Time Machine backups cannot be restored to a new HDD

Steps to reproduce:
- do a fresh backup using Time Machine to a USB drive (I tried two separate USB drives to make sure it is not a drive problem)
- install new HDD in your Mac (tried two brand new HDD's)
- boot from OS X Snow Leopard DVD
- select "Restore from Time Machine backup"
The restore will fail after a while, the error reported is "cannot write files to CD"...
I have been playing with this for about a week now and I think this is a systematic issue with Time Machine and OS X 10.6.4 - I did exactly the same procedure with 10.6.2 and had no issues.

MarkAtlanta wrote:
The restore will fail after a while, the error reported is "cannot write files to CD"...
What did you select as the destination for the restore?
Did you format the new drive properly?
See #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum), for detailed instructions.
I have been playing with this for about a week now and I think this is a systematic issue with Time Machine and OS X 10.6.4 - I did exactly the same procedure with 10.6.2 and had no issues.
It's not a general issue; if you search this forum, you won't find another such thread.
You've either formatted the internal HD improperly; selected the wrong destination; excluded things like System folders from your backups; or there's something wrong with your Install disc or Superdrive, etc.
Follow #14 carefully, including monitoring the installation. If it fails again, report back, with the last few lines of the log.

Similar Messages

  • Why is it that Time Machine backups cannot be restored on different model Macs?

    Just bought a new mac mini and tried to restore the TM backup made on a 2012 MBP and it says that I am on a different model mac and therefore must use migration assistant. Migration assistant is the worst. Tomorrow I'm going to install one of my drives into my friends Macbook Pro and restore it in totality and then put the drive back into the mini and I am 100% sure that's going to work. I doubt anyone will be able to asnwer the question but if someone does I will appreciate it very much.

    ejostrom wrote:
    Could you please elaborate on the differences between the verisons of  ML that run on the aforementioned models? Can't this be resolved by editing the boot EFI file?
    The differences are just hardware drivers and some updated applications (for example, Boot Camp Assistant and Disk Utility).
    This "special" OS X version includes the drivers for the hardware of your Mac mini that the "normal" version doesn't contain, so you will just make your Mac useless if you restore that backup. This will be solved with the next OS X update, when all Macs start using the same OS X version.
    I forgot to ask you: when does Setup Assistant tell you that you can't use that backup? After choosing the Time Machine drive?

  • HT4848 iMac crashed, trying to use Time Machine backup. In Restore From:it only offers Macintosh HD on ..... (grayed). There are backups listed below.

    iMac crashed, trying to use Time Machine backup. In Restore From:it only offers Macintosh HD on ..... (grayed). There are backups listed below. When I click on a current backup and click on continue I get a "Select a Destination" with Searching for disk, but nothing comes up.
    I am connected to my Passport if that helps, but I think that is where it is getting the backup list.
    Any help on how to proceed?
    Thanks,

    Thanks for your help on this. I was trying to restore from a new drive. The problem I have is that Time Machine will not let me do so, so far. 
    When I go into 'Restore from Time Machine Back up) I can access the Time Machine HD ok. But then when I go onto next page (Select a Back Up) the 'Restore From' option only has the greyed out name of my crashed HD (this seems wrong?). If I continue the process to erase starts and then stops, message says:
    An error occurred while adding a recovery system to the destination disk.
    it only seems to want me to back up to my crashed HD which I have no intention of using

  • HT4500 Support Apple advice does not work; I followed the instructions; Time Machine backups cannot be found, possibly in use.  Right after an installation of OS.

    How can I recover my files using Migration Assistant?  Time machine backups cannot be found.
    I tried recovery by entering time machine and selecting the files, but they don't appear anywhere; they're on the HD somewhere but neither Finder nor Spotlight can 'find' them.

