time machine all recent backups missing after reboot

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th1971d Author

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time machine all recent backups missing after reboot

I accidentally deleted an important file on my mac, and when i opened time machine, i discovered that my it couldn't be found wirelessly. The green light was still on the front of the device but my mac couldn't locate it.

I'm not sure exactly how long it has been since timecapsule made a backup, but i have a clear memory of it working about 3 months ago.

I rebooted it and now its running, and has backed up.

My problem is when i go into the "star wars screen" to view past backups, the only backups are from today and then next most recent are from July 2012 when i first bought the time capsule, everything else in between has disappeared. It definitely had 2013 backups.

Are the backups from 2013 still there and can't be seen, or have they been deleted permanently?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, Mac OS X (10.7.1)

Posted on Mar 8, 2014 1:03 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 8, 2014 1:36 PM in response to th1971d

How recently was the file you deleted modified..?

I actually wish you had not done another backup. That will not help recover the file.

I suggest you mount the sparsebundle manually and go through it via finder.. on about the date you know you last modified the file.. that is where you are most likely to find it.

See Pondini on how to recover individual files.

Try Q15 here. http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html

The section Q14-17 is worth a brief visit.

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Answer 2

th1971d Author

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Mar 8, 2014 1:48 PM in response to LaPastenague

thanks for these suggestions. The document i deleted was from 2013, and all backups are either today (march 2014) or July/August 2012. Everything between September 2012 and February 2014 is missing.

I tried searching for the document i lost as you've suggested above, Q15, but it only finds today's version in today's backup (it doesn't find any earlier versions because the document didn't exist until August 2013 and the backups are from 2012.

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Answer 3

Mar 8, 2014 2:21 PM in response to th1971d

I presume then you upgraded to Mavericks?

It has a nasty habit of doing this.

If not on Mavericks please tell me what OS you are on.

Did you search by Finder.. after mounting the sparsebundle.. ie do not use Time Machine directly.

I know this is silly question .. but if you deleted the file is it in Trash??

If you deleted from Trash an immediate recovery is possible at times.. you will need to purchase a recovery software unless your are good with the CLI.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4070374

If it is deleted weeks ago then recovery is unlikely as the area of the drive will have been written over.

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Answer 4

th1971d Author

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Mar 8, 2014 2:43 PM in response to LaPastenague

I currently have Lion 10.7.5, i usually upgrade as soon as i am prompted to.

I've "mounted the sparsebundle" in finder, but it only produces the same results, files from 2012 or today's file.

And sadly its not in trash, i emptied the trash then realised later the file was in there as it's not anywhere else. 😟

I'm still confused as to where all the 2013 backups went? Why do i have have 2012 but not 2013?

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