Time machine after OSX reinstall

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Time machine after OSX reinstall

Hi,
I've backed up my mac with time machine for a while before deciding to reinstall completely Leopard for some slow down (guess for too much rubbish installed/poorly_removed)..
Then in order to avoid restoring EVERY preference file,application i didn't need, stuff that were in my previous installation that i don't need anymore, I decided to reinstall it completely and restore just some selected files(Address book, etc).
I've got some questions:
1) my username is the same in both installation, can I turn time machine on to run on the same disk and backup it was running prior to reinstalling?(ie: will it consider new files as part of the same system?)
2) is there a way to "move" the existing backup to another disk, in order to save it in case i would like to completely restore my system to the last backup?I guess copy and paste the Backup folder wouldn't work because all the hardlink stuff..
3) how does the "Browse for other Time machine disks" work?Will I be able to restore data from my previous backup even if I am in a completely different installation?

Thank you for your attention,
nick

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Apr 4, 2009 6:30 PM

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Answer 1

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Apr 4, 2009 7:15 PM in response to nick2k3

nick2k3 wrote:

Then in order to avoid restoring EVERY preference file,application i didn't need, stuff that were in my previous installation that i don't need anymore, I decided to reinstall it completely and restore just some selected files(Address book, etc).

Not sure just what you mean here. Did you reinstall OSX from your Leopard disc, or restore your entire system from your TM backup, using the Restore utility on your Leopard disc?

1) my username is the same in both installation, can I turn time machine on to run on the same disk and backup it was running prior to reinstalling?

Yes, but it will almost certainly do a new backup of everything you just put on the disk. TM backs-up what was "changed" on the disk, even if it's the same data as before you erased it. And it has nothing to do with usernames -- TM backs-up everything on your system, for all the users on it, unless you specifically excluded them.

2) is there a way to "move" the existing backup to another disk, in order to save it in case i would like to completely restore my system to the last backup?

You can duplicate all the data from one TM disk to a new one (via the +Duplicate a Disk+ procedure in Disk Utility, or SuperDuper!), but not a single backup (and that wouldn't work anyway).

But there's no need. You can do a complete system restore from any backup on your TM disk, whether it's the last, earliest, or anywhere in the middle (and even if it's a different version of Leopard).

I guess copy and paste the Backup folder wouldn't work because all the hardlink stuff..

No, it's because you'll most likely have all sorts of permissions issues.

3) how does the "Browse for other Time machine disks" work?Will I be able to restore data from my previous backup even if I am in a completely different installation?

Yes. Even if it's from a different Mac.

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Answer 2

nick2k3 Author

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Apr 4, 2009 7:25 PM in response to Pondini

Pondini wrote:

nick2k3 wrote:

Then in order to avoid restoring EVERY preference file,application i didn't need, stuff that were in my previous installation that i don't need anymore, I decided to reinstall it completely and restore just some selected files(Address book, etc).

Not sure just what you mean here. Did you reinstall OSX from your Leopard disc, or restore your entire system from your TM backup, using the Restore utility on your Leopard disc?

I mean that my system was just a mess.. I really needed a fresh install.So I reinstalled OSX from Leopard disc. I did it that way becouse restoring from TM would have restored a lot of crap I didn't need anymore.
Then I "restored" manually only those files I really needed(Address book, iCal,iPhoto library, itunes etc..)

Did I do right? Is it possible to restore just a selection of my previous backup?Would restoring from TM also restore startup time processes?

1) my username is the same in both installation, can I turn time machine on to run on the same disk and backup it was running prior to reinstalling?

Yes, but it will almost certainly do a new backup of everything you just put on the disk. TM backs-up what was "changed" on the disk, even if it's the same data as before you erased it. And it has nothing to do with usernames -- TM backs-up everything on your system, for all the users on it, unless you specifically excluded them.

ok, got it!

2) is there a way to "move" the existing backup to another disk, in order to save it in case i would like to completely restore my system to the last backup?

You can duplicate all the data from one TM disk to a new one (via the +Duplicate a Disk+ procedure in Disk Utility, or SuperDuper!), but not a single backup (and that wouldn't work anyway).

I'll try this on another HDD tomorrow...

But there's no need. You can do a complete system restore from any backup on your TM disk, whether it's the last, earliest, or anywhere in the middle (and even if it's a different version of Leopard).

I guess copy and paste the Backup folder wouldn't work because all the hardlink stuff..

No, it's because you'll most likely have all sorts of permissions issues.

3) how does the "Browse for other Time machine disks" work?Will I be able to restore data from my previous backup even if I am in a completely different installation?

Yes. Even if it's from a different Mac.

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Answer 3

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Apr 4, 2009 7:42 PM in response to nick2k3

nick2k3 wrote:

So I reinstalled OSX from Leopard disc. I did it that way becouse restoring from TM would have restored a lot of crap I didn't need anymore.

