Will it work to recover from a Time machine data backed up under Snow Leopard?

Hello,
Mine a Mac Book Air that has 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and RAM: 2GB 1067 MHz DDR3.
I have time machine back up on an external HD.
Once I install the Lion os, would I be able to use the backed up data under Snow Leopard to an external HD if any eventualities on a later date? Data such as photos in Aperture library or folders with Mac version of Windows Office 2008.
[The time mechine backed up data was under Snow Leopard and my Mac Book Air now has the Lion OS]
I understand as soon as I upgraded to Lion I should create a new back up with time mechine but in case if that is not done......
I hope your understand What I mean..
Regards

What you propose should work. There could be problems with data for applications such as Mail where the application version and format of the data changed in Lion.

Similar Messages

Can I back up computer with time machine on lion then reinstall snow leopard and restore from backup safely

Can I back up computer with time machine on lion then reinstall snow leopard and restore from backup safely?

If your machine came with Snow Leopard or earlier and you have your install disks, yes, you can reinstall SL. However, you will need to erase the entire hard drive so you will lose all your files. Also note that there are some apps (such as Mail) which can't be downgraded "automatically" such as with a restore from Time Machine. Here is some info on TM:
http://pondini.org/TM/14.html

Time Machine Not Recognized After Clean Snow Leopard Install

I've searched for this particular question.
I was unhappy with Snow Leopard dragging. I wanted a clean install. I did not have the original snow leopard installation for my computer, so I got a different snow leopard DVD. This has apparently caused problems with time machine.
The clean install in complete. I am now ready to migrate my Time Machine backup onto my iMac24". However, Time Machine is not recognized--at least not in the way I want.
When I plug my time machine HD into the USB, snow leopard asks if I want to use this for future back-ups. I decline, because I specifically want to restore what has already been backed up. The HD is visible as an external device--and I can in fact see the raw data of my time machine backup stored in folders.
However, when I enter migration assistant, time machine is invisible. On the page where I am expecting to select time machine, I instead get a perpetually spinning circle icon.
I suspect time machine is "linked" to the prior snow leopard operating system, rather than to the computer ID. Obviously, this is a bit of a mistake on my part. However, I'm already into the breech and I've got no choice but to go forward.
Please advise how to redirect my time machine to its new master (same computer, different snow leopard registration)?
Thanks so very much.

Retail disk? Yes, it was the snow leopard CD.
I used a single license snow snow leopard CD install the first time around, when snow leopard was first released. At at that time I "upgraded" my system from leopard.
This time, I used a different physical disk with snow leopard with a family license. This time I did a "clean" install in which I first erased my hard drive using disk utilities.
There were no problems with the installation.
As I say, my time machine hard drive is "recognized" by the computer as an external drive. It just is not recognized when I utilize the migration assistant. It is also "recognized" as a time machine, but only as a potential time machine for prospective use to update going forward, whereas I want it to open up as a time machine for my iMac that I just wiped clean yesterday.
Thanks for your assistance.

IPhoto will not let me retrieve from a Time Machine copy

I am trying to retrieve an iPhoto file from a week ago.
One week ago I attempted to upgrade to Lion, then realized that was not what I wanted to do and rebooted from my clone to restore to Snow Leopard.
When I opened iPhoto however, I realized that the iPhoto library was way further back than I had remembered.
I used my Time Machine backup to get my old iPhoto library back (not to try to merge, just to retreive the file) and I get the error message: "This operation can't be completed because you don't have permission to access "iPhoto Library."
I already repaired permissions on the volume. What gives?

The problem is that I'm trying to retrieve it from the Time Machine and it wont even complete that action.
It starts the download... and then 2 gigs in.... if stops and the dialog pops up.
Do you mean to rebuild the library in the Time Machine level?
I didn't know that was possible and didn't want to try unless I knew for sure it would not screw things up.

Can I restore a time machine osx lion backup using snow leopard install DVD?

Hi.
I've been using osx lion but my hard drive died. Fortunately I have been making time machine backups. Since I downloaded lion from the app store I only have the snow leopard install disks.
I know there is an option to restore from a time machine backup using the snow leopard disk, but since the time machine backup is of a later operating system (lion) will that time machine restore work?
If it won't, can you recommend how to restore from my time machine backup?
Thanks.

