Reconnect to existing Time Machine after disk crash?

Hi guys!
My GF's MBP disk crashed a few days ago.
We've been backing it up to a NAS for the last few months.
Now, after replacing the disk and reinstalling OSX Mavericks, we want to make Time Machine use the old sparsebundle as it's backup target.
You know, pick up where it left and so on.
Problem is we dont know how to do that.
The Time Machine prefs seems to only want to let us choose the VOLUME - not a particular existing archive.
Isn't this possible?
Honestly, it would be surprisingly impractical if it isn't.
Thank you for constructive replies!
Cheers;
Eivind

Thank you Eric for your fast answer.
this worked and now I have a running SL system. I guess I try to install maverics first and then use the emigration assistent to recover my data.
Still its a pitty that the time machine backup didn't do what it was supposed to. The workarround is very timeconsuming and leaves some concerns about my data and the future safety of time machine backups.
Regards
Thorsten

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System recovery from time machine after disk crash

Hi there,
recently I am a little unluky with my backup strategy. Here is my latest issue - I am glad if anyone has hints or advice.
On my macbook pro (mid 2009, originally SL) updated till the latest version of Mavericks I recently had a hard disc crash. I replaced the hard drive and wanted to restore my system (and data) from my time machine backup. This Backup is encrypted (in case this gives a hint for something).
What I did is I insert the Snow leopard disk, boot from it and first formated the new HD to the suggested standard for intel based MACs and then chose the option to restore from a time machine backup. I found the time capsule, connected with password, found the backed up files with date and tried to install.
First attemp failed.
Second attemp succed after 10h
Then with the mandatory reboot the system didn't start but stopped with:
panic(cpu 1 caller...
So I decided to install the SL system and try to restore from there in whatever way. Did that and 1 hour later the installation was successfully - Reboot - and then the computer asked for my Log in data (with my Log in Name - which I so far did not set on this installation or on this disk - very suprised. More suprised my password (which I use for 4 years now) did not work.
so back to option 1 try to restore from Time machine.
Ahead of that I reset the PRAM . Now I choose a backup version of an earlier date. This time the installation couldn't be finished but I got the log file.
I couldn't attach the file and didn't want to post it over severl pages...(is there a good way for that, only found adding pictures?)
Well - that's where I am stuck...
Any help is apreciated very much.

Thank you Eric for your fast answer.
this worked and now I have a running SL system. I guess I try to install maverics first and then use the emigration assistent to recover my data.
Still its a pitty that the time machine backup didn't do what it was supposed to. The workarround is very timeconsuming and leaves some concerns about my data and the future safety of time machine backups.
Regards
Thorsten

SL Time machine after disk change, SL and firefox freezes, no logout

I got a new hard disk, which was replaced at an original Apple service point. I restored my system from Time Machine using the SL DVD. Now the system freezes randomly, firefox, thunderbird, even iTunes freeze. The spinning ball appears. I am able to force them to quit, but the whole system does not work properly anymore. I cannot log out or shut it down. I have to press the power button.
I checked all disk permissions and the disk itself. I even tried to reinstall SL over the existing system, to keep all my programs, but this does not help. What should I do?

Thank you Eric for your fast answer.
this worked and now I have a running SL system. I guess I try to install maverics first and then use the emigration assistent to recover my data.
Still its a pitty that the time machine backup didn't do what it was supposed to. The workarround is very timeconsuming and leaves some concerns about my data and the future safety of time machine backups.
Regards
Thorsten

Restore from Time Machine after HD Crash

My Powerbook HD crashed - it had been backed up with Time Machine to an external hard drive. My new hard drive has been installed. I started up with my Leopard Upgrade install DVD. The first screen that comes up says this software can't be installed on this computer. I clicked OK. Then the tool bar is accessible. Under utilities I selected "Restore from Back up" and nothing happens no indication that it is doing anything. I checked under system profiler and my external hard drive with the back up shows up. But it does not show up on the desktop. What should I see on my screen when I choose Restore from the utilities? I just see the Leopard Purple screen desktop. Please help. I have re-started, shut down and started over several times with the same results.

