Viewing Time Machine Backups of other computers

I recently got a new computer and the started with a fresh install. I am slowly copying files back over as I need them. I set up time machine for the new machine to the same disk. Now however I can't see the backup of the old disks through time machine. Is there a setting somewhere to do this or is there a way to see the old machines back ups?

chaseholden wrote:
It seems to me that Time Machine used to display an option to "Browse other Time Machine backups."
[snip]
In Time Machine (or somewhere) it used to say "Browse other Time machine Backups."
I cannot seem to find that option any longer?
If you have TM in the menu bar or the Dock, hold down the option key as you choose the TM menu or the TM icon in the Dock.

Similar Messages

Can't view time machine backups from old computer on new computer

My macbook pro laptop recently died and I am trying to access its time machine backup data through Finder on a different computer. In each one of my folders from different dates, however, the majority of the computer folders I would like to access (i.e. desktop, documents, dropbox, etc) have a little red "no" sign in the corner and prompt the following message when selected:
"The folder “FolderName” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents"
How can I gain permission to see its contents? As the former user, I know whatever passwords are restricting these files, but I don't know how/where to go to give permission to these folders. I've tried going into Disk Utility and changing the permissions there, but to no avail, despite successful changing of the "Sharing & Permissions" to "Read & Write" for all listed accounts.
I'm currently trying to view this on an imac OSX 10.6.8. The dead MacBook pro ran OSX
thanks
kate

Hi Kate,
It sounds like you're running into an issue trying to recover that was on your previous Mac from a Time Machine backup. The article linked below will walk you through the process of recovering the data from your older Mac's Time Machine backup.
OS X: How to migrate data from another Mac using Mountain Lion and earlier
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4889
Time Machine or other disk migration
If Migration Assistant isn't running on the target (new) Mac, open Migration Assistant (located in /Applications/Utilities/), select "From another Mac, PC, Time Machine backup, or other disk" then click Continue.
Connect your external hard drive if necessary.
Type in your admin password when prompted and click OK.
When the target Mac asks you for a migration method, select "From a Time Machine backup or other disk", then click Continue.
Select the Drive, Time Machine backup, or Time Capsule. If you select Time Capsule you will be prompted to enter the Time Capsule password. After entering the password, select the Time Machine backup.
Close all other applications on the source Mac, then click Continue to start the migration options.
The source Mac will ask you to select items to migrate.
You can customize your selection by clicking to open the disclosure triangles.
After you click Continue, the Migration Assistant will begin to transfer files to the target Mac. The amount of time that it takes for migration to complete depends on the amount of data being transferred and the speed of the network.
Note: To view documents that were migrated, choose Log Out from the Apple () menu, then login as the migrated user. The migrated documents will be located in the migrated user's home folder.
I hope this helps.
-Jason

HT201250 How do you browse other time machine backups of other drives?

It seems to me that Time Machine used to display an option to "Browse other Time Machine backups."
For example, my iMac has its Time Machine external drives attached to it.
Both my iMac and my MacBook Pro back up to it, though my MacBook Pro does so wirelessly by connecting thru the iMac.
So how can I browse thru the backup of the MacBook Pro from my iMac, since the backup is actually located on the iMac's attached drive.
In Time Machine (or somewhere) it used to say "Browse other Time machine Backups."
I cannot seem to find that option any longer?

chaseholden wrote:
It seems to me that Time Machine used to display an option to "Browse other Time Machine backups."
[snip]
In Time Machine (or somewhere) it used to say "Browse other Time machine Backups."
I cannot seem to find that option any longer?
If you have TM in the menu bar or the Dock, hold down the option key as you choose the TM menu or the TM icon in the Dock.

HT201250 Accessing Time Machine backups from other machines

I am using Time Machine to back up my iMac to Time capsule. The iMac will then be going to work with my husband and we would like to access the music and picture files with our two MBPs. Is this possible? I would be happy to only back up the iPhoto and iTunes libraries but that doesn't seem to work. Any advice on that?

