Time Machine Back Up Files Missing

I recently had a hard drive crash in mac book pro. Having replaced the hard drive my back up disk also decided to crash but I did not worry too much as I had a separate time machine back up.
I retrieved most of my files but then realised that loads of my photos were missing. I went back into Time Machine only to discover that my back ups now only go back a week and all the old data has simply disappeared.
I have tried pressing the alt key while accessing the Time Machine on the menu bar but there are no other back up volumes.
Has Time Machine simply over written all my old data and rendered it irretrievable?

Just found this from first backup using console app.
Apr 10 10:19:53 Macintosh defaults[1092]: \nThe domain/default pair of (//System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-attach, Disabled) does not exist
Apr 10 10:19:53 Macintosh defaults[1095]: \nThe domain/default pair of (//System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-auto, Disabled) does not exist
Apr 10 10:19:53 Macintosh defaults[1098]: \nThe domain/default pair of (//System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd, Disabled) does not exist
Apr 10 10:27:15 Macintosh defaults[3233]: \nThe domain/default pair of (//System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-attach, Disabled) does not exist
Apr 10 10:27:15 Macintosh defaults[3235]: \nThe domain/default pair of (//System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd-auto, Disabled) does not exist
Apr 10 10:27:15 Macintosh defaults[3237]: \nThe domain/default pair of (//System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.backupd, Disabled) does not exist
Apr 10 16:52:35 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Backup requested by user
Apr 10 16:52:35 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Starting standard backup
Apr 10 16:52:35 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
Apr 10 16:52:35 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Ownership is disabled on the backup destination volume. Enabling.
Apr 10 16:52:37 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Reloading changed Time Machine preferences
Apr 10 16:52:38 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Zeus
Apr 10 16:52:38 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Node requires deep traversal:/ reason:kFSEDBEventFlagMustScanSubDirs|
Apr 10 17:02:22 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Restarting backup because volume name changed for: Zeus2
Apr 10 17:02:24 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Backup requested due to disk attach
Apr 10 17:02:28 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Backup canceled.
Apr 10 17:02:29 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Starting standard backup
Apr 10 17:02:29 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
Apr 10 17:02:30 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Zeus2
Apr 10 17:02:30 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Node requires deep traversal:/ reason:kFSEDBEventFlagMustScanSubDirs|
Apr 10 17:15:34 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: No pre-backup thinning needed: 112.12 GB requested (including padding), 131.02 GB available
Apr 10 19:37:18 Macintosh /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[783]: Copied 153575 files (94.2 GB) from volume Zeus2.
Has the fact that i changed the hard drive name meant that all the old backup files have gone?

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I am trying to get space on an external hard drive which has some old time machine back up files that I do not need but can not eliminate, even by going into the time machine, clicking on the backup file to be eliminated and using the drop down eliminate

I am trying to get space on an external hard drive which has some old time machine back up files that I do not need but can not eliminate, even by going into the time machine, clicking on the backup file to be eliminated and using the drop down menu with the gear box symbol to eliminate

I cannot find this 300GB "Backup" in the Finder, only in the Storage info when I check "About This Mac".
You are probably using Time Machine to backup your MacBook Pro, right? Then the additional 300 GB could be local Time Machine snapshots. Time Machine will write the hourly backups to the free space on your hard disk, if the backup drive is temporarily not connected. You do not see these local backups in the Finder, and MacOS will delete them, when you make a regular backup to Time Machine, or when you need the space for other data.
See Pondini's page for more explanation: What are Local Snapshots? http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
I have restarted my computer, but the information remains the same. How do I reclaim the use of the 300GB? Why is it showing up as "Backups" when it used to indicate "Photos"? Are my photos safe on the external drive?
You have tested the library on the external drive, and so your photos are save there.
The local TimeMachine snapshot probably now contains a backup of the moved library. Try, if connecting your Time Machine drive will reduce the size of your local Time Machine snapshots.

Deleting Time Machine Back-up Files - HELP!

