Time Machine backup isn't being recognized in Migration Assistant

I have an external hard drives with 3 partitions: 2 are TM backups of my two computers, and the other is just a file storage partition.
I am trying to migrate files onto a brand new hard drive from a TM backup. I formatted the new HD and installed OS 10.9 on it, but when I open Migration Assistant, it only recognizes the other computer's TM backup and the file storage partition, not the Macbook TM backup partition. Additionally, this partition (when I view it on my other computer) shows up with the orange USB icon rather than the green TM icon.
Does this mean my backup is corrupted? Is there a way to fix this without going back into my laptop and switching back to the old hard drive and wiping out the old backup and backing the whole thing up again?

You won't be able to transfer data in Setup or Migration Assistant from a snapshot of a system running a newer major version of OS X; for example, 10.10 to 10.9.
A possible reason for backups not to be available in Migration Assistant is that the computer doesn't have a name, or the name is corrupt. Open the Sharing preference pane and check the name. If you can't do that, reset the PRAM. Credit to ASC member Csnote for this observation.
Most likely, some folders were excluded from the backups as the result of a failed or aborted software installation.
Starting from a clean installation of OS X, set up a new administrator account and log in. Enter Time Machine and press the key combination shift-command-C. The front window will show all mounted volumes. All snapshots should now be accessible.* Select the one you want and navigate to your home folder (in the Users folder at the top level of the old startup volume.)
You should now be able to restore your user data. I suggest you do this in two stages. Quit all applications except the Finder before you begin.
Restore all the visible items at the top level of the home folder.
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 the 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.
You'll have another problem because you erased the startup volume. The next time you back up, Time Machine won't recognize any files as being the same as they were before, and will make a full copy of all files. There might not be enough space on one or more of the backup volumes for that. There are different ways of dealing with that situation, depending on your needs. The easiest way is to set the backup drives aside, if possible, until you're sure you'll no longer need the data on them, then erase them and start over. Meanwhile start a new backup on one or more empty storage devices. If that solution isn't workable for you, ask for instructions.
*If you don't see any snapshots in Time Machine, exit the time-travel view and then hold down the option key while selecting
Browse Other Backup Disks...
from the Time Machine menu, which has an icon that looks like a clock running backwards. Select the backups of the computer by its previous name. If you don't have the Time Machine menu, open the Time Machine preference pane in System Preferences and check the box marked
Show Time Machine in menu bar

Similar Messages

10.5 Time Machine backup not visible in 10.6 Migration Assistant

Hello everyone,
Helping my not-so-tech savvy auntie move over from her old 5,1 iMac to a newer 8,1 MacBook. Her old iMac has a Time Machine backup on OS 10.5.8. I plugged in the Time Machine to the new MacBook (which is on a clean install of OS 10.6.8) and for some reason the Migration Assistant is not picking up the Time Machine in the "Select Your Disk" section. All I can see is the MacBook's internal HD. The Time Machine backup is showing up in Finder, however the disk's icon is yellow, not Time Machine green.
I'm a bit stumped - can someone please advise? By all indications, a 10.5 Time Machine backup should be able to restore to a 10.6 system. We are visiting for the weekend and I really would like to get her up and running before we leave tomorrow.
Thanks!
VIkki

Yes, that's option B as she still has the IMac but I'm curious as to why the TM backup isn't working - just in case I need to do this on another machine down the road, it would be nice to know what's going wrong with the more convenient TM restore option.... Thanks!

HT204350 USB Time Machine backup drive not visble in Mavericks Migration Assistant

Hi all,
Yesterday I updated my dad's iMac from Snow Leopard (SL) to Mavericks. Seemed to work ok apart from the fact that turning on iCloud wiped out the calendars. In order to get the calendars back I restored from the most recent SL Time Machine backup. This turned out to be a big mistake! It did get the calendars back but stopped all programs not included in the OS X install to stop working!
I then managed to get a bootable flash drive installer for Mavericks sorted out and installed a fresh copy of Mavericks on the computer with the plan of using Migration Assistant to bring all my dad's files, settings, etc over. The problem is that when I open Migration Assistant and try to migrate from the USB Time Machine backup drive, the drive doesn't show up in the list.
I have also tried restoring from the Time Machine backups that were made straight after the upgrade to Mavericks as I have exported copies of the calendars now and that was the only issue at the time but when I do that the restore fails after about 4.5% progress.
Any help would be amazing as my dad runs two small businesses with the computer and the down time causing quite a few issues.
Thanksin advance!

