Problems with Time Machine Buddy widget and with backups

I started a discussion in another forum but have been referred here for definitive help.
Here is the link to that posting: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2450454&tstart=0
TM Buddy tells me I don't have the rights to use it.
My wife's backups are not occurring when scheduled.
Thanks,
Richard

Thanks for the advice. I had assumed no problem with the backup since I did an ethernet connection and fresh backup a couple of days ago. That backup completed.
Yesterday I saw the "deep traverse" message I mentioned. Here is the TM Buddy report for that run:
Copied 368.0 MB of 5.7 GB, 41 of 1016 items
Copied 820.0 MB of 5.7 GB, 41 of 1016 items
Copied 1.2 GB of 5.7 GB, 72 of 1016 items
Bulk setting Spotlight attributes failed.
Copied 1.6 GB of 5.7 GB, 79 of 1016 items
Copied 2.0 GB of 5.7 GB, 79 of 1016 items
Copied 2.5 GB of 5.7 GB, 80 of 1016 items
Error: (-8084) SrcErr:YES Copying /Library/Application Support/TechTool Protection/Susans HD/Volume Usage.plist to (null)
Bulk setting Spotlight attributes failed.
Copied 2.8 GB of 5.7 GB, 3187 of 3187 items
Bulk setting Spotlight attributes failed.
Copied 5637 files (2.9 GB) from volume Susans HD.
Bulk setting Spotlight attributes failed.
Copied 2.9 GB of 5.7 GB, 28088 of 28088 items
Bulk setting Spotlight attributes failed.
Copied 3.2 GB of 5.7 GB, 35132 of 35132 items
Copied 3.6 GB of 5.7 GB, 35132 of 35132 items
Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException:* -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Device not configured
Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying /Volumes/Susans Archive/TechTool Protection/Susans HD/Directory Backup 2010-06-08-15-34-00 to /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Susan's MacBook/2010-06-07-082918.inProgress/92B54B12-8FBD-4606-B5D5-1EDBBF581F96/Susan s Archive/TechTool Protection/Susans HD
Stopping backupd to allow ejection of backup destination disk!
Stopping backup.
Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException:* -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Device not configured
Error: (-8062) SrcErr:NO Copying /Volumes/Susans Archive/TechTool Protection/Susans HD/Directory Backup 2010-06-08-15-34-00 to /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/Susan's MacBook/2010-06-07-082918.inProgress/92B54B12-8FBD-4606-B5D5-1EDBBF581F96/Susan s Archive/TechTool Protection/Susans HD
Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException:* -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Device not configured
Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException:* -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Device not configured
Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException:* -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Device not configured
Copied 35132 files (3.8 GB) from volume Susans Archive.
Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException:* -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Device not configured
Copy stage failed with error:11
There are error messages and perhaps you know what they mean.
In the meantime, today, I read about repairing the backup as you suggested and now have the MB connected by ethernet to TC and running the repair. I was a little confused by this advice:
•To Repair the sparse bundle on a Time Capsule, connect via an Ethernet cable if you can; it will be much faster. Then mount the sparse bundle by opening the TC in the Finder and double-clicking on the sparse bundle. Drag the sparse bundle into the lower part of Disk Utility's sidebar and select it. (When repairing a sparse bundle, the messages won't appear in the center area of the screen; so click the Log icon in the toolbar, or select Window > Show Log from the Menubar to display them.)
Because I dragged the sparsebundle to Disk Utility with no problem. The instructions (shown above) say to double-click on the sparse bundle but when I did that nothing special happened that I could see. So I dragged it over to Disk Utility manually. I am thinking it is a typo and should read "double-click on the TM backup folder" — what you think?
The other thing is that advice says that the messages won't appear on the center of the screen but they do for me. I also opened the log which is saying the same thing.
So hope I am doing it right.
Any advice on the TM Buddy error messages appreciated.
Richard

Similar Messages

Time Machine and Time Machine Buddy Widget trouble

I've been having trouble with my Time Machine getting stuck on "indexing backup," so I've done as I've read in some other posts and installed the Time Machine Buddy Widget.
But the Buddy is acting strangely, too. The moment it was installed it was showing a backup log for November 24, 2011. Either it can see nine months into the future or there's something wrong.
I tried reinstalling it. I tried restarting the computer. Same thing. The log appears to show a successful backup, so it's definitely not reflecting what's been happening today, where there's been much spinning and no progress.

The one thing I hadn't done is verify the HD. I just did that and found it needed repairs--a problem with the "volume file count." So that's taken care of.
Yes, those failures were sent by backupd. I'll paste a sample of them below. Ours is a pretty simple network. Just the MacBook connecting wirelessly to TM. Doubt it matters, but the TM is in bridge mode, connected to a 2wire modem/router. Generally, it doesn't seem to matter whether I connect via the 2wire signal or the TM signal. Both have been known to fail.
Oh, and even with the repair to the HD, still the same odd date on the widget...
Earlier today I had another smooth backup. Could mean something's fixed, but this is also often how it goes; it'll work fine for a while and then a long streak of nothing but "indexing backup."
Feb 8 15:48:44 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Network destination already mounted at: /Volumes/Time Capsule
Feb 8 15:48:48 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Failed to attach to image: /Volumes/Time Capsule/Steve Smith's MacBook.sparsebundle, DIHLDiskImageAttach returned: 35
Feb 8 15:48:49 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Failed to mount disk image /Volumes/Time Capsule/Steve Smith's MacBook.sparsebundle (DIHLDiskImageAttach returned: 109)
Feb 8 15:48:51 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Mount failed... waiting 60 seconds and trying again.
Feb 8 15:49:11 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Failed to eject volume /Volumes/Time Capsule (FSVolumeRefNum: -110; status: -47; dissenting pid: 0)
Feb 8 15:50:11 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Network destination already mounted at: /Volumes/Time Capsule
Feb 8 15:50:13 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Failed to attach to image: /Volumes/Time Capsule/Steve Smith's MacBook.sparsebundle, DIHLDiskImageAttach returned: 35
Feb 8 15:50:19 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Failed to mount disk image /Volumes/Time Capsule/Steve Smith's MacBook.sparsebundle (DIHLDiskImageAttach returned: 109)
Feb 8 15:50:19 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Giving up after 3 retries.
Feb 8 15:50:24 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Backup failed with error: 21
Feb 8 15:50:43 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Failed to eject volume /Volumes/Time Capsule (FSVolumeRefNum: -110; status: -47; dissenting pid: 0)
Feb 8 16:47:21 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Starting standard backup
Feb 8 16:47:21 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Network destination already mounted at: /Volumes/Time Capsule
Feb 8 16:47:23 Steve-Smiths-MacBook com.apple.backupd[1287]: Failed to attach to image: /Volumes/Time Capsule/Steve Smith's MacBook.sparsebundle, DIHLDiskImageAttach returned: 35

