"you don't have permission to see its contents"

NicksGrandad wrote:
Upon realizing that a folder of images was missing from the desktop of my new iMac, I did a Spotlight search and turned up nothing.

I went to the backups in my Time Capsule and downloaded the Desktop Folder for Aug 15

How did you do that? Via the "Star Wars" display? If not, try doing it that way, per #15 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.

NicksGrandad wrote:
After re-reading my post, I wasn't clear; the folder was on the desktop of my previous Mac. So if I were to go into Time Machine's Star Wars display, I wouldn't see data from the old Mac. That's how come I searched the way I did.

And that's why you got the results you did. 😟

To OSX, you're a different user than the one saved in the backups; one user, even an Admin user, can't normally see the data belonging to a different one. Usually, that's good.

How long have you had the new Mac, and how did you get your data on to it?

If it's recent, your best bet may be to start over, and use +Setup Assistant+ to transfer your Apps, settings, users and data from it. Then everything will be just as it was. See the green box in #19 of Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.

If that's not doable, you could use +Migration Assistant+ to transfer that user and selected data (ie., the Desktop folder) to your new Mac. Then you can copy it to the user you want to have it. See the pink box in #19 of the FAQ.

NicksGrandad wrote:
I used Migration Asst. This was on the 24th of Aug.

Are you logged on with the same account that you migrated the Desktop folder from? If so, you should have permission to see it. If not, try logging-on as that user.

Thanks. Now will check green box of #19.

You may not need that.

NicksGrandad wrote:
Sheesh. I just discovered that Migration Asst. transferred my old username over, making my present situation totally confusing. I'm logged in as MBP (which stood for MacBook Pro), which I replaced as my kitchen machine.

Yes, that's what both +Setup Assistant+ and +Migration Assistant+ do. Besides apps, they'll transfer user account(s) and the associated data, with all the permissions intact, so everything will be the same on the new Mac as on the old one.

If, as I remember, I was given opportunity to create a username, I know I chose a new one; then I can't figure why I'd be signed in as "MBP" on the new iMac.

When you first started up your new Mac, after the fancy welcome video and choosing your language, you should have seen this window:
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It sounds like you selected the last option, because then you get the prompts to set up a user account. Then you used +Migration Assistant+ to transfer the accounts from your old Mac. That means you had an extra account on the new Mac. That new account had no data of it's own, and no access to the data in the other accounts.

I've got no new content on here I can't live without. I'm willing to insert Mac OS install disk 1 and erase everything on here and start anew. How's that sound?

Hold on a minute. Have you done any backups of the new Mac? If you have, that's going to be difficult.

But if you haven't, and want the new one set up just like the old one, yes, that's probably the best thing to do.

Start up from the disc that came with the new Mac. After selecting your language, select Utilities, then +Disk Utility+ from the menubar on the next screen. Use it to erase your internal HD. Then quit Disk Utility, and install OSX from the disc.

When your Mac restarts, follow the steps in the green box of #19.

When that's complete, and your Mac restarts, it should have all the same stuff, including accounts and passwords, as the old one.

NicksGrandad wrote:
Afraid there have been backups of the new Mac. So I've got problems in that case?

Do you still have the old MacBook Pro? If so, you could erase the iMac, reinstall OSX, and use +Setup Assistant+ directly from the Pro. That's the easiest, fastest way to do it.

If not, it may be more difficult. The problem is, both +Setup Assistant+ and +Migration Assistant+ use the latest backup -- you can't pick the one you want.

When you did the first backup of the iMac, you should have seen this prompt:
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If you selected +Create New Backup,+ there should be two sparse bundles on your Time Capsule, one for each Mac. In that case, you can use +Setup Assistant+ with the sparse bundle for the Pro.

If you selected +Reuse Backup,+ however, all the backups are in the same sparse bundle.

If you're not sure, click your Time Capsule in a Finder sidebar. In Column View, it should look something like this:


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except the third column should show one or two sparse bundles.

If the backups are all in the same sparse bundle, you can still do it, but it will take some extra steps.

Again, the best way is if you still have access to the Pro; if not, tell us about the sparse bundle(s).

NicksGrandad wrote:
The sparsebundles in column view are five in number; reflecting ownership of every Mac I've had since Time Capsule was initiated. The iMac in question's sparsebundle listing contains a date of 2010-08-25-131101, which, if I recall, was when I first did a backup on that 21.5" iMac.

So, from your comments, this should be a good thing? That I'm able to see all the sparsebundles?

Maybe, but I'm concerned about that date. If you double-click that one, and look at it via the +*Browse . . .+* option, does it show the recent backups? I doubt it, but if so, that's the one you want to restore from.

If not, see what backups are inside the sparse bundle for the new iMac -- if you selected the +Reuse Backup+ option, the recent backups from the Pro and the new iMac should be inside it. In that case, we'll have to do some "surgery" on it.

Do you really need all those old backups? If not, you might consider deleting some of those sparse bundles.

NicksGrandad wrote:
Sorry, don't see "Browse" option. Where, exactly?

Oh, sorry, thought I'd mentioned that before. See #17 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).