Thanks for the link Pondini, all of that sounds very good, but reality hits when you read posts like this thread. The great thing here is that it worked, but as you see, it was not a straightforward process in reality. It took twists and turns and frustration and menu's that didn't say what they should have.
All in all I'm very happy to hear that TM brought home the goods and made this user's day complete.
I have partitioned 2x the size of my system hard drive on my new LaCie backup drive. That partition will be all the room I am giving to TM. I do not have any documents on my system hard drive, so it is basically a very quiet drive with little going on other than the occasional software update. I think TM will be happy with 2x the size for backup because also, I only use 1/3 of the system drive for applications, the rest is blank. I do all of my work on external drives and I use conventional means to back up my work onto other drives.
I think I am becoming well versed in TM after the OP's experience here. As added insurance, I made another partition on my backup drive and have used SuperDuper to clone the entire system drive, just as more bullet-proof protection against the day when.
Thanks to everyone here. This has been an exciting thread to say the least. Glad it's over,
Ken

Time machine after hardrive crash

My hardrive on my macbook pro crashed in December. I got a new one from apple, had everything saved on my time machine, and put all my documents on my the new hardrive (still saved in TM). Just now, I downloaded updates for my computer, and it seems that all my files created since having the new hardrive installed are gone, yet the old ones are here. Can I get the new ones back?

mjebbia wrote:
My hardrive on my macbook pro crashed in December. I got a new one from apple, had everything saved on my time machine, and put all my documents on my the new hardrive (still saved in TM).
How did you do that?
If you used +Migration Assistant,+ you may have an extra user account, and you may be logged-on to the wrong one.

Restore a MacBookPro from Time Machine after HD-Crash, Lion?

I didn't find my constellation in the discussion – otherwise: Sorry for asking twice. ;-)
I have a MacBookPro (2 years old), had a HD-Crash.
Now is a new HD inside – and I have a TM-Backup on an external USB-HD.
As the MBP didn't com with 10.7 and I have no install-DVD, Apples infos (I found) about restoring don't fit to my situation.
Where can I find an manual to restore 10.7 from a TM-Backup on an external USB-HD to my MBP with the new HD?
Thanks!

Now, on monday the solution by Apples telephone-hotline:
Put in the 10.6-DVD
Start from DVD (by pressing "C")
Choose your language
Menu "Dienstprogramme" (system utilitys?): restore from TM-Backup

Time Machine Backups disk not automatically unmounting after backup completes in Lion

I am using Time Machine over WiFi on a 3rd party USB drive shared as an AirDisk through an Airport Extreme router. Ever since switching to Lion (clean install), I have noticed that the Time Machine backup disk will not automatically unmount after a backup is completed. This creates a problem when my MacBook Pro comes back from sleep. Specifically, the WiFi notification icon in the Finder toolbar indicates that WiFi is connected, even though it's not connected to a network, and I am unable to connect to any networks for what seems like several minutes until the Time Machine backups disk disappears from the desktop and WiFi actually connects.
Since the disk was not cleanly unmounted, Time Machine then keeps complaining that the sparse bundle file is locked and cannot be mounted every time it tries to do a backup. I have to either disconnect/reconnect the USB drive physically from the router, or restart the router every time this happens to resolve the issue. That is getting really annoying to have to do every time. I suppose I could manually unmount the Time Machine disk after every backup but it's ridiculous to have to do that every time I want to put the computer to sleep.
Is anyone else experiencing this issue and is there a fix?

For others who might be having this problem - I was able to resolve it by connecting my backup disk to my mac via USB, completely erasing it, and starting over from a new backup. Disk Utility was not reporting any errors when I verified the disk, but I went ahead and repartitioned it and started fresh. The disk now automatically unmounts after backups complete.

How to keep using existing Time Machine backup after replacing main hard drive

The hard drive in my iMac (Lion) is failing. I cloned it to a new drive and installed it in the iMac. Now the system wants to start fresh with a whole new Time Machine backup.
It seems obvious that there must be a way to keep using the existing Time Machine backup set, but I can't figure out how to do it. Help, please.

If you had done a full system restore from Time Machine, it would have been done automatically. But 3rd-party cloning apps don't leave a "trail" so Time Machine can figure out that the new drive has all the old stuff on it.
Effective with Lion, there is a way to "associate" the new drive with the backups of the old one, but it requires the use of Terminal. See #B6 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting. As noted though, this only works on directly-connected backup drives, not backups made over a network.