Time Machine Buddy: weird message after backup

Hello Pondini and all,
Note the last line in the Time Machine Buddy log messages.
The drive was not ejected. Any idea what this was about?
Starting post-backup thinning
No post-back up thinning needed: no expired backups exist
Backup completed successfully.
Stopping backupd to allow ejection of backup destination disk!
Thanks,
harv47

Hello Pondini and all,
Note the last line in the Time Machine Buddy log messages.
The drive was not ejected. Any idea what this was about?
Starting post-backup thinning
No post-back up thinning needed: no expired backups exist
Backup completed successfully.
Stopping backupd to allow ejection of backup destination disk!
Thanks,
harv47

NAS-based Time Machine, Snow Leopard and new backups

Hi all,
I have a new NAS server (Netgear ReadyNAS) and have configured my Snow Leopard MBP to use it for its Time Machine backups.
I create the first backup over gigabit ethernet, and subsequent backups occur over wifi.
This happens as normal for about a week or so, until the following error appears:
"Time Machine completed a verification of your backups. To improve reliability, Time Machine must create a new backup for you.”
So, twice now, I've duly plugged in my MBP and it starts a backup from scratch, copying the usual 450ishGB over onto my NAS. I then disconnect, and the backup works fine for a week or so, until the error appears again.
The only blogpost or help article I could find relating to this is here: http://www.garth.org/archives/2011,08,27,169,fix-time-machine-sparsebundle-nas-b ased-backup-errors.html but when I follow that process, I get the ultimate error:
"** The volume Time Machine Backups could not be repaired."
The backups are perfectly sound - I do a test restore of a random file daily - but this error is very annoying.
Any ideas as to how I could repair it? Or as to what might be going wrong on my backup volume?
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Let me know if is all ok.
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Time Machine, external HD, and copying backup to desktop

I've recently starting having problems with my external HD that I use for my Time Machine backups. I'm not able to repair the drive using Disk Elements, so I want to copy some of my backups stored therein onto my Mac HD before I try reformatting the external HD. However, I get the error message "The volume has the wrong case sensitivity for a backup" when I try dragging the backup folders onto my desktop. Is there any way to salvage the backups before I try reformatting?
Sorry, I'm not sure what sort of specs I should be providing in order to provide the most information.

Hi Evan,
Welcome to Apple Support Communities.
Take a look at the article below, it explains why you will see that alert when copying or moving the backup to a drive without journaling and how to resolve the issue.
Time Machine: How to transfer backups from the current backup drive to a new backup drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5096
If you want to switch to a different TIme Machine backup drive, use this article to learn how to transfer your existing Time Machine backups to the new backup drive, and then use it for regular Time Machine backups.
To have the existing Time Machine backups on the new backup drive, follow these steps:
Connect the new backup drive to your Mac.
Open Disk Utility (located in the Utilities folder).
In Disk Utility, select the new drive's icon, then make sure it has a GUID partition, and is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), which you can check on the "Format:" line at the bottom of the window.
If it is not formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled), reformat the drive as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with a GUID partition. If you do not know how, see the steps in this article.
Note: Back up any important data on the drive before you format it.
Open a new Finder window. In the Finder sidebar, click the icon of the new backup drive and choose Get Infofrom the File menu or press Command-I (⌘-I)
Make sure "Ignore ownership on this volume" at the bottom of the "Sharing & Permissions:" section is not checked.
Open the Time Machine pane in System Preferences. Choose Time Machine > Open Time Machine Preferences…
Slide the Time Machine switch to Off.
Open a new Finder window. In the Finder sidebar, click the icon of the current backup drive.
Open a new Finder window. In the Finder sidebar, click the icon of the new backup drive.
Drag the folder "Backups.backupdb" on the current backup drive to the root level of the new backup drive.
Note: If the drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended but without journaling, OS X may state that "the volume has the wrong case sensitivity" to be used as a back up disk.
Enter an administrator name and password, then click OK to start the copying process. This may take some time to complete because all the backups will be copied.
After the copy has completed, open Time Machine preferences and click "Select Disk…".
Select the new backup drive, then click "Use Backup Disk".
-Jason

Time machine issues - ejecting time machine server volumes and slow backups

i've got 2 client machines set up to back up using the OS X 10.5 Server - problem is one is a laptop and therefore needs to be disconnected from the office network frequently. Time Machine doesn't seem to want to let go of the Server drive at all - just won't unmount. Any ideas on this?
In addition, if a backup is running and then interrupted, the next backup runs at absurdly slow speeds. Is there any way to remedy this?
Also, are there any good resources on Time Machine out there? the Apple docs are pretty paltry, and although I understand that its operation is supposed to be dead simple, it would be good to understand how it thinks a bit so as to be able to troubleshoot problems like the ones described above.
thanks in advance
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Look at C12 and C17 here.
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
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Reboot the TC on a daily basis might help.

