Time Machine Restore Interface not working (all else seems fine)

I needed to get into Time Machine the other day to restore a file I acccidentally deleted. I entered Time Machine to resore interface. The timeline on the right shows all the past backups but the I was not able to call on any of the backup dates and times. The two arrows to the bottom right of the screen did not allow me to sift through the windows either. I know that the Time Machine is working and creating backups, and when I go through Finder to the disk, all the backups are there. I was able to restoree the file I need using Finder and that was no big deal. But that still leaves non-working restore interface which is something of a nuisance. Does anyone have the same problem?
I am using MacPro 4.1 running OS X 10.9.3. My TM setup is to internal dedicated HD, RAID1 set up via disk utility. The disk size is 2TB and currently has about 1.6TB of data (400GB free).
Any help would be appreciated,
Thanks in advance,
Heidi

I feel exceptionally stupid.
The default window that appears on the restore interface was set to a particular folder from a drive that I do not backup on Time Machine. I was trying to go to the date that I wanted to restore from first instead of navigating to the file I needed to restore. Once I chose one of the drives/folders that I back up on Time Machine, all was fine. I wish Time Machine would make the distinction obvious by graying out excluded items right away (when you go back in time, that does happen but not in the 'present' screen).
Hope above helps in the future for those who may encounter the same problem before having had their first cup of morning coffee.
It is good to know that Time Machine is working as it should, and I count myself one of those fortunate ones who do not have to use Time Machine to restore files that often (hence this elementary question: file under "my computer's not working because I didn't check to see if it's plugged in before calling customer service").

Similar Messages

Time Machine restore didn't work, all of my files were restored to a hidden part of my HDD. What should I do?

I recently had my HDD wiped out at the Apple Store. Before doing this I did a complete time machine backup to an external Lacie drive. I had Snow Leopard reinstalled on my laptop and on booting the OS for the first time, my external drive wasn't recognized. I opened the migration assistant and the drive wasn't found either (but it showed up in the Finder and all of my files were accessible). It eventually opened in the Time Machine utility but when I restored to the last backup date, it saved to a folder called "Volumes," and nothing changed on my laptop. None of my files can be found on my HDD, none of my old settings are intact, but my drive is completely filled. I don't know where the files were saved to or what went wrong in the restore. Can anybody help me?

Yeah, thanks a lot from me too! I had exactly the same problem, but now things seem to be fine. Apple should pay you, since you do their job!

Time Machine options are not working. I am unable to schedule automatic backups.

Time Machine options are not working. I am unable to schedule automatic backups. The On-Off button is grayed out. I can perform a backup manually.

Thanks for responding. I have an external disk with plenty of room. It is used only for backup of my computer. I get a backup by clicking on the Time Machine icon at the top of the page and select "Back Up Now." When I click on Time Machine Preferences, there is a box labeled "Options" which allows me to exclude items from backup and notify after old backups are deleted. There is no option to schedule a backup. The "OFF/ON" box is gray. For "Next Backup:" it says "Automatic backups off." I would like to turn it on.

Time machine automatic backup not working.

I have just setup my time machine backup and it works fine when I initiate manual backups. but i have noticed that, after every hour auto backup doesn't start. i can always do a manual backup, but for some reason next backup time is increased by an hour every time for auto backups. there are no error messages. Can you please help me with this. I am on os X mavericks.
I also checked the system logs after seeing some other topics and I only see messages about manually started backups there.

These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.
Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
In the top right corner of the Console window, there's a search box labeled Filter. Initially the words "String Matching" are shown in that box. Enter the word "Starting" (without the quotes.) You should now see log messages with the words "Starting * backup," where * represents any of the words "automatic," "manual," or "standard."
Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Note the timestamp of the last "Starting" message that corresponds to the beginning of an an abnormal backup. Now
CLEAR THE WORD "Starting" FROM THE TEXT FIELD
so that all messages are showing, and scroll back in the log to the time you noted. Select the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
☞ If all you see are messages that contain the word "Starting," you didn't clear the text field.
☞ The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of which is irrelevant to solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
☞ Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

Time Machine restore interface is almost unusable with Time Capsule

Recently I set up a Time Capsule to use for Time Machine backups. The backups are fine and go relatively quickly, put the space interface is unbearably slow! First, it takes forever to connect to the backup volume, then once the screen slides into the space interface, it hangs for about 30 seconds before it does anything. Then I'll get around a 5-second burst of responsiveness, and then another 30 seconds of unresponsiveness. Does anyone know what might be the problem and how I can fix it?