Time Machine after reinstall and new user acct

3 TB eSATA drive used for months as TM back up. Drive had 300GB or so free space available after last B/U before having to format my boot drive.
Following reinstall of OS 10.9.2,I was not able to transfer user files using TM after several trials - it simply locked up with no error message. So, I skipped using B/U and created a new uswer account with same name as previous user account but with a new password. I then used the last B/U to manually restore user files and selected Apps.
In System Preferences/Time Machine, I selected the same 3 TB TM drive I had been using and left the excluded items unchanged. The B/U calcualted size was 2.72 TB, the same as before my set up with new user account. Prior to starting a new B'U I checked TM and found B/Us going back for quite a few weeks.
The next B/U for lack of space, with the mnessage that I only had 1.12 TB of space and the B/U needed 1.26 TB. I recalled that I had added some items to one of the included external drives prior to the restore and after the last B/U, so I excluded those new additions. The next B/U also failed and now the required space for the B/U was listed as greater than the first attempt. More disturbing, the ONY remaining B/U on the 3 TB drive now, after several mnore effrots to exclude as much as possible, is the last B/U I did before the format and restore process.
In Finder, the TM disk shows 1.12 TB free. It lists 2 B/Us - the last successful one and one fron this mornign listed as inprogress.
I changed my user account password to be the same as previously and logged out then bac in, then tried rebotting and after both times, the same failure occurred. I used Sstem OPreferences to unselct the 3 TB drive and select another one, then reselected the 3 TB again - still no joy.
It appears that TM is unable to add to the exsiting B/U and is trying to create a new one, or that it doesn't see existing files in the old B/U as the same as the new ones and is trying to create lots of duplicates.

Hi VK
A supplementray question:
I have one i-mac happily backing up with Time Machine to an external hard drive.
I have just bought a second i-mac (stops the fighting!) and propose to use migration assistant to move my [admin] account from the old to the new i-mac leaving two other accounts on the old one. I see from your posts that it seems as if Time Machine will start a new back up series for the new i-mac's back ups. But what about the old i-mac? Will that continue to extend the existing Time Machine back up files, albeit without my transferred account and its files? If so, should I partition the external drive and start the new back ups from the new i-mac on this new partition. I'd like to end up with the old i-mac continuing to build its Time Machine back ups (less my account and its files) and have a new back up series from the new i-mac building to a separate partition on the external drive.
Does this make sense? I can't see an answer in the forum to what must be a reasonably common issue in this expandin mac world.
MVBW
Mervyn

Time Machine Change Disk - Getting original backups

I wanted to look at another disk which I had been using for backup before getting a Time Machine. When I switched back, I answered too many questions and ended up disconnecting the Time Machine and did a reboot.
When I finally reconnected to the Time Machine (and the internet), I found out I am doing a full backup and the original backups.backupdb does not show up on this Time Machine, even though the space is claimed.
What do I need to do to start backing up only the changed disks to the original backups.backupdb?
Send thoughts to mailto:[email protected]

Juan Terrazas1 wrote:
What I wonder is if I delete the TM plist then where is TM Preferences reading its information?
No, the only place that's kept is in plist in the /Library folder at the top level of the drive.
Sometimes there's a file with the same name in a user library, but it doesn't have that info. That's why it looks like either the file didn't get deleted, or the wrong one was deleted, or System Preferences was still running, with the info in memory.
Is there another plist file that I should delete?
No.
But let's be clear; do you mean the disk is still shown as your Time Machine drive on the Preferences panel (after Name):
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or that it shows up in the list of items you can select when you click +Select Disk:+
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How do I get back iphone app information from a DELETED Time Machine Backup disk

Hi People,
here is what happened:
I have been using an iPhone App (Audio Memos Free - The Voice Recorder) to record song ideas (I am a songwriter). I have been using it for years.
I backed up my iphone to itunes, and backed up my mac on Time Machine. After a month or so I did a fresh OSX install on my mac, copied all of my files back from Time Machine into my mac, and tried to set up Time Machine. I was not able to do so, so I had to format the Time Machine Backup disk and doing a "fresh" mac Time Machine Backup.
After a week or so, my iphone asks me something like "you do not possess the rights for one or more applications". do not know what i did, but after 1 minute my iPhone was wiped out of all my apps and app contents. I had also the icloud app sync, so i did not worry, recovered from icloud notes, contacts, and all other things. so i did another backup to itunes.
Now i discover icloud did not recover or save the "Audio Memos Free" app content. I know the data are hidden into the Time machine Backup HD, but i do not know where to search for the itunes backup in it.
I know it is in library, but library won't show up.
Any help would be much appreciated.
PS there is a chance that, even without a data recovery, my latest itunes backup was containing these songs, but i do not know how to fish that out of the Time machine drive.
Thank you in advance.

