Please help!  Cannot access TC backups on new hard drive with Lion!

I know this seems like a generic posting, and believe me that I have searched through countless posts to find the situation most similar to mine.  To start, the basic story (I am pretty computer illiterate, so excuse the lack of terminology):
-My computer was working slow, beach balling, etc. two weeks ago - took to Apple Genius Bar for help and they suggested need for new hard drive. I already had a hard drive crash in January, but since I have had a Time Capsule running Time Machine since September 2009, I hooked it right up and restored from a backup with no issue... so I wasn't worried about this.  I waited to make sure that I had the most recent backup (and needed to use my computer for law school for a couple days), so I turned it in a day later immediately after a complete incremental backup via TM on my TC. 
-Got my computer back from the Apple "depot" with new hard drive and hard drive cable.
-Had an extremely hard time getting my TC to link to my computer and via AppleCare phone help, realized that Apple had given me back my computer with Leopard, and they said that I needed to go back to the store to get a Lion reinstall since the backups had been done in Lion.
-Went back to Apple store, reinstalled Lion... they told me there would be no issue once I got home and hooked up to TC.  Connected to TC via ethernet and went through "set up" procedure as if it was new computer - could never get past the "Select the Disk" page.  Either it was beach-balling or just sitting there, and I couldn't click continue or anything.
-Called AppleCare again, they said to try it through Migration Assistant instead of Set Up... again, could not connect to TC.  They said it was too complicated to do over the phone and sent me back to the store...
-By now, I am on vacation and spent 5, yes FIVE, hours at another store trying to migrate the data to no avail.  I obviously don't know everything they tried, but I know they tried installing each operating system since Leopard, going through set up and migration assistant, and doing a disk repair of the TC.  None of this worked.  Every single time my TC connects and you can see the title of the drive ("Data") and the two separate backups ("emilysmac" was my old computer and "emilysmacbookpro" was the dummy one we tried to make).  Emilysmacbookpro was accessible with no data on it, but once we clicked on emilysmac it just said "connecting" forever and never did anything.
Basically:
-300GB of my TC shows that it has been used, so I know something is there. 
-I can also pull up the data on another computer, and it shows files dated from September 2009 up to the date I last updated, but they do not look how they used to - they are "Unix Executable" files and cannot open through Time Machine.
I have a really hard time thinking that my TC AND my computer hard drive failed at the same time - which is actually what Apple suggested to me.  Is there anything that anyone knows that will help?!  I am desperate here!  This TC had backups of all my music, pictures and law school work over the past 2.5 years.  Any help would be much appreciated!

PS I have also looked through Pondini's site, but I am not sure if I am missing something since I don't totally understand all of it.  Thanks again!

Similar Messages

  • How do I transfer email messages from an external hard drive to a new hard drive with Lion installed as the operating system?

    How can I retrieve the old email messages from Mail on an external hard drive which operated with Snow Leopard, then transfer the old Emails into my current version of mail operating with Lion?

    '''https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/recovering-important-data-from-an-old-profile'''
    '''https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/back-and-restore-information-firefox-profiles'''
    These can't get your data back, but will help in the future.
    These add-ons can be a great help by backing up and restoring Firefox
    '''[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/febe/ FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension)]''' {web link}
    FEBE allows you to quickly and easily backup your
    Firefox extensions, history, passwords, and more.
    In fact, it goes beyond just backing up -- It will actually rebuild
    your saved files individually into installable .xpi files.
    It will also make backup of files that you choose.
    '''[https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/opie/ OPIE]''' {web link}
    Import/Export extension preferences

  • My computer was totally destroyed & I do not have backup or external hard drive with my iTunes library. Will I be able to access my iTunes library when I purchase a new computer? It was the only computer authorized to play library.

    My computer was totally destroyed & I do not have backup or external hard drive with my saved iTunes library from it. That was the only computer authorized to play library. I do not have an iPod or iPhone with any of that library (which has over $2K in music purchases & over 5K in songs I ripped). Will I be able to access my iTunes library when I purchase a new computer?