If you synchronize any of your calendars with a server such as iCloud, disable that synchronization. Quit Calendar.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
~/Library/Calendars
Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select
Services ▹ Reveal
from the contextual menu.* A Finder window should open with a folder selected. Enter Time Machine and restore that folder from the snapshot you want.
Relaunch Calendar and test. Your calendars should be as they were when the snapshot was taken. If you don't sync with a server, stop here. If you do sync some of the calendars with a server, select each one in turn and then select
File ▹ Export ▹ Export…
from the menu bar. You'll get ICS files with the filename extension ".ics". Re-enable sync. Usually, all the calendars you just restored will be deleted. That's not a problem. Create a new calendar on the server for each one you exported and want to sync:
File ▹ New Calendar
Then import the calendar from the corresponding ICS file by double-clicking it. Follow the prompts to import the new events to the calendar you just created. For calendars that you don't want to sync, just import them again. They'll appear in the calendar list under On My Mac.
*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select
Go ▹ Go to Folder...
from the menu bar, paste into the box that opens (command-V). You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

Import Time Machine backup to new user account? Migration Assistant?

Long story short: my wife has a recent Time Machine backup from HER iMac that we would like to import as a new user account on MY iMac.
No need to import apps--just user profile, settings, photos/docs, etc.
Do I need to create a new user account for her on my iMac first? Or will it be done during the import?
Also, should I be using Time Machine for this, or the Migration Assistant?
Just looking for the easiest way to do this, as it will be a temporary situation until her new MacBook Pro arrives.
Thanks!
EDIT: Not sure if it makes a difference, but her iMac was running Snow Leopard at the time of the last Time Machine backup, and my iMac has Lion.

Use Migration assistant and import her user account from TM backup.
Don't create her user account first. Migrating her account will take care of that.
Shouldn't matter if her previous backup was SL.

HT4848 Is it possible to partition an external hard drive that is already being used for Time Machine backups without it being erased?

I'm want to use my current external hard drive, which I use for Time Machine Backup, as a recovery disk for Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2. From what I have read, the recovery disk assistant will erase all data on the external drive unless it is partitioned. Can I partition my current backup drive without erasing it, even though it is already being used for Time Machine?

It's very simple to test. Turn off your computer. Have your time machine backup plugged in. Hold option and turn it on, keeping option held. Do you see your time machine drive? If so, select it and press enter. You'll end up in recovery. If it works, there you go. Then just click the apple and restart to get back to your regular desktop. Then you'll know for when you're ready to do the deed.
Edit...
I'm not sure if time machine will think it's an entirely different computer, though, when a hard drive changed, making an actual restore not doable. Either way, you could still reinstall mt lion fresh and then just migrate after, skipping the need for SL.

Is it possible to take 2 time machine backups from 2 seperate MacBooks and migrate each backup to an iMac under separates user names?

I was sucessful migrating the first macbook to the imac under the first user name but I havent been able to get the second migration to happen under a second user name on the imac. Is this possible? can you only use migration assistant once or should it work?

Yes, you can do that.
If the second set of backups has a user account with the exact same short name (home folder name) as an existing one, you must rename one of them, per the last sample in the pink Transferring Accounts box of Using Migration Assistant on Lion.

HT201250 My hard drive failed and I had a new one put in. I am trying to restore from my time machine. When I try to start the computer in recovery mode there is nothing in the time machine. Now I am trying with migration assistant and it is "looking for

HELP!!!

