Restoring old files from Time Maching

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Level 1

13 points

Restoring old files from Time Maching

I have a mid-2011 iMac running 10.13.6. I run Time Machine every day, so eventually the disk fills up. TM then deletes older files to make room for my current ones. It then gives me a message saying it had to do this, and tells me the oldest date remaining on the backup disk - currently May 2022. I've always understood this and it's OK by me.

However, when I go to 'Enter Time Machine' it only shows backups to May 2023. Its 'backups.backupdb' file does, in fact, have entries back to 2022. How come 'Enter Time Machine' doesn't include everything back to 2022? Can I not recover a file older than May 2023?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts -

TheOldFart

iMac 21.5″, 10.13

Posted on Sep 25, 2023 11:59 AM

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Answer 1

TheOldFart Author

Level 1

13 points

Sep 27, 2023 12:01 PM in response to tbirdvet

Hello again tbirdvet

Yup, it's me again. That shift-command-C trick works sometimes - goes to the sidebar's 'xxx's iMac' which shows me xxx, xxx.1, xxx.2 ... and lets me get to all the backups. But more often than not when it goes to 'xxx's iMac', it just shows me all my volumes. When I click on the destination volume, it just shows the open volume and does not let me get to the older backups. Does it always act that way or am I missing something?

TOF

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Answer 2

tbirdvet

Level 6

14,753 points

Sep 28, 2023 6:51 AM in response to TheOldFart

using the shift-command-c open the TM icon and pick the past date folder you want. Then clicking on that will open the Mac drive icon for that date. Then open that and find the file you want to copy (cannot restore from this point), Then you can past it in the location you want after.

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Answer 3

tbirdvet

Level 6

14,753 points

Sep 25, 2023 2:43 PM in response to TheOldFart

That can happen if you have updated the OS at some point. Open TM and then use shift-command-c which will let you go back to find older files.

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Answer 4

TheOldFart Author

Level 1

13 points

Sep 25, 2023 3:56 PM in response to tbirdvet

Thanks tbirdvet. (You've driven a few T-birds - ?) That did the trick. I've always been wondering what backups.backupdb's xxx.1 and xxx.2 folders were for.

Thanks again - TOF

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Answer 5

tbirdvet

Level 6

14,753 points

Sep 26, 2023 4:43 AM in response to TheOldFart

Lots of T-Birds and Corvettes.

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Restoring old files from Time Maching

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