Restoring from an older backup on TimeMachine

[vindunn]

Hi,
Some time ago, I stupidly upgraded to Mojave and as a result lost access to various apps and a scanner. I have many months of backups on TimeMachine from before when I did the upgrade. I bought an external drive to serve as a bootable disc running an older OS (Sierra) so that I could use the lost apps, but when I try to use the installer I downloaded from Apple, I get the message that I can't install Sierra on the external because it doesn't have MAcOS on it. I formatted the external, but that does no good.
So my question is Can I restore to my external using backup from TimeMachine that predates the upgrade to Mojave? I tried it once but TimeMachine didn't seem to give me the option of selecting which date to use.
Thanks for any help,
Vin

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

You should be able to restore a full Time Machine backup using the steps outlined in Apple's article here: Restore your Mac from a backup - in the section Restore both macOS and your files.

Try those steps and see if that works.

C

 

[vindunn]

Hi Cory,
I just wanted to report back. Your advice was excellent. After the successful transfer from TimeMachine to my external, I had a bit of trouble booting off the external. But I finally got it to work. So I'm now back and able to use the apps I had lost. Many thanks for your help.
Vin

 

[Cory Cooper]

No worries...glad that resolved it.

Stay healthy and safe!

C