Backup contents not showing during Time Machine system restore

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Backup contents not showing during Time Machine system restore

I just installed a new hard drive on my Macbook Pro so I'm trying to restore a backup of my old hard drive that was saved on a USB-connected external drive (model: LaCie Minimus). However, when I try to transfer the information during system setup, my backup is not showing as part of the external drive's contents. Only the backup information of two other computers are showing up, but not mine (my computer is called 'Hannah Mercader's Macbook Pro'):

However, if I plug the external drive into another laptop to view its contents, my computer's backup information is clearly in the external drive:

I am positive that I have been backing up my laptop properly using Time Machine. However, the last time that I did try backing up my laptop, it didn't work because my hard drive had failed in the middle of the process (hence the reason for needing to install a new hard drive). I've already tried to Repair the external drive using Disk Utility... everything seems OK but my backups still aren't showing when I try to set up my laptop.

Please help me to restore my last proper backup's contents!

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2009), OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Mar 23, 2014 7:13 PM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Mar 23, 2014 9:13 PM in response to hfmercader

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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