Can´t access time machine past backups

Question

Level 1

4 points

Can´t access time machine past backups

Hi!

I have a hard drive for backups. I´ve had several problems with my computer and needed to format the whole machine twice. Now I have my backups on a single folder, identified as a single machine but fragmented in 3 users.

My problem is:

- If I start time machine, I can only access to my current-after-last-hd-format documents, time machine doesn´t dive deeper where I have other files before formatting.

- I can only access those files through finder

- My problem is that I want to delete some files I don´t need anymore that occupy a lot of space on my HD and I don´t have a way to do it as I can´t use the right-click "delete all backups of this file" trick inside Time machine.

Any help?

Thanks!!!!

H.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Nov 25, 2015 3:36 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Bob Timmons

Community+ 2024

Level 10

159,326 points

Nov 25, 2015 11:24 PM in response to granmah

Try the following, if you have not already done so.

Hold down the option key on your Mac while you click on the Time Machine "clock" icon at the top of the screen

Click Browse Other Backup Disks

Select another backup file

Click Use Selected Disk

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Answer 2

granmah Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 25, 2015 11:24 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks Bob!

My problem is that I have different copys of my HD that are pointing to the same HD and folder, but this different copys are related to different formating times of my computer

Example:

This is the copy Time Machine did before formatting (clean install) one of the times:

The day after I formatted, even the main folder had a different name. I can only access through time machine to the folders until this day but not before:

Any help?

Thanks! 🙂

H

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Answer 3

granmah Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 27, 2015 12:04 AM in response to granmah

Hi people!!!

Any ideas? This is really killing me! 😢

thx!

H

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Answer 4

Nov 27, 2015 7:07 AM in response to granmah

Hold down the option key on your Mac while you click on the Time Machine "clock" icon at the top of the screen

Click Browse Other Backup Disks

Select another backup file

Click Use Selected Disk

If you are saying that this did not allow you to use Time Machine to see your old backups, the only option that you have is to use the Finder to manually find and trash the data that you want to delete.

If it were me, I would simply erase the backup hard drive and start over again with another "master" backup and then move forward.

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Answer 5

granmah Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 30, 2015 12:12 AM in response to Bob Timmons

I tried to manually deleted the files through finder and it didn´t work, the system doesn´t allow me to do it 😟

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Answer 6

Nov 30, 2015 6:16 AM in response to granmah

Then, your only option at this point is to erase the entire hard drive and then start over again with a new backup.

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