Time Machine Error Messages-HELP!!

I purchased a Time Machine a few months ago and it worked for a little while. Now I just receive error messages: "Time Machine Error The backup disk image could not be mounted" and "The storage location for Time Machine backups can't be found". I can't figure this out. I have restarted the Time Machine, I tried reconfiguring it several times and still it is not accessing the backups or creating backups. It is only allowing me to connect to the internet. Can I fix this problem?

I have exactly the same problem. I'm running the latest firmware from both Time Capsule as well as Time Machine.
Could you please tell me if your problem was resolved and if yes, how?
Thanks.

Similar Messages

I have not been able to back up for2 days. Time machine error message: /Volumes/Data/David's MacBook Air.sparsebundle" is already in use.

I have not been able to back up for2 days. Time machine error message: /Volumes/Data/David’s MacBook Air.sparsebundle” is already in use.
What now?
Macbook Air.
Was working fine for the past year until now.

See more like this on the right.. this is the most common error reported here since mountain lion came out..
Or read C12.. http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Or just restart the whole network.. in right order from off.. modem.. router / TC.. clients 2min gap.

Time Machine Error Message: "sparsbundle could not be accessed (error-1)

hi,
I am running snow leopard on my iMac and have a mac mini connected via ethernet running Mac Leopard Server version 10.6.
I backed up my iMac onto my Mac Leopard Server using Time Machine about a year ago and then I turned it off and haven't done it since. I turned it on today and was attempting to back it up, but I keep getting the following Time Machine Error Message: "sparsbundle could not be accessed (error-1) when i try backing it up.
Any thoughts on why and how to fix this? I can access my server via screen share, so i know its accessible and I can get online with it as well, so its connected to the Internet.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Josh

jnp1 wrote:
not backing up yet, but more progress than before...now its on an infinite loop of "preparing" and "scanning"...just keeps doing that over and over...but never actually backs anything up.
Anything in the log files on either the client or the server?
Usually, when Time Machine is being flaky, the easiest solution is just to delete the backup and start a new one. Since you have a server, you could just move that sparsebundle file elsewhere instead of deleting it. That is, of course, assuming you can still open it. If not, then it doesn't matter because that backup is toast.

TS1550 My time capsule will not back up. There is a time machine error message that states "The backup disk image "/volumes/Backup/Jane's MacBook Pro.sparsebundle" is already in use. How do I correct this problem?

My time machine will not back up. I get a Time Machine Error message that reads: "The backup disk image "/Volumes/Backup/(myname)'sMacBook Pro.sparsebundle" is already in use.
I have not been able to back up for two weeks, I think this occurred after an update to the operating system, but I am unsure.
How do I correct this problem?

Have you tried restarting the computer? Also, see Time Machine Error from this pages sidebar under More Like This.

Time Machine Error Message. What to do?

Hello,
My G5 has 2 built-in drives, each 160Gb. I have reserved one of these drives exclusively for Time Machine. There is no issue regarding the connection of these drives since they are internal.
I started Time Machine 3 weeks ago, and it has been running successfully. With each backup, the available space has been declining. Tonight the available space reached the megabyte range - insufficient space for the next backup. It is my understanding that when new space is required by TM, old backup(s) are AUTOMATICALLY deleted.
Tonight when a backup starts, the window (System Preferences) shows that the backup is preparing. However, as soon as it starts copying to the TM drive, I receive the following error message:
"TIME MACHINE ERROR
Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume."
No further information is provided for diagnosing the problem. I have no idea about the cause or what to do.
Can anyone identify the problem and a workout? I would appreciate some help. Thank you. Dale

Hello,
I'm back on this thread after having been absent for several weeks. I hope that the original helpers are still subscribed to this issue. I continue to get the message: "Time Machine Error . . . Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume."
Below is the system.log file pertaining to backupd. I am not a technician, so I cannot understand the entries. Can someone help, please? Thank you, Dale
Feb 20 19:23:29 sherborn-g5 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[335]: Backup requested by automatic scheduler
Feb 20 19:23:29 sherborn-g5 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[335]: Starting standard backup
Feb 20 19:23:36 sherborn-g5 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[335]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Mach 160Gb HD/Backups.backupdb
Feb 20 19:23:37 sherborn-g5 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[335]: Event store UUIDs don't match for volume Leopard HD
Feb 20 19:23:37 sherborn-g5 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[335]: Node requires deep traversal:/ reason:kFSEDBEventFlagMustScanSubDirs|kFSEDBEventFlagReasonEventDBUntrustable|
Feb 20 19:27:47 sherborn-g5 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[335]: No pre-backup thinning needed: 10.18 GB requested (including padding), 14.37 GB available
Feb 20 19:27:52 sherborn-g5 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[335]: MDBackupIndexFile returned -12 for: /Library/Application Support/5221530, /Volumes/Time Mach 160Gb HD/Backups.backupdb/Sherborn G5/2008-01-25-202510.inProgress/0FA23087-5ECE-44FB-8C5D-C089622A374E/Leopard HD/Library/Application Support/5221530
Feb 20 19:27:52 sherborn-g5 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[335]: Aborting backup because MDBackupIndexFile failed
Feb 20 19:27:52 sherborn-g5 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[335]: Canceling backup.
Feb 20 19:27:54 sherborn-g5 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[335]: Copied 2 files (18 KB) from volume Leopard HD.
Feb 20 19:27:54 sherborn-g5 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[335]: Copy stage failed with error:11
Feb 20 19:27:55 sherborn-g5 /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[335]: Backup failed with error: 11

