Restore Files From an Old Time Machine Disk

Please forgive and send me a link if someone has already answered this but I need to restore files from an old Time Machine Volume to my current desktop.
How do I do this?

control-click on TM in the dock and choose "browse other TM disks". choose your old TM backup to browse and restore what you need. also, you can always open your TM drive in finder and copy what you need directly via finder.

Similar Messages

Restoring files from a reformatted time capsule disk?

This sounds dumb, I know. I had a time capsule that wasn't taking backups anymore - I had that stupid privileges issue, and I couldn't figure it out. So, I figured that I would just wipe the whole thing clean since I had backups of my backups. However, there was data on the drive from my wife, who was using it as a server for some reason, and NOT keeping the files on her computer. She blames it on the macbook air she used to use and not have any space on, and had no choice but to use the time capsule to keep things on.
At any rate, long story short, is there any way to restore data from a reformatted time capsule? I tried techtool, but it doesn't see the drive. I also tried plugging in via USB and ethernet, but no go. Would the genius bar be able to help?
THanks, folks.

Hi,
No.
If you have no back up you will need to re-rip them. You cannot use match to retrieve music that is not on your computer or external hard drive.
Match can only scan the music that is in your library.
Jim

How to Restore Files From Backup HD/Time Machine

I want to restore data from external HD, which backed up with Time Machine, onto new internal HD. If I restore from date prior to 10.6.1 upgrade (which resulted in HD failure) will I be restoring from 10.5? Do I install Leopard on new HD first? Both internal and external HDs corrupted by upgrade but professional diagnostics indicate data on external HD can be accessed.

panda88 wrote:
Both internal and external HDs corrupted by upgrade but professional diagnostics indicate data on external HD can be accessed.
Could you explain a little more about what you meant by this? The update to 10.6.1 should not corrupt an otherwise OK HD. It is probably worth the effort to try to figure out what caused this in case it is something that would continue to affect the HD's after the restore.

How can I restore files from my old iMac to this new purchased MacBook Air? I am using time machine backup in my old imac.

How can I restore files from my old iMac to this new purchased MacBook Air? I am using time machine backup in my old imac.

Hi,
Try Target Disk Mode
OS X Yosemite: Transfer files between two computers using target disk mode
There is also Migration Assistant.
OS X Yosemite: Transfer your info from a computer or storage device

How do I reinstall Garageband from an old Time Machine Backup?

I recently had a lot of trouble with my computer crashing, so I did a time machine back up, and then wiped the computer. I figured out that it was a piece of software causing the crashing, so instead of restoring my computer, I just started from scratch. I have been slowly bringing my important files back and reinstalling some of the software. I didn't want to put everything back on here because it was slowing it down. I needed to use Garageband the other day, but obviously it was no longer on my computer. The Garageband I had originally came on the computer when I bought it, so I don't have an install disc, and it was prior to when Garageband was put on the App Store, so I can't redownload it. Is there a way to drag it from my old time machine (which no longer recongnizes this computer since I didn't want everything back on here)? I tried just dragging the app itself but it said is was missing loops and quit itself. I had the same problem with iPhoto but dragging it worked just fine.

The Garageband I had originally came on the computer when I bought it, so I don't have an install disc, and it was prior to when Garageband was put on the App Store, so I can't redownload it.
If GarageBAnd came preinstalled, before it was sold at the AppStore, it should be on the system install disks that came with your Mac. Check, if you did not receive two CDs, one with the installer for the system, and one with applications. Use this application install disk to restore GarageBand.
I tried just dragging the app itself but it said is was missing loops and quit itself. I had the same problem with iPhoto but dragging it worked just fine.
You can restore the GarageBand application this way, but you will also need to restore the libraries.
hat is easier done by running the installer.
Copy everything in the folders
/Library/Application Support/GarageBand/
and all missing items from
/Library/Audio
to the corresponding folders on your new harddrive.
Then reboot and try, if you can launch GB again.
-- Léonie

How can i retrieve a few important files from an old time capsule ?

