Time Machine: Can I Still Retrieve Old Backups w/out an External Backup Device?
Okay, so long story short, I manually cleaned my Macbook and deleted some files in an attempt to remove some hidden malware. But it was a really bad idea as now I can't power up my Mac without using the SMC power option every time, along with surfing being extraordinarily slow, and other problems. I know I can set my Mac back to an earlier time period before all this happened using Time Machine, but now I'm seeing errors in that application as well. I can't go back in time to earlier dates because they've been greyed out. Only stuff that have happened as of today shows.
Also, I didn't realize Time Machine functions using an external disk? Well I had a Time Capsule that I backed up all my files into, but I stupidly erased everything in there and sold that item. I also checked on my Time Capsule preferences and it shows the word "none" for "Oldest Backup" and "Latest Backup." Does this officially mean all my files are lost now, and that there's no single way possible to retrieve any files for an older date (specifically to a date a week before today, September 28th), or restore my Mac to a previous setting? Please, I am in a really desperate situation right now and would really like to get an answer. If it's something I can fix myself, I'd be more than happy to do it, rather than paying for the whole apple care service.
MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.5)