Time machine only displays my desktop folder

When I enter Time Machine, I want to be able to move back in time and browse my ENTIRE COMPUTER in the past - - - including the top level of my internal hard disk and see all files and folders on it.
However TM only displays list views of my desktop folde and will show me this desktop folder back in time as if that was the ONLY folder it had backed up. Even though an icon for my internal HD appears on my real time desktop, the desktop folder displayed by Time Machine does NOT include the hard drive so I have no way of browsing back anywhere but in my desktop folder. How do I change views in Time Machine so I can get to the top level of the hard drive and see all files and folders on it.
It's next to useless to ONLY be able to see an incomplete snapshot of my desktop folder.

Steve Holton wrote:
If the sidebar is hidden when you enter TM, you can still navigate. The "see the location of the current folder" icon (the one just to the left of the 'i' info icon will show you the folder hierarchy up to you machine name.
You mean the "Path" icon? (which is not one of the defaults).
As with the sidebar, that works IF you have a toolbar in the Finder window, and IF it has the proper icons. As with the sidebar, once you're in TM without it, you can't make it (or new icons) appear.

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Time Machine Only Displays Desktop Items

I'm using a 2GHz Intel Core Duo iMac, using Time Machine to backup to a 400GB Iomega external drive.
The problem is when I go in to Time Machine to 'look back in time', the only items which appear in the historical finder windows are those items or folders actually located on my desktop, but excluding "Macintosh HD". This means, for example, if I want to restore an old file from my "Documents" folder of 1 week ago, I can not, as this can not be accessed via the desktop (bearing in mind the Macintosh HD icon also does not appear).
Any ideas? Time Machine preferences do not account for this problem - I have not restricted backup to desktop items only.

You should post your question in the "Time Machine" discussion area.
This is the "Time Capsule" discussion area.

Time Machine only backing up Users folder

Since upgrding to Mountain Lion my Time Machine is now only backing up my ~/users/ folders and not the whole hard drive like it used to.
Nothing is excluded in Time Machine settings.
Has anybody else got this same scenario? I'm wondering if it's an isseu on my MacBook or if it's by design with Mountain Lion.
Hopefully it's not by design as none of my Application Preferences and other files in Library are being backed up

My other Mac was fine, but comparing the com.apple.TimeMachine.plist files of the two machines reveals something interesting.
On the problematic Mac (Mac #1), before I deleted the .plist, all of the system paths (/Applications, /Library, etc.) somehow got added to ExcludeByPath on or around August 30. After deleting the .plist and starting fresh, the ExcludeByPath key and values are gone, as is expected.
But on Mac #2 (the Mac with no Time Machine problem), those exact same paths that were under ExcludeByPath on Mac #1 are specifically enumerated under IncludeByPath, whereas they are not specifically listed after starting fresh on Mac #1. (It's possible these existed on Mac #2 before my upgrade to 10.8.)
If the system paths were enumerated under IncludeByPath on Mac #1 prior to starting fresh, either the system, Time Machine, or another app changed IncludeByPath to ExcludeByPath. I cannot verify if IncludeByPath was in Mac #1's .plist because I no longer have the historical data.
In summary:
Mac #1 (Mac that stopped archiving system files):
.plist contained system paths under ExcludeByPath
after deleting .plist and resetting Time Machine, .plist no longer contains ExcludeByPath
before and after resetting TM, IncludeByPath was/is absent
Mac #2 (Mac with no TM issue):
system paths specifically listed under IncludeByPath

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 used Time Machine to recover my Pictures folder. This created a folder called Pictures (original) but I cannot open it. There is a do not enter roadsign, red disk and white bar on it. How can I see the contents?

I used Time Machine to recover my Pictures folder. This created a folder called Pictures (original) but I cannot open it. There is a do not enter roadsign, red disk and white bar on it. How can I see the contents?

Repairing the permissions of a home folder in Lion is a complicated procedure. I don’t know of a simpler one that always works.
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 page that opens.
Drag or copy — do not type — the following line into the Terminal window, then press return:
chmod -R -N ~
The command will take a noticeable amount of time to run. When a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) appears below what you entered, it’s done. You may see a few error messages about an “invalid argument” while the command is running. You can ignore those. If you get an error message with the words “Permission denied,” enter this:
sudo !!
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.
Next, boot from your recovery partition by holding down the key combination command-R at startup. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.
When the recovery desktop appears, select Utilities ▹ Terminal from the menu bar.
In the Terminal window, enter “resetpassword” (without the quotes) and press return. A Reset Password window opens. You’re not going to reset the password.
Select your boot volume if not already selected.
Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.
Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.
Select  ▹ Restart from the menu bar.

Time Machine only shows the current copy of the file I am trying to restore. There is none of the time machine backup histories shown. I am running OSX 10.7.5. I see the backup files on my external Time Machine hard drive. Help

Time Machine only shows the current copy of the file I am trying to restore. There is none of the time machine backup histories shown. I am running OSX 10.7.5. I see the backup files on my external Time Machine hard drive in the Backups.backupdb folder.
Time Machine does show the history of my Macintosh HD, but when I try to navigate to the folder I wish to restore the backup history disappears. I've been searching for answers and I have not found one that works for me.

Time Machine only shows the current copy of the file I am trying to restore. There is none of the time machine backup histories shown. I am running OSX 10.7.5. I see the backup files on my external Time Machine hard drive in the Backups.backupdb folder.
Time Machine does show the history of my Macintosh HD, but when I try to navigate to the folder I wish to restore the backup history disappears. I've been searching for answers and I have not found one that works for me.

