Time machine created new backup file

After migration, time machine created a new data file in time capsule. How do i instruct it to access the original? Thanks!

I ejected the USB drive and turned it off, erased the Timemachine.plist file from the shared directory and then turned back on the USB drive. I then went into Timemachine and turned the program back on. Timemachine then started a count down sequence and then automatically started the scheduled backups. The problem is fixed.

Similar Messages

Time machine creating new backup for external hd every time it is connected.

Hi.
I have recently gotten a Time Capsule to back up my files.
I want to back up my internal harddrive as well as an external harddrive with master images from aperture.
Theoretically time machine should skip trying to back up the external drive when it is not connected, and make a backup when it is. (I only connect the disk when working with the images)
However, the problem is that every time I connect the external hd to back it up, time machine seems to create a total new backup of the whole drive and not just the changes. It seems to not recognise that it has already backed up the disk before. Does anyone know how to fix this?
I know it is possible, since I have used this system before, but can't quite figure out how to solve the problem.
Thanks!

However, the problem is that every time I connect the external hd to back it up, time machine seems to create a total new backup of the whole drive and not just the changes. It seems to not recognise that it has already backed up the disk before. Does anyone know how to fix this?
If the drive is not recognised.. you should see multiple external drives in the backup.. is that in fact what is happening.
What makes you think it is doing a whole new backup??
One factor you may not have considered is that Time Machine does need to do a deep scan of the disk when it has missed more than a few days. A deep scan can take ages over wireless as it will have to actually compare the backup with the files on the disk. Determine what has changed, make up a list of files that need backup and then start and actually do the backup.. this might even take longer than a straight clean backup.
Have you checked the TM log for what it is really doing?? Pondini widget will give you that info. See A1 here.
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
I have a simple solution.. that will cost you around $40.. use Carbon Copy Cloner.. not Time Machine. It simply handles this kind of thing better.
There are a number of other solutions that you can buy.. 3rd party backup software.. you can even do it manually via rsync.. however.. a tool like CCC which is based on rsync is a heck of lot easier than writing your own backup scripts.

Time Machine creates new disk image when backing up but files not visible

When I back up my files (daily) to tan external drive TM creates a new disk image (named laptop) on my desktop (in addition to the image for the external drive named TIme Machine Backups). When I click on the new disk image while it's backing up I see a list of recent backups. However the disk image disappears after completing the back up and the files do not appear in the Star Wars screen - only old back-ups from 2009. How can I access the newest backups?

alanol wrote:
A disk image labeled Time Machine Backups resides permanently on the desktop
Right-click it, and select +Get Info.+ See what the path is (after +Disk image+ near the top of the General section).
Also the amounts for Capacity and Used.
as a consequence of the repair a sparse bundle (Zero KB) folder was created.
No. That may have been created by the new backup, though.
Also a new "lost +found" folder was created containing several ".emix" files.
Those are email files.
Net, net - same basic problem, can't see the newest backups in the Star Wars screen.
I suspect they're in the disk image.
Do you have any external HDs connected?
Try a "full reset" of Time Machine, per #A4 of Time Machine - Troubleshooting (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

Time Machine Creates New Sparse Bundle

I have a 1TB hard disk connected to a Mac Mini over USB. That disk is shared on the network. My laptop and my wife's laptop are both set up to use that shared disk for Time Machine backups. Generally, things have worked fine.
This morning, I discovered a message from Time Machine on my laptop stating that there wasn't enough space on the drive to complete the backup. That didn't make sense - too few files had changed. When I investigated, I discovered that Time Machine had, after a successful backup at 21:29 last night, started creating a new sparse bundle for its backups.
I restarted my laptop and ran Disk Utility's Repair function on the shared drive (using the Mac Mini to run the repair). I've toggled Time Machine off and back on in System Preferences. The behavior remains: even though there is an existing sparse bundle (machinename.sparsebundle) on that share, when I tell Time Machine to do a backup, it creates a new sparse image: machinename-1.sparsebundle and starts backup up all of my files to it.
Also, if I "Enter Time Machine," Time Machine informs me that it can't find the disk. But it does offer for me to "Use Previous Disk..." if I first mount the "old" disk image (machinename.sparsebundle). Having the old disk image mounted does not prevent Time Machine from making machinename-1.sparsebundle when I tell it to do a backup, however.
I'm at a loss. I've checked the console logs and there's nothing useful there. Is there some hidden setting something that "forces" Time Machine to write to a specific sparse bundle?
I'm rapidly reaching the conclusion that these "over the air backups" aren't worth the bother: a directly-attached disk seems much simpler and more reliable.
Thanks in advance for any helpful hints,
Tony

