Migration Assistant won't recognize Time Machine Backup

Question

Migration Assistant won't recognize Time Machine Backup

I recenly got my old thunderbolt-less macbook pro back from a repair and I can't seem to resotre my data. My external drive it reconized in finder, but not in Migration Assistant. I have updated to the newest OS and still nothing. I was tunning mavrics before the repair so this should be working right? Thanks for any help you can offer.

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Feb 18, 2014 6:43 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 18, 2014 6:58 PM in response to DrChrispocalypse

Setting-up a new Mac from an old one, its backups, or a PC

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Answer 2

Feb 18, 2014 7:40 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

I am aware of how to Migration Assisant is suposed to work. I am saying that Migration assistant isnt recongizing my backup drive, but Finder dose.

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Answer 3

Feb 18, 2014 7:59 PM in response to DrChrispocalypse

The article I linked has links to a lot of exception sub-articles as well, if you follow it through. Including "how to re-use the Backup from a different computer". I honestly think your situation is covered in there -- it was not intended as just a glossy introduction on the subject.

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Answer 4

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Feb 18, 2014 8:12 PM in response to DrChrispocalypse

A possible reason for backups not to be available in Migration Assistant is that the computer doesn't have a name, or the name is corrupt. Open the Sharing preference pane and check the name. If you can't do that, reset the PRAM. Credit to ASC member Csnote for this observation.

Most likely, some folders were excluded from your backups as the result of a failed or aborted software installation.

Starting from a clean installation of OS X, set up a new administrator account and log in. Enter Time Machine and press the key combination shift-command-C. The front window will show all mounted volumes. All snapshots should now be accessible.* Select the one you want and navigate to your home folder (in the Users folder at the top level of the old startup volume.)

You should now be able to restore your user data. I suggest you do this in two stages. Quit all applications except the Finder before you begin.

Restore all the visible items at the top level of your home folder.
Hold down the option key and select Go ▹ Library from the Finder menu bar. Enter Time Machine and restore all items in the Library folder. Log out and log back in as soon as the restore is complete.

Any other invisible folders or files at the top level of your home folder that you want to preserve will have to be restored separately. For most users, that isn't necessary.

You'll have to reinstall all third-party applications from scratch, or restore them from another kind of backup, if you have one.

You'll have another problem if this is a new computer, or if you erased the startup volume: The next time you back up, Time Machine won't recognize any files as being the same as they were before, and will make a full copy of all files. There might not be enough space on one or more of your backup volumes for that. There are different ways of dealing with that situation, depending on your needs. The easiest way is to set your backup drives aside, if possible, until you're sure you'll no longer need the data on them, then erase them and start over. Meanwhile start a new backup on one or more empty storage devices. If that solution isn't workable for you, ask for instructions.

*If you don't see any snapshots in Time Machine, exit the time-travel view and then hold down the option key while selecting

Browse Other Backup Disks...

from the Time Machine menu, which has an icon that looks like a clock running backwards. Select the backups of your computer by its previous name. If you don't have the Time Machine menu, open the Time Machine preference pane in System Preferences and check the box marked

Show Time Machine in menu bar

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