Time Machine Backs Up but doesn't retrieve
I use to have Time Machine back up to an external disk that was connected to a shared computer on my network. It worked great. It kept a disk image on the external disk which it mounted each time Time Machine would back up or when I entered Time Machine. Recently I have connected that external disk directly to my computer by USB. Time Machine is still backing up to this drive, it still knows that my oldest back up is from November 2007 and keeps track of it's latest backups. BUT, when I open Time Machine it no longer mounts that disk image and there is no backup history.
What have I done wrong? Do I need to delete my disk image and start over?
james a Leff wrote:
Thanks (though I've found that genius bar guys, if you hit the right one, are better than applecare guys; the latter follow scripts and flowcharts, but the former are freer to think on their feet, not assume you're a newbie, etc etc).
In most cases, that may be true. But the folks at the Apple Stores rarely know much about Time Machine, since they don't actually use it. It's worth a try (and cheaper if you don't have AppleCare), but we get many reports here of wrong advice from the Genius Bar about Time Machine.
I guess one option is to wipe the disk, wipe my time machine and finder plists, and start again.
I'd lose all previous backups, but I'm pretty sure (knock formica) I haven't suffered any data loss recently.
That's always an option. Do you have another drive? I always recommend secondary backups, on separate hardware, anyway, but especially if you're thinking of doing that. Once you hit Erase, you have no backups.
Just to be sure we're on the same plane......I'm talking about going to the TM icon in menu bar with option held down, and choosing "browse other time machine disks". I get no choices. But with the wording of "other", should I see my main TM disk there?
Yes. It should list all TM backups that OSX can find, for any Mac, including yours. The only exception is, if they've been marked as corrupted. See #E2 in Troubleshooting.
Similar Messages
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If I already purchased FaceTime for Mac and recently upgraded my HD. How can I retrieve that app again? I found it in my Time Machine back up, but the files won't work. Please help.
Nope. I do the same exact thing. If you have DVD's and blu-rays you can't download a free application called Handbrake. You can set it to Apple TV2 automatic format and they will come out as playable m4v's that can play I'm iTunes. All you have to do is turn on Home Sharing in both iTunes and your Apple RV and you'll be good to go!
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I had files stored on a hard drive that were not on my Mac. I used the hard drive for my first Time Machine back up, but it was not enough hard drive space to finish. Now those stored files are gone. Is there any way I can recover them? No, they were not part of previous Time Machine backups, and I have checked both the hard drive the documents were lost on and the new one that I now use for backups. Any suggestions would be helpful, as the lost files are old pictures that are gone forever. :[ Thanks!
1. Yes, if both drives are formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
2. Reformat the drives if needed, open the Time Machine pane of System Preferences, and remove the drive with the pictures from the list of items set to be excluded.
(110331) -
I use an external hard drive as a Time Machine back up, but I want to use another external hard drive to save movies, photos on it, but it won't give me the option to save anything on the new external hard drive. Nothing is wrong with the external hard.
Hi Clarkett99,
To use an external hard drive for your iTunes library, see the steps in this article -
iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
iPhoto can be used in a similar way, follow the steps in this previous discussion -
how do I save photos and their albums...: Apple Support Communities
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3744259
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L -
Mountain Lion will not install says HD is time machine back up but it isn't
I downloaded ML and it state will not install as HD is time machine back up but it is not, I have another external drive
for time machine back up.
I have OS 10.6.8 which a I read the information should be what is required to intall ML.
How can I get the program to recognize that my HD is not the back up disk?OS X- Cannot install on a volume used by Time Machine for backups
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Good morning,
I am trying to compy some folder from my time machine back up onto my desktop and I have changed the privilige for my back up to read and write...but it;s still not letting my copy the files. How come?See Pondini's TM FAQs for starters.
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Time Machine Backs Up, But Can't Do Anything Within Interface
I'm on a newish Macbook Pro, OS 10.6.3, and Time Machine backs up to a OWC Mercury Elite AL Pro drive via Firewire 800.
Time Machine backs up correctly, but I can only access the backed up files via Finder. "Enter Time Machine" shows me the proper interface, but absolutely nothing therein is clickable.
There is no "sparsebundle" file on the drive.
Option clicking to "browse other time machine disks" shows me no options.
Help...?james a Leff wrote:
Thanks (though I've found that genius bar guys, if you hit the right one, are better than applecare guys; the latter follow scripts and flowcharts, but the former are freer to think on their feet, not assume you're a newbie, etc etc).
In most cases, that may be true. But the folks at the Apple Stores rarely know much about Time Machine, since they don't actually use it. It's worth a try (and cheaper if you don't have AppleCare), but we get many reports here of wrong advice from the Genius Bar about Time Machine.