I feel exceptionally stupid.
The default window that appears on the restore interface was set to a particular folder from a drive that I do not backup on Time Machine. I was trying to go to the date that I wanted to restore from first instead of navigating to the file I needed to restore. Once I chose one of the drives/folders that I back up on Time Machine, all was fine. I wish Time Machine would make the distinction obvious by graying out excluded items right away (when you go back in time, that does happen but not in the 'present' screen).
Hope above helps in the future for those who may encounter the same problem before having had their first cup of morning coffee.
It is good to know that Time Machine is working as it should, and I count myself one of those fortunate ones who do not have to use Time Machine to restore files that often (hence this elementary question: file under "my computer's not working because I didn't check to see if it's plugged in before calling customer service").

I replaced my primary hard drive. Time Machine restore didn't work. HELP!

My 320GB hard drive that came with the mac pro was out of room. I got a new 1T, put it in, formatted the drive, told Time Machine to restore, it did, the information is there....
BUT, Almost nothing is working. If i click on a program to open (mail, itunes, etc.) the crash window pops up. The info is there but it seems no one is talking to each other inside. Funny thing is that "preview" and "viewer" programs do work, just nothing else. Any ideas????
Thanks a million...

Don't panic. Let's re-prep the new drive a little differently. This will add considerable time to the formatting process. Again, I'm assuming you have booted the computer from your old hard drive.
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
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. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, 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. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Please be sure you read the above instructions carefully before proceeding to be sure you don't miss anything such as selecting the GUID partition scheme.
I will also suggest, just for precautionary reasons, that you do the following before cloning your old drive to the new drive:
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

Kext cleanup, now time machine and itunes not working

I cleaned up all my kext files from Sep 2013 back (as suggested in an article) to address the kernel_task overload, but now itunes won't play (play button works but songs do not move forward), time machine will not restore backup and no audio comes from google chrome. Do I need to reinstall each individual program/application? Will a reinstall of Mavericks work?

The article was written by an idiot.
If you don't already have a current backup, back up all data, then reinstall the OS.* You don't need to erase the startup volume, and you won't need the backup unless something goes wrong. If the system was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you may need the Apple ID and password you used.
If you use FileVault 2, then before running the Installer you must launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the FileVault startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) It will be nested below another icon with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar and enter your login password when prompted. Then quit Disk Utility to be returned to the main Recovery screen.
There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.
If you installed the Java runtime distributed by Apple and still need it, you'll have to reinstall it. The same goes for Xcode. All other data will be preserved.
*The linked support article refers to OS X 10.9 ("Mavericks"), but the procedure is the same for OS X 10.7 ("Lion") and later.

Time Machine restore does not restore (completely)

Hi there,
lately I did a "clean" re-install and later I restored all applications (only the applications, because I clicked "do not restore this user account" or something) backed up earlier via Time Machine.
Today I wanted to do a full restore of everything I backed up in the past, including photo's movies, documents, etc.
I tried to do that but it only restored my applications again and that's it...
I just try to restore the backup from my iMac where I backed it up from, so...
I used the Migration Assistant.
What did I do wrong?
Any tips/comments are welcome!
Grtz,
Peter.