    Have you repaired your permissions? This can be a very frustrating situation which I encountred after a logic board replacement.
    What I did was start a TM backup, but excluded items too make it a minimal backup. Make sure you select verify in the TM option before you backup. After the current backup I was able to see the sparse bundle and the prior backups in the Finder. (Check and see after this backup if your oldest and current backups are llisted. If not read on) However, it would not remain seen in the Finder after I closed it. Somehow I was able to see my prior backups again  in the Finder. This time I deleted the current TM App in the applications and copied the old one from the TM. It now shows me both old and current backups for selection.
    I do not profess to be an expert on the TM. This is just how I accidentally solved my problem.
    I wish Apple or a Apple Developer would make an App for these problems. Someone could make a lot a money.

  • Time machine backup failed to restore

    HHaving had major issues with Mail I decided to restore from a Time Machine backup. With hindsight I wish I hadn't! Having foolishly agreed to the 'this will erase everything' warning I waited 8 hours (twice) to get the message that my backup failed to restore. No more detail than that. Does anyone have any ideas / suggestions? I have a MBA with latest upgrade of Yosemite (last upgrade probably caused my Mail issue). Everything is backed up using Time Machine to a Netgear NAS. When going through the restore process I have no is

    TThanks Eric. At present I can't connect the NAS directly. I dont seem to have a usb to usb cable. It is connecting via a network cable. My MBA can see the NAS and I've successfully entered my login details and chosen the backup I want to restore.
    On C's recommendation I tried reinstalling OSX and planned to then try importing all my files on,y to find that there was not enough disk space. I've now erased everything as it occurred to me that starting with most of my 250G drive free might help. I'm having one more go at restoring directly from the TM backup as this would be my preferred solution (indeed what I had assumed Time Machine was meant for). On,y another 7 hours 26 minutes to wait. If that fails I will have another go at a fresh OS X install and reimport from TM (on the assumption that an empty hard disk will allow that this time).
    ANd  do all this because MaIl stopped working with my old POP account and I screwed up the switch to IMAP (by dragging my old Pop account contents across to the new IMAP account is created - will need to do that more carefully if I ever get back to where I started!).

  • Moving files from a Time Machine backup manually vs restoring from a Time Machine backup

    I have read several articles saying that contemporary Macs and OSs are built such that they clean themselves up - defragmentation, general sweeping, etc. I was told by the Genius, however, that there are many little files that are left lying around after installs, uninstalls, file making, and file deletion that will gum up the works. He recommended that I set up my computer as though it's brand new and manually transfer files over from my Time Machine backup folder on my ExtHD.
    Because I couldn't find a discussion of this specific topic online, I thought I'd bring it to the community myself. Is there an advantage to setting up the computer from scratch and manually moving the files (provided I use Migration Assistant for applications)?
    For background:  My Mac was running slowly, and after doing some research and talking to a "Genius", I thought it would be wise to reformat my HD and restore my system. Aside from sluggish performance, I was experiencing strange symptoms - like free disk space remaining the same even after deleting huge files, permissions errors, etc. I tried doing a permissions repair (a process I'd been told to do before when experiencing issues, even though I never knew what that really did), and read that I should verify my disk as well. Disk Utility told me that I had to reboot from the repair disk to perform the necessary repairs. The repair disk Disk Utility told me that my disk had some major issues and needed to be reformatted and restored.
    HOURS LATER: I am back up and running now and Disk Utility is showing the appropriate amount of free disk space.

    Let's start with some basics.
    Check under the Apple in the Menu bar About this Mac > More Info
    How much Memory do you have installed?
    What size is our hard drive and how much free space?
    You'll find the term Genius does not necessarily mean they are expert. Even on this forum, you'll find varying difference of opinions and levels of expertise.
    I have read several articles saying that contemporary Macs and OSs are built such that they clean themselves up - defragmentation, general sweeping, etc.
    This is true. Apps like MacKeeper, CleanMyMac, TuneUpMyMac, Washing Machine or anything like these apps might appear to be helpful, can do too more harm than good. As a result of the 'cleanup' it can leave your Mac non-functional Mac. The forums are full of users with computers that no longer work correctly after running these so call 'cleaners'
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4171
    Your Mac runs maintenance in the background for you > Mac OS X: About background maintenance tasks
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2319
    I was told by the Genius, however, that there are many little files that are left lying around after installs, uninstalls, file making, and file deletion that will gum up the works.
    I'm going to disagree here. Get rid of the installer from downloads after installing. After removing an app, most of the little files do no harm and take up very little space. However some applications mostly crapware/cleaners will leave files that continue to run silently in the background takeing up resources.
    Don't install stuff you don't really need. There is no magic bullet to clean up your messes.

