Cannot Connect to Time Capsule: "the backup disk is not available"

I am having a problem that I can't diagnose with my 500 GB Time Capsule (my HD is 128GB). The firmware is current. I first did a search for 'the backup disk is not available' since that is the message displayed in the Time Machine window (with the red checkmark).The Time Machine widget says this:
Attempting to mount network destination using URL: afp://[email protected]/xxx%20xxx's%20Time%20Capsu
NetAuthConnectToServerSync failed with error: 89 for url: afp://[email protected]/xxx%20xxx's%20Time%20Capsu
I installed the widget after I went to the Time Machine - Troubleshooting user tip, here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2057525. Also went to Using TIME MACHINE with a TIME CAPSULE, here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2296894
I also renewed the DHCP lease, tried to do 'connect as' from the Sidebar window, also via go-> connect to server ("there was an error connecting to the server Timecapsule; Check the server name or IP address & try again"), go to Time Machine under System Preferences, select "None" for hard drive, turned off Time Machine, then turned it back on and reselect Time Capsule as the hard drive to backup (timed out), tried re-setting up the Time Capsule both automatic & manual (times out when reading TC configuration)., and finally, writing this post.
I am connected to the internet with the Time Capsule, and I am concerned about making too many changes, because I don't want to risk losing my internet connection, since that seems to be working fine. I was able to make regular backups until yesterday. Tracing my steps from when it used to work to when it 'broke':
1)I attempted (unsuccessfully) to mount the Time Capsule so that I could do a search on it. (I didn't realize at the time that I couldn't mount a wireless device.)
2)The only other thing I did was drag some music folders that I wanted backed up next to my sparsebundle backup (which I can no longer see, because the Time Capsule is no longer accessible via the finder) only to get the spinning ball with the copying window, which I couldn't force quit unless I quit the Finder. So, I force quit, rebooted, and repaired the disk/permissions with disk utility.
Did I do something wrong by dragging & dropping my files over trying to use it as a backup AND a an external HD? Or trying to mount the drive? Or maybe since adding several gigs of music, I took up too much space & now don't have room for a backup? (In which case, I need to access the drive & erase the music, and start over: if only I could SEE it I could do that.)
I am still doing searches trying to see what I need to do; I haven't yet re-set it, due to my concern about my internet connection, which could potentially prevent me from getting any information to fix it. At this time, I am not sure if this is a Time Capsule, Time Machine, or Airport issue. During the time that I have been writing this, the red check changed to 'connecting' but then the 'delayed - Time Machine is not available' message came back up
TIA

Reboot the network in correct order.. modem.. router/TC.. clients.. 2min gap.
This is just standard windows.. woops, Mac OS networking now.

Similar Messages

Time machine couldn't complete the backup to johns airport time capsule. the backup disk is not available

time machine couldn't complete the backup to johns airport time capsule. the backup disk is not available

You may find answers at Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things related to Time Machine.

Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to time capsule-the backup disk is not available

Time Machine couldn’t complete the backup to time capsule-the backup disk is not available

Reboot the network in correct order.. modem.. router/TC.. clients.. 2min gap.
This is just standard windows.. woops, Mac OS networking now.

My external hard drive is not recognized by Time Machine; "The backup disk is not available" according to Disk Utility

I'm not completely tech savvy, but I'm having troubles with my external memory & time machine. I'm a student, and thus its very important to me to be able to back up my computer.
I wanted to back up my Time Machine the other day. I clicked the icon at the top of the page (beside the battery icon, etc.) and the message "The backup disk is not available". I have a 500GB Seagate passport (ie: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Seagate---FreeAgent-GoFlex-500GB-External-USB-2.0-Po rtable-Hard-Drive---Silver/9929098.p?id=1218196478444&skuId=9929098)
My macbook pro is version 10.7.5 Mac OS X Lion. My external memory is only about a year old. It hasn't been dropped or anything; it permanently sits secured to my desk.
What appears when I click "Repair Disk":
Verify and Repair volume “Time Machine Backups”
Checking file systemChecking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
Detected a case-sensitive volume.
Checking extents overflow file.
Checking catalog file.
Incorrect block count for file shutdown_time
(It should be 1 instead of 0)
Invalid node structure
Rebuilding catalog B-tree.
The volume Time Machine Backups could not be repaired.
Volume repair complete.Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.Error: Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.
After clicking "Repair Disk" this message pops up: "Disk Utility Stopped Repairing 'Time Machine Backups' Disk utility can't repair this disk. Back up as many as your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files."
I don't want to wipe my memory on my external disk just in case the disk doesn't restore (as I do not have another disk to back up my computer on to).
What is going on? Why is this happening out of the blue? How can I fix this?

