Ubuntu
nautilus package

Trouble opening Time Machine backup

Asked by classicalclarinet

A new Ubuntu user here, running 11.04. My previous computer was a Macbook running Snow Leopard, and I would like to migrate documents etc from my Time Machine backups on an external HD to my new Ubuntu machine. The problem is that many of the folders (e.g., users/NAME/Documents) show up as text files, and cannot be opened using File Browser. Most of these folders seem to be in the form of aliases. Using a Mac computer, I was able to access whatever the aliases were pointing to. Is there a way to get Ubuntu o recognize them?

 Additionally, some other folders are unopenable due to permissions settings, according to the error dialog. When I try to change the permission settings in the Properties window, the menus are grayed-out, and the owner is set to sometimes 'root
 and sometimes '501 - user #501'.

Many thanks for any help!

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mycae
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Best mycae (mycae) said : 		#1

the first problem will be due to the way that time-machine is taking its snapshots. The data is actually stored in a hidden folder, and the "number of links to file" field is bastardised by time machine for its own purposes (AFAIK). It is possible to workaround this by hand.
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20080623213342356

The second problem is because ther user on a mac is usually 501, and on linux its not. Run nautilus as super-user (root), and then the problem will be bypassed. NOte that you will need to correctly set the files you copy out to have the permissions of the user once you copy them to their destination, as by default it will be root owned.

so, to run nautilus as root, run :

gksudo nautilus

either from a terminal, or from the launcher. In gnome you can press alt+f2 to bring up the launcher. Under unity its more complex:
https://ubuntugenius.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/ubuntu-11-04-fix-re-enable-altf2-key-combo-for-run-application-dialog-for-executing-commands-without-a-terminal/

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classicalclarinet (classicalclarinet) said : 		#2

Thanks mycae, that solved my question.

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classicalclarinet (classicalclarinet) said : 		#3

Thanks for the answer!

It may turn out to be easier to make a new manual backup and transfer from that..