Pondini wrote:
When you do a +*Repair Disk+* on a directly-connected volume that contains a sparse bundle, the sparse bundle itself may not be repaired. Drag it into the Disk Utility sidebar via the Finder, then select it and try +*Repair Disk+* again.
Okay. I did this - but it told me that the disk appeared to be okay. Which jives with my intuition, since Time Machine is able to use that image +for recovering files+ if I manually mount it and inform Time Machine that it should use it.
Pondini wrote:
Try the widget in #A1 of [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
Does the widget source a different set of logs than the Console app? When I select "All Messages" in Console, I get the following when I attempt to do a backup:
11/12/10 2:35:23 PM com.apple.backupd[9404] Starting standard backup
11/12/10 2:35:23 PM com.apple.backupd[9404] Attempting to mount network destination using URL: afp://media@Media%20Center.afpovertcp.tcp.local/Terrabyte
11/12/10 2:35:25 PM com.apple.backupd[9404] Mounted network destination using URL: afp://media@Media%20Center.afpovertcp.tcp.local/Terrabyte
11/12/10 2:35:26 PM com.apple.backupd[9404] Creating disk image /Volumes/Terrabyte/transient 1.sparsebundle
11/12/10 2:35:26 PM kernel AFP_VFS afpfs_mount: /Volumes/Terrabyte, pid 9405
11/12/10 2:35:28 PM hdiejectd[9413] running
11/12/10 2:35:38 PM hdiejectd[9413] quitCheck: calling exit(0)
I read this as "Time Machine didn't even bother trying to use my 'transient.sparsebundle' that exists on that disk."
A couple of notes:
* My wife has no difficulty backing up to her image on that same AFP share.
* Between my initial post and this one, I updated to 10.6.5 - with no change in behavior.

Time machine creates new machine

Hi just before christmas I moved to leopard and started using time machine. Everything was fine, however 2 weeks ago I sent my computer to an apple authorised repairer as it needed a new logicboard (3rd replacement in 15 months!!!).
The machine has come back and now when it boots up I can click the time machine icon and see and access all my backups since december but as soon as the system does its hourly backup it decides to create a new system profile in time machine and to do another 60gb backup.
Basically it can't see the existing backup when it goes to update but it can when you are checking. Whilst I highly suspect it has something to do with the logic board changing I am not 100% sure.
Any ideas?

Hi, thanks, yes they are the same name. The machine is called "Big Mac". If you let it create a backup it makes a new machine called "Big Mac (2)".
It was not the same fault, The first two could not boot external drives or boot camp, the third developed a sound problem (and they forgot to attach the ir sensor back). The latest one came back today with a fan sensor problem (all fans spinning at max all the time) and there were disk images in my trash of my itunes collection where they had burnt the directory using disk image. After a big complaint they came to my house and did it onsite. I am not surprised because it shows that they were A)stealing my music and B)not testing finished work.
But enough about that, anybody with any more ideas I would be greatful.

