Time machine backup - where is Skype folder ?

Normally Skyp folder with all the chat history etc. is in Library - Application support - Skype. I have multiple Time Machine backups on the external disc. I wanted to copy older Skype folder into my new computer to have the chat history there, but the Skype folder is simply not there in the identical place in the time machine backups: Library - Application support , no SKype folder. Why is it no there (in any backup) and it could be ?

Oh dear... did I really lose my chat history... Arrrrr... I think it is about time I find something else than Time Machine... It is missing entirely on my backup too...

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Time machine backup fails; error creating folder. Western Digital drive requires password which is perhaps/likely the issue. I can't eliminate the password/encryption.

Time Machine backup fails on new WD external drive (My Passport Studio); error creating folder (after several hours of Time Machine apparently working).
Background: I purchased a Western Digital drive from an Apple Store to use for Time Machine backup. I followed the Western Digital instructions that came with the drive for Mac. I didn't get the Time Machine prompt which the instructions indicated I would receive--namely to select whether I want to encrypt my Time Macine backups. (I already have a Time Machine backup I use at another location, which is perhaps why I didn't receive a prompt.)
I decided to install the Western Digital utilities and security software that comes on the disk--with a view to potentially encrypting the disk (since I still wanted to have an encrypted backup since I was mobile). I forgot that (from experience 2-years previous) that I shouldn't install Western Digital software because it just makes life really complicated.
I tried several times to do a Time Machine backup with failures each time (error creating the backup folder). I tried to get help from WD but I don't think the technicians were following what my issue was. Potentially I was not helpful in explaining it. I deleted the WD applications from my system after the first contact with WD. However the problem persisted--I still had an encrypted hard drive. After three phone sessions with three different WD techs I still could not get a solution. (By the second call I was not at all interested in having an encrypted drive--I just wanted to format and restore the drive to an unencrypted state so that I could have SOME kind of Time Machine backup.)
I still don't have a solution--either to get Time Machine working with the WD encryption/password on the drive, or to remove the encryption so I can backup. Right now my options are to return the drive to the Apple Store -- or get a return authorization from WD. Seems crazy since the drive is fine and I have the working password.

Never install "helpful software" provided by WD and Seagate (or any HD mfg.)
All such stuff is fluff and nonsense that interferes with normal HD operation.
Always when you buy a new HD, format it for Mac and then use it to TM backup or clone a HD, or archive data.
Less is more on HD new out of box. A "blank brick", no fluff and cotton candy software

Time machine backups up the Downloads folder every backup

On my current and previous MBP, for some reason, after some event changes something, Time Machine decides that my Downloads folder has changed between every backup. Not just a file, but the entire folder - all 20GB of it - and backs it up again and again and again... I've looked to see if there's any hidden meta data associated with the Downloads folder (ls -l@d ~/Downloads), and there is none.
The only thing I've been able to do is to copy the contents of my Downloads folder to an external drive. Log out as my normal user and log back in as another admin user. Then I delete the Downloads folder of my regular user. Recreate the Downloads folder and copy the content of my external copy back to the new Downloads folder. After that, TM does one full backup and after that goes back to making regular sized backups ... for a while. After some indeterminate event happens, I start the cycle again.
Help?

bump

Full Time Machine backup: Where are old Dashboard Stickies saved?

And how best to restore just those?

Hello
locate the file "StickiesDatabase"
path : User -> Home folder -> Library -> StickiesDatabase with time machine
one click to select , then click "restore"
HTH

What is the correct procedure to follow after restoring a Mac from a Time Machine Backup?