It would be extremely inconvenient. You can Browse Other Time Machine backups, find the photos or music files on the backup, then restore them to your MBPs. Not very easy or convenient.
It would be better to transfer both Libraries to an external drive connected to the network, then set those up as your Music and Photo Libraries. Some network drives also offer iTunes and iPhoto sharing such that you can put the libraries on that network drive and access them from your MBPs. They will be shared out just like they were from the iMac.

HT201250 Viewing time machine backups

I cannot access my earliest backups on time machine, it only seems to only allow me access to backups within the past year, how do I view earlier backups?.

Time Machine doesn't keep backups indefinitely. As you run out of room on your Time Machine hard drive it deletes the oldest backups to make room.

Trying to use Migration Assistant to restore from Time Machine backup but it keeps "Looking for other computers..."

Hi!
I just bought a new MacBook Pro 15" and I wanted to transfer my old files from a previous Time Machine backup done with my old MacBook Pro 15".
Both computers have Mac OS X 10.8.2 (Mountain Lion) installed.
I always used Migration Assistant without any problem to accomplish this task, but now I don't know why it's stuck on a screen displaying "Looking for other computers...". What? What computer? I'm trying to restore from a Time Machine backup on an external hard drive, so I don't understand what computer it is looking for.
Do you have any idea to solve the problem?
Thanks!

At the screen in Migration Assistant titled "Select a Migration Method," select From a Time Machine backup or other disk.
How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from another Mac

HT201250 I have two external hard drives. One is my Time Machine backup drive. The other I use for external storage of files (documents, photos, movies, etc). Can I set Time Machine to backup BOTH my Mac hard drive and my other external hard drive?

I have two external hard drives. One is my Time Machine backup drive. The other I use for external storage of files (documents, photos, movies, etc). Can I set Time Machine to backup BOTH my Mac hard drive and my other external hard drive?

Yes you can make multiple backups on one hard drive, for example if you’ve 1TB hard drive installed in your PC and you’ve two Mac Machines with 500GB drive each then you just make two backup images with size of 500GB each.
http://www.halfspot.com/use-your-pc-hard-drive-for-time-machine-backup/

Time machine backup after HD crashed

Hi, my HD on my MacBook crashed and i had it replaced which is fine, the OS (10.5) was reloaded as well. My question is what is the best way to restore from Time Machine to my previous system.
Before the HD crashed certain programs (word, safari and handbrake mainly) were causing major spikes in Processes and causing the fans to spin at over 6000rpm. I was concerened that this may be caused by corrupt system files, preference files or caches. I ask because if corrupt files were the problem, will restoring from Time Machine re install these corrupt files and again cause problems?
What would be the best way to restore from Time Machine in this case?
Any help would be great!