Hi can anyone give me a step by step guide as to how i retrieve just a few files from an old time capsule ?
without a router ?
I've plugged an ethernet cable into the wan port & my mac & it shows up as a sparspsebundle data file
but i desperetly need to grab these certain files
please can anyone help?
can i use the usb port on the back of the time capsule
there must be a way HELP PLEASE many thanks

Don't panic we are working on it..
I am just avoiding Yosemite like the plague.. (plague on you Yosemite!!) .. as its networking is so bad it causes chaos on my network.. to all other devices.. even though only one device actually runs Yoyos!!
I am not sure how hard it is for you to go back to Mountain Lion.. or if you have a computer running ML on the network.. if so definitely use it.
What OS was last used by the MBP when you stopped using it or is it fully up to date. Is the computer in the network now? If so it is much easier to copy and paste the files from a live computer.
Did you encrypt the backup.. that would really mess things up or have an encrypted disk??
Have you used the normal TM tool in Yosemite to try and recover your files?? Or perhaps migrated the files.. this can work fine.. migration often being a better way of doing things.. although there are a few rules about using different user names.. etc.
There is another proviso here I must add.. Yosemite cannot see the backup quickly.. what I mean is that your backup is >500GB. Even by ethernet Yosemite version Time Machine can take more than 24hours just to index that.. maybe longer and by wireless a lot longer.. 3-5 times.. I do not know why spotlight is so slow in Yosemite.. but trust me.. it is pathetic. The yoyo got its string in a knot and seems to need to untangle it for every single file on the backup.
Be very patient if you open TM backup in Yosemite.. and definitely do this by ethernet not wireless.. otherwise you might die of old age beforehand.

I'm trying a full restore in Lion, but it won't. States that there isn't enough space on the Mac HD. How do I restore everything from a recent Time Machine Backup?

I'm trying a full restore in Lion, but it won't. States that there isn't enough space on the Mac HD. How do I restore everything from a recent Time Machine Backup?

Thanks but I think it has something to do with the 'restore'. in the newest iTunes 11, when I click on the tab "iphone", it redirects me to the "welcome to your new iphone" page and asks about doing a 'restore'. I already did a 'restore', but it went to the original factory settings and I want to 'restore' to my lastest back up as of April 12. When I choose that option, it says my iphone doesn't have enough space. I don't know how much I need to delete in order to make it work. I've deleted lots, but it only has 4.1 GB available. I'm not sure why this isn't enough to do a 'restore'. I don't want to delete all my photos and videos, but maybe I will have to?...7.7GB is used up for that. I can't sync or do ANYTHING...

How do I restore files backed up to time machine to a replacement storage drive? (NOT System disk)

I've seen plenty of articles about restoring the system disk (restoring the whole system) with Time Machine, but nothing about restoring a secondary disk that has crashed.
I've been doing backups of both the primary system disk and a secondary storage disk for 2 years. Yesterday, the secondary storage disk crashed. I have a replacement disk, now I need to restore the backup from Time Machine onto this new disk.
Can I just copy the files from the Time Machine disk to the new one, or do I need to do something more complicated? The instructions for restoring files from Time Machine all include selecting the drive/folder you want to restore, then entering Time Machine. But I can't do that if the original disk no longer exists.
I'm getting the replacement drive today, so I thought I would ask before I installed the drive. Any advice would be appreciated.
-ME
Mac Pro 5,1
OS X 10.6.8

If i had a direct answer, i'd posted it, but, since I don't use TM, I linked you to the TM bible. You know, the one that Apple failed to provide.
BTW, specific steps on what you did to solve the problem will help others.

Restoring selected files from a networked Time Machine backup

My wife's laptop logic board failed 2 days ago. It is backed up over our home network to a separate partition on a second hard drive in my MacPro. I'm trying to recover a few specific files from the day the machine failed.
When I try to mount her sparsebundle image, I get a message that the image could not be mounted "Reason -- not recognized".
Disk Utility claims the sparsebundle appears to be okay.
Using "Browse Other Time Machine Disks..." only shows the partition on the backup disk associated with my machine's backups.
Suggestions?

