Time Machine not able to go back in time

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Level 1

14 points

Time Machine not able to go back in time

My Time Machine is behaving very strangely. When I enter the Time Machine I am able to navigate to the file in question and then select a point in time in the past on the right with the time line. I then get the message "waiting" while the Time Machine zips back in time. At this point the Time Machine then re-zips forward to "Today" and shows me the current version of the file. It's as if it cannot find the past versions. Then the Time Machine locks me out of the time line completely. When I try to scroll and click on the time line on the right nothing works. I typically have to reboot my computer in order to get the time line to function again. But then again after the first attempt to go back in time it chokes. Here's what I've tried:

Rebooted the computer
Power cycled the Time Capsule
Verified my backups (Alt/Option Time Machine menu)
No problems found
Repaired my backups with Disk Utility
No problems found

I should also add that sometimes I am able to see "Time Machine Backups" in my Devices list in Finder. When I can, I am able to manually go back in time (through Finder) and see old versions of files. But sometimes "Time Machine Backups" does not appear.

iMac 21.5 Mid 2011, Yosemite 10.10.5

3TB Time Capsule, Ethernet connected, firmware 7.6.4

Airport Utility firmware 6.3.5

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Sep 6, 2015 3:17 PM

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Answer 1

⚠️

Top-ranking reply

NT888 Author

Level 1

14 points

Sep 7, 2015 9:42 AM in response to Linc Davis

Linc,

I tried to only pick the log info that was pertinent. Hope this isn't too much...

9/7/15 10:29:57.219 AM com.apple.backupd[587]: Attempting to mount network destination URL: afp://_____%20_____;AUTH=SRP@Nick's%20Time%20Capsule._afpovertcp._tcp.local./TIME%20CAPSULE

9/7/15 10:29:57.518 AM WindowServer[145]: Display 0x4280300 captured by conn 0x1fd3

9/7/15 10:29:57.627 AM NetAuthSysAgent[588]: TUAMHandler::SetUAMType setting UAMType to 13

9/7/15 10:29:58.074 AM mds[52]: (Volume.Normal:2464) volume:0x7fc61889b000 ********** Bootstrapped Creating a default store:0 SpotLoc:(null) SpotVerLoc:(null) occlude:0 /Volumes/TIME CAPSULE-1

9/7/15 10:29:58.168 AM com.apple.backupd[587]: Mounted network destination at mount point: /Volumes/TIME CAPSULE-1 using URL: afp://_____%20_____;AUTH=SRP@Nick's%20Time%20Capsule._afpovertcp._tcp.local./TIME%20CAPSULE

9/7/15 10:29:58.222 AM WindowServer[145]: Display 0xb41a1d1 captured by conn 0x1fd3

9/7/15 10:29:58.348 AM imagent[271]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fd51bf18e00>: notification observer: com.apple.FaceTime notification: __CFNotification 0x7fd51bc667d0 {name = _NSDoNotDisturbEnabledNotification}

9/7/15 10:29:58.348 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26173f750>: notification observer: com.apple.iChat notification: __CFNotification 0x7fe261634860 {name = _NSDoNotDisturbEnabledNotification}

9/7/15 10:29:58.362 AM imagent[271]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fd51bf18e00>: NC Disabled: NO

9/7/15 10:29:58.362 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26173f750>: NC Disabled: NO

9/7/15 10:29:58.376 AM imagent[271]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fd51bf18e00>: DND Enabled: YES

9/7/15 10:29:58.376 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26173f750>: DND Enabled: YES

9/7/15 10:29:58.376 AM imagent[271]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fd51bf18e00>: Updating enabled: NO (Topics: (

))

9/7/15 10:29:58.376 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26173f750>: Updating enabled: NO (Topics: (

))

9/7/15 10:29:58.377 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26170e860>: notification observer: com.apple.iChat notification: __CFNotification 0x7fe2615535a0 {name = _NSDoNotDisturbEnabledNotification}

9/7/15 10:29:58.381 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26170e860>: NC Disabled: NO

9/7/15 10:29:58.386 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26170e860>: DND Enabled: YES

9/7/15 10:29:58.386 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26170e860>: Updating enabled: NO (Topics: (

))

9/7/15 10:30:04.000 AM kernel[0]: hfs: mounted Time Machine Backups on device disk3s2

9/7/15 10:30:04.521 AM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.TMHelperAgent.SetupOffer) Service only ran for 6 seconds. Pushing respawn out by 4 seconds.

9/7/15 10:30:05.625 AM com.apple.backupd[587]: Disk image /Volumes/TIME CAPSULE-1/Nick’s iMac.sparsebundle mounted at: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups

9/7/15 10:30:08.534 AM mds[52]: (Volume.Error:880) Root store set to FSOnly with matching create! (loaded:1)

9/7/15 10:30:09.652 AM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.imfoundation.IMRemoteURLConnectionAgent) The _DirtyJetsamMemoryLimit key is not available on this platform.