HT3275 what do I do about this time machine error message? The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data/Paul Brandow's Computer.sparsebundle" is already in use.

How to resolve the following time capsule error message:
The backup disk image “/Volumes/Data/XXXX Computer.sparsebundle” is already in use.

If you are running Mountain Lion try this:
Open AirPort Utility (If you are in Mountain Lion this will be 6.0 or Higher)
Select you Time Capsule
Select the Disk Tab
Deselect "Enable File Sharing"
Click OK Let the Time Capsule Re-Boot
Go Back into AirPort Utility and re-select "Enable File Sharing" and let it Re-Boot again.
This should fix the problem.
If you are not running Mountain Lion the advice provided by other should work (http://pondini.org/TM/C12.html). The main thing is to reset users.

Time Machine error message while restoring..."an error occurred while adding a recovery system to the destination disk

I had to change my hard drive in my MBP 15". I use Time Machine on a Time Capsule for backup. I am booting up my laptop with a bootable USB key. I have partitioned my new hard drive (bigger than the old one) and named it Macintosh HD (same as the old one). I select the option to restore from Time Machine Backup. I select one of my latest backup....select my destination drive...the restore process starts but stop within minutes with the following message. "An error occurred while adding a recovery system to the destination disk" It then prompts me to restart....
I need your help...what can it be.
Thanks

I've encountered this issue when the Time Machine was encrypted with FileVault.
Article: HT4718
Additional Information
Please note that OS X Recovery must be present on the computer's startup volume in order to use FileVault 2. Using RAID partitions or a non-standard Boot Camp partition on the startup disk may prevent OS X from installing a local Recovery system. See "OS X: Some features of Mac OS X are not supported for the disk (volume name)" for more information.
What seems to work, is reinstalling the OSX from the internet, and then using migration assistant to pull the user from the time machine backup external when logged into a temporary administrator user to move the original user back over.
Perhaps if you're stubborn, what would work is the following from the same article:
What to do if the installer warns that no Recovery System can be created
Some disk partition configurations may result in the OS X installer reporting that it could not create a Recovery System. In these situations, even if you are permitted to continue the install, you may want to quit the installation and create an external, bootable OS X hard drive with a Recovery System, first. You can continue your OS X upgrade on your computer's startup drive after creating an external Recovery System.
Your storage device must have at least 13 GB available (after formatting) to install OS X Lion or later and a Recovery partition.
These steps erase and reformat the storage device. This article instructs you on setting up a storage device to use the GUID partition scheme and the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format, which are required to install OS X and a Recovery partition on your external storage device. You should back up any important files that are on the device to a different drive.
This procedure installs a version of OS X that is compatible with the Mac it was created with. Using this OS X system with a different Mac model may produce unpredictable results.
Your computer's serial number is sent to Apple as part of this process to help authenticate your request to download and install OS X Lion.
All of this information was collected by browsing through the public articles on the Apple Support website.

Time Machine Error Message: Errors while copying to this drive

PLEASE someone help me! I've used Time Machine since it's inception, and suddenly I'm getting these error messages that are not helpful. I'm not a computer expert, I don't know much about file extensions (re: discussions about removing certain files), and really am lost about what to do. I've rebooted, I've purchased TWO new external drives (sitting here with nothing on them) -- I haven't backed up in a month -- and I'm very concerned about this. Do I need to use an online backup system? I really would like help with this. Again -- I'm attempting to backup using Time Machine and keep getting the error message: Unable to complete backup. Errors while copying files to the drive. I've been on the phone with Apple Support -- and I get started on a new backup (it will actually begin to backup) and in a few minutes I get the error message. Are there certain files to delete? I'm certainly willing to do that -- but I need specific instructions about where to find them and how to delete them. Many thanks.

I have been having the same problem. I haven't backed up since June 4 and I tried yesterday and I got the message about errors while copying the files to the drive. I tried it again and again, but no dice. I have been using Time Machine without incident since I bought my White Macbook (late 2007).

