Time Machine missing backups, grayed out dates

My Time Machine disk is showing blacked out dates for some of my folders and no backups of those folders and files for those dates...There are earlier and later backups for some of the folders, but missing interim dates even though other folders were backed up. This seems to have happened after the Lion upgrade. Note: It's not a disc capacity issue, as my backup disk is 2 tb.....

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
To access to older backups through Time Machine, read > http://pondini.org/TM/B6.html When you get a new hard drive and install OS X in it, Time Machine creates a new backup instead of connecting it to the old backups you had, so you cannot access to those backups.

Similar Messages

  • Time Machine restore is grayed out even after selecting a file

    (step one) I used Migration Assistant to restore a 2009 27" iMac with my Time Machine backup from my 2009 24" iMac that crashed.
    (step two) I open Mail on the restored iMac, the inbox loads, my folders in "on my mac" are listed, but the email messages are not there. I click on one of the folders, go to Time Machine/browse other backup disks (which is the same time machine I used in step one) and I can see the old email messages when I "enter time machine".
    (step three) When in the time machine interface, the tick marks are grayed out. The mail program is showing and I can select one of my folders and see the mail messages. However the restore button is grayed no matter if I select a folder or a particular email message.
    (step four) I cancel out of the time machine interface, go to system prefs/time machine and mount this same disk as the new backup disk. The disk is 1 TB with 178 GB left from the old iMac. The time machine starts a backup and then stops with the error that there is not enough room to backup.
    (step five) I go back to step 2 above, and have the same grayed restore button.
    Please help! Thanks

    Although you can restore messages from a Time Machine snapshot within the Mail application, it generally won't work with messages that were saved by an obsolete version of Mail. In that case, you have to use an alternative method.
    Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
    ~/Library/Mail/V2
    Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select
              Services ▹ Open
    from the contextual menu.* A folder should open. Inside it are subfolders representing your Mail accounts. The names refer to the email addresses you use.
    Enter Time Machine and scroll back to the snapshot you want. Select the account folders you want and then select  Restore ... to... from the action menu (gear icon) in the toolbar of the snapshot window. Restore the folders to the Desktop, not to their original location.
    From the Mail menu bar, select
              File ▹ Import Mailboxes...
    Choose Apple Mail as the format and import from the mailboxes in the folders you restored to the Desktop. The imported messages will appear in a new mailbox. Move the ones you want to keep wherever you like and delete the rest. Then delete the folders on the Desktop.
    *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 and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

  • Time Machine Missing Backups

    Recently my mac crashed and would not boot, so I had to restore from the time machine.
    This all went fine but the software was telling me tha the last backupo was on the 10th Jan (the restore was the 13th Jan).
    If the time machine backs up every hour then why can I not access any data after the backup of the 10th Jan?
    I have lost a significnat amount of data because of this and I have relied on the time machine to prevent this. Is there a way to access the backups after the 10th Jan or do I need to use a backup other than time machine (which makes time machine redundant).
    I have that much trouble with OS X over the last week that I am tempted to erase all and go back to windows (crap OS but stuff works).
    `Thanks in advance
    Paul

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities
    To access to older backups through Time Machine, read > http://pondini.org/TM/B6.html When you get a new hard drive and install OS X in it, Time Machine creates a new backup instead of connecting it to the old backups you had, so you cannot access to those backups.

  • If I choose a hard drive ask my backup disk for time machine, will it clear out the data that was previously stored in my hard drive?

    If I choose a hard drive ask my backup disk for time machine, will it clear out the data that was previously stored in my hard drive?

    Hello edjhsu,
    Unless the drive is in a format that isn't compatible with Time Machine, the files will not be overrwitten. However it is typically a better idea to keep your files and your backup separate, especially since files on the Time Machine drive will not be backed up by Time Machine.
    Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427
    Cheers,
    Allen

  • Time Machine:The backup disk ran out of space unexpectedly. .....

    Hi,
    I upgraded to Mountain Lion when it was released and yesterday I began getting this notice from Time Machine:
    "The backup disk ran out of space unexpectedly. Time Machine will try to make more space available by removing expired backups during the next scheduled backup."
    I have a one terra external hard drive with exclusively Time Machine.  It says it has 3.4 gigabytes available, but isn't deleting old backups and making room for new, like before.  I tried the "encrypting" solution, but it still keeps on giving me this message.  Should I erase and format?  If so, what option should I chose to format?
    My Hard Drive has 240 gigabytes, so 1Tb should be more than enough.
    Thank you!
    Gloria

    SuperDuper and Time Machine are two completely different backup utilities. If you want something like what SuperDuper does then don't use Time Machine. You have many other options that won't use up all the space on your backup drive:
    Backup Software Recommendations
    Carbon Copy Cloner
    Data Backup
    Deja Vu
    SuperDuper!
    Synk Pro
    Tri-Backup
    Others may be found at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.
    Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore.  Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
    Do the following to erase your drive:
    Erase a Drive
    1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
    2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.