peterimac wrote:
What I already did before I got your answer is restoring my complete system using the install DVD that came with the iMac. I didn't re-install OS X, but restored my system from the TM backup, via the Utilities>restore from TM backup, or whatever it says.
Good. (That's the procedure in #14 of the FAQ Tip, and step #1 of the second option I suggested.)
It seems that it indeed restored my complete system this time.
Ah, so your system is now complete, with all your apps, data, etc.?
If so, now it's fairly quick and easy to get a fresh version of OSX. Do an +Archive and Install,+ being certain to select the +Preserve users and settings+ option, per the *Archive & Install* section of the Glenn Carter - Restoring Your Entire System / Time Machine *User Tip* at the top of this forum.
Then either use Software Update (as in that article), or download and install the "combo" update, to get back to 10.5.8. That's a combination (thus the clever name) of all the updates to Leopard since it was first released. Info and download available at: http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacOS_X_10_5_8_ComboUpdate Be sure to do a +Repair Permissions+ via Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder) afterwards.
If this sounds familiar, it's step #2 of the second option in my previous post.
I forgot to switch of TM, so it directly made a new backup from the "new" system, which is normal of course.
Should I have switched TM off, instead, so it didn't make the backup or is that no problem?
No, not a problem. It's suggested there mostly to save space on the TM drive since TM will usually new a full backup.
At the end of your answer you mention NOT to setup TM, so, did I do something wrong again?
Again, no, you're ok, since you did the full restore and don't need to use Migration Assistant.
Well to check wether I still/again had the shut down problem I, as a test, selected Disk Utility (via GO>... in Finder And guess what: it shut down on me... Again! Aaagghhhhrrr!
Not surprising, since the full restore has you back to the same condition as before you started trying to fix that. The full restore was step #1. Step #2 is to get a new version of OSX via +Archive and Install.+ I can't promise the +Archive and Install+ will fix the problem, but it will get a fresh copy of OSX, preserving all your apps and data.
Can the LaCie d2 quadra drive have something to do with. I didn't format it like you suggest in point 5 of Frequently Asked Questions User Tip. Should I perform a re-format (and partition it in the mean time which indeed will be better)? Maybe, as you say in the Freq Asked Questions: it might conflict with Mac (???).
Doubtful, since you were able to do the compete reinstall successfully.
In any event, I'd wait until the +Archive and Install+ is done before addressing that.
Don't worry about your answer being late. My question was extremely early because I'm in the Chinese Time Zone (I work/live in China as an expat)
Ah, that explains it!
You might ask yourself why I didn't go to an Apple Support shop here in China (the closest one for me is in Shanghai), but I don't really trust them... I've been in China for quite some time now, if you know what I mean. Probably I shouldn't worried, but there is also something like a language problem, too.
Even in the U.S., many of the Geniuses aren't very familiar with Time Machine, unfortunately.
I think you're well down the road to recovery . . . good luck!

Time machine backup is not working

I have tried three different times to restore my computer from a time machine backup. Each time it gets stuck on the Apple logo screen once it it is done restoring the information. Not sure what to do.. every time I restart it by holding the power button it gets stuck on the same screen.

Read all the info about restore in Pondini.. I am not sure what you are looking at but he goes through the different methods here.
http://pondini.org/TM/Home.html
See info for setup assistant and migration assistant.
More particular info from inside the OS.
http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
Q14-17
The backup could be corrupt.. and it can take a long time to work over wireless .. it is really important to use fastest possible connection.. if you are talking Time Capsule that is ethernet.. if you are talking external drive that is whatever is the best external drive system you have available.
Pondini also has info on how to verify the backup is working and to fix minor issues.
See A5 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Let me add.. TM is great when it works .. and it is a dog when it fails.. Of late.. it fails alot. Yosemite being the worst possible. If you are trying to restore a computer having loaded Yosemite it is probably no longer possible to recover back to what you were running.

Photos gone and Time Machine Backup does not work.

I did a rebuild of my thumbnails at iPhoto's suggestion, then left the room because it took too long. When I came back all the photos and albums etc were gone, not exclamation points but missing.
I thought iPhoto could not find the library so I tried the option + open and chose the proper library. Still opened to an empty library. According to the library file it was 102 GB in size but oddly had no information. I did not panic because I back up ALL the time. When I tried the TimeMachine backup (each of them back to March) they also said over 100GB but when I started to transfer them it totaled only 1019 MB and now I have exclamation points and no photos. So I need help getting back the photos. TimeMachine is the ONLY backup I have. Is this an iPhoto problem or a problem with TM? In older versions of iPhoto there was a folder of folders that had all my pictures by roll number did that change in this version, because I can't find that either? FYI all photos, and library, are (were) on an external drive.
Not gonna lie I am in a bit of a panic at this point. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I can clarify anything that does not make sense, I tried to keep the explanation as short as possible so people would read it!
Thanks in advance,
FatherTime

