User Library in TM Backup

10.10 and i need to restore some items in the TM backup user library. The TM backup is on a NAS device. How would i see the user library in a TM backup located on a NAS? I tried following this:
Re: How can I access ~/library on my time machine backup?
But i think this must refer to a USB drive as i can not "navigate" the drive in a finder window. I can connect to the NAS drive but i do not see the TM backup. It is there as i can restore items when i enter TM.

dglenn9000 wrote:
I created a new user account just to see if it was my user Library or if there was something wrong with my system. And the new user account is doing most of the same things so I will need to do a full restore anyway.
Not necessarily. I'd suggest downloading and installing the "combo" update. That's a combination (thus the clever name) of all the updates to Leopard since it was first released, so installing it should fix anything that's gone wrong since then, such as with one of the normal "point" updates. 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.

Similar Messages

In Lion, how do I access a user library in a backup?

I am trying to retrieve an iPad backup, but Apple hid the user library not only in my account, but also in my backups! How do I get to my library in a backup? I already know how to get it to show in my active account(option+click "Go"), I just want one of my backups for my iPad prior to the IOS 5 update.

Bring up the Library in your active account with the Option click Go method you already know. Then click the Time Machine icon. You should have a Finder window open to Library with the backups behind.
Regards,
Captfred

I need to access one folder in user library folder from my time machine backup......but it won't show a library folder

I need to access one folder in user library folder from my time machine backup......but the backup disk won't show show a library folder.
Pressing option-go only directs me to the current library folder in my hard drive. I have opened up the saved disk image and need to copy one folder and put it into my current library. Trying to restore using time capsule won't let me into the user library either......
thanks in advance for any help
christos

The Saved Application State folder is where Lion stores all the information required for its resume feature to function as it does. As you are looking for a specific saved game folder it will not be in the Saved Application State folder. This folder was not present in Snow Leopard so wouldn't be present on your backup previous to the Lion install.
The game saves you're looking for will most likely be located in the Application Support or Preferences folder.
Hope this helps
J.C

Time Machine doesn't see user library backups

Greeting experts,
I updated to Yosemite 10.10.2 yesterday. After restart, the Mac would log me off within a minute of logging on. So I did a clean install (after pram zapping and disk repairing). The iMac (intel) worked normally after the clean install. So I started restoring files (music, photos, etc.).
When I enter Time Machine, I cannot navigate back in time to any previous snapshot (all the date lines are red on the calendar). I've used Finder preferences to make the user library visible on the Macintosh HD but my user library in Time Machine remains hidden. I've read and tried several suggestions in this forum, including using the Terminal to issue commands to make the user library visible, to inherit the backup, etc. but nothing has worked.
I've been able to restore my photographs to iPhoto and music to iTunes simply by dragging the folders from the last Time Machine snapshot prior to upgrading to 10.10.2.
What I REALLY need is to access my user library on Time Machine and grab my Thunderbird files (saved mail, etc.) but I can't find a way to make my user library visible.
Any suggestions are really appreciated.
Thanks,
Don

Don Stubbs wrote:
What I REALLY need is to access my user library on Time Machine and grab my Thunderbird files (saved mail, etc.) but I can't find a way to make my user library visible.
Any suggestions are really appreciated.
Thanks,
Don
Open Finder and navigate to your User home folder. In the right pane, right click in an open area and click View Options or select View options from the View menu bar. At the bottom of the View Options screen should be a checkbox for Show Library Folder. Check it and your user Library should show up in Finder along with your other Home folders. Then, after opening Library, you should be able to Enter Time Machine and navigate to the point in time you want to browse your user Library

Can't access user/library/Mail backup on Time Machine

I just reformatted my HD in the Mavericks fashion. When asked, I did NOT opt to start a new Time Machine backup series for fear of overwriting my mailboxes and contents from yesterday. So now my Time Machine menu item is greyed out and, since "Library" is an invisible file on the Time Machine disc, I can't get at my mailboxes to drag them over manually. The Library folder simply isn't available. So how do I restore my mailboxes to the new OS? I can access the User/Library/Mail folder by using keystrokes (Go to ~/CH/Library), but it does no good because it's *Today's* folder and there's nothing in it. How do I get at the actual backups from YESTERDAY'S User/Library/Mail folder?

