Time machine restore randomly missing files

Macbook refused to boot, apple store cleared it up, told me to do a backup from time capsule.  Files that were on my desktop are missing.  The time capsule reports doing complete backups frequently and as recently as monday.  Why am I missing files and folders that were clearly there?  I can go back further and find certain files, but shouldn't they all appear from a restore? 

Restore can have issues.. how did you restore.. migrate your files? Or do it another way?
Manually restore files if you need to.. but if you were on Mountain Lion and you restored to Mavericks.. don't expect things to be the same.
For actual migration instructions look at Pondini here.
http://pondini.org/TM/Home.html
He does not have mavericks but look at the closest.. ie Mountain Lion.
Look at the problems.
And be aware things like restoring to identical user causes problems.
Restore is also covered in Q14-17 here .
http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
And many many issues in the troubleshooting section.
BTW you will see comments from several people here to do some disk images.. use software like CCC or superduper and keep TM for incremental only.. it is not so great for restore of a whole disk.

Similar Messages

  • Time Machine and Excel Missing File

    Hello, this is my first posting here and I would appreciate some help.
    An important Excel file of mine just disappeared both on my hard drive as well as on my Time Capsule backup, which is really puzzling me. Here are the facts:
    1. I am using an iMac, running Mac OS X 10.5.8, with Excel:mac 2008 version 12.2.7. I religiously update both my OS and applications, so they are both up to date
    2. Within Excel, if I go to File/Open Recent, there is a dropdown of recently opened files. The missing file is shown there but the "xlsx" tag is missing on that name, oddly. The other files (which are all still there) still have the "xls" or "xlsx" tag. When I click on that file, I get that error message that the file cannot be found
    3. I then opened up my Time Machine on my Time Capsule and went scrolling back in time, and really weirdly, this file is missing in every version of backup. My Time Machine has the default backup of hourly for the past 24 hours, daily for the past month, and weekly before. I went into the folder where I kept the file all the way back to July (when I got the Time Capsule) and this file is missing from EACH backup. All other files are there.
    I work on this file every day and I tend to keep it open on iMac. Usually when Excel crashes or something, it reloads with a recovered version but Excel hasn't crashed recently. I worked on this file as recently as yesterday and saved it in the same place where I've been saving it for the past several months.
    OK, what's changed from yesterday to today? Last night when I updated my software there was an update from Microsoft for a security patch. Could it have detected a virus in this file and deleted this file from my hard drive and then from each and every backup in Time Machine?
    The second change was that I selected "Back Up Now" for the first time on Time Machine last night after that patch. I usually had Time Machine run automatically, but while I was updating, I decided to do a forced backup. Could this forced backup have deleted all prior instances of this file if it was missing on my hard drive then?
    This file is important to me, does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can retrieve it? I thought having Time Capsule would save this kind of headaches. I did a search within the backups, in case the file mysteriously "moved", but the file is just plain missing on all backups and on my hard drive. To make things worse, I Emptied my Trash last night, so I can't see if it is in there. Though, I didn't delete the file.
    Thanks for any help!

    NewMacxUser2010 wrote:
    Hello, this is my first posting here and I would appreciate some help.
    Hi, and welcome to the forums.
    Could it have detected a virus in this file and deleted this file from my hard drive and then from each and every backup in Time Machine?
    Seems very doubtful, especially since there are no viruses that run on OSX.
    There is a small amount of malware, but you have to actively participate in getting it onto your Mac.
    But . . . are you running any anti-virus software? Some of it does cause all sorts of problems on Macs.
    The second change was that I selected "Back Up Now" for the first time on Time Machine last night after that patch. I usually had Time Machine run automatically, but while I was updating, I decided to do a forced backup. Could this forced backup have deleted all prior instances of this file if it was missing on my hard drive then?
    No. A backup is a backup is a backup; they're all the same, no matter how they're started. And Time Machine only deletes things when it "thins" backups. Basically, it keeps all backups for 24 hours, except the first of each day, which it keeps for a month, and the first of each week, which it keeps as long as there's room.
    So it's a bit unpredictable, but if a file is on your Mac for at least 24 hours, its backup will be kept for at least a month.
    This file is important to me, does anyone have a suggestion as to how I can retrieve it? I thought having Time Capsule would save this kind of headaches. I did a search within the backups, in case the file mysteriously "moved", but the file is just plain missing on all backups and on my hard drive. To make things worse, I Emptied my Trash last night, so I can't see if it is in there. Though, I didn't delete the file.
    I don't use Excel, so can't help much with specifics. Is it possible this is some sort of temporary file that's either never actually saved to disk, or is saved with a different name each time?
    Are all your other, similar files in your backups?

