Using Time Machine on OSX 10.6.6

Hopefully someone can help here. Here's the situation: On December 31st, I ran a full system backup in Time Machine, I was having some serious disc issues and I had to send the computer to Apple to get it repaired. I wiped all of my personal data from the drive, emptied the trash and did a 7-pass 0 sector reformat on the drive (I'm a little paranoid about my personal data). I sent it to Apple and received it back from Fedex today.
I have attempted to simply restore my computer to how it was on December 31st before I began removing everything. However, Time Machine keeps telling me that I don't have permission to copy the files back to their original locations. And I don't know a **** thing about permissions in OSX.
Can someone please help me restore all of my files back to their original locations, and/or help me get past these "don't have permission" errors?

A full system restore is best; that restores everything from the backup selected, including OSX.
+Setup Assistant+ is second best. Erase the internal HD, reinstall OSX, then transfer everything but OSX when the Mac reboots. That will properly transfer all user accounts and data, and most apps, but some complex apps, especially those from Adobe, may have to be reinstalled; and some purchase keys/serial numbers may have to be re-entered.
Third best is +Migration Assistant.+ It's similar to +Setup Assistant,+ but you end up with an extra user account, which often confuses folks; or a duplicate that either can't be transferred or must be renamed; and the transferred accounts may not be recognized as the same ones as on other volumes, such as backups. Plus the apps problems.
Worst is trying to drag & drop, because the permissions usually won't allow it, plus the other permissions and apps problems.
See the link in my previous post about a full restore; see [Setting up a new Mac from an old one or its backups|http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/Setup.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of the +Snow Leopard > Installation and Setup+ forum), for details on +Setup Assistant+ and +Migration Assistant.+

Similar Messages

How do you restore Apps using Time Machine in OSX Mavericks?

I cannot seem to restore my Apps from a Time Machine Backup. The same error message keeps being displayed: "Contacts can't be modified or deleted because it's required by the OS".

Sorry. I should have been more specific.
I accidentally deleted my contacts in Apple's address book App. I'm trying to restore them from a recent Time Machine backup.
I tried following the suggesstion in this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5674113
For some reason, bringing the contacts window forward, as suggessted in the above thread, does nothing to solve my problem. I see the time machine backup of my contacts created at 12:24pm on Monday 25 April (EST Melbourne Australia). When the restore button is clicked, the Time Machine App seems to be transitioning past data into the present momnent, yet nothing actually happens. The contacts are not restored.
I never used to have any use prior to updating my OSx to Mavericks. Something about the way Mavericks is managing my data in the Address book, and possible calendar too, is preventing Time Machine from restoring properly.

How to recover deleted browser history using time machine on osx lion

I turned my time machine backup on. Deleted some of my browser history. And restored the entire App, Google chrome, hoping my history would reappear. However it didn't. Same with Safari.
What am I missing? Or rather, how to restore just the hisotry and not the rest of the application?

I'm surprised because I just opened History.plist in TextWrangler and all the history listings are in there. There may be some interaction with other parts of what Safari saves during a session, and the only other approach that comes to mind is more serious surgery. The History.plist you found is contained in a folder called "Safari" along with a bunch of other stuff. At the risk of losing anything else you've done in Safari since then (e.g., new bookmarks), try restoring the entire Safari folder from Time Machine, being sure that the TM point you've selected is before the deletion. You might want to copy the current Safari folder to the Desktop first, just in case. And, again, Safari must not be running during the attempt.
There is also a Safari directory in /Users/username/Library/Caches/Metadata/Safari which has a history component in it but I'm not sure if you need that restored, too.

Recover OSX Mountain Lion using Time Machine Backup

Hi,
Can anyone help me to recover OSX Mountain Lion using TIme Machine backup as i accidently corrupted the recovery HD and the Macintosh Drive?
Regards,
Sanil

As Linc stated, you can boot from your Time Machine backup of OS X Mountain Lion.
Restart your machine and hold down the Option key. Select the Time Machine backup drive to boot from. When it boots into the TM drive you will get the same OS X Utilities screen like in the recovery HD. You can use Disk Utilities to erase your Macintosh HD then restore your Mac OS X from Time Machine.

I just bought an iMac now running OSX 10.8.4. I have a G5 running OXS 10.5.8 - External HD connected to the G5 been using Time Machine to back up. Need to get my files, photos etc. but not applications etc. onto the iMac. How do I do it?

