TIME MACHINE BACKUP errror

[IMYB]

Ok, got a newer imac 27" late 2012 since my 2009 died. Was excited when I got the computer in, started it, click to bring my stuff from a drive, selected my time machine backup and 6hrs later it was done and had a few questions, then it said... you are ready to use your computer click continue. When I clicked continue the background was visible and the mouse but nothing else. Waited a while in case it was doing something but nothing happened. I figured I would shut it down and restart. When it booted it had all sort of codes on the screen (see picture).

After calming down I realized that the backup was done in a 10.SOMETHING (10.13 or 10.14 maybe higher... not sure) but the computer was running 10.8.5

I wiped the computer clean and re-installed the os from the recovery and upgraded all the way to 10.13.6. The computer is running fine, no weird code on the screen.

QUESTIONS:

1- Can bringing a time machine backup on a lower OS than it was made in cause that issue? I would have expected the computer to tell me, you can't do that.

2- How do I know what OS was used to make the time machine backup?

Just want to know the best way to proceed so I don't do the wrong thing for 6 hrs again...lol

Thanks!

 

[rm5]

I'm not completely understanding the first part, can you please clarify? Are you trying to reinstall macOS with the backup?

Looks like it's kernel panicking on boot for some reason. Are you BOOTING INTO THE BACKUP? If so DO NOT DO THIS - try to boot into Internet Recovery (Option + Cmd + R for latest compatible OS, Shift + Opt + Cmd + R for oldest compatible OS). Once in the Utilities menu, go up to "Restore From Time Machine Backup" and it should say which macOS version it has

 

[IMYB]

I'm not completely understanding the first part, can you please clarify? Are you trying to reinstall macOS with the backup?

Looks like it's kernel panicking on boot for some reason. Are you BOOTING INTO THE BACKUP? If so DO NOT DO THIS - try to boot into Internet Recovery (Option + Cmd + R for latest compatible OS, Shift + Opt + Cmd + R for oldest compatible OS). Once in the Utilities menu, go up to "Restore From Time Machine Backup" and it should say which macOS version it has

1- Got a computer
2- Started the computer and did the setup when it starts with the WELCOME page where you pick your country....
3- When asked to bring my data from another computer or hard drive, I SELECTED FROM A DRIVE and selected MY TIME MACHINE BACKUP
4- Computer went on for 6hrs to bring the time machine backup to the computer
5- When finished it said... you are ready to use your computer click continue... which I did
6- Then all I had was the background image and my mouse and nothing else.
7- When computer restarted it had that panic message

I then realized the computer had 10.8.5 installed on it and my time machine backup was made in 10.13 or 10.14

I was wondering if the fact that I tried to bring a time machine backup on a lower OS (10.8.5) could have caused the issue?

So, I need to know how can I tell what version of OS was used to make the time machine backup so I can upgrade the OS on the computer to the same version.

Hope this makes more sense.

 

[rm5]

1- Got a computer
2- Started the computer and did the setup when it starts with the WELCOME page where you pick your country....
3- When asked to bring my data from another computer or hard drive, I SELECTED FROM A DRIVE and selected MY TIME MACHINE BACKUP
4- Computer went on for 6hrs to bring the time machine backup to the computer
5- When finished it said... you are ready to use your computer click continue... which I did
6- Then all I had was the background image and my mouse and nothing else.
7- When computer restarted it had that panic message

I then realized the computer had 10.8.5 installed on it and my time machine backup was made in 10.13 or 10.14

I was wondering if the fact that I tried to bring a time machine backup on a lower OS (10.8.5) could have caused the issue?

So, I need to know how can I tell what version of OS was used to make the time machine backup so I can upgrade the OS on the computer to the same version.

Hope this makes more sense.

Thanks for the detailed description, this is helpful.

Maybe 10.8.5 is too old and therefore not supported by your system. Try this, and see if it works:

1. Install a version of macOS (doesn't matter which one - just as long as it's supported)
2. Do the same thing you did but DO NOT RESTORE FROM THE BACKUP! Set it up like a fresh install (new user account, etc.)
3. Make sure the computer works fine with the user account/fresh install.
4. THEN, open Migration Assistant, connect backup drive, and restore it.
5. If it works, then your problem is solved (hopefully). If it doesn't, you'll have to go into TM manually and copy the files/applications.

Like I mentioned before, it should say which macOS version was used to make the backup. If not, you can probably go into Recovery and go "Restore from Time Machine" and look.

I noticed another forum member last month was having a similar issue with a 2011 iMac - they thought it was the hard drive failing (it probably was), but when they went to restore macOS, it kernel panicked. Maybe you are having a similar problem.

 

[rm5]

Oh! Maybe your backup is corrupt. Have you tried other backups?

 

[IMYB]

Oh! Maybe your backup is corrupt. Have you tried other backups?

I only have 1 backup.

Can I connect the time machine drive to the computer and browse on it like a regular HD? And bring files manually if I need to? or are the files "compressed" and you can't see the actual files and bring them on the new computer by doing a drag/drop?

 

[IMYB]

Thanks for the detailed description, this is helpful.

Maybe 10.8.5 is too old and therefore not supported by your system. Try this, and see if it works:

1. Install a version of macOS (doesn't matter which one - just as long as it's supported)
2. Do the same thing you did but DO NOT RESTORE FROM THE BACKUP! Set it up like a fresh install (new user account, etc.)
3. Make sure the computer works fine with the user account/fresh install.
4. THEN, open Migration Assistant, connect backup drive, and restore it.
5. If it works, then your problem is solved (hopefully). If it doesn't, you'll have to go into TM manually and copy the files/applications.

Like I mentioned before, it should say which macOS version was used to make the backup. If not, you can probably go into Recovery and go "Restore from Time Machine" and look.

I noticed another forum member last month was having a similar issue with a 2011 iMac - they thought it was the hard drive failing (it probably was), but when they went to restore macOS, it kernel panicked. Maybe you are having a similar problem.

I have installed "10.13.6" and the computer is working fine. But, I need to get all my stuff on there.

I wanted to know which os was the time amchine backup done in so I can upgrade the computer to the same OS to improve my chances that it works because waiting 6hrs to see if it worked is a long time. Also then erasing everything and upgrading the system again is time consuming.

I guess there is no way around.

 

[Boyd01]

You don't know what version of MacOS your old computer was running? Regardless, if the backup disk was formatted as APFS then a computer running Mountain Lion (10.8) would not be able to read it at all. But since it actually spent hours trying to import the backup, that probably isn't the issue here. You should be able to easily check the disk formatting with Disk Utility and rule that problem out.

Instead of spending six hours and just hoping it will work, try connecting the disk to the new computer that is running High Sierra (10.13) and see if you can access any of the files. Don't try doing a full restore, just check a few files. If that works then you can use Migration Assistant (in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder) to restore the full backup. Of course, there might be some other issue with corrupted files on the time machine disk that is causing your problem.

For future reference, this kind of problem is exactly why I don't use Time Machine for big jobs like setting up a new computer. It is handy to access old versions and files that were deleted, but not for this. I use Carbon Copy Cloner to setup new computers instead. It creates an exact copy of your old disk so the files can be directly accessed without needing to "restore" them.

Hope you get it working.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

What "died" on the older Mac?
Can it start up in "safe mode" (hold down shift key)?
Can it start up in "target disk mode" (hold down "T" key)?