Selectively restore from Time Machine after reformatting

I just reformatted my drive and reinstalled Mountain Lion and then upgraded to Mavericks. I backed up to Time Machine just before the reinstall. Time Machine did combine my first new backup with the ones before the reinstall, which I can see when I browse through the Time Capsule.
I would like to restore some things from the Time Machine timeline, however when I enter the timeline, the backups prior to the reinstall are named in purple on the dateline and the Finder windows are black and inaccessible. I suspect this is because after the reinstall the computer has a new account name, so the permissions are different on the previous backups with the old account name.
Does anyone know how to get the older backups to be accessible in the timeline? I would like to just selectively restore a few things as needed, and would like to do the "restore from Time Machine" rather than drag copying files from the mounted backup.

I would like to just selectively restore a few things as needed, and would like to do the "restore from Time Machine" rather than drag copying files from the mounted backup.
For this type of activity, you might want to take a look at Migration Assistant on your Mac, located as follows:
Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > Migration Assistant
More info here: OS X: How to migrate data from another Mac using Mavericks

Similar Messages

Can't restore from time machine after SSD upgrade

Macbook Pro 13" mid-2009, 10.7.5 Lion
I just swapped out my 160GB HDD with a 250GB SSD on my MBP. When I booted up, I pressed Command-R to try to get into recovery mode but all it does was showing a gray folder with a question mark on it.
I had previously backed up my HDD with time machine. My original HDD is no longer available because I tried to upgrade to Mavericks (since the command-R was not working) and upon restarting my MBP was locked with system pin code (that is another nightmare all by itself)
What are my options besides getting a 10.7 Lion CD from the apple store and try to boot it up that way? and then restore from time machine?
Any other way I can get into receovery mode?
Thanks (My MBP is now a brick sitting on my desk)

It's a bare drive so it isn't formatted and it doesn't yet have a Recovery HD installed on it.
Your computer originally came with a version of Leopard installed. You can reinstall it if you still have the original discs that came with the computer. Or, if you have a retail Snow Leopard DVD you can reinstall Snow Leopard from which you can then upgrade to Mavericks (Lion is no longer available for re-download.) It's unlikely your local Apple Store has a Lion USB flash drive or DVD although you can certainly make an appointment and ask for their help.
You should see if you can boot from the Recovery HD invisible image in your Time Machine backup drive. Connect it to the computer and use OPTION boot to get the boot manager. If you see a Recovery HD on your backup drive displayed, then boot from it.

Restoring from Time Machine AFTER install

My hard drive crashed, so i had to buy a new one (WD scorpio blue). I replaced it, then reinstalled from the install disk (10.4.10, Tiger). That was mistake one. What I meant to do was to restore from my time machine backups on an external HD. I also have the leapord disk that came with, which i forgot to install from, my second mistake. so my question is -- do i have to erase the hard drive and start back over to install from my TM back up, or can i do it either during the upgrade to Leopard or from Tiger?
Thanks.

Matt Clifton wrote:
Boot from your Leopard disk (with your TM drive connected), and go to Utilities - Restore from Time Machine Backup.
So, using this procedure will restore my MB onto a totally new hard drive with all my programs back intact along with any files?
If so, this looks like a great way to replace/upgrade a hard drive. Re "go to Utilities", is this folder or option from the Leopard disk?

How do I Restore from Time Machine after I have reinstalled my system software (Snow Leopard and then Lion) ?, How do I Restore from Time Machine after I have reinstalled my system software (Snow Leopard and then Lion) ?

I have never done this before, so can someone explain in detail how I reintall my system software and then restore from Time Machine please ?

Your profile indicates that you currently have an older version of Snow Leopard (10.6.2). In order to install Lion, a prerequisite is the latest version of Snow Leopard (10.6.8). Perhaps a few more details would be helpfull in solving your problem. ex. If all you want to do is to upgrade to Lion, a restoration of data is unneccessary. Download the latest version of Snow Leopard and then download (purchase) and install Lion. User data will remain intact.
If I am missing something, please elaborate.
Ciao.

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

Clean install selective restore from time machine backup

Hi,
My harddisk crashed, and I have just installed a new harddrive.
I have just installed a fresh OS and am wondering if it is possible to selective restore stuff from my time machine backup.
I only want to restore some of my data file.
When I plugin my time machine backup. the preference pane does recognize that i have previous backup. But when I go into time machine state, the older stuff doesn't show up.
how can i get my old files back?
I can't see anything from before I changed my harddisk and did a few reinstall of the OS.

