Using Time Machine to restore an *older* BackUp drive

Here's my situation - I have currently been backing up my 2 computers (A Macbook Pro and a Mac Pro tower) to two separate external bootable drives (not Time Machines). I then take the drives off site in case of theft or fire, and know that if I need to I can always restore from these bootable backups.
However, because of the time and effort of bringing them in from their offsite location, I only back up once every few weeks, sometimes a month or more. So I just purchased an internal drive (separate from my system drive) to use as a Time Machine drive, for both of my computers (only one partition). Since they will be backing up every day, I will retain much more recent material in case of drive failure.
My question is this - if I have a drive failure on my current internal system drive, and the internal Time Machine is intact, is it possible for me to take my external bootable backup (say 3 weeks older than Time Machine in how recently it was backed up), make a cone of that on a new internal system drive, and then use Time Machine to restore that drive to what is most current on Time Machine?
Does this question make sense? I'm essentially trying to use a combination of external bootable drives and Time Machine in order to have peace of mind, knowing that I will have a complete, bootable restore, but it will then be able to become as up to date as the last Time Machine backup.

Daniel Greeney wrote:
So I just purchased an internal drive (separate from my system drive) to use as a Time Machine drive, for both of my computers (only one partition). Since they will be backing up every day, I will retain much more recent material in case of drive failure.
Let Time Machine back up every hour, as it's designed. That will protect you best.
My question is this - if I have a drive failure on my current internal system drive, and the internal Time Machine is intact, is it possible for me to take my external bootable backup (say 3 weeks older than Time Machine in how recently it was backed up), make a cone of that on a new internal system drive, and then use Time Machine to restore that drive to what is most current on Time Machine?
Does this question make sense?
The question makes sense until you realize that Time Machine backups contain everything you need (unless you do something silly, like exclude your system files).
Once the new drive is installed and formatted, you can restore your entire system from the TM backups faster than you can copy the clone to the new internal HD. See #14 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum. Note that you use the Snow Leopard Install disc only for the Installer on it; you don't install OSX from it.

Similar Messages

  • Using Time Machine to restore to new hard drive missing recent backups

    On Mac Book Pro 2009 with OS X 10.5.8.
    I have been backing up to Time Machine on an external drive since 2009. A few month ago I upgrade to OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
    Trying to install a new hard drive and restoring from Time Machine. Just before installing the hard drive I again backed up to Time Machine.
    Trying to restore from Time Machine.
    Note: this link shows the screen I am on. It isn't from my computer. Just showing for display purpose.
    http://www.imore.com/sites/imore.com/files/styles/xlarge/public/field/image/2014 /03/time_machine_select_backup.jpg?itok=G2WbV0Vu
    "Select a backup. Select the Time Machine backup you want to restore. Only complete backups of Mac OS X appear in the list"
    The problem is, the most recent "complete" restore point in the list is August 2011 (OS X 10.5.8). How can that be? Over the years I have checked Time Machine and I have back ups way past 2011.
    What should I do?
    Thanks

    Daniel Greeney wrote:
    So I just purchased an internal drive (separate from my system drive) to use as a Time Machine drive, for both of my computers (only one partition). Since they will be backing up every day, I will retain much more recent material in case of drive failure.
    Let Time Machine back up every hour, as it's designed. That will protect you best.
    My question is this - if I have a drive failure on my current internal system drive, and the internal Time Machine is intact, is it possible for me to take my external bootable backup (say 3 weeks older than Time Machine in how recently it was backed up), make a cone of that on a new internal system drive, and then use Time Machine to restore that drive to what is most current on Time Machine?
    Does this question make sense?
    The question makes sense until you realize that Time Machine backups contain everything you need (unless you do something silly, like exclude your system files).
    Once the new drive is installed and formatted, you can restore your entire system from the TM backups faster than you can copy the clone to the new internal HD. See #14 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum. Note that you use the Snow Leopard Install disc only for the Installer on it; you don't install OSX from it.

  • I tried to install a new hard drive using Snow Leopard to back up with Time Machine. When I installed the new HD I installed Leopard (10.5) on it and tried to use time machine to restore the backup I had made using 10.6. Kernel panic screen occurred.

    I backed up my system using 10.6 Snow Leopard's Time Machine to an external hard drive. I did this because I purchased a new internal hard drive to upgrade my 2007 White Macbook from 80GB to 320GB. When I installed the new hard drive, I installed 10.4 (Tiger) and then 10.5 (Leopard) and once Leopard was in I tried to use Time Machine to restore my backup from 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and received a kernal panic screen directly after the bootup.
    The screen had code asking for 10.6, so does this mean that the computer is searching for Snow Leopard? If so, how can I do this? Will a bootable drive with Snow Leopard on it be able to solve the issue or will I somehow need to find a way to wipe out this new hard drive?
    -Steve

    Booting From Snow Leopard Installer Disc
    1. Insert Snow Leopard Installer Disc into the optical drive.
    2. Restart the computer.
    3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
    4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
    5. Wait for installer to finish loading.
    Drive Preparation and Installation
    1. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button.  When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
    2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area.  If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing.  SMART info will not be reported  on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
    4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
    5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
    6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
    7. After formatting is complete quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.