Old Toad: You're on the right track, but it looks to be more complicated than even I thought. But thanks for referring me to that set of solutions. I think it worked, in that my latest good backup is now associated with my current OS. The brick wall I'm hitting again is that all I want to back up from the TM drive is my user/library folder, containing mailboxes. I can't even see it normally without holding down Option while hitting the Go menu item, so locating it for the purposes of Time Machine is tricky, if it's possible at all. One problem queering the do is that there are traces of malware on the backups, and I want to avoid re-installing them with my data. They were the reason I reformatted in the first place. Thanks for sending me to a promising source of info; I've still got Applecare, so I'll call them tomorrow AM.

I desperately need to access my User Library folder in Time Machine (Lion so = not visible).

Hi. I installed Lion a few months ago and got a new external drive to back up Time Machine.
Nobody told me the User Library would be made hidden in the new OS. I have been backing up regularly in the belief that all my work, settings and so on was safe.
Yesterday my iMac (27" 2.8 Ghz Core it with 4 gib memory) suddenly went mad. Message saying finder had quit whilst trying to restore windows. Desktop was flashing, no icons clickable, no external disks readable. Could access some progs and terminal, but nothing else. Could not get into the history folder to trash various plists and so on as the folder is hidden and the alt Go wouldn't work. The Finder just wouldn't do anything.
I have sorted it out BUT I have lost my address book entries, my browser booksmarks, my desktop shortcuts and my iCal entries. I need to access my User Library on my Time Machine. Is there a way?
I cannot believe I have been religiously backing up my stuff but Apple has made it so I can't access my backup of one of the most important folders on my Time Machine???
Is there anyway of getting into this from Terminal or something? I will never be able to get back all the bookmarks and stuff I've been researching for years. I have it backed up on two different hard drives, both of which have 'invisible' library folders. I have make the folder visible now, for future backups, but it's after the horse has bolted. I am furious, and just feel like bursting into tears because of all the time it's going to take me to get all my work back. I can't tell you how stupid this was, Apple.
If someone could help I'd be really grateful. I've got older backups but they are so old they won't get back my recent stuff.
Thanks.

select Finder
hole option key and select Go in the menu
Select Library
Enter Time Machine
You should be seeing all the versions of you Library folder.

I am trying to back up my mail (5.1) directories but I can no longer locate them. They used to be in the user library. Would be grateful for some assistance.

I am trying to back up my mail (5.1) directories but I can no longer locate them. They used to be in the user library. Would be grateful for some assistance.

They're stil there; Apple decided to hide your Library folder. Hold the Alt/Option key while selecting Go in a Finder menubar and select Library.
Do you have other backups, made with a proper backup app? If not, that's the best way to back up your data, rather than doing it "piecemeal" via drag & drop.
You might want to review the Time Machine Tutorial, and perhaps browse Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.

Impossible to restore my iTunes library from a backup

Two days ago I subscribed to MobileMe and synchronized everything. Yesterday, I created a new MobileMe account and cancelled the first. Everything works fine.
But I lost my iTunes library yesterday afternoon. In the iTunes folder: iTunes Music, iTunes Applications and Album Artwork still have all their items, but I can not see any music, playlists, software or anything when I start iTunes! It looks like new and empty...
I tried restoring my iTunes library as suggested:
1. repaired authorizations on my hard disk and backup disk;
2. followed the recommendations in Apple Technical note No HT1451 ( http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451 ) - no luck;
3. attempted to restore my iTunes library by using Time Machine… (BTW, it appears that TM does not backup "iTunes Music Library.xml"…!?);
4. I used Onyx in order to find out if "iTunes Music Library.xml" might be hidden on my HD or backup, but did not find it in any location.
Nothing seems to work… My iTunes library is kaput… I'm out of my wits.
Could it be an interference caused by MobileMe?
Message was edited by: fdboucher

