Time Machine won't back me up anymore after the initial back up.

I don't know if anyone else has had this problem but I couldn't find any other topics with this. I have a problem with Time Machine backing up to Time Capsule. We just got a 1 TB Time Capsule this week. My initial back up went great and the speed was surprising. After that it did 2 more updates Tuesday and 3 or 4 more Wednesday. However ever since then it won't finish backing up. When I tell it to back up or it backs up automatically it has about 1 GB to update. It will start to back up very quickly up to 43 MB then it craws up to 54 MB and quits saying, "Unable to complete back up. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume." I've tried things like plugging in an ethernet cable between Time Capsule and my Macbook but it doesn't help. I anyone has any helpful ideas they would be appreciated.

DaveHill wrote:
So I thought that fseventsd must be involved somewhere as it records the changes for TimeMachine to use to create the backups.
Correct, most of the time.
Jun 30 21:43:15 dhcp102 fseventsd[38]: client: 0x810800 : USER DROPPED EVENTS!
I don't think the earlier messages indicate much, if any, of a problem, but this one likely does.
Jul 1 20:15:45 falstaff fseventsd[38]: bumping event counter to: 0xeb6dc3a6 (current 0x0) from log file '00000000eb6cafa8'
Yes, something wrong with the event log still/again.
Ideas?
It does look like something going wrong with the event log. Just what isn't so clear.
I'd start by booting from your Leopard Install disc and repairing the internal HD, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
While you're at it, you might do the same on your backups, just to be sure they're ok, too.
When you reboot and run the next backup, Time Machine should log a UUID message about your internal HD, and do a "deep traversal." That will ignore the event log, instead comparing everything on your system to your backups, to be sure they match. That should "catch up" anything missed earlier.
Subsequent backups should revert to using the event log. Keep an eye on the messages (see #A1 in Troubleshooting for a handy widget); if the event log errors continue, something else is clearly wrong.

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Time Machine won't recognize my last backup after a power outage

Good Afternoon Everyone,
I just set up a Western Digital My Book Live on my network. Last week, I set up Time Machine to start a backup on my MacBook Pro (running 10.7.5). It took 2 days to finish, but all went well. For three days, all the backups worked perfectly. However, we had a power outage for an hour during the night and now that I turn on my MacBook Pro, Time Machine recognizes the disk, but doesn't have a record of any backup.
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TM apparently identifies the machine's backup by the Computer Name stored in the Sharing preferences. Try opening Sharing preferences and changing the Computer Name to the one you used previously when your TM backup was created.
Also see:
Time Machine Troubleshooting
Here are several articles to help troubleshoot Time Machine Problems as well as assist in properly setting up Time Machine.
Mac 101- Using Time Machine in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Is Time Machine all you need?
Some advice for those using Time Machine
TidBITS Macs & Mac OS X- Time Machine- The Good, the Bad, and the Missing Features
Mac OS X 10.5- Time Machine backups are not visible
OS X 10.5- Time Machine stops backing up to external disk
10.5- Disable the 'use this disk?' Time Machine dialog
Time Machine tips and troubleshooting
Mac OS X 10.5 Help- Restoring files backed up with Time Machine
OS X 10.5- Using Time Machine and troubleshooting Time Machine issues

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thank you for helping!

Try right-click on the Time Machine "clock" icon on the dock
Click Browse Other Time Machine Disks
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shaneeudy wrote:
So guess my question is this: Are there any know problems with using Firewire 800 with Time Machine?
Hi, and welcome to the forums.
Not in general. Some drives don't always wake or "spin up" fast enough; often that's seen when the system wakes from sleep, though, not so much after a system Restart. Many Western Digitals do that; I don't recall seeing any posts here about yours, but you might want to search the forums for Fantom
In the meantime I'm trying another experiment - I've disconnect the Firewire 800 connection and replaced it with USB.
Good plan - that may provide a clue.
Also, check with the maker -- there may be a firmware or driver update.
And try verifying your internal HD, and repairing your backups, per #A5 of Time Machine - Troubleshooting (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum). Either might cause that.

