I am trying to use Time Machine to back-up to an external hard drive and I get the following message.Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while creating the backup folder. Does anyone know what I should do?

Hello Drake, I suspect one or more of the Drives needs repairing, but...
Have you looked through Pondini's extensive TM help site?
http://Pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Can't imaging something not being covered there.

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Can I use Time Machine to back files on an External Hard Drive

My MacBook Pro hard drive filled up with movies, pictures, and music, so I bought a 2TB Time Capsule. I have a external hard drive that is about the same capacity as my MacBook hard drive. Sine the Time Capsule is by far the largest drive I have, I moved all my movies, music, and pictures to the Time Capsule and am using it as an external hard drive. I attached a 500GB external hard drive to the Time Capsule and I use that as the backup drive for Time Machine. However, the problem I am encountering is that I can't seem to direct Time Machine to include all of my files on my Time Capsule in the back up on to the other external hard drive.
Can I use Time Machine to backup data that I store on my Time Capsule to a external hard drive? If not, what is hte best method for backing up my files that are on my Time Capsule?
Thanks,
David

You need to use a different utility .. eg CCC or Chronosync to backup from the TC to yet another drive.. the problem is, that drive should be connected to the computer.. if you use a USB drive on the TC.. the file copying will be slow as slow as you will not believe.. all files are copied to the computer, then back to the TC.. it cannot copy directly to the TC..
As Neil said.. one way or another you need to use an external drive on the computer, even if you don't use it all the time.. the danger of course is not doing regular backups.. and forgetting their importance.
A true NAS will have automated backup incrementally of the files stored.. The TC is not a NAS in that sense.. it is a backup target for TM above and beyond anything else.

HT3275 Time machine couldn't complete the backup. an error occured while creating the backup folder

Time machine couldn't complete the backup. an error occured while creating the backup folder Why does this happen?

hello,
http://pondini.org/TM/C10.html
http://Pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Can't imaging something not being covered there.

Time Machine Not Backing Up to an External Hard Drive - Error 11

Hi!
I am unable to backup my MacBook with my external Hard Drive. My Mac is a fairly new machine (September 2009) and I have backed up since upgrading to Snow Leopard previously but I cannot backup at all at the moment.
I have run disk utility and repair completed without any issues, in fact it told me that the drive was running ok. I have also reformatted my drive (mac os extended (journaled) ) and made sure the partition is GUID. The following is the message that appears when the backup fails:
"The backup was not performed because an error occured while copying the files to the backup disk. The problem may be temporary. Try again later to back up. If the problem persists, use disk utility to repair your backup disk."
I have had a look at the log using the Time Machine Widget and the following is what has been generated:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/MAC/Backups.backupdb
Ownership is disabled on the backup destination volume. Enabling.
Error parsing SystemMigration.log to determine source volume of system migration.
Backup content size: 100.2 GB excluded items size: 85.9 GB for volume Macintosh HD
No pre-backup thinning needed: 17.11 GB requested (including padding), 148.45 GB available
Waiting for index to be ready (101)
Indexing a file failed. Returned 200 for: /usr/X11/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic/crox3tbo.pcf.gz, /Volumes/MAC/Backups.backupdb/Eric O'Mahony’s MacBook/2010-05-02-210743.inProgress/E450C379-52F6-48A3-99D7-F45043074122/Macin tosh HD/usr/X11/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic/crox3tbo.pcf.gz
Aborting backup because indexing of file failed.
Stopping backup.
Copied 158300 files (12.5 GB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Copy stage failed with error:11
Backup failed with error: 11
The problems seems to be with indexing a file....a font?? Can anyone help me? It is driving me crazy and I need to backup my files.
Thank you for your help!

ericomahony wrote:
Indexing a file failed. Returned 200 for: /usr/X11/lib/X11/fonts/cyrillic/crox3tbo.pcf.gz,
The problems seems to be with indexing a file....a font??
Yes, indeed. Start by just excluding it, per the blue box in #C3 in the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
If the backup then runs ok, you'll need to figure out what's wrong with that file.
If you get another error, see the rest of #C3.

Trying to resolve 'error 45' sparsebundle could not be created while trying to use Time Machine to back-up to an external wireless harddrive

Hi,
I have been trying to resolve a repeated 'error 45' (Macbook Pro. sparsebundle could not be created) while trying to set up back-ups to run via Time Machine with an external wireless hard drive (Goflex Home by Seagate). I either get that message or a 'sparsebundle is already in use message. Anyone else come across this?

neillhowell wrote:
I've noticed that when Time Machine runs, that a folder called Data at /Volumes/ appears while Time Machine is trying to back up. I think it's making the sparsebundle to transfer to the Time Capsule.
Yes, exactly. It makes one sparse bundle per Mac.
It's possible the TC's disk is too full for a new sparse bundle, or there may be some other problem.
Via the Finder, locate the existing sparse bundle (see the pink box in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #17 if you're not sure how to do that). See how large it is (plus how large anything else that may be there). If the total is very near the size of the TC, that may be the problem.
If not, a clue may be lurking in your logs. Use the widget in #A1 of Time Machine - Troubleshooting to display the backup messages from your logs. Locate the backup in question (probably the first one displayed), then copy and post all the messages here.

