Time machine and reinstalling

Hey, the other day i posted this in the bootcamp forum:
"Hey, I am new to bootcamp and unsure what to do. This message appears after about a minute, whilst bootcamp is preparing my HD for the partitioning process:
"The disk cannot be partitioned because some files cannot be moved. Back up the disk and use Disk Utility to format it as a single Mac OS Extended (Journaled) volume. Restore your information to the disk and try using Boot Camp Assistant again."
Is there anyway I can get around this? i.e. boot camping an external?
If that is not possible, how could I do this using Disk Utility? Once it has been formatted, will my MacBook start up like the first time I got it or will I have to re-install the OS and Applications? Then put my back-up on?
Then from there will it be ok to bootcamp?"
From this I have been told to back up and erase the HDD. I have just backed my mac up on an external HDD using the time machine application. Once I have erased everything, will I loose everything and have to reinstall the OS and Applications? Or will it erase everything except the OS and Apps? And how would I go about reinstalling the back up?
Do I need to use a programme like super duper to create a bootable clone and and then use disk utility to reinstall? Using the restore on the application?
After this will I be able to bootcamp my mac?
I hope someone can make sense because I am completely confused.
Thanks in advance
Ash

Similar Messages

I have a mid 2010 Macbook Pro running Snow Leopard and foolishly upgraded to Yosemite. Is it possible to go back in time with Time Machine and reinstall Snow Leopard. Then upgrade to Lion or Mavericks? Any other ideas on how I can exit Yosemite?

I have a mid 2010 Macbook Pro running Snow Leopard and foolishly upgraded to Yosemite. Now have numerous problems. Is it possible to go back in time with Time Machine and reinstall Snow Leopard? Then upgrade to Lion or Mavericks? Any other ideas on how I can exit Yosemite?

Once you get yourself back to Snow Leopard, if you still want to upgrade somewhat, I would suggest the following:
1. Get an external hard drive that you can use for experiments with new OS versions. You could partition it into 2 or 3 partitions. You could then clone your existing Snow Leopard system to one partition using Carbon Copy Cloner (well worth $40) or SuperDuper ($25).
2. Buy OS X Mountain Lion for $20, through the Apple online store (I don't think it's available through the App Store). Apple has decided to make it very difficult for anyone to get Mavericks unless they have already downloaded it.
You will receive two e-mails from Apple, one containing a PDF with a redemption code, and one with the password you will need to unlock the PDF. Using the code, you will download Mountain Lion from the App Store, where it will appear among your Purchased items.
After ML finishes downloading, its installer app will launch itself. When you see this launch screen, QUIT the install app immediately! Go to your applications folder, find the Install OS X Mountain Lion app, and copy it to a safe location outside of your Applications folder. Keeping one or more copies will allow you to reinstall without unnecessary aggravation if you later need or want to do that. At this point, you can re-launch the Installer in the Applications folder and let it run. You can install it on a clean partition on your external HD, or you can allow it to upgrade the Snow Leopard clone you created on your external drive, or you can do both. This should allow you to test how everything works for as long as you like.
3. If you left yourself a free partition on your test drive, try a clean install of Yosemite and set everything up from scratch (do not migrate anything). This will allow you to see whether your problems with it were related to something in your Snow Leopard system.

Time Machine and reinstalling OS X 6.5

Due to some corrupted files on my HD, I reinstalled Snow Leopard.
Now Time Machine keeps telling me that my external drive (that I use to backup Time Machine) doesn't have enough space left. From reading some of these posts, I realize that my computer now has a new ID and that Time Machine can no longer perform incremental backups on the old data.
So I was planning to set the external drive aside for future restoration if needed, and use another external drive for Time Machine from this point on.
I was planning to label the old external drive with the dates of the backups that go back to the beginning of 2010.
So I opened Time Machine, but it isn't seeing the old backups.
Disk Utility says that the external drive has 1.17 Gb used (out of 1.5 Gb).
I can see all the files using the Finder.
So is it usable? Time Machine isn't seeing it. Is there a way to recover the backups, or should I just cut my losses and reformat the drive and start over?
I'd hate to lose all that data.

