TimeMachine cannot see older files after upgrade to Mavericks

First make sure you have read & write access to the folder you're trying to restore to. You should be able to see its contents in the Finder, and to move files in and out of it.

This is an exception to the rule that you should never make any changes to backup data. I've tested this procedure in OS X 10.8 only. It should work with later versions, but I don't know whether it works in earlier versions. Use it only for files that were backed up from your home folder, or a folder on another volume created by you, and would normally be writable by you. Do not touch backups of system or application files.

In the Finder (not in the time-travel view), navigate to the backup volume, then to the folder named "Backups.backupdb", and then to the snapshot you want to restore from. The snapshots are folders labeled with the date when they were created. Inside each of those folders is a file hierarchy like the one on the volume that was backed up. Descend through the hierarchy until you come to a folder named "Users," and inside that, a folder with your user name. The procedure will be different if you're trying to restore files on another volume.

Select the folder and open the Info dialog (command-I). Click the padlock icon in the lower right corner of the window and authenticate. In the Sharing & Permissions section, give your account Read & Write access. You may have to close the dialog and repeat this step in order for the change to show up. Then click the gear icon and select Apply to Enclosed Items from the popup menu.

Try the restore operation again, in the time-travel interface.

While in Time Machine, 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 the files you want to restore.

This kind of thing happens when you don't follow Apple's instructions to restore from Time Machine. You ended up with an account that has a different numerical ID than the one you had before, and you didn't inherit the backup history of the old startup volume.

I suggest you put the backup drive aside. Don't use it again until you're sure you'll no longer need the data, then erase it and start over. Meanwhile, start a new backup on a different drive. You need more than one backup to be safe anyway.

You should have followed the prompt from Setup Assistant to transfer data from a backup of another Mac, and then a later prompt from Time Machine to inherit the history.

Hello Linc,

1. Can this be fixed (inheriting backup history) or have to reinstall from scratch to get associations back?

2. How to restore an application specific items (Contact(s) - Document(s)...etc)

Thnx

Inherit a Backup

Inherit a Backup (2)

Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J. When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Select Library.

Thank you very much Eric, i have done as instructed and still cannot seem to get through to my backups from time machine.

If i use the (command + R) restore from back approach, will it be rectified? any other solutions?

Mavericks - late 2011 MBP 13"

You are welcome.

Try using Disk Utility/Restore to copy the old backup to the new drive. Note the warning about reformatting. Any data on the new drive will be erased.

If you copy the backup to a new drive and then select the drive in Time Machine Preferences, see if you get the option to use the old backup.

It should be.