Time Machine does large and unnecessary backups

I had a thread about this before but I marked it as solved (I thought it was), so I'm opening a new thread as the problem still exists.
Time Machine insists on backing up many folders from scratch, even though the data is unchanged. Folders include
Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support
Macintosh HD/Library/Audio
Macintosh HD/Applications
There are others but these are the main offenders. These backups, which are often around 150-200 GB, happen about once a week and the resilt is that my Time Machine drive gets full.
I have tried some strategies but nothing helps thus far. See previous thread here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5391782
This is driving me nuts. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance....Colin
(I'm running OS 10.8.5)

Found the solution:
Excluding the Parallels Folder in Documents from TM backups did the trick.
The next backup was back to the usual 16 MB per hour....

Time Machine index failures and external drives

Greetings,
I have been running into a number of failures with Time Machine on an Intel Core i7 iMac running Mac OS X 10.6.4. The external hard drive is an iOmega "eGo" 2 TB desktop drive connected with USB 2.0. I have used this kind of hard drive before for TIme Machine successfully, on this machine which has as far as I know always run Snow Leopard.
Unfortunately, I cannot put a date or event to when these Time Machine errors began (whether coincident with an OS upgrade or what); the iMac belongs to my research group, and is located in a meeting room where it is used by several people. I'd estimate the TM failures began maybe 3 months ago, after the drive and Time Machine having worked fine for several months before then.
I've already used Disk Utility to repair and/or re-format (remake single partition) the external drive, and checked the iMac's HD for errors. The external is a brand-new drive; I just recently exchanged the previous same-model drive for a replacement, since the previous one failed some kind of diagnostics they performed back at the shop (I don't know what the problem was, there). The first eGo drive was the one that worked for a while with Time Machine. Since I replaced it with a new one, TM has never successfully completed a back-up.
Time Machine's error message is the usual "The backup was not performed because an error occurred while copying files to the backup disk" along with the "The problem may be temporary. Try again later to back up. If the problem persists, use Disk Utility to repair your backup disk." that comes up when I click for more info in the control panel. Below, I've also copied typical outputs from "Time Machine Buddy" and from "system.log" read in Console.
I've tried working through some of the suggested actions at http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/ (specifically: "full reset," item A4; suggestions at the bottom of D4; and C3), with no luck so far. I also tried using a different external drive (an OWC Mercury Elite Pro 2TB), and tried it connected either with USB 2.0 (a new cable) or FireWire 800; both ways it returned the same "indexing a file failed"-type messages in the TM Buddy and system.log.
Any further suggestions are appreciated!
Thanks!
(example) from the Time Machine Buddy widget:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/[BackupVolumeNameHere]/Backups.backupdb
Error parsing SystemMigration.log to determine source volume of system migration.
No pre-backup thinning needed: 63.75 GB requested (including padding), 1.57 TB available
Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Indexer unavailable (1)
Waiting for index to be ready (100)
... (and on like that)
from system.log (filtered with search, "backupd"):
Sep 28 00:31:54 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 00:32:21 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Indexer unavailable (1)
... and on like that, until ...
Sep 28 04:32:16 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 04:33:16 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 04:34:16 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 04:35:16 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 04:36:16 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 04:37:16 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 04:38:16 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 04:39:16 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 04:40:16 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 04:40:22 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Copied 0 bytes of 53.1 GB, 0 of 939187 items
Sep 28 05:19:02 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Indexing a file failed. Returned 200 for: /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/CarbonC ore.framework/Versions/A/_CodeSignature/CodeResources, /Volumes/[BackupVolumeNameHere]/Backups.backupdb/[iMacNameHere]/2010-09-27-1826 58.inProgress/CB67F2B5-BB62-471C-832F-0E7FD1E8C4A6/Macintosh HD/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/Carbo nCore.framework/Versions/A/_CodeSignature/CodeResources
Sep 28 05:19:02 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Aborting backup because indexing a file failed.
Sep 28 05:19:02 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Stopping backup.
Sep 28 05:19:02 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Copied 126680 files (20.9 GB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Sep 28 05:19:02 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Copy stage failed with error:11
Sep 28 05:19:07 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Backup failed with error: 11
Sep 28 05:25:28 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Starting standard backup
Sep 28 05:25:28 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Backing up to: /Volumes/[BackupVolumeNameHere]/Backups.backupdb
Sep 28 05:25:29 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Error parsing SystemMigration.log to determine source volume of system migration.
Sep 28 05:25:29 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: No pre-backup thinning needed: 39.99 GB requested (including padding), 1.73 TB available
Sep 28 05:25:29 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 05:26:29 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 05:27:29 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Indexer unavailable (1)
... and on like that again, until ...
Sep 28 08:22:10 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Copied 0 bytes of 27.8 GB, 0 of 939187 items
Sep 28 08:31:15 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Indexing a file failed. Returned 1 for: /Library/Application Support/iPhoto/Themes/Shared/Card/PaperHearts/Icons/paper_hearts-V-oustide-roun d-text-red.tiff, /Volumes/[BackupVolumeNameHere]/Backups.backupdb/[iMacNameHere]/2010-09-27-1826 58.inProgress/91C738D1-2AB3-481D-861F-9A5FBEC2B546/Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/iPhoto/Themes/Shared/Card/PaperHearts/Icons/paper_hearts-V-oustide-roun d-text-red.tiff
Sep 28 08:31:15 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Aborting backup because indexing a file failed.
Sep 28 08:31:15 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Stopping backup.
Sep 28 08:31:15 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Copied 89460 files (229 KB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Sep 28 08:31:15 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Copy stage failed with error:11
Sep 28 08:31:20 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Backup failed with error: 11
Sep 28 09:25:28 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Starting standard backup
Sep 28 09:25:28 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Backing up to: /Volumes/[BackupVolumeNameHere]/Backups.backupdb
Sep 28 09:25:28 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Error parsing SystemMigration.log to determine source volume of system migration.
Sep 28 09:25:28 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: No pre-backup thinning needed: 33.41 GB requested (including padding), 1.72 TB available
Sep 28 09:25:28 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 09:26:28 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
... and on like that again, until ...
Sep 28 11:21:30 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 28 11:22:04 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Copied 0 bytes of 27.8 GB, 0 of 939187 items
Sep 28 11:31:09 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Indexing a file failed. Returned 1 for: /Library/Application Support/iPhoto/Themes/Shared/Card/SimpleParchment/SimpleParchmentHM_FrontV.png, /Volumes/[BackupVolumeNameHere]/Backups.backupdb/[iMacNameHere]/2010-09-27-1826 58.inProgress/E252969A-FF5D-418A-B61C-15EFC7784C20/Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/iPhoto/Themes/Shared/Card/SimpleParchment/SimpleParchmentHM_FrontV.png
Sep 28 11:31:09 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Aborting backup because indexing a file failed.
Sep 28 11:31:09 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Stopping backup.
Sep 28 11:31:09 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Copied 90086 files (37.7 MB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Sep 28 11:31:09 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Copy stage failed with error:11
Sep 28 11:31:14 [ComputerNameHere] com.apple.backupd[252]: Backup failed with error: 11