Ok, however i cant access the thread link that you posted? it says i dont have rights to access the thread? no idea why. Is there another link to the page at all?
Sorry, I forgot you might not be able to access it.
Just to clarify do you mean to archive and install from the Time Machine drive? That is where i am confused because the OS was erased an installed the apple store so its all new now?
Ahhh, you never explained that clearly earlier. All this time I thought you hadn't done anything yet to the system. So you already have the Mac OS re-installed, you just don't have your user data yet?
Then in that case forget the Archive & Install. You need to now use Migration Assistant to move your User data over form the Time Machine backup. Have you already launch the Mac OS and created an new account, or have you NOT started the Mac yet? It makes a difference what you do below.
*Using Time Machine Before Initial Launch of New Mac*
Before starting the new Mac for the first time, attach the hard disk that contains the Time Machine backups from the old Mac. (For Time Capsule/AirDisk users: If you will be attempting this wirelessly, ensure that you are in range of your Airport wireless device. Alternatively, for faster migration of large quantities of data, connect your Mac via ethernet to your wireless device.)
Procedure:
Startup the new Mac and begin the setup process. You will initially see the video introduction.
At “Welcome” select your country and then preferred keyboard.
At “Do You Already Own a Mac?” you are asked “Would you like to transfer your information?”
+from another Mac+
+from another volume on this Mac+
+from a Time Machine backup+
+Do not transfer my information now+
Select “from a Time Machine backup” and click “Continue”.
At “Select a Backup Volume” choose your Time Machine backup disk and click “Continue”. (If you are attempting the migration wirelessly, then click “Join...” and select your network first.)
At “Transfer Your Information” check all the categories you wish to migrate over. If you wish your Mac to be in the same state as your last backup, then check everything. If, however, you are only interested in transferring one user account, then click the little disclosure triangle next to "Users". A list of all the previous users will appear. Just uncheck the user accounts you do NOT wish to migrate over. In other words, have only the desired account checked.
Give the installer time to calculate sizes.
Once that is complete, the “Transfer” button will become active and you can click it.
After the migration, verify the registration information, click “Connect” and you are done.
Once the migration is complete use Disk Utility to repair any permissions issues.
*Using Time Machine After Initial Launch of New Mac*
If you happened to initially set up the new Mac using a different username than the username on the account you wish to migrate, then skip to “Attach the hard disk containing...”.
If, on the other hand, it is the same username as the account you wish to migrate over, then do the following:
Go to System Preferences --> Accounts.
You may need to unlock the lock in the lower left to make changes.
Below the pane on the left click "+" and create a brand new Administrator User account on the Mac with a completely unique name - not the name of your own User account.
Now logout of the account you are currently in and log back in using the new Admin account you just created.
Attach the hard disk containing the previous Macs' Time Machine backups to the new computer. (For Time Capsule/AirDisk users migration will be much faster if you connect your Mac directly to the router via ethernet. [See “Wirelessly or Directly Connected” above])
Now go to Applications --> Utilities --> and launch Migration Assistant.
At the welcome dialogue click "Continue." You may be required to enter your Admin password.
For Migration Method chose "From a Time Machine backup or other disk". (Do not choose…
"Full System Restore" unless it is exactly the same Mac you are restoring to.)
At “Select the System to Transfer” choose the hard disk containing the previous Time Machine backups and click “Continue”. Give Migration Assistant some time as it connects to the drive and scans the disk for eligible data to migrate.
At “Select User Accounts to Transfer” put a check beside each account you would like migrate over to the new Mac.
At “Select the Items to Transfer” you can choose to migrate “Applications” over. If an application already resides on your new Mac, only the newest version will be transferred. Additionally, other “Files and Folders” that resided at the top level of your old Mac can be transferred at this point as well. Files from the “Library” folder of your old Mac will always be transferred over unless you uncheck the other two options.
Click “Continue”.
At “Select Computer Settings to Transfer” choose which settings you would prefer transferring to the new Mac. If you want a completely fresh system to start with, then do not check any of these options. This can be helpful if your previous system was experiencing issues.
Click “Transfer”.
If you have already created a User Account on the new Mac and it happens to be named the same as the User Account that is being migrated then Migration Assistant will report,
+"There is an existing user account with the same name as an account you are transferring."+
At that point, you will be able to choose one of the following:
+• Rename the user account you are transferring+
+• Replace the existing user account with the one you're transferring+
+• Do not transfer this user account+
If you wish the new Mac environment to be exactly the same as your old Mac, then avoid selecting “Rename the user account...”. Rather, select “Replace the existing user account...”. It will not be deleted but saved in a new folder labeled “Deleted Users” found in the main Users folder. Click “Next”.
At this point the transfer will begin with a bar displaying the progress. Once completed click “Quit”.
*Full Backup After Migration to New Mac*
Bear in mind that in all cases Time Machine will not continue to backup the previous Macs’ backup sets but will perform a new full backup. 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 the previous Mac’s backup set. You will enter Time Machine and be able to browse your previous back ups and restore files. (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1338)
Let us know if this was helpful.
Cheers!
Message was edited by: Glenn Carter

Can Time Machine backup to external HD on Tiger?

