Time Machine Folders are all Aliases

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Level 1

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Time Machine Folders are all Aliases

My computer store backed up my computer via Time Machine before Christmas.

Today my computer crashed and the computer store put in a new HD. I opted to install my software and files myself. When I went to the Migration Assistant to restore my files, the external HD backup was not recognized. When I went into the Time Machine program, the file structure is all there, however, all of the folders are only aliases.

Fearing my files are lost, I turn to you - oh wonderful and amazing Mac community, solver of many of my past problems - for this one. Any help here would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
M.

MBP 15" 2.2GHz, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Feb 13, 2011 8:00 PM

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Answer 1

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Feb 13, 2011 8:53 PM in response to Microh5

Microh5 wrote:
My computer store backed up my computer via Time Machine before Christmas.

Have you done any backups since then?

Today my computer crashed and the computer store put in a new HD. I opted to install my software and files myself.

Exactly how did you do that, and what version of OSX did you install?

When I went to the Migration Assistant to restore my files, the external HD backup was not recognized.

Have you used the backup drive with any other computers?

When I went into the Time Machine program, the file structure is all there, however, all of the folders are only aliases.

By "Time Machine program," do you mean the "Star Wars" display when you +Enter Time Machine?+

Try repairing the backups, per #A5 in [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

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Answer 2

Microh5 Author

Level 1

5 points

Feb 14, 2011 12:34 PM in response to Pondini

Posts: 19,989
Registered: 1/22/06

Re: Time Machine Folders are all Aliases
Posted: Feb 13, 2011 8:53 PM

Have you done any backups since then?

I turned off time machine and only backed up files that were important.

Exactly how did you do that, and what version of OSX did you install?

Using my own OS/software disks...10.6.6

Have you used the backup drive with any other computers?

No.

By "Time Machine program," do you mean the "Star Wars" display when you Enter Time Machine?

Yes.

Try repairing the backups, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting (or use the link in User Tips at the top of this forum).

In my searching yesterday, I hadn't thought about the logic board replacement a couple of months ago as a possible issue...I'll chase down this avenue for a bit. Any further direction would be appreciated...

Thanks.

Message was edited by: Microh5

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Answer 3

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Feb 14, 2011 12:47 PM in response to Microh5

Microh5 wrote:
. . .
Have you done any backups since then?

I turned off time machine and only backed up files that were important.

How and where did you back them up?

Try repairing the backups, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting (or use the link in User Tips at the top of this forum).

Have you tried that yet?

In my searching yesterday, I hadn't thought about the logic board replacement a couple of months ago as a possible issue

That's a complication, but shouldn't explain everything. Was that before or after the Time Machine backup?

The logic board contains the address that Time Machine uses to identify computers, so getting a new one means Time Machine associates the old backups with a different Mac. But either +Setup Assistant+ or +Migration Assistant+ should still see the most recent backup.

The "Star Wars" display, however, normally only shows the backups for the Mac it's running on. To see the others, try the (badly named) +*Browse Other Time Machine Disks+* option, per #17 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

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Answer 4

Feb 15, 2011 12:23 AM in response to Microh5

When you reinstall the software, if the username is different, TM will not allow you to access the backups via the normal interface. However, you should be able to drag off content from the drive through finder from inside any of the restore point folders, including a whole user folder which you could use to overwrite the contents of your existing user folder so you could access your backups again. Ideally. If you can't access content on the drive, you may have to assert ownership over the folders in question.

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Answer 5

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Feb 15, 2011 4:25 AM in response to shadrach343

shadrach343 wrote:
. . .
However, you should be able to drag off content from the drive through finder from inside any of the restore point folders

Doubtful. If you don't have permission to restore, you almost certainly won't have permission to copy directly from the backups, either.

including a whole user folder which you could use to overwrite the contents of your existing user folder

Also doubtful. You can't replace the home folder for the user you're logged-on to, and if you log on to a different account, it won't have permission to the first user's home folder.

Logging-on as the root user might work, as a last resort.

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