Q: Time Machine not working with Yosemite

For what it's worth...Per the Apple Genius Bar - When you install Yosemite on your Mac it will encrypt your hard drive (i.e., a default setting). When you try to restore from your unencrypted Time Capsule files, it won't work. In our situation, we just replaced the 500GB hard drive on the MacBook Pro and the Apple folks installed Yosemite. Little did we know that when we started up Yosemite, it encrypted the new hard drive. When we went to restore from the Time Capsule (which is not encrypted), it didn't work…no Restore icon appeared in the Time Machine window.  We opened the Migration Assistant and are now in the process of decrypting the new 500 GB hard drive. Once completed, we should be able to restore from Time Capsule normally.

Same with mine.  Can’t get folders or navigate

Yosemite didn't encrypt my hard drive when I upgraded from mavericks.

Has anyone contacted Apple about this issue ?

I had this problem too and seem to have stumbled on a workaround for my set up which has a Macbook Pro Retina running Yosemite connected wirelessly to two Time Capsules. After upgrading to Yosemite Time Machine would only work with one of the disks at any one time whereas Time Machine had previously (under Mavericks) backed up alternately to one TC and then the other TC an hour later - and so on.

I used Finder to check on the detailed contents of the two Time Capsules and then put the twoTC   'Data' icons onto my desktop - from then on Time Machine has been back to normal with automatic backups alternating between TCs every hour and the content being complete when searched.

Do you use TM to back up external drives?

The behaviour is exactly as if:

- Time Machine ran when the external was dismounted

- The external was remounted

- Time Machine ran again

- The total amount in scope of the backup up from the external is greater than the free space on the Time Machine drive

Major flaw in the rewrite of Time Machine for Yosemite is that in the above scenario, Time Machine ignores the fact that most if not all of the external is already backed-up.

In Mavericks, in the above situation, Time Machine would scan the disk and work out the precise requirements, which could take a long time. To speed things up, Apple now assume that every file has changed and just take total space used on disk.

If this is the case, there is little to do to recover - as you say all your old history is gone and easiest way to start using Time Machine is to erase the disk and start agin

See Yosemite and Time Machine for at least 9 other people with same problem.

I finally gave up on restoring from Time Capsule under Yosemite. The Apple 'genius' folks re-installed Maverick and now the Time Capsule restore function works. Apple needs to fix the Time Capsule restore function in Yosemite before I will consider using it.

On my first Yosemite install, I chose to install over Mavericks. Big mistake, ran like molasses. On my 2nd install, I chose to clean install, and use migration assistant. Little faster, but still slow. My third install I clean installed, and didn't use migration assistant, and it runs a lot faster, but I cannot access time machine. W/O time machine the machine is pretty useless. I was planning on carefully moving them myself manually after the install was finished, because I probably brought something back that slowed down my machine, when I used migration assistant. I have documents, and apps on there, that I've been using for the past 4 years.  Time machine is still backing up, since I still have a backup drive wt backups from today, but Time machine is not in the dock itself, and when I choose it in System Preferences, it just brings me to either the On or Off screen wt Select Disc, and options. It is On, and the Backup Disc is selected. Also in my Backup Drive, I can view backups done within the past hour, but I don't see the Time Machine icon in the dock, or desktop. Completely confused ..

Do this

1. Go to Preferences

2. Click on Time Machine

3. Turn Time Machine off

4. Turn Time Machine on

5. Close preferences

You are good to go

That's a no go for me I'm afraid!  It makes no difference.

The problem remains. I've tried every possible solution I could find and a lot more I could think of myself. Nothing seems to solve the problem. Something is defintely broken in Yosemite. We have to wait until Apple fixes this.

Try this

1. Open time machine in preferences and uncheck "Show time machine in menu bar"

2. Go to Application folder

3. Open Time Machine from the folder. You can if you want put it in the dock

If this works, it means that the menu bar is not updated.

Let me know if this helps, good luck

No, doesn't help! The problem remains.

I have this problem too.

Do you use internal or external HD for TM?