Time Machine errow message- Help

Have never had problems with TM until the last few days.
Have done a full software update recently and now keep on getting error messages. Does the update to 10.5.8 have any thing to do with this?
Have rebooted, got rid of the TM file in the library, now stuck for what to do.
Any solutions please.

Marek Kaniewski wrote:
Have never had problems with TM until the last few days.
Have done a full software update recently and now keep on getting error messages. Does the update to 10.5.8 have any thing to do with this?
Have rebooted, got rid of the TM file in the library, now stuck for what to do.
Any solutions please.
Since you don't provide a clue as to what error messages you're getting, all we can do is have you start with the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip* at the top of this forum.
It will show you how to locate the message(s) that describe the problem, then help you fix it.
If that doesn't help, post back with details, including all the messages, your setup (especially the destination for the backups), what you've done, and the results.

Time Machine Error - please help!

My dad has been having trouble with his Time Machine backups. I'm trying to trouble shoot, but can't seem to solve the issue. Whenever we run a backup we get the message: "Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume" It happens fairly quick after we run a TM backup. Here's what we've done:
1. Repaired permissions on the internal drive (several times)
2. Started a brand new TM set-up and back up.
3. Erased and reformatted the external TM drive
4. Tried an entirely different external drive as the TM drive
5. Trashed the/Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist file and restarted
6. Downloaded the Time Machine Buddy widget to see if that reveals anything. Here's the error message:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/BACKUP/Backups.backupdb
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: 500GB
Backup content size: 122.8 GB excluded items size: 160 KB for volume 500GB
No pre-backup thinning needed: 147.39 GB requested (including padding), 465.31 GB available
Waiting for index to be ready (-911 < 0)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying /Applications/Address Book.app/Contents/MacOS/Address Book to /Volumes/BACKUP/Backups.backupdb/Orest Wesely’s iMac G5/2010-05-10-100535.inProgress/8B51B8C1-1E6D-4692-9AF3-D2BF169FDC29/500GB/Appl ications/Address Book.app/Contents/MacOS
Stopping backup.
Error: (-8062) SrcErr:NO Copying /Applications/Address Book.app/Contents/MacOS/Address Book to /Volumes/BACKUP/Backups.backupdb/Orest Wesely’s iMac G5/2010-05-10-100535.inProgress/8B51B8C1-1E6D-4692-9AF3-D2BF169FDC29/500GB/Appl ications/Address Book.app/Contents/MacOS
Copied 0 files (1.2 MB) from volume 500GB.
Copy stage failed with error:11
Backup failed with error: 11
I then tried to exclude the entire Applications folder from the Time Machine options - but still got the same error message with this report:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/BACKUP2/Backups.backupdb
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: 500GB
Backup content size: 120.2 GB excluded items size: 4.8 GB for volume 500GB
No pre-backup thinning needed: 138.47 GB requested (including padding), 372.21 GB available
Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying /bin/bash to /Volumes/BACKUP2/Backups.backupdb/Orest Wesely’s iMac G5/2010-05-10-111244.inProgress/DB7DB1B6-5B21-4349-B048-A91C190684F1/500GB/bin
Stopping backup.
Error: (-8062) SrcErr:NO Copying /bin/bash to /Volumes/BACKUP2/Backups.backupdb/Orest Wesely’s iMac G5/2010-05-10-111244.inProgress/DB7DB1B6-5B21-4349-B048-A91C190684F1/500GB/bin
Copied 0 files (1.2 MB) from volume 500GB.
Copy stage failed with error:11
Backup failed with error: 11
NOT SURE WHAT TO DO?
Please help......!!

Hi Pondini -
thanks for the reply. Your troubleshooting User Tips was what I was referring to all along. I've seemed to have resolve the issue, however, by means of a far simpler solution. I noticed just recently that although the external TM hard drive seemed to have no apparent issues when verified and repaired with Disk Utility, it did hang up and produce some Error messages when simply trying to copy large files manually over with the Finder (not using TM). This caused me to think that maybe it was not TM, but rather something wrong with the data being copied (corrupt files) or the actual drive enclosure. It wasn't the actual hard drive inside, as I had earlier swapped the original drive in the enclosure with a drive that I knew was OK and the problem still occurred. I then noticed that the drive enclosure was connected to the computer via a Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 adapter cable (the enclosure has only FW800 port and the older imac has only FW400 ports - my dad had purchased that specialty cable). When I had earlier swapped drives to check the actual drive, I kept the same cable connection. I now tried reconnecting the drive with a simple USB cable - and wallah! - all my Finder copying worked and Time Machine copying seems to be going fine. SO it seems that the actual FW cable connection was causing issues???? TM is still chugging away at the moment (first copy - large amount of data), but seems to be doing fine. Is there anyway I could have gotten a clue that the problem was something so simple as a bad cable. Is FW more buggy than USB. Maybe those that adapter cables are buggy. I've always preferred FW as I thought it was the faster more reliable method of external HD connection - but maybe USB is a better choice. Obviously here it is. Thanks for the help.

