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Time Machine restore - is migration assistant the only option?

C

canadian lamp

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 23, 2021
19
5
Hello,
I recently had an issue in the OS and needed to use Time Machine to restore a previous state. Whenever this is happened in the past ( maybe five times) for OS Mojave and before, Time Machine full restores were easy with a single click ( select Time Machine backup date) and no hassle.

during my time machine restoreA few days ago, I got an "error" message stating that I must reinstal the OS and use migration assistant as the only option. I am not even sure if this was an error. When I selected to reinstall from a Time Machinem I was not allowed to do a full restore with a single click as done in previous OS versions. I cannot determine if this is code for an error message

In that moment, I was questioning whether my Time Machine backups were corrupted and to what degree. The way it was worded that I must use migration assistant put doubt in my mind as to the stability of the existing backups. I still don't have an answer of what is normal behaviour for this version of the OSAnd if those backups were in bad shape.

the question is,
is migration assistant the only method for Time Machine restore now, rather than a single click?
Has anyone used a single click method for Big Sur Successfully?
 
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Is Time Machine not working for System Preferences, and do you have data you want to keep?

Migration Assistant is used to transfer from Windows, MacOS, or Time Machine.
If you don't have data you want to keep then go ahead and do a reset. If you need a macOS Installer after you install because you need apps let me know.
 
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I appreciate the offer, but my situation is sorted. This is a question about understanding the behaviour of the OS For future reference.
 
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I fixed it on my own. it's good to understand what is happening and why, that is what I'm looking for in the community and we can all have a better understanding of how this works should something hit the fan.
 
Yes, this is the expected behavior now. Starting with Big Sur (maybe Catalina), Time Machine no longer backs up the OS. You have to reinstall the OS yourself, then use Migration Assistant to restore your files.
 
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That is one way, I used another Hard Disk Partition System (HDPS) to add a new one at 200GB so that if OS X 10.8.5 goes wrong, I can use the Time Machine to restore it. You can do one too.

1. Locate the Launchpad
2. Click on Other or Utilities folder
3. Click Disk Utility
4. Go to the title on top of your existing HD.
5. Click on Partition, and rename it to Emergency Disk
6. Click [+] on the partition for 1 partition meaning that it shares most space on your installed drive, and a bit less on the partition drive as you can change that as long as it is even.
7. Format it as GUID format
8. Click on Partition
9. Wait upto a minute or two or so
10. Locate to System Preferences
11. Click Time Machine
12. Enable the Time Machine option
13. Select your renamed Partition (Emergency Disk)
14. Click Continue
15. Click Backup
16. Your done.

Need help? Click here if the link works.
 
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I know this is unhelpful at this time, but I would get a copy of Carbon Copy Cloner and read the Monterey help page as it gives good information about where Apple are going with back-ups. I have never got on with time machine, so I am bias!
 
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canadian lamp said:
Hello,
I recently had an issue in the OS and needed to use Time Machine to restore a previous state. Whenever this is happened in the past ( maybe five times) for OS Mojave and before, Time Machine full restores were easy with a single click ( select Time Machine backup date) and no hassle.
Click to expand...
That's how I restored using time machine a couple of years ago.

Recently, I had reason to restore Monterey on my 2020 MBA. Panic! No option to read my NAS; kept saying it wasn't a vaid backup. Luckily, I had my data backed up elsewhere but I was resigned to the fact I'd have to redo all my settings etc.

So, restored (using opt-cmd-R) to the latest Monterey version and then did a time machine restore as you did, using Migration Assistant. Everything was perfectly restored.

Irritated but relieved, I did some googling and yes, since Apple did some weirdness with APFS and a separate OS partition, one has to restore the OS and then as a separate step restore using Migration Assistant. Additional products such as CCC aren't necessary.

I've no idea what "MacOS Assister" is trying to do, but it's certainly resulting in a load of non-helpful posts in this thread.
 
Migration Assistant is used to transfer data, not restore data. Some people think it is used to restore.
 
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I think it is helpful.
The thing is, some things inevitably go wrong from time to time. It's good to know what to do in a moment of need, rather than trying to scrounge incomplete information when we are less rational in a time crunch. Carbon copy cloner is a preemptive method of dealing with this. And this is to be done before issues arise and on a continual basis.

I want to say that I barely pulled through this time. it was not a smooth process, and I don't mean extra clicks. the new installation failed the first two times using the "command R - restore" method. I was a bit shocked by this. I needed a separate bootable USB to make it happen. Also I learned that during my installation, the old drive was not automatically formatted before the OS was installed. So do that manually.