I have found a way around the issue. My wife's user account on my machine is set up as Sharing Only (just so her Time Machine can write files to the backup drive). So I went to my daughter's machine, turned off her TM, disconnected daughter's machine from mine, and then reconnected from daughter's machine as my wife's username. Then I could mount my wife's sparsebundle on my daughter's machine.
DR

Help. I hit 'Restore All' in an old Time Machine backup

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

Welcome to the Apple Discussions. About the only recourse is to use a file recovery application like SubrosaSoft FileSalvage. You can run it in demo mode to verify that you can recover the photos you want before you have to pay for it.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
Note: There's now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

Migration assistant will not see my old Time Machine Disk

Just in the process of abandoning our trusty old G5 running Leopard for a new iMac with Lion.
I have everything backed up on Time Machine from the G5 and need to migrate iTunes as it is the sync center for a family of iPhones, iPods and iPads. So has all of the things bought from the iTunes store.
Migration Assistant refuses to see the Time Machine disk. It shows up on the desktop, so I know it is connected.
Any clues?
Everything I am reading in the threads does not give me confidence that the files on Time Machine will be able to be moved.
thanks
Terri

Diana Stephens wrote:
Migration Assistant thinks my "macintosh HD" system disk is the only disk available as the time machine backup.
Those are your backups. Migration Assistant shows the name of the disk and system that were backed-up, not the disk they're on. It will not show the disk you're running from.
See the tan box in Using Migration Assistant on Lion.

Deleting time machine backup files from old time machine disk

I have an external USB HD that USED to be my Time Machine backup disk. I have replaced it with a newer FW HD and use the old one for archiving files, disk images, etc. The old disk still had 100gigs of backup files on it from time machine. To free up space, I thought I'd drag a few months of backups off the old dick into the trash. This worked. But I can't empty the trash. When I go to put the backup folders BACk on the USB disk, I get an error. So they are stuck in the trash.
Any help? Thanks.

I have always understood that there is no need to delete backup files from Time Machine. Once it reaches 'full' it begins to delete them sequentially of its own accord.
Good policy to check out Pondini's comments.
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.htm
Or type Pondini into Google for a broader selection of his offerings.

Having trouble restoring old files from an external Time Machine back-up to a new internal hard drive...HELP!

O.k. So my main hard drive died on my iMac and I had to replace it. I have my old system backed up on my external with Time Machine. How do I access it to get my old files back on my new hard drive? I have read multiple forums and I have yet to find a solution. I was told that when I first turn the computer on and get to the third screen, it would ask me if I wanted to restore from a previous back-up. It did but it didn't show my external until I went through the set-up and got to my home screen. The drive showed then. It also asked to install updates...and I did. So everything is up to date. I have not turned time machine on yet because I'm affraid that if I do, it will erase my old back-up on my external. I tried using the Migration Assistant in Utilities and all I get is the spinning wheel when I tried to get that to work. So now I am here asking for help. I'm not very hopeful that I'm going to be able to get all of my old files back... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for the video link. I did it pretty much exactly the way the young man explained. The one thing I didn't do was click "customize" as he does and unclick the multiple language support and he also clicks "rosetta" to support older programs. I wonder if that's the issue? The guys at Macmall told me that I would need to update the o.s. before I restored. I did that originally but have since (as mentioned before) erased the main drive. I noticed that when he does his install, his external drive does not show up on the list in which you want to install the o.s. on... should I unplug my external? I'm just trying to look at ever detail. I know the recovery file is there. The one thing it (the external) did say before I started posting here was "in progress". I'm not sure what that means? I promise I'm not an idiot. I consider myself an above average user. I usually help other that have issues... but I've yet to restore from a Time Machine back-up and I'm looking forward to learning how to do it.... the right way. I appreciate all of the advice. I have some pretty important files on my external back-up. I am really hoping that this is possible. I'm beginning to think the external is where the issue lies. The "in progress" next to the file name concerns me. I know there's a lot of data on the drive because it's nearly half full. So there's stuff there....
Deep breath in...... reeee laaaaaaaxxxx

A question about restoring from an old Time Machine backup

My computer has been acting very slow and freezing frequently lately. The spotlight background processess keep hogging the processor, and
It keeps getting catalog b-Tree corruption. I've already done one complete reformat of my drive and a restore from a time machine backup hoping it would fix things, and that didn't work.
I tried a complete reinstall and used the migration assistant to move all my files and settings from my time machine back over to it.
That worked for about a week, then had b-Tree corruption that could only be fixed with disk warrior.
I was suspecting a hardware problem, but I have done thourogh tests of my Ram with memtest from single user mode, and a disk surface scan with Tech Tool Deluxe. Everything checks out.
I am thinking there is some corrupt system file or setting that is getting reinstalled from my Time machine backup that is messing things up.
This all is a leadup to my question:
I would like to try restoring from a much older Time Machine back up (6 months ago or so before I started experiencing problems).
If I do that, can I still use Time Machine to restore individual files and directories from later backups?
I'd like my system settings and applications to be from six months ago, but my desktop files and documents to be from my most recent backup.
Thanks,
-Matt

