No permission to access my time machine backups after restoring.

I reinstalled osx mountain lion on my macbook pro and restored my computer from a time machine backup. Now when I try to access my old backups time machine tells me that I have no permission to access those files. How can I regain access to my old backups?

See Pondini's Tips, for starters.

Similar Messages

  • How can I access old Time Machine backups after restoring from Time Machine?

    Just restored my iMac and I can only see "Now" when I enter Time Machine. How can I see all the backups and dates I had before I restored?

    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.

  • Time Machine Backup after Restore

    I have been using Time Machine for months without a hitch. I also put some other files on the external that I am using for Time Machine. Recently I decided to sell my brother my old Macbook so I can get a new computer.
    I reinstalled Leopard on the macbook, erasing everything that was there before. I did not use my time machine backups because I only need a few files for my brother. Now when I connected the 500 GB WD USB external harddrive, it sometimes shows up in Disk Utility, but does not mount and I cannot access and of the files. What can I do, ALL of my files are backed up here?

    Try right clicking on it and mounting it.

  • I am not able to access old Time Machine backups after OS install.

    Hi,
    I recently did a fresh install of Mountain Lion.  The system was getting sluggish from garbage collection, so I wiped it clean and started from scratch.  Prior the install, I ran one last backup just in case.  I went to restore some of my apps, like iWork '09, and I could not find any backups prior to my install dates.  I can see the files when I open up my Time Capsule with Finder.  But I cannot restore them using Time Machine.
    I tried dragging the iWorks programs over to the Applications folder, but the applications crash (Pages 4.2, Numbers 5.2, and Keynote 2.2).  I then tried going into the App Store and reinstalling them from my Purchases list.  All of my store bought purchase are there, but the iWork ones.  Which is odd, because they were updated from the App Store program after I dragged them over.
    The iWork programs I need from the backup.  Everything else is backed up in iCloud, iTunes, and the App Store.  I really need to get Pages up and running again.  Does anyone know what to do?  All else is irrelevant.

    If you installed iWork apps from a DVD, you need to use that DVD and reinstall the apps. Then update iWork to current using Software Update. There are other components from the DVD that need to be installed. I tried the same thing once and realized I had to reinstall and not restore from a TM backup.
    If you purchased the iWork apps from the App Store, you should be able to redownload and install these again. If the download button is greyed out, make sure your TM back up and/or clone drive is unmounted. Otherwise, the App Store will see this and think the apps are already installed.

  • Cannot Access Earlier Time Machine Backups After Upgrade To Mountain lion

    I went into Time Machine to recover some past emails. It shows that it had backed up my emails for the last year, however it will not let me recover anything before my upgrade to mountain lion. Does anyone know of a workaround for this problem. Thank you.

    Christopher Sant wrote:
    Once it does finally recognize (after a good while) it simply says "Error, time machine could not complete the backup"
    There should be more to that message.  See #C2 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.  It will show you how to locate the message(s) that describe the problem, then help you fix it.    If that doesn't help, post back with details, including all the messages, your setup, what you've done, and the results.

  • My Final Cut Projects folder were missing some files, I went to my time machine backup to restore and it said I don't have permission to access the time machine folder "Final Cut Projects". Why?

    My Final Cut Projects folder were missing some files, I went to my time machine backup to restore and it said I don't have permission to access the time machine folder "Final Cut Projects". Why?

    Yes, I've done all "the ususal suspects.." repaired permissions, zapped pram, "reintroduced Time Machine to the backup drive by turning it off and on... etc

  • After Mountain Lion update - problems synching contacts and accessing previous Time Machine backup

    I have just set up a MacBoook Pro with a new SSD drive to replace the internal hard drive. I made sure I had a current Time Machine then connected the SSD drive externally and installed Mountain Lion. I installed the SSD drive into the computer. Before restoring applications from the Time Machine backup, I enabled the root user, logged on as that and deleted all other accounts as I have previously had issues with creating a new account from a backup and making that the 'home' user.
    All went well except that a few seconds after I opened Contacts they all disappeared. They were replaced with two entries - one for Apple and one with the name of the home account.
    I tried to retrieve Contacts from the Time Machine backup. I could see all the past dates but they were all red and inaccessible.
    I looked at Contacts in my account at iCloud.com - they were the same 2 contacts as my local machine. I went through the installation process again but made sure that there was no connection to the Internet on completion. My contacts were intact. I exported them to a file and turned on the Internet. A few seconds later, my Contacts were gone..!
    I imported from the backup I had made but, after a few seconds they were replaced with the two contacts from iCloud. Nothing I tried would allow me to add the contacts and have them synch to iCloud. I finally found a workaround:
    1  disconnect from the Internet
    2  import Contacts from the export file
    3  select all contacts (ctrl-A) and drag them to the 'on my mac' account in Contacts
    4  connect the Internet and watch all the contacts disappear from the iCloud account
    5  select all contacts from the 'on my mac' account adn drag them to the iCloud account.
    6  watch them synch to iCloud
    I still don't understand the problem - perhaps someone can enlighten me - but here's the workaround if someone is having the same problem.
    And I still can't access the Time Machine backup that I used to setup the MacBook Pro. Looking at the files within the Time Machine the backup. it looks as though it is probably a permissions issue but I don't see why as the account I am using is the same name as the one used to create the backup. Any guidance would be appreciated.
    Jeff