I just bought an iMac now running OSX 10.8.4. I have a G5 running OXS 10.5.8 - External HD connected to the G5 been using Time Machine to back up. Need to get my files, photos etc. but not applications etc. onto the iMac. How do I do it?

David JHS21 wrote:
Can I just plug the external hard drive into the iMac and copy the "Documents" and "Pictures" from the hard drive to the iMac?
Not those whole folders, but their contents, maybe.
If the user account now on the Mac has read rights to the user account(s) on the backups, yes. If not, you may have to do some finagling.
Try the Browse Other Backup Disks option, per Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #17. If you find an account that can open those folders, restore what you want to an alternate location (#16 in the FAQ).
If not try creating one or more accounts temporarily.

What is a good external hard drive to use with time machine running osx lion?

My LaCie HD quit and I need to get a new one. What is recommended to use with the Lion OS? I would like to use Time Machine and hook the HD up using Firewire.

I've been using several Mercury drives from OWC (MacSales) for years with no problems whatsoever. They are good and not expensive. Here's where you can find them. Pick one that fits your needs.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/
Rick

I have just changed the hard drive on my computer and I transferred everything use time machine (OSX Mavericks). I now have error 150:30. What do I do?

I obviously need to reinitialise CS4 in some way but how. I cannot enter any programs to change any settings. I have the serial number of my organisations license.

Transferring using Time Machine will not work with Adobe applications. Many small but necessary files will not be put in the proper place.
You'll have to first remove everything you copied using the Adobe Cleaner tool:
Use the CC Cleaner Tool to solve installation problems | CC, CS3-CS6
Then download the CS4 installer with the link Mylenium provided.

HT201250 I use Time Machine to back up my entire computer with my external hard drive. I am getting a brand new iMac this month and was wondering what is the process of using this back up to restore my new computer exactly how my old computer was?

I use Time Machine to back up my entire computer with my external hard drive. I am getting a brand new iMac this month and was wondering what is the process of using this back up to restore my new computer exactly how my old computer was? I want to make sure I will still have various important files on my new computer, like my songs in iTunes, my photos in iPhoto, etc, etc. Thanks so much in advance!

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
When you turn on the new iMac for the first time, Setup Assistant will ask you to restore a backup, so connect the external disk and follow steps to restore all your files to your new iMac. Your new Mac will have the same settings and programs as your old computer.
In other cases, I would recommend to restore the whole backup without using Migration Assistant or Setup Assistant, but a Late 2012 iMac uses a special OS X build, so the OS X version that you're using on your old Mac won't work on the new one. For more information, see > http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

I am trying to restore my old Macbook Pro data using Time Machine on a new Mackbook Air from external hard drive, but when I install I get two different loggin accounts and I only want one loggin account

I am trying to restore my old Macbook Pro data using Time Machine to a new Macbook Air from an external hard drive, but when I restore I get two diferrent loggin accounts and I only wnat one loggin account to access all my data/files?

This web site might answer all of your Time machine questions:
http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html
Ciao.