tomhedeen wrote:
This all started when I tried to use Drive Genius 3 to optimize my hard drive this past weekend.
I started getting messages that the drive was failing. I used a tool to repair it that erased things from my hard drive and it would no longer boot.
I don't know anything about Drive Genius, but you should probably do additional hardware tests on that drive. How old is it? I am not confident in it. While defragging or other optimization isn't really necessary, that message has me worried. Hard drives are cheap and easy to replace, your data isn't.
I had a bootable clone that I made using Carbon Copy Cloner, but it would not start up fully.
Thanks, I have been fighting people in another forum about Time Machine vs. Carbon Copy Cloner
I prefer Time Machine. While there is nothing wrong with Carbon Copy Cloner, the fact that it will not start up probably indicates that the data on your original drive was bad, perhaps due to hardware failure.
What I meant by planning to set aside the external drive, was that since my TM backups take up 1.17GB of the 1.5GB on the disk,
Don't you mean TB? They haven't made 1.5GB drives for a long time now.
But when I open TM to look at those old files (the ones that are on there from before my problems this weekend), it doesn't show them. It only shows backups from since I restored the computer.
The Time Machine interface is probably only going to do the "Time Warp" interface with your current Time Machine backup. All of your data is still on the old drive, it is just tucked into a date-indexed directory structure. If you needed to recover your files, you could do so manually.
So, if TM doesn't see them, maybe I should just erase the whole drive (using Disk Utility) and start from scratch (and cut my losses). I'd hate to lose all that backed up information, though.
Don't erase your backup drive. I think you still need to buy at least one new hard drive. If you don't want to buy two new drives, you could copy one or more of the older date snapshots from the old Time Machine drive onto the new drive. You could just go in and copy the user folders. The goal is to make sure you have at least 2 copies of your data on two different drives at all times - however you manage that. If you have only one copy, the only thing you should do with it is back it up.
I should remember. If it ain't broke--don't fix it!
It may have been broken.

Time Machine and Reinstall

I am planning to reinstall OSX 10.5 as it has been about 3 years since I bought my Macbook Pro. Recently it has been a bit sluggish so a complete format and reinstall should do the trick. I am using time machine to back up on a regular basis. My question is that does time machine reinstall all my old application data and settings ONLY or does it also reinstall my old system files as well. Since I am doing a reinstall I do not want any old corrupted system files coming back via time machine.

Aquatic999 wrote:
I am planning to reinstall OSX 10.5 as it has been about 3 years since I bought my Macbook Pro. Recently it has been a bit sluggish so a complete format and reinstall should do the trick. I am using time machine to back up on a regular basis. My question is that does time machine reinstall all my old application data and settings ONLY or does it also reinstall my old system files as well.
Time machine can do both. what you want is equivalent to an archive and install and you actually don't need Time Machine for that. but if you want to do it using Time Machine do an erase and install. upon restart after an erase and install you'll get to setup assistant which will offer to migrate your user data and applications from a TM backup.
Since I am doing a reinstall I do not want any old corrupted system files coming back via time machine.

I recently did a full reinstall from my time machine and now my MacBook pro won't back up to the time machine. It starts a full backup ignoring the original back up, can anyone help?

I recently did a full reinstall from my time machine and now my MacBook pro won't back up to the time machine. It starts a full backup ignoring the original back up, can anyone help?

Did you follow the instructions on the page linked below?
OS X Yosemite: Recover your entire system

Can i uninstall iPhoto 9.4 and reinstall iphoto 9.3 from time machine and will my photos still be there?

can i uninstall iPhoto 9.4 and reinstall iphoto 9.3 from time machine and will my photos still be there?
Janet

Did you try to repair your library after the update to 9.4? Here's what you can try: make a temporary, backup copy of your library if you don't already have one (Control-click on the library and select Duplicate from the contextual menu) and apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Since only one option can be run at a time start with Option #3, followed by #4 and then #1 as needed.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 - click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option.
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
If the above does'nt work and you want to go back to iPhoto 9.3 read this tutorial from iPhoto Library Manager's website: Fat Cat Software - iPhoto Library Manager Help - Downgrading a library to an earlier version of iPhoto
OT