I guess one option is to wipe the disk, wipe my time machine and finder plists, and start again.
I'd lose all previous backups, but I'm pretty sure (knock formica) I haven't suffered any data loss recently.
That's always an option. Do you have another drive? I always recommend secondary backups, on separate hardware, anyway, but especially if you're thinking of doing that. Once you hit Erase, you have no backups.
Just to be sure we're on the same plane......I'm talking about going to the TM icon in menu bar with option held down, and choosing "browse other time machine disks". I get no choices. But with the wording of "other", should I see my main TM disk there?
Yes. It should list all TM backups that OSX can find, for any Mac, including yours. The only exception is, if they've been marked as corrupted. See #E2 in Troubleshooting. -
Time Machine backs up but backs not up
Time Machine is running normally under SL.
But when I check by entering Time Machine,
I can see that in my last backup dated today
19:43 (7:43 p.m.), the Dekstop is not up to
date : it's still the items of my desktop
date 9/24/2009.
When checking individual files, they're all
old versions, none is updated today.
Nice !
A solution ?
Thanks
Message was edited by: HellstanHellstan wrote:
Not so anymore : when I check "Option" in Pref, I see the disk
I choose for TM backup in the list of EXCLUDED disks, appearing in
full (black lettering) while the disk I normally exclude that day
appears normally in gray.
That just means that TM is not going to back-up it's backups. Not a problem.
Now there is more ANNOYING : while typing this, I left "Options"
dialog open to be sure I'm not daydreaming. And I SAW automatically
my third external disk, called Archimages, which is NEVER chosen
for TM backup, but only for Images copy I do manually, launch
a backup.
Which one is selected in TM Preferences > Change Disk?
Which is a big mess, because I dont' want my HD to copy on this
3-d disk, but only on disk 1 or 2.
Am I clear ?
About what you want, yes. About what you've done and what's happened, no
All this since I installed SL 10.6 in a clean install and update to 10.6.1
PS : Now I forced TM to stop any backup on Archimages 1, and it launched automatically the initial backup I've asked, namely on TM 1 disk. Currently,
it's "calculating modifications" since 10 minutes. Bloody mess, and I guess the culprit in SL.
Your posts are a bit hard to follow (perhaps the language difference).
If you're saying that TM is not backing-up changed items, then:
1. Are you running File Vault?
2. Is there anything in the +Do not back up+ box that's excluding them?
If both of those are "no," your preferences file may be corrupted. Do a "full reset" per item #B3 in the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* and Restart your Mac.
From your previous post:
Backing up to: /Volumes/A-Time Machine 1/Backups.backupdb
Node requires deep traversal:/Volumes/A-Time Machine 2 reason:must scan subdirs|
That indicates that the exclusion for +A-Time Machine 2+ was removed somehow.
Copied 3 files (228 KB) from volume A-Time Machine 2.
But since TM won't copy TM backups, those are probably some of the hidden files not included in the backups.
You might want to do a +*Repair Disk+* (not permissions) on both your TM drives, via Disk Utility in your Applications/Utilities folder.
That, plus the things above, including the Restart, may re-set whatever's wrong with your setup. -
I am also no longer able to back up using Time Machine (backups fail), can't access iPhoto (which was a problem before attempting to reload OS) and I suspect other apps are no longer working. The computer is however running faster in Safari and Mail...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
If there are any files you can transfer to a regular storage drive do that first and then disconenct all drives.
Hold c boot off the 10.6.8 disk and use Disk Utility to Erase with Zero option the hard drive, takes some time, let it complete as it's mapping off any bad or failing sectors.
Then install 10.6. log in and update to 10.6.8 (important!)
Now use Migration Assistant to transfer over just your user files, we need to rescue those first out of TimeMachine's EVIL clutches, once you've got that, transfer them to the regular storage drive and disconnect.
Note: if your 10.6 disk fails, call Apple for a replacement, you need the machine specific version, the 10.6.3 retial doesn't have iLife and only works for machines pre 10.6.3 release, not afterwards. Factory installed 10.6.4 machines and afterwards need machine specific disks.
Then either:
Log into the admin/first set up user on the machine and delete the Migrated user, then reboot and use Migration assistant again to TM everything this time
Or
Just install all your programs again from fresh sources.
If your TM drive is really hosed, then you'll need Data Rescue $99 to read the TM files directly and transfer the results to another regular storage drive (not the first one just in case), then pick through the debris and locate your files and transfer them to another drive.
I don't like TimeMachine, but for newbies it's better than nothing.