    You should be able to access your past iTunes purchases. You'll need to re-rip your CDs See: HT2519 - Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store.
    See also this backup tip so you don't get caught out again.
    tt2

  • I see that i have a problem after installing my new hard drive on my macbook pro mid 2009 version. I put a new hard drive, with all of my information from my old drive installed on it, into the computer. but now have the blinking question mark folder

    i see that i have a problem after installing my new hard drive on my macbook pro mid 2009 version. I put a new hard drive, with all of my information from my old drive installed on it, into the computer. but now have the blinking question mark folder. I see that it means that it isn't reading the new hard drive.
    did i miss a step between transferring all of my information from my old hard drive to the new hard drive and installing the new hard drive into the computer. I believe that i installed properly. it was quite easy.
    thanks for your help

    It means there is no bootable system on the drive. If you still have access to the old drive, then I suggest you boot from it then clone it to the new internal drive. Use OPTION boot to boot from the Recovery HD on the old drive:
    Boot to the Recovery HD:
    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
         1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
             button.
         2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
         3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
         4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
             to the Destination entry field.
         5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
             the Source entry field.
         6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
    Source means the external old drive. Destination means the new internal drive.

  • Load Leopard on a New Hard Drive with Windows XP already loaded

    How can I load a new, fresh Leopard operating system on a new hard drive, with Windows XP already loaded and working on it's own independent hard drive via bootcamp beta. I have been using Tiger on it's own drive and wish to discontinue Tiger and move to Leopard without reloading windows. Can I just put in a new drive, and load Leopard with the Windows drive in place?
    Please, any suggestions would be appreciated.
    Mac Pro Mac OS X (10.4) Runing Windows and Mac operating systems

    Malcolm:
    Thanks so much for replying to my question! I am new to MAC and have Tiger and Windows XP on separate drives. I will be removing the drive with Tiger and putting in a new drive to load Leopard and I wondered how that would effect accessing Windows XP since the Windows drive will remain in the system. Is there anything I need to do with bootcamp, since Windows was loaded using the Beta version of bootcamp, and bootcamp icon currently shows in the Windows XP taskbar. Tiger was pre-loaded when the computer was purchased. In fact I had to backdate the beta bootcamp version in order to get it to work. I hope this is not asking too much, but I wondered if there would any problem with Windows after the Leopard load.
    THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

  • Need Help Installing an OS on a new Hard Drive

    H, I just installed a new Hard Drive on my G4. My problem is I cannot find the original G4 install discs.
    I do have OSX Panther discs which I bought later. Can I use these to install a new OS?
    How would I do this as the new Hard Drive is brand new and probably not formatted? Do I power up the mac and load the Panther install disc 1 or is this not the correct procedure?
    Also I have an external LaCie CD drive because the one in the mac doesn't work. Will the external LaCie CD drive be recognized when I put the OSX Panther discs in it to install an OS on my new Hard Drive?
    Sorry for so many questions but I don't want to mess this up.
    Thanks

    Thanks for replying Thomas. Well my G4 Hard Drive was shot so I took it out and installed a new one so I have to reinstall everything (new OS & all applications). I tried to use Super Duper to Clone the HD but the HD was too far gone, so now I need to install an OS on the new Hard Drive.
    I can't find my original G4 install cd's. I do have Panther OS discs and an iLife disc I bought awhile back. Can I use these instead of the original G4 install disc?
    Here's the process to install a new OS as I understand it. Please correct me if I am wrong or am missing a step.
    1) Put the first Panther install disc in the cd tray.
    2) Power up the G4 while holding down the "C" key
    3) Follow the installation instructions
    Thanks!