Time machine and iPhoto '08

I asked a similar question on the iPhoto discussion list earlier today, and have had no luck, so now I will try the Time Machine discussion list.
I want to know why Time Machine "allowed" iPhoto '08 to migrate my backed up photo files and directory structures to the new "package" structure without my knowledge or permission?
I want to know why, when I go to the folder in Time Machine that contains my archived/backed up photos, the package directory backed up on, say, June 29th 2008 points to pictures that I uploaded LAST WEEKEND?
Does this mean that Time Machine's back ups of iPhoto are moot, b/c once corruption occurs, the fact that there is "one package to rule them all" will also mean that if a corrupted iPhoto db is backed up, then I will no longer have an uncorrupted file, even if my back ups go back months?
I understand iPhoto '08 updating my current photos in the Unix directory into the new "package" structure. I understand that the new "package" structure is supposed to save us from ourselves. I have read Devlin's advice on how to access the package files. I don't want advice on any of that.
I simply want to know WHY Apple has designed a software package that migrates BACKED UP DATA to the new, "approved" structure? That is like Microsoft designing software to seek out every .doc file I have and changing it to .docx.
I didn't want or expect my archives to be updated, and please save me the speech on how the package structure will save me from corrupting my iPhoto files, and how I "shouldn't" access my files through Finder, in the first place. I'm not interested in lectures on how I use my own computer.
I simply want to know why Time Machine allowed a software program to migrate the structure of my "archival" files without my knowledge or permission.
I also want to know if there is a way I can "undo" the iPhoto '08 migration in my back up files or if I am just stuck with this now. I plan to uninstall iLife '08, as after one weekend I am rather disgusted with iPhoto; I'll leave out my opinion of "Mobile Me".
I discovered this (the migration of my photo files to the iPhoto '08 package) when I went to Time Machine to reinstall my system to where it was prior to the install of iLife '08. I work in digital preservation (as much as there is such a field) and the entire idea that Apple has designed software to search around and migrate someone's archival data without the permission or knowledge of the owner is pretty stupid from a legal perspective.

I'll take the question to the Apple Genius Bar.

Time Machine after Reinstalling HD

I upgraded to Yosemite, and my iMac started going slow. There was some sort of kernal_task. Long story short I gave up trying to fix it and I decided to erase the Mac HD and reinstall Yosemite. Everything is fine, except now I want to add some files and folders back to the Mac HD from Time Machine and I want to reactivate Time machine. My question is, if I activate Time machine to restore a bunch of files, will time machine reformat the external HD thus losing the contents?
Possibly a stupid question but I never had to restore from time machine.
Thanks,

No, it won't reformat the backup drive or your computer's drive.

Leopard, Vista, Time Machine, and Shared on a single disk

A friend of mine recently bought one of the new Mac Pros and I'm helping him set it up.
Here's what I want to do and I've been having considerable trouble getting this to work.
My friend got a single terabyte hard drive and I want to partition it into four partitions- one for Leopard, one for Vista, one for Time Machine, and one for Sharing files (FAT 32).
I found out the long way that Boot Camp will not let you install Vista if you already have several partitions on your hard drive.
Here's what I have done so far.
1. Erased the drive and installed a fresh installation of Leopard
2. Run Boot Camp to install Vista (this worked fine and I was able to boot into both operating systems)
3. Booted from OS X install disk and used disk utility to create two new partitions from the HSF formated Leopard drive
My problem is that creating these new partitions deactivated the Vista Partition. The windows partition still shows up in Disk Utility as it did before but when I hold down option to try booting into Windows, Vista no longer shows up. The Mac Works fine as does the Time Machine and Shared partitions.
Could someone please help me to get Vista working again. I hope I won't have to reinstall everything to make this work but if that's the only way, could someone at least tell me how to accomplish my original goal with the computer setup?

VaatiKaiba wrote:
I'm going to install Windows on my Mac soon (for dev purposes, I love Leopard!), but was just wondering something. When I install Vista, will Time Machine backup the Windows partition of the HD?
No but wait ...
If not, can I backup the Windows partition using a Windows program? Also, can I back them up onto the same disc, or will that confuse Mac OS if it has to look back for a backup?
Even better there is a program that will make an image of your Windows partition from OS-X!
It's called Winclone and the latest version supports both NTFS and FAT32.
Get it here - it's free.
You should not backup a program onto the same HD. When the HD fails, you lose the backup as well as the original.
Backup your Windows partition to your TM drive. It's a perfect match.
http://www.twocanoes.com/winclone/
Thanks!

