Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
If you delete a file by accident, you can always open the Trash to drag it back out. However, there are plenty of
situations where recovering a file just isn't possible.
You delete the file and then empty the Trash.
You overwrite the file with another file of the same name.
If you notice the problem right away, you can
choose Edit → Undo or press +Z to undo the file operation. If you don't notice until later, you're stuck.
Your hard drive develops a problem that corrupts the file.
You make and save substantial edits to the file.
The good news is that if you've had Time Machine on the job for a while, you can probably go back in time,
locate a version of the file, and then restore it to its original location. Time Machine even lets you keep the ex-
isting file if you still need the newer version. Note that I'm talking here about files, but you can also recover
folders and even your entire hard drive.
Restoring files using Time Machine
Follow these steps to restore data from your Time Machine backups:
1. Use Finder to choose the folder or file that you want to restore.
If you want to restore your entire hard
drive, choose Macintosh HD in the sidebar.
In many cases, it's faster to run a Spotlight search on the name of the folder or file you want to restore. In the search
results, click the folder or file.
2. Click the Time Machine icon in the Dock.
The Time Machine interface appears, as shown in Figure
8.11.
3. Navigate to the version you want by using any of the following techniques (the date and time of the
backup appear at the bottom of the screen).
•
Click the top arrow to jump to the earliest version.
Click the bottom arrow to return to the most re-
cent version.
•
Hold down the key and click the arrows to navigate through the backups one version at a time.
•
Use the timeline to click a specific version.
•
Click the version windows.
