Q: Time Machine not working with Yosemite

Definitely let them go.

First major 10.10.0 bug I tested in 10.10.1 is still there.

If you have an external disk that is dismounted when Time Machine runs, next occasion that Time Machine runs and the disk is mounted - Time Machine uses total space on that disk as part of the requirement.

Why is this important - because it vastly overstates what is needed and may unnecessarily delete backups.

Example - Calculated c47GB (wrong) but only backed up c110KB, (correct) so may have deleted anything up to 47GB of backups that it shouldn't.

1. Do Time Machine Backup

2. Dismounted ScratchUse

3. Do Time Machine Backup

4. Mounted ScratchUse

5. Do Time Machine Backup

This is the output from item 5.

17/11/2014 19:49:25.153 com.apple.backupd[653]: Starting manual backup

17/11/2014 19:49:25.166 com.apple.backupd[653]: Backing up to /dev/disk4s2: /Volumes/Time Machine Backup/Backups.backupdb

17/11/2014 19:49:26.109 com.apple.backupd[653]: Will copy (Zero KB) from ScratchUse

17/11/2014 19:49:26.112 com.apple.backupd[653]: Will copy (110 KB) from Macintosh HD

17/11/2014 19:49:26.112 com.apple.backupd[653]: Will copy (Zero KB) from Photo Masters Vol 3

17/11/2014 19:49:26.113 com.apple.backupd[653]: Will copy (Zero KB) from Photo Masters 5

17/11/2014 19:49:26.113 com.apple.backupd[653]: Will copy (Zero KB) from Music and Video

17/11/2014 19:49:26.114 com.apple.backupd[653]: Found 78 files (46.97 GB) needing backup

17/11/2014 19:49:26.128 com.apple.backupd[653]: 58.16 GB required (including padding), 1.24 TB available

17/11/2014 19:49:26.676 com.apple.backupd[653]: Copied 3 items (234 bytes) from volume ScratchUse. Linked 5.

17/11/2014 19:49:28.844 com.apple.backupd[653]: Copied 28 items (110 KB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 367.

17/11/2014 19:49:30.535 com.apple.backupd[653]: Copied 1 items (Zero KB) from volume Photo Masters Vol 3. Linked 5.

17/11/2014 19:49:31.428 com.apple.backupd[653]: Copied 1 items (Zero KB) from volume Photo Masters 5. Linked 3.

17/11/2014 19:49:32.180 com.apple.backupd[653]: Copied 1 items (Zero KB) from volume Music and Video. Linked 7.

17/11/2014 19:49:33.202 com.apple.backupd[653]: Created new backup: 2014-11-17-194932

The difference is the files on ScratchUse that had already been backed-up.

If you want to test this, I suggest making sure that you use a disk where the amount used on the disk is less than the free space on your backup drive, otherwise you will lose backups.

Despite all my problems and trouble-shooting, I have not (yet) experienced that situation. Are you saying it happens after updating to 10.10.1, or it's one of the problems with Yosemite and Time Machine?

When I am able to open the Time Machine disk on the desktop all my backups are there and all have a complete backup inside the folder.

Time Machine still won't travel through time ... pretty bad issue for a time machine.

Apple, please fix EVERYTHING!

Was introduced with Yosemite 10.10.0, is still there in 10.10.1.

Absolutely repeatable

In Mavericks, in this situation, in the backup in step 5 it would do a scan of the drive as part of the space calculation so it was always 'right'; now it just takes the used space on the volume - which is (nearly) always totally wrong.

So if the used space on the drive is more than the free space on the backup it will delete backups until either there is enough space or there is only one backup left. In the latter case it gives you error message but by then its too late as all your other backups have gone.

See this thread - Yosemite and Time Machine

But I mixed up TB and GB in the example, they should all be TB

That settles it... back to Mavericks for me.

AHappyMacUser wrote:

 

This worked!  If I first access Time Machine from my hard drive and navigate from there it works.  Odd behavior, but glad it works!  Thank you!

This solved it for me!  Entering Time Machine from the Desktop was useless - just hung...  But entering from my HD in Finder allowed me to navigate to my Desktop and recover what I was looking for.

I attempt to open my encrypted Time Machine BU and I get a error message:

The following disk images couldn't be opened:

Image: MacBook Pro.sparsebundle

Reason: Resource temporarily unavailable

So, not good.

Good news? It appears my MacBook Pro will restore to my latest 10.9.5 backup via the Restore Disk (starting up while holding down Command and R), but of course it's going to take 10-hours!

BTW: My Mac Pro's Time Machine just dumped older data to make some space... it had gotten below 20GB free space... now it's at 153.99GB free/7.5TB used

Happy User,

Today Nov 17, finally 10.10.1 update came out.  That is the good news for restoring past data.  Now Time Machine can travel back in time.  The bad news is that we all provided Apple developers with the workaround to accomplish all this by clicking on the Macintosh HD either outside of or in Time Machine and navigating to the desired folder or file(s).  The favorites before, only froze everything up.  Now Apple engineers, being ingenious copycats really haven't solved the real fix for this problem.  They implemented the workaround we thought up by freezing the favorites and programming Time machine to select Macintosh HD and you have to navigate through the finder panes to go into the past.  You can select a past pane okay, but you can tell that the fix in 10.10.1 is only a workaround until they get around to doing it right and we thought of it first!

Nothing has really changed for me since 10.10.1.  If I enter TM from the folder I wish to retrieve, then I can't navigate back in time.  If I enter TM from the HD then I can navigate back in time using the sidebar only.  If I attempt to navigate through the folders before backing up in time, I will get blank time cards.  I think this is a partial fix, but it sure doesn't act like Time Machine in Mavericks. 

10.10.1 did not fix the problem. In fact I can no longer use the TM drive work around. I mean come on Man! Its worst now than before the update. Everyone needs to keep posting "Time Machine not working with Yosemite" until Apple gives us a fix. This is absolutely ridiculous!

I just tried it out on my Mac Pro with 10.10.1, in Enter Time Machine. If I select my computer in Devices in the Finder window (you have to set the Device preference, in Finder, for Sidebar to show your computer) and then select my home folder I have access to all historical copies every individual item on my computer (e.g., Applications, Documents, Music, etc.) while in Time Machine. Not perfect, but it does work.

having the same problem as I need to get a photo from a few years back and can't get anything,*** is up with that?

It is strange isn't it Jdaddy404, especially when Apple 'claims' to have released the same version of Yosemite for everyone.  I clean installed using a pen drive, and my now my two years of backups, are either extremely hard too find, or gone. 

For instance, when I open my Mail wt Time Machine, and try to recover old emails, I am unable to go past November 13 in the Mail program. Time machine fails to function before the 13th. The 13th is the day which I installed Yosemite. My backup drive still functions, and have files going back to 2012. Unfortunately I can only access them by going into my devices. Then looking for items seems to be a hit or miss process. Or I can go directly into my backup drive, in order to recover old items. Unfortunately using time machine as it was designed, is not possible. I will also be asking in a new forum, but I'll ask here first. Under what file name is old mail files stored under, so I can look them up in my backup drive, and hopefully have them restored.

I seem to have the  exact same issue down to the inability to go past November 13th in Apple Mail. We're trying to get back to November 9th but are unable to.