Did you then load the "combo" update, to get back to 10.5.6? If not, you'll need to.

Then I "restored" manually only those files I really needed (Address book, iCal,iPhoto library, itunes etc..)

How did you do this? via Migration Assistant? The Time Machine interface? Drag via the Finder?

Did I do right? Is it possible to restore just a selection of my previous backup?

Depending on how you did it, maybe. And in the TM interface, you can restore any files/folders you want.

Would restoring from TM also restore startup time processes?

Do you mean Startup Items associated with individual users? If so, yes, although you'd have to find and select them.

You can duplicate all the data from one TM disk to a new one (via the +Duplicate a Disk+ procedure in Disk Utility, or SuperDuper!), but not a single backup (and that wouldn't work anyway).

I'll try this on another HDD tomorrow...

Not sure why you want to, unless you're going to erase the current one.

I think you may have jumped into this without a clear plan. I'm not even sure a reinstall was your best option. You might have been better off just deleting what you don't want, because now you've apparently got to try to figure out what's missing.

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Answer 4

nick2k3 Author

Level 1

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Apr 5, 2009 1:59 AM in response to Pondini

Pondini wrote:

Did you then load the "combo" update, to get back to 10.5.6? If not, you'll need to.

Yes I did.My system is now completely updated.

Then I "restored" manually only those files I really needed (Address book, iCal,iPhoto library, itunes etc..)

How did you do this? via Migration Assistant? The Time Machine interface? Drag via the Finder?

Just dragged via the Finder those files i was interested in..(~/Library/Application Support/ or ~/Library/Preferences)

Depending on how you did it, maybe. And in the TM interface, you can restore any files/folders you want.

I know, but I meant if it was possible to "tell" TM to restore only personal files, not configuration files.

Do you mean Startup Items associated with individual users? If so, yes, although you'd have to find and select them.

Yes I mean Startup Item, but I don't understand how to I find and selct them(should I open another topic?)

Not sure why you want to, unless you're going to erase the current one.

Well I think I need it becouse now I need to start backing up my current Installation, and my old backup is using a lot of space.Then I would like to move the old one to another location, in case i remember to restore something in the future, and start backing up the current one.

I think you may have jumped into this without a clear plan. I'm not even sure a reinstall was your best option. You might have been better off just deleting what you don't want, because now you've apparently got to try to figure out what's missing.

Well, you are kind of right.The point is that my system startup time was almost 3 4 min due to a lot of Startup applications. As I wrote before I ignore how to "clean up" a mac,and I decided to start over and be more careful on what I install.
Could you give me some link about how to clean up startup processes or delete orphan .plist files??

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Answer 5

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Apr 5, 2009 7:53 AM in response to nick2k3

nick2k3 wrote:

Just dragged via the Finder those files i was interested in..(~/Library/Application Support/ or ~/Library/Preferences)

You may have permissions problems with those.

Depending on how you did it, maybe. And in the TM interface, you can restore any files/folders you want.

I know, but I meant if it was possible to "tell" TM to restore only personal files, not configuration files.

Not in those terms. Other than with Address Book, Mail, and iPhoto, you have to select the files/folders you want.

Do you mean Startup Items associated with individual users? If so, yes, although you'd have to find and select them.

Yes I mean Startup Item, but I don't understand how to I find and selct them(should I open another topic?)

To find them, you may need to do that (or search the forums). They will be restored if you restore your whole system from TM, or Users via Migration Assistant, but I'm not sure where they're hidden, to do manually.

A few of them are in <home folder>/Library/LaunchAgents. Those aren't the actual applications, though, but the .plist files that control when they're launched.

Could you give me some link about how to clean up startup processes or delete orphan .plist files??

You'd need to identify each process you don't want, then find out how it's getting launched. If they're in a particular user's +Login Items,+ all you need to do is remove them from there.

That probably won't get very many, though. For 3rd-party apps, you'd need to decide whether you want to keep the app, but just not have it start. If you want the whole app gone, run it's uninstaller, if it has one (you may have to download it again to get the uninstaller).

If not, you can either try to find all the bits and pieces and delete them individually, or use one of the removal apps, like AppZapper, from VersionTracker or MacUpdate. There are also any number of threads about this in the Installation and Setup and Using Leopard forums.

The .plists that launch such apps are likely in any of the following places:

/System/Libaray/LaunchAgents
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons
/Libaray/LaunchAgents
/Library/LaunchDaemons
<user home folders>/Library/LaunchAgents

And I wouldn't worry about orphaned plists; they do no harm and take up almost no space. You could, of course, move any suspects into another folder for a time. And, if you delete one in error, most likely all you'll lose will be preference settings, not data.

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