Time Machine Error Message Not enough Memory, How to fix?

I've been using Time Machine, backing up onto a hard drive, since last November. All of a sudden it's giving me an error message saying that it does not have enough space. So the backups fail.
The error message offers 2 alternatives: Destroy files or use a different back up location. The preferences offer no assistance, though the error message implies that I can make the backup smaller there.
How can that be? I have saves for the last 30 days, but I can't back up the current files? That seems like flawed software to me.
Does anyone know a work around?
Thanks,
Jemel

Jeanie Marshall wrote:
Yes, I have read through this. Seems very unMac like. There really seem to be no preferences while Time machine is active.
I'm not sure what you mean by that. If there isn't room, there isn't room. As dbsneddon says, we can't help figure out what's happened without some details.
There are several possibilities:
Nothing is wrong. You have the +Warn when old backups are deleted+ option checked in TM Preferences, and that's what it did. That's why I referred you to #C4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting. See the tan box there for a detailed explanation and simple solution.
Your Time Machine drive isn't well over twice the size of the data it's backing-up, and Time Machine has to do a new, full backup. #D3 in Troubleshooting lists some common reasons for that.
For some reason, Time Machine may have started a new set of backups. A common reason is having the Logic board in your Mac replaced. See #C8 in Troubleshooting.
There are others, of course, but start by checking those out.

Time Machine error message - "case sensitive volume" conflict

After apparently working fine for a month or so, Time Machine is giving me an error message that reads, "A volume you are backing up is case sensitive, but the backup volume is not." I don't know what this means. How do I identify the case sensitive volume, so that I can exclude it from backup, assuming that's the correct action?
Help is appreciated! Thanks

I've had this occur to me too, but I think that maybe - and it's important that I underscore the 'maybe' part - I might have put my finger on the cause and, perhaps, the solution.
In my case, I happened to have had Disk Tools open when I downloaded a .dmg disk image. It seems that Disk Tools tends to 'remember' the disk image as a mounted volume, even though it's no longer on the desktop. I don't know what this might have to do with Time Machine, (and hopefully there is an Apple tech who is monitoring this thread), but when I deleted the disk image from the Disk Tools volume list, the "Case-Sensitive" error went away.
I don't know if this is really the root cause, but if anyone is experiencing the same "case-sensitive volume" error, try opening Disk Tools and see if there is a disk image volume appearing at the the bottom of the Disk Volumes list. If so, select it (or them, if there's more than one), and do a Command-Delete to remove them. Once the disk-image volumes have been removed from the list, try running Time Machine again. If the error is gone, post here so that other readers can try the same thing!
Best,
Tom
Message was edited by: Tom Beardmore

Time Machine error message: Backup Failed!! ???

I've been using Time Machine with an external 500GB Western Digital HD, and everything was going well, including TM deleting old files to make room for new ones. Then a few days ago, I started getting error messages, saying that the TM backup failed. Of course, it didn't say "WHY" or "WHAT" happened. I guess it's a new TM game - Guess why it didn't work?
No remedies were suggested - just the bad news - and now it's every time TM does its hourly backup!
Any suggestions or help is appreciated.
Thanks!
Ron...

Go into TM preferences and select the Change Disk button. Select None as the disk. Close the TM Preference and then open them again and reselect your original back up disk. TM should find it again and should do a valid backup.
Hope this helps.
David

Time machine error message "will not connect"

When trying to back up to Time capsule using Time machine I get this error message "The backup disk is not available." for my iMac. However, I can browse my Time Capsule using Time maching so I'm pretty sure they can connect. My wife gets the same for her Time Machine using a external hard drive with her MacBook Pro. It all started a week ago... Any suggestions?
Cheers
/Mårten
PS
And why can't I ask apple about this???

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
That's a +Network Drive,+ and TIme Machine doesn't work well, if at all, with non-Apple network drives.
See: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.6/en/15139.html
But check the WD website, for an update that might help: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=589
If none of that helps, there's a chance that changing some of the names might help. See #C9 in the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
If still no help, copy and post all the messages here, but don't replace the names with asterisks -- we can't tell if there's a problem with them if we can't see them.

Time Machine error message: The backup disk image could not be created

I got a new MacBook the other weekend and Time Capsule. I have set up the time capsule, its light is green, it shows up as a device in my finder window and the printer it shares is accessible.
The problem is when I try to run time machine I get the error message "the backup disk image could not be created" I have the time capsule selected as the drive I want to back up to. I have read through all 150 help topics on the Mac Support page regarding time machine and am now turning to you the community to help!

I found an answer in another place on this forum...http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1422065&tstart=330
Just have to give my computer a name under system preferences/sharing

Time Machine Error Messages-HELP!!

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