Ignore "There was a problem connecting to server" message in Time Machine

I use Time Machine via a Hard Drive connected to an AirPort Extreme. It works great when I'm at home, it obviously doesn't back up when I'm not at home. My problem is when I'm not at home I keep getting prompts stating "There was a problem connecting to server XXX". It's incredibly annoying. Is there a way I can force these prompts to not come up? I know I'm not connected and don't need prompted.
How can I make this go away?
Thanks for the help!

Well as long as it's turned on, it will look for the drive to backup to every hour. I don't see any other way around it.
Other option would be to use an add on program that you can schedule TM with. TimeMachine Editor or TimeMachine Scheduler.
Al least with these you can schedule backups when you are home. I haven't used either, but I'm sure they will work for you.

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When my screensaver starts, it gives me an error there was a problem connecting to server

It seems like I'm having a problem with iPhoto. Whenever my screensaver comes on, it just sits on "Loading Photos" and then when I move the cursor to get out of the screensaver, I get a warning saying "There was a problem connecting to server XXX"
I don't know why it's trying to connect to this server. I have googled and searched and tried everything that everyone has said (renaming/deleting plists, removing all login items, clearing iPhoto and trying to start over...) but nothing has helped.
This error also comes up pretty consistantly when iPhoto is open.
I'm not really sure what else to check. I can't find any trace of the remote server, so I'm not sure why this is coming up.
I'm running Mountain Lion and whatever the latest version of iPhoto is.
Any thoughts?

I was able to get it. Apparently there was some old photo in my iPhoto library that was being mapped out to the server that it kept trying to connect to.
Which should have been relatively easy to detect, except the way that iPhoto is setup, there was no real way to find the source for each photo.
What I was able to do to was, under photos, CMD-A to select all photos and then try and move them to an album. It popped up with a notice saying that it wasn't able to find XXXXX.jpg and I had the option to cancel or find the photo. So I renamed another photo on my desktop to XXXXX.jpg, and when the error came up, I selected Find and then used the copy on my desktop to replace it.
After I did that, it let me add all of the photos to an album and I was able to launch the screensaver successfully.
A pretty big pain in the but that would have been easier to resolve if the UI of iPhoto was a little more detailed or customizable. But oh well it worked for me.
Hopefully this helps.

How do you turn off "There was a problem connecting to server..." notifications

I work with a company that does a lot of shared review of documents via PDF on their local network. I, however, am a thousand miles away, and reviewing it via a separate DropBoxed copy.
It appears every time I open the DropBoxed copy of the PDF, Adobe Acrobat begins searching for the original PDF on a server to which I am not connected. And then I get variations on the following notification until I do a full reboot:
There was a problem connecting to the server "XXXXXXXX"
The server may not exist or it is unavailable at this time. Check the server name or IP address, check your network connection, and then try again.
That, my friends, is a gigantic posterior pustule that I want to pop. So what's a solution.
Before you go all "look elsewhere on this forum/Google/Whatevah for an answer to this already answered question," please understand that I have. Everywhere. For the last month. And please, don't just chime in with a "I have that problem too" with no solution. I just could really use the help of the Apple Hive Mind to solve this. If this is not the right forum, please direct me to where this should be posted.
Thanks in advance. The specs: Macbook Pro 13" (late 2013), 512GB, OS X Yosemite 10.10 (was happening with Mavericks too).

All "shared review" PDFs. Regular PDFs from other sources do not trigger the problem. My belief is that there is a embedded script in the shared review PDFs that continually seeks to link to the relevant servers. As I stated above, I am not on that server(s) either virtually, wirelessly or hard-wired.
Based on your previous questions (thanks, BTW), I have "sanitized" some of the PDFs that have caused this condition and am testing to see if that takes care of the situation. But seriously, isn't there some way to kill the constant "trying to connect to server" thing? It's annoying as (fill in the blank).
Thanks for the help on this.

I keep getting an error message there was a problem connecting to server. URLs with the type "file" are not supported

I keep getting an error messahe that says
There was a problem connecting to the server. URLs with type "file" are not supported
Any ideas?