Time Machine v.1 lost file folder names all the way back to "the beginning of time"

I was experiencing some increasingly erratic system problems with my White 2006 iMac running OS 10.5.8. My guess is that these problems were due to power outages cutting power to the iMac while it was in use.
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--- After reloading the OS and upgrades I ran Verify Disk from Disk Utility off the HD and it reported no errors.
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They aren't what they appear to be on the TM, most are aliases to aliases to aliases when files are changed, I think only TM understands how/where the files are actually stored.
Later versions of the OS with Restore Partitions can Restore also
Do run DU on the TM drive... it certainly can't hurt at this point.
I recommend cloning your drives instead of TM, not only can you copy files/folders over if needed, you can actually boot from your backup & continue working, or even clone back to the Internal...
Get carbon copy cloner to make an exact copy of your old HD to the New one...
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
Or SuperDuper...
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/
Or the most expensive one & my favorite, Tri-Backup...
http://www.tri-edre.com/english/tribackup.html

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I updated from Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.8 to Mountain Lion OS X 10.8.2 on my MacBook Pro
I used disk utility to restore my external hardrive because I read somewhere that that would fix the problem.
It did fix the problem but only temporarily. I was able to view my backups from Snow Leopard, but as soon as I tried to backup again, time machine was stuck
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So what happens if you go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General? Are you able to go there at all? If you are able to go there, can you unlock the preferences using the lock in the lower left and your login name and password?
If you are able to do this, can you change the "Allow applications downloaded from:" to Anywhere?
Best of luck.

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I banged my head on the wall with the same problem for two days. Tried everything mentioned, and this worked, finally. The problem is that the backup files are not where you think they are.
You need to delete the MobilSync backup folder. I have a Mac. Went to /Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup and deleted the Backup folder.
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When trying to set up time machine and using a NAS drive in my wireless network Time Machine won't let me search and select the storage device. I can access the storage and save/retrieve files so I can see and use it. Anyone got any ideas please?
Brand New MBP running Mavericks.

I'm having the same issue with Mavericks - and it appears to be Mavericks specific. I don't have this problem with Mountain Lion. Mountain Lion can see both of my NAS drives.
Additionally, with Mavericks Time Machine won't see your backup properly. It may only see the most recent backup. Though in my case it wouldn't load either one (I had two on different drives). To recover some files I had to use a machine running Mountain Lion to mount a backup file then I was able to extract the files to a USB drive, which I then moved to the Mavericks machine.
I've tried using terminal to run tmutil commands without luck. I have mounted the volume I want to use - it shows when I do "ls -l /Volumes". Then when I do sudo tmutil setdestination /Volumes/VOLUMENAME the system seems to go into an infinite loop. I have to ^c to get back to terminal.
Clearly with Time Machine on Mavericke Apple has really screwed the pooch.
MacBook Pro 2.3GHz i7 with DVD drive and standard resolution display.

I bought a new external hard drive for backups, but time machine won't do a full back up. I think it is remembering backing up onto previous external hard drives, which I don't own anymore. How do I do a new full backup?

I bought a new external hard drive for backups, but time machine won't do a full back up.
I think it is remembering backing up onto previous external hard drives, which I don't own anymore. How do I do a new full backup?
When I bought the new (used) iMac, I also bought an external hard drive for backups. It worked fine, but my husband stole it.
Then I bought a new external hard drive (Seagate) and it worked fine for three weeks, then died.
So I just got a new external hard drive, which was put together from an internal hard drive and a hard drive enclosure.
Time machine did the first backup today, and it should have taken 9 hours like it did on the previous first time full back up. Instead, it took 30 minutes. That can't be right. I want to start over and do a full backup to make sure everything gets onto my new external hard drive, but I can't figure out how to do that. Please help.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:
tmutil compare -E
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V).
The command will take at least a few minutes to run. Eventually some lines of output will appear below what you entered.
Each line that begins with a plus sign (“+”) represents a file that has been added to the source volume since the last snapshot was taken. These files have not been backed up yet.
Each line that begins with an exclamation point (“!”) represents a file that has changed on the source volume. These files have been backed up, but not in their present state.
Each line that begins with a minus sign (“-“) represents a file that has been removed from the source volume.
At the end of the output, you’ll get some lines like the following:
Added:
Removed:
Changed:
These lines show the total amount of data added, removed, or changed on the source(s) since the last snapshot.