Using TIME MACHINE with a TIME CAPSULE

There's often a bit of confusion about this terminology: +*Time Machine+* vs. +*Time Capsule:+*
_*Time Machine*_ is Apple software that performs backups, to an external HD, a Time Capsule, etc.; and also allows you to browse and restore from them. It comes with Leopard and Snow Leopard, but cannot run on any previous versions of OSX.
A _*Time Capsule*_ is a piece of Apple hardware that combines a wireless router and hard drive, that can be used for Time Machine backups and/or other data.
Most Time Machine questions & problems are not unique to Time Capsules. For those, or if you don't find what you need here, try one of these:
Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions
Time Machine - Troubleshooting
They can also be found in the *User Contributed Tips* section of both +Time Machine+ forums:
Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard > Time Machine
Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard > Time Machine
Contents
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QUESTIONS
*Q1. How do I set up Time Machine to back up to my Time Capsule?*
*Q2. How do I set up Time Machine to back up to a USB drive connected to my Time Capsule?*
*Q3. Can I use my Time Capsule for Time Machine backups AND other data?*
*Q4. My Time Capsule is too small to back-up my Mac(s). Now what?*
*Q5. Should I delete backups? If so, how?*
*Q6. How do I back-up my Time Capsule and/or USB drive(s) connected to it?*
If you don't see your question here, try the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum.
|
PROBLEMS
*P1. The Backup disk image could not be created.*
*P2. Time Machine could not complete the backup . . sparsebundle could not be accessed. (Error 109).*
If you don't see your problem here, try the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum.
QUESTIONS
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_*Q1. How do I set up Time Machine to back up to my Time Capsule?*_
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First, set up your Time Capsule via +Airport Utility.+ Keep the name you assign to it, your Computer, and your network short (under 25 characters), and avoid embedded spaces, special characters, and punctuation (see item #P1 below for details). Make sure your Mac can connect via an Ethernet cable, if at all possible, as well as wirelessly.
The setup and first backup (of your entire system) will be much faster if you connect via Ethernet.
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a. If the +Time Machine+ icon isn't already in your Dock, drag it there from your Applications folder. See below for more about it's use.
b. Right-click it and select +Open Time Machine Preferences,+ click the +Show Time Machine status in the menu bar+ box (see below), then click +Select Disk+ (on Leopard, this button will be either +Choose Backup Disk+ or +Change Disk).+
c. A list of possible destinations will appear. It should include your Time Capsule (with the name you gave it via Airport Utility), and may show other internal or external drives as well. Select your Time Capsule and click the +Use for Backup+ button.
d. A prompt for your name and password will appear. In some cases there won't be a Name field, but if there is, enter your short user name. Also enter the password you set up for the Time Capsule via Airport Utility, then click the Connect button.
e. A 120-second countdown to the start of your first backup will appear in the +Next Backup+ area of the TM Preference panel.
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Note that this first backup will copy the entire contents of your system, except for a few things that are skipped automatically, such as system work files, most caches, your logs, trash, etc., and anything else you may have excluded (see #10 and #11 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum). So it will be rather lengthy, depending on how much data is on your system, whether you're connected via Ethernet or WIFI, and if WIFI, how good the signal is.
You can continue to use your Mac while TM is backing-up, and you can even cancel a backup if necessary, but to make this first full backup as fast as possible, try not to overload your Mac or cancel the backup.
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_*The Time Machine Icons in your Menubar and/or Dock*_
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In the steps above, you dragged the TM Application's icon into your Dock, and clicked the +Show Time Machine status in the menu bar+ box.
For detailed info about them, see question #24 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum.
+Go to Top+
_*Q2. How do I set up Time Machine to back up to a USB drive connected to my Time Capsule?*_
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Mostly the way you set it up to use the Time Capsule's internal HD.
But first, attach the drive directly to your Mac, and erase and format it per the instructions in #5 of the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum. Note, however, that it doesn't matter whether you use the +Mac OS Extended (Journaled)+ or +Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, journaled)+ Format, since Time Machine will put your backups in a sparse bundle that's case-sensitive. You cannot change that.
Unlike the Time Capsule's disk, you can partition the USB drive. That's highly recommended if you're going to be putting other data there, so the backups don't completely fill the disk (but be aware that Time Machine cannot back that "other" data up. See question #Q6 below).
If you're backing-up multiple Macs to the same drive, you can make one partition for each, but it's not as helpful on a network drive, because each Mac's backups will be in a separate sparse bundle. So you can let them share the disk or a partition.
Also note that if you've been doing backups to an external disk connected directly to your Mac, you cannot continue the same set of backups when you connect it to your Time Capsule. They are stored differently, and Time Machine will put them in a sparse bundle, alongside but *completely separate from* the backups made locally, and the first backup will be a full backup of your entire system.
