Time Machine application no longer opens

My Time Machine application has suddenly stopped launching.  When I double-click on the icon or use the "open" command there is just a brief increase in the icon size and then nothing mmore happens.  I reinstalled the 10.8.4 update but that didn't help.  I'd like to reinstall the application, but do I have to reinstall the entire system?

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Then try the action that you're having trouble with again. Select any messages that appear in the Console window. Copy them to the Clipboard (command-C). Paste into a reply to this message (command-V).
When posting a log extract, be selective. In most cases, a few dozen lines are more than enough.
Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

Similar Messages

  • HT201250 time machine application does not open

    Tried to open Time Machine but the application does not start up.
    Software is up to date.
    Preferences are set to "on" with oldest backups from November 2011 and plenty of room left on external hard disk unit.
    Need some tips or tricks to be able to search a recent backup for missing files.
    thanks!

    Please try each of the steps below that you haven't already taken.
    Step 1
    Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ If you’re running Mac OS X 10.7 or later, open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the page that opens.
    Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Try again to enter Time Machine. Post any messages that appear in the Console window – the text, please, not a screenshot.
    Step 2
    Open the backup volume in the Finder. You should see a folder with the name "Backups.backupdb". You should not see a file with a name ending in "sparsebundle". If you do see that, the backup was created over a network and can only be used that way.
    Step 3
    Launch Disk Utility and select icon of the backup drive in the pane on the left (not any of the volume icons below it.) At the bottom of the window, you should see this:
    Partition Map Scheme : GUID Partition Table
    If the partition scheme is anything else, the drive has to be repartitioned (with the loss of all data.)
    Step 4
    In the Finder, select Go ▹ Go to Folder... from the menu bar, copy the text on the line below into the box that opens, and press return:
    ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
    Move the selected file to the Desktop, leaving the Finder window open for now.
    Relaunch the Finder by selecting  ▹ Force Quit... from the menu bar, then selecting Finder and pressing return. Your Finder settings will be lost.
    Try again to enter Time Machine. If you still can't, put back the file you moved to the Desktop, replacing the newer one that will have been created in its place.
    Otherwise, close the Finder window you opened and delete the file you moved to the Desktop. Recreate your Finder preferences.
    Step 5
    Boot in safe mode by holding down the shift key at the startup chime. Try again to enter Time Machine.
    Note: If FileVault is enabled under Mac OS X 10.7 or later, or if a firmware password is set, you can’t boot in safe mode.

  • I have bought a Seagate Backup Plus 1TB drive, first time I have selected Mac Windows option which excludes Time Machine to work on it, but now I want to go back and select Only Mac option to activate my Time Machine application. I request you to help me

    I have bought a Seagate Backup Plus 1TB drive, first time during plug-in, I have selected Mac Windows option which excludes Time Machine to work on it, but now I want to go back and select Only Mac option to activate my Time Machine application.
    I request you to help me with the procedure of the same?

    IMPORTANT - This will reformat your Seagate drive and hence wipe it.  If there is anything on your Seagate drive you want to keep, save it somewhere else FIRST.
    Plug the drive in.
    In Finder select Applications > Utilities > Disc Utilities.
    Select the external drive, select Partition option, give it a name (I call mine Mac Backup), select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the Format and under the drop down menu "Partition Layout" select the number of partitions you want (so if you want the drive to just be for Time Machine, select 1 Partition, if you want part of the drive to be for Time Machine and the rest for something else, select 2 partitions and so on).  Click apply and the Disc Utility will partition and reformat your drive ready to use.
    When this is complete, open Time Machine in System Preferences. Use  Select Disc to select the drive (or if you have multiple partitions, the partition of the drive) you want and you are good to go.
    This may be a long way round, but it gives you the option to partition your disc which you may want.

  • HT5988 I downloaded Mavericks and now my WD Smartware that I use for Time Machine is no longer compatible with this OSX version?  How do I make that unit compatible?  olefromca

    I downloaded Mavericks and now my WD Smartware that I use for Time Machine is no longer compatible with this OSX version?  How do I make that unit compatible?  olefromca

