TC stuck on "preparing backup"

My TC was previously working fine, but lately it gets stuck on "preparing backup"... the status bar doesn't move and it doesn't get beyond this stage. I did a hard reset and that didn't change anything. Does anyone have any other tips to try? Does this mean my TC is dead??

See #D1 in Pondini's excellent support document Time Machine -- Troubleshooting.
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

Similar Messages

Upgraded from 10.6 to 10.8 and time machine is stuck on 'preparing backup'

I am running a MBP, purchased in 2011. I upgraded on Sunday from 10.6 to 10.8 and everything seemed to be working fine. Thought I would do a backup but the drive has just been stuck on 'preparing backup' for ages. Does anybody have any ideas of what I can do?
Thanks.

I was going to suggest a restart - glad that I didn't. When upgrading OS's, there's usually a lot of data to back up, but I'm surprised that it took 'ages'!
Clinton

What to do when time machine seems stuck on "Preparing Backup"

This issue is happenning on my macbook pro, mid 2010. My drive setup is that I have a partition which I dedicated to time machine backups. The total size of my drive is 500GB, and I partitioned about 100GB for time machine. The reason for that is I only needed a few space since I setup time machine to include only the system and the apps, and NONE of the libraries such as itunes or photos. This means that the only backup will be for the system, profiles, and the app. I have been running this for a few months andhas been doing OK until up to now.
My problem is that my time machine seems to get stuck on "Preparing Backup". The latest backup was done last Nov 8, 2011, whcih is about 11 days from now. I am also aware that the time machine drive has only about 200 mb space left, but I am not worried at all because I've always TM to delete the oldest backup to free up space. My oldest backup was still Sept 8, and I'm ok if that will be deleted.
So I'd like to find out why it still stuck on "Preparing backup" ,and I am wondering if deleting a backup can solve it. Can it? what do I do to solve this?
Also, I use my computer alot , so it is basically running for about 18 hours a day, but still time machine didn't quite work well. I have tried reparing the disk using disk utility, but that didn't help.

Comments inline below.
Pondini wrote:
joshua raphael wrote:
This issue is happenning on my macbook pro, mid 2010. My drive setup is that I have a partition which I dedicated to time machine backups. The total size of my drive is 500GB, and I partitioned about 100GB for time machine. The reason for that is I only needed a few space since I setup time machine to include only the system and the apps, and NONE of the libraries such as itunes or photos.
You may want to revisit that strategy:
A backup on the same drive isn't very secure -- when (not if) the HD fails, you risk losing everything.
In most cases, if there's a problem with OSX the best way to fix it is to just install a fresh version. But you can't do that from that backup.
Indeed!
Backing-up apps that way will also be useless in some cases. 3rd-party apps that came with their own installers put other files in other places (and sometimes "helper" apps as well). Unless you know what and where they all are, and restore them, too, the restored app won't work properly, if at all.
I think you're confusing each other with terminology. iTunes music and iPhoto pictures are NOT "Libraries", which has a specific meaning when it comes to OS X. "Libraries", in OS X normally refers to /Libraries and ~/Libraries folders. This is not where iTunes music and iPhoto pictures are stored. iTunes music and iPhoto pictures are stored within ~/Music and ~/Pictures, respectively.
I have tried reparing the disk using disk utility, but that didn't help.
Disk Utility changed a bit in Lion. When you select an entire disk, it only repairs the partition map, not all the volumes. You must repair each one separately.
Wow, good to know. (What a stupid change to make, for backwards compatibility, if for no other reason!)
See #D1 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting to figure out why the backups are hanging.
Whew. This editor makes it so hard to make comments inline. The key thing when time machine seems stuck is patience. Sometimes it needs to be left to run overnight. Unfortunately, it doesn't log or report it's progress very well.
Opening Time Machine settings in Preferences plus a command like this left running in Terminal.app is how I monitor progress. And even so, there is very little logging indicating progress.
sudo tail -f /Volumes/Time Machine/Backups.backupdb/My\ Computer/2012-07-11-133352.inProgress/.Backup.363731632.496216.log
The parts in italics will need to be adjusted. Tab completion makes this easy, e.g type
sudo tail -f /Volumes/
and hit tab, type the first few letters of the relevant volume name, hit tab...
Also, I have a hypothesis which needs testing.
I know that Time Machine gets confused if one deletes large files from a backup - specifically, Time Machine doesn't recognize that the size of the backup has changed.
I know because this made restoring a thinned out time machine backup ("thinned out" by deleting files from within the GUI while inside the Time Machine) to a small SSD harder than it should have been. I had to restore to a big disk and then clone that volume to the SSD - even though the SSD had enough space, Time Machine didn't think so; it didn't "understand" that it had been thinned.
My hypothesis is that Time Machine also gets confused if the Time Machine partition is resized. I shrunk a Time Machine partition (no it wasn't on my main disk!) and about that time, Time Machine stopped working. After thinning the volume, it started working again.