Once the USB disk is set up the way you want it, use the setup procedure in question #Q1 above, but in step (c), select the USB drive/partition, not the Time Capsule's internal HD.
*RAID Sets connected to a Time Capsule:*
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Time Machine will back up to a +Hardware Mirrored RAID set,+ also called +RAID 1,+ (sold that way, with multiple drives in the same enclosure). However, if you partition the +Hardware Mirrored RAID set,+ once you start using it with TIme Machine, you cannot change the sizes later and continue to back up to the same set of backups.
While you can connect multiple USB drives to a Time Capsule via a USB hub (a powered one is best), Time Machine +*will not+* back up to a +software Mirrored RAID+ set (where you combine the drives into a single volume via Disk Utility).
+Go to Top+
_*Q3. Can I use my Time Capsule for Time Machine backups and other data?*_
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You can put other data on your Time Capsule's internal HD, but there are three major considerations:
Especially for things like photos and videos, access may be too slow for convenient viewing, and worse for editing. So test this a bit before you decide what to put there.
Time Machine cannot back-up that other data, so you'll need some other method. See question #Q6 below.
Time Machine will, by design, fill up all the space available to it, so there may be a conflict between the sparse bundle it puts your backups in, and the other data. There is a workaround, to "reserve" some space there, by creating a disk image of the desired size and storing your data there, but it's a bit cumbersome, and two Macs can't share it at the same time.
An alternative is to connect a USB drive to your Time Capsule. Then you can back up to the TC's disk and use the USB drive for other data, or vice-versa. But note that Time Machine cannot back-up the USB drive while it's connected to the TC (see question #Q6 below).
If you want to reserve space on the TC's internal disk, here's how:
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a. Start the +Disk Utility+ app (in your Applications/Utilities folder). Click the +New Image+ icon in the toolbar (or select +File > New > Blank Disk Image+ from the menubar). If the little arrow to the right of the "Save As" box points down, click it so it points up.
b. Give it a name in the "Save as" box. This name will appear on the TC's disk, with ".dmg" appended. (Similar to the way the sparse bundle containing your Time Machine backups appears, with ".sparsebundle" appended).
c. Click your TC in the sidebar. It may take a few moments for Disk Utility to recognize it, and show it in the center pane.
d. In that center pane, select the blue Share folder for your +Time Capsule+ (you may need to scroll down, or enlarge the window, to see it). Once selected, you'll see any existing disk images in the right pane.
e. Give the Image a name. This name will appear on your desktop and/or Finder sidebar when you mount the .dmg by double-clicking it, if you have the +External Disks+ box checked in +Finder > Preferences > General+ or +Finder > Preferences > Sidebar.+
f. Select the Size for the amount of space you want to reserve, either one of the pre-sets or Custom which allows any size. Avoid taking all the remaining space for the disk image, as Time Machine needs a bit of room to operate. Also note that if very little space is left, it will begin deleting old backups very soon, to make room for new ones.
g. Select the desired Format, probably the default of +Mac OS Extended (Journaled).+
h. If you want it encrypted, select the desired type.
i. Select single partition, either GUID or +Apple Partition Map.+
j. Select +Read/Write disk image+ for Image Format.
k. Click the Create button. The larger the image size, the longer this will take.
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When complete, the new disk image will be automatically mounted on your Mac's desktop, ready to receive the files you want to move into it. (When you first open a disk image, there may not be a sidebar and/or toolbar; if so, select +View > Show Toolbar+ from the Finder menubar.)
To access this disk image from another computer, you must first eject it from this one, since only one can mount it at a time. Otherwise, the other one will see a message that the disk image is "Temporarily unavailable."
Note that you may be able to change the size of the disk image later, via +Images > Resize+ from the Disk Utility menubar (while the disk image is not mounted or selected in Disk Utility's sidebar).
+Go to Top+
_*Q4. My Time Capsule is too small to back-up my Mac(s). Now what?*_
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You can attach a USB drive to your Time Capsule. Then you can back up to the USB drive instead of the Time Capsule's internal HD. If you have multiple Macs, you can back some up to the TC's internal drive, and others to the USB drive.
If you need even more space, you can connect multiple USB drives via a hub (a powered one is usually best), and back up different Macs to each. What you cannot do, however, is have one Mac's backups continue from the Time Capsule's internal HD to a USB drive connected to it, or have the backups for any one Mac "span" two drives.
The exception is, you can connect two (or more) drives that are in a +concatenated RAID+ set (sometimes called +RAID 0).+ In that configuration, all the drives in the set are treated as a single volume (see +Concatenated RAID+ in the Help for Disk Utility for details). This configuration may cause some other difficulties; once they're in a RAID set, you cannot connect any drive to your Mac separately -- it's all or none. And if one drive fails, you risk losing everything on all the drives in the set.
See question #Q2 above for setup instructions for backing-up to the USB drive.
+Go to Top+
_*Q5. Should I delete backups? If so, how?*_
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It depends on exactly what you want to do, and why.
Under normal circumstances, you shouldn't have to delete anything. TM automatically "thins" (deletes) backups every time it does a new backup, on the following schedule:
"Hourly" backups after 24 hours (except the first of the day, which is a "Daily" backup).
"Daily" backups after a month (except the first of each week, which is a "Weekly" backup.)
"Weekly" backups are kept until TM needs the space for new backups; then one or more of the oldest weeklies will be deleted.
However, TM will never delete the backup copy of anything that was on the disk being backed-up at the time of any remaining backup. So all that's actually deleted are copies of items whose originals were changed or deleted before the next remaining backup.
But if you do need to delete backups, here's how:
To delete individual backups, or all backups of selected item(s), see #12 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum.
To delete everything on the Time Capsule's internal HD, use +*Airport Utility.+* Select +*Base Station > Manual Set-Up+* from the Menubar, then Disks in the tool Bar, then Erase.
To delete everything on a connected USB drive/partition, you can delete via the Finder, but that may take a very long time. It may be faster to disconnect it from your Time Capsule, connect it directly to your Mac, and use Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder) to erase the disk/partition.
To delete all the backups for one Mac, without disturbing anything else on the Time Capsule's internal disk, open the TC via the Finder and delete the sparse bundle associated with that Mac.
To delete all the backups for one Mac, without disturbing anything else on a connected USB drive, either open the USB drive via the Finder and delete the sparse bundle associated with that Mac, or disconnect the drive from the TC, connect it directly to your Mac, and delete the sparse bundle from there.
+Go to Top+
_*Q6. How do I back-up my Time Capsule and/or attached USB drive(s)?*_
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That depends to some extent on what you want to back up, and where it is.
It's generally not a good idea to try to back-up your Time Machine backups. If there's a problem with them, it will be copied to (and perhaps magnified on) the copy.
A better solution is probably to use either Time Machine or a different application to make separate, independent backups of your Mac, to a different destination. A portable external hard drive is great for this; you can periodically connect it to your Mac, make a backup, then take it to a secure off-site location, so you're protected against fire, flood, theft, direct lightning strike on your power lines, etc. If you use Time Machine for this, you'll have to use the disk selection process each time you want to switch, via +Time Machine Preferences.+
Many folks use the CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper! apps to make "bootable clones" of their internal HD to an external HD. While these usually don't have "archived" copies of previous versions of things you've changed or deleted, you can boot and run your Mac from them if your internal HD fails. Your Mac may run a bit slower, but it will be usable. Both are easily found via Google.
Since Time Machine cannot back up your Time Capsule's internal hard drive, or a USB drive connected to it, if you have other data there, you'll need a different method to back up that other data.
In a pinch, you can disconnect a USB drive from your Time Capsule, attach it to your Mac, and copy or back it up that way.
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There is a procedure that will let you "archive" the TC's internal disk to a USB drive connected to it.
But it's not quick, since since the data must be read from the TC's internal disk to your Mac, then sent *back through the Time Capsule* to the connected USB drive. And it's "all or nothing" -- you can only use this procedure to copy the entire contents.
All users will be disconnected from both the internal HD and the connected USB disk (but the network will remain usable).
Attach a USB drive with at least as much free space as the total amount of data on the TC's internal HD (see #5 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum, for formatting instructions).
Turn Time Machine "Off" via +Time Machine Preferences.+ Stop all processes that may be accessing the Time Capsule's disk. If possible, connect your Mac to the Time Capsule with an Ethernet cable -- it will still be slow, but faster than WIFI.
Then follow this Apple procedure: Using AirPort Utility 5.3.1 or later to make a copy of the Time Capsule disk.
+Go to Top+
PROBLEMS
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_*P1. The Backup disk image could not be created.*_
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Oddly enough, Time Machine can be rather picky about the way certain things are named.
Check your +*Computer Name*+ at the top of the System Preferences > Sharing panel.
It must not be blank; it should not be more than 25 characters long; and you should avoid punctuation, spaces, and special characters.
After changing it, click the Edit button and make the corresponding change to the +*Local Hostname.+*
If that doesn't help, apply the same rules to the name of your Time Capsule and Network, via +Airport Utility.+
+Go to Top+
_*P2. Time Machine could not complete the backup .. sparsebundle could not be accessed. (Error 109).*_
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The sparsebundle containing your backups is corrupted.
Try Repairing it, per #A5 in the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum.
If the sparsebundle is on your Time Capsule's internal HD, and Disk Utility can't fix it, your only option is to delete it (or erase the TC's disk), and let Time Machine start over. You may be able to prevent this from happening again by changing the names per problem #P1 above.
If the sparsebundle is on a USB drive connected to your Time Capsule, and Disk Utility can't fix it, it's possible a heavy-duty 3rd-party +Disk Repair+ application, such as +Disk Warrior+ can. (You'll have to connect the drive directly to your Mac.) These are not cheap, and there's no guarantee they can fix it. Be certain whatever you use is compatible with your OS. For Disk Warrior, you need at least version 4.1.1 for Leopard, 4.2 for Snow Leopard.
+Go to Top+