Hi all,
I did a Time Machine backup of my entire system (Time Machine Backup 1) before bringing my Macbook Pro to the Apple Store to to have it tested. After the TM backup I wiped the laptop leaving only the OS (Mountain Lion) on it so that I could determine whether the problems with my system were hardware or software related. The computer passed all tests.
After bringing my Macbook home I did a fresh intall of all the software and everything worked fine. At this point I did another Time Machine backup (in the same location as the previous backup) so that if I ever had problems with my system I could revert to this working backup (Time Machine Backup 2.0). I used my laptop without issue and created a number of new documents. I did not transfer the documents from the previous time machine backup (Time Machine Backup 1). As time progressed I did regular Time Machine backups (backups 2.1 etc.) installed a few new pieces of software and started having system issues again.
At that point I did another Time Machine backup (in the same location as the previous backups) (Time Machine Backup 3) so that my new documents would be safe. At this point I could see all of my TM backups in finder. Then I used Command + R while booting up and restored my system from what I thought was the clean backup (Time Machine Backup 2). In fact it the TM backup I used was not the correct backup (It was one of the backups between 2.0 and 3 and I needed to go back further). I was concerned, at this point, because I did not (and still do not) know what type of effect restoring the system from an old Time Machine backup would have on the Time Machine structure going forward I was unsure whether doing so and having an "old" system backed up might break the structure so I stopped Time Machine from running a new backup.
When I attempted to look for one of the older versions of the Time Machine backups I discovered that there were no longer any listings for TM backups in their previous location. In fact, the only thing I could see was one line in the place where the multiple backups were previously. I took my laptop and NAS (where the TM backups were stored) to the Apple Store and the "genius" said something about the TM backup being "parsed"? He also described it as a "broken window" and he "sees the broken glass but has no idea how it broke". He also said "neither he nor anyone at Apple would be able to assist me" and that I'd have to go to a data recovery place.
Fortunately I did use a second drive to backup the original system (Backup 1) but I really don't want to lose the files created ater Backup 2 / prior to Backup 3.
Does anyone know what happened / how I can get my Time Machine backups back without forking out tons of cash?
thanks
John
OS ML 10.8.4, Macbook Pro Retina
Synology DS412 (time machine backup to a file folder)

I actually already checked Pondini's and didn't find the answer. Any other suggestions?
thanks

I've mistakenly deleted Time Machine backups from my external HDD. How do I fix this?!

I manually deleted several Time Machine backups from my external HDD. Whenever I attempt to empty trash, it states (error code -22) has occurred. How do I fix my predicament?
I understand (now) that I should never do this and ONLY delete from the Time Machine app itself but I did not assume this would be so complex by taking a blind stab at it. How do I either a) place the Time Machine backups where the originated (Put Back is not an option when right-clicked) or b) successfully delete these so I can clear my bin.
I am running Mac OS 10.10 on a 13" MacBook Air (mid-2013) w/ 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. My external drive is a 5400 RPM WD USB 2.0 External Hard Drive.

Try Trash won't empty deleted time machine backups

Help Incomplete Time Machine Backup and I can't set ownership options

Two days ago my iMac HD stopped working and I decided it was time to upgrade my machine so I purchased a new iMac with Mavericks installed. I seem to only have a partial Time Machine Backup located on my NAS drive, so I read various threads about how to manually retrieve files from the .inprogress file. I was able to browse the package contents and when I navigated to Macintosh HD the folder was greyed out and when I attempt to open the folder it looks empty. When I select get info the Macintosh HD folder shows almost 80GB and over 160,000 files inside. I tried copying the folder onto the desktop which failed and also onto an external drive formatted the same way as the NAS - Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Case Sensitive). Everytime I try it says something along the lines of me not having the ownership rights to copy the file over.
I tried going to the NAS drive and the mounted sparsefile and couldn't figure out how to get the ignore ownership on this volume option. When I go to Disk Utility it says Owners Enabled Yes, I can't figure out how to turn that off to let me copy the file over. I tried some recommendations about creating an Alias to Macintosh HD and also setting up Automator actions Get Selected Finder Items > Get Folder Contents > Open Finder Items > Copy Finder Items (to desktop or external drive) both of these failed.
I also don't understand why I can't view the files inside the greyed out Macintosh HD as get info shows many files inside. The sharing and permissions already says everyone can read. Is there anyway I can recover some of the files? It would be so great!
Thanks for helping me.

