Time machine backup fails--not enough room.

I have a 2 TB drive in a Mac Pro running Yosemite (10.2) that I have been using for Time Machine backups. I have a 1 TB drive as my main hard drive that is about 2/3 full and another drive with less than 200 GB used. Unit recently, Time Machine has been working as it should. However, in the last week, I have been getting an error message saying there is not enough room (321 GB available). As I understand the process, older backups should be deleted when there is no longer enough room. Additionally, it should only be updating the backup and there should be enough room for that. Why can I not get a backup?

Try C4 in the 1st linked article.
Time Machine Troubleshooting
Time Machine Troubleshooting Problems

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Time Machine Backup failed, not enough space...

Have iMac, Yosimite OS 10.10, processor 3.1 GHz Intel Core i5, memory 12 GB 1333 MHz DDR3, internal HD - 1TB, Time machine id 1 TB external La Cie. I see that I have 260 GB left on Time Machine disk, on Time Machine window. Additional message, "Needs 266.46 GB for back up, thus "backup failed". What is my next step? Thank you very much indeed!

Try C4 in the 1st linked article.
Time Machine Troubleshooting
Time Machine Troubleshooting Problems

Time Machine backup fails because "volume could not be found".

I just had my logic board replaced in my Macbook Pro and went to do a backup (yeah, I didn't do this right before it crashed) and now Time Machine backup fails with the message "volume could not be found" Under Time Machine/Choose Disk, it appears that the drive is the one selected. The computer "sees" the drive and I can read files on it. The only other thing that has happened in the meantime is that a friend helped pull a file off the hard drive that I needed for a project. No apparent issues there. Any suggestions?

You might try going to /Library/Preferences, then drag the file com.apple.TimeMachine.plist to the Desktop. Reboot your Mac, then try declaring the backup disk for Time Machine. It might help if you mount the backup disk first.
Are you using Time Machine to write its backups to the disk of a Time Capsule? If not, since this discussion section is for Apple's Time Capsule AirPort base station, a discussion involving Time Machine should be held on the discussion section for whatever version of OSX that you're using.

Time machine backup fails; error creating folder. Western Digital drive requires password which is perhaps/likely the issue. I can't eliminate the password/encryption.

Time Machine backup fails on new WD external drive (My Passport Studio); error creating folder (after several hours of Time Machine apparently working).
Background: I purchased a Western Digital drive from an Apple Store to use for Time Machine backup. I followed the Western Digital instructions that came with the drive for Mac. I didn't get the Time Machine prompt which the instructions indicated I would receive--namely to select whether I want to encrypt my Time Macine backups. (I already have a Time Machine backup I use at another location, which is perhaps why I didn't receive a prompt.)
I decided to install the Western Digital utilities and security software that comes on the disk--with a view to potentially encrypting the disk (since I still wanted to have an encrypted backup since I was mobile). I forgot that (from experience 2-years previous) that I shouldn't install Western Digital software because it just makes life really complicated.
I tried several times to do a Time Machine backup with failures each time (error creating the backup folder). I tried to get help from WD but I don't think the technicians were following what my issue was. Potentially I was not helpful in explaining it. I deleted the WD applications from my system after the first contact with WD. However the problem persisted--I still had an encrypted hard drive. After three phone sessions with three different WD techs I still could not get a solution. (By the second call I was not at all interested in having an encrypted drive--I just wanted to format and restore the drive to an unencrypted state so that I could have SOME kind of Time Machine backup.)
I still don't have a solution--either to get Time Machine working with the WD encryption/password on the drive, or to remove the encryption so I can backup. Right now my options are to return the drive to the Apple Store -- or get a return authorization from WD. Seems crazy since the drive is fine and I have the working password.