  • Time Machine Backup to New Hard Drive

    So, I bought a new 1TB hard drive. Now, I only need to backup SOME applications and some music and photos. Can I choose which applications I want to backup with Time Machine? And if so, how do I do it, do I just back it up, replace the hard drives and put the Mac OS X disk in and back up, right?

    Scofield94941 wrote:
    Thank you for your help. I understand. But my OS X started to be very slow after I installed Parallel Desktop and it remains slow even after I uninstalled it, that's why I wanted to restore my new hard drive like Parallel Desktop was never installed.
    Then exclude only the Parallels file(s), which most users do anyway, and back them up separately.
    See the pink box in #11 of [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum) for the consequences of omitting system folders and/or apps.

  • Cannot reinstall CS4 to my new hard drive.  Message of Errors and installation failure. Using original CS4 program disks and also tried to reload from adobe on internet

    Tried to re-install photoshop CS4 to my new hard drive.  Message of "Done with errors" and installation failed.  Used original disks and tried to load from adobe site on internet.  Will not load.

    Your HD wouldn't be formatted as case-sensitive, would it?
    Beyond that, details are needed:
    BOILERPLATE TEXT:
    Note that this is boilerplate text.
    If you give complete and detailed information about your setup and the issue at hand,
    such as your platform (Mac or Win),
    exact versions of your OS, of Photoshop (not just "CS6", but something like CS6v.13.0.6) and of Bridge,
    your settings in Photoshop > Preference > Performance
    the type of file you were working on,
    machine specs, such as total installed RAM, scratch file HDs, total available HD space, video card specs, including total VRAM installed,
    what troubleshooting steps you have taken so far,
    what error message(s) you receive,
    if having issues opening raw files also the exact camera make and model that generated them,
    if you're having printing issues, indicate the exact make and model of your printer, paper size, image dimensions in pixels (so many pixels wide by so many pixels high). if going through a RIP, specify that too.
    etc.,
    someone may be able to help you (not necessarily this poster, who is not a Windows user).
    a screen shot of your settings or of the image could be very helpful too.
    Please read this FAQ for advice on how to ask your questions correctly for quicker and better answers:
    http://forums.adobe.com/thread/419981?tstart=0
    Thanks!

  • How to backup to new Hard Drive while backup says "in progress"

    My mom's macbook recently had a S.M.A.R.T. status fail so I took it in to the apple store. i backup all my macs with time capsule. Apple was able to put a new hard drive on my walk in which was really convenient. So it was like new. Was ready to restore from a Time MAchine backup. Except it turned out the backup was in progress during the harddrive fail.  So the backup is titled "2013-04-14-155923.inProgress". When I click it, it tells me "There is no application set to open the document “2013-04-14-155923.inProgress”." I'm really disappointed. Is all my stuff gone now? Is there a way to restore to a backup that was before the harddrive failure? cause it does backup quite often. If someone can help me out that would be great. Thank you so much.

    I suppose that you have older backups than that, correct? Note that Time Machine makes hourly backups automatically.
    To restore your backup, use Migration Assistant > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US I tell you this because I think you don't know how to restore a backup. Migration Assistant will probably allow you to choose the backup you want to use in order to restore to your Mac again. Also, read > http://pondini.org/OSX/MigrateLion.html
    Note that Migration Assistant will create a new account with the migrated files

  • Need help for installing OS after installing new hard drive

    I have an imac 27 2010.
    The hard drive has failed for the 2nd time. I have installed a new hard drive again. When trying to install the OS, it looks to begin but then tells me it can not be completed.
    I had gone the the erase, then partition steps previously.
    Any advice?
    I do have a time machine copy to restore from if I can get that far as well as the discs handy to use.
    Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    Which OS version install disk do you have? It's not Mavericks since that does not come with a disk.
    And you are trying to install Mavericks? If so, are you using the Internet Recovery Option (press Command + Option + R while restarting/rebooting)? I recently read of a case where the user was unable to reinstall the old OS (in that case Snow leopard) and he could not install Mavericks either. He took it to an Apple store and they bypassed the ID/password requirements and reinstalled it for him.