Once the replacement hard drive is installed, boot from your original Snow Leopard Installation Disk. From there format the harddrive and install Snow Leopard and then download and install its Updates. Next, navigate to the Mac App Store and login using the Exact same Apple User ID that you did the first time you downloaded Lion. You will now be able to download and install the Lion OS for Free. Download and install the Lion Updates. Lastly, using Migration Assistant, migrate your Apps and Data from the Time Machine external hard drive to your internal Lion harddrive. This method should give you a very stable version of Lion on your internal harddrive complete with all your previous settings, Apps and Data.
Hope this helps

Gmail Offline and Time Machine on Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Hi
I am considering downloading my whole Gmail inbox (7GB) to use as Gmail Offline ...in Firefox, because it doesn't work with Safari - btw, any ideas when and if it will?
But my worry is how Time Machine is going to react to this - will it back up incrementally, or just make 7GB backups every time there's changes?
If I lose my laptop (or if someone steals it) will they be able to hack the Gmail Offline to reveal its contents?
Also, if I lose my external, Time Machine hard-drive, will someone be able to access my Gmail Offline without knowing my password?
Is it encrypted, or just a simple password?
Thanks!

Unobtrusive wrote:
But my worry is how Time Machine is going to react to this - will it back up incrementally, or just make 7GB backups every time there's changes?
That depends on how Gmail stores it's data. Some 3rd-party mail apps (such as Entourage and Thunderbird) keep everything in one big file or database. Those are backed-up in full anytime there's the smallest change. AppleMail keeps each message in a separate file, so only the ones that change are backed-up each time.
There are some workarounds. You can exclude the database from normal Time Machine backups, and write an Applescript or Automator workflow to copy the database periodically to a file that's included. Or put a separate partition on your Time Machine drive, and have it copy directly to that. You can run it manually, or use an iCal event to trigger it.
If I lose my laptop (or if someone steals it) will they be able to hack the Gmail Offline to reveal its contents?
Also, if I lose my external, Time Machine hard-drive, will someone be able to access my Gmail Offline without knowing my password?
Unless you encrypt them, yes. Most likely, though, anyone who steals either is going to resell it for the value of the hardware, not your emails.
Is it encrypted, or just a simple password?
Time Machine backups are not encrypted, and have the same password requirements as your Mac. The average thief won't be interested, and likely won't know much about Macs (and you can't read Time Machine backups with a PC).
But it's not difficult for someone with Mac expertise to get at either, unless they're encrypted.

Very sick Macbook Pro OS v 10.6.8 - initially running slow so I tried backing up to Time Machine and reloading the OS but the install disk failed. I was able to recover from the Time Machine back up but many applications are not working properly. Help!

I am also no longer able to back up using Time Machine (backups fail), can't access iPhoto (which was a problem before attempting to reload OS) and I suspect other apps are no longer working. The computer is however running faster in Safari and Mail...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

If there are any files you can transfer to a regular storage drive do that first and then disconenct all drives.
Hold c boot off the 10.6.8 disk and use Disk Utility to Erase with Zero option the hard drive, takes some time, let it complete as it's mapping off any bad or failing sectors.
Then install 10.6. log in and update to 10.6.8 (important!)
Now use Migration Assistant to transfer over just your user files, we need to rescue those first out of TimeMachine's EVIL clutches, once you've got that, transfer them to the regular storage drive and disconnect.
Note: if your 10.6 disk fails, call Apple for a replacement, you need the machine specific version, the 10.6.3 retial doesn't have iLife and only works for machines pre 10.6.3 release, not afterwards. Factory installed 10.6.4 machines and afterwards need machine specific disks.
Then either:
Log into the admin/first set up user on the machine and delete the Migrated user, then reboot and use Migration assistant again to TM everything this time
Or
Just install all your programs again from fresh sources.
If your TM drive is really hosed, then you'll need Data Rescue $99 to read the TM files directly and transfer the results to another regular storage drive (not the first one just in case), then pick through the debris and locate your files and transfer them to another drive.
I don't like TimeMachine, but for newbies it's better than nothing.
(I prefer cloning my entire OS X parititon instead, I can access it from any computer (Linux, Mac or PC) and I also can boot my Mac from it. I use Carbon Copy Cloner, but that's for later once your all better. )