Oh well… not much help really…
Anyway, I did at least recover all my music, podcasts and other files, by throwing away ALL the iTunes preferences plists in my User>Library>Preferences file.
But I'm still ****** at not being able to recover my playlists… The only "iTunes Music Library.xml" that is available does not hold that information. Earlier versions are not to be found on my Backup disk.
1. Is that file "iTunes Music Library.xml" THE file that holds all the information on playlist content and music ratings, play history etc.?
2. Is that file "iTunes Music Library.xml" recoverable from my iPhone? Or elsewhere? Is it hidden somewhere in my backup?
Thanks for your consideration.

From some reason (i'm not sure why..) my whole iphoto library got deleted. I restored the whole library from my backup. The photos are blank but steel have the photo info. (date, res., size etc.) Do you know what's the prob.? why can't i see my pics.

from some reason (i'm not sure why..) my whole iphoto library got deleted. I restored the whole library from my backup. Now all the photos are blank but steel have the photo info. (date, res., size etc.) Do you know what's the prob.? why can't i see my pics.

It's says that file does not exist. How come? And why does it still show the image info.?
Where can i find those files (i have a daily backup)
The original image files are missing form your iPhoto library or iPhoto cannot find them, because the link to the originals has been broken. The image info is stored in the internal libraries, independent of the original files. That is, why you are still seeing them.
I restored the whole library from my backup.
Try restoring from an older backup, from before you first noticed the problem.
How large is the library, that you restored? Is the file size large enough to hold all your photos, or has the size been reduced? If the library is still large, the photos may still be inside, even if iPhoto cannot find them.
It's says that file does not exist. How come?
What happened, before your iPhoto library got deleted? Which applications have you been running, or which new software have installed or upgraded? Have you moved the library to a different disk or tried to use it from different user account or access it over the network?

User Library "Caches" missing/invisible?

This is a problem that seems to have happened since I installed SL.
I am scanning my CD booklets into my Macbook Pro, basically so I can read them more easily using the zoom facility. Using an app called CdPedia, they were stored as follows:
file:///Users/meng/Library/Caches/Metadata/CDpedia/eli-b-f.jpg
However, the Caches folder containing all my jpg's has vanished (although the Main Library Caches folder is still there). No problem, I thought, I'll just restore from Time Capsule.
But no - I go into TC (backups back to March 2009) and there's no User Caches in there either, no matter which backup I look at. (As a separate issue, spotlight doesn't seem to work in TC either so I am unable to search for any jpg's.)
So can anyone speculate as to whether I've lost all my pics, or are they still there somewhere but hidden from me? And why doesn't Spotlight work in TC?
I'd appreciate any thoughts or speculation. Thanks.

Peter Wilson1 wrote:
This is a problem that seems to have happened since I installed SL.
I am scanning my CD booklets into my Macbook Pro, basically so I can read them more easily using the zoom facility. Using an app called CdPedia, they were stored as follows:
file:///Users/meng/Library/Caches/Metadata/CDpedia/eli-b-f.jpg
However, the Caches folder containing all my jpg's has vanished (although the Main Library Caches folder is still there). No problem, I thought, I'll just restore from Time Capsule.
But no - I go into TC (backups back to March 2009) and there's no User Caches in there either, no matter which backup I look at. (As a separate issue, spotlight doesn't seem to work in TC either so I am unable to search for any jpg's.)
So can anyone speculate as to whether I've lost all my pics, or are they still there somewhere but hidden from me? And why doesn't Spotlight work in TC?
I'd appreciate any thoughts or speculation. Thanks.
Time Machine excludes most caches. It backs-up the <user>/Library/Caches folder to preserve the structure, but excludes the contents.

