Old time machine backups on new computer?

I migrated to a new mac. I have a time capsule. Can I set up time machine on the new mac to use all the backups from my old mac? Or do I start over?

Technically, you can. But practically, in this case, you probably don't want to.
TM backs-up whole systems, not just drives and data. If you back up two or more Macs to the same drive or TC, TM will keep them separate. You can view and restore from backups from other machines by holding down the Option key while selecting the TM menubar icon, changing +Enter Time Machine+ to +Browse Other Time Machine Disks.+ Since your old and new Macs are different machines, this would work.
But there's a problem: since the backups are for a different Mac, TM on you new Mac won't automatically delete the old series in the normal fashion. Unless you delete them, they'll be there forever, taking up space you need for new backups.
Worse, it's very tedious to delete them manually. Do not use the Finder, but you can delete the old backups, one at a time, via the TM interface. It's a long, tedious process ... and much longer on a TC.

Similar Messages

  • 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."

  • Time machine doesn't recognize old time machine backups after new drive

    After getting my original hard drive replaced on apple care. Time machine refuses to recognize time machine backups dating back to October when I first installed Leopard. The Records are there on an "off-board" Lacie drive. Any fixes for this? I have had so many problems with Time Machine I am afraid to turn it back on. Last time it took over 40 hours to do an initial back-up.

    Yes I had been having multiple problems and once saved the entire system in archive and install and also time machine had been active since October when I first installed it. all of this was saved to an off-board Lacie drive I can find the old time machine files easily enough but time machine since the new drive, does not recognize them. Since I got the drive back with tiger installed, I first had to re-install Leopard so I don't know if that caused Time machine to start over . I did do an archive and install at that time but there was nothing really to archive since they had not recovered my old files. If this wasn't bad enough The Technician replaced my administrator password with his own and the was off for a few days and I couldn't do anything for awhile. You have been very helpful thank you for your time on my behalf.
    Respectfully,
    Thomas Carlisle

  • Adding old Time Machine backups to new hard drive

    Hi,
    I've filled up two external hard drives with Time Machine backups. I just bought a 2 TB drive and was wondering if I can add the backups from other two drives to the new drive, consolidating all my Time Machine backups. If so, what is the best way to do this?
    Thanks,
    Ron

    Hi, and welcome to the forums.
    No, you can't.
    What you can do is duplicate (not copy) one to the new drive, then use the new one as your TM drive, and the backups will just continue normally.
    But you can't combine two that already have backups on them into one.
    Use the Restore tab in Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder).
    Now, let me ask a question: how old are your oldest backups, and why do you think you may still need them?
    I do hope you're not deleting things from your internal HD, and depending on TM to keep it's copies indefinitely. If you are doing that, then your backups aren't really backups any more, they're your only copies. When (not if) your TM drive fails, you may lose them.
    In this case, you need to "archive" the items, probably on an external disk, and back them up; with Time Machine, to another external disk, or to DVDs.

  • REstoring from old time machine backups on new install

    Hi, I've been looking for good documentation on this and haven't seen an answer yet.
    I want to blow away and reinstall my OS (10.5.1) I made a full backup to my time machine disk and I had planned on reinstalling the OS and all my apps for a clean start, then when the time came to move my photos and itunes back just connect my time machine disk to the new installation and copy the data back. Once I was satisfied that everything I needed was restored from the time machine dist to the new install I would go ahead and re-enable time machine on the new install and blow away my old backups starting from scratch. Has anyone done this yet? I do not want to plug in the old time machine disk and not be able to access the data that was created by the old installation. I would be bitter to say the least. Before anyone suggests another means of backing up I have thought of that, but, I'd like to see if this works.
    I understand the scenario of beginning an install and choosing to restore that way, but, the reason I'm reinstalling is to start with a fresh OS form scratch an be able to restore selectively.
    Thanks for reading my wordy post, I look forward to hearing back!
    Thanks again

    I think I'm facing the same issue as you. I ran Time Machine on my MBP. Now I've bought a new iMac. I started it with the Leopard CD and instead of installing Leopard on the new machine, I selected Restore from Time Machine Backup (or something like that). Everything from my old machine is now on my new machine. Sweet!
    Only one problem. I've now enabled Time Machine on the new iMac and it tells me that there's not enough room on my external 320 GB drive for its first backup. It also tells me that its first backup will be 112 GB in size! This large size leads me to conclude that Time Machine will not add to the backups from the old MBP, but instead start a new series for the new iMac. To confirm this, I looked on the backup drive.
    On the external backup drive, there are a series of 4 KB files, one for each machine that has previously been backed up. These names are nearly identical to the machine's MAC address (which you can find by open Network Preferences > Airport > Advanced). Time Machine will create a sparsebundle file for each machine backed up over the network; its name will have the format MachineNameMacAddresssparesebundle (Backups made when the backup drive was connected locally are saved in a folder called Backups.backupdb). So, to delete an old backup from a machine you're not using any more, you need to delete the 4 KB file containing the machine's MAC address, AND either the sparsebundle file OR the machine names' folder inside the Backups.backupdb folder.
    Hope this helps.