I've used CCC in the past to back up a few times, but in a manner that did not allow to make the backup bootable. I was fine with that. It was just to be able to access the raw files should Time Machine backups somehow corrupt . fortunately it never did. I now realize that CCC seems to be mandatory rather than a "nice to have" starting with this OS version. I think it's a shame, since the previous TM restore method was very good IMHO.

which documentation fromCCC are you talking about? they do have a lot of documentation, but I would like to read that article if we can find it.

Quote

this whole thing about invalid backups I find disturbing too. that should never be a surprise only to find out when you need to use it. speaking of invalid backups, this seems to be very strange to me that it should even happen in the first place. Only days before, I ran first-aid on the Time Machine drive. I got an error code 65. I notice that some people said that this is normal,But can't get good confirmation on this
 
canadian lamp said:
this whole thing about invalid backups I find disturbing too. that should never be a surprise only to find out when you need to use it. speaking of invalid backups, this seems to be very strange to me that it should even happen in the first place. Only days before, I ran first-aid on the Time Machine drive. I got an error code 65. I notice that some people said that this is normal
Click to expand...
It wasn't so much an invalid backup as it was a stupid unintuitive error message. The way to restore now (Monterey, Big Sur, maybe Catanina) is to load the OS (via recovery) then use Migration Assistant to restore all the non-OS stuff (into the APFS Data Volume) from the Time Machine backup.
 
Hi Canadian Lamp, please could you tell me how you fixed this. I have to same problem and when I called Apple Support they hadn't seen this problem before and could offer no solution.

Many thanks
 
xz69Micky said:
Hi Canadian Lamp, please could you tell me how you fixed this. I have to same problem and when I called Apple Support they hadn't seen this problem before and could offer no solution.

Many thanks
Click to expand...
this is what I have learned, and some of it is opinion. it is long and detailed, but I think it will help, how we think about backing up in the future, and what the best thing to do is.

TLDR,Use third-party software in addition to Time Machine. Migration assistant only reliable method. do not rely on Apple to solve your backup solution. that is for you to figure out

developers/CCC/ superduper abilities:

I don't think CCC can clone a disk image to an internal drive for Big Sur+. I haven't tried it. if it is possible, my understanding is is probably risky, not because CCC programming, but what Apple allows software developers to modify less now that the OS is more lockedown than before. I can understand wanting to make their system more secure, but it is a trade-off. I believe the same goes for superduper. you see, if you can clone to an internal drive, there is no guarantee you'll be able to restore successfully during future incremental OS updates. you won't know until it's too late. so since that function is sort of deprecated, it was done for a reason. external hard drives? I have little knowledge there

less features to come in future OS releases: what does that mean?

you see the thing is (opinion), I would consider newer Mac OS releases a bit more fragile than previous releases with my experience from Big Sur. The reason why I think this, is when you leave developers in the dark, or deprecate their existing programming they don't have the opportunity to fix the problems and are more limited in what they can do confidently, and this is reflected in less features in their releases. they have to be able to stand behind their products like any industry. it means we can't fully restore any more, at least for now. I am hoping Apple will improve this in future OS. it also means I can't use some of my older software confidently. The same will go from an Intel transition to (apple silcon) when some of the Intel stuff will be dropped. this could be years from now. who knows. it's tough growing pains.

