Time Machine will not restore backup files.

trying to restore a backup to a new internal hard drive and time machine sees the external hard drive with the backup but no folders. tried a couple of different external hard drives and even installed new OS on the new internal drive. the original OS and the new are both Maverick and after three days of swaping drives and installing fresh installs of maverick and talking to tech support, i'm convinced the issue is in Maverick. anyone have a suggest without buying a third party package like Carbon Copy?

I got something simular. I restored the whole TM backup and the mail messages from august '08 till 15 jan '09 didn't import. I can see them clearly sitting in Time machine but the restore button won't lit up. And I cannot go back in time cause it only ofers me the today option. What to do?
Sakshin.

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Time machine will not restore a file due to lacking permissions

Why is time machine saying that it cannot restore a file due to access persmissions when all I'm trying to do is restore a single file for my one and only user on the same computer that created the backup? Shouldn't that just work?
Does anyone know the reason for it or better yet, a solution to the problem?
Thanks
Daniel Martinsson

Do you have read & write access to that file now?
You should be aware that there's a good chance that some of your backups of that image file are corrupt. It's a large file that's constantly changing when in use, so the copies made during that time may be in an inconsistent state. You'll want to restore from a snapshot that was made when the VM was shut down. Ideally, you should exclude that file from Time Machine backups, and instead back up the contents from within the guest OS. A virtual disk image will fill up your TM backup destination quickly.

Time machine will not open backup file

Error shows the backup volume (on a WD Backup drive attached to airport extreme, is in use. WIl not open the backup file. Any ideas?

Item C 12:
Time Machine Troubleshooting
Airport Utility 5.6 - Download to Downloads Folder and leave download there.
Run Terminal command:
cd ~/Downloads && pkgutil --expand ./AirPortUtility56.pkg ~/Downloads/AirPortUtility56 && gunzip -c./AirPortUtility56/AirPortUtility56Lion.pkg/Payload | sudo tar -C / -xvf - "./Applications/Utilities/AirPort Utility 5.6.app"
Check Applications/Utilities for Airport 5.6. Then see: Pondini again.

Time Machine will not properly backup to new 8TB glyph drive.

Time Machine will not properly backup to new 8TB glyph drive. Folder reads ".inProgress". Can't see any files.
How can I set it up to do proper, regular backups?

8TB? holy cow.
It's likely overwhelmed and doesn't know what it's looking at.
Try using Carbon Copy Cloner instead, at least it will be bootable to use the computer.
Most commonly used backup methods

After clean install of Snow Leopard, Time Machine did not restore all files. When I try to restore these files I get "Not enough disk space" error. What do I need to do to get these important files back onto my Mac from my external hard drive??

After clean install of Snow Leopard, Time Machine did not restore all files. When I try to restore these files I get "Not enough disk space" error. What do I need to do to get these important files back onto my Mac from my external hard drive??

Janet.b wrote:
About 3 years old...pretty dated now I guess. Am thinking I may just need to have it upgraded by a Mac tech.
For what the Apple Store's charge you can buy almost buy a new computer.
Just for giggles I brought my old laptop in for a drive upgrade and asked, they wanted $600 for a drive that only cost $120 at the time and it was a slow 5,400 RPM drive. The new Mac's of a similar make were going for $1000.
I did the drive replacement myself, got a faster drive of better quality for $300 instead.
Then another time I asked for a RAM upgrade from 4GB to 8GB, they wanted to charge $400 + $35 for the labor.
The same RAM is on Crucial.com for $90 and all I need is a 00 micro phillips screwdriver.
So you see what's going on here.
I think what you should do, if your out of warranty/AppleCare, is to call up the local PC tech guy who also does Mac's and have them fix you right up.
They can offer more personalized care which you need. Clone your old drive to the new and everything.
With Apple they are overworked at the Genius Bar and just place roadblocks so you buy a new machine instead.
For instance, all new iMac's now have proprietary drive software installed on the hard drives for heat monitoring. So now the only choice a user has is to bring their iMac into a Apple Store for a very expensive drive upgrade, which a person then decides the money is better spent buying a new machine.

My ipod touch will not restore backup files, it gets to 4 mins then say error occurred (-1),I have restarted my pc but no joy.

My ipod touch will not restore backup files, it gets to 4 mins then say error occurred (-1),I have restarted my pc but no joy.

I would next try restoring from backup.

Time machine will not complete backup.