Time Machine slow to backup files after System Update to Mac OS X 10.7.3

I downloaded and successfully installed the latest update to Mac OS X Lion (10.7.3) a couple of days ago, and since then I have been having problems backing up my files using Time Machine.
My external hard drive is connected via USB, and I have tried replacing the cables but this has no effect. I have tried restarting the laptop several times, unplugging the hard drive and pretty much anything else I can think off, but it still takes a long time to back up.
For example, I left it running for half an hour - when I came back it had only backed up 1KB! It would usually have completed an entire backup in this time.
I have been patient and waited several hours and tried backing up several times.
Any suggestions would be greatly apprectiated.
Thank you.

Try the things in the green box in #D2 of Time Machine - Troubleshooting.

Time Machine fails to backup files migrated from Windows

Hi there - I have a really annoying issue whereby I have a machine with a TC on the LAN which fails to backup.
The scenario is thus - Mac Snow Leopard server which has files migrated from an old Windows server to one specific disk. This is where all the data resides so this is the only volume I actually really need to back up.
However I keep getting the message that Time machine could not write to the device after a certain period of time with the classically unhelpful:-
Console log mumbles on about what I suspect is the path/length of path or filenames which I understand. Question is - how do I get round this? There are thousands of files in here so I cannot ask the users to go around renaming the files and shortening the folder names (to be honest it doesnt seem that they are too long to me in any case).
The files are shared using both AFP and SMB as a standard Sharepoint and the users on both Mac and PC have no problems at all accessing them, hence my confusion as to why TM has a problem with the file/folder names.
Chocolate biscuit (or equivalent for those on detox) for anyone who can throw me a bone here.
Cheers and thanks in advance,
Si

Not really sure if this is what you mean about Outlook database, but the correct answer may be in this thread's last post:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3356959?start=0&tstart=0
Basically the same information you can find here:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/mac/forum/macoffice2011-macoutlook/help-my-ma in-identity-hosed-restore-from-time/a9992719-3ae0-479d-bf0a-7c8279653ffa
"The first time that you open Outlook after restoring a Time Machine backup, Outlook rebuilds its database to accommodate the restored items. If you have a very large database, rebuilding the database might take a long time."
Hope this helps.

Time machine says the backup file is too big but...

Hi. My time machine back up stopped working. It tells me that the back up file is too large. I have a WD external 500GB Mybook. I am trying to back up my 500GB MacBook. "Get Info" on the MacBook indicates that there is 153GB on disk. "Get Info" on the Mybook indicates that there is 278.8 GB available. However, when I attempt to run backup in Time Machine I get the following message: "This backup is too large for the backup volume. The backup requires 378.4 GB but only 278.8 GB are avalable..."
Why is Time Machine telling me that the backup file is 378.4GB when my MacBook shows that I only have 153GB on disk? If I only have 153GB on disk, 278.8GB of free space in the backup volume should be sufficient for me to back up right? What am I missing here?

Same problem here, found any solution yet guys?

Time machine starts new backup...

here is the situation...
i have a macbook pro and a mac mini. both of which are on my wireless network. i bought a 1 tb external hard drive to back it up with. here is what i want to do. i did my first time machine back up through usb of 250gb because it is faster than the way i want to it in the future, which is attaching it to my mac mini and connecting that 1tb drive that is connected to my mac mini through usb over my network with "connect to server.." and backing up wirelessly through that. so i did the first back up wired through usb and now i connected that drive to the mac mini and tried to do a back up and it just attempts to start a complete new backup for 250gb. not just an incremental backup from the big backup done previously through usb.
any help??

Yes, that's correct, unfortunately. Time Machine stores it's backups differently when they're done wirelessly (in a sparse bundle) vs. directly-attached USB or F/W drive (in a Backups.backupdb folder).
You cannot combine or merge the two.

Even via time machine the new osx lion has deleted all my latest files in iPhoto and will only revert back to an old 2009 backup?

even via time machine the new osx lion has deleted all my latest files in iPhoto and will only revert back to an old 2009 backup?... Help?!

