Incomplete Restore from Time Machine

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Level 1

42 points

Incomplete Restore from Time Machine

My 2009 iMac running 10.9.3 was having problems with crashing apps and just plain acting weird. I decided to do a clean reinstall of Mavericks using my Time Machine backup. I discovered that the Time Machine Restore erases the disk during the process and that would give me the "clean" reinstall.

After completing the restore, Mail, Calendar, Contacts, App Store, iTunes, Maps, QuickTime Player, and iPhoto did not have their proper icons in the dock nor would they run. Also, all the Utilities including Disk Utility and Activity Monitor showed bad icons and would not run. Trying to open Disk Utility gives a message "You can't open the application "Disk Utility.app" because it may be damaged or incomplete." Safari, Notes, Preview and other non OSX system apps seem to be largely OK.

In desperation I downloaded the OSXUpdCombo10.9.3.dmg and reinstalled Mavericks. No change in the icons, but this time Mail did open but then crashed. I tried moving Disk Utility from my laptop to my iMac with dropbox but OSX will not allow me to replace the bad Disk Utility. Anybody have a clue as what I should try next?

Posted on Jun 28, 2014 4:20 PM

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Answer 1

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Linc Davis

Level 10

209,541 points

Jun 28, 2014 5:04 PM in response to Dick Jewell1

Restoring from Time Machine is not a clean install. At best, it would restore the status quo.

If you don't already have a current backup, back up all data, then reinstall the OS.* You don't need to erase the startup volume, and you won't need the backup unless something goes wrong. If the system was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you may need the Apple ID and password you used.

If you use FileVault 2, then before running the Installer you must launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the FileVault startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) It will be nested below another icon with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar and enter your login password when prompted. Then quit Disk Utility to be returned to the main Recovery screen.

There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.

If you installed the Java runtime distributed by Apple and still need it, you'll have to reinstall it. The same goes for Xcode. All other data will be preserved.

*The linked support article refers to OS X 10.9 ("Mavericks"), but the procedure is the same for OS X 10.7 ("Lion") and later.

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Answer 2

Dick Jewell1 Author

Level 1

42 points

Jun 29, 2014 11:42 AM in response to Linc Davis

Many thanks for the tip Linc. Reinstalling the OS solved most of the problems. I had to re-download iTunes and iPhoto from Apple to make them run, but all seems to be pretty good now.

Its too bad Apple does not make it clear that a Time Machine backup is not fully functional as you imply. I did worry about that but could find no information against doing what I did.

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