Hello again,
I ran the 10.6.4 Combo update installer, and followed up with Repair Permissions. There was one issue in the latter that I was curious about:
Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent" has been modified and will not be repaired.
I'm guessing that's not really related. In any case, I started running a new initial backup in TM which got hung up with the following:
messages from the Time Machine Buddy widget:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/(backupvolume)/Backups.backupdb
Error parsing SystemMigration.log to determine source volume of system migration.
Backup content size: 64.7 GB excluded items size: 15.7 GB for volume Macintosh HD
No pre-backup thinning needed: 58.82 GB requested (including padding), 1.70 TB available
Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Indexer unavailable (1)
Indexing a file failed. Returned 1 for: /Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Magic GarageBand/06. Funk.mwand, /Volumes/(backupvolume)/Backups.backupdb/(computername)/2010-10-15-151841.inPro gress/8CB20070-9CFE-4667-A590-17730C868861/Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Magic GarageBand/06. Funk.mwand
Aborting backup because indexing of file failed.
Stopping backup.
Copied 74447 files (15.2 GB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Copy stage failed with error:11
Backup failed with error: 11
messages in system.log (filtered with search "backupd"):
Oct 15 15:18:40 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Starting standard backup
Oct 15 15:18:40 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Backing up to: /Volumes/(backupvolume)/Backups.backupdb
Oct 15 15:18:41 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Error parsing SystemMigration.log to determine source volume of system migration.
Oct 15 15:18:42 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Backup content size: 64.7 GB excluded items size: 15.7 GB for volume Macintosh HD
Oct 15 15:18:42 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: No pre-backup thinning needed: 58.82 GB requested (including padding), 1.70 TB available
Oct 15 15:18:42 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Oct 15 15:19:42 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Oct 15 15:19:51 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Indexer unavailable (1)
Oct 15 15:19:53 (computername) mds[475]: (Normal) DiskStore: Creating index for /Volumes/(backupvolume)/Backups.backupdb
Oct 15 15:39:55 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Indexing a file failed. Returned 1 for: /Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Magic GarageBand/06. Funk.mwand, /Volumes/(backupvolume)/Backups.backupdb/(computername)/2010-10-15-151841.inPro gress/8CB20070-9CFE-4667-A590-17730C868861/Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Magic GarageBand/06. Funk.mwand
Oct 15 15:39:55 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Aborting backup because indexing of file failed.
Oct 15 15:39:55 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Stopping backup.
Oct 15 15:39:56 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Copied 74447 files (15.2 GB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Oct 15 15:39:56 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Copy stage failed with error:11
Oct 15 15:40:01 (computername) com.apple.backupd[470]: Backup failed with error: 11
Currently, TM is attempting to (resume?) back up again. Would you suggest leaving it alone, or proceeding next with a re-install of Snow Leopard from the install DVD (followed by 10.6.4 again)?
Thanks again!

Time Machine Error Unable to complete backup... I haven't solved yet

I have an iomega ultramax 1TB HD (firewire) that this company has used to backup this computer for some time before I came here. It continued to backup this Mac (OS X 10.5.8) for about 8 months until it kept failing. We replaced the power cord and it seemed to work again but failed to complete any backups. I can copy files directly to the drive so it seems ok. It will run all the way through a backup, for example it will say it is copying xMB of 132.3MB and go until it reaches 132.3. Then it seems to try to restart but only to do the same thing. Then I get the error message "Latest backup: failed" and the message as in the title of this post. I tried starting some backups manually but that got the same result.
I installed the Time Machine Buddy widget and sometimes I don't get a complete error message but then I got one that said it had an error copying a specific file. I deleted that file and now just get incomplete error messages again but it keeps "failing" in the same way. The buddy does say it copied x number of files (one time ~1300 files, another time ~700 files) but I don't find any files or backup data on the external HD. There is plenty of space available. It almost seems as if it just can't finish the backups but I can't be 100% sure on that until I catch it in progress a few more times.
Does anyone have any ideas or just how I can take the next step in diagnosing the problem?