I tried to delete a time machine back-up file from my external drive (to clear space), I dragged it into the trash ... when I tried to empty trash it looked like there were 1000s of files being deleted. That scared me so I stopped the trash from emptying. Now I can't get the file out of the trash. I try to drag it out and it just copies. So two questions: 1) how do I get this file out of the trash? 2) how do I delete all of these back-up files - well, I don't need to delete all of them but there are so many? Do I really need all of these time machine back-ups? If I do delete them - what am I actually deleting? Are they just copies of my harddrive or is it a problem to delete them (when I look in the file that is in my trash it seems like it is my whole system ...). Sorry for all of the questions but I am in a bit of a panic. Also, I did try to delete the files by going into time machine, clicking on the gear icon, selecting a file and clicking on delete, nothing happened. Any thoughts, suggestions, advice most welcome!

wcaroliner wrote:
So two questions: 1) how do I get this file out of the trash?
See #E6 in [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
2) how do I delete all of these back-up files - well, I don't need to delete all of them but there are so many? Do I really need all of these time machine back-ups? If I do delete them - what am I actually deleting? Are they just copies of my harddrive or is it a problem to delete them (when I look in the file that is in my trash it seems like it is my whole system
You shouldn't have to delete old backups. Time Machine will do that automatically when it needs space for new ones, unless you have the +Warn when old backups are deleted+ box checked in +Time Machine Preferences > Options.+ Just remove the check.
If you have other data on your Time Machine drive, in the same partition, that's not a good idea. It needs to be moved elsewhere, so Time Machine has it's own, exclusive space. See #3 in [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).
The backups have a complex and somewhat unusual structure; there's a bit of "smoke and mirrors" going on there, where it appears that every backup is a full copy of your system, and it is, in a way, but isn't in another. Seems contradictory, I know. See [How Time Machine works its Magic|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Works.html] for an explanation.
I did try to delete the files by going into time machine, clicking on the gear icon, selecting a file and clicking on delete, nothing happened.
You should have gotten a confirmation prompt, then one for your Admin password. If you didn't, the backups may be damaged/corrupted. Repair them, per #A5 in Troubleshooting.

Problem Emptying Trash filled with Time Machine Back Up Files

I have needed to create more space on an external hard drive that I use for TIme Machine back up of my hard drive. I took some of the Time Machine back ups [2011 and 2012] and dumped them into my trash. I have gone into my Preferences and removed the check mark beside the "empty trash securely" so that I can get rid of the folders faster. I have a Mac X snow leopard operating system 10.6.8.
However, it takes about 1o hours to have the trash "preparing to empty trash" identify about 175,000 files. I don't know how many I have in their but it has got to be over a million.
What can I do to get rid of all of these files from my Time Machine back up? I don't want to wait five or six days before the trash starts to empty. Appreciate any help you can give. Thanks.

http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html

When is it safe to delete older Time Machine back-up files?

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Read http://pondini.org/TM/12.html
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Welcome to Apple Support Communities
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Welcome to Apple Support Communities
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Funny you should mention... it was Pondini's TM FAQs that sent me here
If they answered this question, I missed it.
I have also read up on http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5096
But neither could tell me how to manage the back up files when I had already started another external drive as backup disk.
I am currently copying all the files from the original back up drive to the new drive under another folder, it's taken about 10 hours so far, estimates 6 hours more to go.
And on the apple bulletin, it said I should uncheck "ignore ownership on this volume", which I failed to note.
Thanks for the link though, its a great one. If I missed it there, (and I checked Troubleshooting too) please let me know?