9/7/15 10:31:01.389 AM imagent[271]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fd51bf18e00>: notification observer: com.apple.FaceTime notification: __CFNotification 0x7fd51bd7fbe0 {name = _NSDoNotDisturbDisabledNotification}

9/7/15 10:31:01.390 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26173f750>: notification observer: com.apple.iChat notification: __CFNotification 0x7fe2617347e0 {name = _NSDoNotDisturbDisabledNotification}

9/7/15 10:31:01.399 AM imagent[271]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fd51bf18e00>: NC Disabled: NO

9/7/15 10:31:01.411 AM imagent[271]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fd51bf18e00>: DND Enabled: NO

9/7/15 10:31:01.412 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26173f750>: NC Disabled: NO

9/7/15 10:31:01.412 AM imagent[271]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fd51bf18e00>: Updating enabled: YES (Topics: (

"com.apple.ess",

"com.apple.private.ac"

))

9/7/15 10:31:01.416 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26173f750>: DND Enabled: NO

9/7/15 10:31:01.416 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26173f750>: Updating enabled: YES (Topics: (

"com.apple.private.alloy.icloudpairing",

"com.apple.private.alloy.continuity.encryption",

"com.apple.private.alloy.continuity.activity",

"com.apple.private.alloy.idstransfers",

"com.apple.private.ids",

"com.apple.private.alloy.phonecontinuity",

"com.apple.ess",

"com.apple.madrid",

"com.apple.private.alloy.continuity.auth",

"com.apple.private.ac",

"com.apple.private.alloy.idsremoteurlconnection",

"com.apple.private.alloy.sms",

"com.apple.private.alloy.screensharing",

"com.apple.private.alloy.maps",

"com.apple.private.alloy.callhistorysync",

"com.apple.private.alloy.continuity.tethering"

))

9/7/15 10:31:01.417 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26170e860>: notification observer: com.apple.iChat notification: __CFNotification 0x7fe2614620a0 {name = _NSDoNotDisturbDisabledNotification}

9/7/15 10:31:01.421 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26170e860>: NC Disabled: NO

9/7/15 10:31:01.426 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26170e860>: DND Enabled: NO

9/7/15 10:31:01.426 AM identityservicesd[273]: <IMMacNotificationCenterManager: 0x7fe26170e860>: Updating enabled: YES (Topics: (

"com.apple.madrid"

))

9/7/15 10:31:02.049 AM WindowServer[145]: Display 0xb41a1d1 released by conn 0x1fd3

9/7/15 10:31:02.843 AM WindowServer[145]: Display 0x4280300 released by conn 0x1fd3

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Answer 2

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,709 points

Sep 6, 2015 3:37 PM in response to NT888

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:

☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)

☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.

☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.

The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select

SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages

from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select

View ▹ Show Log List

from the menu bar at the top of the screen.

Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Then take an action that isn't working the way you expect. Select any lines that appear in the Console window. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.

The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of which is irrelevant to solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.

Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.

Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.

Some private information, such as your name or email address, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

When you post the log extract, you might see an error message on the web page: "You have included content in your post that is not permitted," or "The message contains invalid characters." That's a bug in the forum software. Please post the text on Pastebin, then post a link here to the page you created.

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,709 points

Sep 7, 2015 8:35 PM in response to NT888

While in Time Machine, press the key combination shift-command-C. The front window will show all mounted volumes. All snapshots should now be accessible. Select the one you want and navigate to the files you want to restore.

If you need to restore from a backup of the hidden user Library folder, first select a snapshot, then press shift-command-G. A Go to Folder dialog will open. In it, you'll enter the path to the folder. The dialog will help you by automatically completing the parts of the path when you start to type them.

The path begins with slash character ("/"). Enter that. The rest of the parts will be separated by slashes.

The next part is the date and time of the current snapshot. Enter a "2", and the rest of the date should be filled in automatically. Press the right-arrow key to jump to the end of the path. Enter a slash to start the next part.

Next is the name of the volume (usually "Macintosh HD" unless you gave it a different name.) Start to type that, then jump to the end and enter a slash.

The next part is "Users", followed by a slash.

Next is your (short) user name, which is also the name of your home folder.

Finally, enter "Library", then press return. You should now be in the Library folder. From there you can get around as in the Finder.

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Answer 4

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,709 points

Sep 7, 2015 10:05 AM in response to NT888

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

Step 1

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

Step 2

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem.

Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

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Answer 5

NT888 Author

Level 1

14 points

Sep 7, 2015 11:52 AM in response to Linc Davis

Linc,

I have performed the steps above.

Step 1: Created a new user named "Tester". Logged in with "Tester" and entered Time Machine. Experienced exact same problematic behavior. I then deleted the user "Tester" and logged back in with my normal account and proceeded to Step 2.

Step 2: Unplugged all wired peripherals (one thunderbolt monitor and some headphone jack speakers) and rebooted to Safe Mode. Experienced exact same problematic behavior.

Here's where it gets interesting. After completing Step 2 I rebooted out of Safe Mode and entered the Time Machine again. This time the behavior was different, albeit still not 100% correct. Here's what I did and what happened:

Entered Time Machine
Navigated to the Finder location I have been testing on
There's a file there with a creation date of 2/4/15
Selected a date on the time line of 1/13/15
Instead of trying to go back to 1/13/15, failing, and then going back to today it did the following:
- Tried to go back to 1/13/15, but ended up only back at 2/3/15.
- As you would expect the test file dated 2/4/15 was missing
I tried to use the time line to go back to 1/13/15 but it was non-responsive to my clicks.
I tried to go forward in time to April (can't remember the exact date) and it was able to do that successfully.
I played around with different dates and was able to select any date 2/3/15 or newer, but was blocked from any date older than 2/3/15.

Thoughts?

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Answer 6

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,709 points

Sep 7, 2015 1:26 PM in response to NT888

First, if this is your only backup, back up to a locally-attached external hard drive. One backup is never enough to be safe, and backing up over a network is less reliable than backing up locally.

Hold down the option key and select

Verify Backups

from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar (not the Dock icon.) The operation may take several hours. If the menu-bar icon (a clock that runs backwards) isn't showing, check

Show Time Machine in menu bar

in the Time Machine preference pane.