Time Machine will not complete back-up - 3TB back-up is full and time machine will not automatically delete oldest back-up.

This happens from time to time. You will need to step in and decide what to do.. Delete manually.. a very slow and fraught process.. or you have to take more severe action.. eg archive off the old backups and start again. You will need a 3TB USB drive to do it.. but IMHO is well worth it. Assuming you need all that history. You can then simply do a quick erase from Airport Utility which takes a minute or two and do a fresh backup.
Try to eliminate files that are not necessary to backup.. eg the worst is any virtual disk for parallels or bootcamp.. where the slightest change to the smallest file will result in a full backup of the whole virtual disk. You must backup windows etc from inside the OS and not from TM in Mac OS.
Have you upgraded the computer btw?? I get the feeling that when you upgrade a computer.. say Snow Leopard to Lion to Mountain Lion.. TM has real issues handling the old backups. It is much better to start over.
Read up from our most productive expert.. Pondini..
http://pondini.org/TM/C4.html

Time Machine will not delete backups

I am running 10.8.2 and have a recurring message every couple of weeks from Time Machine that says the backup disk is full and the backup could not be completed. I am attempting to have about 750G backed up onto a 1000G Gsafe external drive.
I do notice that everytime my Backup drive is mounted, there are what appears to be 3 old backups in my trash that will not delete when I empty the trash. The system asks me if I want to remove all items or only unlocked items. I select "all items", and the files remain in the trash. I am sure this has something to do with the Time Machine error.
Any ideas?

The backup volume was full. That shouldn't happen, because TM is supposed to manage disk space by deleting snapshots as needed to make room for a new one, up to the last complete snapshot, which is never removed automatically.
One possibility is that you were writing other data to the volume during the backup. Apple recommends that no other data be stored on a backup volume.
Otherwise, I suggest you clear possibly corrupt data from the TM preference file. Open the Time Machine pane in System Preferences. Click the padlock icon in the lower left corner, if necessary, to unlock it. Scroll to the bottom of the list of backup drives and click Add or Remove Backup Disk. Remove the problem disk, then add it back. Quit System Preferences. Test.

Time machine will not begin backup -- uuid's don't match

I'm trying to use time machine for the first time to backup my macbook pro, but whenever time machine appears to begin, it will only say that it is backing up however many files, but there is no progress on the progress bar and it shows that 0kb of 53.8 gb have been backed up. It remains this way even after leaving my external hard drive connected overnight for +9 hours. What do I need to do so that time machine will work properly?
Here is what the computer is telling me:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/Iomega/Backups.backupdb
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
Backup content size: 53.8 GB excluded items size: 7.9 MB for volume Macintosh HD
No pre-backup thinning needed: 64.54 GB requested (including padding), 266.83 GB available

Start with item #C1 in the Time Machine - Troubleshooting post at the top of this forum.
As it says, the most common cause of an initial backup failing is an improperly formatted TM drive/partition.
After using it's instructions to verify the setup, if you're sure it's correct, then do all the things recommended in item #D2.

Time machine will not restore full machine. Sticks at "Searching for disks"

So, this is what I did. I started with a machine with the main HDD partitioned in two, but I wanted to use Bootcamp wich doesn't like multiple partitions (annoyance #1) so I decided to repartition the disk and reload from my Time Machine backup. So...
Rebooted the machine to the install disk.
Used the disk utility to repartition to a single drive
Selected restore from Time Machine.
Time Machine backups are visible but it stops at the page "Searching for Disks".
It can't see my newly parititioned hard drive for some reason. I'm currently restoring a new copy of Leopard and I'll see what happens next. If, as I suspect may be the case, that Time Machine is looking for "exactly" the same drives to restore to then this is a "feature" that should be made very clear.
Any thoughts or information appreciated.

Try reformatting the drive. The partition type should be GUID and the formatting should be Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If that doesn't do the trick try zeroing out the drive using the security button. That will take quite some time but will map out any bad sectors on the disk.
Time Machine will restore to a new hard drive and even to a different Mac.

Time Machine will not restore

I cannot restore files using Time Machine.
Time Machine appears to be backing up, but when I enter Time Machine it does not show any history to choose from, thus I am unable to restore anything. I am logged in with an administrative account.
I am running Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard 10.6.4 with all the latest updates and patches.
I downloaded Time Machine Buddy and it shows that the backups are occurring.
Also, sometimes the Time Machine environment (space screen) will not open, other times it will. Not sure what the variable is that prevents it from opening. Either way when it open I cannot restore anything.
Any ideas.