I solved the problem and I hope this solution can help others with incomplete Time Machine Backups.
1. I made sure hidden files were shown by pasting the following line into Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -boolean true ; killall Finder
2. On NAS drive I have a folder called Time Machine Backup and inside that folder it lists the different users with Time Machine Backups. I double clicked the user with the incomplete time machine backup to mount it.
3. Once mounted there should be a folder called backups.backupdb > machine name > dateandtime.inprogress. I right click that .inprogress file and selected show package contents. This lead to another folder randomly named with numbers and text. Inside that folder you should see a greyed out Macintosh HD folder. The date of the greyed out Macintosh HD folder might read something like January 24th, 1984. This appears to be the date that the Macintosh 128k was first introduced. I read on another thread that the creation date of the folder is incorrectly set after a crash resulting in the greyed out folder.
4. Due to the NAS having ownership issues I was not able to drag either the greyed out Macintosh HD or the folder above it to an external drive or the desktop of my new computer. Automator didn't work either. Here is what did work: I trashed the folder with the greyed out Macintosh HD inside from the NAS and dragged it from the trash onto my desktop. The move took a few hours to complete and the files were now all successfully on the new computer.
5. Once on the desktop the Macintosh HD folder was still greyed out. The solution was to select in the finder: View > Show Path Bar, then search for any file you remember inside your backup. For example I searched the word download and files inside the greyed out Macintosh HD folder showed up. Left clicking the file confirmed the path, that it was from the greyed out Macintosh HD folder. Now you can simply right click one of the folders in the Path Bar and open in new tab if you have Mavericks. I still couldn't directly open the Macintosh HD folder in a new tab, but I could open any of the subfolders inside in a new tab, including the users which lets you access all the backup files. I tested in Mountain Lion that you can also choose Open in Enclosing Folder by right clicking the file that you searched for or right clicking the folder in the bottom of the Path Bar.
6. Once I was done organizing backup files, I turned off hidden files by pasting this line into Terminal:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -boolean false ; killall Finder
This took me days to figure out how to make use of an .inprogress file and greyed out Macintosh HD folder.
Hope this helps!!!

Clean install selective restore from time machine backup

Hi,
My harddisk crashed, and I have just installed a new harddrive.
I have just installed a fresh OS and am wondering if it is possible to selective restore stuff from my time machine backup.
I only want to restore some of my data file.
When I plugin my time machine backup. the preference pane does recognize that i have previous backup. But when I go into time machine state, the older stuff doesn't show up.
how can i get my old files back?
I can't see anything from before I changed my harddisk and did a few reinstall of the OS.

Restoring specific files or folders
While your backup disk is connected, click the Time Machine icon in the Dock and the Time Machine restore interface appears. You can literally see your windows as they appeared "back in time." Note: If you use FileVault, you cannot browse for individual items in your Home folder. However, you can restore all files and folders by using the Restore System from Backup feature of the Mac OS X Installer.
You can use the timeline on the right side of the window to reach a certain point back in time (the timeline shows the times of all backups on your backup disk). If you don’t know exactly when you deleted or changed a file, you can use the back arrow to let Time Machine automatically travel through time to show you when that folder last changed.
You can also perform a Spotlight search in the Time Machine Finder Window search field to find a file. Simply type the Spotlight search field and use the back arrow to have Time Machine search through your backups to find what you are looking for.
Before you restore a file, you can also use Quick Look to preview a file to make sure its the one you want. Highlight the file and press the Space Bar to bring up a preview.
To restore, select the file/folder and click the "Restore" button. The file will automatically be copied to the desktop or appropriate folder. If the file you are restoring has another file in the same location with the same name, you will be prompted to choose which file to keep or keep both.
Restoring your entire system from a backup
If you are restoring a backup made by a Mac to the same Mac
With your backup disk connected, start up your Mac from your Mac OS X v10.5 or Mac OS X v10.6 installation disc. After starting up, use the Restore System from Backup feature of the Mac OS X Installer.
Note: If "You can't restore this backup because it was created by a different model of Mac" appears when restoring a backup that was made on a different Mac, follow the onscreen instructions.
If you are restoring a backup made by one Mac to a completely different Mac
Important: If the backup you are about to restore is from a completely different Mac, use the Migration Assistantto transfer data from the backup, as described in the next section.
Restoring a Time Machine backup on a new Mac
When you buy a new Mac, you can transfer all of your applications, files, settings, and other information from a Time Machine backup you've already made.
You will be asked if you want to transfer files when you start up your new Mac for the first time. Or, you can use the Migration Assistant (located in Applications/Utilities).
If you use a Time Capsule, see Restoring files from a Time Capsule backup.
Deleting data from a Time Machine backup
To delete all backups of one or more items from a Time Machine backup, follow these steps:
Click the Time Machine icon on your Dock to enter the Time Machine restore interface.
Click on the item you would like to delete. Command-click to select multiple items.
Control-click (or right click) the highlighted item(s) and select "Delete All Backups of..." from the contextual menu, or select "Delete all backups of..." from the Action Item menu.
Authenticate with an administrator password when prompted.
Important: Do not use the Finder to move to the items to the Trash, or to move or delete items in your Time Machine backup repository. The folder containing your Time Machine backup repository is called "Backups.backupd" and is located on the external disk or Time Capsule you have chosen in Time Machine preferences.