Time machine and backward compatibility to Snow Leopard

Please bear with a long background explanation but I am not sure what is relevant. I have two Mac notebooks both backed up using Time machine to separate USB Hard drives. I upgraded to Lion on both machines but decided to revert to Snow Leopard on the MBAir (instability in one application that I use a lot). I backed up the MBA using time machine to the USB drive and did a second backup to the NAS. I then erased the MBA hard drive using Disk Utility and tried to reinstall Snow Leopard using the "MBA Software Reinstall Drive" (a USB flash drive). Following the instructions that came with the drive didn't work and neither did the (different) instructions in the user guide. I then tried using the Recovery drive on the MBA and Disk Utility to install SL. I did some thing wrong (but I am not sure what) and it told me I could not install SL to the same drive. Eventually I got the OS installed from the USB flash drive.
Perhaps foolishly I left the USB backup drive connected to the MBA during this process. When I had fininshed the OS installation I looked for the Backup drive and couldn't see it. I checked Disk Utility and it showed the drive but did not recognise the name of the partiton and said the partion was not mounted. It would not mount the drive and had no options to repair or verify disk. There was some other information but I did not make a note of it. I tried to read the drive on the MBP and it opened for about a mintue and I could see the files but then it disappeared from the MBA - same story. I tried to repair disk in Disk Utility but it said there was no problem with the disk.
This morning, I connected the drive to the MBP (NB running 10.7.2) again to see if I could see what the problem might be and the backup files were back and presumably accessible.
OH! I just reconnected the USB drive to the MBA (running 10.6.8) and got a message saying (the dialogue box has disappeared) something like: it could not read the disk because it was written in 10.7.2. I guess that is the explanation but where do I go from here? It is not at all helpful to do all the backups and then find they are not backward compatible.
Is there a way for me to get the MBA to access the Time machine backup via another computer? Or can I do use a different method to access the data?
NOPE. Its happened again. I just reconnected the Backup Drive to the MBP (running 10.7.2) and now I can't see the disk. Disk Utility shows the partiton as unmounted and once again it won't mount. This time there was a repair option and I clicked it and got the following error messages: "Disk Utility stopped repairing 'disk3'" (it seems to have given it this name) In the 'Details" it said
Invalid Volume Header @ 0: incorrect block type
Invalid Volume Header @ 999539297792: I/O error
disk3 is not a CoreStorage volume
Error: Storage system verify or repair failed.
I don't know if this is an OS problem or a disk problem or both. Any thoughts?

I would say disk problem.
If it were mine, I would reformat it and see if that corrects the problems.
If not, it is time to send it to recycle.
Allan

Missing Spaces and Time Machine dock icons (Tiger to Snow Leopard upgrade)

I noticed on my MacBook (Leopard to Snow Leopard upgrade) that it has icons for Spaces and Time Machine in the dock to the left of the divider. These are missing from the dock on my iMac that I upgraded from Tiger to Snow Leopard. They are both System Preferences with no option for adding to the dock in the Preferences and the Preference icon in "Show All" in System Preferences is not selectable. I located them in System/Library/PreferencesPane but dragging the preference pane file to the dock doesn't work. I did a Show Package Content but did not see anything in the folder that could be dragged like an application. I can put it on the right with the stacks but is there a way to add a Preference to the dock on the application side?

Time Machine is in your Applications folder and Spaces is in your Applications/Utilities folder. You can drag them to the dock from there.

Time Machine in Lion, restore in Snow Leopard

Does anyone know if I use Time Machine to backup my documents and applications within Lion, re-install Snow Leopard and its apps from the disks that came with my iMac whether Time Machine in Snow Leopard will be able to use the backup I made in Lion to restore my files? I am worried about backward compatibility and I have to "downgrade" back to Snow Leopard.
I am running a 27" screen iMac.