If you are talking about moving your application support files and preference files that are in the home/library folders that won't be a problem. I did it recently for the same reason. I would not move system library files but user library files will move without problems. I did not move the whole folder but I moved the files in the folder that I needed. I moved Mail,Safari, all the files for iPhoto and iTunes, my music libraries, and some others. The only issue I had with it was that for some reason I lost my playlists on iTunes, not the music library, just the playlists. I only had about 12 of them so it was no big deal but if you have a lot, that may be an issue. I don't know what I didn't move that caused that to happen.
If you are going to do backups in the future, using Time Machine is great. I use it. However I go one step further an use a program called Super Duper and actually clone my entire drive onto an external drive, then do incremental backups with it. That way, I have a complete clone of my drive and if something happens, I can get back to work quickly. I don't know if Carbon Copy Cloner, which is a very good program also, supports incremental backups or not but if it does than either one will work.

Time machine backup after HD crashed

Hi, my HD on my MacBook crashed and i had it replaced which is fine, the OS (10.5) was reloaded as well. My question is what is the best way to restore from Time Machine to my previous system.
Before the HD crashed certain programs (word, safari and handbrake mainly) were causing major spikes in Processes and causing the fans to spin at over 6000rpm. I was concerened that this may be caused by corrupt system files, preference files or caches. I ask because if corrupt files were the problem, will restoring from Time Machine re install these corrupt files and again cause problems?
What would be the best way to restore from Time Machine in this case?
Any help would be great!

