Q: Time Machine not working with Yosemite

Same issue here as mvia, (including the sweating!).  Very glad to have found this thread - thanks to those who posted the solution.

Hopefully Apple will fix this properly in a Yosemite update.

I am having similar problems to everyone else after installing Yosemite over Mavericks on my Mid 2011 iMac. Time machine no longer works at all as it will not let me restore any file (after entering Time Machine) that I back up to an external hard drive connected via USB which is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). It shows incremental backups going back to September 2013 but backup windows are grey blank windows with the exception of the backups done on the current day (they show proper windows with blue icons for folder, red Close button at top of window, etc.). Clicking on anything (arrows, side bar along right hand side, blue icons within window for backups of current day) changes the window to a previous incremental backup window, but nothing appears within the window that I can click on to restore. Restore button remains greyed out. I tried doing a complete backup of 311GB to a second external hard drive to see if that might fix the problem but though the backup was complete (took 5 hours), and it manages to do incremental hourly backups to the external drive, when I enter Time Machine to try and restore something it still does not let me. Each of the incremental backup windows shows the correct blue folder icons and red Close button in upper left corner, and I can use arrows to slide to previous incremental backups but again as soon as I try clicking on any of the icons within a window to access a specific file or folder, the window just changes to a previous backup window. Again Restore button stays greyed out. Note I tried to enter the Macintosh HD as some suggested before entering Time Machine but I have the same problem. Only work around at present is to do what others have done: Double click on the actual Backup hard drive, open the Backups.backupdb folder, open the named folder (in my case Bob's iMac), choose the dated folder you want to restore from, then navigate to the folder or file you want to restore,  and drag the desired file or folder back onto the Desktop of your computer. Obviously not ideal and it does not fix the problems but you are at least able to get files back from previous dates. Amazing how Apple let this problem slip though their quality checks as it is such a serious breach and danger to customers not to have a reliable way to retrieve and/or restore files! Unacceptable!

My senior advisor got in touch with me after talking to developers and engineers at Apple.  He had me go into Time Machine and let the greyed out interface sit for 10 minutes to see if the past folders would load.  After that, the erratic behavior made him certain that a future update would be needed to fix the problem.  Any workaround we use now is just temporary until then, he said.  Well, at least they know about the problem for sure.  My senior advisor read all of these posts and I told him there were more available now so the problems of Time Machine are not one computer's problem. I believe that in making Time Machine work a little differently, the programmers made some coding mistakes, etc.

P.S. If you have $39.99 to spare you can buy Carbon Copy Cloner by Bombich.  It clones the whole Yosemite and even the base system restore (the part of Yosemite that comes up when you turn on your Mac and hold down the command + R.  Its best to use it on an external drive and partition the drive if it is the same one that stores your Time Machine backups.

Hi,

I faced the same problem but got a working solution by first opening a finder window that opens the folder that refers to your device, in my case named 'Martin's MacBook Air' (which should have a different name of course on your machine) and then open time machine. Then I can easily navigate back in history as I am used to. However, the favorites bar in the finder seems not to work anymore. So you need to click on the folders/ files itself to arrive at the place of your back-upped files. Hopes this helps.

Cheers,

Martin

I have just spent 2 hours first online chat and then with 2 'advisors' on the phone after explaining my Tm cannot back up after installing Yosemite. Why, why did they not confirm there was a problem that couldn't be fixed instead of wasting  my time - disgraceful Apple. I have no solution apart from buying a new hard drive.  

what is the exact issue? is it not backing up at all?

Keeps saying "Backup failed. there isn't enough space on time capsule" It should delete old back ups - which it hasn't. Also if I enter the TM i can't see any old backups apart from the last on on the 18th oct - the day i upgraded to yosemite.

I've had issues like this even before the upgrade...... I usually go into disk utilities and reformat the hard drive and start over again with TM backups. Its usually fine for a few moths after that. Its not the Hard Drive...its just time machines clearing (or lack there of) the database to make room for new backups.

in response to GWDALBA

You can try this trick to preserve your backup history (hope that is not too late for you):

http://simon.heimlicher.com/articles/2012/07/10/time-machine-inherit-backup-usin g-tmutil

I've used it in the past and it worked !

Torp

My family upgraded to Yosemite on our 3 Macs four days ago: on an iMac, a MacBook Pro, and a MacBook Air, all three Macs from early 2014.

In Mavericks there was never any trouble with the Time Machine. But now on all three Macs, the TM doesn’t function properly.

1. 1) on entering TM, the Restore and the two Arrow buttons for selecting the date are dimmed out 90% of the time; nothing can be done, for example, clicking on the Finder folders or files and so on is impossible.
2. 2) sometimes, however, only the Restore button is dimmed out, or vice versa, only the two Arrow buttons.
3. 3) on two occasions, no buttons were dimmed out, but on the very first click, all the buttons were again dimmed out
4. 4) on the iMac and the Mac Book Pro, thank God, the backups still seem to be working; however, on the MacBook Air, a „preparing backup“ message just keeps on running and running.

The TM is a major feature of OS X that Apple pushes hard in its ads. Hopefully this means we’ll soon have an update. As a normal Mac user, I would find it difficult to apply any more exotic workaround solutions that some Mac experts might offer. My patience and ability to troubleshoot doesn’t go much beyond David Pogue’s latest OS X manual.

Anyway, a last point: the previous TM was a thing of beauty, and I really enjoyed being sort of shot into space with the stars, like Dante on his way to the Empyrean; but now, on entering the TM in Yosemite, it looks like the Finder has fallen into an ugly pool of mud.

Thanks for any help or feedback you can offer.      

Exactly my own experience. I am very annoyed with Apple particularly spending 2 hours on-line chat and via phone with three different Apple technical support that at no point did the confirm there was an issues with Yosemite and TM! Like you I am now waiting for a update.

There isn't any "Star Wars" interface anymore with time machine running Yosemite.Just a nauseous vomit lime green coloured interface....plus the added benefit of major headaches now with time machine not backing up flawlessly like it did all the time/every time when running Mavericks.I wish Apple would just come clean on things like this instead of just inconveniencing you/leaving you in the dark over these things.It was a well performing simple set and forget/back up now/manual well performing back up system until I downloaded installed this Yosemite ****!

Im having dramas with time machine backups(manual) just sticking on "preparing backup".....nothing happens!

I had dramas too with iOS 8.0 update via iTunes but kind of seems to be ok now(were just with AppStore updating apps/install icons stuck dimmed horseshoe shaped/filling up then going in weird reverse direction)....and tech support told me apparently I were the only person....IN THE WORLD too mind you....that was having this problem.....yeah sure apple right!

Same issue with my upgrade.   One issue I notice is that the file server on the time machine is not persistent.   It looks like the backups might be storing on the time machine drive.  But can't be retrieved.   Definitely a bug.    Is there any resolution from Apple on this issue?