    I think you went about this the wrong way. ok....
    Could you please try this... (1) Open Address Book - keep it as the main window.  (2) Enter Time Machine from the icon in the menu bar... do you have that icon? If not, Open System Preferences, Click Time Machine, put a check mark in Show Time Machine in Menu bar. Close System Preferences. Go back to your addressbook. Make it the primary application open. Now go to the icon in the menu bar that represents TimeMachine and click Enter Timemachine. You should see your stuff...
    if you dont...
    I would also try...
    Open system preferenes. go to the icloud tab. sign out. then sign in.
    jdxxs wrote:
    I have just set up a MacBoook Pro with a new SSD drive to replace the internal hard drive. I made sure I had a current Time Machine then connected the SSD drive externally and installed Mountain Lion. I installed the SSD drive into the computer. Before restoring applications from the Time Machine backup, I enabled the root user, logged on as that and deleted all other accounts as I have previously had issues with creating a new account from a backup and making that the 'home' user.
    All went well except that a few seconds after I opened Contacts they all disappeared. They were replaced with two entries - one for Apple and one with the name of the home account.
    I tried to retrieve Contacts from the Time Machine backup. I could see all the past dates but they were all red and inaccessible.
    I looked at Contacts in my account at iCloud.com - they were the same 2 contacts as my local machine. I went through the installation process again but made sure that there was no connection to the Internet on completion. My contacts were intact. I exported them to a file and turned on the Internet. A few seconds later, my Contacts were gone..!
    I imported from the backup I had made but, after a few seconds they were replaced with the two contacts from iCloud. Nothing I tried would allow me to add the contacts and have them synch to iCloud. I finally found a workaround:
    1  disconnect from the Internet
    2  import Contacts from the export file
    3  select all contacts (ctrl-A) and drag them to the 'on my mac' account in Contacts
    4  connect the Internet and watch all the contacts disappear from the iCloud account
    5  select all contacts from the 'on my mac' account adn drag them to the iCloud account.
    6  watch them synch to iCloud
    I still don't understand the problem - perhaps someone can enlighten me - but here's the workaround if someone is having the same problem.
    And I still can't access the Time Machine backup that I used to setup the MacBook Pro. Looking at the files within the Time Machine the backup. it looks as though it is probably a permissions issue but I don't see why as the account I am using is the same name as the one used to create the backup. Any guidance would be appreciated.
    Jeff

  • Can't access Time Machine backups after erase and install

    Had iMac checked by Apple Authorized Service Provider after experiencing multiple problems I couldn't fix. No hardware problem. He did an erase and install of 10.5.8. The machine accesses my Time Machine backup, but in Time Machine/ iMacHome/ Sharing & Permissions says, "You can only read." If I access a folder in Home, like Desktop or Documents, it says,"You have no access." Permissions are locked and grayed out.
    I spent over two hours on the phone with tech support last evening, and he finally said he'd have to turn it over to Apple engineers, which would take a few days.
    Migration assistant only allows "all or nothing" migration, and I need to select just certain folders; I do not want to restore anything that might be corrupted.
    Is it possible I could have an undetected hardware problem? Has anyone else done an erase and install and been able to use Time Machine backups to pick and choose what they wanted to restore?

