What are three ways to view a time machine backup?

I know one would be to enter time machine by clicking on the icon in the menu bar, another would be to look at the phisical files on the backup disk, but I need a third way. Any ideas?
Thanks

There are a couple of Time Machine apps mentioned on Pondoni's TM page - http://www.pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html - see section A. I've used TimeTracker a number of times - it lives in my Utilities folder - quite nice and it's free.
Clinton

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Is there any way to create a time machine backup to an external hard drive with content already on it? I have a hard drive that i have used for pictures but when i try to run a backup it says i need to start from a blank drive. Can i get around it?

Is there any way to create a time machine backup to an external hard drive with content already on it? I have a hard drive that i have used for pictures but when i try to run a backup it says i need to start from a blank drive. Can i get around it?

It would be much better if you had separate drives for the pictures and Time Machine backups.....but, if you want to use the same drive for both purposes, temporarily move the folder with the pictures to another location for safe storage.
Run the Time Machine backup on the hard drive and verify that everything is working correctly. Time Machine will format the disk for you in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as part of the backup process.
Then move the folder with the pictures back to the hard drive with the Time Machine backups.
When you have tested to make sure that everything is working again, then and only then should you delete the folder with pictures from the temporary storage area.
Again....it would be much better to keep Time Machine backups on a drive just for that purpose, and other data on another drive for that purpose. This is clearly one of those times when the fact that you can do something does not mean to imply that you should do it.

HT201250 is there any way to retrieve deleted time machine backups?

is there any way to retrieve deleted time machine backups? it has now deleted the oldest, but most important backup. It was made right before before upgrading to mountain lion. Because I had some issues with placing the files back the way I wanted, I had to connect my hard drive to my mac several times. Result, everytime I did so, a backup was made. Like today, when I was transferring everything from that specific backup. But in the meantime Time Machine made a new backup, deleting the old one I was using. Ironically, I lost everything while I was transferring the files back to my mac. Please give me good news.

Once the external hard drive that you use for Time machine deleted its oldest backup and overwrote it, the ability to retrieve those files disappeared. They are gone for good.
Hope this helps

Correct way to restore from Time Machine backup - Lion clean install

I did a clean install of Lion, and am wondering — what's the correct way to restore files in my Home folder to my new installation?
For example, I simply dragged over my iTunes folder from the "Latest" Time Machine backup.
Perhaps instead I should restore from the backup differently? For example, open the ~/Music folder, then open Time Machine.app, and restore that folder through that?
I always thought that manually dragging the "Latest" backup from the disk should do the trick the same way? Or an important question is — can some files be somehow excluded?
I did everything through dragging, and haven't noticed problems... BUT, perhaps I should go back and re-do everything the "right" way if there is one?
(I purposefully avoided doing a Restore, as I didn't want any of the caches, Applications and Library items restored — wanted to start fresh.)

For convenience mostly. I use the Terminal a lot so I have lots of "dot files" that are at the root of my home directory and hidden.
One problem is that many of those programs have data in Music, Photos, etc all organized by databases somewhere in ~/Library. You have to make sure to get them re-joined. It can be done. You just have to be careful with it. If you lose your iPhoto archive in the process, the first thing someone is going to ask is why didn't you use Migration Assistant.
Until recently, I performed all my major MacOS X upgrades using this manual procedure and, for me, the extra hassle was worth the cleanliness. I have lost a couple of software registration codes that I couldn't ever get back. C'est la vie. I would keep my old Library folder around for quite some time until I was sure I wouldn't need anything out of it. These days, I'm too busy and too lazy. I just use one of the automatic methods.

How many ways to restore from time machine backup

I inadvertantly reformated an external hard drive with my iPhoto library. I have it backed up with time machine but am having trouble getting to the backup from time machine while iphoto is open. Never shows any backups.
There is device called Time Machine Backups in Finder.From there I follow a path backups.backupdb/<computer name>/2012-06-02-222911/Pictures/Pictures/iPhoto Library which from the size and date modified looks like my iPhoto Library. Can I simply copy this file to my newly formatted drive to restore? Is there someplace that explains in greater detail than help what the meaning of the device "Time Machine Backups" and the contents are?

Have you looked through Pondini's extensive TM help site?
http://Pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
I can't imagine anything TMwise not covered.

Is there a way to copy a time machine backup to a second drive?