  • Time Machine Backup fails after Restore

    Had my 500GB HD on my iMac fail. After being replaced by Apple, I performed a restore from 1TB time machine backup. After this was done, I set time machine back up to back up to this 1TB drive. I want it to append to the previous backups. However, the backup fails due to "backup is too large for the backup volume". It doesn't seem to want to append to previous backups but thinks this is an entirely new backup, which I guess is mostly true. I suspect this has to do with UUIDs of the new and old drives, but I'm not sure how to correct it (I'd prefer not to just wipe the backup disk and start over). I migrated backups before from one extenal HD to another but can't remember what I did... If anyone has steps to fix this, let me know em. Thanks.
    Here's the time machine log:
    Starting standard backup
    Backing up to: /Volumes/MyBook-Mac/Backups.backupdb
    Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
    Node requires deep traversal:/ reason:kFSEDBEventFlagMustScanSubDirs|
    Starting pre-backup thinning: 506.55 GB requested (including padding), 502.31 GB available
    No expired backups exist - deleting oldest backups to make room
    Error: backup disk is full - all 0 possible backups were removed, but space is still needed.
    Backup Failed: unable to free 506.55 GB needed space
    Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.
    Message was edited by: Delmonte3161

    Delmonte3161 wrote:
    Had my 500GB HD on my iMac fail. After being replaced by Apple, I performed a restore from 1TB time machine backup. After this was done, I set time machine back up to back up to this 1TB drive. I want it to append to the previous backups. However, the backup fails due to "backup is too large for the backup volume". It doesn't seem to want to append to previous backups but thinks this is an entirely new backup, which I guess is mostly true. I suspect this has to do with UUIDs of the new and old drives,
    yes, that's correct. TM will make a full backup after a full system restore on a new hard drive because the UUIDs of the new drive is different from the old one.
    you may try the following hack to get around it
    http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20090213071015789
    But I make no promises about how well it works.
    but I'm not sure how to correct it (I'd prefer not to just wipe the backup disk and start over). I migrated backups before from one extenal HD to another but can't remember what I did... If anyone has steps to fix this, let me know em. Thanks.
    Here's the time machine log:
    Starting standard backup
    Backing up to: /Volumes/MyBook-Mac/Backups.backupdb
    Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
    Node requires deep traversal:/ reason:kFSEDBEventFlagMustScanSubDirs|
    Starting pre-backup thinning: 506.55 GB requested (including padding), 502.31 GB available
    No expired backups exist - deleting oldest backups to make room
    Error: backup disk is full - all 0 possible backups were removed, but space is still needed.
    Backup Failed: unable to free 506.55 GB needed space
    Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.
    Message was edited by: Delmonte3161

  • Time Machine backup did not restore office suite app from backup

    I recently restored to my internal HD from a Time Machine backup.
    I had not done a Time Machine restore before, so I did not attempt to customize the restore -- that is, I just accepted the default behavior after selecting the source disk.
    I've since found that Time Machine does not seem to have backed up a third party office suite I had been using on my MacBook Pro or a file I had saved to my hard drive from that app.  Perhaps I'll find that other files were also not restored.
    Does anyone have any idea why those would have been missed in the restore?
    Also, given the situation I’m now in would it be best to just download the app and start from scratch?  I don’t know how one manually restores an already-installed app (i.e., from its backup), given the many different files that are usually created in many different locations when an app is installed from its original 'package' file.
    Thanks.

