Time machine backups

[Luc4]

Hi! I just did my show... I spilled some coffee on my macbook. Seemed to work, but keyboard was gone... anyway, I turned it off and I'm waiting for it to dry. I don't know the real amount of the damages. I know that maybe I will have to bury it, but I have another problem...

Computers store enormous amount of important information nowadays... like, for instance, my thesis, very useful in a few months when I'm taking my degree in engineering I have some backups but... the most recent of them were taken by time machine... so I have two questions:

1. In the worst situation, in which I have to buy a completely new macbook because mine drowned in my 5 o'clock coffee... will I be able to get my thesis from my time machine backups? I mean, the HD won't be the same, will it be possible?
2. Now, I'm working on my Linux system... I see it can access the time machine HD... but I can't understand how it is organised. Is it possible to get my thesis (LyX file) with my Linux system? I guess it is not... but I ask it anyway.

Thanks for any information you can give me!

 

[BobZune]

1. Yes, you can. You can search for --> restoring from Time Machine <-- or similar phrase for steps. It is pretty easy and you can restore the whole machine that way.

2. It is not much fun to use a non-TM-aware system. See http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20080623213342356 for a way to do it from Linux. For a file or two, it may not be very painful.

 

[gotenks05]

Yes, you can, you can navigate in to where the file is on your hard drive and copy it back on. Also, from my experience of reinstalling Mac OS X Leopard many times, you should be able to import the data from time machine at the time of setting up your computer with a user name & such.