what is the best method I found moving forward,

preparation stage, hardware:
  1. having (1) one physical external hard disk as a backup is insufficient to save your data. One backup assumes that there is nothing wrong with the backup. the adage 3 is 2 ( physical external HDDs + internal drive), and 2 is 1 applies. why?
    1. if the OS is less stable than previous releases, there is a higher probability that you will not have the opportunity to backup from a good existing safe point. did your issue occur recently, or a year ago? YOU must be able to answer this question. it is not for Apple to answer. pay attention to how your machine works. take care of problems early or you will forget.. but having migration assistant is worse, because a recent issue may not be able to be fixed if the issue is in the OS/ compatibility with some of your software. the migration assistant method steals away the ability to stay on a slightly older release (With confidence) until an issue was fixed. this is what is missing in the current backup equation. brain-dead move on apples part. who knows the answer what is best for you? you. not apple. having two drives saved me on the current restore.I have never had an issue in the past with maybe five full restores
    2. there is a a chance that the management of the Time Machine filesystem gets corrupted, and you don't know about it till it's too late. so your data is corrupted too. now how likely this is? this did happen to me for the first time. but how common is it? I am not sure if it is rare or common. time will tell coming from the community.
    3. I noticed that ejecting drives Sometimes don't work as consistently or quickly. and like a child on a tantrum, if you unplug it before the OS lets you ( not by choice), you're taking a risk with the data. I've had to wait 10 minutes more than once. restart initiated, nothing happens. roll the dice. in this regard, MacOS is miles behind the windows ecosystem. Mac OS does not effectively communicate with programs that are using the drive to say "you're done using this drive for now, stop and exit"
  2. ensure that your 2nd physical hard drive has backups from ages ago. you must be aware how much your hard drive is written to on a regular basis. why? depending on the type of work you do, your external drive might need to be way more than 1.5X or 2X capacity of your boot drive. this is especially the case if you're saving large files or large virtual machines on a regular basis. use case dependent.
  3. do not leave your second hard drive connected to the computer all the time. this will save you from power surges. I only backup with my second drive may be once a week or month.
  4. UPS for non-laptops. I find brownouts happen often and I don't know if that causes issues when a desktop shuts off.
  5. create a bootable USB thumb drive of your current OS. this is for when recovery fails. it allows you to change the OS version which you might need to do.
  6. the one hard drive that you leave connected to your computer all the time should be a NAS drive. the thing is going to be on all the time and you need durability.
preparation stage, software:

  1. partition each physical hard drive into (2) two partitions. one for Time Machine, and second for backup software such as CCC. why?
    1. if time machine drives get corrupted. software that is not nativly encrypted ( clone) can save you. keep in mind, that encryption should be required if the drive should ever leave your house but my understanding is encryption is a bit more risky. your choice on encryption.
    2. decide which one you feel more comfortable with in terms of stability (TM or CCC). I'm using both right now, because in the long term I don't know which is a better solution, hence two partitions.
    3. ensure that backup tasks from CCC do not interfere with TM. there is a setting in CCC that allows you to do this.
  2. "verify" your disk from disk utility on a regular basis, BUT ensure you do it from recovery and not in the base OS if you get any errors.If the errors are on the internal drive, you must do it from recovery. make sure you have a backup ready just in case. to confirm. if you do have errors, look up the error code online to determine if you need to format the drive again. it may be a small or big error. I have had "errors" that turned out to be nothing, but played it safe anyway.
  3. cloud backups save files, but is not sufficient to backup the structure of your computer. I'm not saying don't use it, but understand what a cloud backup will and will not do for you. I personally don't need it.
  4. some people talk about off-site options. I personally find the idea a bit of a hassle. you know what's best for you.

how is a full system restore performed?
  1. reset SMC and NV Ram.
  2. begin restore. format the hard drive bundle/stack. not just the " data" drive itself. do not format the recovery partition. I think it's called " Mac OS base system". it is a good idea to use your iPhone and look this up before you do it to give you confidence. Mac OS recoverywill change your boot drive to APFS case-sensitive when the installation begins. this is a normal operation.
  3. the only method is reinstall the OS and use migration assistant during an installation screen ( using Time Machine OR CCC backup disk). full disk backup is not an option at this time. hopefully will come back.
  4. but here is an important question. when you had to restore, did your issue occur before the TM backup date or after your Time Machine save date?.
  5. if the problem occurred after TM save date,
    1. **READ** ( 1. is not currently possible, but read to understand if Apple changes how Time Machine works in the future) of allowing backing up the entire disc is better. the reason is that if an issue occurred due to a newer OS update that caused an issue, it will not be present in that full system restore. It saves you a bit of a headache and give you time to think. you will have to do a bit of troubleshooting to figure this out. patience.
    2. now all we can do is when you do your installation, don't update to the latest incremental version X.X.X. Automatically, but instead give it some thought of what makes sense for your current situation. it will not be the same for everyone. I'm not aware if this will cause issues. right now this is what I did I'm currently on 11.6.1 and 11.6.4 is the current release. give some thought to the step. if this was caused by 3rd party software rather than OS, then you should be fine to upgrade and remove or not install that 3rd party software. clear as mud. they can be time-consuming to troubleshoot
  6. if theproblem occurred before TM save date, your earliest or "acceptable backup date for you", then reinstalling the OS is better with the migration assistant.
  7. if you only have a small handful programs and don't mind having to reinstall those because there's not that many, then the migration assistant step will work for you. it's really when you have more applications that it's harder.
  8. migration process
    1. should the reinstallation of the Mac OS succeed, and a (tm) migration fail, use your (CCC) for migration, or vice versa. that's the beauty of two different migration sources.
    2. should the reinstallationof the Mac OS fail, use the USB thumb drive for recovery. notice the drive does not ask for "reinstall" but just " install". this is what saved me. A Spare USB drive. reformat the whole drive.
all the best