User/Library/Safari/bookmarks.plist sit

I wanted to restore my old bookmarks file, so I went to t/m and from there to user/Library/Safari/bookmarks.plist and hit on restore, took a look at the operation transpiring, thought I saw 13.7 mbs of transfer and went to put on the coffee. when I came back It was still running. What I thought was 13.7 mb's was gigs.
a) Does anyone know what 13.7 gigs of info from a safari bookmarks plist could be??
b) The safari on my desktop still does not have the old bookmarks in it!
c) Where could my old bookmarks be??

Hi
you have the right location - /Users/You/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist
I've under 1000 bookmarks & the file is 152K
so if that figure is correct, you've certainly a problem with the file. If there's another copy in TM< check that out, or look at any other backup location.
Failing that, you might be able to inspect the rogue file in hexedit or 0xED to see if it has useable data... it should begin with <i>bplist so if you're very lucky, it would have numerous copies of the same data.
It may be too late, but take a copy of
/Users/You/Library/Caches/Metadata/Safari/Bookmarks/ just before using Safari any more, in case it comes to that.

I rebuild a photo library without a backup?

I rebuild a photo library without a backup .. it shows
"The photo library needs to be upgraded to works with this version of photo library
Quit or Upgraded .. i exit the app .. and then i looked up in my application then i have few folders
Metadata backup . what it's ? All my pictures in it , is there anything i can do be4 i click on the upgrade version?
I dont want to lose my photos.. If i upgraded it will my pictures stil be there?

Make a temporary, backup copy (if you don't already have a backup copy) of the library and try the following:
1 - delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your
User/Home()/Library/ Preferences folder.
2 - delete iPhoto's cache file, Cache.db, that is located in your
User/Home()/Library/Caches/com.apple.iPhoto folder.
Click to view full size
3 - launch iPhoto and try again.
NOTE: If you're moved your library from its default location in your Home/Pictures folder you will have to point iPhoto to its new location when you next open iPhoto by holding down the Option key when launching iPhoto. You'll also have to reset the iPhoto's various preferences.
OT

Error (-48) When Backing up /Users/~/Library/Preferences

I recently just tried to do a fresh from scratch Time Machine backup of one of my computers on a new hard drive I bought. However, I noticed that Time Machine would repeated stall out at around 12GB backed up and have to restart the backup from scratch.
From analyzing the console messages and logs, I noticed that Time Machine was having trouble backing up my /Users/~/Library/Preferences ("~" being a placeholder for the name of the account) folder. Specifically, any preference files or directories that were stored there that were not with the .plist extension generated Error (-48) messages in the console. Following those messages the backupd service (i.e., Time Machine) would SegFault and then crash (Console output is below).
The backup completes fine on its own if I exclude the Preferences folders for my user account. However, if I try to include it I get the same old results. Obviously, I have a lot of preference files (like MS Office) that I would like to back up so I am trying to find out (1) what a Error -48 actually menas and (2) what the problem with these preference files is and (3) is there anyway to get Time Machine to not freak out when it tries to copy them over.
Any help would be appreciated.
Sample Console Output:
9/11/08 2:33:02 AM
/System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[4965] Error: (-48) copying /Users/~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia to /Volumes/Backup of Comp/Backups.backupdb/Comp/2008-09-11-023136.inProgress/2568C5C9-05BA-4D68-82A7 -685E0EFFC02D/Hard Drive/Users/~/Library/Preferences
9/11/08 2:33:21 AM
/System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[4965] Error: (-48) copying /Users/~/Library/Preferences/Microsoft to /Volumes/Backup of Comp/Backups.backupdb/Comp/2008-09-11-023136.inProgress/2568C5C9-05BA-4D68-82A7 -685E0EFFC02D/Hard Drive/Users/~/Library/Preferences
9/11/08 2:33:22 AM
/System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[4965] Error: (-48) copying /Users/~/Library/Preferences/OfficeSync Prefs to /Volumes/Backup of Comp/Backups.backupdb/Comp/2008-09-11-023136.inProgress/2568C5C9-05BA-4D68-82A7 -685E0EFFC02D/Hard Drive/Users/~/Library/Preferences
9/11/08 2:33:22 AM
/System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[4965] Error: (-48) copying /Users/~/Library/Preferences/QuickTime Preferences to /Volumes/Backup of Comp/Backups.backupdb/Comp/2008-09-11-023136.inProgress/2568C5C9-05BA-4D68-82A7 -685E0EFFC02D/Hard Drive/Users/~/Library/Preferences
9/11/08 2:33:22 AM
/System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[4965] Error: (-48) copying /Users/~/Library/Preferences/Shockwave to /Volumes/Backup of Comp/Backups.backupdb/Comp/2008-09-11-023136.inProgress/2568C5C9-05BA-4D68-82A7 -685E0EFFC02D/Hard Drive/Users/~/Library/Preferences
9/11/08 2:33:35 AM
com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.backupd[4965]) Exited abnormally: Segmentation fault

