EFI Folder on desktop during TimeMachine backup, backup fails.

Question

Hello,
I am haing a very strange and infuriating problem.  The problem is whenever my Time Machine begins to backup a folder shows up on my desktop labeled "EFI".  The file size says 313.8MB, 312.6MB free.  Then my Time Machine backup fails time and time again (pun intended).
The Time Machine is located on a MacMini Server, but even when I plug a TM drive directly into the USB it says the same thing and fails to backup.  I've tired different brand drives but still the same outcome.
I then tired to clone the drive using SuperDuper but it can't even find the Macintosh HD.  So I did a PRAM reset, repaired permissions, wiped and partitioned the drive and did a clean install of the current OS.  I then used Migration Assistant to restore my data.
It ran fine for a day and now the same thing is happening all over again, but now it shows the EFI folder anytime I connect a USB or network drive onto it, plus it now takes a good 5 minutes to even boot.
I'ts absolutely maddening!  Since I owned this laptop it's had the screen replaced twice as well as the logic board for random shutdown issues.  I've begged and demanded for Apple to please replace this laptop since it was a month old.  Sadly, Apple has refused any resolution other than to keep replacing parts and adding scratches.  I purchased two twin units and the other unit has been whistling Dixie since day one.  My son got one and I got stuck with the evil twin.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, but my guess is it is going to be shipped back to Apple for the 5th time.
Thanks for reading!

Answer 1

These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.
Launch the Console 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 Console in the icon grid.
The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
In the top right corner of the Console window, there's a search box labeled Filter. Initially the words "String Matching" are shown in that box. Enter the word "Starting" (without the quotes.) You should now see log messages with the words "Starting * backup," where * represents any of the words "automatic," "manual," or "standard."
Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Note the timestamp of the last "Starting" message that corresponds to the beginning of an an abnormal backup. Now
CLEAR THE WORD "Starting" FROM THE TEXT FIELD
so that all messages are showing, and scroll back in the log to the time you noted. Select the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressingcommand-V.
☞ If all you see are messages that contain the word "Starting," you didn't clear the text field.
If there are runs of repeated messages, post only one example of each. Don't post many repetitions of the same message.
☞ The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of which is irrelevant to solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
☞ Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.