My TM backup apparently wasn't complete.....can I restore any of that data?

[Remegius83]

I am trying to recover all my photos and music that I have apparently lost after reformatting my MBP. I backed up with TimeMachine and then wiped the drive. (Reason for wiping is the 120GB "other" my laptop had annoyingly accumulated) When I went through the reinstall and selected Time Machine Backup, my file was nowhere to be found. I opened the external HD I used to do the TM backup and found a "partial" file. Its 282 GB but its labeled "2016-06-24-165709.inProgress" I assume that it means its not a complete backup and I have no idea why TM said my backup was complete. Alas, here I am with a newly wiped MBP and no way to restore any of my data. I don't really care about my music but I have decades worth of photos and videos that are apparently gone.

Is there anything I can do with this ".inprogress" file that is indeed my backup? All I care about is recovering my photos/videos.

Thanks!

 

[McBie]

Don't touch that file with the finder.
Launch the TimeMachine.app and restore files from there.
You should be able to restore the Photos Library.photoslibrary file..... maybe even the complete pictures folder.

Cheers ... McBie

 

[Remegius83]

McBie,

Thanks but when I open TM I can't seem to find how to restore anything. All I see is options on how to use that external HD as a means of backing up. Where is the option/button to restore folders from a selected source? Sorry for the newb question

 

[Slydude]

Give this document a read. The relevant information is about half way down the page.

 

[ferrarr]

Was this the first and only time you used Time Machine?

As for the "Other" description in "About This Mac", ignore it. Do not use "About This Mac" to see what is on the computer, it is only a generalization to fit those certain categories and "Other" is for EVERYTHING else.

To get into Time Machine, you need to click on the icon in the Menu bar, and select Enter Time Machine.