I'm in a foreign country and someone wants to buy my laptop, for a price where I can upgrade to the newest model, and have some $$ left over. I have an external drive at home with a time machine backup I did right before I left, but that's it. What if I have someone at home buy a new drive? If they copy all the data on my existing backup drive, will the time machine backups copy and be useable to set up a new laptop? If not, could they use the disk utility on another mac to duplicate my current time machine backup, and would that second mac need to be running 10.5 Leopard? Would also appreciate any advice about how to create another back up using dvd's. I probably can't get another external drive to make another backup to bring with me. I have internet so I can send the latest data from my trip to my idisk. My goal is to have two, independent backups, so if something happens to one, I can still set up a new machine. Also, how can I securely erase my data and programs? Thanks!

SeannX wrote:
If not, could they use the disk utility on another mac to duplicate my current time machine backup, and would that second mac need to be running 10.5 Leopard?
Yes, but only if it's done using the procedure in item #18 of the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum, or SuperDuper!. Otherwise they won't be copied properly and won't work.
Would also appreciate any advice about how to create another back up using dvd's. I probably can't get another external drive to make another backup to bring with me.
If you have much data, DVDs aren't going to work well. But if the main things in your home folder aren't too large, just copy them to DVDs. If there's more than will fit a single DVD, divide it up so you can put, say, documents on one and photos on another.
Can you get a portable external? They tend not to be lighting fast, but for your purposes, might be sufficient.

I had to reinstall Lion because my computer was non responsive. Now all my stuff (applications, etc) are gone. I have a time machine backup - does that have my applications and if so how do I get them from the backup to my computer? It is power mac 2 x2.8

It is power mac 2 x2.8 GHz Quad core intel xeon running 10.7.3 - purchased in 2006
Or how can I transfer the appliucations form my laptop?

Ok. I have 2 hard drives and one of them died apparently so..not knowing what to do, I did chose reinstall Lion after command r open start-up. The whole thing is a mess but my computer is back up and running with the second hard drive. I had a time machine backup which I've been dragging stuff out of. i had to re enter serial numbers and do all sorts of initial set up stuff. 1) How do I get all of my icons (like my HD icon and external drives icons) to appear on my desktop again? I can only find them through a finder window. 2) i now have to type a password to get into my computer (user) - I 'm the only user and don't want to have to do that.

Are files in "Latest" folder in Time Machine backup full versions

I need to transfer several gigabytes of files from a Time Machine Backup of an older iMac to a new Mac Mini. Can I just connect the external drive with the Time Machine backup on it to the Mac Mini, open the Backups.backupdb folder and copy all of the files in the "Latest" backup? Will these be full versions of the files? I spoke with a couple of Apple Support techs and one said that all of the backups were "threaded" together, thus my concern about getting full versions when I just drag and drop from the Backups.backupdb folder rather than going through Time Machine or Migration Assistant. The other tech said yes, the files in the "Latest" folder in the Backups.backupdb would be full versions, but I'm still not convinced.
Would prefer not to go the Migration Assistant or "restoring" through Time Machine. In some of my tests I wasn't comfortable with the way it worked.
Has anybody done this before - copying files directly from the Backups.backupdb folder rather than "restoring" through Time Machine?
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I need to transfer several gigabytes of files from a Time Machine Backup of an older iMac to a new Mac Mini. Can I just connect the external drive with the Time Machine backup on it to the Mac Mini, open the Backups.backupdb folder and copy all of the files in the "Latest" backup? Will these be full versions of the files? I spoke with a couple of Apple Support techs and one said that all of the backups were "threaded" together, thus my concern about getting full versions when I just drag and drop from the Backups.backupdb folder rather than going through Time Machine or Migration Assistant. The other tech said yes, the files in the "Latest" folder in the Backups.backupdb would be full versions, but I'm still not convinced.
Would prefer not to go the Migration Assistant or "restoring" through Time Machine. In some of my tests I wasn't comfortable with the way it worked.
Has anybody done this before - copying files directly from the Backups.backupdb folder rather than "restoring" through Time Machine?
--Newsads

What are the ways to view the cover art within a ePub?

Can any one tell me if there is any other way to view the cover art within a epub, then flipping to landscape and navergating to the contence page?

Txn SPRO
IMG --> Enterprise structure --> Definition --> Human Resources Mgmt --> Personnel Subareas --> Copy, delete, check personnel subarea
Button "Structure", then "Navigation", check next screen.
You'll get all Personnel Subareas
Then, menu "Edit - Display all objects" and choose "Company Code"
Choose your company code... you'll get a screen with Company Codes with Personnel Area and Personnel Subarea
Regards.

What are best external drives for Leopard Time Machine?