Exclude Movies from Time Machine backups

Is there a way to exclude iTunes movies from Time Machine backups? The "Movies" folder is visible and can be selected, but the "exclude" button grayed-out. I ask this question because I add TV shows and movies to iTunes really just for a short term, maybe a day or two, until I can watch them using AirPlay on my TV, and then they're deleted. For example, four 1-hour TV episodes equals about 20GB of mp4 files, and it's a waste of Time Capsule space to back them up. I can exclude individual movie files, but I need to exclude the entire folder because the file names are always changing.
Is there a terminal command I might be able to enter to exclude the "Movies" folder? Thanks in advance.

Exposing the /Home/Library/ Folder
Pick one of the following methods:
A. This method will make the folder visible permanently. Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder and paste the following at the command prompt:
chflags nohidden ~/Library
Press RETURN.
B. Click on the Desktop, press the OPTION (⌥) button, select Library from the Finder's Go menu.
C. Select Go To Folder from the Finder's Go menu. Paste the following in the path field:
~/Library
Press the Go button.

Time Machine not backing up Applications folder

Hi,
I've noticed that when I wanted to restore an application from a previous Time Machine backup that the Apps folder in TM was greyed out. No applications were found for the full history of the backup. I thought it might be an issue with the backup so I deleted it and set TM to backup again (with encryption switched on). On the new backup I also see that the Apps folder is empty. I have checked the TM options and nothing has been excluded so everything should be backed up. I also have an iMac which seems to be able to backup fine.
I'm backing up to an external HD attached to my Mac book pro using Mountain Lion. I have searched online but haven't found any articles on this issue. Can someone offer any help or a recommendation to fix this weird issue?
Regards,
Miles

It seems that deleting all of the preference files com.apple.timemachine.* has cured the problem. The backup now includes the applications.
One other interesting issue did pop up. I backed up directly to an external hard disk to maximize the speed. I then attached the HD to my time capsule however Time Machine wouldn't recognise or use that backup when I selected the disk in the Time Machine options. So I had to delete the backup and then backup again but though the time capsule with the Hd attached. Strange.

Where is Library/Application Support/Address Book in Time Machine backup ???

I made a fresh install and wanted to copy the file http://www.marco.org/2011/09/10/adding-to-apple-mail-autocomplete to save nuisance with no autocomplete with new mail (as I did last time). But why there is no Address book folder in Library/Application Support as is in the original Library (as I backuped yesterday) ??
Similarly - where is Skype folder (it is in the laptop system/library Application Support but not in the same folder in Time Machine (to copy the chat history).
Where can it be found ? Why Apple makes things so uneasy ?
original Library with the file I need from yesterday backup:
Library from yesterday backup as found on Time Machine:

The ~Library folder effective with Lion 10.7.x
See
http://pondini.org/TM/15A.html
Apple hides the ~/Library folder (meaning the Library folder inside your home folder), from users, apparently to protect us mere mortals from messing with it. That's kind of a problem when we needto.
To see it on a Finder window before entering Time Machine, hold the Alt/Option key while selecting the Go item in the menubar. That will produce a list of common places, including Library (about halfway down). Or, press Shift+Cmd+G and type ~/Library in the prompt. That will show it in the Finder window, and also in the Finder windows once you're in the "Star Wars" display.
If you forget to to do that first, once you're in the "Star Wars" display, press Shift+Cmd+G and type~/Library in the prompt.
(To make it visible permanently, on a "normal" Finder window, drag it into the sidebar.)