I had the same question ..... take a look at the discussion linked below... for a comprehensive explanation on the same.
~n~
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3225835?tstart=0

(Non-Time Machine) backup software recommendations for Snow Leopard

I have been a long time user of Retrospect Desktop backup software, up to and including version 6.1. It has saved my skin at least twice when I've had catastrophic hard drive failures. I've been using 6.1 successfully in Leopard, under Rosetta. However, as I prepare to upgrade to Snow Leopard, I discovered Retrospect 6.1 will incompatible. According to Roxio:
+Snow Leopard stores some files, including some applications and all files in the /System/ directory, in a compressed format. Retrospect can only restore files in their uncompressed format. This means that a complete OS restore will require an additional 4-5 GB of available storage space on the destination. When /System/ files are restored uncompressed, the Mac OS X may complain about certain files, such as fonts and kernel extensions, not being installed properly.+
Naturally I thought about upgrading to Retrospect 8, which is supposed to be compatible with Snow Leopard, until I read the disaster stories of bug-ridden unfinished Retrospect 8.0 software being released as golden master without a manual. These inexcusable problems persisted through 8.0 and 8.1. Version 8.2 is in beta and addresses restoring from previous version backups and PowerPC compatibility, but it remains to be seen if Roxio will salvage Retrospect and return it to a position of respectability. (Too bad EMC bought Dantz years ago.)
In any case, I'm now looking for other backup software. I need software that does incremental backups, can restore the system to a previous state existing at the time of a given previous (not necessarily most recent) backup, and supports user-defined rules for file inclusion/exclusion, as well as automated scripts. Automatic verification of the backup by comparing original files to the backed-up version (like in Retrospect) is nice, though probably unnecessary most of the time. Time Machine is nice but in my experience doesn't support some of these features and I'm not entirely comfortable relying on Time Machine alone because I've encountered some problems in the past where my backups were lost.
I'm considering Carbon Copy Cloner, but not sure it does true incremental backups and can restore the system to a state that existed at the time of a previous -- rather than most recent -- backup. Also considering Intego's Personal Backup and ProSoft's Data Backup 3.
I would love to hear any recommendations you might offer regarding these or any other backup software solutions.
Thanks.
Message was edited by: Anthony M Kassir MD

In any case, I'm now looking for other backup software. I need software that does incremental backups, can restore the system to a previous state existing at the time of a given previous (not necessarily most recent) backup, and supports user-defined rules for file inclusion/exclusion, as well as automated scripts.
Time Machine can do all that except the scripts - I'm not sure what you're wanting to script - and it doesn't have rules for exclusion, but does let you exclude any items you specify. From the sounds of it, though, you're trying to make your backups more complex than they need to be. Keep it simple and there's less chance for something to go wrong.
I'm not entirely comfortable relying on Time Machine alone because I've encountered some problems in the past where my backups were lost.
You shouldn't be comfortable relying on any single backup program. Backup software is still software, and as such can have bugs and suffer failures. For optimum safety, you should use two different backup programs to maintain a minimum of two separate backups.
I'm considering Carbon Copy Cloner, but not sure it does true incremental backups and can restore the system to a state that existed at the time of a previous
CCC does do incremental backups, but restoring to a specific state might not be entirely possible. When a file is added, it is simply added to the clone when CCC runs its next backup. There's no way to know which files were added when, AFAIK. When a file is removed, it is moved from its old location in the clone to an identical path inside a dated folder in the same location as the clone.
Personally, I rely on a combination of TM and CCC. I keep one backup with TM, which lets me go back to any time I want. I also keep several CCC clones of just my user folder (everything else is easy enough to recreate if necessary), with one of them in the safe deposit box at the bank at all times.

Entering Time Machine - slow after update to Snow Leopard

Entering Time Machine via the icon in my top menu bar has never been fast. However, last week I moved from Leopard to Snow Leopard (since fully updated). Tonight I needed to restore a file from yesterday's backup, so I selected "Enter Time Machine." The "universe" with the timeline along the right loaded, but several minutes passed and I was still not able to use the arrows at the lower right to move backwards in time. Nor would the timeline at the right show any date markers other than "Now," "Today," and "January 2010" and "January 2009." I let it sit for several minutes with no apparent progress. Even the "cancel" button took nearly 60 seconds to function.
As an alternative, I tried running the Time Machine application from my apps folder. It was slower to bring up the "universe" but did, after a couple of minutes, get me to a window with a functional timeline.
Any idea what the problem might be? I feel like entry into my Time Capsule has gotten slower and slower, but tonight was really egregious.

