# Restoring MacOS from backup. OR making Microsoft Desktop Connect work. Need answer fast!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 29, 2021, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701 "2021-08-29T00:04:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2021, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/21 "2021-08-29T21:24:02Z")
> [@beowulff](#):
>
> You can restore from a Time Machine backup from the recovery partition.
See the pics above. It’s not giving me the option.
I went to your second link, and I’m downloading Mojave. Just checking: Will I lose my files (pics and documents and stuff)? Or will it just change the OS?
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2021, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/22 "2021-08-29T21:24:08Z")
There’s something wonky with your G-drive.
It would be helpful if you could mount it on a working machine, and see what’s on it.
It should have a backups.backupdb folder, inside of which are folders for all computer being backed up, and inside of each of those folders should be each backup session.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2021, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/23 "2021-08-29T21:30:49Z")
> [@beowulff](#):
>
> It would be helpful if you could mount it on a working machine, and see what’s on it.
> It should have a backups.backupdb folder, inside of which are folders for all computer being backed up, and inside of each of those folders should be each backup session.
OK, I’ve got John’s MacBook Pro, which has the older backups from my previous machine. I also have MacBook Pro, which has backups from 6/2020 through today. I do see the folder for the backup I made yesterday before the OS upgrade. In that folder I have:
Macintosh HD folder that contains:
Applications
Library
System
Users
FWIW, my download of Mojave gave me a pop-up: ‘This copy of the “Install macOS” application is too old to be opened on this version of macOS.’
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/24 "2021-08-29T21:55:55Z")
Additional: In my Users folder I have:
Desktop
Documents
Downloads
Library
Movies
Music
Pictures
> Public
All except Public say I don’t have permission to see the contents. WTF, over?
I’m thinking I may have to go to the Mac store, unless I can be walked through this.
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/25 "2021-08-29T21:56:58Z")
The restore utility should see those folders and present you with a dialog box asking which one you want to restore from. If it isn’t, there may be a way to use the terminal and the ‘tmutil restore’ command, but it might be a better idea to stop by the local Apple store and see if there is someone who can help you in person first.
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/26 "2021-08-29T21:58:13Z")
Just saw your previous post.
Yes, this whole thing may be a permissions issue.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2021, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/27 "2021-08-29T22:07:38Z")
> [@beowulff](#):
>
> The restore utility
I used the Search (or is it Spotlight?) and typed Restore. I didn’t see a utility. Did you mean restarting with Command+R? The only thing in apps was Migration Assistant, which I have a hunch caused my inability to restore.
> [@beowulff](#):
>
> Yes, this whole thing may be a permissions issue.
Why would I not have permission to access anything on my machine?
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2021, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/28 "2021-08-29T22:53:50Z")
That’s a complicated question.
Apple has tightened up security quite a bit of late. If you somehow had a different user as owners of the files on the old drive, you might not have permissions to access them now (although, as an admin, you can give yourself those permissions). I ran into a similar problem awhile ago, because my default user had a different ID (502) vs. my old user’s 501.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2021, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/29 "2021-08-29T22:57:17Z")
So… Mac store?
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/30 "2021-08-29T23:09:34Z")
Probably the safest bet.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/31 "2021-08-30T16:18:18Z")
I’m in with Microsoft Remote Desktop Beta, IT having sent me the Host name.
I still have the permissions issue, but I can now go to the Mac store at a more convenient time.
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/32 "2021-08-30T16:53:25Z")
That’s good news!
Permissions issues are always annoying. The price of living in an insecure world…
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/33 "2021-08-30T18:48:30Z")
The Mac store is confusing me. They say the only way I can access Time Machine on Big Sur (Time Machine and Big Sur don’t like each other) is to wipe the external drive and make a new backup in Big Sur… in which case, how can I access the files that had been wiped? (Some of these files go back to my PowerBook!)
… The guy came back on the line. He said that if I get a new external drive (which I have, never used) and create a backup on it in Big Sur, then I can plug the old drive back in and have access to my files because Big Sur won’t be looking for permissions. Or something like that. I’ll have to give it a try later.
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/34 "2021-08-30T21:16:02Z")
That really doesn’t sound right…
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### Author:  [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2021, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restoring-macos-from-backup-or-making-microsoft-desktop-connect-work-need-answer-fast/949701/35 "2021-08-30T22:27:39Z")
Not at all.
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