Have you verified that the original files are missing from the Originals/Masters folder? There are time when the library might appear empty due to a damaged database file but still has the files. If you can open the library package via the Finder to see if the files are really missing or just can't be seen by iPhoto there are fixes you can try.
If the files are there make a temporary, backup copy of the library and apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

Time Machine wont mount backup, wants to create new one.

I'm running OSX Lion 10.7 on an iMac 27 with an intel i5 2.7 GHz processor.
I received a notification that Time Machine wasn't backing up.
Somehow the external backup drive became disassociated with TM. So I re-selected it and TM began preparing for a backup. A few moments late a warning popped up stating there was not enough space on the disk to complete the backup.
I entered Time Machine to free up space however, TM had created a new backup file and now it won't mount the original one. I've tried deleting the new backup file, hoping TM would mount the original, but it just keeps creating new ones.
I noticed the new backup file name was different to the original. After looking in to it further, it appears as if this was due to some changes I'd made in my file sharing settings, a couple weeks back, while trying to download some photos from am Android phone. I changed the name back, however, TM still want's to create a new file and still won't mount the original.
The last time it successfully backed up was Oct 30th and the good news is, I can manually open the original backup file in Finder, and see all the old files.
I've read through a number of trouble shooting sites and I've already checked for and installed all updates with no luck.
I really could use some help with this. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

No, I don't think playing around with the sparsebundle is very good idea ever.
If you are now down to that level. Move the old sparsebundle off the TC. Either delete the whole thing and start over.. or save it beforehand.
It is possible to archive off the old sparsebundle, although it is pointless if it is corrupted.
You can copy it to a USB drive on the computer.
See Q18 here. http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
That will take a long long time so be warned.. and do it with ethernet.. otherwise it will take forever.
You can also do the archive directly to USB disk plugged into the TC. You need a hard disk at least as large as the data.
And you will need to use v5.6 airport utility because Apple deleted it in the new version.
If you run Mountain Lion (Lion is easy) you can download it and install by a trick.
That will then give you access to archive and you can use that to save the present hard disk info.. then erase it and start over.
How to load 5.6 into ML.
1. Download 5.6 for Lion.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1482
Click to open the dmg but do not attempt to install the pkg.. it won't work anyway.
2. Download and install unpkg.
http://www.timdoug.com/unpkg/
Run unpkg on the desktop.. it is very simple.. drag the AirPortUtility56.pkg file over to unpkg.. and it will create a new directory of the same name on the desktop.. drill down.. applications utilities .. there lo and behold is Airport utility 5.6 .. drag it to your main utilities directory or just run it from current location.
You cannot uninstall 6.1 (now 6.2 if you updated) so don't try.. and you cannot or should not run them both at the same time.. so just ignore the toyland version.. the plastic hammer.. and start using 5.6.. a real tool.
For screen shots see this post.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4668746?tstart=0

Time machine won't backup. Says disk is full ( stand alone disk). Souldn't it delete enough to create new backup. Last backup was 7/20/11. When I click "enter time machine' it goes to mail screen and nowhere else.

Time machine won't backup. Says disk doesn't have enough room. Shouldn't it delete old info to make space for new.
When I click on "enter time machine" it takes me to the last backup 7/22/11 and doesn't allow me to go further back.

No idea's?
I'm starting to think I just need to delete the sparsebundle file altogether and start over again...