Time Machine keeps backing up to wrong external hard drive

I had TM working fine for several months with my LaCie external HD named "LaCie" via Firewire 800. I bought a larger LaCie HD, daisy chained to the open FW800 port on "LaCie", named it "LaCie 1TB" and moved the "Backups.backupdb" folder to it using the Disk Utility restore function per several posts found here. I changed TM preferences to point now to "LaCie 1TB" and everything worked.
Then I deleted the "Backups.backupdb" folder from "LaCie" and renamed the HD "LaCie 500". I moved my video files there and changed TM preferences to delete "LaCie 500" from the "do not backup" list. I reran TM and it again worked including backing up "LaCie 500".
Now the problem. Whenever I first turn on the external HD's, TM immediately begins making a new backup on "LaCie 500". I stop it. If I then select "Back Up Now" in TM, it correctly backups to "LaCie 1TB". I always delete the "Backups.backupdb" created on "LaCie 500". And it always repeats this at the next HD restart but always works correctly if the drives are already turned on when the next backup time is reached.
Is this a bug in TM or is there something I can do to stop it other than hooking up "LaCie 1TB" to a FW400 or USB port and making sure I turn it on first? I don't want to do that. Seems it should only backup to a drive named the same as the name selected in TM preferences. I have other drives to hook up too so it could get worse. Thanks.

Pondini wrote:
Just how did you do that? Did you erase the volume with Disk Utility, or use the Finder?
I just erased it with the finder.
So tonight I turned off TM and deleted the two preferences files. I turned TM back on and set it up again. It said the next backup was in a few minutes so I shut down the drives and waited a few minutes. I restarted them and nothing happened. I checked TM and it now said the next backup was in about an hour. I turned them off and on again and nothing happened. I also restarted the computer and the lock on the TM prefpane was unlocked again so that isn't fixed.
I then used some other tools I had and found a hidden file named ".001ff35b9356" on both drives. The file contents were:
V∞=„:ïA
Ç ıE…· ‰
I deleted this one on the first drive, "LaCie 500". I also noticed they both had a file called ".com.apple.timemachine.supported" on them but I left that alone.
I shut down and restarted both drives. Neither one mounted. So I shut them down again and this time they both mounted. TM did nothing. I had previously noticed that the icon for each of these drives changes to a time machine icon instead of the standard hard drive icon. For comparison I attached another old external drive I had and its icon stayed the standard hard drive icon. It also had the ".com.apple.timemachine.supported" file on it but not the ".001ff35b9356" file on it.
I shut both drives down and waited for the next scheduled backup time to pass. I started them both up and again nothing happened and TM said the next backup was another hour out. I told it to back up now and it worked. So I'm not sure now what is happening. It isn't automatically backing up at all when I first turn on the drives. It seems just to push the next backup out an hour if they aren't attached when the times comes. I don't know how it's supposed to work. I thought it would start a backup immediately if it was overdue. When the drives are off TM says the next backup is "When disk is connected" but that isn't what it does now. I guess I'll use it for a while and see what happens next.
This shouldn't be this hard. Thanks for your help.

HT1473 When I try downloading itunes it says itunes can't run because I don't have apple support. Does anyone know what I should do?

I am having an issue with downloading itunes. It says I need itunes support. Does anyone know what I should do?

With the Error 2, let's try a standalone Apple Application Support install. It still might not install, but fingers crossed any error messages will give us a better idea of the underlying cause of the issue.
Download and save a copy of the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64setup.exe) installer file to your hard drive:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Download and install the free trial version of WinRAR:
http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm
Right-click the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64Setup.exe), and select "Extract to iTunesSetup" (or "Extract to iTunes64Setup"). WinRAR will expand the contents of the file into a folder called "iTunesSetup" (or "iTunes64Setup").
Go into the folder and doubleclick the AppleApplicationSupport.msi to do a standalone AAS install.
Does it install properly for you?
If instead you get an error message during the install, let us know what it says. (Precise text, please.)