Time Machine stuck on Preparing backup

Since upgrading to Mavericks a couple of months ago, one of my Mac Mini Servers can't backup using Time Machine. (I have another similar server with the same software versions but running different services, that doesn't have this problem). Both are currently running OSX 10.9.5 and Server 3.2.2 with all updates applied.
The problem machine gets stuck indefinitely on "Preparing backup". I've tried leaving it for several days, but it's not actually doing anything – the backupd process is on 0% CPU utilisation. It doesn't write any data to the backup drive – the drive is still empty since it was last reformatted.
It was working fine on Mountain Lion Server, before the upgrade to Mavericks.
So far, I've tried:
• Rebooting
• Reformatting the external USB backup drive and replacing it with another drive
• Verifying the startup drive with Disk Utility
• Deleting com.apple.TimeMachine.plist
• Excluding the startup drive from Spotlight searches
I've tried most of the above several times over the past few weeks to no avail.

I have had this same issue just appear although I have been running Mavericks and Server for almost a year now. I backup across 3 drives, 2 of which are rotated on a weekly basis. I discovered this morning that the non-rotating disk has not backed up in several weeks and one of the rotating disks has not backed up during the same period of time. Interestingly this week's rotating backup drive it appears to be working perfectly fine. The non-rotating disk is now stuck on preparing backup. I have included a portion of my log below. One thing I have noticed is that Spotlight seems to be re-indexing my server with little to no progress being made.
10/22/14 9:26:54.494 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +6351ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:26:54.559 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:26:57.369 AM serveradmin[83827]: [WikiRequestHandler.m:74 754af310 +2929ms] Error getting a session GUID: Connection to DB failed
10/22/14 9:26:57.412 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +2821ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:26:57.474 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{SettingsService.globalSettingForKey:(projectCreators)}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010ceeb218 -[CSSettingsService globalSettingForKey:] + 101
5   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
6   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
7   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
8   CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
9   CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
10 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
12 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
13 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
14 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
15 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:26:57.475 AM serveradmin[83827]: [WikiRequestHandler.m:300 754af310 +2ms] Could not get project creators from collabd, Connection to DB failed
10/22/14 9:26:57.996 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +505ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:26:58.026 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:26:58.249 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83832]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:26:58.249 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:26:58.264 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83837]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:26:58.264 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:08.875 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83859]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:08.875 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:09.371 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +11301ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:27:09.390 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:27:09.611 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83858]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:09.611 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 9 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:13.180 AM xpcd[599]: restored permissions (100600 -> 100700) on /Users/administrator/Library/Containers/com.apple.TextEdit/Container.plist
10/22/14 9:27:20.459 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83881]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:20.459 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 9 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:22.698 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +13265ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:27:22.993 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:27:23.216 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83880]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:23.217 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 6 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:29.939 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83896]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:29.939 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:30.019 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +6884ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:27:30.125 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:27:30.358 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83895]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:30.358 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 9 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:32.166 AM com.apple.IconServicesAgent[640]: main Failed to composit image for binding VariantBinding [0x3b5] flags: 0x8 binding: FileInfoBinding [0x137] - extension: png, UTI: public.png, fileType: ????.
10/22/14 9:27:32.325 AM quicklookd[83883]: Warning: Cache image returned by the server has size range covering all valid image sizes. Binding: VariantBinding [0x203] flags: 0x8 binding: FileInfoBinding [0x103] - extension: png, UTI: public.png, fileType: ???? request size:16 scale: 1
10/22/14 9:27:34.728 AM com.apple.appkit.xpc.openAndSavePanelService[83868]: CGSGetWindowTransformAtPlacement
10/22/14 9:27:34.728 AM com.apple.appkit.xpc.openAndSavePanelService[83868]: CGSTranslatePointForWindow
10/22/14 9:27:34.728 AM com.apple.appkit.xpc.openAndSavePanelService[83868]: CGSGetWindowBounds
10/22/14 9:27:34.758 AM com.apple.appkit.xpc.openAndSavePanelService[83868]: Bogus event received by listener connection:
<error: 0x7fff73e14b50> { count = 1, contents =
"XPCErrorDescription" => <string: 0x7fff73e14e60> { length = 18, contents = "Connection invalid" }
10/22/14 9:27:40.275 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83915]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:40.275 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:40.312 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +10055ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:27:40.328 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:27:40.547 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83913]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:40.547 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 9 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:50.276 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +9887ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:27:50.298 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:27:50.507 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83934]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:50.507 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:50.528 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83932]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:50.528 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:28:01.077 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83949]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:28:01.077 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:28:01.827 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1049d000 +11486ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:28:01.969 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1049d000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:28:02.194 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83950]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:28:02.194 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 9 seconds

Time Machine stuck on "preparing backup" and "Indexing Backup" after forced restart and install from Lion

Hello!
I have been using Time Machine on the Time Capsule for over a month now and no problems. However when I was installing Lion it had to restart. I did not see that Time Machine was going at the time when I pushed restart until it was too late.
Now Time Machine seems to be stuck on "Preparing Backup" and "Indexing Backups". It has been nearly 20-30 minutes for Indexing and I wonder if I corrupted something or something else. If there a way I can solve this problem? Thanks!