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

Time Machine is listed as excluded folder after migration

I just bought a new iMac and used Time Machine to migrate files and folders over. The first time the new iMac attempted to do a Time Machine backup, I clicked for it to inherit backup history. I just entered Time Machine to look for a file that existed prior to the migration and my backups only go back to the date of the migration, about 2 days ago. However, when I go into Finder and click on Time Machine, it has all of my old backups in folders and I am able to open each folder and see the backups/contents of each day prior to migration. Also, when I click on options in Time Machine System Preferences, it has Time Machine listed as an excluded folder for back up.
How can I get the Time Machine application to recognize the folders saved on the Time Machine external harddrive, i.e., I want to click on Time Machine in the dock and view old backups rather than go into Finder and search the folders for each back up?
Thanks!!

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. The Time Machine volume itself is always excluded from backup. That has nothing to do with what I believe to be your problem, which is that you can't directly access snapshots of your old boot volume where you expect them to be in the time-travel view. That's the subject of the page I linked to.
The snapshots are grayed because they contain no data from your new boot volume. You have to go up to the Computer level, then navigate to the snapshot you want to restore from, and then down to the files.

Does time machine work with the trash folder?

Does time machine work with the trash folder? So if I have the entire aperture library backed up to the time machine. Is it safe to empty the trash folder in aperture? I am able to recover files from time machine later?

So make a top-level Project called "_Circular File". Put Images in there that you what to have out of your way but not discarded.
It really is good and proper to treat the Trash as trash. I instruct everyone to _empty_ the Aperture Trash at the end of _every_ session. The reason is this: it is the only time you will remember whether it is safe to delete the items in there. If you wait, you will then waste time trying to answer "Did I really mean to throw that out?" or, periodically, you'll give up trying to remember, and will empty the Trash without reviewing it. At the end of every session, examine the Trash, confirm that the items there are trash, and empty it.
Shocking, perhaps, but you should also empty your system trash every day. The real-life equivalents are good guides here. No-one in an office hoards their trash. If you mean to throw something out, throw it out. If you don't mean to throw it out, do not put it in the trash.
I don't know how TM handles the Aperture Trash. I do know, however, that I would not expect this behavior to remain consistent, and would absolutely recommend against a workflow based on it.

Time machine only copies User Info and Users (Applications, Library, and System are missing) from my quad core Mac Pro. 45 Gb of 162 Gb are missing. Any one having success with time machine copying all folders using Mavericks? What do I need to do dif

Time machine only copies User Info and Users (Applications, Library, and System are missing) from my quad core Mac Pro. 45 Gb of 162 Gb are missing. Any one having success with time machine copying all folders using Mavericks?
What do I need to do differently?

The late, great Pondini was investigating that issue before he passed away.
See here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5125969
I think there might be information there on how to reset Time Machine to do a full backup. I think you basically have to reset it and start over.

I have time machine saving onto two usb drives. The backup is 4.6TB. Each drive is 6TB. Why is time machine only updating one drive? (The other has been the same for two weeks.)

I have time machine saving onto two usb drives.
The total size of the files being backed up is 4.6TB.
Each external USB drive is 6TB. So I have 12 TB of space for Time Machine.
Why is time machine only updating one USB drive? (One drive has been the same for two weeks.)
I have selected both drives in the Time Machine settings panel.
My understanding was that it would do a full backup, and then incremental backups of changed files, getting rid of old copies as needed, and alternate between the two drives.
But it looks like drive A has one complete backup, dated two weeks ago, and drive B is the only one getting action.
There is a red icon on drive one that says the drive needs 120GB more space to do a backup -- which is strange since the whole backup set is only 4.6TB in size, and the drive is 6TB in size...

You could try a clone instead.
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
Time Machine Versus Clones and Archives
Commonly Used Backup Methods

Time Machine error while creating backup folder

Several times today I have gotten a popup message. "Time Machine error while creating backup folder". I click OK, and then the message appears again after a hour or so. I am using a WD My Book external drive as my backup media. I looked at the drive in Finder and the older (yesterday and beyond) backup folders are there.

always a pleasure doing business with you, dear sir
JGG

Time Machine not backing up user folder

After a Mavericks update to version 10.9.3 i have noticed that Time Machine is not displying the folder in T.M disc image, therfore unable to drag specific files out without going in to the T.M app, is there a way to make this folder visible,

It has to be said that you should use the TM app to restore files rather than browsing through TM's backups with the Finder and dragging files out. There can be issues with permissions and other file attributes.

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.

Time Machine Background for my desktop or screen saver

How can I use the vortex time machine background for my desktop or screen saver background?
Thanks

Hello,
In short....you can't. You can use the static image as a wallpaper or slideshow ScreenSaver but you cannot use the "Vortex" engine for the animated Time Machine effects. It appears that the "Vortex" engine is part of the Resources for the Finder application itself as evidenced by the related files and images found in the Finder application Package. I don't know if anyone could create a "hack", utilizing the existing resources, to make a ScreenSaver file or not. I have zero experience with ScreenSavers. I just use them.
I know that there are interesting integer parameters in some of the "Vortex" files but I do not have the "bullocks" to experiment with them.
Sorry.....
pw

Time machine only displays my desktop folder

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