  • Is it possible to reinstall Mac OS X Lion on MacBook and then use Time Machine to restore to the previous backup I made before reinstalling Mac OS X Lion?

    Is it possible to reinstall Mac OS X Lion on MacBook and then use Time Machine to restore to the previous backup I made before reinstalling Mac OS X Lion?

    My MacBook was not normally booting up. It would turn on, make the Apple startup noise, and the bottom loading bar would progress just a little bit, then my MacBook would shut down. I tried rebooting it many times and the same thing would happen, it would just shut down. Then, I read that I can reset the PRAM (by holding Option+Command+P+R after the Apple startup noise comes). That worked, but now I get a screen that asks me to choose one of the 4 options (see:  http://images.macworld.com/images/article/2012/07/lionrecoveryutilities-289404.j pg). I choose Restore From Time Machine Backup, but it progresses to 17.6% and gets stuck there forever. I tried doing it again, and it got stuck at 17.6% again. That is why I am asking if I should just reinstall Lion, then restore a previous backup on the fresh new Lion?

  • I have a powerbook G4 with macosx10.5.8 (as far as I know the latest possible OS with powerPC). Can I use Time Machine to restore my data on an Intel Macbook?

    I have a powerbook G4 with macosx10.5.8 (as far as I know the latest possible OS with powerPC). Can I use Time Machine to restore my data on an Intel Macbook?

    Well the newer TimeMachine model as stated in current Support pages isn't directly compatible on OS X 10.5 now, as noted in above link provided.
    What OS X does your newer MacBook have running in it? (Not linux?)
    With the current setup you have there may be a way -among other details in the support page- to do the migration of data from Mac, including a subnote on Time Machine, in a section below the main article with triangle by it,  from links here:
    •OS X: How to migrate data from another Mac using Mavericks 10.9:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5872
    •OS X: How to migrate data from another Mac using Mountain Lion 10.8 and Earlier:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4889
    In the support articles there are various troubleshooting and help items about the technology, some data back some time and whatever still stands would be there. Some archives are no longer current and say so.
    Perhaps someoone still using older PPC Macs and Leopard 10.5, will say how to backup into a G4 PowerBook, from a Time Machine.
    Unless the TimeMachine backup from the older PPC G4 PowerBook is used in the migration process of transferring personal account files from there to a new MacBook running (?) OS X. This probably could be done. You may be able to access older libraries, such as iPhoto, iTunes, etc and import them from the archive, to a newer Intel-based MacBook.
    Sorry for any confusion.
    I'll more carefully reply in the future.
    Good luck & happy computing!
    PS: a different direction on archives, time machine, clones, and other devices:
    •About Time Machine - Time Machine vs. Clones and Archives:
    http://pondini.org/TM/Clones.html
    •Apple OS X and Time Machine Tips:
    http://pondini.org/TM/Home.html
    {edited to add link details}

  • Can I use Time Machine to restore iMac & recover A2 app & images as they we

    I have the "continuous processing" problem. I've tried most things. Disaster.
    Does anyone foresee any problem with rebooting from installation disc and using Time Machine to restore to the day before I upgraded to A3?
    What I'm hoping is that I shall then have my original A2 app. and its corresponding library of images.
    Advice appreciated BEFORE I try this. It seems intuitively a safe bet, but...

    It really depends on what you told TM to exclude from the backup. If you included everything then yes.
    If not you may have to manually remove A3 and reinstall A2. Also, you may lose other work you've done during that time like email, documents and stuff.
    You can selectively restore from TM and just get your library back. I did a selective restore when the logic board died in my iMac, but all my pictures were on external drives and unaffected by the loss.
    I'd make a separate back up of important files before doing any of this.
    DLS

  • Using Time Machine to Restore iTunes Library

    Has anyone had success using Time Machine to restore their iTunes library? When I try, I get a message saying that my library is "damaged".
    I have tried restoring the iTunes application in addition the iTunes folder in the users/Music folder. Same result. All of the music is there as well as the playlists; however, iTunes thinks it is damaged and creates a new, empty, library.
    I know it would be possible to build a new library from the music files but I do not want to have to rebuild the playlists as they are very, very extensive.
    Can anyone help? Please??

    I'm having the same problem! I moved from a 2007 20" iMac to a new 15" MacBook Pro, so I bought a new external HD, copied my Time Machine backups to the new HD, and tried to restore my iTunes library from TM to my new MBP. iTunes claims my library is damaged and creates a new library file. My 80 gigabytes of media are clearly there, but they will not show in iTunes and won't play in QuickTime either. Did you happen to get this issue resolved?? It's very stressful. I have essentially lost all the music I have collected over many years.

  • I used time machine to restore on a formatted MAC. Now the HDD space has reduced by 100GB but I cannot see any of the files. How do I find and delete those 100GB data from the HDD?

    I used time machine to restore on a formatted MAC. Now the HDD space has reduced by 100GB but I cannot see any of the files. How do I find and delete those 100GB data from the HDD?

    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.

  • Backing up to a thumb drive - time machine doesn't delete older backups when it's full. I will have to erase and re-do the drive. Why?

