Time machine after OSX reinstall

Hi,
I've backed up my mac with time machine for a while before deciding to reinstall completely Leopard for some slow down (guess for too much rubbish installed/poorly_removed)..
Then in order to avoid restoring EVERY preference file,application i didn't need, stuff that were in my previous installation that i don't need anymore, I decided to reinstall it completely and restore just some selected files(Address book, etc).
I've got some questions:
1) my username is the same in both installation, can I turn time machine on to run on the same disk and backup it was running prior to reinstalling?(ie: will it consider new files as part of the same system?)
2) is there a way to "move" the existing backup to another disk, in order to save it in case i would like to completely restore my system to the last backup?I guess copy and paste the Backup folder wouldn't work because all the hardlink stuff..
3) how does the "Browse for other Time machine disks" work?Will I be able to restore data from my previous backup even if I am in a completely different installation?
Thank you for your attention,
nick

Pondini wrote:
nick2k3 wrote:
Then in order to avoid restoring EVERY preference file,application i didn't need, stuff that were in my previous installation that i don't need anymore, I decided to reinstall it completely and restore just some selected files(Address book, etc).
Not sure just what you mean here. Did you reinstall OSX from your Leopard disc, or restore your entire system from your TM backup, using the Restore utility on your Leopard disc?
I mean that my system was just a mess.. I really needed a fresh install.So I reinstalled OSX from Leopard disc. I did it that way becouse restoring from TM would have restored a lot of crap I didn't need anymore.
Then I "restored" manually only those files I really needed(Address book, iCal,iPhoto library, itunes etc..)
Did I do right? Is it possible to restore just a selection of my previous backup?Would restoring from TM also restore startup time processes?
1) my username is the same in both installation, can I turn time machine on to run on the same disk and backup it was running prior to reinstalling?
Yes, but it will almost certainly do a new backup of everything you just put on the disk. TM backs-up what was "changed" on the disk, even if it's the same data as before you erased it. And it has nothing to do with usernames -- TM backs-up everything on your system, for all the users on it, unless you specifically excluded them.
ok, got it!
2) is there a way to "move" the existing backup to another disk, in order to save it in case i would like to completely restore my system to the last backup?
You can duplicate all the data from one TM disk to a new one (via the +Duplicate a Disk+ procedure in Disk Utility, or SuperDuper!), but not a single backup (and that wouldn't work anyway).
I'll try this on another HDD tomorrow...
But there's no need. You can do a complete system restore from any backup on your TM disk, whether it's the last, earliest, or anywhere in the middle (and even if it's a different version of Leopard).
I guess copy and paste the Backup folder wouldn't work because all the hardlink stuff..
No, it's because you'll most likely have all sorts of permissions issues.
3) how does the "Browse for other Time machine disks" work?Will I be able to restore data from my previous backup even if I am in a completely different installation?
Yes. Even if it's from a different Mac.

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Restoring from Time Machine after complete reinstall

Hi!
I have some odd problems in my system. Can´t do capital K without using capslock, flickering images, mousepointer freezes when I connect an external drive etc. I have booted from another system which makes all the problems go away which leads me to think it is something wrong in my software. Same problems if I create a new account and I´ve tried an Archive/reinstall without any luck. So I thought I would try a complete Erase and reinstall. I have a Time Machine backup which I would use but my question is. Is it likely that a transfer from my Time Machine backup, after my erase and install, will contain the problems I am trying to get rid of? Any better suggestions to try instead?
Thanks

CurryDallas wrote:
Hi!
I have some odd problems in my system. Can´t do capital K without using capslock, flickering images, mousepointer freezes when I connect an external drive etc. I have booted from another system which makes all the problems go away which leads me to think it is something wrong in my software. Same problems if I create a new account and I´ve tried an Archive/reinstall without any luck. So I thought I would try a complete Erase and reinstall. I have a Time Machine backup which I would use but my question is. Is it likely that a transfer from my Time Machine backup, after my erase and install, will contain the problems I am trying to get rid of?
If the problems are with software and not hardware that's quite possible. but what you describe is pretty strange. if the problems were with the system files an archive and install should have fixed them. if they are with some user preference files making a new account would have fixed them.
You can try doing an erase and install and check if the problems go away. if the do try using migration assistant to import your user settings and home directory ONLY from the TM backup. and if that doesn't work there is always an erase and install followed by manual migration from TM. that's VERY tedious but will give you the cleanest system.
see this post for help on what to migrate
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=6185507
Any better suggestions to try instead?
Thanks
Message was edited by: V.K.

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Starting from a fresh installation of OS X, set up a new administrator account and log in. You should now be able to enter Time Machine and restore your user data from a snapshot.* I suggest you do this in two stages. Quit all applications except the Finder before you begin.
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Hold down the option key and select Go ▹ Library from the Finder menu bar. Enter Time Machine and restore all items in the Library folder. Log out and log back in as soon as the restore is complete.
Any other invisible folders or files at the top level of your home folder that you want to preserve will have to be restored separately. For most users, that isn't necessary.
You'll have to reinstall all third-party applications from scratch, or restore them from another kind of backup, if you have one.
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