Time Machine won't backup ANY files though no error is given

I have a MacBookPro with Mountain Lion which I bought last November. For several months Time Machine worked fine. Then, about a month ago, it stopped writing anything to the External USB Disk I was using but DID continue to create local "snapshots". I have tried all sorts of solutions, read a bazillion forum posts (including Pondini, etc.). There are no exclusions. I even got a new USB drive and tried that. Nothing. The log shows no errors.
I finally turned of TM, removed the preferencs file, reformatted the external disk, rebooted and tried again. Nothing. TM says there is nothing to back up, or more accurately says:
5/15/13 10:45:26.482 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: Starting manual backup
5/15/13 10:45:26.499 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: Backing up to: /Volumes/GORT Backup/Backups.backupdb
5/15/13 10:45:26.521 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: Ownership is disabled on the backup destination volume. Enabling.
5/15/13 10:45:26.712 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: Forcing deep traversal on source: "Macintosh HD" (mount: '/' fsUUID: D529F94C-4C76-364B-972D-62E8137770E2 eventDBUUID: E69B6460-6ACB-4C50-906F-91D8202C8608)
5/15/13 10:45:52.813 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: Backup content size: 203.7 GB excluded items size: 13.42 GB for volume Macintosh HD
5/15/13 10:45:52.815 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: Found 1419395 files (190.28 GB) needing backup
5/15/13 10:45:52.816 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: 228.34 GB required (including padding), 999.16 GB available
5/15/13 10:45:52.826 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
5/15/13 10:45:54.917 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: Copied 1 files (Zero KB) from volume Macintosh HD.
5/15/13 10:45:54.986 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: Created new backup: 2013-05-15-104554
5/15/13 10:45:55.145 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: Copying OS X Recovery set
5/15/13 10:46:10.336 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: Starting post-backup thinning
5/15/13 10:46:10.336 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: No post-back up thinning needed: no expired backups exist
5/15/13 10:46:10.395 AM com.apple.backupd[32]: Backup completed successfully.
So it seems like it THOUGHT there was something to back up then changed its mind? An advice is welcome.

Thanks Linc. Here you go:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
          <key>sourcePaths</key>
          <array>
                    <string>/</string>
          </array>
          <key>standardExclusionPaths</key>
          <array>
                    <string>/.MobileBackups</string>
                    <string>/MobileBackups.trash</string>
                    <string>/.MobileBackups.trash</string>
                    <string>/.Spotlight-V100</string>
                    <string>/.TemporaryItems</string>
                    <string>/.Trashes</string>
                    <string>/.com.apple.backupd.mvlist.plist</string>
                    <string>/.fseventsd</string>
                    <string>/.hotfiles.btree</string>
                    <string>/Backups.backupdb</string>
                    <string>/Desktop DB</string>
                    <string>/Desktop DF</string>
                    <string>/Network/Servers</string>
                    <string>/Library/Updates</string>
                    <string>/Previous Systems</string>
                    <string>/Users/Shared/SC Info</string>
                    <string>/Users/Guest</string>
                    <string>/dev</string>
                    <string>/home</string>
                    <string>/net</string>
                    <string>/private/var/db/com.apple.backupd.backupVerification</string>
                    <string>/private/var/db/efw_cache</string>
                    <string>/private/var/db/Spotlight</string>
                    <string>/private/var/db/Spotlight-V100</string>
                    <string>/private/var/lib/postfix/greylist.db</string>
                    <string>/Volumes</string>
                    <string>/Network</string>
                    <string>/automount</string>
                    <string>/.vol</string>
                    <string>/tmp</string>
                    <string>/cores</string>
                    <string>/private/tmp</string>
                    <string>/private/Network</string>
                    <string>/private/tftpboot</string>
                    <string>/private/var/automount</string>
                    <string>/private/var/folders</string>
                    <string>/private/var/run</string>
                    <string>/private/var/tmp</string>
                    <string>/private/var/vm</string>
                    <string>/private/var/db/dhcpclient</string>
                    <string>/private/var/db/fseventsd</string>
                    <string>/Library/Caches</string>
                    <string>/Library/Logs</string>
                    <string>/System/Library/Caches</string>
                    <string>/System/Library/Extensions/Caches</string>
                    <string>/private/var/log</string>
                    <string>/private/var/spool/cups</string>
                    <string>/private/var/spool/fax</string>
                    <string>/private/var/spool/uucp</string>
          </array>
          <key>systemFilesExcluded</key>
          <false/>
          <key>userExclusionPaths</key>
          <array/>
</dict>
</plist>

HT1338 Purchased a used macbook pro with Mountain Lion. My old Mac runs Snow Leopard is backed up to Time machine. How do I register the operating system to me and how do I use Time Machine to move my files to the new used computer?