Yeah, I usually check the FAQs before posting a question.
They do talk about how to restore from an older back up, but not about what happens to your newer files once you have done it. They also talk about accessing files from another computer's time machine backup, but its not clear if that would work on a different fork of the same machine.
I may just have to learn from experience, but I don't want to risk losing any data.
I do recommend time machine though. Its saved me several times.
If anyone else has experience with this let me know.
Thanks,
-Matt

Lion Recovery from a Remote Time Machine Disk

I maintain the time machine backup for my MBP on a large USB drive hanging off of my Mac Mini. Yesterday I decided to upgrade the internal hard drive on my system to a faster, higher-capacity disk.   I assumed that this would be very straightfoward given I had a complete time machine backup. Time machine has saved my bacon many times. It was slightly trickier than I expected so I am publishing this recipe in the hope that it helps someone else trying to accomplish the same thing.
The instructions below are in the context of a hard drive replacement.   Skip to step 5 if you are just looking for the recovery instructions.
One last caveat, I have not tried this procedure over WIFI. I did my successful restore over a GigE hard line.   It may or may not work over Wifi and I would bet WIFI greatly increases the odds that something unexpected might go wrong and it will probably take many times longer as well.
YMMV. RTFM.   Good Luck.
Before you start you need the following things:
     A USB Drive that you don't mind erasing.
     A tiny phillips screwdriver
     A T4 torx driver
Step 0: Run Lion Recovery Disk Assistant
     * download this from apple support http://support.apple.com/kb/dl1433
     * this creates a USB stick that boots up the recover tools.
Step 1: Make sure time machine backup is up to date
Step 2: [paranoid] turn off time machine
Step 3: Cleanly shut down laptop
Step 4: Follow instructions in user manual to replace hard drive
     * you can download your laptop user manual here - http://support.apple.com/manuals/#macbookpro
     * this required a very tiny phillips head screwdriver and also a T4 torx screwdriver/bit
Step 4a: Be prudent: carefully save your old hard drive in case something goes wrong.
Step 5: Make sure laptop is on wall power
Step 6: Boot to recovery USB stick
     * insert the stick, hold down option while booting
Step 7: Select "Restore From Time Machine Backup"
     * When you get to the "Select a Backup Source" dialog you don't see your time machine share or any way to connect to a remote drive.
Step 8: Mount your remote backup
    Open Terminal ( Utilities | Terminal... )
    Run these commands:
        mkdir /Volumes/tm
        mount_afp afp://[username]:[password]@[name of host system].local/[name of remote disk] /Volumes/tm
        you need to supply all of the arguments in brackets above
             eg. mount_afp afp://fred:[email protected]/TimeMachine /Volumes/tm
        You can test if this succeeded by running
               ls /Volumes/tm
        If you see the files you expect, then you successfully mounted your remote disk.
        Now attach the sparsebundle that contains your remote system backup.
            hdiutil attach /Volumes/tm/[MyMachine].sparsebundle
        If this works when run "ls /Volumes" you should see a directory called "Time Machine Backups" in the list. Once that is done quit
        the terminal application. When you do this you should see "Time Machine Backups" listed in the "Select a Backup Source" dialog.
Step 9: Select "Time Machine Backups" from menu
Step 10: Select the backup in time ( probably the most recent one from 10 minutes ago! )
Step 11: Select destination disk
Step 12: If your destination disk does not appear, format it with disk utility
     Utilities | Disk Utility...
     Select your new unformatted drive
     Give your new drive a super duper clever name and then click Erase
     Quit Disk Utility
      Select your newly formatted and cleverly named root drive
Step 13: Go have some fun away from your computer., my system took about 4 hours to restore ~300GB.
Some number of hours later your system will reboot itself to the login screen and you will be good to go. Obviously don't do anything silly in the intervening time like
       * Unplugging your laptop
       * Turning off the system that hosts your time machine backup
       * Resetting your network router

Quick answers.
1. no
2. yes
3. no
Your only option is to install Lion onto the mini and then set up the other accounts.

Restore Files From an Old Time Machine Disk

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