    I agree entirely, been messing with this since the upgrade to Mavericks but I didn't find it quite as easy as uninstalling the WD smartware as it still operates when you plug the drive back in - I think it gets loaded onto the drive and runs from within (?). The advice from WD was that time machine was faulty and I should contact Apple...thanks guys!
    Anyway, for the OP's benefit, this is what I found:
    1. My problem was that time machine couldn't see any further back than before the Mavericks install, but if I opened up and interrogated the WD drive, the old backups were still there.
    2. When TM started doing new backups, it overwrote the ones that it could see, not the oldest ones on the drive. This indicated to
    me that the WD software had somehow partitioned off the old backups and excluded that part of the drive from being overwritten. Of course, as the drive was practically full, it meant that any new backups wouldn't fit in the available space.....
    3. The only way I could find to resolve this was to use the disc utility to erase and repartition the external drive. This will obviously remove all of the old files and backups, but I was more concerned about keeping a current profile as backup rather than a load of stuff from months ago.
    4. Anyway, what happens after the eraseure has completed is that you get the WD icon on the desktop, and you're invited to install the software - this means the software has now been deleted. Juts don't reinstall it, just let TM do it's backup and all is well.
    Usual disclaimers and warnings about keeping another copy of your system etc. obviously apply, and I know this is a radical move to delete all your old data but it worked for me. I guess I didn't appreciate that you could use the external drive without the software that came with it and just followed the screen guide.
    I'm also aware that if you don't want to use TM to do a complete restore and only want to find one old version of a document, this is difficult. However, you can then install the WD software and find the file but you'll then have to do this all again.....

  • Time Machine HD no longer recognized

    The hard drive I've been using for Time Machine is no longer being recognized by the OS or Time Machine. I've tested the drive, and it 100% works. I've also tested the USB ports and they work too! I tried plugging it into another Mac and it also ignores the drive. I feel like Time Machine messed up something and now the drive is being ignored. The drive sometimes shows up in the disk utility but never with the drive name so I can't verify the disk or anything.

    what do you mean the drive 100% works? if it doesn't show up in disk utility and doesn't mount that is clearly not the case. if you can't repair the drive and it doesn't mount you have to reformat it. this will wipe the drive of course.

  • After having the logic board replaced, Time Machine will no longer backup my computer to the same backup files as before.

    After having the logic board replaced due to bad NVidia chip, my Time Machine will no longer backup my computer to the current backup. Is there a way to reset something to get Time Machine to continue to use the same backup files as before for this laptop?

    As far as TM is concerned you have a new computer, so it will make a new backup. If you don't have the space for both backups then erase your backup drive before backing up the computer.

  • My Time Machine will no longer back up to my external disk for unknown reasons.  It would not accept my password and said the disk is read-only and damaged.  How can I copy my files to my Mac so I can repair it?

    My Time Machine will no longer back up to my external drive for unknown reasons.  It began after a series of power outages (my equipment is protected by a surge protector with battery backup), and was shut down correctly.  Then it began by not recognizing my disk and my Time Machine password, although I am positive it was correct. I tried NUMEROUS times to get into it. It says the disk is damaged and needs to be erased and started over.  How can I back up my files on my Mac so I can do that? I have no other disk to back up to.  I found the files in a folder called "Backups.backupdb", and tried to copy them into a folder, but get the message "The volume has the wrong case sensitivity for a backup."  The "lost+found" folder did copy for me. Will I just have to lose 4 years of backups?

    Hi there,
    I have the same issue. Usually hangs after 10K od sometimes after 18MB of backup file.
    Config: iTunes 10.4., Win 7 64bit, iPhone 4 with iOS 4.3.3
    I tried all of these without success:
    - deleted backups via iTunes / Preferences
    - deleted backups from sync folder
    - created a new admin user and tried to sync
    - reinstalled iTunes
    - ran all Windows updates, restarted, reinstalled iTunes
    - ran iTunes / Diagnostics (says everything okay, only info which is strange: diag says I am not a admin user, which is not correct)
    Nothing helped. Who can help. I hope someone from Apple can take care, as I seem not to be the only one. Actually iTunes is the worst part about iPhone. Hope with iOS 5 and Cloud sync to get rid of iTunes.
    Any hints welcome,
    Cheers,
    Miguel-KA

  • I have an Apple Macbook and will be backing up the entire system to an external hard drive utilizing the Time Machine application. when I am doing this, will the data on the external drive that I am using be erased?

    I have an Apple Macbook and will be backing up the entire system in order to upgrade to a newer OS. I will be using an external hard drive to do this and there is already data on it. To complete the backup, i will be using the Time Machine application. Does this application wipe out all of the existing data on the external hard drive, or will it create a new "folder" for the backup?
    thank you

    No, but as steve359 states you should use a dedicated hard drive for backups. It you need a temporary backup then you can use the drive provided it has sufficient space for all your data on the hard drive.
    When Time Machine finds that the drive has data on it already it may decide to erase the drive before continuing, which is another reason to use a dedicated drive.

  • I accidentally erased the Time Machine application.  How can I reinstall it?