Purchased a used macbook pro with Mountain Lion. My old Mac runs Snow Leopard is backed up to Time machine. How do I register the operating system to me and how do I use Time Machine to move my files to the new used computer?

If you look at the User Tips tab, you will find a write up on just this subject:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4053
The subject of buying/selling a Mac is quite complicated. Here is a guide to the steps involved. It is from the Seller's point of view, but easily read the other way too:
SELLING A MAC A
Internet Recovery, and Transferability of OS & iLife Apps
Selling an Old Mac:
• When selling an old Mac, the only OS that is legally transferable is the one that came preinstalled when the Mac was new. Selling a Mac with an upgraded OS isn't doing the new owner any favors. Attempting to do so will only result in headaches since the upgraded OS can't be registered by the new owner. If a clean install becomes necessary, they won't be able to do so and will be forced to install the original OS via Internet Recovery. Best to simply erase the drive and revert back to the original OS prior to selling any Mac.
• Additionally, upgrading the OS on a Mac you intend to sell means that you are leaving personally identifiable information on the Mac since the only way to upgrade the OS involves using your own AppleID to download the upgrade from the App Store. So there will be traces of your info and user account left behind. Again, best to erase the drive and revert to the original OS via Internet Recovery.
Internet Recovery:
• In the event that the OS has been upgraded to a newer version (i.e. Lion to Mountain Lion), Internet Recovery will offer the version of the OS that originally came with the Mac. So while booting to the Recovery Disk will show Mountain Lion as available for reinstall since that is the current version running, Internet Recovery, on the other hand, will only show Lion available since that was the OS shipped with that particular Mac.
• Though the Mac came with a particular version of Mac OS X, it appears that, when Internet Recovery is invoked, the most recent update of that version may be applied. (i.e. if the Mac originally came with 10.7.3, Internet Recovery may install a more recent update like 10.7.5)
iLife Apps:
• When the App Store is launched for the first time it will report that the iLife apps are available for the user to Accept under the Purchases section. The user will be required to enter their AppleID during the Acceptance process. From that point on the iLife apps will be tied to the AppleID used to Accept them. The user will be allowed to download the apps to other Macs they own if they wish using the same AppleID used to Accept them.
• Once Accepted on the new Mac, the iLife apps can not be transferred to any future owner when the Mac is sold. Attempting to use an AppleID after the apps have already been accepted using a different AppleID will result in the App Store reporting "These apps were already assigned to another Apple ID".
• It appears, however, that the iLife Apps do not automatically go to the first owner of the Mac. It's quite possible that the original owner, either by choice or neglect, never Accepted the iLife apps in the App Store. As a result, a future owner of the Mac may be able to successfully Accept the apps and retain them for themselves using their own AppleID. Bottom Line: Whoever Accepts the iLife apps first gets to keep them.
SELLING A MAC B
Follow these instructions step by step to prepare a Mac for sale:
Step One - Back up your data:
A. If you have any Virtual PCs shut them down. They cannot be in their "fast saved" state. They must be shut down from inside Windows.
B. Clone to an external drive using using Carbon Copy Cloner.
1. Open Carbon Copy Cloner.
2. Select the Source volume from the Select a source drop down menu on the left side.
3. Select the Destination volume from the Select a destination drop down menu on the right
side.
4. Click on the Clone button. If you are prompted about creating a clone of the Recovery HD be
sure to opt for that.
Destination means a freshly erased external backup drive. Source means the internal
startup drive.
Step Two - Prepare the machine for the new buyer:
1. De-authorize the computer in iTunes! De-authorize both iTunes and Audible accounts.
2, Remove any Open Firmware passwords or Firmware passwords.
3. Turn the brightness full up and volume nearly so.
4. Turn off File Vault, if enabled.
5. Disable iCloud, if enabled: See.What to do with iCloud before selling your computer
Step Three - Install a fresh OS:
A. Snow Leopard and earlier versions of OS X
1. Insert the original OS X install CD/DVD that came with your computer.
2. Restart the computer while holding down the C key to boot from the CD/DVD.
3. Select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu; repartition and reformat the internal hard drive.
Optionally, click on the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
4. Install OS X.
5. Upon completion DO NOT restart the computer.
6. Shutdown the computer.
B. Lion and Mountain Lion (if pre-installed on the computer at purchase*)
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because
it is three times faster than wireless.
1. Restart the computer while holding down the COMMAND and R keys until the Mac OS X
Utilities window appears.
2. Select Disk Utility from the Mac OS X Utilities window and click on the Continue button.
3. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the left side list. Click
on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
4. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on the Security button
and set the Zero Data option to one-pass.
5. Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
6. Quit DU and return to the Mac OS X Utilities window.
7. Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
8. Upon completion shutdown the computer.
*If your computer came with Lion or Mountain Lion pre-installed then you are entitled to transfer your license once. If you purchased Lion or Mountain Lion from the App Store then you cannot transfer your license to another party. In the case of the latter you should install the original version of OS X that came with your computer. You need to repartition the hard drive as well as reformat it; this will assure that the Recovery HD partition is removed. See Step Three above. You may verify these requirements by reviewing your OS X Software License.