I had this same problem, this is going to sound ridiculous but this is what I finally did. I wiped my backup, crazy right?
It's there for when your hard drive crashes, so it's not like you are going to miss much if you wipe it. Tell it to stop backing up, go to disk utility, click your external and then erase it. Go back to time machine settings and reselect it as your backup drive. It will do an initial back up again and you are good to go.
Hope this helps.

I changed Time Machine drives. Now I'm stuck in "Preparing Backup..."

I was using a 1TB drive for Time Machine; I've now upped it to a 3TB drive.
The new drive is an exact copy of the old one. But when I try to do a Time Machine backup, it's been stuck in "Preparing Backup..." for over 12 hours. What could be wrong?
Thanks.

I forgot about that article. Still, 12 hours is too long, so I would erase/reformat the larger drive and try HT5096 again. Note that "Ignore ownership" is to be done on the new drive and not the old one (italics mine in the following quotation):
Open a new Finder window. In the Finder sidebar, click the icon of the new backup drive and choose Get Info from 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.

Since upgrading to Mavericks, my Time Machine is stuck on "Preparing Backup".

Since upgrading to Mavericks, every time I attempt to run a Time Machine backup, I can only get it to go as far as "Preparing Backup". I've left it like that for hours just to see if it's slow. I've also stopped and restarted Time Machine multiple times to no avail....it just gets stuck at that point. Please help.

Since upgrading to Mavericks, every time I attempt to run a Time Machine backup, I can only get it to go as far as "Preparing Backup". I've left it like that for hours just to see if it's slow. I've also stopped and restarted Time Machine multiple times to no avail....it just gets stuck at that point. Please help.

Time Machine stuck on preparing backup with in turn breaks internet connectivity.

Hi all!
I recently started using Time Machine (on a 1TB USB 2.0 external hard drive) on my MBP (Early 2011, 13") and I've noticed that it constantly gets stuck on the "Preparing backup" stage, which can only be unstuck by pulling the drive or hard rebooting the computer (otherwise it gets stuck on the gray post-logout screen forever). What's more interesting is that while Time Machine is stuck I am unable to use any of my browsers because DNS resolution fails outright (although I can still visit IP addresses and perform manually DNS queries and start SSH sessions in Terminal.app). If I pull the drive or reboot the computer, my internet connectivity is restored. As a relatively new Mac user this behavior is quite puzzling; has anybody else encountered this type of problem?
Thanks!
Max

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of this exercise is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Be sure your Mac is shut down.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including your login items.
Launch the application(s) and test. Same problem(s)?
After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)

Time Machine stuck on "Preparing backup" whenever returning from Boot Camp to OS X

I have Windows 7 installed in Boot Camp. Whenever I go into Windows 7 and then go back to OS X Lion, and then run a Time Machine backup, Time Machine is stuck on the "Preparing Backup" stage for a long time (roughly 30 minutes). It usually takes 30 seconds in this stage in most cases.
The reason it's stuck at this stage is probably because it is re-indexing everything again (per this KB article), but the question is, why does it have to re-index everything again after restarting out of Boot Camp? I think this only started happening in the past few weeks, while I've had Boot Camp installed on this computer for a few years now.

I had this same problem, this is going to sound ridiculous but this is what I finally did. I wiped my backup, crazy right?
It's there for when your hard drive crashes, so it's not like you are going to miss much if you wipe it. Tell it to stop backing up, go to disk utility, click your external and then erase it. Go back to time machine settings and reselect it as your backup drive. It will do an initial back up again and you are good to go.
Hope this helps.

Time Capsule gets stuck at "Preparing Backup..." every time.

This has been happening for about two months now. I was sure 10.5.5 would fix the problem, but it still occurs. My Time Capsule seems to not work any more - it gets stuck "Preparing Backup..." permanently. I have left it running for two days straight and it makes no visible progress. Any ideas? I don't even know where to start.