(I prefer cloning my entire OS X parititon instead, I can access it from any computer (Linux, Mac or PC) and I also can boot my Mac from it. I use Carbon Copy Cloner, but that's for later once your all better. ) -
Time Machine only preparing but doesn't run
I've been away for 3 weeks, and my time machine hasn't backed up since then. Now that I'm back and connected, the back up says "Preparing back up", but never goes through. I can't figure out how to get it to work. Any suggestions?
"Preparing" is going to take a very long time if you have not backed up recently and you have also recently installed Yosemite (10.10) on your Mac.
Make sure that you have your Mac connected to the Time Capsule using a wired connection, since that will be at least 3-5 times faster than wireless.
Start the backup again late at night, so that it will continue overnight. With luck, the process will be done by the next morning. If it's not, do not interrupt the backup and let it run until it completes. -
Time Machine Backs Up but thats it...
This is long but it is my tale of woe....
Okay, so I buy Leopard, install with no problems.
Get a brand new LaCie 500 External Hard Drive USB. Do the initial back up. Fine.
Click on Time Machine on Dock, get desk top window which then disappears after a second or two.
Click on Time Machine icon on Desktop, get the Finder window, go to Column view, shows backups there.
No Time Travel Window, no time line, no nothing. Nada. Call Apple Support; talk to someone in Phillipines, no cure, wait 2 hrs on phone for Product Specialist get disconnected.
Next day, same thing, wait an hour, get someone, very nice guy in Toronto, go thru all sorts of tricks, tries, and other stuff, same problem. Put you thru to Product Specialist, wait 45 minutes get disconnected.
That night I try again, get a nice person in Idaho, we go thru all sorts of configurations again with no luck. No progress. He wants to put me thru to P.S. again.. I tell him wait, this has happened before and we get cut off... he waits with me to the P.S. who I actually get to talk to. We try everything again. No luck.
Okay, so we figure maybe it is a bad LaCie..take it back get a new Western Digital Premier Edition Firewire back up drive... do everything we are supposed to do, let it run and back up overnight. Can you see where this is going? Yep, no change... still can't access Time Machine from Dock, still no Time Travel Window showing back up files. Still only get Finder view from Time Machine Icon on Desktop.
So now we know it isn't the back up drives...it has to be something within Leopard, within Time Machine.
This Product Specialist was on with me for over two hours, had me call him back yesterday, and asked me to call him back again with the results.
If I call the Apple Store Genius Bar I think I will have to pay for service as I don't have ProCare... The P.S. said he would call and talk to them and then I wouldnt have to pay.
I still don't have Time Machine to work. Can't get over to Apple Store for a couple of days.
Thanks for listening... I doubt that anyone here has any more clues what to do but will love to listen to suggestions.
BijouxYou bought Leopard and installed, but you didn't say which install method you used. It's been widely mentioned that the default install has lead to countless problems for people. Archive and install has been the method most recommended, I found.
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Time machine backs up but there's nothing there.
Hi,
Time machine seems to go through the process of backing up, but when I enter the TM there's nothing there but the most recent data i.e. I can't scroll back to a previous save.
I don't have a very big partition of my external drive allocated to TM, could this be the problem? My Macs HD is 160Gb and the TM partition 200Gb.
Any ideas?Never mind, fixed.
I read another thread and found out you can hold down option while clicking on the TM logo. This brings up different options, one of them called 'Browse other TM disks'. I clicked this and selected my HD. From then on it worked. -
Time Machine backing up, but restore option not available
Macbook Pro with OS X, 10.5.8. For some time now time machine has been backing up to the external hard drive, but when I select an earlier date to restore my system, the "restore" selection is not available. Any ideas?
Try Section E Here...
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html -
Time Machine: disk full (but doesn't self erase old backups?)
Hi everyone.
I am trying to do my backups with Time Machine (TM).
My HD is 1TB, external HDD (for TM backups) is 2TB.
After a few days TM tries to do new backups, but an error message pops up: "Too low space" in the 2TB HDD.
But does not TM automatically erases the oldest backups to free space for the new ones?
I do not want to eliminate some folders, because when the space will grow up I'll be in the same situation...
Thank you for any suggestions.
Stefano -
My hard drive was replaced. I am using time machine to restore. It is about 40 minutes into the procedure and the computer is still "looking for other sources" is this normal?
First go to iPhoto Preferences, look in both General and Advanced tabs to make sure that things are set to import from camera into iPhoto.
Then if that doesn't help, connect the camera and open Image Capture in your Applications > Utilities folder and see if you can use Image Capture to reset the import path from the camera to iPhoto.
Image Capture: Free import tool on Mac OS X - Macgasm
Message was edited by: den.thed
Sorry John, I didn't see your post when I clicked the reply button. Dennis
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