Do you still have your original library that started this problem? If so use Time Machine to bring forward the last backup before the problem happened. Do not replace the current library with the backup but select the option to keep both.
Open the recovered library and drag out the Library6.iPhoto file to the desktop and move the rest of the recovered library to the trash. Open your original library and replace the Library6.iPhoto with the file from the recovered library. See if iPhoto will open and recognize your photos now.
If you had any imports between the time of the last backup and your current library they will not be recognized in the library but will be inside the library non the less. You can find their event folder in the Originals folder, move it to the desktop to reimport.
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Time Machine password does not work.

Hi all,
I have just bought a 2TB WD mybook external hard drive and now need to set time machine to use it as my backup. This is the first time I have used time machine and it will not accept my password. PUBLIC doesn't work either.
Is there a way I can reset or recover my time machine password?

Time Machine doesn't have a password.
That must be a password on the external HD. If you haven't put anything on it yet, your best bet is to erase and reformat it, per #5 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.

Time Machine restore did not bring over apps because of Mac OS X downgrade?

A client of mine recently took his iMac into the Apple Store to replace a failing hard drive. He brought in his Time Capsule so the techs could restore his data and apps. His old hard drive had been upgraded to Snow Leopard. When he received his iMac back from the shop, only his data was copied back and his non-Apple apps like MS Office were missing. In addition, the Mac OS was downgraded to Leopard (most likely, because that's what was installed on his iMac when he bought his system two years ago).
Before my client took his machine into the Apple Store, I checked the Time Capsule to verify that there were 3rd party applications stored on the hard drive. My question is, did the apps fail to get restored because of the system downgrade from Snow Leopard to Leopard? Also, will upgrading the OS to 10.6 enable these apps to get restored from the Time Capsule using either Migration Assistant or Time Machine?

shiggy wrote:
A client of mine recently took his iMac into the Apple Store to replace a failing hard drive. He brought in his Time Capsule so the techs could restore his data and apps. His old hard drive had been upgraded to Snow Leopard. When he received his iMac back from the shop, only his data was copied back and his non-Apple apps like MS Office were missing. In addition, the Mac OS was downgraded to Leopard (most likely, because that's what was installed on his iMac when he bought his system two years ago).
The first question is, were they full backups? Meaning: had System files been excluded? If so, that could explain (part of) what happened.
When an Apple Store takes in a Mac, they ask what version of OSX it's on, and whether there are backups. If your client is sure he told them Snow Leopard (it should be on the receipt), he should raise holy $*^&#% with the store manager. Politely, of course, but firmly.
Usually what happens is, they go the other way, and install Snow Leopard on a Mac running Leopard; then the user is really confused, trying to use an OS they don't have the disc for (and aren't licensed to use).
Before my client took his machine into the Apple Store, I checked the Time Capsule to verify that there were 3rd party applications stored on the hard drive. My question is, did the apps fail to get restored because of the system downgrade from Snow Leopard to Leopard?
It's hard to tell from here. They may have installed Leopard, then used Migration Assistant, but omitted Apps. (Also a mistake).
Also, will upgrading the OS to 10.6 enable these apps to get restored from the Time Capsule using either Migration Assistant or Time Machine?
Assuming that the last backup from before the failure is still on the TC, and nothing significant was excluded, you should be able to simply restore the entire system to the exact condition it was in at the time of any backup you want. See #14 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum.
It is possible, however, that as the internal HD was failing, it corrupted some things in OSX, which were backed-up by Time Machine. So if restoring the last backup doesn't work, you might want to try a previous one.
If significant things, such as System folders, were excluded, you should be able to erase the internal HD, install Snow Leopard, then when the Mac starts up again, use +Setup Assistant+ to transfer everything else. See #19 in the FAQ Tip.