  • Isolating old Time Machine backups & performing new clean backup post OS X reinstall

    Hi,
    I recently wiped my Mid-2009 MacBook Pro in order to complete a fresh Mavericks install. Previous backups were done through Time Machine on an external drive with nothing else on. How do I 'freeze', isolate, or archive these old backups on the same drive and get TM to complete a brand new clean separate backup of the refreshed internal HDD?
    Every time I connect the external drive and select this disk in TM, it recognises the previous backups and doesn't seem to want to complete a clean full backup of my new Mavericks-based system.
    Have tried renaming my computer in the Sharing section of System Preferences, but TM simply renames the <computer> folder within backups on the external drive and so all backups continue to be stored together.
    I know moving and altering backup directories in Finder can be foolish (plus doesn't seem to allow me anyway) and, whilst formatting the external drive would work, I don't want to lose the previous backups, just in case I have forgotten to transfer something over when reinstalling.
    Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks

    Thread closed as may have posted in the wrong section of the forum and solution can be found here:
    https://discussions.apple.com/message/24459142#24459142

  • How do I move old Time Machine backups to new USB disk

    Hi,
    I purchased a new 1TB USB disk and want to keep my historic backups. I remember trying this a while ago when I moved disks and ended up giving up. Anyone care to tell me the steps I need to step on ?
    cheers
    Adam

    See #18 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum.

  • Old Time Machine Backup

    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...

  • New Computer doesn't read old time machine backups

    I just purchased a new iMac and everything is great, but it didn't copy over my time machine indexing to my new computer so I have to go back through the old fashion way to fix the problem, which is to go into the hard drive and drag and drop. How can I re-index my Time Machine on my new computer? Thanks

    Time Machine Troubleshooting
    Here are several articles to help troubleshoot Time Machine Problems as well as assist in properly setting up Time Machine.
    Mac 101- Using Time Machine in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
    Is Time Machine all you need?
    Some advice for those using Time Machine
    TidBITS Macs & Mac OS X- Time Machine- The Good, the Bad, and the Missing Features
    Mac OS X 10.5- Time Machine backups are not visible
    OS X 10.5- Time Machine stops backing up to external disk
    10.5- Disable the 'use this disk?' Time Machine dialog
    Time Machine tips and troubleshooting
    Mac OS X 10.5 Help- Restoring files backed up with Time Machine
    OS X 10.5- Using Time Machine and troubleshooting Time Machine issues

  • Accessing Old Time Machine Backup From a New Account

    I have had problems with my old Account and decided to create a new Account. I can "see" the old Time Machine backup lists from the new Account, but can't open or restore them to the new Account. I get the message that I do not have sufficient privileges although I set the new Account up with Administrator privleges.

    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.

  • Resume Time Machine Backup On New MBP (props available)

    Hello Officials,
    I do not mean to scare away answers, but I am an experienced Mac boy, and would be forever honored with help on (this now) complicated issue below:
    Info:
    My old MBP had a couple of logic board replacements, now I have the new MBP. I want to perform a clean install, and thus don't want to restore from my full time machine backup (3.3TB of data). I did use Migration-sh't-Assitant for my apps, (and proper delete process for ones I didn't want) but want further options. My main problem is that I would like to go back to having my old version of Mail (with mailbox's and rss) and my old +Address Book+. (I am aware of the longer steps to get these two to work) _As well as_, I want to resume my Time Machine backups from my old backups.
    Goal:
    Continue using my old Time Machine backups for my new computer. Without 'Browse Other..'.
    *You Should Know -That I Know*
    I can hold option for a different Time Machine, it is a terrible way to operate the machine and its files.
    It is a challenge due to the MAC address.
    I can just re-sync Mail with all my other accounts, but I have a lot. I don't want to do that.
    Address Book, even on my 'Browse other time machine disks' this is quite funky. Open to suggestions.
    I already moved the backup onto a new drive. This is different.
    Link
    An interesting terminal walkthrough. Unfortunately is dated and filled with errors:
    http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20080128003716101
    I have been looking into this for hours, I'm interested in what there is.
    _*+THIS IS POSSIBLE TO DO+*_
    I sincerely thank you for your time, you are truly kind-
    ~Dylan Jones
    Message was edited by: thedylanjones