  • I backup to an external hdd with Time Machine, when it ran out of space it did not delete old backups, now my internal hdd says its full when before it had heaps of space. I have searched for extra files but cant find any. Can anyone help, please.

    I backup to an external hdd with Time Machine, when it ran out of space it did not delete old backups, now my internal hdd says its full when before it had heaps of space. I have searched for extra files but cant find any. Can anyone help, please.

    First, empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. Then reboot. That will temporarily free up some space.
    To locate large files, you can use Spotlight as described here. That method may not find large folders that contain a lot of small files.
    You can also use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) to explore your volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one.
    Proceed further only if the problem hasn't been solved.
    ODS can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
    Back up all data now.
    Install ODS in the Applications folder as usual.
    Triple-click the line of text below to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C):sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
    Launch the Terminal 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 Terminal in the icon grid.
    Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
    I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything while running ODS as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means.
    When you're done with ODS, quit it and also quit Terminal.

  • When installing maverick mailboxes disappeared, only have current emails. All the folders and content missing. Could anyone be of help. I do have Time Machine for backup.

    When installing maverick mailboxes disappeared, only have current emails. All the folders and content missing. Could anyone be of help. I do have Time Machine for backup.

    Solved the problem by clicking the gray triangle next to "On My Mac" and drilled down!

  • Time Machine: Missing Snow Leopard backups after Lion Upgrade.

    I regulary use Time Machine for backups to my WD drive through my network.  After I upgraded to Lion I could not back up to my network drive   I learned through various forums that my WD drive required a firmware update, to work with Lion.  I upgraded the firmware and now  I no longer have my Time Machine backups from Snow Leopard, only backups from Lion, any idea how I can locate my Snow Leopard backups?

    Pondini wrote:
    I'd be the first to agree that keeping two sets of backups, one a "clone," is prudent.
    But if you have a Snow Leopard clone, then upgrade to Lion, the next time you update the clone you'll lose the Snow Leopard version entirely.
    Yes, I was caught out early, so I have a selection of backup drives now to keep everything backed up as safely as possible. Although at the moment, I'm not seeing any reason to go back to Snow Leopard, and all my media is safe. Hopefully in the near future my SL backups can go and I can get ready for the next OS when it comes along.
    Thanks

  • How can I force Time Machine to make a complete backup of my Hard Drive.  I just installed a new external drive for Backup since my previous one failed.  Now when I back up, Time Machine only backs up my data folder and the Users folder.

    How can I force Time Machine to make a complete backup of my Hard Drive.  I just installed a new external drive for Backup since my previous one failed.  Now when I back up, Time Machine only backs up my data folder and the Users folder.
    When I start a backup. Time Machine says "Oldest Backup: None; Latest Backup: None", so it seems like it should do a complete backup, but it only does a partial. 

    Hi I'd like to jump in here. Your app showed me this:
    Time Machine:
              Skip System Files: NO
              Mobile backups: OFF
              Auto backup: YES
              Volumes being backed up:
                        Macintosh HD: Disk size: 749.3 GB Disk used: 453.81 GB
              Destinations:
                        Plastic Wrapper [Local] (Last used)
                        Total size: 999.86 GB
                        Total number of backups: 64
                        Oldest backup: 2013-07-24 23:25:11 +0000
                        Last backup: 2013-11-17 01:40:47 +0000
                        Size of backup disk: Too small
                                  Backup size 999.86 GB < (Disk used 453.81 GB X 3)
              Time Machine details may not be accurate.
              All volumes being backed up may not be listed.
              /sbin excluded from backup!
              /usr excluded from backup!
              /System excluded from backup!
              /bin excluded from backup!
              /private excluded from backup!
              /Library excluded from backup!
              /Applications excluded from backup!
    Aside from the size of my backup drive, which I will increase at some point, I'd really like to have time machine backing up all system folders, especially Applications. How to I reset this hidden exclusions?
    Thanks,
    Darcy

  • I had to change my Hard Drive, now I want to work on files in iWeb, but can't access Time Machine before yesterday. The dates are there on the right hand side but are greyed out before yesterday when I changed my HD. How do I access anything from before.

    I had to change my Hard Drive, now I want to work on files in iWeb, but can't access Time Machine before yesterday. The dates are there on the right hand side but are greyed out before yesterday when I changed my HD. How do I access anything from before?