(How) Can I use Existing Time Machine On New Mac Without Erasing Original TM Backups?

I just got through doing a clean install from Mavericks to Yosemite and now I'm trying to attach and recognize the original Time Machine Drive (TMD)
I chose to install as a new computer and did not choose a Time Machine backup option because the original TMD was not attached at the time of installation.
Upon arriving at the desktop and connecting my original TMD, I was able to see it in finder but Time Machine did not automatically accept it.
I am able to see the disk in Time Machine but it doesn't tell me that its got data on it .
HERE'S THE ANXIOUS MOMENT: If I select TMD, which is the original, will it overwrite all that orignal information, or will it continue adding to it?
I've read under different parts of the forum that if you go through this process during the original setup and the Time Machine drive is attached to the computer then you will be prompted to inherit the old Time Machine. Since I didn't have the drive attached, I didn't see that.
Now back to desktop and into the Time Machine utility: This option to inherit doesn't seem to exist or is obvious. The only option after selecting the drive in Time Machine is "Use Disk". If I click this, will it erase my original data or will it ask to inherit the drive? It's not very clear what will happen after I click "Use Disk".
Thanks so much to anyone who can help, Jeff

Thanks for the link. I went there but didn't find any information on how to inherit the backup history. The link says "If you’re replacing an old Mac and want the new Mac to use the backups from the old one, click Inherit Backup." At what point in the migration process does it ask "to specify whether you (I) want a new Mac to inherit a backup"? It seems like I got quite a few levels into Migration assistant and the last click that I did not click seemed like it was good to start the process without telling me anything about inheriting anything.
Any suggestions or did I not go far enough?
From Apple Website below
OS X Yosemite: If you want a new Mac to “inherit” your backup history
You can move the backup history from one Mac to another, but after the new Mac “inherits” the backup history, you can’t use the backup history on the original Mac.
You’re asked to specify whether you want a new Mac to inherit a backup if you do any of the following:
Use Migration Assistant to transfer your settings from an old Mac to a new one.
Use Migration Assistant to transfer your settings from a Time Machine backup of an old Mac to a new one.
Clone the disk you use to start your Mac, or physically move it from an old Mac to a new Mac.
Replace your computer’s main board.
If you’re replacing an old Mac and want the new Mac to use the backups from the old one, click Inherit Backup.
If you plan to continue to use your old Mac, click Create New Backup to preserve the backup history and start separate backups for the new Mac.
Connect a new backup disk to your Mac
Transfer your info from a PC
Last Modified: Nov 18, 2014

Time machine created new backup file

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