Jeffrey,
Consider these factors regarding an extended period of "Preparing...":
*Recent Crash or Other Major System Event* (Deep Traversal)
The reasons for this process are described in an article by George Schreyer. “During the preparation step it checks the FSEvents log for consistency. If it determines that something isn't quite right it has to rescan the whole disk. This can take quite awhile. A full rescan is always triggered by a crash, an unplanned shut down event or by booting from some other bootable disk between backups…. After a crash, Time Machine must scan the whole disk to determine what it has to do because it cannot trust the information that it left behind. Connected via an Ethernet connection, this phase would typically take 20 minutes on an older PowerBook. Being connected wirelessly stretches this phase out to over 3 hours.” [http://www.girr.org/mac_stuff/backups.html]
According to the following KB article it can sometimes take a very long time if Time Machine begins this “deep traversal” and has to compare data inventories. This may apply to your situation, particularly if many Gigs of data are involved. (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1516)
*Software Updates*
Installing new software, upgrading existing software, or updating Mac OS X system software can created major changes in the structure of your directories. Time Machine will backup every file that has changed since the installation.
*Anti-Virus Software*
Running anti-virus software can interfere with the backup process. Either disable it altogether, or try the suggestion outlined here, “If you use third-party anti-virus scanning software and have issues, make sure your Time Machine back up folder (Backups.backupdb on the Time Machine disk) is excluded from virus scanning.” (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1516)
*Stalled .inProgress Files:*
It may be that the previous backup attempt was ungracefully interrupted leaving remains that Time Machine can’t deal with.
Open your Time Machine drive.
Open the folder labeled “Backups,backupdb”.
Now open the folder containing backups of the computer in question.
Are there any “.inProgress” files there. Delete them.
(For Time Capsule Users)
Select the TC in the SideBar of the Finder window.
Click "Connect as...". Enter your TCs password.
Double click the blue folder that appears in the finder window. The sparsebundle should now be visible.
Double click the sparsebundle and then click “Skip” in the checksum message.
Once “Backup of (Users Computer)” mounts in the Sidebar, click on it and open the “.backupdb” folder. Now open the folder containing backups of the computer in question.
Are there any “.inProgress” files there. Delete them.
Unmount the sparsebundle, then unmount the TC, and try backing up again.
Let us know if any of the suggestions above helped.

Time Machine Backup Stuck on Preparing Backup for 12 hours

Hello,
I have a 2011 iMac and am running OS X 10.7.2. Up until a few days ago, my Time Machine backups (to a USB 2.0 external hard drive) were running fine. Now, when Time Machine tries to back up, all it does is display the progress bar with the words "Preparing backup..." below. This message will remain indefinitely (I've let Time Machine run for as long as 12 hours and nothing changes).
I have done a fair amount of searching online regarding this problem and have tried the steps in Pondini's troubleshooting list ( http://pondini.org/TM/D1.html ):
1. I first tried downloading and running the Time Machine buddy widget. I installed it but the widget was just blank. So, I went into Console and saved one my logs instead. My log consisted of a huge string of similar entries. Three of these entries are shown below:
1/28/12 12:12:53.629 PM          com.apple.backupd          Error (256): fetching properties: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file “yprime.h” couldn’t be opened." UserInfo=0x7f91ae359590 {NSURL=file://localhost/Volumes/JQTimeMachineBackup/Backups.backupdb/Jason%20Qu int%E2%80%99s%20iMac/2012-01-25-234450/Macintosh%20HD/Applications/MATLAB.app/ex tern/examples/shrlib/yprime.h, NSFilePath=/Volumes/JQTimeMachineBackup/Backups.backupdb/Jason Quint’s iMac/2012-01-25-234450/Macintosh HD/Applications/MATLAB.app/extern/examples/shrlib/yprime.h, NSUnderlyingError=0x7f91ae358480 "The operation couldn’t be completed. Not a directory"}
1/28/12 12:13:20.758 PM          com.apple.backupd          Error (256): fetching properties: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file “yprime.mexmaci64” couldn’t be opened." UserInfo=0x7f91ae071010 {NSURL=file://localhost/Volumes/JQTimeMachineBackup/Backups.backupdb/Jason%20Qu int%E2%80%99s%20iMac/2012-01-25-234450/Macintosh%20HD/Applications/MATLAB.app/ex tern/examples/shrlib/yprime.mexmaci64, NSFilePath=/Volumes/JQTimeMachineBackup/Backups.backupdb/Jason Quint’s iMac/2012-01-25-234450/Macintosh HD/Applications/MATLAB.app/extern/examples/shrlib/yprime.mexmaci64, NSUnderlyingError=0x7f91ae072e40 "The operation couldn’t be completed. Not a directory"}
1/28/12 12:13:47.893 PM          com.apple.backupd          Error (256): fetching properties: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file “include” couldn’t be opened." UserInfo=0x7f91ae071010 {NSURL=file://localhost/Volumes/JQTimeMachineBackup/Backups.backupdb/Jason%20Qu int%E2%80%99s%20iMac/2012-01-25-234450/Macintosh%20HD/Applications/MATLAB.app/ex tern/include/, NSFilePath=/Volumes/JQTimeMachineBackup/Backups.backupdb/Jason Quint’s iMac/2012-01-25-234450/Macintosh HD/Applications/MATLAB.app/extern/include, NSUnderlyingError=0x7f91ae072050 "The operation couldn’t be completed. Not a directory"}
2. I then tried performing a "full reset" of Time Machine, as explained on Pondini's page. This didn't fix my problem.
3. Finally, I used Disk Utility and clicked "Repair" for my external hard drive --no problems were found. I also selected my internal hard drive (my main drive with OS X on it) and clicked "Verify"; no problems were found.
Any ideas what might be going on? Note that I had emptied about 70 GB of files from my trash and deleted some other movies from my hard drive soon before these problems cropped up.
Thank you very much,
Jason

This issue has been reported a few times, and it's clearly a bug in Time Machine, but I'm not sure what triggers it. TM creates multi-linked directories, and it seems that these links sometimes get broken.
The first thing you should do is a start a new backup set on another drive. You should do that anyway, because one backup isn't enough, even if you're not having problems with it.
Was the MATLAB application one of the items you had deleted from the source volume? If so, and if you're sure you'll never want to restore it from a backup, I suggest you delete it from the TM repository by entering TM, selecting it in a snapshot, and then choosing "Delete All Backups of..." from the action menu (gear icon.) You may have to do the same with other items that are giving the same error.