    thedylanjones wrote:
    Hello Officials,
    Hi, and welcome to the forums.
    But there are no "officials" here; this is a user-to-user forum. We're all users, just like you.
    I want to perform a clean install, and thus don't want to restore from my full time machine backup (3.3TB of data). I did use Migration-sh't-Assitant for my apps, (and proper delete process for ones I didn't want) but want further options. My main problem is that I would like to go back to having my old version of Mail (with mailbox's and rss) and my old +Address Book+. (I am aware of the longer steps to get these two to work)
    Not sure what you mean here. Do you mean the old versions of the Mail and Address book apps, or the old data? What version of OSX is on each Mac?
    An interesting terminal walkthrough. Unfortunately is dated and filled with errors:
    http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20080128003716101
    That's outdated (2008), and not needed on Snow Leopard. When the first backup of your new Mac starts, you should get an option to "re-use" the backups. See #B5 in [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum). But note that however you answer that, Time Machine will do a new, full backup of the new Mac.

  • Privilege problem with old Time Machine backup

    There are all kinds of posts about privilage problems, but I can't find my answer.  I did a clean install of Snow Leopard, and now I want to only drag my iTunes library and iPad backup files from my time machine backup onto the computer.  I can access all the files on the backup drive, including MobileSync and my iTunes folder, but when I try to pull them off the drive I get the terrible message "The operation can’t be completed because you don’t have permission to access “MobileSync”."  The sharing & permissions for the folder say "read & write" for my user, and the "Locked" box isn't checked in the Get Info window.  When I click on the settings gear in the Sharing & Permissions window, the "Make me the owner" option is grayed out even after I unlock the options.  I tried resolution for issue 1 here.  And I also tried those terminal commands to no avail.  When I access Time Machine from the dock, all the backups prior to my reinstall are listed, but I can't access them.  Anyone have any other ideas?  This is extremely frustrating.  Note: I am able to copy over files from the backups created after I reinstalled Snow Leopard.
    sudo chflags 0 /Volumes/Volumename
    sudo chown 0:80 /Volumes/Volumename
    sudo chmod 775 /Volumes/Volumename
    sudo chmod -N /Volumes/Volumename

    I personally think that Time Machine is a magical process run by unicorns.
    I just moved from a MacBook Pro to a brand spanking new iMac 27". My iPad just does everything that I need a laptop to do, and an iMac is so much more powerful than a MBP.
    Anyways, I setup my new iMac with the MBP Time Machine backup, as I usually do with new Macs. As I was going to sell my MBP, I was just going to use my 3TB Time Machine drive on my new iMac, thinking that I'd lose 9 months of backups, as I usually do with a new Mac. Except, apparently with Mountain Lion, the unicorns and wizards have decided that the old Time Machine backups are now transferred to the new iMac. So, even though my iMac is only 15 days old, it shows 9 months of backups. Which was a lifesaver, because an important photo got corrupted in the restore process, and I found it in the Wayback Machine.
    Cool stuff.

  • Can't get old time machine backups to delete from the trash can

    time machine backups won't delete from my trash can

    You shouldn't be deleting old Tima Machine backups. When TM runs out of space it automatically deletes the oldest backups to make rioom for the new
    http://pondini.org/TM/12.html

  • Old Time Machine Backup Problems - Permissions

    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.
    You need to do this in the Time Machine "Star Wars" interface from "Browse Other...."

  • Defrag an old Time Machine backup to save space for archiving?

    I'm aware of all the reasons not to defragment an OSX volume, as well as Time Machine volumes, but hear me out on this one...
    I bought a new iMac and will be starting a brand new Time Machine backup. I would like to keep the old Time Machine backup around just in case I need access to some old files. I will not be adding anything further to this old backup, and I will not be using this old backup to restore any system. I will only be browsing and restoring files from this backup, but only rarely. I have removed (via the Time Machine interface's "Delete all backups of...") a number of large files and unecessary directories to reduce the backup size. I then ran the hdiutil compact command to reclaim free space from the sparsebundle.
    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.
    Will it be okay to defragment the sparsebundle under these circumstances?

    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?

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