Sounds like it either has, or is about to die.
If you don't need anything off the old drive, then yes, replace it immediately with something a little more reolaable. I use WD Caviar Black personally. But anything that has a known low failure rate.

I can't connect to my time capsule. the machine is on but the message is the backup disk is not available.

My Mac desktop has not backed up to my time capsule since July 10th. The time capsule is on and plugged in but the message reads that the backup disk is not available. What can I do?

It helps to know what OS you are running on the Mac.. let me guess.. Mavericks.. since it is the most buggy on the network side.. although Lion and ML are also lacking the rock solid nature of Snow Leopard.
Have you done the simple things.. ??
ie reboot the TC?
No luck then reboot the network.
No luck then I would recommend a complete reset of the TC.
I have outlined how to do this many times.
eg Re: Why the connection from Air to Time Capsule is lost suddenly?
As you will see this is not something unusual.
Apple has a document.. very well hidden.
OS X Mavericks: Time Machine problems
It is helpful (although it doesn't go far enough IMHO).
Try what I have suggested and tell me how it goes.. more problems then also give me more info.
Full network info and details on the OS you are running.

Message from my time capsule"tHE BACKUP DISK IMAGE"/VOLUMES/DATA/BOB MERTIE'S IMAC SPARCE BUNDLE"CANNOT BE ACCESSED". ANY IDEAS? THANKYOU

Message from my time capsule"The backup disk image"/volumes/data/bob mertie's imacsparse bundle could not be accessed" Any help?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
There are different reasons for that error. Read > http://pondini.org/TM/C17.html

Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "Time Capsule".The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data-1/Macintosh.sparsebundle" is already in use.

When I back up my macbook pro to time capsule 3TB, this appears:
"Time Machine couldn’t complete the backup to “Time Capsule”.The backup disk image “/Volumes/Data-1/Macintosh.sparsebundle” is already in use."
and I'm not able to back up. What do I do?

As noted in the link I posted, that's fine if you're the only user logged-on to the only Mac using the TC's disks (internal and/or USB externals). If not, that may corrupt other data being written, especially other backups.

HT3275 I received this message and I'm unsure how to fix it "Time Machine couldn't complete backup to Time Capsule the backup disk image"/Volumes/The Vision Board/Alex Parry.sparsebundle" is already in use

I received this message and I'm unsure how to fix it "Time Machine couldn't complete backup to Time Capsule the backup disk image“/Volumes/The Vision Board/Alex Parry.sparsebundle” is already in use

Look at the more like this on the right column of the web page.
This is the most common error here.. we answer it 5-10times every day.
Simple method.. pull out the TC power cord .. count to 10.. plug in the TC power cord.
Look at the other references for more info.

Time Machine says "The Backup Disk is Not Available"