Time Machine stuck in preparing backup...

Hi guys,
a few days ago I started to realise my TM Backup is taking ages. It is stuck for a long time in the process of preparing the backup..
I looked it up and found hints to solve it (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5294323) and followed everything Pondini said (http://pondini.org/TM/D1.html) , but nothing..
In the system.log file I found a few things which don't seem normal.
Jun 1 14:05:53 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Starting manual backup
Jun 1 14:05:53 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Backing up to /dev/disk1s2: /Volumes/Max' Backup/Backups.backupdb
Jun 1 14:08:32 MacBookMP kernel[0]: process backupd[5193] thread 394464 caught burning CPU! It used more than 50% CPU (Actual recent usage: 56%) over 180 seconds. thread lifetime cpu usage 90.091726 seconds, (34.200705 user, 55.891021 system) ledger info: balance: 90000253332 credit: 90000253332 debit: 0 limit: 90000000000 (50%) period: 180000000000 time since last refill (ns): 158890700927
Jun 1 14:08:35 MacBookMP spindump[5215]: Saved cpu_resource.spin report for backupd version ??? (???) to /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/backupd_2014-06-01-140835_Max.cpu_resource.spin
Jun 1 14:21:45 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Will copy (613.6 MB) from Macintosh HD
Jun 1 14:21:45 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Will copy (Zero KB) from Win8
Jun 1 14:21:45 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Found 249878 files (1.27 GB) needing backup
Jun 1 14:21:45 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: 3.95 GB required (including padding), 513.17 GB available
Jun 1 14:22:52 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 1086 items (620.1 MB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 4318.
Jun 1 14:23:02 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 1 items (Zero KB) from volume Win8. Linked 3.
Jun 1 14:23:02 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Will copy (1.2 MB) from Macintosh HD
Jun 1 14:23:02 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Not using file event preflight for Win8
Jun 1 14:23:02 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Found 60 files (1.2 MB) needing backup
Jun 1 14:23:02 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: 2.42 GB required (including padding), 512.54 GB available
Jun 1 14:23:05 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 124 items (1.2 MB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 971.
Jun 1 14:23:07 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 1 items (Zero KB) from volume Win8. Linked 3.
Jun 1 14:23:07 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Created new backup: 2014-06-01-142307
Jun 1 14:23:14 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Starting post-backup thinning
Jun 1 14:23:14 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "The operation couldn’t be completed. (OSStatus error -50.)" (paramErr: error in user parameter list) deleting backup: /Volumes/Max' Backup/Backups.backupdb/Max/2014-06-01-140555.inProgress/7F93D6C2-953B-493C-812 E-DF390922194D
Jun 1 14:23:14 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "The operation couldn’t be completed. (OSStatus error -50.)" (paramErr: error in user parameter list) deleting backup: /Volumes/Max' Backup/Backups.backupdb/Max/2014-06-01-140555.inProgress/9B5447B0-EBD6-4B76-903 E-CC4807095E97
Jun 1 14:23:14 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "The operation couldn’t be completed. (OSStatus error -50.)" (paramErr: error in user parameter list) deleting backup: /Volumes/Max' Backup/Backups.backupdb/Max/2014-06-01-140555.inProgress/D06592A0-5FC8-43CF-A6A 6-800A79B71165
Jun 1 14:23:14 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: No post-backup thinning needed: no expired backups exist
Jun 1 14:23:14 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Backup completed successfully.
So it took roughly 20 minutes to backup 1.27 GB which is a lot slower than it was!
I don't understand why it takes so long to get through the first steps..
And are these errors at the end serious?
a few seconds after the first backup I tried another one, which was done in 7 seconds !! Obviously it didn't had to backup nothing, but still, the whole process is faster, there are no errors at the end and no massage about burning the CPU...
Jun 1 14:24:34 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Starting manual backup
Jun 1 14:24:34 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Backing up to /dev/disk1s2: /Volumes/Max' Backup/Backups.backupdb
Jun 1 14:24:35 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Will copy (2.8 MB) from Macintosh HD
Jun 1 14:24:35 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Will copy (Zero KB) from Win8
Jun 1 14:24:35 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Found 27 files (2.8 MB) needing backup
Jun 1 14:24:35 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: 2.42 GB required (including padding), 513.16 GB available
Jun 1 14:24:36 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 37 items (2.8 MB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 331.
Jun 1 14:24:38 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 1 items (Zero KB) from volume Win8. Linked 3.
Jun 1 14:24:38 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Will copy (1 KB) from Macintosh HD
Jun 1 14:24:38 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Not using file event preflight for Win8
Jun 1 14:24:38 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Found 8 files (1 KB) needing backup
Jun 1 14:24:38 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: 2.42 GB required (including padding), 513.16 GB available
Jun 1 14:24:38 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 11 items (1 KB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 79.
Jun 1 14:24:39 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 1 items (Zero KB) from volume Win8. Linked 3.
Jun 1 14:24:40 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Created new backup: 2014-06-01-142440
Jun 1 14:24:40 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Starting post-backup thinning
Jun 1 14:24:40 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: No post-backup thinning needed: no expired backups exist
Jun 1 14:24:41 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Backup completed successfully.
I would be really grate full if you could help me resolve this.

