Tell me more ×
Ask Different is a question and answer site for power users of Apple hardware and software. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 4 down vote favorite
1

With Lion 10.7, how does one access the user library on a time machine backup through the Finder?

share|improve this question

2 Answers

up vote 5 down vote accepted

Go to the Finder. In the menu bar, select Go, then hold down Option. Select the "Library" option which appears.

Then enter Time Machine as per normal.

share|improve this answer
Thank you. That worked. – Slick Aug 10 '11 at 11:08
up vote 2 down vote

If you are accessing your Time Machine Backup with "Browse Other Backup Disks...", like you do if you created a fresh install of your OS, the solution from dan8394 does not work.

Probably because Time Machine can't know that your current Library folder is a newer version of the Library folder in the backup.

However, the solution proposed in a question that was closed as exact duplicate of this one works.

Lri helped me a lot with this answer:

The Library folder is probably just hidden by Finder. You can show all hidden files by running this in Terminal:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true && osascript -e 'quit app "Finder"'

(Note: The part after the && will cause finder to stop, and you may need to restart it. So be aware that any open Finder windows may disappear.)

Changing true to false reverts the setting.

share|improve this answer
Thank-you! This is exactly what I needed, and what the Apple Genius wouldn't tell me. – Jim McKeeth Sep 22 '12 at 23:27

protected by Community♦ Mar 25 '12 at 21:07

This question is protected to prevent "thanks!", "me too!", or spam answers by new users. To answer it, you must have earned at least 10 reputation on this site.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.