Line 0: I have a 400 GB external Western Digital drive that I leave plugged into an Airport Extreme. Previously, this worked mostly without a problem. It took some massaging to get it to work at first (I had to create the backup with the drive directly connected to the computer, and then I moved the drive over to the Airport Extreme and it was fine after that), but after that, it worked forever. This was in the previous version of the OS that I was running (snow leopard?). I very recently upgraded to Lion and it seemed to be OK, but then suddenly it gave me an error that said it had not been able to do a backup for 10 days. I thought "wow, that means it hasn't backed up since I upgraded to Lion."
So I told it to do a backup right away. It failed with the error "The backup disk is not available."
I unplugged the drive and plugged it back in. No go.
I tried to reselect the drive from within Time Machine preferences. It would not appear and in fact it kept forcing me to go to the Airport Extreme software. I did this and there was no obvious way to set anything up from within that software. I left everything as it was ("Enable file sharing" checked, "Secure shared disks" was at "with device password," and it was remembering the password in my keychain).
Go back to Time Machine preferences and the disk still doesn't show up. Force a reboot on the router, it still doesn't show up.
I brought the drive over to the computer and plugged it in directly, and everything was fine. It did a backup on the spot, it read the backup that was there, the drive showed up, etc. I formatted it just for the heck of it and started over completely and it was happy. I did a disk check and everything was fine. After leaving it on all night to complete a new backup, I unmounted the disk, brought it over to the Airport Extreme, plugged it back in, and now we go back to line 0 and rinse repeat.
Can someone please tell me how to get my drive to start working with Time Machine again?

It should not have worked in the first place.. when you moved it from the PC to the airport extreme.. that is not correct.. I don't know how SL managed to work around it.. but Lion obviously cannot.
You will need to start all over again..
Also note.. the flakey nature of this setup.. according to well respected people here AEBS with USB drive does not give reliable TM backups.. I would pay close attention to what they are saying. Time Capsule is more than a AEBS with a hard drive inside.. although exactly the difference I don't know.
But you can expect the current setup to not work, because it never should have.

Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "Time Machine Backups". The backup disk is not available.

I have received an error message today - Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "Time Machine Backups". The backup disk is not available.
I am using a WD 1.5tb Help!!! Everything is on there and the files are not showing. The WD SmartWare icon is on the Desktop but the Time Machine icon is not. When I save a file I open the Time Machine file and save it in there. What do I do? How do I get my files back?? I do not keep anything on the macbook pro. Help PLEASE!!!

Hi Yaann,
Thank you for your reply. Yes I did try that, but no luck.
After several hours of calls to a very unhelpful WD and further calls to Applecare, there was nothing anyone could do. Out of frustration when holding the WD 1.5TB hard drive, I smacked it (NOT recommended). Well, to my surprise the WD reappeared on my devices list. Let me tell you, I pulled my files off as fast as I could on to my MacBook Pro. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I confirmed that everything transferred back to the MacBook Pro fine. I spoke with the Applecare tech and he talked me through the set up on a new Lacie hard drive.
What I can say is that after further research into external hard drives and now personal experience - Lacie is the top of the line and you get what you pay for. I would NEVER ever recommend a WD to anyone. Given one, I would still through it away.
I was LUCKY.
I must say the support and understanding I received from Applecare was outstanding!! I would never own a apple product without applecare and from long term experience it is worth every penny.
All the best,

Error message: the backup disk is not available

I am trying to backup my laptop through time machine and am getting an error message that the backup disk is not available. The last backup was 10 days ago. I have not changed any of my settings. The desktop that has a direct (wired) connection to time capsule (my backup disk) is backing up fine. The wireless connection is good on my laptop. Any suggestions how to fix are much appreciated.

Is the desktop using different OS to the wireless version?
Reboot the whole network.. restart in correct order.. modem.. TC.. clients. 2min gap.

External drive says "the backup disk is not available"

I am trying to use an external back up drive with time machine on my macbook air. The air is an older model (150G) and the drive is 250G. I used to use this drive on my macbook pro, but then erased it to use on my air. Now I get a message "Time machine could not complete the backup. The backup disk is not available".
What I've done so far:
-I've looked on the drive icon on my desktop and made sure it is empty.
-I ran a disk utility repair.
-I rebooted the computer.
Thanks for anything you can suggest!
-Kate

old 250GB ext. HD, likely dead SATA card, or the HD is kaput
verify on another Mac,
verify on other USB port
see here:
Your dead external hard drive is likely fine! Great hope for your 'faulty' external HD
Purchase a new ext. 1TB HD, stay away from WD drives.

