No OS X system backups were found

Question

No OS X system backups were found

Hi.

I was having speed issues with my Macbook pro and as a last resort decided to do a full wipe and reinstall of OSX Mountain Lion.

I created a comprehensive backup using Time Machine onto a brand spankingly new hard drive that came formated for Mac.

After wiping my internal HDD, and installing Moutain Lion afresh, I have attempted to restore the Time Machine backup...

I rebooted, held alt/option to get OS X Utilities > selected Restore From Time Machine Backup > Restore your system > Chose my External Drive > No OS X System Backups were found...

How can I get this menu to recognise that the back up is there?

The .backupdb file is the only thing on the external drive.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), Time Machine Restore

Posted on Feb 23, 2013 11:13 AM

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Answer 1

Eric Ross

Level 6

11,807 points

Feb 23, 2013 11:18 AM in response to Samuel_Aspinall

Take a look at this link, http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3275

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

684,027 points

Feb 23, 2013 11:20 AM in response to Samuel_Aspinall

You can try using Migration Assistant, which is in the Applications/Utilities folder. When you did the reinstall, you should have gotten Setup Assistant, which would restore for you.

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Answer 3

Feb 23, 2013 11:51 AM in response to Eric Root

Hey Eric Root

I tried this approach but similar to the original problem of not being able to find the backup file, this time it couldnt find a drive or computer that it could transfer from...?

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Answer 4

Feb 23, 2013 11:54 AM in response to Samuel_Aspinall

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Answer 5

Eric Ross

Level 6

11,807 points

Feb 23, 2013 1:15 PM in response to Samuel_Aspinall

Try checking your backup hard drive with disk utilities to make sure it okay, then try to backup.

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Answer 6

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Feb 23, 2013 1:27 PM in response to Samuel_Aspinall

System files and applications were excluded from the backups. You can't do a full-system restore. You have to reinstall OS X, reinstall all your third-party software, and restore your user files in the time-travel interface.

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Answer 7

Feb 23, 2013 2:46 PM in response to Linc Davis

Hey Linc

Thanks for the info. I must be doing something wrong with Time Machine beacuse I was concerned before I made the back up that it wouldn't/I hadn't set it up to backup my apps... I checked the 'Exclude List' in Time Machine settings and I had it set to not Exclude anything...

Ah well at least I have all my documents even if I cant open them yet.

Thanks again

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Answer 8

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Feb 23, 2013 2:59 PM in response to Samuel_Aspinall

I checked the 'Exclude List' in Time Machine settings and I had it set to not Exclude anything.

That happens sometimes, for reasons that aren't clear.

This simple procedure will clear your Time Machine settings, including both overt and hidden exclusions. If you have a long exclusion list that can't be recreated easily, you may prefer a more complicated procedure that preserves the exclusion list. In that case, ask for instructions. Otherwise, do as follows.

Triple-click the line below to select it:

/Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist

Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select

Services ▹ Reveal

from the contextual menu. A Finder window should open with a file selected. Copy it to the Desktop. Then move it (the original, not the copy) to the Trash. You'll be prompted for your administrator password. Reboot, recreate your settings in the Time Machine preference pane, and run a backup to test. If TM now performs as expected, delete the file you copied to the Desktop.

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