Start with the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
Depending on what the messages are, you'll probably end up in #C3 there. As you'll see, lots of things can cause that, so you may have to try several fixes.
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.
To eliminate some possible conflicts and problems, do all the things in #D2 there.

Time Machine fails on backup. Have verified and reformatted external. Have also run etrecheck and Time Machine Buddy.

ETRECHECK:
Problem description:
time machine will not backup
EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)
Report generated March 7, 2015 7:10:23 AM EST
Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck
Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.
Hardware Information: ℹ️
    MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011) (Technical Specifications)
    MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,3
    1 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core
    8 GB RAM
        BANK 0/DIMM0
            4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
        BANK 1/DIMM0
            4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
    Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
    Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
    Battery Health: Normal - Cycle count 680
Video Information: ℹ️
    AMD Radeon HD 6750M - VRAM: 1024 MB
        Color LCD 1600 x 1000
    Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 512 MB
System Software: ℹ️
    Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63) - Time since boot: 8 days 7:40:9
Disk Information: ℹ️
    TOSHIBA MK7559GSXF disk0 : (750.16 GB)
        disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
        Seagate Backup Plus Drive (disk0s2) / : 749.30 GB (325.92 GB free) - 29 errors
        Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
    MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-898
USB Information: ℹ️
    Seagate Backup+ Mac SL 1 TB
        disk1s1 (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
        External Backup Time Machine (disk1s2) /Volumes/External Backup Time Machine : 999.86 GB (681.13 GB free)
    Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub
        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
    Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
    Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
    Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
    Apple, Inc. MacBook Pro
Configuration files: ℹ️
    /etc/hosts - Count: 42
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
        /System/Library/Extensions
    [loaded]    com.sophos.kext.sav (9.2.0 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.sophos.nke.swi (9.2.0 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]
Launch Agents: ℹ️
    [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.brother.LOGINserver.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.divx.dms.agent.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.divx.update.agent.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.sophos.uiserver.plist [Click for support]
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
    [loaded]    com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.sophos.common.servicemanager.plist [Click for support]
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
    [loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
    [failed]    com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist
    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]
User Login Items: ℹ️
    iTunesHelper    UNKNOWN Hidden (missing value)
    Dropbox    Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
    VerizonUpdateCenter    UNKNOWN (missing value)
    Google Chrome    Application Hidden (/Applications/Google Chrome.app)
    K9-MacOptimizer    UNKNOWN (missing value)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
    Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 3.2.0.16   - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]
    JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Check version
    DivX Web Player: Version: 3.2.1.977 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 [Click for support]
    LogMeIn: Version: 1.0.970 - SDK 10.7 [Click for support]
    QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
    LogMeInSafari32: Version: 1.0.970 - SDK 10.7 [Click for support]
    Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.0 [Click for support]
    SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.2.3 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8
Safari Extensions: ℹ️
    Twitter for Safari
    AllMyTube
    comicSansBeGone
    Better Facebook
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
    Flip4Mac WMV [Click for support]
    Growl [Click for support]
Time Machine: ℹ️
    Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
         3%    WindowServer
         1%    Activity Monitor
         1%    activitymonitord
         0%    ps
         0%    SophosUIServer
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
    266 MB    mds
    180 MB    InterCheck
    120 MB    Finder
    94 MB    System Preferences
    77 MB    coreservicesd
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
    4.98 GB    Free RAM
    1.81 GB    Active RAM
    572 MB    Inactive RAM
    1.22 GB    Wired RAM
    34.27 GB    Page-ins
    2.72 GB    Page-outs
Diagnostics Information: ℹ️
    Mar 6, 2015, 08:16:26 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/quicklookd_2015-03-06-201626_[ redacted].crash
    Mar 4, 2015, 11:56:25 AM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/quicklookd_2015-03-04-115625_[ redacted].crash
    Mar 4, 2015, 11:55:37 AM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/quicklookd_2015-03-04-115537_[ redacted].crash
    Mar 4, 2015, 11:53:07 AM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/quicklookd_2015-03-04-115307_[ redacted].crash
    Mar 4, 2015, 11:52:42 AM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/quicklookd_2015-03-04-115242_[ redacted].crash
    Mar 4, 2015, 11:52:41 AM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/quicklookd_2015-03-04-115241_[ redacted].crash
    Mar 4, 2015, 11:33:39 AM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/QuickLookUIHelper_2015-03-04-1 13339_[redacted].crash
    Mar 4, 2015, 11:16:53 AM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/iPhoto_2015-03-04-111653_[reda cted].crash
TIME MACHINE BUDDY
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/External Backup Time Machine/Backups.backupdb
Ownership is disabled on the backup destination volume. Enabling.
Backup content size: 394.3 GB excluded items size: 14.0 GB for volume Seagate Backup Plus Drive
456.36 GB required (including padding), 930.57 GB available
Waiting for index to be ready (101)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Flip4Mac WMV Plugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/WmvPluginPrefix.pch.pth to (null)
Copied 50.7 GB of 380.3 GB, 637488 of 970893 items
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Dropbox/Airport Packages/-Presentation/PSD originals/A-2769 Guava and java.psd to (null)
Copied 136.5 GB of 380.3 GB, 652973 of 970893 items
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Library/Application Support/iLifeAssetManagement/state/pub/227354896+3231309460012822759/queue.sqli te3 to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/73a83ed2b6f5f3f74e690a2ae7b99ef7515e76ae/ec3f6fda8662 e542ac7c67f2ebcfa860d3d2e7b6 to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/73f862553779c33821fe63b50ba4008f4ae89038/59ac936d3c1e 548ac04dfc28cd80ee7e8375e71c to (null)
Copied 211.8 GB of 380.3 GB, 703468 of 970893 items
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/73f862553779c33821fe63b50ba4008f4ae89038/878f9a9e9e99 35f370ab2a09d62665cafa4f723f to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/73f862553779c33821fe63b50ba4008f4ae89038/8ca38b8456a3 80c835e4535b71a6322258f782c5 to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/73f862553779c33821fe63b50ba4008f4ae89038/9d43f27ba634 c956751fb66aadb06f955e74b3c8 to (null)
Copied 273.7 GB of 380.3 GB, 794840 of 970893 items
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2014/01/10/20140110-100023/IMG_8819.JPG to (null)
Copied 345.8 GB of 380.3 GB, 880149 of 970893 items
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2015/02/21/20150221-163320/IMG_0946.JPG to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2015/02/21/20150221-163652/IMG_0878.JPG to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2015/02/26/20150226-202057/IMG_0789.MOV to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Previews/2015/02/21/20150221-162736/aNrBUprVRiGN3Ul+Yph5Jw/IMG_1181.jpg to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Previews/2015/02/21/20150221-162736/DDfJ%BYeR1mC2WtxQXpLdw/IMG_1180.jpg to (null)
E
In making an attempt to copy my files to a different external hard drive, I ran into several issues with document files that were "read-only" so the copying stops. (they were just a couple of pdfs and photos). I deleted all of those files. I then ran back up again after verifying the external I have designated for Time Machine. (Ive also completely erased, repaired and verified this drive several times over the past few weeks) Backup failed, again.
I feel like my next move is to start deleting the "files" that are causing the errors listed above in TM Buddy (they are mostly photos in iphoto)... but then I realized that some of those errors are associated with the backing up of my iphone.
Just now, I pasted a portion of my system log into Textedit, and the application just hanged... for 2 hours. I finally force quit it.