Restoring specific files or folders
While your backup disk is connected, click the Time Machine icon in the Dock and the Time Machine restore interface appears. You can literally see your windows as they appeared "back in time." Note: If you use FileVault, you cannot browse for individual items in your Home folder. However, you can restore all files and folders by using the Restore System from Backup feature of the Mac OS X Installer.
You can use the timeline on the right side of the window to reach a certain point back in time (the timeline shows the times of all backups on your backup disk). If you don’t know exactly when you deleted or changed a file, you can use the back arrow to let Time Machine automatically travel through time to show you when that folder last changed.
You can also perform a Spotlight search in the Time Machine Finder Window search field to find a file. Simply type the Spotlight search field and use the back arrow to have Time Machine search through your backups to find what you are looking for.
Before you restore a file, you can also use Quick Look to preview a file to make sure its the one you want. Highlight the file and press the Space Bar to bring up a preview.
To restore, select the file/folder and click the "Restore" button. The file will automatically be copied to the desktop or appropriate folder. If the file you are restoring has another file in the same location with the same name, you will be prompted to choose which file to keep or keep both.
Restoring your entire system from a backup
If you are restoring a backup made by a Mac to the same Mac
With your backup disk connected, start up your Mac from your Mac OS X v10.5 or Mac OS X v10.6 installation disc. After starting up, use the Restore System from Backup feature of the Mac OS X Installer.
Note: If "You can't restore this backup because it was created by a different model of Mac" appears when restoring a backup that was made on a different Mac, follow the onscreen instructions.
If you are restoring a backup made by one Mac to a completely different Mac
Important: If the backup you are about to restore is from a completely different Mac, use the Migration Assistantto transfer data from the backup, as described in the next section.
Restoring a Time Machine backup on a new Mac
When you buy a new Mac, you can transfer all of your applications, files, settings, and other information from a Time Machine backup you've already made.
You will be asked if you want to transfer files when you start up your new Mac for the first time. Or, you can use the Migration Assistant (located in Applications/Utilities).
If you use a Time Capsule, see Restoring files from a Time Capsule backup.
Deleting data from a Time Machine backup
To delete all backups of one or more items from a Time Machine backup, follow these steps:
Click the Time Machine icon on your Dock to enter the Time Machine restore interface.
Click on the item you would like to delete. Command-click to select multiple items.
Control-click (or right click) the highlighted item(s) and select "Delete All Backups of..." from the contextual menu, or select "Delete all backups of..." from the Action Item menu.
Authenticate with an administrator password when prompted.
Important: Do not use the Finder to move to the items to the Trash, or to move or delete items in your Time Machine backup repository. The folder containing your Time Machine backup repository is called "Backups.backupd" and is located on the external disk or Time Capsule you have chosen in Time Machine preferences.

Clean install and selective restores from Time Machine?

Hi, all.
Just purchased a 13-inch non-Retina MBP last week. Swaped out the 500GB drive for a 1TB, upgraded to Mavericks and transfered all my data from a 2006-era white iMac running Leopard via Time Machine. I've had some connectivity issues (logins at app store failing, server verification errors in iTunes, and not being able launch the software that allows the folks at Apple to view my screen via chat) and after a few nights on the phone and in chat with Apple support, they've recommended booting in recovery since nothing else is working, wiping the hard drive, and performing a clean install of Mavericks. The assumption is that something from the migration is causing the issue.
I've created a fresh Time Machine backup on an external 1TB drive, and I'm mainly concerned with moving over the documents, Lightroom 4 library, iPhoto library, and iTunes library.Will I just be able to enter Time Machine and restore those or, failing that, manually drag and drop them into the user library? Are there any user permissions I need to be concerned about?
Thanks in advance!

Thanks, I figured as much. Another foolish question: should I be concerned about user permissions if I'm starting over? Can I transfer the users (there are only two, me and my wife) over from Time Machine? Trying to start as fresh as possible since no one can figure out what's causing the connectivity issues.

How to restore from Time Machine after HD change?

Hi I am having my hard drive replaced due to the issue with the Seagate hard drives. I have a Lacie NAS which is working with Time Machine. I wanted to know, once I have my iMac back with a new hard drive, how do I restore everything from Time Machine?
Thanks

Have a look at this thread I posted in earlier and the various links in Pondini's excellent Time Machine resource I linked to:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/20367932#20367932

Restore from time machine after hard drive install

I just had apple replace my hard drive on my Imac. I backed up everything with my external hard drive My Book. Tried to do a restore with Time Machine and it won't do it. I get a message that come up that says "Time Machine can't be modified or deleted because its required by Mac OS X. What steps am I missing to restore with Time Machine?

Hello, I personally don't use TM, but...
Have you looked through Pondini's extensive TM help site?
http://Pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Can't imagine something not being covered there.