Actually, in my case, turning off Time Machine didn't work. I had the same problem. We definitely traced it to Time Machine. The "Fix" was this: plugged in and designated different external HD as Backup volume. Then unplugged it and plugged in the original disc (after testing in in a different machine) and now the computer recognized it and error message stopped popping up. The Apple tech was as puzzled as I as to why this worked, but perhaps, forcing the machine to re-recognize it (or maybe even, gettting it recognized by a different machine first) somehow worked some magic.

There was a problem connecting to server

Hello,
I got an error like: " There was a problem connecting to the server "Time-Capsule.local"
This happens when I connect my MacBook to the power supply being not in the same network with the TimeCapsule. It seems like Lion tries to start a backup tough there isn't my timecapsule.
Has somebodey an idea what to do?

Yes this is new and very annoying.
I've been using a time machine backup and a time capsule for a few months now. I'd just leave time machine running and when I was at home it'd backup and when I was at work it's just silently fail to connect and not bug me. Then it'd reconnect when I got home and backup again. This was perfect. It would eventually pop up a dialog if I left it for too many days where it couldn't backup but that was pretty rare.
Now I get a dialog popping up on schedule every hour that I'm at work telling me that it can't connect.
a) I know
b) I don't care
c) how do I shut it up.
This seems to have changed in the last few days - I assume that it was a patch though I've got to say that I didn't notice one.

Have new iPad 4..Can't get started- "There was a problem connecting to Server" is server overwhelmed by all the xmas presents-what to do ?

New ipad received for xmas and I can't connect to Apple server to get started....Has been like this for 48 hours..Any ideas or do i wait until everyone else connect first.
THX

Are you doing it through iTunes on the computer or directly from your iPad?
If you're not using your computer you might try it that way.

There was a problem connecting to the server error

HELP!
Right, so I upgraded to Lion on my MacBook Pro last night, and have spasmodically gotten the following error:
There was a problem connecting to the server "me409fs02"
followed by:
There was a problem connecting to server "me35syd08"
Now the weird thing is, me409fs02 and me35syd08 were servers at a company I used to work for 2 years ago. I have no idea why my computer is suddenly trying to log in to these old servers, or how to make it stop.
Here's a screen shot of what's going on in the console at the exact moment that the errors occur:
This is turning out to be a gargantuan pain in the butt and I'd really appreciate any help I can get.
Thanks in advance,
Brent.

G'day mate,
Is this only happening in one user account? If so, then you should look into the library folder of your user account and your login items (through "Users & Groups Preferences").
Check for any LaunchAgents or LaunchDaemons that could be attempting to connect to the server.
If it's happening for every user, then also check the Library folder at the root of your hard drive (LaunchAgents, LaunchDaemons and StartupItems).
Cheers,
Rodney

Since installing Lion I keep getting the error message 'there was a problem connecting to the server. URLs with the type 'file:" are not supported"' How can I fix this?

since installing Lion I keep getting the error message 'there was a problem connecting to the server. URLs with the type 'file:" are not supported"' How can I fix this?

A Davey1 wrote:
Not a nice answer!
Posting "Check the 'More like this'" area and not simply providing the answer is a great way to make these groups worthless.
You're ignoring context. On the old Apple Discussion Groups I never posted replies like that, instead giving people relatively detailed answers. The new Apple Support Communities made things worse by introducing certain inefficiencies. Then came Lion. The flood of messages that came with Lion required a painful choice for any of the people who had been helping here: (1) Give quality responses to a few questions and ignore the rest. (2) When applicable, give a brief answer such as the one that you found objectionable. (3) Give up all the other normal activities of life and spend full time trying to answer questions here.
People who needed help with Lion problems seemed to have trouble discovering existing message threads that described how to solve their problems. I never posted the suggestion of "Check the 'More like this' area" without verifying that the help that the poster needed could be found there. Even doing that, what I posted saved me time that I could use to help someone else.
The people helping here are all volunteers. None of them is being paid for the time they spend here. They all have a life outside of Apple Support Communities. It's arrogant of you to demand that people helping here spend more time than they already do.