Hi! I did exactly as you said. I was able to backup with my home folder excluded, but was not able to do so after I removed the exclusion. It crapped out 5G before finishing.
Here's the TIME MACHINE BUDDY LOG:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/External Backup Time Machine/Backups.backupdb
Ownership is disabled on the backup destination volume. Enabling.
Backup content size: 394.3 GB excluded items size: 14.0 GB for volume Seagate Backup Plus Drive
456.36 GB required (including padding), 930.57 GB available
Waiting for index to be ready (101)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Flip4Mac WMV Plugin.plugin/Contents/Resources/WmvPluginPrefix.pch.pth to (null)
Copied 50.7 GB of 380.3 GB, 637488 of 970893 items
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Dropbox/Airport Packages/-Presentation/PSD originals/A-2769 Guava and java.psd to (null)
Copied 136.5 GB of 380.3 GB, 652973 of 970893 items
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Library/Application Support/iLifeAssetManagement/state/pub/227354896+3231309460012822759/queue.sqli te3 to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/73a83ed2b6f5f3f74e690a2ae7b99ef7515e76ae/ec3f6fda8662 e542ac7c67f2ebcfa860d3d2e7b6 to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/73f862553779c33821fe63b50ba4008f4ae89038/59ac936d3c1e 548ac04dfc28cd80ee7e8375e71c to (null)
Copied 211.8 GB of 380.3 GB, 703468 of 970893 items
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/73f862553779c33821fe63b50ba4008f4ae89038/878f9a9e9e99 35f370ab2a09d62665cafa4f723f to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/73f862553779c33821fe63b50ba4008f4ae89038/8ca38b8456a3 80c835e4535b71a6322258f782c5 to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/73f862553779c33821fe63b50ba4008f4ae89038/9d43f27ba634 c956751fb66aadb06f955e74b3c8 to (null)
Copied 273.7 GB of 380.3 GB, 794840 of 970893 items
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2014/01/10/20140110-100023/IMG_8819.JPG to (null)
Copied 345.8 GB of 380.3 GB, 880149 of 970893 items
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2015/02/21/20150221-163320/IMG_0946.JPG to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2015/02/21/20150221-163652/IMG_0878.JPG to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Masters/2015/02/26/20150226-202057/IMG_0789.MOV to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Previews/2015/02/21/20150221-162736/aNrBUprVRiGN3Ul+Yph5Jw/IMG_1181.jpg to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/sandi/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Previews/2015/02/21/20150221-162736/DDfJ%BYeR1mC2WtxQXpLdw/IMG_1180.jpg to (null)
E

HT3275 How do I correct this problem: "Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "Robert's Airport Time Capsule." The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data/Robert's iMac.sparsebundle" is already in use.

How do I correct the following problem?
"Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "Robert's Airport Time Capsule".
The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data/Robert's iMac.sparsebundle" is already in use.

xor. wrote:
I switched off the TM for 10 seconds and my laptop still complains about the backup image ... is in use.
Some ideas?
There is some more details here.
C12 http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
Tell us more if you cannot get it working.

Time machine doesn't delete old backups when disk is full

TM disk is 750GB. It tells me there is not enough room for backup…then I look into TM and find there ARE NO BACKUPS anymore. (There were a few days ago.) All backups are gone, except for one two days ago, which was when I began getting the "no room" error.
I assume I've lost everything, as the TM disk shows only the backup from 2 days ago. True?
Do I just format and start again?
Is there a fix for this "no room" message? (It says oldest backups are deleted when disk becomes full. But it doesn't do it.)
Do people rely on this?