This tip is ready for consideration.
It is an update to the current Tip at: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2296894
Changes:
Q1: replaced info about the TM icons with a link to the TM FAQ tip.
Q2: added info about RAID sets attached to a TC
Q6: reworded a bit and replaced last paragraph with a link to the Apple article.

Can i install snow leopard on Macbook without using Time Machine?

Hi, I've backed up my files using SuperDuper and made 2 copies of my data on 2 usb sticks. Do I also need to use Time Machine to back up my files aswell, in order to update osx and install snow leopard?? If I've already got my 2 copies of my files on usb sticks, isn't that enough backing up? Any suggestions will be appreciated thanks!

aprilsviv wrote:
Thanks for answering, so did you manage to upgrade your mac with snow leopard without using time machine? I'd just like to make sure I'm doing the right thing.
To clear up some possible confusion, you don't need any backups (Time Machine or otherwise) to upgrade a Mac from an earlier OS version to Snow Leopard. To do that, just follow Apple's instructions to launch the "Install OS X" app on the Snow Leopard DVD, which upgrades the OS to Snow Leopard without changing your user settings, erasing or changing your user files, & so on. It is an easy process & generally works quite well.
The backup(s) are in case something goes wrong, which is unlikely but not impossible. You should regularly be backing up at least your important user files to an external device whether or not you upgrade ("important" meaning anything you can't afford to lose) since hard drives can fail without warning or other calamities might destroy some or all of the data on them.
At upgrade time, bootable clones like SuperDuper! makes are especially good insurance against any unforeseen upgrade problems: if something goes wrong you can just clone back to the internal drive & return to the pre-upgrade state, without having to hassle with installing anything.

If i use time machine on lion 10.7, can i put all my info back on mavericks from the time machine i did on lion ?

Hi everyone, its my first time using time machine, i want to change from lion to mavericks, but i want to know how that actually works, and if i back up my stuff from lion would it match and would mavericks know what am trying to do here !?.... like i want to have all the sime that i do on my lion OSX but On Mavericks OSX

If you are going to install Mavericks on your existing Mac then you don't need to use Time Machine. It's good to have a Time Machine backup but when you install Mavericks all of your personal files/documents are left intact and are unaffected. Only the operating system files and updated applications are modified on your system.
You may want to consider keeping your Lion backup and setting up the Mavericks backup on a new external hard drive.

I upgraded my imac hard drive to a 2tb drive. how do i use time machine to get my computer back to normal?

i upgraded my imac hard drive to a 2tb drive. how do i use time machine to get my computer back to normal?

Thank you. I followed the faq#14 (using setup wizard from the osx install disk). Everything went just as planned until I woke up this morning and noticed there was no progress on the "transferring documents" meter. It stopped about 1/4 of the way. I can hear the computer working and the bar is somewhat animated like it is advancing but it's not.
Should I cancel and restart or should I wait it out? It already been about 13 hours since I started the process. Do you think it is my time machine or my iMac? Maybe the time machine file is corrupt or something.
Anyway, any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Re Time Machine I have an external hard drive with files I backed up manually over the past 2 years 1TB of memory. I am finally taking the leap to use Time machine to back everything. will I have to reformat that drive, thus wiping my previous bac

Re Time Machine
I have an external hard drive with files I backed up manually over the past 2 years 1TB of memory.
I am finally taking the leap to use Time machine to back everything.
will I have to reformat that drive, thus wiping my previous back ups?
can I split it the drive in two partitions?
Also
as I have two separate Macbook Pro's- one older than the other.
OSX 10.68
the other is
OSX 10.75
can I back them up separately?
or even synch and merge files and folders etc? between the two?

You CAN use a drive with files already on it to store Time Machine backups. But long term, that is not recommended. You do not need to reformat or re-partition the drive to do this. Once Time Machine Backups are established, you could remove the old files.
But do not delete Time Machines files with the Finder -- that can cause it to lose its place and lose everything.
With the cost of backup drives under US$100, it might be a better idea in the long run to get another drive. Best results from Time Machine is a drive about 3 times larger than the drive(s) you are backing up.

Can i partition my internal disk on macbook prop for using time machine?

Hi
I have a macbook pro from 2010 running OS 10.6.8 and I want to upgrade to Yosemite. I want to back up first and I have never used Time Machine before so I have to set it up. Do I need to have an external hard drive or can I use the internal one and partition it? any help appreciated please....
thanks so much.

Yes you can, BUT DON'T! If your internal HDD fails, you backup will disappear with it. Backups should always be on a separate HDD. Look at this web site for excellent Time Machine information:
http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html
Ciao.

Using Time Machine on OSX 10.6.6

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