I would email iTunes Customer Service:
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/store/browser/
CG

Migrating content from an encrypted Time Machine external disk (will not easily work)

I recently purchased an SSHD to upgrade my Mac. I preferred not to completely restore from Time Machine, but rather to install a new copy of Mavericks on the new disk and then migrate my TM content afterwards. At the end of installation, Mavericks proposed the option to migrate data from a TM backup, which I chose.
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!)
I find all this quite not…applish! I could have preferred to unencrypt the TM disk rather than
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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.

Restoring from Time Machine after erase & install

Hi, I have an iMac I rebuilt and when I plug in my Time Machine disk, all the UIDs are mixed up.
this is not surprising as I created users on my rebuilt iMac in a different order.
This issue is how can I correct the ownership of each of my user directories in /Users?
I tried to "sudo chown -R" but it won't let me do this on a Time Machine backup disk.
the only workaround I have right now is restore the user folder and perform a chown after it's been restored.
what I really would like to do is to continue making incremental backups to my backup disk if at all possible.

do NOT try to chown stuff on TM backups. if the UIDs don't match change the UIDs of your current users on the main drive so that they do match. go to system preferences->accounts, unlock the lock at the bottom, control-click on an account and select "advanced options". in the popup you'll see the current UID and you can change it there too. after you do that you need to run chown on that user's home directory. do that for every user involved. another thing you'll need to do afterward is chown Temporary directories for all users involved. else it will mess up various cache and temp files. log in as a user and run
sudo chown -R `id -un` $TMPDIR
do that for every user.

Error Dialogue: "Time Machine Backup Disk Can't be Found"

Hello -
I am trying to "Enter Time Machine" (which is on a Time Capsule); but when I try this, I am met by the error message "Your Time Machine Backup Disk Can't be Found" with the option given to "Set up My Time Machine".
Needless to say, my Time Machine has been set up for months. When I look in the preferences, it clearly shows the disk I'm connected to (here's a screenshot of the error dialogue alongside my Time Machine preferences: http://cl.ly/1HGk).
Any idea what the best course of action is here.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: notice from the screenshot that Time Machine thinks the earliest backup is only 1 day prior. This is also strange as I have said I've had Time Machine working on this Time Capsule for months. I called Apple about this and was told that a software update had gone out yesterday that reformatted the drives and started the backups all over again. While completely fishy - I don't remember agreeing to any software update dialogue about erasing my Time Capsule - I took them at their word. Not sure if this is related, but thought I should mention it.
Thanks Crew!

MattLat wrote:
Hello -
I am trying to "Enter Time Machine" (which is on a Time Capsule); but when I try this, I am met by the error message "Your Time Machine Backup Disk Can't be Found" with the option given to "Set up My Time Machine".
Needless to say, my Time Machine has been set up for months. When I look in the preferences, it clearly shows the disk I'm connected to (here's a screenshot of the error dialogue alongside my Time Machine preferences: http://cl.ly/1HGk).
Any idea what the best course of action is here.
The +sparse bundle+ containing your backups may be corrupted. Repair it, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum).
If that doesn't help, try a "full reset" of Time Machine, per #A4 there.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: notice from the screenshot that Time Machine thinks the earliest backup is only 1 day prior. This is also strange as I have said I've had Time Machine working on this Time Capsule for months. I called Apple about this and was told that a software update had gone out yesterday that reformatted the drives and started the backups all over again.
That's the first I've heard of that. They may have been referring to the +Time Capsule Backup Update 1.0+ update several weeks ago, that some folks got but others didn't. If it finds a problem, it sends the message in this article: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4076 The existing sparse bundle is renamed and locked, and a new one made.

I have Photoshop Elements 10 on a new Mac, using Yosemite 10.1.1 - PE locks up every time I try to sign in. This software was restored to this computer from Time Machine after a theft of my old Mac. How can I fix this?

I have Photoshop Elements 10 on a new Mac, using Yosemite 10.1.1 - PE locks up every time I try to sign in. This software was restored to this computer from Time Machine after a theft of my old Mac. How can I fix this? It keeps telling me that there are missing files, too. If I upgrade to Elements 12 or beyond, will this fix the problem?

You can't sign in because there is nothing to sign in to. For PSE 10 the only sign in was to photoshop.com, which has been dead and gone for a year and half. Just skip the sign in. Reinstalling will not change this.
PSE 8, 9, 10 Can’t Sign In, Error 404 | Barbara's Sort-of-Tech Blog
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Reconnect to existing Time Machine after disk crash?

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