Ok, however i cant access the thread link that you posted? it says i dont have rights to access the thread? no idea why. Is there another link to the page at all?
Sorry, I forgot you might not be able to access it.
Just to clarify do you mean to archive and install from the Time Machine drive? That is where i am confused because the OS was erased an installed the apple store so its all new now?
Ahhh, you never explained that clearly earlier. All this time I thought you hadn't done anything yet to the system. So you already have the Mac OS re-installed, you just don't have your user data yet?
Then in that case forget the Archive & Install. You need to now use Migration Assistant to move your User data over form the Time Machine backup. Have you already launch the Mac OS and created an new account, or have you NOT started the Mac yet? It makes a difference what you do below.
*Using Time Machine Before Initial Launch of New Mac*
Before starting the new Mac for the first time, attach the hard disk that contains the Time Machine backups from the old Mac. (For Time Capsule/AirDisk users: If you will be attempting this wirelessly, ensure that you are in range of your Airport wireless device. Alternatively, for faster migration of large quantities of data, connect your Mac via ethernet to your wireless device.)
Procedure:
Startup the new Mac and begin the setup process. You will initially see the video introduction.
At “Welcome” select your country and then preferred keyboard.
At “Do You Already Own a Mac?” you are asked “Would you like to transfer your information?”
+from another Mac+
+from another volume on this Mac+
+from a Time Machine backup+
+Do not transfer my information now+
Select “from a Time Machine backup” and click “Continue”.
At “Select a Backup Volume” choose your Time Machine backup disk and click “Continue”. (If you are attempting the migration wirelessly, then click “Join...” and select your network first.)
At “Transfer Your Information” check all the categories you wish to migrate over. If you wish your Mac to be in the same state as your last backup, then check everything. If, however, you are only interested in transferring one user account, then click the little disclosure triangle next to "Users". A list of all the previous users will appear. Just uncheck the user accounts you do NOT wish to migrate over. In other words, have only the desired account checked.
Give the installer time to calculate sizes.
Once that is complete, the “Transfer” button will become active and you can click it.
After the migration, verify the registration information, click “Connect” and you are done.
Once the migration is complete use Disk Utility to repair any permissions issues.
*Using Time Machine After Initial Launch of New Mac*
If you happened to initially set up the new Mac using a different username than the username on the account you wish to migrate, then skip to “Attach the hard disk containing...”.
If, on the other hand, it is the same username as the account you wish to migrate over, then do the following:
Go to System Preferences --> Accounts.
You may need to unlock the lock in the lower left to make changes.
Below the pane on the left click "+" and create a brand new Administrator User account on the Mac with a completely unique name - not the name of your own User account.
Now logout of the account you are currently in and log back in using the new Admin account you just created.
Attach the hard disk containing the previous Macs' Time Machine backups to the new computer. (For Time Capsule/AirDisk users migration will be much faster if you connect your Mac directly to the router via ethernet. [See “Wirelessly or Directly Connected” above])
Now go to Applications --> Utilities --> and launch Migration Assistant.
At the welcome dialogue click "Continue." You may be required to enter your Admin password.
For Migration Method chose "From a Time Machine backup or other disk". (Do not choose…
"Full System Restore" unless it is exactly the same Mac you are restoring to.)
At “Select the System to Transfer” choose the hard disk containing the previous Time Machine backups and click “Continue”. Give Migration Assistant some time as it connects to the drive and scans the disk for eligible data to migrate.
At “Select User Accounts to Transfer” put a check beside each account you would like migrate over to the new Mac.
At “Select the Items to Transfer” you can choose to migrate “Applications” over. If an application already resides on your new Mac, only the newest version will be transferred. Additionally, other “Files and Folders” that resided at the top level of your old Mac can be transferred at this point as well. Files from the “Library” folder of your old Mac will always be transferred over unless you uncheck the other two options.
Click “Continue”.
At “Select Computer Settings to Transfer” choose which settings you would prefer transferring to the new Mac. If you want a completely fresh system to start with, then do not check any of these options. This can be helpful if your previous system was experiencing issues.
Click “Transfer”.
If you have already created a User Account on the new Mac and it happens to be named the same as the User Account that is being migrated then Migration Assistant will report,
+"There is an existing user account with the same name as an account you are transferring."+
At that point, you will be able to choose one of the following:
+• Rename the user account you are transferring+
+• Replace the existing user account with the one you're transferring+
+• Do not transfer this user account+
If you wish the new Mac environment to be exactly the same as your old Mac, then avoid selecting “Rename the user account...”. Rather, select “Replace the existing user account...”. It will not be deleted but saved in a new folder labeled “Deleted Users” found in the main Users folder. Click “Next”.
At this point the transfer will begin with a bar displaying the progress. Once completed click “Quit”.
*Full Backup After Migration to New Mac*
Bear in mind that in all cases Time Machine will not continue to backup the previous Macs’ backup sets but will perform a new full backup. This is normal. Time Machine will resume incremental backups after the full backup has completed. To view previous backups, Control-click or right-click the Time Machine icon in your Dock or Option-click the Time Machine menu extra and Choose "Browse Other Time Machine Disks," then select the previous Mac’s backup set. You will enter Time Machine and be able to browse your previous back ups and restore files. (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1338)
Let us know if this was helpful.
Cheers!
Message was edited by: Glenn Carter

Migration Assistant Mav.: not showing ML Time Machine backup

Hi Mac community,
my own MBP mid 2010:
clean install of Mavericks
connected FireWire 800 external hard disk with recent Time Machine backup done in Mountain Lion
started Migration Assistant, selected the Time Machine disk, and transferred all user data
everything worked absolutely PERFECTLY and now Mavericks runs smoothly with all my old user data
So I wanted to do the same thing with a relative's late 2009 iMac:
still in Mountain Lion, doing Time Machine backups to TWO different USB 2.0 hard disks
browsing the Time Machine disks manually to check whether all the files are there -- they are, including the (hidden) ~/Library folder
clean install worked fine, Mavericks runs OK
starting Migration Assistant in Mavericks ⇒ and - OH HORROR - the connected external Time Machine hard disk does not show up as a source - in fact, NOTHING shows up
So I copied over the data manually, for which I had to enable the root account (how else would one delete/replace a whole ~/Library folder??)
Then I tried to fix permissions manually (because other users could now read the files in the home folder).
All the old data (mails, contacts, calendars) is still there, but the whole thing doesn't really run smoothly; each time one logs into the account, keychain asks weird questions and dock icons pointing to programs show questions marks again. Later today, I'll try to fix permissions for the home folder as a whole (Recovery Boot ⇒ Terminal ⇒ resetpassword ⇒ Reset Home Folder Permissions and ACLs), but I'd rather do another clean install and somehow get Migration Assistant to offer me the Time Machine backup as a source for user data transfer - AS IT SHOULD in an OS that 'just works' ...
Anything I could do to convince Mavericks to use my old Time Machine backup??
This is a real nightmare for me ⇒ I f*cked up a relative's system -- really hope I can fix it again.
Cheers, folks!