Popoup message "there was a problem connecting to the server"

i have also upgraded to Lion and keep getting the popoup message "there was a problem connecting to the server" i do not use time machine and that is off i have a macbook pro and an iMac the error is on both, i have also removed the shares from Go in finder. HELP Please or do i return to the dark side "windows 7"

Hi sorry for the delay in this reply but have been working away, this pop up message happens only when both the imac and macbook pro is on, and if you try to connect using the correct user details it just keeps popping up, it does the same when you cancel / ignore it also.
We have reverted to only using one mac at a time and this is to say the least very annoying, our iphones and ipad do not have the same issues. There are plenty of posts suggesting that the same thing happened with time Machine but we do not use this so the fixs do not work. If i knew how i would revert back to snow lepard .

I'm trying to set up my Ipod, but when I go to sign in with an apple ID it says 'Could not sign in: there was a problem connecting to the server'.

I just bought a 3rd generation ipod touch. It was professionally refurbished. I'm trying to set it up, and everything seems to be working fine, until we get to the wifi. I live on campus and our wifi is username and password protected. I signed in and everything seemed to work fine, and in the top left hand corner I have all the bars for wifi. However, when I go to sign in with an apple ID it says 'Could no sign in: there was a problem connecting to the server'. I've tried turning it on and off again, tried signing on to our wifi again, but it all isn't working. What can I do?

I also encountered the same problem. Try using a different email address or try signing in later.

There was a problem connecting to the server ... OS 10.8.4 + WD NAS

Dear all,
first my configuration:
iMac from mid 2012, MacOS X Mountain Lion, 10.8.4, iPhoto 09 v. 8.1.2 - all software updates done and up-to-date
MacBook Pro late 2011, MacOS X Mountain Lion, 10.8.4
NAS WD My Book World Edition II (white light), 2 x 1TB (configured RAID : 1TB mirrored), original firmware (01.02.14 with MioNet built on Thu Feb 9 14:11:48 CST 2012 ) NFS, AFP enabled
a win 7 laptop and plenty of other devices
everything on a LAN with GB router + WiFi
I have my iPhoto library on my iMac, but the photos (the originals) stored on the NAS. I have the option "copy photos to library when importing" disabled. So I guess iPhoto has a reference / link in the library to the original files.
Everything used to work fine until some weeks ago. Not sure what happened but suddenly I got the error message "There was a problem connecting to the server ... Check the server name or IP address, and then try again. ..." when I tried to import photos stored on my WD NAS. When I want to display any photo stored on the NAS - same thing.
Now I guess I have a bunch of gray hairs more while trying to get this fixed.
I tried so many of the tips posted everywhere including booting in save mode, deleting the .plist files (first I actually tried to clean them using Xcode first before deleting them), etc. I cleared out KeyChain. I removed all recent entries (folders) and recent servers from the "history". I tried to connect as guest or named user. There are also no "logIn items" pointing to the NAS. I even tried to disable / enable AFP + NFS on the NAS, not to mention countless restarts of all the machines
One other thing I noticed: Before that problem occured I was able to select the NAS in Finder and it would show me all the shares. When I selected one of them it was mounted automatically. When I select it now I get "connecting" for a loooong time and then "Connection Failed". Most of the time (not always!) however I am able to get in via "Go -> Connect To Server - smb://<nas server name>). And suddently after that also selecting the NAS in Finder shows me all the shares! Hoever even this not in 100% of all cases. I can replicate this from the iMac and the MacBook.
I do use an external HD for TimeMachine to back up my data (directly connected via USB). No issues there.
Not I really don't know what to do any more
Do you have any ideas? Did anyone ever get a response from Apple with a useful solution that really hit the core of the issue?
Thank you!

SOLVED!! and I want to share the solution which worked for me with everybody here. Ultimately I had to install nettalk 2.2 on my NAS as described here: http://mybookworld.wikidot.com/netatalk2-2-on-whitelight . A nice description on how to do that can be found here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1102423 .
One last remark: When asked about the "DHX2 login process", I opted to install the original version, so I can confirm this one works too.