Never install "helpful software" provided by WD and Seagate (or any HD mfg.)
All such stuff is fluff and nonsense that interferes with normal HD operation.
Always when you buy a new HD, format it for Mac and then use it to TM backup or clone a HD, or archive data.
Less is more on HD new out of box. A "blank brick", no fluff and cotton candy software

Time Machine backups do not migrate from iMac to MacBook Pro

I just moved from a iMac G5 to a MacBook Pro. I love Apple's migration tool, but it seems that Time Machine backups do not migrate.
I checked with support, and did a basic amount of searching, and it seems that I need to erase and reformat the backup drive, losing all of my backups.
Can this be true? That's a pretty screwy backup solution.
Is it possible to rename the backup folder from "iMac G5" to "MacBook Pro"?
Is it possible to add a MacBook Pro backup folder to the one already there?
Any help is appreciated.

I'm not quite sure what you mean. It sounds like you successfully migrated, and got everything set up properly on the new Mac.
Now you want TM to just continue backing-up the new Mac to the old Mac's backups?
If so, then no, that's not going to work. TM keeps the backups for each Mac completely separate. This is usually an advantage, so you can back up two or Macs to the same drive without any conflicts.
Plus, the version of OS on your new Intel laptop is very different from the one from your old PPC desktop; a whole different set of drivers, and of course code for Intel vs. PPC.
So TM on the new Mac cannot treat the old backups as if they were from the new Mac. It must start a whole new "sequence" of backups for the new Mac. If there's room on the disk, you can leave the old backups there until you're sure you don't need them, but that presents another problem: when you want to delete them, you can do it only one at a time, via TM, using the procedure in item #12 of the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum. That's rather tedious and time-consuming, so most folks just erase the TM drive and let it start fresh.
If I've misunderstood, please clarify the situation.

My Time machine backup fails with an error message

Time machine used to work just fine when I first upgraded to Leopard but now every time it tries to backup I get an Error message "Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume." This occurs while Time Machine is "Preparing". Next hour it starts all over again and does the same thing. I have reformatted the backup drive but still get the error. I'm backing up to a 300g Firewire drive and have used about 207G for the backups.backupdb folder.
An ideas how to resolve this issue?

Here is a list of some TM articles that may help. You can look for more by searching Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu or searching the Knowledge Base from Apple's Support Page.
Time Machine Troubleshooting
Here are several articles to help troubleshoot Time Machine Problems as well as assist in properly setting up Time Machine.
Mac 101- Using Time Machine in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Is Time Machine all you need?
Some advice for those using Time Machine
TidBITS Macs & Mac OS X- Time Machine- The Good, the Bad, and the Missing Features
Mac OS X 10.5- Time Machine backups are not visible
OS X 10.5- Time Machine stops backing up to external disk
10.5- Disable the 'use this disk?' Time Machine dialog
Time Machine tips and troubleshooting
Mac OS X 10.5 Help- Restoring files backed up with Time Machine
OS X 10.5- Using Time Machine and troubleshooting Time Machine issues

Time Machine backup fails in extended network

Dear all,
I've recently setup an extended network using 2 additional AirPort Express units connected to the main Airport Extreme modem (all working well). I'm using the Extreme for Time Machine Backups, which used to work just fine as well.
However, when connected to the Expresses, the Time Machine Backups fail with the message that the backup file is already in use. I'm guessing the Express modem tries to connect to the backup file, while the Extreme is keeping the file stand-by or something.
Does anybody know a fix to this problem?
Kind regards,
Dennis

It took a Snow Leopard a while but after 2 days it started working again. I've checked whether the connection was directly to the Extreme, but the connection actually went through one of the bridged Expresses.
I guys one just has to hope for the best ;-)
I've upgraded to Lion last week and backup works fine with the new operating system as well.

Time machine backup fails in my seagate 3tb external drive

Time machine backup fails in my seagate 3tb external drive

Without any specifics it's impossible to assist you, however the best tool for debugging TM failures is using Pondini's Time Machine Troubleshooting guide.
Good luck.

Time Machine Backup Failed even though I still have 1.9TB of a 2TB Time Capsule. I am using Yosemite.