Time Machine and Finder not working

I have Mac OS 10.6.3. My internal harddrive is full but I cannot back up my data on external hard drive. I tried moving files to external drive using Finder but Finder never finish the transfer and hung. Finder works okay but hang up when dealing with external drive. I tried to force quit finder and relaunch. But on relaunch it is giving me error 10810 and says :"finder cannot be launched". I have to force Macbook shut down. I tried Time Machine but it also hang and I have to shut everything down.
I have bought bigger hard drive and used disk utility (restore) to clone my hard drive. But I won't get rid of this problem. I won't be able to back up my data by upgrading hard drive as it is clone of my old hard drive and will carry all problems forward.
any suggestions how I can get rid of this problem? I want to backup all my data and some applications too which I have paid for but lost installation CDs.

nasarke wrote:
Invalid sibling link
Rebuilding catalog B-tree.
Does this means that I cannot retrieve any data form this disk. This is the only disk I have with all my data.
This is your backup disk, right? You still have the original data, on your +internal HD,+ don't you?
See the pink box in #A5. Those errors are some that +Disk Warrior+ can often repair. As it says, your only other option is to erase the disk and start over.
I will buy new external drive and try to back up with time machine. I have few questions
Ideally, you need one disk for Time Machine, another for a "clone." If it's large enough, you can put them in separate partitions on the same drive, but when it fails (and they all do, sooner or later), you risk losing both.
1. Should I clone new drive (I haven't installed it yet) with my repaired internal drive before I install it.
That would be safest. Then you can boot up from it to be sure it's working ok. Run a +*Verify Disk+* on it, and use many of your apps to confirm that everything's ok before taking the old HD out.
2. Is there any difference between using Disk utility or with Super Duper.
Yes. Use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper. They're designed for this, and when/if necessary, you can run updates to them. With Disk Utility, you can only run a whole, new "clone."
3. Should I partition new external hard drive I buy.
If you're going to use it for other things besides Time Machine backups, yes. See #3 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

Time machine back up not working

Hi, I recently had to put in new hard drive in my macbook pro because old one failed. I plugged in my external hard drive to get all my files back, then used time machine option because thats what I had been doing before with my external hard drive although I had not backed it up for 2 months. That worked fine and my computer looks the same but when I tried to do a time machine back up like usual it says there is not enough space. When I open time machine there is only one back up. please help?

The backup drive has malfunctioned and corrupted itself. If that has ever happened before, or if it ever happens again, replace the drive. You may want to consider replacing it anyway for the safety of your data.
You should start another backup now, if you don't already have one, on a different drive. One backup is not enough to be safe.
If you choose to keep using the problem drive (which I don't recommend), turn Time Machine OFF temporarily in its preference pane, then unmount and remount the backup volume. Launch Disk Utility, select the volume, and run Repair Disk. That operation may take several hours. If it doesn't solve the problem, you'll have to erase the volume and start over. Don't do that unless you have at least one other complete backup. Remember to turn TM back ON.
If the backup drive is internal or on an eSATA bus, and Disk Utility displays a message about a "S.M.A.R.T. error," the drive has irreparably failed and must be replaced immediately. You can't go on using it. A drive connected via USB, FireWire, or Thunderbolt doesn't show a S.M.A.R.T. status.

Time Machine restore does not recognize sparsebundle password

I am trying to do a time machine system restore from an encrypted sparse bundle. I have a mac with OS X 10.10.2 and the sparse bundle is on a time capsule. I rebooted with cmd+R and selected “Restore from a Time Machine Backup”. I was asked for the time machine password and then selected the sparse bundle I wanted to restore. At that point I was asked for the sparse bundle password, which however the system keeps rejecting. I am 100% sure the password is instead correct. To double check I restarted the mac and checked in the keychain, and the password is in fact correct. Also I could restore specific files from time machine without any problem. But when I try the system restore the way I just described, the system does not recognise that password as the correct one.
Can anybody suggest a solution? thanks
john

I think you will have to ring apple support and see if they can help you.. there is no easy way around this .. TM is simply buggy in Yosemite.. although encrypted TM bugs are not new. I think the same thing happens on earlier ones..
Re: Clean Install Problems With Encrypted Time Machine
The fix might be fairly long.. use setup assistant and use a different target drive eg USB and do a full install of the entire backup there. And then pick and choose the files..
For now I would avoid using encrypted backup.

Time Machine Restore Interface not working (all else seems fine)

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