    Backing up to a thumb drive - time machine doesn't delete older backups when it's full. I will have to erase and re-do the drive. Why?

    You are both right.
    Time Machine can backup FROM:
    It cannot back up a USB thumb drive.
    Time  Machine can backup TO:
    •A USB thumb drive (but most aren't large enough, and are very, very slow)

  • I recently took my imac in for a recall on the hard drive, they replaced my hard drive, i used time machine to restore all my files. Now when I turn time machine on it says back up failed not enough space, it is not overwriting old back ups.

    I recently took my imac in for a recall on the hard drive, they replaced my hard drive, i used time machine to restore all my files. Now when I turn time machine on it says back up failed not enough space, it is not overwriting old back ups. Why? Please help

    http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

  • Use Time Machine to restore my iTunes library ?

    I installed this plug-in into iTunes which is supposed to organize your music collection by filling in the dates, genre and any missing album artwork, but I was not satisfied with the results. I uninstalled the plug-in, but now I was wondering if I could use Time Machine to restore my iTunes library back to the way it was before running the plugin. I tried using Time Machine to revert my music library in my Home folder, but that did not seem to restore the data back to the way it was. Perhaps there is another folder in which iTunes stores information that I need to revert? The plug-in's documentation offered no assistance in this matter.

    I was thinking I might wipe my macbook then reinstall it from the disks in my Macbook box.
    Yes, you can retore your iTunes Library using Time Machine but since you are running Lion you need to use Lion Recovery to reinstall the Mac OS X, not the install discs that came with your Mac.
    Not enough free space on the startup disk can slow the system down.
    Right or control click the MacintoshHD icon. Click Get Info. In the Get Info window you will see Capacity and Available. Make sure there's a minimum of 15% free disk space.
    Freeing Up Hard Disk Space - Mac Guides

  • Can you restore a slideshow in iPhoto using Time Machine without restoring the entire iPhoto library?

    Can you restore a slideshow in iPhoto using Time Machine without restoring the entire iPhoto library?

    Afraid not.
    Regards
    TD

  • I got a macbook pro 2008 and can not back up using time machine. it eject my external hard drive everytime. does someone has a fix???

    i got a macbook pro 2008 and can not back up using time machine. it eject my external hard drive everytime. does anybody has a fix???

    Does your external hard drive have it's own power supply?  It should.
    Is your external hard drive formatted with the NTFS file system?  It won't work.
    It needs to be formatted either with Mac OS Extended or FAT32.
    (There are drivers available to add NTFS support to OS X but their quality is unknown, especially the "free" ones.)

  • When using Time Machine to back up to external drive, does Time Machine back up content in your Trash folder?

    When using Time Machine to back up to external drive, does Time Machine back up content in your Trash folder?

    Go to System Preferences (under the Apple menu) > Time Machine and click the Options button. Click the "+" button in the lower left. In the resulting dialog, check the Show invisible items checkbox. Go to your home folder and look for Trash. Click the Exclude button in the lower right.

  • Used Time Machine to Restore system but now wont recognise original backups

    Hello Everyone,
    I've had a read through some of the older posts, but I wasn't able to find a answer for my issue.
    I've recently restored my system using a Time Machine backup - Everything works wonderfully now, except for Time Machine itself, which is now refusing to use/display my original backups.
    I have selected the correct disk, but rather than using the backups on it, it creates a new folder in the Backups.backupdb folder called 'Peter's iMac 2'. I have deleted this new folder several times already.
    My actual backups are stored in the 'Peter's iMac' folder.
    I can browse my backups using the 'Browse Other time Machine Disks' function, but it does not seem to want to use them as my primary backups.
    I do not have the room to hold both my old backups, and a separate new backup.
    Does anyone have any idea how I can force/trick/entice Time Machine to accept my old backups?
    Thanks everyone.

    aussie,
    *_Time Machine Always Performs a Full Backup After a Full Restore_*
    Actually, this is normal. It's not that any of your hardware has changed, it's that you reinstalled the operating system again. Consider the following according to the KB article below:
    *Full Backup After Restore*
    Bear in mind that in all cases Time Machine will perform a full backup after a full restore. This is normal. Time Machine will resume incremental backups after the full backup has completed. To view previous backups, Control-click or right-click the Time Machine icon in your Dock or Option-click the Time Machine menu extra and Choose "Browse Other Time Machine Disks," then select your previous backup volume. You will enter Time Machine and be able to browse your previous back ups and restore files. [http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1338]
    So even on unchanged hardware, if you reinstall your system software and restore your user data, Time Machine starts anew, and you will not be able to resume backing up with the same history as the previous backups.
    While there may be ways to fool/hack Time Machine into recognizing previous backups without performing another full backup, they are likely rather elaborate.
    Ultimately, though, in a couple of months, all the effort to preserve old backups may seem pointless. After all, Time Machine will eventually purge away that data anyways as it replaces it with new files.
    It may simply be easier to begin a fresh series of backups while saving the previous backups until your satisfied that you have enough history built up. Then delete the old backups.
    Hope this clarifies some things.
    Cheers!

Maybe you are looking for