Time Machine Backup Failed even though I still have 1.9TB of a 2TB Time Capsule. I am using Yosemite 10.10.3 on an iMac (mid 2010)

The recent update in Yosemite (10.10.3) is causing some issues for some users.
Try a complete network power cycle as follows:
Power off each and every device on your network......modem, Time Capsule, computers, printers, etc......in any order that you want
Wait a minute
Power up the modem and let it run 2-3 minutes
Then, power up the next device that is connected to the modem an let it run a full minute
Then, continue to power up devices one at a time about a minute apart until everything is back up
Check the network
Wait for a backup to occur and report on your results

Time Machine Backup Failing For No Apparent Reason

http://i27.tinypic.com/313hg2c.png
I keep on getting that error whenever time machine tries to back up. I've completely reformatted my Time Machine drive, repaired the disk, and repaired my permissions all to no avail.
Anyone have any idea of what is going on? It just randomly started happening on day.

Time Machine Troubleshooting
Here are several articles to help troubleshoot Time Machine Problems as well as assist in properly setting up Time Machine.
Mac 101- Using Time Machine in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
Is Time Machine all you need?
Some advice for those using Time Machine
TidBITS Macs & Mac OS X- Time Machine- The Good, the Bad, and the Missing Features
Mac OS X 10.5- Time Machine backups are not visible
OS X 10.5- Time Machine stops backing up to external disk
10.5- Disable the 'use this disk?' Time Machine dialog
Time Machine tips and troubleshooting
Mac OS X 10.5 Help- Restoring files backed up with Time Machine
OS X 10.5- Using Time Machine and troubleshooting Time Machine issues

"Time Machine Backups" could not be unmounted (Disk Utilities)

Hi there,
I am having an error message when trying to back up time machine. Therefore I went to disk utilities and verified disk.. said it needs to be prepared. When I try to repair time machine, i then get the following message "The disk “Time Machine Backups” could not be unmounted". I tried again and then it says its been repaired. so when i tried a backup of time machine i get "time machine error. unable to complete backup. an error occurred while copying files to the backup volume"
I have installed "Time machine buddy" and I am getting"error reading system logs"
I have a mac osx 10.5.8. No antivirus or spotlight running that i know of.
Any ideas?

One way to test is to Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, Test for problem in Safe Mode, see if external Drive can be repaired...
PS. Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive
Reboot, test again.
Open Console in Utilities & see if there are any clues or repeating messages when this happens.

Time Machine Backup fails every time "Backup could not be completed"

I want to do a new Time Machine Backup on my iMac2007 Snow Leopard 10.6.8 fails every time with message "Backup could not be completed."
Console says "Error 11" Some Files allways can not be copied/saved by Time Machine, i search an exclude them in TM not to save them, try again, new ones po up every time.
Does anyone know a solution?

One thing which may help.
I had similar issues....a few times.
Have done all the renaming (<8 characters) etc etc as detailed in these forums.
The first time, I erased TC HD and started again. This fixed things for a few days, and then the same issue came back again.
The next time, I simply copied the sparsebundle file (so I had two sparsebundles, one called xxxxxxxx.sparsebundle, and the other called xxxxxxxx copy.sparsebundle (luckily I had room on the HD to do this)). Then I deleted the original sparsebundle, and before I could rename the copy back to the original filename, the image mounted and started backing up....to the sparsebundle with " copy" still in its name.......so I left it be.
A week or so went by, and then I got the same "unable to mount" error message.
Rather than going thru the whole process again, I simply took the " copy" out of the sparesbundle filename, and all was well again.
I continue to get "unable to mount" error messages occasionally, so I simply rename the sparsebundle file (either by adding or removing " copy"), and it seems to resolve the problem, at least for a while.
While not a fix, it seems to be a workaround for me until Apple works out what the issue is, and fixes it.
Hope this helps someone.
P.S. One word of caution. I just had the thought, while writing this, that I have not actually gone into Time Machine to check that previous backups (eg, one hour ago, one week ago, original backup) are there and are able to be accessed, should the need arise. Because the back-ups appeared to be working, I assumed, and assume, they were. Won't be able to check this for a few days as I am on the road.