    Linc Davis wrote:
    Locate the files in the Finder, then enter Time Machine. You should see snapshots of the open Finder window cascading back in time.
    Delayed response, sorry.  What I meant to ask there was how one can navigate quickly to the window that (hopefully) has what one is looking for.
    E.g., if I don't recall anything else about a file than its name (& hopefully I remember that well enough to get a search hit from it -- its own kind of problem since a filename misspelling can end you up with no hits), how to locate the desired file quickly -- i.e., without paging through lots of Finder windows.
    Any further advice about how to do that?
    Maybe I'm misunderstanding how to do this in Time Machine, but the Finder window cascade seems to me like having a file cabinet full of folders, any of which might have the desired file.
    Thanks again.

  • Machine A - Time Machine Backup - Unable to restore Backup from Machine B

    Hello,
    My Workstation A has a time machine backup.
    My workstation A bit the dust (24in new flatscreen)
    I was able to borrow a laptop from a family member and have created another account.
    From this user account I am able to ENTER time machine, SELECT the backup on the external hard drive.
    My problem is when I try and select the files I need to restore in order to be able to continue my work, that I am getting an error message that says "insufficient access privileges"
    How do I access my time machine backups made from my original workstation from a replacement machine ?
    Thank you for your feedback.

    I have 2 user ids on the laptop. Each userid is an admin account. The suggestion was enough for me to log in as the other user and try to access my backup data. I was able to access my TM backup data from one admin userid, but not from the other.
    My goal was to get to my backup data. Once I was able to do this (one admin or another admin, it did not matter)...There is still the problem of why one of the admin's could access the time machine data and the other one could not.
    Thanks for your suggestion. It helped me get to the data I needed.

  • Time machine backup failed from "Restore" mode

    After losing important info, I tried to back-up my entire HD with Time Machine. I used the Restore mode and got the message that the recovery could not be completed twice. The one and only time I really needed Time Machione, it failed completely and left me with a blank HD. Any solutions to get back my ftles etc. I know all of my TM back-ups were done coreectly and I have been usung TM for at least two years. The 1TB ext. HD is nowhere close to full.

    Install OS X in Recovery mode. When you reboot, the Setup Assistant will prompt you to transfer the data from a Time Machine backup. Try that.

  • HT4848 Restoring a Time Machine backup with ML OSX over a new Hard Disk

    I have MacBook Pro that I had to replace the Hard Drive with a new one and it came installed with a copy of SnowLeopard OSX. Now I want to restore all my data and settings using Time Machine backup but this was made on my previous hard drive that used Mountain Lion OSX
    I don't know if I have to upgrade from Snow Leopard to ML from the App Store before doing the restore or Time Machine takes care of this when I proceed with the restore task?
    I will appreciate any assistance to avoid any mess
    Thanks for your help.

    If the time machine backup is of mountain lion, you can boot holding the option key and select the time machine drive.  Then select restore from time machine backup there.  No need to install any OS first.

  • Restoring a time machine backup from an old iMac to new Mac mini

    I am considering purchasing a Mac Mini.  I currently have an iMac (2007) model.  I would like to backup/transfer the apps from one to the other.  Is this possible?  I've been using the time machine function which has been backing up my iMac since day one to an external 1 TByte drive. If I can do this, what all info gets backed up?  Will this also restore my e-mails and documents?  I'm new to restoring on a Mac and want to avoid losing apps and having to reload everything piece meal.  I appreciate any advice.
    Patrick C.

    Actually, you can transfer just about everything via either Target Disk mode or the Time Machine backup database.  The effect would be the same.  The System Installation procedure will ask you if you want to do that.   Alternatively, you can launch Migration Assistant to do that.   It's remarkably complete, including apps and serial numbers and passwords.  A few things need to be done manually afterwards, of course, but not many.
    Keep your iMac around for a few weeks in case something you need turns up later not to have been transferred.
    Unrelated Note: DO NOT try to copy the Time Machine database from one drive to another.  The database is composed of non-ordinary files and the procedure will take weeks.
    --Gil