"There was a problem connecting to the server" in iTunes after migrating to new mac

I have a problem that is driving me crazy with my brand new iMac. I see many other people posting similar issues, but none of the other solutions seem to work for me.
I had a MacPro and bought a new iMac, on which I used Migration Assistant to set up. So the new iMac is virtually the same as my old machine in terms of appearance and installed applications. Both machines have Mountain Lion 10.8.2. All software on both machines has been through Software Update and is fully up to date, as are the connected devices (iPhone and iPad).
The problem is with iTunes. Every time I start iTunes (I think at the moment it checks my two connected devices) I get a pop up dialogue saying:
There was a problem connecting to the server "MacPro".
The server may not exist or it is unavailable at this time. Check the server name or IP address, check your network connection, and then try again.
This dialogue continues to pop up constantly as long as iTunes is open, interrupting my work and frustrating me no end. The old machine is of course turned off and indeed is not available -- but I can't find what on the new iMac is so desperate to connect to it.
So far I have tried completing erasing my iTunes library, deleting all the preferences, reinstalling iTunes from a fresh download of the dmg, safe rebooting several times with no peripherals connected at all, and deleteing other preferences like the Login Items, iPhone config and iPhoto. I have also cleared Recent Items from the apple menu and opened "Connect to Server" in the finder and cleared all servers from the dropdown menu.
Last night I also completely restored my iPhone from scratch to see if that would clear away the issue and I have connected both iPhone and iPad to go through any apps that have permission to write content to my computer and deleted all of them completely from the devices.
Nothing has changed at all after all that, and I have run out of ideas. Clearly there is something somewhere that has my old machine's name hard coded in it but I can't see any way to search for it. I would grep my Library folder but I think a lot of the files are binary so I'm not sure that would unearth anything. I've seen many posts saying that Apple phone support (which I would qualify for) can't help with this issue and so I have put off phoning them to simply run through all the things I've already tried.
Any advice that anyone could offer would be extremely helpful. I can't use iTunes at all like this as it disrupts everything I try to do on the new machine.
many thanks!!

Nothing at all? Can't anyone help with this issue at all? I would be grateful for any suggstions as it is driving me crazy. It happens every time I open iTunes and also every time I open Mail.

HT4628 my time capsule has stopped working - have a green light but get an error message saying "there was a problem connecting to the server..."

I noticed this week an exclamation mark on the time machine icon on the menu bar.
My Macbook, iPad and iPhone all connect to the network but i get "there was a problem connecting to the server..."
When I open the preferences the time capsule is off but turnign it back on sends me in a loop of selecting the Time Capsule device (which has a nice green light etc) and then getting the error messgae about being unable to connect. I've pulled the plug a couple of times (this has worked in the past) but no change.
Any advice would be welcome before I try a factory reset or have to return to Apple for repair (the one thing they are offering as the thing is only 5 months old)

I also noticed that when I go to finder I see two MacBook Air's that are in my name but have the number (2) and (3) next to the name.
That is a well known bug in Yosemite.
Try open System Preferences (gear icon on the dock)
Open Sharing
Edit back to the correct name for your Mac
This may...or may not help. But, it won't hurt.
The Mac's name may stay stable....or you may see (2), (3), etc again soon.
Be sure to restart both your Mac and the Time Capsule after you do this.

It says that "there was a problem connecting to the server". What's wrong with this, and how can I deal with this problem?

I just got my new iPad Mini2, and when I choose "sign in with your apple ID", it says that "there was a problem connecting to the server". What's wrong with this, and how can I deal with this problem?

1. Turn router off for 30 seconds and on again
2. Settings>General>Reset>Reset Network Settings

I install LION on my mac pro 2008 and it's alway's pop with " there was a problem connecting to the server " Time Capsule" .How can i remove this popup. My Time machine is working fine and also rename it. But the popup keeps on coming with the old name.

I installed LION on my mac pro 2008 and it's alway's pop with " there was a problem connecting to the server " Time Capsule" .How can i remove this popup. My Time machine is working fine and also rename it with less than 7 karakters. But the popup keeps on coming with the old name.

I have a BT Infinity router plugged into the Time Capsule, not sure where the radio settings are?
They are able to use the network settings of the TC i.e. they can connect to the internet via the wifi through the TC but when they try and connect to the AirPort Disk this is where it is not allowing a connection.
I don;t have the drive shared out at all at the moment, is this necessary? How do I do this if so?
I have attached the screen shots of all the settings.
Thanks again for your help.

Ignore "There was a problem connecting to server" message in Time Machine

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