sorry, i don't know what else it could be then. if you have another external drive you can try doing a full system restore from the TM backups onto that drive and see if MA will recognize that drive and migrate from it. other than this there is always manual migration. slow and tedious but it can be done. see this link for help with that
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=6185507

HT4413 What if migration assistant isn't recognizing my external hard drive with my time machine backup on it.

Tech department updated my computer to Lion and wiped it clean. I'm trying to restore my documents/photos/etc from a Snow Leopard time machine backup. When trying to use Migration Manager, when it asks for me to "Select my system," my hard drive with the time machine backup doesn't appear.

See Pondini's TM FAQs for starters.

Can't view time machine backups from old computer on new computer

My macbook pro laptop recently died and I am trying to access its time machine backup data through Finder on a different computer. In each one of my folders from different dates, however, the majority of the computer folders I would like to access (i.e. desktop, documents, dropbox, etc) have a little red "no" sign in the corner and prompt the following message when selected:
"The folder “FolderName” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents"
How can I gain permission to see its contents? As the former user, I know whatever passwords are restricting these files, but I don't know how/where to go to give permission to these folders. I've tried going into Disk Utility and changing the permissions there, but to no avail, despite successful changing of the "Sharing & Permissions" to "Read & Write" for all listed accounts.
I'm currently trying to view this on an imac OSX 10.6.8. The dead MacBook pro ran OSX
thanks
kate

Hi Kate,
It sounds like you're running into an issue trying to recover that was on your previous Mac from a Time Machine backup. The article linked below will walk you through the process of recovering the data from your older Mac's Time Machine backup.
OS X: How to migrate data from another Mac using Mountain Lion and earlier
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889
Time Machine or other disk migration
If Migration Assistant isn't running on the target (new) Mac, open Migration Assistant (located in /Applications/Utilities/), select "From another Mac, PC, Time Machine backup, or other disk" then click Continue.
Connect your external hard drive if necessary.
Type in your admin password when prompted and click OK.
When the target Mac asks you for a migration method, select "From a Time Machine backup or other disk", then click Continue.
Select the Drive, Time Machine backup, or Time Capsule. If you select Time Capsule you will be prompted to enter the Time Capsule password. After entering the password, select the Time Machine backup.
Close all other applications on the source Mac, then click Continue to start the migration options.
The source Mac will ask you to select items to migrate.
You can customize your selection by clicking to open the disclosure triangles.
After you click Continue, the Migration Assistant will begin to transfer files to the target Mac. The amount of time that it takes for migration to complete depends on the amount of data being transferred and the speed of the network.
Note: To view documents that were migrated, choose Log Out from the Apple () menu, then login as the migrated user. The migrated documents will be located in the migrated user's home folder.
I hope this helps.
-Jason

Time Machine Backup Not Showing Up

I am trying to put a new hard drive into my old Macbook and restore from my Time Machine backup. In Time Machine it says the latest backup is 12/3/13, but when I go to restore the backup onto my new hard drive it says the latest backup was 3/4/12. Does anybody know why my latest Time Machine backup isn't showing up when I go to restore?
Thanks

Hi philravens24!
I have an article here for you that can help you troubleshoot this issue:
Time Machine: Troubleshooting backup issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3275
Further articles addressing Time Machine issues can be found here:
OS X Mountain Lion: Time Machine problems
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11194
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!
Cheers,
Braden

Unable to use Migration assistant to access my Time Machine backup???