I cant restore from time machine after mountain lion update

i recentlz went to Apple Geius to get my HD formatted as i had a corrupt disk. Once cleaned and my hardware all verified as OK, i got the apple store to load Mountain Lion, previously running Snow Leopard. I came home conneted to my time machine and it restored evrything that from this mornings back up no issues.
When i try to access time machine to look at previous days back ups i get error code 6584
also time machine shows no dated back ups beyond today.
Any ideas?
thxs
Simon

First, I strongly suggest that you make another full backup to a locally-attached external hard drive. You should do that anyway. One backup isn't enough to be safe, and backing up over a network is less reliable than backing up locally. Then try each of the following steps that you haven't already taken.
1. Restart the backup device. You can do that by disconnecting and reconnecting the power cord.
2. Hold down the option key and select Verify Backups from the TM menu in the menu bar (not the Dock icon.) This operation may take a long time. If the menu-bar icon (a clock that runs backwards) isn't showing, check Show Time Machine in menu bar in the preferences.
3. Erase the backup device. With a Time Capsule, you do that from within the AirPort Utility application; see its built-in help for details. All backups will be lost, so don't do this until you've backed up to another device. After erasing, select the TC again as a backup destination in the TM preference pane. The first backup should be made over a wired connection, if possible.

Unable to restore from Time Machine after an erase and reinstall - MacbookPro cannot access my old Time Machine backup volume. Desperate for help please?

My MacbookPro would not move past the Apple logo and spinning wheel for a number of hours. After trying the numerous suggestions to solve the issue I eventually opted to erase and reinstall feeling confident my Time Machine backups would come to the rescue. After a successful erase and reinstall I tried to restore all my data from my TIme Capsule using Command-R during start up and by using the Migration Assistant. Neither worked and I have received messages to the effect that the backup volumes on my Time Capsule cannot be access because I have entered a wrong password or because the backup volume is damaged.
When I open my Time Capsule in Finder and click on my sparsebundle I get an eror message saying that the disk image could not be opened and that the resource is temporarily unavailable.
Desperate for some help and comfort that many years of personal data have not been lost.
Thank you.
M

When I try to Verify option it says Unable to Verify - Resource temporarily unavailable.
Here is the past of the log screen:
2013-06-09 15:00:00 -0500: Disk Utility started.
2013-06-09 15:09:01 -0500: Disk Utility started.
2013-06-09 15:19:53 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
2013-06-09 15:19:53 -0500:
2013-06-09 15:20:00 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
2013-06-09 15:20:00 -0500:
2013-06-09 15:20:05 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
2013-06-09 15:20:05 -0500:
2013-06-09 15:20:13 -0500: Verifying Image “Macajee’s MacBook Pro”
2013-06-09 15:20:14 -0500: Unable to verify “Macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
2013-06-09 15:20:14 -0500:
2013-06-09 15:25:21 -0500: Verifying Image “Macajee’s MacBook Pro”
2013-06-09 15:25:23 -0500: Unable to verify “Macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
2013-06-09 15:25:23 -0500:
2013-06-09 15:25:27 -0500: Attach Image “Macajee’s MacBook Pro”
2013-06-09 15:25:27 -0500: Initializing…
2013-06-09 15:25:31 -0500: Attaching…
2013-06-09 15:25:31 -0500: Finishing…
2013-06-09 15:25:32 -0500: Unable to attach “Macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
2013-06-09 15:25:32 -0500:
2013-06-09 20:02:06 -0500: Disk Utility started.
2013-06-09 20:05:22 -0500: Disk Utility started.
2013-06-09 20:07:11 -0500: Disk Utility started.
2013-06-09 20:18:34 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
2013-06-09 20:18:34 -0500:
2013-06-09 20:19:34 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
2013-06-09 20:19:34 -0500:
2013-06-09 20:19:36 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
2013-06-09 20:19:36 -0500:
2013-06-09 20:22:29 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
2013-06-09 20:22:29 -0500:
2013-06-09 20:22:33 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
2013-06-09 20:22:33 -0500:
2013-06-09 20:22:45 -0500: Verifying Image “Macajee’s MacBook Pro”
2013-06-09 20:22:45 -0500: Unable to verify “Macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
2013-06-09 20:22:45 -0500:
2013-06-09 20:34:53 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
2013-06-09 20:34:53 -0500:
2013-06-09 20:34:56 -0500: [DUDiskController viewablePartitions] expecting DUDisk, but got nil
2013-06-09 20:34:56 -0500:
2013-06-09 20:38:17 -0500: Verifying Image “Macajee’s MacBook Pro”
2013-06-09 20:38:17 -0500: Unable to verify “Macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
2013-06-09 20:38:17 -0500:
2013-06-09 20:47:35 -0500: Disk Utility started.
2013-06-09 20:53:06 -0500: Disk Utility started.
2013-06-09 20:55:30 -0500: Disk Utility started.
2013-06-09 20:56:40 -0500: Disk Utility started.
2013-06-09 21:06:32 -0500: Verifying Image “macajee’s MacBook Pro”
2013-06-09 21:06:32 -0500: Unable to verify “macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
2013-06-09 21:06:32 -0500:
2013-06-09 21:07:08 -0500: Verifying Image “macajee’s MacBook Pro”
2013-06-09 21:07:08 -0500: Unable to verify “macajee’s MacBook Pro.” (Resource temporarily unavailable)
2013-06-09 21:07:08 -0500:

Restoring from Time Machine after 1T hard drive replacement

I am a super computer novice. I picked up my computer yesterday after having the recalled Seagate hard drive replaced. I backed up my computer using Time Machine before I took it in on a Seagate "Backup Plus" portable hard drive.
Now, when I have tried to use the restore start up, the computer recognizes that my drive is connected, but says there are no files on that drive it can use to restore the system.
I can see that there are 50GB on the disk, and when I look in it, there are files called "Macintosh HD" so that makes me think that my stuff is in fact on my external drive. why can't my computer see it?
Do I need to get a FireWire cord to connect to my computer? I'm using the USB 3.0 that came with the hard drive.
My computer had Mountain Lion when I backed it up. I think it is back to whatever OS it came with originally. Do I need to update to Mountain Lion? If I do, how do I do so without having to pay for it again? My app store is empty since my computer was wiped.
Thanks for the help, I really need it!

The first thing to do is upgrade back to ML, which you can easily do. Just redownload ML from the app store with the same AppleID you used the previous time you purchased the ML upgrade. Your purchase is tied to the AppleID you used when buying, so you can download it again (as many times as you wish) without payment as long as you use the same AppleID.
Once you have upgrade it to ML, then try the restore from the backup (which I gather was made when while running ML before).

Restore from time machine after clean install of Mavericks

I decided to do a clean install of Mavericks to get rid of all the very old files hiding in my system folders. I made a startup disk following online instructions, rebooted from the USB drive and wiped the drive and reinstalled Mavericks. Then I plugged in my Time machine backup drive and tried to recover particular folders from the latest backup. However, I am getting a permission error that prevents me from going into the old user folder from that backup. It has a red circle/line icon on the folder. How do I get around this so I can select what to restore?

You might be able to view in System Preferences > Users & Groups.
Time Machine - Troubleshooting by James Pond is the best source around for Time Machine help.
I'm not seeing your issue listed. It's possible you will need to do a full Time Machine restore to another drive so you can actually boot from the drive then log into the user. If you have enough space on internal you could partition to restore there without polluting your current new install.
Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions 18. How can I copy my TM backups to a different location?
I backup to Time Machine but I also use a clone and use it over Time Machine when I'm trying to restore a User like youare trying to do. Hopefully someone else will have a better suggestion other than doing a full restore.

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.

Full Restore from Time Machine after new HD / OSX 10.5.6

I've been reading the forums and still haven't found a clear answer to this...
I recently received my computer back from repair with a new HD and 10.5.6 installed.
I didn't 'restore from TM backup' immediately, but would like to now.
When I go into TM, it doesn't show past backups (only 'Now' and Today'); and when I use finder to go into my dedicated TM backup HD, it says 'you do not have sufficient access privileges'. I tried to backup from the computer before restoring, thinking that might kick start TM to recognize past backups, but it crashed in the middle of backing up...twice...
I seem to understand that I can boot from the Leopard CD, and choose a 'restore' option after choosing the language...but why should I have to 'reinstall' 5.1 when I already have a clean load of 5.6???
Any advice (or smart questions that might clarify what I'm doing wrong) are greatly appreciated. I can't believe that the only option is to restore first thing, that there's no way to do so later...??? I would have, but didn't want to restore 100+GB before knowing if the problem I sent the computer in for had been fixed (buzzing screen: actually wasn't fixed at all, so this whole thing is a total waste of my time).
Thanks,
tired in California

jhartshorn,
One performs a "full restore" by booting to the Leopard install disk, choosing a language, then choosing "Restore from a Time Machine Backup" from the "Utilities" menu. The backup drive is then scanned, and you choose from listed backups.
This doesn't "install" OS X in the normal sense, from the DVD, but rather restores the entire system that is backed up. If you had 10.5.5 installed when you made your last backup prior to sending it in, that's what would be restored, along with all of the user data within that backup.
When you received your computer from repair, you made another backup. OK. That backup will have been a new full backup, and will not have been contiguous with your old one. As long as the drive was not formatted (erased) by Time Machine when the new backup was made (was it erased?), your old backup will still be there, and still be accessible to the installer.
Does this answer all your questions?
Scott

Selectively restore from Time Machine after reformatting

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for