How do I copy the Time Machine backup folder to another folder? (Mac 10.7.5)

Short version: I like to make an initial backup of my Mac OS before I start installing stuff...just in case I need to get back to square one down the road. I travel as a freelancer for work, so every couple of months, I'm on a new rented system. But I need to move that initial backup folder to a sub-folder so that I can continue to run TM without ever deleting anything from that initial backup. When I go to move or copy it to another folder or drive, it tells me I don't have permission. How do I get permission to move it?
I've tried changing the permissions on the folder itself... It won't let me select any other users, and admins are not on the "write" list. No dice.
Any ideas?
I'm on a Mac Pro 8-core
MacPro3,1
OS 10.7.5
Thanks!

Yeah, sorry...but there doesn't seem to be a "Time Machine" forum anywhere, this was the closest I could find. I could have posted in OS 10.7 forum...but I was worried the traffic would be much lighter there. If I should move my question there, I will.
Ok, so my Time Machine has backed up to my external drive which I have split into two separate partitions. I do not have automatic backups on. I just ran it once to get the "footprint" before I start to alter things to my needs. I'd like to compress and put away the backup on that first partition as sort of a general "back to square one" backup. I chose to use Time Machine because I can literally restore it back to all the original settings, etc. This is just a fire plan, but I really want to lock it off.
Then, I want to set my second partition on that same drive as my incremental Time Machine backup. That way, once I run out of space and it begins deleting the old stuff (and I will run out of space...I export several hundred gigs of video files per day), I can always retain that initial backup.
The problem is, when I go to move that backup....AFTER I've pointed Time Machine to the new partition...or any other drive for that matter... It tells me that either the folder doesn't have "ownership rights" or it simply "cannot do that." (I'll snag you a screen grab next time I'm by it if you want.)
So, how do I get it to move where I want it so that I can make a new one?

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.

After restoring from Time Machine backup (that was on 10.6.8) to a new (replaced) hard drive (on 10.8.3), iPhoto shows nothing in it's Library. Where are my photos?

Before I upgraded from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion, I thought I did all the appropriate updades (to 10.6.8) and backups, I did a Time Machine backup literally right before I did the install. During the install of Mountain Lion, my hard drive crashed and I had to get it replaced... which was covered by a Protection Plan. When I got the computer back, it had the desired OS (10.8.3), and I was told that if I did a Time Machine restore from my last backup, everything would kinda "catch up" to the current OS. So, just about everything "looks" the same as it did on the day when my original hard drive crashed (everything organized the same way on my desktop, multiple settings saved as they were before the crash)... but when I open iPhoto, it asks me what Library I want it to use. There was no separate folder that I had my original photos saved in... but I always was able to find the root files within iPhoto. But now iPhoto can't find them. Where the **** are they... and did the update have something to do with them being moved, or worse...?
Thanks for any help

Certainly you can restore files with Time machineas I noted in my original post - that is what TM is all about
1 - launch Time Machine
2 - go back to the when you made the backup
3 - select the iPhoto library (by default in your pictures folder)
4 - click the restore button
See - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US - for more details
One quote from that article
To restore, select the file/folder and click the "Restore" button. The file will automatically be copied to the desktop or appropriate folder. If the file you are restoring has another file in the same location with the same name, you will be prompted to choose which file to keep or keep both.
And also from my first post
And you may need to post in the Time Machine forum as this is really a TM question not an iPhoto question
LN

Where is my I Photo Library in Time Machine Backups as I seem to have lost photos after installing Lion?

Can anybody tell me how I can locate my photos from I Photo in the Time Machine backups as I seem to have lost most of 2011 after installing Lion.
Many thanks

To recover individual photos open iPhoto and use the File ➙ Browse Backups menu option.
Click to view full size
That will take you into iPhoto in Time Machine where you can search for the phtoos and restore them.
To restore the entire library, close iPhoto, go to the Pictures folder, enter Time Machine, go back in time till you get the library you want to restore, select it and use the Restore button.
Click to view full size
OT

Time machine backup - where is Skype folder ?

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