How much data is TM backing-up? (What's shown for +Estimated size of full backup+ under the exclusions box in TM Preferences > Options?)
Note that your Time Machine disk should, in most cases, be at least twice the size of the data it's backing-up. See #1 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
It appears that Time Machine needed to do a large backup, perhaps a full one, for some reason, and deleted as many old backups as it could (but it won't ever delete the last remaining one, as that would leave you with no backup at all), trying to make room.
If in doubt, Click here to download the +Time Machine Buddy+ widget. It shows the messages from your logs for one TM backup run at a time, in a small window. Navigate to the backup in question, then copy and post all the messages for that run here, along with the amount of data that TM is backing-up.

Time machine couldn't complete the backup...

Hi,
My TC backs up three Macs. All of them run 10.8 and are up-to-date. My MBA is unable to perform scheduled backups. A minute or so after Time Machine starts a new backup it pops-up a dialog 'Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "Mike's Time Capsule". The backup disk could not be found.'
My Time Capsule is visible in Finder. If I click Open Time Machine Preferences... the window shows the Time Capsule disk and that it has 89GB of 998GB available.
If I then click Select Disk... a new window opens. In the Backup Disks section my Time Capsule is listed as Data on "Mike's Time Capsule". Below that in the Available Disks section there is Data on "Mike's Time Capsule" and Other Time Capsule Set up a Time Capsule that is not listed here.
If I click Data on "Mike's Time Capsule" in the Available Disks section and then Use Disk, the same error dialog reappears immediately.
I've tried removing the disk from the Backup Disks section, turning off Time Machine and then adding the disk again, the error pops up again.
Turning on Time Machine without selecting a disk automatically selects the Time Capsule as a backup, I am asked for the Time Capsule's password and the countdown to the backup starts. After a long period preparing the backup, the first backup will complete normally as will any manual backups, but timed backups all fail with the error that the disk can't be found.
I've turned off Time Machine, deleted the two plist files from Library and tried again. Same problem recurs.
I've even tried turning off Time Machine, removing the whole backup file from the Time Capsule and restarting with no luck.
My other two machines work just fine.
There have been no significant changes to any of my machines or networks recently.
Time Machine Buddy says:
Starting manual backup
Attempting to mount network destination URL: afp://Mike%20Richards;[email protected]/Data
NAConnectToServerSync failed with error: 64 for url: afp://Mike%20Richards;[email protected]/Data
Backup failed with error: 18
The Time Capsule is acting as a router for my wireless network which is used by the MBA and my phone and tablet - no problems connecting to the Internet. Airport Setup shows no problems with the Time Capsule as a router and it is up to date.
So any ideas appreciated - thanks!
Mike.

My Time Capsule is visible in Finder. If I click Open Time Machine Preferences... the window shows the Time Capsule disk and that it has 89GB of 998GB available.
You have done most of what we normally suggest people do..
89GB is the backup size. that is very large for an incremental or is this backup of the full disk again, having been deleted by you on the TC?
Did you happen to upgrade install Mountain Lion onto the Air or is it a clean install?
I would suggest wireless is part of the problem. As a route around the problem, go and buy the USB to ethernet dongle (cheap) or the Thunderbolt to ethernet (fast but expensive), so you can plug the computer into the TC.
Redo the setup of the TC.. even from a full factory reset.
If you are on 7.6.3 firmware be a bit dubious about it.. especially if issues started recently after the upgrade. I would even suggest go back to 7.6.1 before you factory reset.. although that loses the info on which is the cause.
Use naming convention of short, no spaces pure alphanumeric for everything. TCname Wireless name and hard disk share name (already correct with data).
See C9 http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
This might be one of the more obscure ones, but I think it isn't helping using names that have spaces and special characters.

Time Machine won't see my backup after resetting Time Capsule

i had to reset my TC because i got a new modem. once i got the network up and running again, now time machine wants to start over backing up my MBP, even though i can see the backup files on the TC....
how do i get time machine to recognize that this time machine has my backups on it already?
I had changed the name of the TC, then i changed it back. so i don't think that's the problem?
will i have to erase the time capsule and start over backing up?
thanks in advance...

TM may start a new backup sequence for any of a number of reasons. See #D3 in the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip* at the top of this forum.
Click here to download the +Time Machine Buddy+ widget. It shows the messages from your logs for one TM backup run at a time, in a small window.
Navigate to the first of the backup attempt that failed, copy and post the messages here. A clue should be lurking in there.
i'd like to keep those backups because there's some important stuff in there.
That's a curious comment. Have you been deleting things from your internal HD, relying on TM to keep it's copies archived?

Time Machine spends hours partially backing up and then fails with "Time Machine couldn't complete the backup due to a network problem." Tried suggestions I've seen on the forum.