I recently had hard drive issues in my IMac G5, archive and install would not work and required an erase and install this happened twice over two months so I decided to install a new hard drive on my four year old machine, replaced a 160 with a 500 and beefed the RAM up to 2 gb -- a friend and Mac 'expert' did the installs for me... after bringing the machine home I went to reinstall all my files & profiles from time machine using 'Migration Assistant' - I choose the second option, and my external hard drive fires up but then in the Select System to Transfer screen it remains blank, I click on Time Machine and get 'A storage location for Time Machine backups isn't setup.' I click on 'Setup Time Machine' and it opens Time Machine with an On Off toggle, it is Off so I toggle to ON, then get a setup Time Capsule screen, I click on that, it opens Airport Utility and scans for my network, it finds my Airport Extreme and two Airport Expresses, but what does this mean? I have no idea what to do from there... Any suggestions would be appreciated

Should be, if the eMac is running 10.5.x be sure to turn off TM backups though.

Migration Assistant restore of Time Machine backup is incomplete

Some app, I don't know which one, keeps messing up the disk drive catalog structure, forcing me to wipe the drive and do a complete restore. I just had to do it again today (third time in a year), but this time Time Machine isn't restoring the user accounts, only the applications.
A random check of the user accounts shows they've been fully backed up on the Time Machine drive and they show up in Migration Assistant as accounts that can be transferred, but they're not transferring. I'm getting no errors from Migration Assistant, it just finishes with the applications and says my files have been transferred.
Any ideas?

I had the same problems when migrating from Time Machine (same computer but the hard drive crashed so I replaced one). During the migration, I created a new user account for the TM backup because of the same account name with my new system. I found only the applications are migrated, all other things like user accounts, preferences and settings, documents etc are not transferred; and I'm not allowed to manually open backup documents. How can I deal with it?

Can i restore from a time machine backup that is not the latest one?

I am trying to restore from a May 7th time machine backup. At that time my username was michaelhood. I had a system crash and when my computer was returned to me I inadvertently set it up under a different username, thinking I would do the restore later. Between May 13 and today, Time machine did backups under the name mhoo4494. Changing the name didn't let me access my May 7 backup, nor did creating a different user account. I have erased the hard drive and am reinstalling from the Install CD. I have set up a third user name. I now want to restore my data from the Time Machine May 7 backup. How do I do that? Migration assistant saw two users -- mhoo and mhoo4494 (michaelhood was not an option). I selected them both, but got no data for either -- no docs, no music, no pictures. This procedure should not be this hard~!!

Hi uclamikey90,
It is possible, using Migration Assistant, to restore the contents of your hard drive selectively. See this article -
Mac OS X v10.6: How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from a Time Machine backup - Apple Support
In particular -
To migrate data from a Time Machine backup
In Finder, press Command-Shift-U.
Double-click Migration Assistant.
Click "Continue" and enter an administrator name and password when prompted.
Select the "From a Time Machine backup or other disk" option, then click "Continue".
Select your Time Machine backup disk or Time Capsule (enter the user name and or password if prompted), then click "Continue".
Select the Time Machine backup you would like to restore (such the most current one you just made), then click "Continue".
Select Items to Migrate, then click "Continue". Note: The "Continue" button will be dimmed until the "Calculating…" stage is complete.
A user account sheet may appear if you have a user name on your Mac that is the same user name in your Time Machine backup. You will have to give the username in your Time Machine backup a new username to avoid conflicts. Note: This will create a new user account on your Mac to hold the data from the Time Machine backup. After migration, you can use the /Users/Shared folder to transfer data files the accounts.
Migration Assistant will begin the process of transferring the items you selected to migrate. When it is finished, click "Quit" to exit.
When you reach step 7, deselect items that you do not wish to migrate. Videos, photos and music are likely candidates for this as they take up a lot of disk space. You can later put items on an external hard drive.
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L

Time Machine backup isn't being recognized in Migration Assistant

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