HT201250 Can I partition my external hard drive and use one partion for time machine and the other one for data that i may want to use in different computers?

I have this doubt. I've just bought an external drive, especifically a Seagate GoFlex Desk 3 tb.
I want to know if it is recomendable to make a partion exclusively for time machine and let another one so I can put there music, photos, videos, etc that I should need to use or copy to another computer.
May half and half, 1.5 tb for time machine and 1.5 tb for data.
I have an internal hard drive of 500 GB (499.25 GB) in my macbook pro.
Any recommendation?

As I said, yes. Be sure your Time Machine partition has at least 1 TB for backups.
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. 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 two (2). 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 Partition button and wait until the process has completed.

Can I have two Time Capsules in the same network, use one as Time Machine and other to expand network?

I need to purchase a divice to expand my Wi-fi network. I was looking at the AirPort Extreme, but a friend has a brand new Time Capsule for sale. So, for the same price of the AirPort Extreme, I´m getting the Time Capsule.
I already own one and using it as Time Machine and wireless router. If I decide to purchase another TC would it have any conflict with the one that I already have?
Is it possible to use one as Time Machine and wireless router and the other to just expand network and storage only (not as Time Machine)?

If I decide to purchase another TC would it have any conflict with the one that I already have?
No
Is it possible to use one as Time Machine and wireless router and the other to just expand network and storage only (not as Time Machine)?
Yes. The important thing to remember is that the "extending" Time Capsule must be located where it can receive a strong wireless signal from your "main" Time Capsule.

Can I use my external HD for Time Machine and still use it for storage?

I have a 1TB external HD and my computer has yet to arrive. I was planning on backing it up via Time Machine and I'm wondering if my external HD will still be useable as a storage device once I pair it with Time Machine.
There's no way the backup will take up the full 1TB of space, so I'm hoping it doesn't just go to waste >.<

If you really only want backups of the current contents, don't use Time Machine.
It's designed to keep copies of things you've changed or deleted for as long as possible. This allows you an excellent chance to recover a previous version of something you changed or deleted in error.
It also allows you to revert your entire system to the exact state it was in at the time of any previous backup, even if that's a different version of OSX. It's rare, but if an OSX update, or installation of a kernel extension or 3rd-party app makes a huge mess, it's much easier and more reliable than rebuilding everything.
You might want to review the [Time Machine Tutorial|http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#timemachinebasics] and perhaps browse [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 this forum). See #1 there for size considerations.
For alternatives, see Kappy's post on [Basic Backup|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12366915#12366915].

I'm using Time Machine and a LaCie external drive to backup. I also have a 8 GB LaCie flash drive I want to use for small jobs. If I plug the LaCie flash drive in, is my Mac going to think it is the LaCie external drive and start trying to backup?

I'm using Time Machine and a LaCie external drive to backup. I also have a 8 GB LaCie flash drive I want to use for small jobs. If I plug the LaCie flash drive in, is my Mac going to think it is the LaCie external drive and start trying to backup?

no.

TIme Machine and iTunes

When I perform a back up using the time machine and my external hard drive, will the music in my itunes and the photos in iphoto be backed up as well? Thanks!

Everything is included unless you exclude it. How you do that is:
1. Open System Prefrences and click on Time Machine
2. Then click on Options. If you want to exclude something click the + sign and use Finder to locate it and then add it. On your next TM backup that item willl be excluded.

I have an older macbook pro and the hard drive is starting to go (making loud noises). i tried to back up to an external hard drive (my passport essential se) using time machine and the computer keeps shutting down. suggestions to complete backup please?

I have an older macbook pro and the hard drive is starting to go (making loud noises). i tried to back up to an external hard drive (my passport essential se) using time machine and the computer keeps shutting down. the same thing happens when just trying to save my pictures from iphoto to a flash drive. suggestions to complete backup please?

Sounds like you'll need to access that drive while it is not booted. You need to replace it anyway, so do that, then one way or another (ext enclusure, et), access it and copy files.
If you keep trying to boot it, you might kill it for good and not get your files, so just swap it out first.

Time machine and reinstalling

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