I experimented with using the server at the console with a monitor and via Shared Screen. Accessing it via Shared Screen can be a bit flaky with respect to graphics, but this was not the cause of the problem.
I worked with Jason of the Apple Server support group for about an hour and we were able to restore functionality of Time Machine by creating a new user account. The Time Machine problem was tied to that particular account. We tried all sorts of things to get it working with that account, but end the end just decided to abandon the quest on figuring out what the cause of the problem was in favor of just fixing the problem.
Once I created a new Admin account and migrated the few script files I used, Time Machine worked without a problem.
And yes it works at the console and via Shared Screen as well.
So if anyone ever has this problem, try creating a new admin account (local not Open Directory) on the server.

Time Machine will not restore Address Book entry

I noticed that one Address Book entry has become 'corrupted' possibly when synched with my mobile phone. The name had become truncated and I had lost my notes and address details, retaining just the telephone numbers. When I access Time Machine I can see the original file. When I click restore it 'drags' this file to the current desktop, and the file appears for half a second within the address book and then disappears. When I do restore all it asks me whether I want to import all records and allows me to deal with duplicates, but still nothing is restored. What is going on?

I think you may be missing step:
Open a window for the item you want to restore.
For example, if you accidentally deleted a file from your Documents folder, open the Documents folder. If you want to recover an email message, open your inbox in Mail.
If you’re missing an item from the desktop, you don’t need to open a window.
Click the Time Machine icon in the Dock.
If Time Machine isn’t in the Dock, look for it in the Applications folder.
Use the arrows or the timeline along the right side of your screen to browse through all the backups Time Machine has created.
If you need more information about an item, double-click to preview it.
The windows behave just like Finder windows, so you can open folders, click items in the sidebar, and use the search field in the upper-right corner of the window.
When you find the item you want to restore, select it and then click Restore.
You can restore individual items, multiple items, folders, or your entire hard disk.
If an item you restore has the same name as another item on your computer, you’re asked if you want to keep the current item, the restored item, or both.

Time Machine will not complete backup with WD My Passport for Mac

I am on 10.10.3 and am trying to backup up this particular machine for the first time. I had a 1TB WD My Passport for Mac that worked fine on my older Macbook Pro (which has not been updated to 10.10.3) and have been slow in getting around to backing up this new machine. I tried the 1TB after clearing space and it wasn't working. Figured it must be something with that drive, so I bought a new one (needed more space anyway) and just received a new 2TB WD My Passport for Mac. Tried the update again via Time Machine and it went through the entire process only to tell me it couldn't complete. The drive has something on it now because it doesn't have the full 2TB free and in finder the file says "in progress" at the end of the file name under backup. Please help. I need to backup this machine and now think it is Apple related and not drive related.

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 and start typing the name.
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 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.

What do I fix so time machine will recognize the backup file it created on my external drive?

I use a 1TB Toshiba external HDD (MacOS extended, journaled format) for Time Machine and have had no problems for a year or so. Shortly before my video circuit died and I had to have the logic board replaced, TM stopped backing up with the "backup volume could not be found" error or the "insufficient disc space" error. When I open TM it shows no backup files available. I don't recall making any changes around the time this cropped up, but who knows? Any suggestions on reconecting TM with its old "Backups.backupdb" ?

Thank you for the pointer. I somehow didn't find all the links to begin with, so mea culpa for troubling folks before doing enough homework. For those bumbling around like me with older MBPs that get new logic boards late in life, the problem is nigh insoluble since the new board looks to TM as a new computer, which it is. Best to borrow another disk to copy the old backup if needed and then to start clean with a new TM backup.

Time machine will not restore after clean install of OSX -10.5

Apple replaced a logic card in my PowerBook G4 which was running Leopard and returned it to me with a clean install of Tiger, b/c that was the original OS when I purchased the laptop. I re-installed Leopard from my OSX Leopard disc and also re-loaded MS Office from a disc. When I tried to restore the backup from TimeMachine,which is on a separate hard disk, the restore option was grayed out. How do I get the backup from Time Machine?

Were you booted from the Install disc, and using the +Restore System From Backup+ option from the Utilities menu? If not, that's what you need to do. See #14 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

Time Machine will not restore backup files.

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