  • 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.

  • I can't install Snow Leopard on a brand new hard drive with a brand new optical drive.

    I need help please. I have a 2009 MacBook Pro. The hard drive crashed a while back so I bought a new one. The original Snow Leopard disc that came with it was scratched so I bought a new one of it as well. After trying/failing to install Snow Leopard on the new hard drive about a dozen times I bought a new optical drive as well. I installed the new optical drive today, tried to install Snow Leopard again and STILL got the same installation error messages. Any help that anyone might be able to provide would be greatly appreciated.
    Last error message:
    Install failed: The Installer could not copy the necessary support files.

    Did you partition and format the new drive first?
    Drive Partition and Format
    1. Boot from your OS X 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 Apply 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. Upon completion quit Disk Utility and return to the installer. Complete the Snow Leopard installation.

  • Old user files magically show up on new hard drive with 10.6 installed.

    My daughters' hard drive crashed and we never backed up any of her files anywhere. She was running 10.4 on that drive. I installed a new unformatted drive and installed 10.6. When everything was up and running, she showed me a good portion of all her old music, and other files created with iWork, on the crashed drive, were on the computer with the new drive. I did not install any of these files and she didn't either. There was no time machine installed on the old drive so there was no backup files installed during the 10.6 install.
    So my question is; Where were these old files at and how did they magically show up on the new hard drive? Were they saved somewhere on a non volatile memory chip? They seem to be old versions of files she had saved on the old crashed hard drive.
    Thanks

    If by "new PC" you mean a Windows based machine you do not want to format the drive for Mac because Windows cannot read Mac formatted drives (not without extra utilities). I'm running an older system so I'm not as up on the capabilities of Snow Leopard. For PC use you will want NTFS or FAT32 format except Macs cannot write to NTFS without extra utilities (not sure if this has changed with newer OS)... I just use FAT format for compatibility with PCs (on my flash drive).

  • How can I split a backup on two hard drives with Time Machine ?

    Back-up of my Imac with time machine is 1,3 TB. I have two 1 TB external hard drives but even if I had both as available in Time machine, it seems it doesn't allow to split the backup between the two hard drives. Any way to resolve this without buying another hard drive with more space?
    Thanks in advance

    You cannot directly split a backup. Your only option would be to open the TimeMachine preferences from System Prefs. and add things to the exclusion list for one of the backups. Then, when you go to do the other backup you would reverse the process and add everything else to the exclusion list and remove the things you had on there in the first place.
    Seems fairly intensive though when you could just go and buy a 2 or 3TB external drive and do it all in one...Black Friday is coming up
    Regards,

  • 500 gb new hard drive with 4 gb ram .. why can't i install mountain lion???

    Sorry for the question because I'm sure the answer is out there.  But I've searched and searched and don't know why I can't download mountain lion!?!
    I have a mid 07 macbook and have replaced the hard drive with 500 gb seagate and the memory with 4 gb ram.  Shouldn't I be able to downloan it with those specs?? It keeps telling me I can't.  I'm runinng 10.6.8 right now.
    Thanks for your help in advance

    It's mainly the video card. The Models 2,1 through 4,1 have video cards with non-upgradeable 32bit drivers. The model 5,1 Late 2008 and newer have at least the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 64bit drivers. Mountain Lion requires 64bit native drivers. Mountain Lion no longer supports Intel's GMA 950 or GMA X3100 graphics processors.
    While Lion used some 32 bit and a lot of 64 bit code, Mountain Lion is pure 64 bit, which excludes more systems than Lion did. It's not something you can add memory to, for example, as it involves the base architecture.
    http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57470261-263/older-64-bit-macs-out-of-the-p icture-for-mountain-lion/?tag=mncol;txt
      http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57387846-263/will-your-mac-run-mountain-lio n/

Maybe you are looking for