Will existing Time Machine back ups build after 1 account migration

I have one i-Mac happily backing up with Time Machine to an external hard drive.
I have just bought a second i-mac (the old one's filling up) and propose to use migration assistant to move an admin account from the old to the new i-mac leaving two other accounts (and their files etc) on the old one. I see from some posts that it seems as if Time Machine will start a new back up series for the new i-mac's back ups (cos its a new MAC address). But what about the old i-mac? Will that continue to extend the existing (old) Time Machine back up files, albeit without my transferred account and its files? I'd like to end up with the old i-mac continuing to work with and build its Time Machine back ups (less my account and its new files) and have a new back up series from the new i-mac building to a separate partition on the external drive.
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I then tried to move it (TM back up files) off with Restore, whilst preserving the TM back ups but I couldn't seem to do it to the i-Macs hard drive nor to partition that to allow this to happen (assuming the lack of a discrete partition was the problem).
That's likely correct. This only works if you restore one entire partition to another, and check the +Erase destination+ box.
The problem was that I could not (maybe for the same contiguous reasons) create a new partition on the old i-Mac just to temporarily move the TM back up to. Without it I could not 'empty' the WDC firewire drive and partition it prior to returning the TM back ups to it albeit contiguously in a dedicated partition.
Unfortunately for me to retain the TM back ups for the account I moved to the new i-Mac, I will have to leave that account on the old i-Mac as well. I can't see a way around that? If I delete the account on it then surely I will lose the ability to Log onto it and then to click TM and see back in time on that account?
If I understand you correctly, that will be true eventually, but not immediately, as TM will, eventually, delete it's copies of anything that's no longer on your internal HD. That will depend, of course, on how long TM can keep it's backups. But while they're still there, if you log on with Admin privileges, you should be able to view the old backups.
Not sure I explained myself clearly. Sorry. Having understood from your earlier help that 'migrate' actually means 'make a copy in another place', I have the migrated account in two places: one now dormant, on the old i-Mac and two, where it is migrated to (the new i-Mac). But TM continues to back up all accounts, indeed everything, on the old i-Mac by dint of its MAC address. So to see the migrated account's past history I assume I have to access the version on the old i-Mac. To put it another way, when logged into one account on the old i-Mac I believe it is not possible to see the TM history and files of another account on that i-Mac despite TM backing the entire HD. You have to be logged in to that account to see it. On the new i-Mac, with its different MAC address, TM is busy creating the first TM back up and I assumed that in the migrate it did not bring TM history as I had read that it is MAC address specific.
The only issue (apart from having this account's history spread over two machines (pre-today on the old i-Mac's TM and today onwards on the new i-Mac) is that I have all the files on both machines. I am not worried about security only unnecessary usage of disk space. It isn't critical, there's lots of it, but it just seems wasteful and untidy. Unless you guys know otherwise?
If I understand what you've done, you do have duplicates of the current contents, but only one copy of the old backups (on the old F/W drive).
On the old i-Mac I have the two accounts I wanted to stay there plus the now dormant account I migrated. TM continues to work away at memorising ALL these although there will be no further changes to the dormant migrated account as I will not be running it on the old i-Mac. On the new i-Mac I have the migrated account of which TM is now creating its first (huge) back up but starting today. There is no history here. So I have copies of everything; its just that the old history of the migrated account remains on the old i-Mac and a new history (does that make sense?) is building from the new one. My point was that if I were to delete the dormant account from the old i-Mac, then I could not access it to use TM with it. I believe TM only shows the history of the account and screen you're in at the time?
There is an option in TM that will allow you to selectively +Delete all backups of+ selected items. +Enter Time Machine,+ locate and select the item(s), click the "gear" icon in the Finder window's toolbar, and select the +Delete all backups of ..+ option.
What you can't do is, keep the backups of only previous versions of things that were changed or deleted. It's all or nothing.
Not sure I understand this. What would have been nice but I do not think is possible is to have moved the account to the new i-Mac together with the TM's back ups of that account and continue to build it up (whilst having access to its history) on the new i-Mac. If that were (is?) possible I could have totally deleted the old account and with it its files from the old i-Mac, freed up some HD space and had a full AND growing TM history all on the new i-Mac.
Many thanks for staying the course and for your continuing help.

Running a time machine back-up of a HD in target mode

Hi guys
Wondering if anyone can offer me some advice. My macbook pro won't start up and gets stuck in grey screen with apple logo. I have tried various troubleshooting tips as per apple support documents but cannot get it to start. Before I get to install and archive, and then maybe install and erase I wanted to update the time machine backups. I do try and keep on top of it regurlary and did a full time machine back-up end of August, however there are some things that were updated since then, which is why i want to run one now.
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