I have a Tiger server that I use for mail/web... I also have a couple of external HD attached to my Leopard Mac that I use for time machine backups for several computers in my house. I would like to move these external drives to my server (running Tiger server) and continue to use TM for backups.
Is there any way to get TM to backup to drives mounted on a Tiger Server?
Thanks
RPR

Does not work. I tried moving the drive with a TM backup already on it (already configured as a backup drive). I then mounted it on the machine to do the backup but it was not available to select as a time machine backup.

Time Machine backup to remote shared external HD

I've read through a lot of posts about this and I'm stuck.
I have a MacBookPro and a Mac Air.
Both are on the same WiFi network.
The MacBookPro has a firewire drive attached.
The MacBookPro has File Sharing on and a "TimeMachine" partition on the external FW drive is "shared".
From the Air I can "Connect As" a standard user account on the MacBook Pro.
I can "Mount" the "TimeMachine" partition on the Air
Problem: When I use System Preferences...TimeMachine and search for a drive to use for backup it does not see the mounted remote partition.
Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated!
-- Randy

It might help to backup and tell you what I'm trying to accomplish, overall.
I am trying to use Time Machine backup for two computers on a large external FW drive. The FW drive will be connected to my MBP and the Air will use the WiFi shared connection. Earlier you answered another question of mine about merging Time Machine backups and I realized that the best approach is to start fresh with a new external HD that I can reformat, etc.
I use SuperDuper and Drive Genius as my HD tools.
So, I'm able to take my new LaCie drive and partition/format it anyway that will work best with Time Machine.
I'd like to attempt to use my Time Machine backup from this last month (on "TimeMachineBackup") by moving it to the "TimeMachine1" partition and then have the two machine send both of their backups to that drive.
My steps this morning were aimed at verifying that WiFi Time Machine backup works, but, maybe with your guidance and suggestions I can just move directly to a suggested configuration.
Thanks for your help. It is appreciated.
-- Randy

Password protect Time Machine backups

Hello,
I share a LaCie external HDD for Time Machine backups with other people (who also use the drive to back up).
Inside the 'Backups.backupdb' folder, there are folders from the people who back up. Everyone can open all of them - without needing any passwords. I'd like it so that each owner has access to their files, but still have Time Machine backups without any problems or whatever.
When choose 'Get Info' of my folder, and look at the 'Sharing & Permissions' I see:
system - Read & Write,
staff - Read only, and
everyone - Read only.
Why is there no "myusername"? I don't know which one to change (and how).
How do I do this?
I've been looking around a little - I can't find anything that sounds like it'd help me.
Thanks in advance!

rudieih wrote:
Hey, sorry, I guess I wasn't clear.
The drive is used by several MacBooks, each with only one user installed on it (no Guest accounts, nothing else). So each backup file in Backups.backupdb is only for one user/machine.
that doesn't matter. the fact that there is only one account doesn't mean that there could not be more accounts. the permissions for this folder are still set for the whole computer.
I'd like it so I can't see the backups of their computers and they can't see mine. How can I do this?
You can't. if you use the TM backup drive in this fashion there is no way to hide backup folders for different computers from each other. The only thing you can do if you are worried about this sort of thing is to turn on filevault on your account. then nobody but you will be able to see backups of your home directory (not the whole computer). Filefault stores your home directory inside an encrypted sparse bundle which can not be accessed without knowing the password to open it. However, Filevault is a very finicky software and it's extremely poorly integrated with Time machine. It only backs up your home directory once you log out and you won't be able to browse old backups of your home directory using TM interface.
Right now everyone can browse everything.

Can i restore from a time machine backup that is not the latest one?

I am trying to restore from a May 7th time machine backup. At that time my username was michaelhood. I had a system crash and when my computer was returned to me I inadvertently set it up under a different username, thinking I would do the restore later. Between May 13 and today, Time machine did backups under the name mhoo4494. Changing the name didn't let me access my May 7 backup, nor did creating a different user account. I have erased the hard drive and am reinstalling from the Install CD. I have set up a third user name. I now want to restore my data from the Time Machine May 7 backup. How do I do that? Migration assistant saw two users -- mhoo and mhoo4494 (michaelhood was not an option). I selected them both, but got no data for either -- no docs, no music, no pictures. This procedure should not be this hard~!!