10.5.8 Time Machine Backup Failed Due to Cookie Not Matching?

Been using Time Machine with no problems with 10.5.6 and 10.5.8, but have first problems since 10.5.8. After my iMac wakes from sleep, sometimes I get the error message that the external USB drive that I'm using for Time Machine was removed incorrectly, which is not correct. If I do not get this message and everything looks okay, the next Time Machine backup normally fails and if I check the logging in the widget it tells me that backup failed because the cookie didn't match and it may not be the correct drive. If I restart my iMac, Time Machine works again without problem until the next sleep. Before installing 10.5.8 Time Machine was perfect! Any ideas anyone?

Hi again:
Not really. A restart can be therapeutic at times as a lot of things are reset. I have worked with computers for over 50 years and there are still some things that happen that defy logical explanation!
Trashing a preference file sometimes helps things. A corrupt preference file (rare, but it happens) can cause all sorts of odd behavior.
Barry

Time machine backup suddenly not good enough for my 2011 MBP

My macbook pro refused to back up today, stating that the identity of the time machine backup that it has been using for several months has changed identity. It then proceeded to backup the ENTIRE computer again to a new sparsebundle named the exact same thing but with a 1 after it.
I was able to connect to and explore the original backup by pointing time machine to it, but when it backed up next it made the new sparsebundle again.
What gives? How can i force the computer to use the old backup again?

Hi C,
See if this looks familiar: http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/C15.html
And here's a whole bunch of stuff you can try digging through: http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Home.html

Time Machine Backup fails after Restore

Had my 500GB HD on my iMac fail. After being replaced by Apple, I performed a restore from 1TB time machine backup. After this was done, I set time machine back up to back up to this 1TB drive. I want it to append to the previous backups. However, the backup fails due to "backup is too large for the backup volume". It doesn't seem to want to append to previous backups but thinks this is an entirely new backup, which I guess is mostly true. I suspect this has to do with UUIDs of the new and old drives, but I'm not sure how to correct it (I'd prefer not to just wipe the backup disk and start over). I migrated backups before from one extenal HD to another but can't remember what I did... If anyone has steps to fix this, let me know em. Thanks.
Here's the time machine log:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/MyBook-Mac/Backups.backupdb
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
Node requires deep traversal:/ reason:kFSEDBEventFlagMustScanSubDirs|
Starting pre-backup thinning: 506.55 GB requested (including padding), 502.31 GB available
No expired backups exist - deleting oldest backups to make room
Error: backup disk is full - all 0 possible backups were removed, but space is still needed.
Backup Failed: unable to free 506.55 GB needed space
Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.
Message was edited by: Delmonte3161

Delmonte3161 wrote:
Had my 500GB HD on my iMac fail. After being replaced by Apple, I performed a restore from 1TB time machine backup. After this was done, I set time machine back up to back up to this 1TB drive. I want it to append to the previous backups. However, the backup fails due to "backup is too large for the backup volume". It doesn't seem to want to append to previous backups but thinks this is an entirely new backup, which I guess is mostly true. I suspect this has to do with UUIDs of the new and old drives,
yes, that's correct. TM will make a full backup after a full system restore on a new hard drive because the UUIDs of the new drive is different from the old one.
you may try the following hack to get around it
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20090213071015789
But I make no promises about how well it works.
but I'm not sure how to correct it (I'd prefer not to just wipe the backup disk and start over). I migrated backups before from one extenal HD to another but can't remember what I did... If anyone has steps to fix this, let me know em. Thanks.
Here's the time machine log:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/MyBook-Mac/Backups.backupdb
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
Node requires deep traversal:/ reason:kFSEDBEventFlagMustScanSubDirs|
Starting pre-backup thinning: 506.55 GB requested (including padding), 502.31 GB available
No expired backups exist - deleting oldest backups to make room
Error: backup disk is full - all 0 possible backups were removed, but space is still needed.
Backup Failed: unable to free 506.55 GB needed space
Backup failed with error: Not enough available disk space on the target volume.
Message was edited by: Delmonte3161

Time machine backup fails--not enough room.

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