I have a mac book pro and a panasonic SD Video camera SDR-S50 - but i cannot transfer videos from the panasonic to my mac - does anyone know what i should do? - Rochelle

i have a mac book pro and a panasonic SD Video camera SDR-S50 - but i cannot transfer videos from the panasonic to my mac - does anyone know what i should do? - Rochelle

If the macBook Pro will not read the card/files then you might need a converter, check out:
http://www.hdconverterformac.com/article-mod-video/panasonic-sdr-mod-to-mac.html
http://expertscolumn.com/content/how-play-or-edit-panasonic-sdr-mod-files-mac-os -x

Need software to print on my new PIXMA PRO-100 does anyone know what software should I use?

Need software to print on my new PIXMA PRO-100 does anyone know what software should I use?
Any help or link will be great appreciated.
Thanks.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

A DVD caame with the printer. Why not use it? Lost it, just d/l another copy from Canon. It' free.
But the best is Photoshop Elements.
EOS 1Ds Mk III, EOS 1D Mk IV EF 50mm f1.2 L, EF 24-70mm f2.8 L,
EF 70-200mm f2.8 L IS II, Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 EX APO
Photoshop CS6, ACR 9, Lightroom 6

I dropped my phone in water for a few seconds, but it still works. I went to charge the phone but it fried the charger. It still works though. I just cant charge it. Does anyone know what i should do?

I dropped my phone in water for a few seconds, but it still works. I went to charge the phone but it friend the charger. It still works though. I just cant charge it. Does anyone know what i should do? it actually burnt the tip og the charger and was smoking I have no idea how the phone is still working. I do not want to buy a new phone.

Hi Sean,
If it fried the charger, then there is something seriously wrong with it. You need to take it to an Apple Store to have it looked at, and be prepared to be told that you will need to get a new phone. If you can't charge it, it will be useless to you in a matter of days anyway. Also, do not even try to hook it up to your computer....you will probably cause serious damage to the computer and be even worse off than you are now.
Sorry about your troubles. But for your own safety, you need to have the phone looked at! Don't wait - if you wait until it has no more charge left, then no one will be able to recharge it to look at it....
Cheers,
GB

HT3275 what do I do when time machine says: Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while creating the backup folder?

I am trying to back up my imac using an external storage: My passport Studio 1TB. Each time it trys to back up Time machine says: Unable to complete back up. An error occurred while creating the backup folder. Does anyone know how I can fix this problem? Thanks

Plowie,
Do a search in Discussions, "An error occurred while creating the backup folder."
Many of us are having this problem and no fix has been offered, that I could find.
Unless you call "eject the external HDD; turn off; turn back on" a fix. That's what I have to do every 2 or 3 days; I even have to "force eject", with the concomitant warning message that you could lose data, etc.

When I tried to back up my computer, Time Machine says 'an error occurred while creating the backup folder.' When I check the side of the partition where I manually saved old files, the folders are there, but NONE of the files are.

I haven't backed up my computer in over a year. When I tried to back it up today, Time Machine says 'an error occurred while creating the backup folder.' When I check the side of the partition where I manually saved old photos and documents (including all the pictures from the year I studied abroad/traveled a bunch), the folders are there, but NONE of the files are.
Does anyone have any idea what the problem might be, or how I could fix it? I really don't want to lose all those photos

So you were doing a time machine backup to another partition on the same hard drive? Just trying to gather some information so i can provide a helpful response.

I got an error message saying "an error occurred while creating the backup folder". I have tried deleting the plist and am using the latest time capsule software and using OS Lion Any ideas what to do please?

got an error message saying "an error occurred while creating the backup folder". I have tried deleting the plist and am using the latest time capsule software and using OS Lion Any ideas what to do please?

See #C10 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.

I ran a apple test and got a error code 4mot/1/40000003:hdd-1376 does anyone know what this is thanks

I ran a apple test and got a error code 4mot/1/40000003:hdd-1376 does anyone know what this is thanks

Buy a new drive and replace the old one. While the old one is still working (if it is) I would quickly make a bootable backup to an external drive if you have one, assuming you have no extant backup.
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
Select the destination volume from the left side list.
Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
Check the box labeled Erase destination.
Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
You will find suitable replacement drives at OWC.
They may also have a video tutorial. Or you may find a written tutorial at ifixit.com. Also may find one by Googling for it.

Time Machine warning: An error occured while creating a backup folder. What to do???

Time Machine warning: An error occured while creating a backup folder. What to do???

If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an 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.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left. If you don't see that menu, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
Enter the word "Starting" (without the quotes) in the String Matching text field. You should now see log messages with the words "Starting * backup," where * represents any of the words "automatic," "manual," or "standard." Note the timestamp of the last such message that corresponds to 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 (command-V) into a reply to this message.
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.
When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Some personal information, such as the names of your files, may be included — anonymize before posting.

I am trying to use Time Machine to back-up to an external hard drive and I get the following message.Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while creating the backup folder. Does anyone know what I should do?

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