Time MAchine won't back up due to not enough space, but there is

TIme Machine won't back up. Displays this:
Actual capacity of the external backup drive is 999.68 GB and available is 135 gb .
The imac internal HD capacity is 999.01GB and used space is 636.321 GB.
This problem has occured periodically in the last 12 months or so, so prior to OS version10.8 install in Jul 2012.
I previously called AppleCare, as I have a contract, and tech said I just need to reformat the external drive and start over.
I did that the last time this happened a few months ago, but I don't like that option, as it eliminates all the prior backups,
What if I needed to try to recover something I deleted 3 weeks ago, for example. I couldn't do so as all backups would have been deleted, of course, by me having refomatted the drive and basically starting over. Also, I noted in another post about a person having a problem due to using a partitioned drive. Mine is not partition, as far as I can tell. See this:
Any ideas? Thanks

The solution is essentially "simple." You need a larger hard drive for these backups or you need to use a different backup solution. By this I mean using backup software that does not preserve an archive of old copies of a file, but simply erases old copies in order to replace them with the new copies. By replacing your backup drive can always accommodate the drive it backs up if it is large enough - say the same size. I can suggest:
Backup Software Recommendations
Carbon Copy Cloner
Data Backup
Deja Vu
SuperDuper!
Synk Pro
Tri-Backup
Others may be found at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
All of the above are capable of being scheduled. Synk Pro makes immediate backups of any changed file on the hard drive. You may configure it to archive changes (like Time Machine) or to delete prior copies.

Time Machine won't back up consistently

I've got a 500GB Time Capsule, I think it's the first generation since it doesn't have N wireless. I've had it since April, bought used. It's always backed up just fine until about a month ago. Automatic backups only work sporadically, and I get two different error messages, seemingly at random:
"Time Machine could not complete the backup. The backup disk is not available."
"Time Machine could not complete the backup. There was a problem with the network username or password."
I've tried a number of solutions that I found by Googling. I've repaired the hard drive in my Macbook and the one in the TC. I've reset the TC to factory settings several times and re-set everything up. I've deleted the Time Machine plist and also the keychain entries that refer to Time Machine and re-entered everything. I've even gone as far as using Airport Utility to wipe the hard drive in the Time Machine and start from scratch. That was last night. I left my Macbook connected to the TC via ethernet overnight to complete the backup, and this morning had another error message about the network username or password.
It seems like Time Machine is forgetting which disk to backup to. If I go into Time Machine prefs and select the disk and re-enter the password, 90% of the time it will work. That doesn't really do me much good though if automated backups are not working as they should.
I'm really stumped here, especially after basically starting over from scratch with the TC last night. I feel like it might be a setting on my computer but I'm not sure what to even look in to anymore. My computer is a Rev. A Core duo Macbook and I'm running Snow Leopard with all the latest updates.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I am about to pull my hair out over this.

Well, I've been stuck at work for the last 48 hours (I manage a hotel and we had a winter storm, so I had to stay on property in case other employees couldn't make it to work) so I hadn't had much chance to do anything.
I was able to successfully complete a new initial backup today, after totally resetting my TC and wiping it's hard drive, deleting the plist for time Machine, the whole nine yards. I also went into Keychain and deleted everything in there pertaining to Time Machine, the Time capsule itself and even the airport entries for this time capsule. I ran Keychain first aid too, just to be sure. I re-set up Time Capsule and all that, and ran the initial backup which worked fine. I sat and waited the full hour after the initial backup to see what happened. The automated backup failed saying there was a problem with the network username and password.
I've started a manual backup now and I'll post in a minute if it works or not.

Time Machine won't back me up anymore after the initial back up.

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