heavy-duty disk repair app can fix it, if you already have one. But I wouldn't suggest spending the $$ for one unless you think you'll need it in the future -- DW is about $100.
Most likely, your disk is dead. There's a small chance that a +Data Recovery+ app such as +Data Rescue+ can recover some of the data. Check via Google, VersionTracker.com, or MacUpdate.com for +Data Recovery.+ There are services and apps, none cheap. Some of the apps have a free demo or test mode that will tell you if there's anything that can be recovered, and perhaps actually recover a single file; then you pay for it and recover whatever else can be recovered. You'll need another external disk to receive the recovered items.
You won't get the normal Time Machine folder structure, though, just "raw" files. Even if you do recover files, you'll most likely have to figure out what goes where and copy them to the right places manually.
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If those are your only backups, I'd recommend getting a second external, perhaps a portable one, and using CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to make a full "bootable clone" to it, then take it to your safe deposit box, workplace, relative's house, or other secure location. And/or, you might want to look at Mozy, Carbonite, or other online backup services.

Contacts etc. will not restore after an upgrade to...

I just backed-up my N95 then I upgraded to V11.0.026 (Vodafone). Now it will not restore this back-up or any back-up from previous months, it wont even sync with my N70 to get some numbers out of that!!!! Upgrading it was the biggest mistake I could have made, I only did it because of the constant lock-ups. Any ideas? Do I need to take it to Carphone Warehouse for a DOWNgrade??

I remember the backup being an issue after the upgrade to version 11. Mine backed up Contacts only and not Calendar. In fact I remember reading somewhere that it actually warned you about the backup issue before you did the upgrade.
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I fully realize I made a terrible mistake. I had an iphoto library on my imac that i haven't backed up at all. I was playing around with an old time machine backup and i pressed restore all thinking it would warn me that i was going to overwrite my existing library. well, now i have lost a years worth of photos without having backed them up. my question is, is there anyway to retrieve them? the trash holds nothing. there is no backup save my iphone. when i hook that up it only shows 2 photos. hide already imported photos is NOT checked. i imagine i can pull them off. i'm wondering if they will be the full resolution however. i would like to UNDO the restore first if there is a way. if not i guess i have to do it with the iphone which i'm not sure if it had all the photos from my previous library anyways. please advise and i will love you forever.
mark

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. About the only recourse is to use a file recovery application like SubrosaSoft FileSalvage. You can run it in demo mode to verify that you can recover the photos you want before you have to pay for it.
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I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
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This is an old message now, but what happened to me similarly was:
I had a major computer crash and through complicated pathways ended up reinstalling (Mavericks) as a new user (long story).
At least I had good Time Machine backups on an NAS drive (Synology DS212j), or so I thought - when I started Time Machine up again, the old backup file was gone, replaced by a new one using my "new computer" name. The old file was gone both by directly mounting the NAS drive and by clicking "Enter Time Machine".
It's like I had {OldShareName}.sparsebundle and then it was replaced by {NewShareName}.sparsebundle, all of the old info vanished.
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My belief is that if this were a wired-netword-drive, e.g. plugged right into my iMac with a USB cable, then the old file would have remained.
But this is an NAS drive, connected directly to my Airport wireless router, and I don't know the significance of the fact that it stores its Time Machine backups as "sparsebundle" files rather than simply as plain(er) files.
As usual when things get complicated with computers (not just Apple computers) there was never a warning message. Something like "YOU'RE ABOUT TO DELETE A TIME MACHINE BACK-UP FILE!!!" would have made my life a lot simpler.
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Have a read here https://discussions.apple.com/message/15701309#15701309
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Is there a way to get my photos off an old time machine backup from an external hard drive?

You will have to connect the Time Machine HDD and click on the Icon. You will see one folder called Backups.backupdb. Click on that and you will have to continue until you find the home folder. The iPhoto library (where the pictures are, not the application) will probably be in your pictures folder. You will have to drag that to your desk top. Then you will have access to individual images.
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You should have used Setup Assistant, not Migration Assistant, to transfer your data. I suggest you start over by booting into Recovery, erasing the startup volume, and installing OS X. When you reboot, Setup Assistant will start automatically. Follow the prompt to import data from a Time Machine snapshot. The backup history will then be inherited. The first backup will still be a full one; that can't be avoided.

