Using Time machine to restore previous state of operating system.

Question

Level 1

12 points

Using Time machine to restore previous state of operating system.

I’ve been running time machine without any thought for a couple of years.

A minor update to El Capitán has caused me to lose the ability to save files in iMovie. My thought is that I can use time machine to install the operating system prior to the update then I should be back to square one.

Can I do this?

any ideas how much of the operating system I need to replace to fix my problem with iMovie.

(The error messages site issues with compression )

Thanks,

Gary

iMac with Retina 5K display, macOS 10.12

Posted on Oct 30, 2020 3:44 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Jeff_W.

Community Specialist

Nov 3, 2020 3:50 PM in response to gbohan1

Hi there Gary,

We understand you'd like to restore your Mac to a previous macOS version, and we'd like to share a resource that can help.

Check it out here: Restore your Mac from a backup

Specifically, the "Restore both macOS and your files" section may help.

Cheers!

Reply

Answer 2

bailier

Community Specialist

Nov 4, 2020 4:43 PM in response to gbohan1

Gary,

Thanks for those additional details.

There wouldn't be a way to revert to a previous macOS update version while keeping your files the same. You can use the steps to restore your macOS and files, then restore the later versions of the files after.

You can also submit feedback regarding this here: Product Feedback

Take care!

Reply

Answer 3

gbohan1 Author

Level 1

12 points

Nov 4, 2020 3:46 PM in response to Jeff_W.

What I wish to do is restore my OS system files with those from a specified previously saved Time Machine backup, not all the backed up other files (Apps, Photos, etc.). And this would be an earlier saved version, not the most recently saved date.

Thanks,

Gary

Reply

Using Time machine to restore previous state of operating system.

Similar questions