Hi uclamikey90,
It is possible, using Migration Assistant, to restore the contents of your hard drive selectively. See this article -
Mac OS X v10.6: How to use Migration Assistant to transfer files from a Time Machine backup - Apple Support
In particular -
To migrate data from a Time Machine backup
In Finder, press Command-Shift-U.
Double-click Migration Assistant.
Click "Continue" and enter an administrator name and password when prompted.
Select the "From a Time Machine backup or other disk" option, then click "Continue".
Select your Time Machine backup disk or Time Capsule (enter the user name and or password if prompted), then click "Continue".
Select the Time Machine backup you would like to restore (such the most current one you just made), then click "Continue".
Select Items to Migrate, then click "Continue". Note: The "Continue" button will be dimmed until the "Calculating…" stage is complete.
A user account sheet may appear if you have a user name on your Mac that is the same user name in your Time Machine backup. You will have to give the username in your Time Machine backup a new username to avoid conflicts. Note: This will create a new user account on your Mac to hold the data from the Time Machine backup. After migration, you can use the /Users/Shared folder to transfer data files the accounts.
Migration Assistant will begin the process of transferring the items you selected to migrate. When it is finished, click "Quit" to exit.
When you reach step 7, deselect items that you do not wish to migrate. Videos, photos and music are likely candidates for this as they take up a lot of disk space. You can later put items on an external hard drive.
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L

Time machine on two remote computers

I'm trying to set up Time Macine on two Macbooks, using one external hard drive. One is a work laptop and one is a personal laptop. They do not share the same network. How do I get access privileges for what's backed up on my work computer when I'm on my home computer? It won't even give me the opportunity to put in my password, it just says I do not have privileges. Help! Thank you!

Is it possible to have a hard drive connected to one computer physically backing up on Time Machine and have another computer wirelessly connect on the same network and have its own Time Machine backups on that hard drive?
Yes. I have an iMac with an external drive connected. The iMac is connected to the network via Ethernet. My wireless iBook connects to the network and uses the iMac's external drive as the destination for it's Time Machine backup.

How do I back up a Time Machine Backup

I recently had to reformat the external drive that I use for Time Machine's backup. In the course of doing so, I wiped out several months of TM backup.
What did I need to do to save TM's backup to, say. a CD, so that I might have restored it to its pre-reformat condition? Would it be sufficient to turn off TM, save out the external drive's Backups.backupdb folder, restore that folder to the reformatted drive, and then turn TM on again? Are there other files that need to be saved for this to work or anything else that needs to be done?

Peter Sims wrote:
I recently had to reformat the external drive that I use for Time Machine's backup. In the course of doing so, I wiped out several months of TM backup.
What did I need to do to save TM's backup to, say. a CD, so that I might have restored it to its pre-reformat condition? Would it be sufficient to turn off TM, save out the external drive's Backups.backupdb folder, restore that folder to the reformatted drive, and then turn TM on again? Are there other files that need to be saved for this to work or anything else that needs to be done?
SuperDuper allows a TM backup to be backed up.
v2.5 now available!
The latest version of SuperDuper! can store a bootable backup alongside Time Machine backups, copy Time Machine backups to other drives, run scheduled copies on demand, and polishes and improves many other aspects as well...
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

Time Machine with Two Separate Computers?

Is it possible to have a hard drive connected to one computer physically backing up on Time Machine and have another computer wirelessly connect on the same network and have its own Time Machine backups on that hard drive? Can the wireless computer be backed up out of the main network?

Is it possible to have a hard drive connected to one computer physically backing up on Time Machine and have another computer wirelessly connect on the same network and have its own Time Machine backups on that hard drive?
Yes. I have an iMac with an external drive connected. The iMac is connected to the network via Ethernet. My wireless iBook connects to the network and uses the iMac's external drive as the destination for it's Time Machine backup.

Viewing Time Machine Backups of other computers

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