    Thank you for your reply. The apple support tech should have known this, but he didn't. However, in the course of our two hour discussion he said "Maybe it's because the computer name is different." I hadn't reached the new-set-up stage where I had changed the name of the computer from Apple's default, so I did that. My short name home folder I had already named the same as before, iMacHome.
    But changing the computer name didn't help. After reading your reply, I unlocked the preferences (which were locked and grayed out in TM) to my home folder in the finder and assigned read and write to all folders within for everyone. Back in TM, preferences were no longer grayed out, but changing privileges was. I added iMacHome to the names in addition to staff read & write and everyone read and write. But ImacHome(Me) allows read only, options gray, and even though everyone is read and write, it says "You can only read" and I still cannot access Desktop, Documents, etc...
    Fortunately I have a SuperDuper user file backup that I am restoring from, so all is not lost. But it seems to me TM backups should be readily available, and I want to solve this problem. I may still want to go back to a previous month to recover something. But mostly I'd just like to know that TM is a functional backup. It certainly isn't in my case right now.
    Don't want to migrate the entire home folder. Too risky. Risky enough to bring over Mail and selected Application Support folders and keychains.
    Thanks again. I think your answer is right on, but there must still be something else. I know I have those names correct because I see the old computer name on the sparse bundle, and the old home name in the TM backups. (Haven't read the tips yet. Will do so.)

  • Still cannot access time machine backups after Yosemite install

    Can anyone tell me what to do to be able to access my time machine backups. When I enter time machine nothing except apps and desktop are accessable. Thus I cannot restore anything that was "backed up" even this morning, much less any other day this year. Yosemite was installed on Oct. 19, took 2 days to download to an  2013 iMac. The first time machine backup took over 24 hours. I have made 1 backup per day since, only problem is that I cannot access any of this data. Please help me.

    A bit more information would help figure out the problem. Maybe a screen shot of what you're seeing or not seeing (use Command+shift+4 to save an area of the screen or a window -type space first to capture an entire window- to a file and then attach that file to your posting reply). You might look at the Console app to get more information about what actually happened during your backups - suggest putting "backupd" (without the quotes) in the search field at the top right of window in Console - with the "All Messages" query selected on the left part of the window). Console is located in the /Applications/Utilities folder. After you enter the backupd in the search field only those messages that contain that string will appear which helps a lot since so many messages are normally shown without any search field string.
    Depending on how long ago the backups happened, you might need to select previous versions of the system log files - they get archived and compressed to files like system.log.0.bz2 or system.log.1.bz2 (these are in the /var/log query choice if you don't see them in the existing query choices - just click on the triangle to the left of the "/Var/log" entry if needed). Console knows how to show the messages that are in these compressed files, so you don't need to do anything other than click on the query name.
    Also if you look in TimeMachine in System Preferences are there any exclusions (click on the Options button in TM System Preferences to show what the existing exclusions are)? A screen shot of those would be helpful also.
    Is there only one drive with the single Mac OS partition on it?
    Hope this helps a bit...

  • I am unable to access prior Time Machine backups.

    I am unable to access prior Time Machine backups. I can see previous backups when I enter TM but they do not respond when I click on them. My TM is backing backups and at one time I was able to access them. I am logged on to my Mac Pro as the admin. I am running 10.9.5 and the TM disk is an internal 2 TB drive with 12 GB free.

    The 12 GB free may be the cause.
    Also see:
    http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

  • Time Machine Backups after recent upgrade to Mountain Lion

    Basically to keep a long story short - i need to take my computer in for repair tomorrow. I recently did an upgrade to Mountain Lion a day or two ago. I haven't done a Time Machine backup until today (a couple days after i upgraded to Mountain Lion) because i wanted to make sure that my previous TM backup (Snow Leopard 10.6.8) was the most up to date and best update that i could revert back to if i had any issues with Mountain Lion, or any application compatibility, etc etc.
    I don't have any broken applications and it seems like Mountain Lion is running better than Snow Leopard. However, as i said - i'm taking my computer in for repair tomorrow, i would like to know that i have the most up to date Time Machine backup with the new Mountain Lion so that when i restore it back from my Time Machine backup after i get it back from repair, i won't have any issues with the migration, which could potentially lead me into more technicalities.
    I have a 500GB Harddrive, with about 70GB left of free space....I did the initial backup prior to upgrading to Mountain Lion, and it upgraded 400+GB of info, now, since Mountain Lion - the first backup with Mountain Lion initially said 46GB - then it went down to 14GB by the time it was all said and done....so what exactly did it back up?
    Did it back up all the necessary files to keep Mountain Lion running smoothly when i restore it back to the way it was after i get it back? Did it not back everything up that it needs to? Is it safe to erase my internal drive and do a clean installation so i can take it in, and not worry about not being able to migrate things back over or applications not working correctly?
    When i get it back, i presume it will come with Mountain Lion back on it and i can just boot up into the Recovery Disk and restore it from a Time Machine backup that way, correct?
    Thanks for the help.
    - Jason

    I received the same error and experienced the same issue that you have described but after performing a Time Capsule soft reset and then toggling the TM Off and then back On I was able issue a backup now and see my previous backups.
    Here is the link to where I posted my fix; https://discussions.apple.com/message/19069543#19069543. Someone else had success using a different method. The only comment / complaint that I have since the ML OS X upgrade is that TM now takes at least 20 to 30 seconds before I can click/select a backup.
    I hope this helps.