I did not disable it because of your comment. I did it ages ago (due to lack of space on my SSD). When I followed the instructions from Pondini there is a part where you delete your Time Machine settings (such as local snapshots). You just made me remember that I had to turn it off again.
But do you know what's the meaning of this part of the log message:
Jun 1 14:08:32 MacBookMP kernel[0]: process backupd[5193] thread 394464 caught burning CPU! It used more than 50% CPU (Actual recent usage: 56%) over 180 seconds. thread lifetime cpu usage 90.091726 seconds, (34.200705 user, 55.891021 system) ledger info: balance: 90000253332 credit: 90000253332 debit: 0 limit: 90000000000 (50%) period: 180000000000 time since last refill (ns): 158890700927
and how to prevent it?

Time Machine is stuck on "Preparing Backup"

My Backups have not worked for about a month.....and have been in a perpetual "preparing" state.
I have Imac with OS version is 10.7.5, Build is 11G63
Have got this from console logs if it help shine any light on the nature of my issues, and how to fix?
Sep 8 19:10:27 unknown-d4:9a:20:ed:4a:c6 com.apple.backupd[211]: Waiting for index to be ready (101)
Sep 8 19:11:28 unknown-d4:9a:20:ed:4a:c6 com.apple.backupd[211]: Waiting for index to be ready (101)
Sep 8 19:12:30 unknown-d4:9a:20:ed:4a:c6 com.apple.backupd[211]: Waiting for index to be ready (101)
Sep 8 19:13:31 unknown-d4:9a:20:ed:4a:c6 com.apple.backupd[211]: Waiting for index to be ready (101)
Sep 8 19:24:44 unknown-d4:9a:20:ed:4a:c6 com.apple.backupd[4061]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
Sep 8 19:25:21 unknown-d4:9a:20:ed:4a:c6 com.apple.backupd[4061]: Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
Sep 8 19:25:23 unknown-d4:9a:20:ed:4a:c6 com.apple.backupd[4061]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Sep 8 19:26:23 unknown-d4:9a:20:ed:4a:c6 com.apple.backupd[4061]: Waiting for index to be ready (100)
Thanks in advance

Does your computer have a name in System Preferences > Sharing? If not, that may be at least part of the problem. Give it one -- make it short, and use only numbers and letters -- no punctuation.
Then cancel the backup and try again.
It sounds more like a problem with the index, so if that doesn't help, cancel the backup and try to repair them per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.

Time machine stuck in 'preparing backup' in mavericks

I have just upgraded to Mavericks on my macbook pro 13" 2009. I have a 2TB time capsule which has run perfectly for years under several OS X. I also have an external HDD to which I copy an image of my internal HD once a week using Carbon Copy Cloner.
Since upgrading to Mavericks the whole 'backing up' has become a total nightmare. Backing up using CCC is fine. Backing up to the time capsule using Time machine has now become completely unusable.
I have verified both my internal HDD and the time capsule. I have repaired permissions. I have disconnected my HDD as I now realise that this is a problem under Mavericks but I do feel let down by Apple. Its their software, their hardware and their time capsule and it is clearly failing. Even a USB memory key (essential for me) throws everything off!!!
Has anybody any bright ideas? I am not a guru by any means but have a working knowledge of the various bits of kit.....sort of.
Thanks in advance. First time poster so looking forward to some help here.......
R