HT201250 Time Machine error - backup disk is not available

A new external USB disk was installed and fromatted as per apple and manufacturer instructions. Time machine backup was initated but had to be stopped after 2-3 hours. Upon resuming using "backup now" function an error message reported - Time machine could not complete the backup. The backup dis is not available.

Never mind, I fixed the problem by removing a lock feature from my external drive.

Time Machine Back Up Delayed, The backup disk is not available

Just noticed that my Time Machine has not backed up my MacBook Pro to my Time Capsule in three days:
Selecting Back Up Now brings up this error message
The Time Capsule is on the network, as I'm connecting to the Internet through it right now.
The date of the last backup is the date that I had to reboot and reset my Time Capsule as I needed to connect to the Internet via Ethernet and had problems when trying to reconnect over WiFi.
I unplugged the Time Capsule and plugged it back in. That didn't help.
Any idea how I can get Time Machine working again? Thanks!

Resetting an AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule FAQ

"Time Machine could not complete the backup. The backup disk is not availab

I have a Seagate 750 MB external disk connected to the USB port of my Airport Extreme Base Station. It worked fine with Time Machine under Leopard but it's not working the way it was under OS X 10.6.2. I'm hopeful someone can help me solve the problem.
Let's say the name of my Airport Extreme Base Station is "Airport." If I remember correctly, under Leopard time machine would start a wireless backup not long after I turned on the Seagate drive. That no longer happens.
I've erased and re-formatted the Seagate drive with 2 GUID partitions, one for my 24" iMac and one for my 17" MacBook Pro. Both computers are about 3 years old. In order to do the re-partitioning, I had to unplug the Seagate drive from the base station and plug it into one of the iMac's USB ports. If I didn't do this, nothing other than the iMac's drive appears in the left pane of Disk Utility, although the name of my base station, i.e, "Airport" does appear in the Finder and PathFinder (a replacement for Finder that I use).
In fact, Time Machine works under 10.6.2. as long as the Seagate drive is plugged into the iMac's USB port. As soon as I plug the Seagate drive into the USB port of the base station, Time Machine no longer works. The backup is "delayed." When I click on "Back Up Now" a few seconds go by and I get the following dialog box: "Time Machine could not complete the backup. The backup disk is not available."
In my Airport Extreme Base Station setup (Airport Utility version 5.4.2), the "Disks" pane sees both partitions on the Seagate drive. File sharing is enabled on the "File sharing" pane and "Secure Shared Disks:" is set to "With a disk password." "Airport Disks Guest Access:" is not allowed, nor is "Share disks over WAN."
When the Seagate drive is plugged into the base station and I click on "Airport" in the Finder or PathFinder, I'm prompted for the password I mentioned above because the shared disks are secured with a password. Once the password is typed, both partitions on the Seagate drive appear in Finder and PathFinder. When I try a Time Machine backup at this point, I get the same error I described above, i.e., "Time Machine could not complete the backup. The backup disk is not available."
One last thing, I did an "Archive and Install" when I upgraded to Snow Leopard since I thought the changes were relatively minor as compared with past OS X upgrades. Normally, I do a clean install but didn't feel like it this time. I also tried deleting the file /Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist to no avail and restarted my iMac to no avail.
At this point I'm completely stumped. As I said, Time Machine works as long as the Seagate drive is plugged directly into one of the iMac's USB ports as opposed to the base station's USB port. But doesn't this defeat the purpose of having wireless backup? Once again, the wireless backup worked fine under 10.5.8.
I hope my message is clear and a solution would be most welcome.
Thank you,
Richard

I'm having the same problem. If my TimeMachine drive is not connected, I'll get the "Time machine could not complete the backup" "The backup disk is not available" warning a couple times a day. This is extremely problematic if I'm giving a presentation. I have tried changing my TimeMachine drive, removing that drive, repairing permissions, and have not been able to solve the problem.
Please help!

Cannot Connect to Time Capsule: "the backup disk is not available"

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for