Time Machine spends hours partially backing up and then fails with "Time Machine couldn't complete the backup due to a network problem." I've tried various suggestions I've seen on the forum but nothing has worked. TIme Machine worked fine for the last two years and just suddenly started having this problem every time. The only thing that was a little different is that the computer was off for a week while on vacation and then I added a large amount (20 GB) of photos. Now the requested backup size is 82GB, which is large, and process proceeds very slowly for 2-3 hours before failing with the message mentioned. I have more than enough available backup storage space for it. Before failing, Time Machine has backed up no more than 12GB or so of the backup. It fails during different files each time.
I've turned off the computer sleep feature, and I've checked that the NAS is set to never automatically power down. I normally backup over Wi-Fi, but I've also tried connecting to Ethernet and it still has the same problem. It's odd because I also have a MacBook Pro that is still backing up fine to the same NAS using the MacBook's Time Machine.
I am using an iMac with OS X 10.6.8 and an Iomega StorCenter ix2-200 NAS.
I have system logs that I can share if helpful. The logged messages vary a bit from run to run, but here are some messages that I've been seeing:
I always get this message near the beginning of the backup:
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
I've gotten this messsage a number of times:
Bulk setting Spotlight attributes failed.
One Day
Stopping backupd to allow ejection of backup destination disk!
Another day
1/7/12 10:44:20 AM
mDNSResponder[18]
PenaltyTimeForServer: PenaltyTime negative -112916, (server penaltyTime -1132397006, timenow -1132284090) resetting the penalty
1/7/12 10:46:37 AM
kernel
ASP_TCP Disconnect: triggering reconnect by bumping reconnTrigger from curr value 0 on so 0x1106be94
1/7/12 10:46:37 AM
kernel
AFP_VFS afpfs_DoReconnect started /Volumes/TimeMachine prevTrigger 0 currTrigger 1
Another Day
1/6/12 8:03:22 AM
Google Chrome[164]
Cannot find function pointer CMPluginInFactory for factory 3487BB5A-3E66-11D5-A64E-003065B300BC in CFBundle/CFPlugIn 0x16f99e20 </Users/smarmer/Library/Contextual Menu Items/Google Notifier Quick Add CM Plugin.plugin> (not loaded)
1/6/12 8:04:02 AM
com.apple.backupd[193]
Copied 7.5 GB of 67.0 GB, 8866 of 8866 items
1/6/12 8:06:58 AM
/System/Library/CoreServices/CCacheServer.app/Contents/MacOS/CCacheServer[1013]
No valid tickets, timing out
1/6/12 8:29:44 AM
mDNSResponder[19]
PenaltyTimeForServer: PenaltyTime negative -148702, (server penaltyTime 2056822773, timenow 2056971475) resetting the penalty
1/6/12 8:59:22 AM
kernel
ASP_TCP Disconnect: triggering reconnect by bumping reconnTrigger from curr value 0 on so 0xa5ac380
1/6/12 8:59:22 AM
kernel
AFP_VFS afpfs_DoReconnect started /Volumes/TimeMachine prevTrigger 0 currTrigger 1
1/6/12 8:59:22 AM
kernel
AFP_VFS afpfs_DoReconnect: doing reconnect on /Volumes/TimeMachine
1/6/12 8:59:22 AM
kernel
AFP_VFS afpfs_DoReconnect: soft mounted and hidden volume so do not notify KEA for /Volumes/TimeMachine
1/6/12 8:59:22 AM
kernel
AFP_VFS afpfs_DoReconnect: Max reconnect time: 30 secs, Connect timeout: 15 secs for /Volumes/TimeMachine
1/6/12 8:59:22 AM
kernel
AFP_VFS afpfs_DoReconnect: connect to the server /Volumes/TimeMachine
1/6/12 8:59:22 AM
kernel
ASP_TCP asp_SetTCPQoS: sock_settclassopt got error 57
Another day
1/5/12 3:48:55 PM
mdworker[2128]
CFPropertyListCreateFromXMLData(): Old-style plist parser: missing semicolon in dictionary.
1/5/12 4:24:54 PM
mDNSResponder[19]
PenaltyTimeForServer: PenaltyTime negative -42698, (server penaltyTime 1148718961, timenow 1148761659) resetting the penalty
1/5/12 4:29:58 PM
com.apple.backupd[2074]
Copied 586.4 MB of 67.0 GB, 9891 of 9891 items
1/5/12 4:39:00 PM
kernel
ASP_TCP Disconnect: triggering reconnect by bumping reconnTrigger from curr value 0 on so 0xa1c0380

bokon0n wrote:
1/11/12 8:53:30 AM
com.apple.backupd[1169]
Warning: Destination /Volumes/TimeMachine does not support TM Lock Stealing
1/11/12 8:53:30 AM
com.apple.backupd[1169]
Warning: Destination /Volumes/TimeMachine does not support Server Reply Cache
Those indicate that your NAS is not fully compatible with Snow Leopard.
1/11/12 8:53:35 AM
kernel
jnl: disk2s2: replay_journal: from: 67182592 to: 78680064 (joffset 0xa7b8000)
1/11/12 8:53:39 AM
kernel
jnl: disk2s2: examining extra transactions starting @ 78680064 / 0x4b09000
1/11/12 8:53:39 AM
kernel
jnl: disk2s2: Extra txn replay stopped @ 79056896 / 0x4b65000
1/11/12 8:53:49 AM
kernel
jnl: disk2s2: journal replay done.
1/11/12 8:53:49 AM
fseventsd[41]
event logs in /Volumes/Time Machine/.fseventsd out of sync with volume. destroying old logs. (253512 14 253512)
1/11/12 8:53:50 AM
kernel
hfs: Removed 1 orphaned / unlinked files and 0 directories
That looks like a problem was found with the file system (data) on the TM disk. I don't know the details, but OSX tried to recover it from the journal, and found extra data on the drive. Likely a result of the incompatibility mentioned above.
1/11/12 9:47:40 AM
com.apple.backupd[1169]
Bulk setting Spotlight attributes failed.
That's a problem writing to the NAS drive.
But the backup continued after all this.
1/11/12 1:25:07 PM
kernel
ASP_TCP Disconnect: triggering reconnect by bumping reconnTrigger from curr value 0 on so 0x9d00b44
Something caused a disconnect. Can't tell from the log what it was.
I doubt it's a problem with something in OSX being damaged or corrupted, but reinstalling OSX isn't a major hassle, so might be worth a try.
To be incompatible with Snow Leopard, this NAS must be at least a couple of years old. It may be beginning to fail.
Contact the maker. See if there's an update to make it compatible with Snow Leopard. If so, that might fix it.
If not, or if that doesn't fix it, see if they have any diagnostics that will shed any light.

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