  • Recovering Mac HD via Time Machine Backup fails because "Restore system from backup" doesn't show in Utilities Menu of original install. DVD

    Hi, after serious problems (troubleshooting didn't help) with my iMac G5 (PPC) running Mac OS X Leopard I've tried to recover my Mac HD via Time Machine (exactly as described by David Pogue on page 242 of the Leopard Missing Manual). However, "Restore system from backup" in the Utilities Menu of my original Leopard installation DVD failed to show up. What can I do?
    Any assistance will be greatly appreciated -
    Ballant

    Hi Ballant,
    I'm not very good with TM, nor a fan of it, but our resident king of TM, Pondini, has a vast array of very well done TM trouble shootings...
    http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

  • First time machine backup after partial restore

    I have found it necessary to revert back to Snow Leopard after upgrading to Lion. I decided that it would be a good opportunity to clean up my machine so rather than do a full restore I installed SL from disc and then selectively restored data and third party applications. I am now about to do my first backup after the restore and want to be sure that I understand what will happen.
    My research suggests that when I do the backup it will be a full one and that if I want to go back to earlier backups then I will have to right click on Time Machine in the Dock, select "Browse other Time Machine Discs" and then select the earlier backup from the list. What I don't understand is how the earlier backup will appear in the list as all the backups will be of the one machine. Can anyone confirm my understanding and give me an example of what might be shown in the list?
    Many Thanks

    In my opinion you should have at least 2 backups on 2 different drive because hard drives do fail. It also avoids the "risky position of not having a backup". If you are using 10.6, one backup can be Time Machine and the other a clone.
    Clone  - Carbon Copy Cloner          (Often recommended as it has more features than some others)
    Clone – Data Backup
    Clone – Deja Vu
    Clone  - SuperDuper
    Clone - Synk
    Clone Software – 6 Applications Tested
    Commonly Used Backup Methods

  • Accessing Time Machine Backup and then Restore

    So my Macbook Pro kicked the bucket this morning - had to send it to Apple to get repaired. I've got my entire hard drive backed up via time machine, and in the few days it'll be out I need to work on a replacement computer. Specifically, my hard drive wasn't connected directly to my computer, rather it was backed up to a network drive so my entire backup is a spare image on the network drive. I was told that in troubleshooting the apple techs may format my hard drive so I may need to restore.
    1. If I modify the sparse image, specifically under the "latest backup" folder, when I do a restore will the restored files be the modified ones in the sparse image?
    2. I have file vault turned on - I thought that my home folder was stored encrypted on my backup drive but I was able to access my home folder without it asking for any kind of passwords or anything - so does filevault just store everything unencrypted?
    Thanks for the help!

    Sawtooth500 wrote:
    So my Macbook Pro kicked the bucket this morning - had to send it to Apple to get repaired. I've got my entire hard drive backed up via time machine, and in the few days it'll be out I need to work on a replacement computer. Specifically, my hard drive wasn't connected directly to my computer, rather it was backed up to a network drive so my entire backup is a spare image on the network drive. I was told that in troubleshooting the apple techs may format my hard drive so I may need to restore.
    1. If I modify the sparse image, specifically under the "latest backup" folder, when I do a restore will the restored files be the modified ones in the sparse image?
    DO NOT modify the sparse bundle with backups! how were you going to do it anyway?
    and please clarify how your backup was stored. do you mean it's stored on a NAS? (what kind of NAS then?)or on a drive connected to another computer?
    2. I have file vault turned on - I thought that my home folder was stored encrypted on my backup drive but I was able to access my home folder without it asking for any kind of passwords or anything - so does filevault just store everything unencrypted?
    no. it certainly doesn't. how exactly were you able to access those backups? were they in a separate folder inside the sparse bundle? that means you were backing up incorrectly. you must have removed the mounted virtual volume with your filevaulted home directory from the TM exclusion list. that made TM back up your home directory twice: once as an encrypted sparse bundle which you can still find if you drill in /Users/username, and the second time as an unencrypted virtual volume.
    Thanks for the help!

Maybe you are looking for