  • Iphoto-time machine - restore the iphoto file on an external dirve

    Hello Evrybody,
    I'm trying to restore an ebook from timemachine on my iphoto library.
    I'd like to restore only this file, but it doesn't seem to be possible.
    Time machine is able ONLY to restore the entire iphoto library, just ofr on file.
    Ok I decide to porceed in any case and restore the entire iphoto library( that is huge) but after hours of work timemachine sends the message"not enouth space on the hard disk, cannot restore the file". Of course I do not have such huge space available in my imac,
    Would it possible to restore the iphoto library on an external driver? how can I tell to timemachine to not restore it on my imac but on the external driver?
    thanks

    Try the following:
    Select the folder where your iPhoto library should be y in the Finder.
    Open TimeMachine and go back in time to the version of the library you want to restore.
    Select the iPhoto Library and ctrl-click it, or right click it.
    Select "Restore to" and select a folder on your external disk.
    Regards
    Léonie

  • Can time machine restore system language files deleted by "monolingual'?

    I've removed some important language files while using monolingual (namely -English (American) -English (British) not realizing these are subset and required).
    I should've read the FAQ first... now some programs are appearing in weird character formats.
    Can I replace those files with my Time Machine back ups?
    Which folder would I need to replace back with previous file?
    Since I did this only late last night, I should be able to just replace a certain system file folder, without causing much headache, I'm hoping!

    kacmaz wrote:
    Can I replace those files with my Time Machine back ups?
    Yes.
    Which folder would I need to replace back with previous file?
    That's the problem; language files aren't in a central location; each application has it's own set of language files, containing the translations of the messages for that application.
    Since I did this only late last night, I should be able to just replace a certain system file folder, without causing much headache, I'm hoping!
    I don't know much about Monolingual; I don't know if it removes language files from your System folders, or only Applications. And if you've installed any apps anywhere else, I don't know if it got them, too.
    If you're only having trouble with apps, you might be ok to restore only Applications, but to get everything back the way it was, you'd need to do a full system restore, per #14 in the Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

  • Time machine restore not complete

    I had to get a new hard drive for my iMac.  Time Machine restored all the files and programs, but not the settings, so my desktop, my dock, all the pointers in software like Apature, etc are wrong. Why didnèt all this come back with the restoreÉ  Or how do I get it back without manually setting everything up again.
    Thanks
    Jeff

    There is a bug for some users.. but not in Snow Leopard if you are using that as per your profile. It is Mountain Lion that is the issue.
    See http://pondini.org/TM/D10.html
    Did you Migrate or did you do system restore?
    They are different. Settings will mostly not migrate.
    See Q14 and start over to do a full system restore.
    More info on migration here.
    http://pondini.org/TM/14.html
    http://pondini.org/OSX/MigrationProblems.html
    Go back to the main directory of Pondini and read through his information..
    Q14-17 here on how to restore from Time Machine is most important.
    http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

  • ALL Photos missing after Time Machine restore  (help)

    So, I accidently formated the wrong drive while in Windows, (big oops) which gave me the opportunity to take Time Machine for a test drive.
    I put the DVD in, and was able to restore from the TIme Machine drive. Very impressed! Everything came back just as I had left it except - whats this? The default Leopard wallpaper instead of a picture of my son? Huh strange, I thought. Until I noticed I had no photos in iPhoto.
    There seems to be reminents of photos in the iphoto database - the size is 1.3gb instead of the 7gb it used to be. But 0 photos in iPhoto 08.
    I went into iPhoto and choose File/Browse Backups. I selected Nov 8th, which was the last day of my backup and showed all 7000+ photos, and clicked "Restore All". This brought up something odd - a 2nd iPhoto icon in the dock, which showed a progress bar for the restore. Once the restore was completed, I still had a 2nd iPhoto icon the the bar, which was iPhoto running - but no photos in iphoto! I exited the 2nd iphoto, which disappeared, and launched my normal Iphoto icon. Still no photos! (That just seems odd that it would launch iPhoto with a 2nd icon)
    So, I moved my iphoto database, and launch iPhoto in order to create a fresh database - thinking maybe that was the issue. I then did File/Restore again, and went through the whole processes again, including the odd 2nd icon. Still, no photos! And another 1.3gb iphoto database!
    Is it normal for a Time Machine restore to not include your photos? Surely you are not supposed to restore them separately from within Iphoto?
    What do I do now? At this point, everything went very well - except no photos! Which is awful and not at all expected! 7000+ family photos! At least, if I ask iPhoto/Time Machine to restore 'all photos' you would think it would restore 'all photos' - not show a progress bar, and then show me no photos!
    p.s. I just tooked at the iPhoto Library. The 1.3gb is in /Data/ which contains folders 2000-2007, my Events, and thumbnails of all the photos - but no actual photos (the 'Originals' folder is missing).
    I then went back in time, and found the 8gb iPhoto Library database. I supposed I could copy it over manually via Time Machine, and not iPhoto's Restore/TM - but - i'm so far off track of how this should have went I don't know what to think!
    p.s.s. So I did just that - copied the 8gb iPhoto Library manually from TM, and pasted it in place. I help down option, and launch iPhoto, selecting the 8gb library - and BOOM... no photos!
    Something is #$%# up here.
    Message was edited by: metzen79