From MacErrors.h (included with Xcode Tools:
dupFNErr = -48, /*duplicate filename (rename)*/
Use TM to restore everything except the Preferences folder, then manually copy it over.

Making External User Library Visible

Hi all,
I just got a new MBP and it came with a User account that I've now put some time into, including copying various things from my old User account. I'm pretty much committed to the new account now, but I realize there are items from my User Library I ought to copy over. I've learned how to make my User Library visible on the new computer, but I can't figure out how to do that on the old one.
I've been accessing the old data from an external backup. Would accessing it from the old computer directly, using Target Disk, work better? Are there any other ways to make the Library visible other than the View Option method?
Thanks for any tips!

Hi all,
I solved my problem so, in case anyone else cares, here's how I did it. I simply booted up from my Carbon Copy Cloner backup of the old computer running on an external drive connected to the new computer.
For whatever reason, the new computer did not recognize the supposedly permanent "Show Library" command I had checked on the cloned old computer, but the old clone did recognize the same "Show Library" command on the new machine. Odd, as they are both running Yosemite. In any case, having booted from the clone, I was able to access my Library data and copy it over to the new machine. Maybe that will help someone some day.
God bless Carbon Copy Cloner!
Franz

TM and User/Library/Preferences

I did a seemingly harmless auto-update of a Mac Ripper application yesterday that then trashed the working one and demanded payment to use the new version. I would like to go back.
I've never used TM before but just curious if it's a full exact/bootable clone using "Restore System from Backup " in 10.6.6?
Some of my software licenses are user/machine specific etc. and I would hate to have to re-do every one of them. Is everything restored completely intact?

Thanks - most of this I've already been through although wasn't sure about items in the user Library being restored or not...as you even mentioned +"some things are not backed up"+. The "some things" are exactly what I was concerned about.
I did the restore process - booting from a SL Original Upgrade disk - chose my date of desired go back - let it run - but got a very bad result. Now the Mac boots to the gray Apple screen and has a spinning wheel of death - never to stop no matter how long it's left to try.
Tried Disk Utility repairs on the internal, from the booted SL Install disk to no avail.
I did a Carbon Copy Clone backup before running TM. But it is a backup of the trashed preferences (and who knows what else got trashed?). I also have a Super Duper backup from a month ago (I've relocated to the East Coast in the meantime so have almost nothing new on the computer since). This backup is before everything got messed up so it's a good option, combined with the CCC clone I can run Chronosync and extract the differences/new items I need.
I've had a dedicated 1TB drive for years sitting on my Mini running TM since the day I got it. *The one time I actually needed it - TM failed me.* Luckily, my redundancy with CCC and Super Duper are going to pay off. TM is a good concept - but if it doesn't work there's no point in having it. I'll erase the TM drive and use it for scheduled Chronosync backups instead. And keep my CCC and SD redundancy close at hand.
Message was edited by: igirl1

User Library in TM Backup

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