    Start with B5/6 in the 1st linked article.
    Time Machine Troubleshooting
    Time Machine Troubleshooting Problems

  • Time Machine: Mavericks backup date and time issues

    Time Machine: Troubleshooting backup issues
    re:  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3275
    "Messages you may see after clicking the red "i" include:"
    I am getting a message not listed at this page. My Time Machine fails to backup to my USB3 Passport External Drive with the error code: 
    "Time Machine couldn't complete the
    backup to "2T PP".
    The system date and time is incorrect."
    I have the Date & Time preference set to:
    "√ Set date and time automatically:  Apple Americas/U.S. (time.apple.com)"
    and it seems to be the correct time.
    The Language & Region prefs, advanced, Dates tab is set to defaults but I cannot get TM to backup and the same error occurs.
    How can I remedy this?

    Because you have just loaded a new operating system and a complete backup occurs is my understanding.

  • I got this error while my mac was backing up to time machine: he backup disk image "/Volumes/Data/Sanjeev's iMac.sparsebundle" could not be created (error (null)). Please could someone help

    I got this error while my mac was backing up to time machine: he backup disk image “/Volumes/Data/Sanjeev’s iMac.sparsebundle” could not be created (error (null)). Please could someone help

    Has the backup been working ok??
    If that is the case simply reboot the TC.. or if that fails, reboot the whole network, restarting in correct order..
    modem.. wait 2min
    TC.. wait 2min

  • HT3275 Time machine error, backup disk image "/volumes/data-1/.sparesbundle " already in use. I don;t know what this means, can someone help?

    My Mac mini time capsule is showing an error Time machine error, backup disk image "/volumes/data-1/.sparesbundle " already in use. I don;t know what this means, can someone help?

    I had a similar problem and I solved it as follows -
    In Time Machine - > I deselected time capsule Data Disk as a destination.
    Then I pulled the power plug on the Time Capsule, twiddled my thumbs for 15 secs, plugged the power back in.
    Went back t Time Machine -> Re-Added the Time Capsule Data Disk as destination. And then tested by selecting Backup Now.
    All went well and the backup picked up from before the problem.
    BTW - I also have a USB drive connected to Time Capsule that is an alternate disk for Time Machine to backup.
    In Mountain Lion the GUI lets you add more than one Time Machine backup destinations very easily so I think it a good idea to have redundancy.
    Hope this helps.

  • How do I upgrade to snow leopard and then restore my files from my time machine HDD backup...without losing any data or reinstalling leopard (10.5)?

    How do I upgrade to snow leopard (from leopard 10.5) and then restore my files from my time machine HDD backup...without losing any data or reinstalling leopard (10.5)?

    Hello, it's great you have a backup, but 10.6 should just Install 10.6 system files over the top of 10.5 system files, & leave all your data intact on the drive.

  • Can I set Time Machine to backup both my hard drive and an external hard drive?

    Hi. I've been working with a lot of family video lately and my internal hard drive has filled up significantly. iMovie doesn't seem to have a good archiving facility like Adobe InDesign which I use at work were all the relevant files are gathered together into one folder. Apple advised me to relocate my movie files to an external hard drive and herein lies my query.
    Is there a way for me to set Time Machine to backup both my iMac's internal drive and the external hard drive that would contain my movie files? I've been using Time Machine for my backups for a few years now, but backing up the external as well has me stumped. If Time Machine could be used then all the necessary file accociations etc would be safely backed up as well - that's why I don't want to have to manually backup the external.
    Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

    7string48 wrote:
    Thanks so much Pondini!!  You just quickly answered a question that none of the Mac people in 3 stores or Apple Care have been able to answer.If you can format it HFS+ (any variation of Mac OS Extended), it will work.  If not, it won't.  
    I'm not too surprised about the Apple Stores, as they don't get much training on Time Machine.  But AppleCare sure ought to know. 
    Oh...what about if the external drive is an array...like a Drobo with it's own proprietary formatting...I guess that would not work...??
    I've never used a Drobo.  A number of folks here have used them as their Time Machine drives, but I don't recall seeing anyone try to back one up with TM, so can't say for sure.  But if you can format it as HFS+ (any variation of Mac OS Extended), it will work.  If not, it won't.
    At least part of the reason is, Time Machine uses the File System Event Store, a hidden log of changes that OSX keeps on each Mac-formatted disk/partition, to figure out what's changed and needs to be backed-up.  See How Time Machine works its Magic for details.
    See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #32 for details and considerations of backing-up multiple volumes with Time Machine.
    However, even if it will work, that may not be your best strategy, depending on your circumstances:
    Since Time Machine keeps copies of things you've changed or deleted, the destination needs to be considerably larger than the data being backed-up.  How much larger varies widely depending on how you use your Mac, but a general "rule of thumb" is, it needs at least twice the space to be able to keep a reasonable "depth" of backups for you.
    If you have a large internal HD, fairly full, plus a large external HD, and the files on the external don't change frequently, you might want to use Time Machine for the internal, and a different app to a different disk or partition, on a different schedule, for the external.  Especially if space is a consideration, you might not need to keep previous versions of files on the externals.  See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #27 for some alternatives.

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