    This is what it says in the help file:
    Reverting to a previous Mac OS X version
    If you’ve used Time Machine to back up your computer, you can easily revert to a previous version of Mac OS X if you’re experiencing trouble after installing an update.
    IMPORTANT: Reverting to the previous version of Mac OS X will erase any additions or changes you’ve made to the files on your computer after installing the new version of Mac OS X. To save new or revised files, copy them onto a different disk or back them up using Time Machine before you follow these instructions. Use Time Machine only if you’re reverting to a previous version of Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), since Time Machine is not available with Mac OS X 10.4 or earlier.
    To revert to a previous version of Mac OS X:
    Insert the disc you used to install the new version of Mac OS X, and double-click the Install Mac OS X icon.
    In the Installer, choose Utilities > Restore System From Backup.
    In the Restore Your System dialog, click Continue.
    Select your Time Machine backup volume.
    Select the Time Machine backup you want to restore. To restore your computer to the state it was in before you installed a new version of Mac OS X, choose the most recent backup.
    Follow the onscreen instructions.
    If you backed up any individual files as described under the Important message above, you can restore them now. If you backed them up using Time Machine, recover them using the Time Machine application. (You’ll find the Time Machine application in the Dock or in the Applications folder.)
    Hope this helps
    Denisimo

  • Time Machine restore leads to strange file permission issues

    I've had three Mac laptops over the last 8 years. It all started with an iBook. When I bought my first MBP I used the "migration assistant" to move my files over. I started using Time Machine when it was released. I then upgraded the hard drive on the MBP and used Time Machine to restore the data. Later, I bought another MBP and used Time Machine to transition all of my files.
    Each Time Machine restore was flawless.
    The problem comes from my most recent hard drive upgrade (details are below). After upgrading the hard drive on the second MBP I did a Time Machine restore, which appeared to complete without incident. However a couple of problems, which are probably related, have cropped up.
    After clicking on Firefox.app I get "Profile Missing Your Firefox profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible."
    The following message is printed to the console: [0x0-0x31031].org.mozilla.firefox[493]: Error: Access was denied while trying to open files in your profile directory. com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[275] ([0x0-0x31031].org.mozilla.firefox[493]): Exited with exit code: 1
    I tried to delete my old profile from ~/Library/Application Support/Firefox and the problem persists. Running /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/MacOS/firefox-bin -ProfileManager results in the same error.
    The file permissions on the ~/Library/Application Support/Firefox directory are:
    drwxrwxr-x 2 my_name staff 68B Feb 20 08:31 Firefox
    I'm at a loss here because the permissions look correct. When I run the ProfileManager as "sudo" it starts correctly and let's me edit/create a profile for "root".
    I've repaired permissions several times, and the disk utility (and Onyx) don't report any problems. A very similar problem occurs for MS Office problems. When I launch Excel (or any other office app) I get an error message saying that the MS Office Database can't be used. Also interesting is that it builds the font cache every time. If I'm not mistaken the font cache and Office database are also stored in profiles, but not under ~/Library
    Short story long, after a Time Machine restore some apps can't seem to write profile information, but the file permissions look correct and Disk Utility can't find any problems with my new disk.
    Any help or pointers would be great.
    Here are the details on the new hard drive:
    Capacity: 1 TB (1,000,204,886,016 bytes)
    Model: WDC WD10TPVT-00HT5T1
    Revision: 01.01A01
    Native Command Queuing: Yes
    Queue Depth: 32
    Removable Media: No
    Detachable Drive: No
    BSD Name: disk0
    Rotational Rate: 5200
    Medium Type: Rotational
    Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
    S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified
    Volumes:
    Capacity: 209.7 MB (209,715,200 bytes)
    Writable: Yes
    BSD Name: disk0s1
    Macintosh HD:
    Capacity: 999.86 GB (999,860,912,128 bytes)
    Available: 668.89 GB (668,892,172,288 bytes)
    Writable: Yes
    File System: Journaled HFS+
    BSD Name: disk0s2
    Mount Point: /

    You might try the following to repair permissions in your Home folder. Disk Utility does not repair permissions in the Home folder.
    To fix Home folder permissions
    Open the Terminal application in the Utilities folder. At the command line prompt enter or paste the following command line:
    sudo chown -R `id -un`:`id -gn` ~
    Press RETURN. You will be prompted to enter your admin password which will not be echoed.