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It changes nothing, for better or worse, and therefore will not, in itself, solve your problem.
If you don't already have a current backup, back up all data before doing anything else. The backup is necessary on general principle, not because of anything in the test procedure. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.
Below are instructions to run a UNIX shell script, a type of program. All it does is to gather information about the state of your computer. That information goes nowhere unless you choose to share it on this page. However, you should be cautious about running a program at the instance of a stranger on a public message board. If you have doubts, search this site for other discussions in which this procedure has been followed without any report of ill effects. If you can't satisfy yourself that the instructions are safe, don't follow them.
Here's a summary of what you need to do: Copy a line of text from this web page into the window of another application. Wait about a minute. Then paste some other text, which will have been copied automatically, back into a reply on this page. The sequence is: copy, paste, wait, paste again. Details follow.
You may have started the computer in "safe" mode. Preferably, these steps should be taken in “normal” mode. If the system is now in safe mode and works well enough in normal mode to run the test, restart as usual. If you can only test in safe mode, do that.
If you have more than one user, and the one affected by the problem is not an administrator, then please run the test twice: once while logged in as the affected user, and once as an administrator. The results may be different. The user that is created automatically on a new computer when you start it for the first time is an administrator. If you can't log in as an administrator, test as the affected user. Most personal Macs have only one user, and in that case this paragraph doesn’t apply.
The script is a single long line, all of which must be selected. You can accomplish this easily by triple-clicking anywhere in the line. The whole line will highlight, though you may not see all of it in your browser, and you can then copy it. If you try to select the line by dragging across the part you can see, you won't get all of it.
Triple-click anywhere in the line of text below on this page to select it:
clear; shopt -s extglob; Fb='%s\n\t(%s)\n'; Fm='\n%s:\n\n%s\n'; Fs='\n%s: %s\n'; Fu='User %s%%\t\tSystem %s%%'; PB="/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c Print"; A () { [[ a -eq 0 ]]; }; R () { o=; [[ r -eq 0 ]]; }; Pm () { [[ "$o" ]] && o=`sed 's/^ */ /' <<< "$o"` && printf "$Fm" "$1" "$o"; }; Pc () { o=`egrep -v '^[[:blank:]]*($|#)' "$2"`; Pm "$1"; }; Pp () { o=`$PB "$2" | awk -F'= ' \/$3'/{print $2}'`; Pm "$1"; }; Ps () { o="${o##+( )}"; [[ ! "$o" =~ ^0?$ ]] && printf "$Fs" "$1" "$o"; }; id | grep -qw '80(admin)'; a=$?; A && sudo true; r=$?; t=`date +%s`; clear; { A || echo $'No admin access\n'; A && ! R && echo $'No root access\n'; system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType | sed '8!d;s/^ *//'; o=`system_profiler SPDiagnosticsDataType | sed '5,6!d'`; [[ "$o" =~ Pass ]] || Pm "POST"; o=`pmset -g therm | sed 's/^.*CP/CP/'`; egrep -q 'No th|pms' <<< "$o" && o=; Pm "Thermal conditions"; o=`pmset -g sysload | grep -v :`; grep -q '= [^GO]' <<< "$o" || o=; Pm "System load advisory"; o=`nvram boot-args | awk '{$1=""; print}'`; Ps "boot-args"; d=(/ ""); D=(System User); for i in 0 1; do o=`cd ${d[$i]}L*/L*/Dia* && ls *.{crash,hang,panic} | tail | awk -F_ '{$NF=a[split($NF,a,".")]; print}'`; Pm "${D[$i]} diagnostics"; done; o=`syslog -F bsd -k Sender kernel -k Message CReq 'GPU |hfs: Ru|I/O e|n Cause: -|NVDA\(|pagin|SATA W|timed? ?o' | tail -n25 | awk '/:/{$4=""; $5=""; print}'`; Pm "Kernel messages"; o=`df -m / | awk 'NR==2 {print $4}'`; [[ o -lt 5120 ]] && Ps "Free space (MiB)"; o=$(($(vm_stat | awk '/eo/{sub("\\.",""); print $2}')/256)); o=$((o>=1024?o:0)); Ps "Pageouts (MiB)"; s=( `sar -u 1 10 | sed '$!d'` ); [[ s[4] -lt 90 ]] && o=`printf "$Fu" ${s[1]} ${s[3]}` || o=; Pm "Total CPU usage" && { s=(`ps acrx -o comm,ruid,%cpu | sed '2!d'`); o=${s[2]}%; Ps "CPU usage by process $s of user ${s[1]}"; }; s=(`top -R -l1 -n1 -o prt -stats command,uid,prt | sed '$!d'`); s[2]=${s[2]%[+-]}; o=$((s[2]>=25000?s[2]:0)); Ps "Mach ports used by process $s of user ${s[1]}"; o=`kextstat -kl | grep -v com\\.apple | cut -c53- | cut -d\< -f1`; Pm "Loaded extrinsic kernel extensions"; R && o=`sudo launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.(apple|openssh|vix\.cron)|org\.(amav|apac|calendarse|cups|dove|isc|ntp|post[fg]|x)/{print $3}'`; Pm "Extrinsic system jobs"; o=`launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.apple|org\.(x|openbsd)|\.[0-9]+$/{print $3}'`; Pm "Extrinsic agents"; for d in {/,}L*/{La,Priv,Sta}*; do o=`ls -A "$d" | egrep -v '^(\.DS_Store$|com\.apple\.)'`; Pm "$d"; done; o=`find -L /S*/L*/E* {/,}L*/{A*d,Compon,Ex,In,Keyb,Mail,P*P,Qu,Scripti,Servi,Spo}* -type d -name Contents -prune | while read d; do ID=$($PB\ :CFBundleIdentifier "$d/Info.plist") || ID="No bundle ID"; egrep -qv "^com\.apple\.