P.S./ advice for Apple
I don't like this current process. it seems to be slower in that more interactions required, in this matter is when you're backing up a terabyte worth of data. it is also less stable. I've had several failures using Time Machine before a success. now the funny thing is, there is no reason why this can't be a one click solution on Apple side. after starting the recovery process ( at the beginning), the first thing a person should be able to do is choose the TM backup choice even though the OS is installed first. base Mac OS to install. to match the Time Machine OS version x.x.x. ( backend) then it should be a one click solution. present the option to upgrade to the latest version, but provide an option immediately after the first boot before any windows open, rather than near the end. This just allows the user to choose to update which they should, but should some sort of issue happen somewhere, they have the ability not to update. and troubleshoot it as one of their first tasks. this is very similar to what you have now. this is more about timing and making the process smoother.
 
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MacOS Big Sur, supports Time Machine on APFS formatted drives. There might be chances that your drive is in HFS+ format, that’s why it is asking you to erase or reformat the drive in order to create time machine in macOS Big Sur.

As, if you want to shift a drive from HFS+ to APFS, you have to reformat the drive, and that erases all the Time Machine backups. Because of the structural differences, you can’t just copy from HFS+ to APFS, either.

Further, you can also check the below link for more details:

https://www.macworld.com/article/23...atted-drives-but-there-are-a-few-catches.html

Hope it helps!
 
I decided to try the "Erase all content and settings" feature in Monterey on my m1 Mini. Made sure I had a fresh Time Machine backup.

And then my Time Machine backup was not found by Migration Assistant.

Luckily I also had a complete duplicate bootable backup on an external SSD.
 
Same exact problem recently (two days ago). I’ve always relied on FULL TM backups to fully restore my Macs. It always worked flawlessly, until it didn’t, day before yesterday. And I tried each, and, EVERY, single, backup I had in my enternal 4TB HDD drive I use for TM backups, the last on the list was almost a year old!!! All of them displayed the dreaded message “Install Mac OS first and then use Migration Assistant to restore from this backup.”
I was like, FINE!
So, I did… Thinking that would be fine…
The installation of the brand new OS went fine. No issues. But then, oh, but then… Keep reading, please, this contains important and alarming info.
After the installation of the OS from scratch, I used MA to start restoring everything… I spent 5 days trying EVERYTHING I could think of. Here’s what happened:
No matter which one of the backups I tried using the MA, it would restore to about 97%, and then completely freeze with the message “Restoring system settings.” And also “About 19 minutes remaining.” Mind you: Yes, I waited 19 minutes. Yes, I waited 1 hour. Yes, I waited 10 hours. Yes, I waited OVERNIGHT, for about 20 hours!!! No use. It was definitely frozen. Period. And I tried several times, several different backups, all results were exactly the same.
At this point, desperate, (I’m a Database Administrator. My iMac Pro contains passwords, complex setups, software keys, Virtual Machines… There was NO way I would be able to start from scratch.)
Then I tried the route of the insanely desperate:
Whenever MA would lock up, I’d wait about 5 minutes to make sure it had time to do whatever it was NOT doing, and I’d hit the cancel button. Then, same process again. Rinse, repeat. Rinse, repeat. Rinse, repeat. Eventually, every time I clicked cancel and restarted the process, MA would restart from a different point in the process. Finally there came a point where it read “Complete”, and it froze again. I restarted the iMac Pro, opened up MA again, which this time around it proceeded to another one more step, rebooted to Mac, and PRESTO!!! Everything, absolutely everything was completely restored!

So, yes, it appears Apple changed things in the way TM does its backups. Yes, this new combination of “You must install the OS and use Migration Assistant” is absolutely stupid. Yes, it’s cumbersome. NO, it does not work as it should. Yes, the MA is uber BUGGY!!!

I sincerely would not be so bothered if the clean install+MA process worked as it should. But obviously it DOES NOT! Not without you wasting DAYS, cancelling and restarting the process over and over again to unfreeze MA.

Apple, please, please, please, fix this. Go back to allowing us to simply restore from TM backups, without this stupid MA…!

Rant, and PSA, over. Good luck everyone!

Best, Raphael
 
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