  • Want to restore my computer, but only with a few files; not a complete Time Machine restore

    My computer's messing up and I decided I might as well start fresh, but I want some files and folders back obviously.
    I take it, I simply need to:
    Turn it off
    Turn it on and put the install disc into it, meanwhile holding the C key
    Install Snow Leopard
    Once it's installed, select the external drive I'm using for backups
    Open Time Machine, right click on files/folders I want to restore.
    What will and won't work? Because, it seems to me you can't redownload movies from iTunes. What about the settings? Is there some sort of .yml or something somewhere that holds them?
    And, something I'm dreading, how will I get my programs back? Will I need to reenter the product key? I have Adobe Production Premium CS5.5, should I deactivate it then reenter the product key? What about the plugins for After Effects? Also I have MPEG Streamclip, and when I bought it, I don't remember having to enter any product key.
    And my copy of Office for Mac 2011, I bought the 2008 box and it came with instructions of how you're eligible to get 2011 once it's available, when I went to install Office for Mac on my MBA, the offer was no longer available.
    Thanks in advance.

    I understand the basics, I just want to know how to restore certain items essentially on a new computer without restoring everything.

  • Time Machine restore of File Vault encrypted user failed: Login failed due to an error.

    Hello everyone,
    I did regular time machine backups of a File Vault (version one) encrypted user folder. Now I needed to restore a few files that have been deleted unintentionally. Since single files can't be restored from a File Vault encrypted backup time machine told me that I must restore a complete backup from a certain time. I did that. Time machine quited to copy at about 25 percent and rebooted. Everything was looking good until I entered my password for the recovered user. Then I got the answer:
    "Logging in to the account failed because an error occurred"
    And now?
    I tried to restore some other backups, none was working. I copied the relevant .sparsebundle file out of the backup folders and tried to mount it. Didn't work. It says "not recognized". Then changed it's owner to root and tried again, the same answer. I tried to repair it by using hdiutil but it also says "attach failed - not recognized".
    Apple, I am asking you: Are my data lost?
    Anyone, please provide help.
    (Apple, it's more than a shame what you are providing for the safety of a user's data!)

    Try Repairing the backups, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
    If/when you get this sorted out, strongly consider switching to File Vault 2.  It works much better, especially with Time Machine.
    Or, if possible, only encrypting a few sensitive items, per Protecting confidential documents in a secure disk image.
    Message was edited by: Pondini

  • HT201250 How do I restore photos from Time Machine?  All of my photos have been imported within iPhoto and therefore are exported to Time Machine via an iPhoto file.  I can't figure out how to break individual photo files out of the iPhoto file.  Any idea

    How do I restore photos from Time Machine?  All of my photos have been imported within iPhoto and therefore are exported to Time Machine via an iPhoto file.  I can't figure out how to break individual photo files out of the iPhoto file.  Any ideas?

    You might post this query on the iPhoto forum and perhaps someone there can provide an answer.
    I tried this on my MBP and it seems that you have to restore the entire iPhoto Library.  What I did was put the current library in a separate folder on the desktop and then I restored the library from a prior date.  If you were to do that, you then could extract the desired photos and then delete the restored library.  Then place the current library back to the original location and import the desired photos.
    Not tidy but it seems it will work.
    Ciao.

  • How do I know which id to delete and insure time machine restore?

    I had a glitch on my computer of the screen going black at random. I also had a recall on my imac for the segate drive which was replaced once. I brought it to the apple store after a week then determined there was no recall on my new drive and reinstalled Mt Lion to get rid of the black screen issue. Now here is the problem i got home and plugged in my ext drive for a time machine restore. I restored everthing using migrate assitant except the applications and desktop. I was asked to create another user name for the transfer. I don't understand why i had to do this so just slightly changed my id name. I now need to find the desktop data and can't find it under either names. I searched the drive direct and found the  info is there but migrate assitant doesn't show it. I tryed to restore back some other files but it was me to changed the name of the restore using migrate assitant again. How many ids do I need?  How do I blow way the 2nd id without gettting rid of my backup on the ext drive. I am so confussed now and can't figure out which  admin id has the info and which doesn't .  I don't even know if the info made it to the imac hard drive.  help!!!  

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  • Will Time Machine restore software problems as well as data?

    Hi all -
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    it really does back up almost everything, even broken files. Go back to the initial backup and restore from that. If that doesn't fix it, you've got hardware problems.
    Crashes are one thing, hangs another, but actual shutdowns where the computer just goes completely off really indicate hardware problems. Software by itself won't do that, even if it's broken.
    - gws

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  • Mail Restores after Time Machine Restore - Why?

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    Your analysis is correct. It is, alas, a complex and imperfect world.
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  • Time Machine Restore New HD

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