[^x]|Accusys|ArcMSR|ATTO|HDPro|HighPoint|driver\.stex|hp-fax|\.hpio|JMicron|microsoft\.MDI|print|SoftRAID" <<< $ID && printf "$Fb" "${d%/Contents}" "$ID"; done`; Pm "Extrinsic loadable bundles"; o=`find /u*/{,*/}lib -type f -exec sh -c 'file -b "$1" | grep -qw shared && ! codesign -v "$1"' {} {} \; -print`; Pm "Unsigned shared libraries"; o=`launchctl getenv DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES`; Pm "Inserted libraries"; o=`find {,/u*/lo*}/e*/periodic -type f -mtime -10d`; Pm "Modified periodic scripts"; o=`scutil --proxy | grep Prox`; Pm "Proxies"; o=`scutil --dns | awk '/r\[0\] /{if ($NF !~ /^1(0|72\.(1[6-9]|2[0-9]|3[0-1])|92\.168)\./) print $NF; exit}'`; Ps "DNS"; R && o=`sudo profiles -P | grep :`; Pm "Profiles"; for f in fstab sysctl.conf crontab launchd.conf; do Pc $f /etc/$f; done; Pc "hosts" <(grep -v 'host *$' /etc/hosts); Pc "User launchd" ~/.launchd; R && Pc "Root crontab" <(sudo crontab -l); Pc "User crontab" <(crontab -l); R && o=`sudo defaults read com.apple.loginwindow LoginHook`; Pm "Login hook"; Pp "Global login items" /L*/P*/loginw* Path; Pp "User login items" L*/P*/*loginit* Name; Pp "Safari extensions" L*/Saf*/*/E*.plist Bundle | sed 's/\..*$//;s/-[1-9]$//'; o=`find ~ $TMPDIR.. $ -flags +sappnd,schg,uappnd,uchg -o ! -user $UID -o ! -perm -600 $ | wc -l`; Ps "Restricted user files"; cd; o=`system_profiler SPFontsDataType | egrep "Valid: N|Duplicate: Y" | wc -l`; Ps "Font problems"; o=`find L*/{Con,Pref}* -type f ! -size 0 -name *.plist ! -exec sh -c 'plutil -s "$1" >&-' {} {} \; -print`; Pm "Bad plists"; d=(Desktop L*/Keyc*); n=(20 7); for i in 0 1; do o=`find "${d[$i]}" -type f -maxdepth 1 | wc -l`; o=$((o<=n[$i]?0:o)); Ps "${d[$i]##*/} files"; done; o=$((`date +%s`-t)); Ps "Elapsed time (s)"; } 2>/dev/null | pbcopy; exit 2>&-
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
When you launch Terminal, a text window will open with a line already in it, ending either in a dollar sign ($) or a percent sign (%). If you get the percent sign, enter “sh” and press return. You should then get a new line ending in a dollar sign.
Click anywhere in the Terminal window and paste (command-V). The text you pasted should vanish immediately. If it doesn't, press the return key.
If you're logged in as an administrator, you'll be prompted for your login password. Nothing will be displayed when you type it. You will not see the usual dots in place of typed characters. Make sure caps lock is off. Type carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you make three failed attempts to enter the password, the test will run anyway, but it will produce less information. In most cases, the difference is not important.
If you're not logged in as an administrator, you won't be prompted for your password. The test will still run. It just won't do anything that requires administrator rights.
The test may take up to a few minutes to run, depending on how many files you have and the speed of the computer. A computer that's abnormally slow may take longer to run the test. There is no indication of progress until it's done. Wait for the line "[Process completed]" to appear in the Terminal window. If you don't see that line within half an hour or so, the test probably won't complete in a reasonable time. In that case, close the Terminal window and report your results. No harm will be done.
When the test is complete, quit Terminal. The results will have been copied to the Clipboard automatically. They are not shown in the Terminal window. Please don't copy anything from there. All you have to do is start a reply to this comment and then paste by pressing command-V again.
If any private information, such as your name or email address, appears in the results, anonymize it before posting. Usually that won't be necessary.
When you post the results, you might see the message, "You have included content in your post that is not permitted." That's because the forum software falsely identifies something in the post as a violation of the terms of use. If that happens, please post the results on Pastebin, then post a link here to the page you created.
Note: This is a public forum, and others may give you advice based on the results of the test. They speak only for themselves, and I don't necessarily agree with them.
Copyright © 2014 Linc Davis. As the sole author of this work, I reserve all rights to it except as provided in the Terms of Use of Apple Support Communities ("ASC"). Readers of ASC may copy it for their own personal use. Neither the whole nor any part may be redistributed.

Time capsule appears to be blocked in "Preparing backup"

My time capsule (almost 2 yrs old and always fine) now appears to be stuck in "preparing backup" - it's been working there for a couple of hours now, the icon is spinning and the disk sounds active.
Has anyone had this experience and/or any advice out there? I checked that I have the latest software, and nothing else seems buggy. Not sure if this is more likely a software or a hardware problem.
Thanks!

Forum expert Pondini's "Using Time Machine with a Time Capsule" and "Time Machine - Troubleshooting" are the best resources available anywhere...better than Apple's....so you might want to bookmark both of these links.
http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html
Check D1 in the Troubleshooting guide for info on the "Preparing" issue.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2296894

TC stuck on "preparing backup"

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