  • Is it possible to downgrade to mountain lion with the help of a time machine backup after having updated to Mavericks?

    Is it possible to downgrade to mountain lion with the help of a time machine backup after having updated to Mavericks?

    Just to be clear, if by downgrade you mean uninstall, then the answer is technically, no.
    You can't uninstall an OS. You can erase and re-install the old OS, but if you don't have a prior backup of your data, you'll lose it during the erase procedure.

  • HT201250 Does Time Machine backup and restore Bootcamp?

    I am replacing defective hard drive in an iMac that I primarily use as a pc under Bootcamp.  I have to find some way to clone and restore the bootcamp partition.  I was told today by a Genius at the Apple store that I should buy a 2 TB external (which I did for $150)  and run Time Machine.  He assured me that my bootcamp partition would be backed up along with the entire mac partition and that I would be able to restore everything perfectly on the new hd. Now that I am home and continuing my research, I can't find anywhere that says it will work.  Documentation on Time Machine fails to  mention bootcamp.  So, does Time Machine backup and restore bootcamp or not?  And will it be bootable after the restore?  Help!

    I think you've got it! I have never used WinClone so I cannot attest to how well it will work, but it's pretty much all lthere is. You will have to create a new Boot Camp partition on the new drive, and it should be the same size as the partition you cloned.
    Be sure you prep the new hard drive:
    Drive Preparation
    1. Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button.  When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
    2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area.  If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing.  SMART info will not be reported  on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
    4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
    5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
    6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
    7. Quit DU upon completion and return to the installer. Now install Snow Leopard or restore from your Time Machine backup.

  • Can not access time machine backups. after transfer to new macbook pro

    Irecently up graded to a new MacBook Pro.  I baked up all my files on an external drive using time machine.  Now when I try to retrive my files from the backups.backupdb folder I can not access may of my files.  Message: "The folder “Music” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents."
    I'm fairly certain I have a diffrent user name on my new machine but dont know what my old user name and password were (never really used them). 
    How can I access 3 years worth of work in this time machine backup?

    Irecently up graded to a new MacBook Pro.  I baked up all my files on an external drive using time machine.  Now when I try to retrive my files from the backups.backupdb folder I can not access may of my files.  Message: "The folder “Music” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents."
    I'm fairly certain I have a diffrent user name on my new machine but dont know what my old user name and password were (never really used them). 
    How can I access 3 years worth of work in this time machine backup?

  • Cannot access old time machine backups

    Hi,
    I recently had some issues regarding my MacBook Pro and decided the best course of action would be to ensure it was completely backed up; reinstall OS X Yosemite and pick the old backup for useful files.
    Unfortunately, when it came to resetting up Time Machine, it asked me if I wanted to use the existing backup.  I imagined the safe answer would've been "Yes" and that it would've been smart enough to create a clean backup at the date of restore.
    It seems that this is not the case...
    Any backup, despite being listed on the Time Machine interface, prior to the date of restore was "greyed out" and could not be accessible.  Unfortunately, the "Browse other Backup Disks" option didn't work (are there issues with this option for NAS backups?), and unfortunately, a repair disk doesn't seem to either.
    I have only managed to get the .sparsebundle (encrypted) drive to mount once by using a repair disk; every other time I attempt to remount using repair disk, the button is greyed out. :/
    The time I did get into the "Time Machine Backups" volume; only once backup was listed for ".inProgress" – a 70GB file (the sparsebundle is ~500GB+).
    Any ideas on steps I can try to find these phantom files?
    At present, Disk Utility doesn't have the "Repair Disk" option available and DiskWarrior 4.4 is throwing up error 2154; low memory; on a 16GB RAM rMBP.
    Any help would be appreciated.
    Regards,
    Jamie

    I am having a similar problem and do not understand the solution. I have a new Macbook and transferred my data from my Powerbook G4. However, I cannot access anything! There is a no entry sign on the folders and if I click them I get this message: 'The folder “Pictures” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents.'
    Help - but please, in simple language
    Thanks

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