Would appreciate advice. I'm getting a MBPro with Leopard. I notice a discussion says Maxtor is not formatted for Time Machine. Is there a list of external drives that are ready to go?
Many thanks, I'm not too swift at my age at this stuff.
Ralph

<pre>
Name : WD
Type : Disk
Partition Map Scheme : GUID Partition Table
Disk Identifier : disk2
Media Name : WD 5000AA External Media
Media Type : Generic
Connection Bus : FireWire
Connection ID : 40718544432098240
Device Tree : /PCI0@0/PCIB@1E/FRWR@3/node@90a94ce8a56bc0/sbp-2@c000/@0:0
Writable : Yes
Ejectable : Yes
Mac OS 9 Drivers Installed : No
Location : External
Total Capacity : 465.8 GB (500,107,862,016 Bytes)
S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
Disk Number : 2
Partition Number : 0
</pre>
and
<pre>
Type : Volume
Disk Identifier : disk2s2
Mount Point : /Volumes/G5iMacTimeMachineBackup
File System : Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Connection Bus : FireWire
Device Tree : /PCI0@0/PCIB@1E/FRWR@3/node@90a94ce8a56bc0/sbp-2@c000/@0:2
Writable : Yes
Universal Unique Identifier : 2BEBF1BD-2C4A-344A-A86F-B3B426205A66
Capacity : 465.4 GB (499,763,888,128 Bytes)
Free Space : 338.0 GB (362,963,013,632 Bytes)
Used : 127.4 GB (136,800,874,496 Bytes)
Number of Files : 1,380,202
Number of Folders : 152,237
Owners Enabled : Yes
Can Turn Owners Off : Yes
Can Repair Permissions : No
Can Be Verified : Yes
Can Be Repaired : Yes
Can Be Formatted : Yes
Bootable : Yes
Supports Journaling : Yes
Journaled : Yes
Disk Number : 2
Partition Number : 2
</pre>

What are the applications that work with time machine on lion?

I cannot use time machine on:
iCal
iPhoto
I am at a loss here. pretty sure before i could go into iphoto in the "past" and look at a picture i might have erase from before. not anymore, same with ical.

If it's iPhoto 9.1.5 it changed with Lion:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4754
Regards,
Colin R.

Best way to migrate using Time Machine backup

My wife has an '08 iMac. I think it originally had Leopard. Along the way I updated it to Snow Leopard and then Mountain Lion. It also has an external USB hdd and we've used Time Machine to backup to it since we've had it.
We just picked up a new iMac with Mavericks. It's still in the box. I'm under the impression that I can just power up the new one, start Migration Assistant, plug in the external drive, and it will copy all her stuff over from the latest TM backup.
Is that right? Is it that simple? Are there any known issues or gotchas?
I've searched and seen issues from people that turned out to be caused by anti-virus software. I'm assuming that out of the box that won't be an issue.
I also saw a reference to a TM "clone" backup. I don't know exactly what this is. Do I need one, or any other special TM backup, or should the default TM backup work?
I've also seen references to Setup Assistant being used to migrate data to a new iMac. Would I be better off using this or Migration Asst?
I saw a link that I thought would answer that, "Transferring data with Setup Assistant - Migration Assistant FAQ", but that just takes me to the top-level support page. I also saw a link to setup instructions from Pondini, but that requires me to log into iCloud, which my account can't do. I think my wife's can, so I'll try hers and check it in the morning.
Anything else I should know? Anything else I should tell you before you answer that?
Also, any idea how long this should take to migrate? Her internal drive shows 400G used.
Thanks for any advice.
-cb

Thanks very much for the response.
mende1 wrote:
As you are using an USB external drive and you probably want to transfer a lot of files (you say that the old internal drive shows 400 GB of used storage), it may take several hours. I do not recommend you to transfer everything or you may experience performance issues (if you had problems in the old iMac)
Can you elaborate on this? Do you mean we shouldn't restore apps, or something more fine-grained? We're mainly interested in her data (docs, music, photos, etc.).
Yes, the old one gives occassional WSODs, which was part of the motivation for the upgrade. I'm unclear on whether it's due to one or two specific apps. She always seems to have lots of apps open.
I have a follow-up question. I saw an Apple migration page that said after migration, if you don't plan to keep using the old iMac, then deauthorize it from iTMS and turn off "find my Mac" and sign out of iCloud. We are thinking of giving the old one to our 3-year old. Should I do the deauthorize, etc. or just create a new account for her, or does it not even matter?
Thank again.
-cb

Proper way to delete my time machine backups?