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OK this is complex so hope u can bear with me...
I backed up my computer with Time Machine running lion, or maybe snow leapord.
Now I have a new computer and the old one is gone, and it's running Mountain Lion.
I'm just trying to get my old data back, but when I go to "browse other time machine backups" my old backup does not appear in the list.
I've taken this disk to other computers before and accessed my old TM backup, I dunno why it's not working now.
Migration Assistant I learned does work, however there are a few problems with that...
First: Migration assistant did not copy my old iWeb site domain file to my new computer, so I'm hoping its still in there somewhere, becuase iCloud deleted my mobile me site by now.
I also clicked every option therefore now I have two accounts. I DO NOT WANT TWO ACCOUNTS. I have now one with the old time machine backup restore, and one with the new computer account. I want one account, I don't want to have to relogin to have to check my old email box. Not only that the directories of one account are locked an not accessible by another... not good.
Finnaly Time Machine just popped-up a window asking if I should "integrate" old time machine backups into this computer backup, saying that if I did this the old computer would not be synced with this new time machine backup. Since I don't have the old comptuter that should be fine. However I'm still hoping to find my old website on that disk somewhere, perhaps in a earlier version of the TM backup.
If I do this "integration" will I be able to now browse my old time machine disk as I was able to before and on other computer's which run lion?
Thanks.

OK it's actually called "inherit" it says:
Would you like this computer to inherit the backup history from "XX" on "X" backup disk?
3 options
don't back up now, Create new backup, Inherit backup history
If I click inherit backup history... it will backup my new disk... and hopefully allow me to accesss the older one like i've been trying to do all along...

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I read, however, that the hdiutil compact command will only delete unused bands of the sparsebundle, and that defragmenting the contents of a sparsebundle will likely produce more "empty" bands that can be removed with another run of compact to further free up space.
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I've looked over Pondini's site and it's an awesome resource. I've learned a lot from it over the years. But my specific question isn't answered there.
The Time Machine software is complex and I understand that there's a lot of things to know to keep it running smoothly. However, my particular situation isn't commonly discussed. In scenarios not involving Time Machine, defragging a sparsebundle before running hdiutil compact is known to help free up more disk space by creating more unused bands within the sparsebundle that can be removed by compact. Makes sense. Why would this affect Time Machine's process? And could it be that it won't cause a problem for a sparsebundle that will only be used to browse and restore files? ... As opposed to a sparsebundle that one intends to continue backing up to? Are there defregmenting options that I should avoid, or be sure to use?

If I do a clean install on my MacBook Pro will I be able to re-install apps (FCP, Aperture, MS Office etc.) from a Time Machine backup, or will I need the original install DVDs with authorization codes?

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When I right click on items I see the numbers again. Instead of "Open with" I get "N152" and there's an "N35" and "LB1" towards the bottom.
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You don't lose them. You can always redownload them from the app store after you log back in with your Apple ID.
"Buy, download, and even redownload.
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It turns out that the Migration Assistant did not recognize any disk, perhaps because it was encrypted, nor displayed any way to select the volume and unlock it by entering its password. Despite what Pondini says the Time Machine backups disk was not seen by the Mac: as workaround I had to create a fictitious user, log in, unlock the disk (that was immediately recognized by the system) and then run the Migration Assistant from there (by the way, after 4 hours I finally logged into my migrated account and found out that apps were not imported at all!)
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Well a google search would appear that disk utility will show you the disk regardless if it's mounted or unmounted. you're best bet would be to unmount the disk in finder, shut down the computer completely, unplug it from a power source, and then unplug the firewire...
I think this is your safest bet but then again, I'm not that worried about ejecting my disks.
you get no error messages when you right click and eject the disk in in disk utilty? you said you have a my disk, do you mean My Book by western digital? I know that they load software onto the machine for encryption purposes. have you tried ejecting the disk from there? I uninstalled said software so I can't tell you if there is an option for that or not.

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Today, I figured out how to access my iPhoto Library photos from my old Time Machine backups. I was SO happy! The backups were from 2011 and earlier (hardrive crashed in May 2012). I had not done a Time Machine backup since 2011, so I decided to do a new backup today. After the backup finished, I decided to look at my old photos again (in the old backups) and when I tried to click on any of the files in the old backups, I get the message: The folder “Pictures” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents.
Of course, now I am crushed/frustrated because I do not understand why I cannot access the old backups anymore. *Note: the new backup is accessible.

No problem.
You probably need to use Browse Other Time Machine Disks and within that older backup go to User/Pictures and restore the file "iPhoto Library" to a separate folder on your drive (so as not to replace your current iPhoto library) and then look in that restored photo library.
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My old Time machine backup's will not restore after lion upgrade. Ugh!!!!!

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