    I accidentally erased the Time Machine application.  How can I reinstall it?

    Use Pacifist to extract it.

  • Why is time machine indexing so long?

    why is time machine indexing so long?

    ismail2000 wrote:
    my brand new Time Capsule.
    You never reported back that you read the link I posted.  You are under warranty.  Call Apple tech support.

  • HT1178 I have set up Time Capsule to use with Time Machine.  When I open Time Machine it 'cannot find' the Time Capsule and I have the Select the Disk each time.  In the Next Backup tab it always says "When disk is connected" even though the disk is alrea

    I have set up Time Capsule to use with Time Machine but when I open Time Machine it 'cannot find' the Time Capsule and I have to 'Select the Disk' each time. In the Next Backup tab it always says "When disk is connected" even though the disk is already connected.

    Your pro doesn't matter.. I presume it is happily working.
    Your imac setup has got messed up because you changed from a local (my book being USB type I presume) to network drive. Did you do a clean install of Lion?
    Did you use the backup from the Pro on the imac? Otherwise I don't see how the Pro shows up in use previous disk. Where is Pondini when you need him??
    You cannot download Time Machine as an App and replace the current version. It is built into the OS.. the only way to do it is a clean install. Unfortunately that might be the only way around the issue.
    There is a number of issues that Pondini has covered in the setup issues of troubleshooting.
    This is the most relevant I think. http://pondini.org/TM/B6.html
    But look at the whole section B setup problems.
    http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
    If it was me, I would store all the info you need.. not using TM but using a straight copy of files.
    Then clean install Lion. I doubt any of these issues would exist if you had not installed Lion over existing setup or used a different backup.
    See if you can get Pondini to respond.. !!

  • Time machine takes very long time

    Time machine takes very long time to write the back up.
    For writing 2,33 GB (from 26,33GB) it takes abou14 hours and I don't know, why it is so very slow. I work with USB 3.0 2 TB external hard disk drive.

    Try Here  >  http://pondini.org/TM/D2.html
    From Here  >  http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

  • Why can't I start the Time Machine Application?

    This is the first time I tried to restore files using time machine.  But there is a question mark over the Time Machine Icon.  When I click on it nothing happens at all.  I cannot start Time Machine.  The HD was connected and I backed up some files just a few minutes ago.
    Would appreciate some help.

    Look in the Applications folder for the Time Machine application. If you don't find it there, then do a Spotlight search for it in case you moved it.

  • Time Machine won't always open desired Application

    This is probably fairly basic, when entering Time Machine, why can does time machine present the desired application (e.g. Mail) in some instances, but open Finder (not the desired application, e.g. Calendar or Reminders)? If I try to open the desired application from Finder I only get info on the Application.

    See Here  >  http://pondini.org/TM/15A.html
    And here  >  http://pondini.org/TM/15.html
    From Pondini’s excellent Information Here...
    Frequently Asked Questions

  • Time machine backups no longer include hidden system folder like /usr and /sbin

    My Time Machine backups Aug - Oct seem complete.  When I look at them I see all the expected folders and files.  Starting in November key system folders disappeared: /sbin, /usr, /bin, etc.  However, the non-hidden one are there: /Applications, /Library, etc.  Later in November certain things show up again like /usr/share/man/whatis and /usr/share/man/ri, but nothing else under /usr/share.  I've looked for all possible places where folders might be excluded and have found nothing.
    I'm using Mavericks on a MacBook Pro with a Time Capsule.  All software and firmware are completely up to date.  I can't explain the behavior.  If I take one example I can see /usr in the Nov 5 backup and it is fully populated.  It is gone in the Nov 12 backup.  In the Nov 19 backup it is back but only with /usr/share/man/whatis.  There are no errors in my logs although my logs don't go back that far, so if something happened the week of Nov 5 I don't know.
    Anyone with any guesses?
    K-Family

    If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
    Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
    ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
    ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
    ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
    Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
    View ▹ Show Log List
    from the menu bar.
    Enter the word "Starting" (without the quotes) in the String Matching text field. You should now see log messages with the words "Starting * backup," where * represents any of the words "automatic," "manual," or "standard." Note the timestamp of the last such message that corresponds to an abnormal backup. Now
    CLEAR THE WORD "Starting" FROM THE TEXT FIELD
    so that all messages are showning, and scroll back in the log to the time you noted. Select the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste (command-V) into a reply to this message.
    If all you see are messages that contain the word "Starting," you didn't clear the text field.
    If there are runs of repeated messages, post only one example of each. Don't post many repetitions of the same message.
    When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
    Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
    Some personal information, such as the names of your files, may be included — anonymize before posting.

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