Hello everyone,
I am new here, but have used the communities to solve issues with my macs.
I have a question about Time Machine. I have a macbook pro that I have backed up with time machine for over two years now. It works fine.
I just bought an imac and want to use the disk I was backing up the macbook to backup the new imac instead. I have another disk I am going to use for the macbook. I do not have Time capsule. It is all cable connections.
So my questions are:
1- Can I move the TM files from the old disk to the new one? How do I do that so that TM will not complain that the old back is missing on the macbook?
2- Once I get that done, should I format the disk before I start using it with the imac?
Thanks!
M

So my questions are:
1- Can I move the TM files from the old disk to the new one? How do I do that so that TM will not complain that the old back is missing on the macbook?
The answer is yes, but it may not be a great idea.
The way TM works is fairly complex and corruption fairly easy.. unfortunately you tend not to know about it until you actually need the backup. It is a much better idea to archive the backup up to the present time. And start a fresh TM backup on the disk.
In my testing though, I did copy the sparsebundle from a TC to a NAS with TM ability. Then reset the TM to using the existing TM backup directory on the NAS, and it picked up and used the old sparsebundle and worked fine. To trust it, which you will note I don't readily do.. I would still do a restore to a different target disk. Try it yourself.. since you are playing around and you can easily use the disks you have. Try doing a restore of whole disk.. it is a great exercise in how long this takes.. obviously use a different target disk. Start it when you go to bed as it can take several hours.
The grand guru is pondini .. study his knowledge base of FAQ and troubleshooting until your eyes bleed.
http://pondini.org/TM/Home.html
On copying TM backups to another location.
http://pondini.org/TM/18.html
But note carefully his comments..
HDD are cheap btw.. just buy another and archive the existing one. In a year or two and you have never needed anything from it, and you have current backups.. then wipe and reuse it.. but I found keeping old hard disks from previous computers (or backups) as long term archives has got lost files back where nothing else worked.
2- Once I get that done, should I format the disk before I start using it with the imac?
Thanks!
M
Yes, I would always format before using.. issues on a disk will show up. But note the above if this is wiping your old backups.. think hard about the value of not just buying another drive.

What's the most recent opinion about Time Machine backups to Hard Drives connected to the USB port on the Airport Extreme Base Station (5th generation)?

I have been searching the Apple communities and Internet for a final answer. I just bought an Airport Extreme Base Station (5th generation) and LaCie d2 quadra 1TB external drive as a replacement for TWO failed Time Capsules, neither of which Apple would replace due to failed power supplies. I formatted the 1TB drive using Disk Utility (Mac OS extended (journaled)) from my MacBook Pro, and then plugged into the Airport Extreme Base Station USB port. The Airport Extreme Base Station see the Hard Drive, and my MacBook Pro sees the Hard Drive in my finder under shared resources. Time Machine, however, does not see the drive. Is there a solution for this problem? If Time Machine will not work, is there another software product out there that will work, like Carbon Copy. Having to plug the backup drive into the USB port of your laptop every evening kind of defeats the purpose of having a laptop. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Keeping in mind that this is not supported by Apple, I have been successful at doing the following:
1) Format the entire drive (1 Partition) as Mac Extended (Journaled). You must click in Options and set it as a GUID Partition Table (first option)
2) Plug drive via USB to AEBS
3) Using Airport Utility, use Manual Setup, then under Disks, select the new Disk and click File Sharing, then Enable File Sharing and Secured Shared Disks (recommended, of course). Other settings are up to you.
4) IMPORTANT: you will NOT see this Disk in Time Machine until you open Finder and double-click on it. You will not need to do this again (hopefully).
5) Now it should appear in Time Machine. Remember to exclude any large files like Virtual Machines, since they will be re-backed-up (is that a word?) every time it changes in any way.
6) Remember that the first backup (over WiFi) is the longest. Leave the computer alone during this period.
Good luck, and let us all know how it went for you!

Where are the actual files on the Time Machine backup hard drive?

If I take my time machine back up hard drive and hook it up to another computer, I cannot find my files. For instance, the files that would be in my home folder (pictures, music and movies).
When I open the finder window and go to my user folder, all I see are the folders, but they are aliases.
I get the message that the volume "documents" cannot be found.
So where are these files?
Thanks in advance.

I am not running leopard on the other computers, and so Time Machine is not available.
On the other computers, I need to have classic support, so I haven't installed Leopard, so that is not an option.
I just don't understand why these files do not show up on other computers. At some level, if I can't access the files on other computers, it nearly defeats the purpose of Time Machine.

What are three ways to view a time machine backup?

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