It does take a while over a network; there's a lot of "setup" that seems to be required.
You might try the things in #E4 of [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

Time Machine problems since upgrading to Snow Leopard

After Time Machine completes the backup I'm unable to do anything! Icons on the desktop disappear. I'm not able the drag the backup drive to the trash. I reboot and it says it did the most current backup but when I enter Time Machine it doesn't recognize the latest backups. Even though the dates appear showing they were backed up you can't access them.

Barry I tried you recommendations except the OS X 10.6 install and it didn't work.
I did come across this in another apple support area:
The most common cause is the TM drive (but not a Time Capsule) not being formatted correctly (even, on occasion, if TM formatted it!). Use Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder) to verify the setup:
First, select the second line for your internal HD (usually named "Macintosh HD"). Towards the bottom, the Format should be Mac OS Extended (Journaled), although it might be Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled).
Next, select the line for your TM partition (indented, with the name). Towards the bottom, the Format must be the same as your internal HD (above). If it isn't, you must erase the partition (not necessarily the whole drive) and reformat it with Disk Utility.
Sometimes when TM formats a drive for you automatically, it sets it to Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled). Do not use this unless your internal HD is also case-sensitive. All drives being backed-up, and your TM volume, should be the same. TM may do backups this way, but you could be in for major problems trying to restore to a mis-matched drive.
Last, select the top line of the TM drive (with the make and size). Towards the bottom, the Partition Map Scheme must be either GUID (preferred) or Apple Partition Map for an Intel Mac. It must be either Apple Partition Map (preferred) or GUID for a PPC Mac. If this is wrong, you must completely erase the disk and reformat it. See item 5 of the Frequently Asked Questions User Tip at the top of this forum.<<<
Barry, I've noticed that my hard drive is indeed "Journaled" and my backup drive is "Case Sensitive, Journaled." So therefore I'm presuming I do in fact need to erase my backup drive and reformat it. Am I correct in this assessment?

Time Machine white background after installing Snow Leopard

Hello,
I need bit of advise regarding Snow Leopard Upgrade. I recently upgrade mac 10.5 to 10.6 (Snow Leopard), when I do my normal backup using Time Machine, the background is white. I have restarted my Macbook and also read some of the Mac Forums. I've even followed the steps read in one of the post.
If Barry's suggestion doesn't work, try these:
Do a Repair Disk (not permissions) on your TM drive, via Disk Utility (in your Applications/Utilities folder).
Re-select your TM drive via TM Preferences > Change Disk.
If you're using Spaces, try disabling it, at least temporarily.
If you have any sort of video out cable, especially HDMI, try disconnecting it, at least temporarily.
Do a "complete reset" of TM, as in item #B3 Time Machine - Troubleshooting User Tip
However that doesn't work either. Could it be a bug or if there's something I should do to bring time machine back to normal? I like the warp !!!! Thank you

Mark Apple Mac Book wrote:
Hello,
I need bit of advise regarding Snow Leopard Upgrade. I recently upgrade mac 10.5 to 10.6 (Snow Leopard), when I do my normal backup using Time Machine, the background is white. I have restarted my Macbook and also read some of the Mac Forums. I've even followed the steps read in one of the post.
If Barry's suggestion doesn't work, try these:
Hi, and welcome to the forums. That was me.
Since then, we've learned that this can be caused by a corrupted Finder preference file, so delete the file:
+*<your home folder>/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Finder.plist+*
and try again. You'll have to Restart the Finder (use the Force-Quit) menu, and re-enter it's preferences.

Lion Time Machine to Be Used in Snow Leopard

Hi. My iMac is back now after the GPU was damaged (after installing Lion). I downgraded to Snow Leopard but my Time Machine was saved in Lion can I restore this to my Snow Leopard? Would it be compatible and the restore would be flawless? Thank you in advance.
Gbu,
Alvin

No.

Will it work to recover from a Time machine data backed up under Snow Leopard?

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