Time Machine does nothing - just hangs on "copying files"

I hadn't had my Time Machine drive plugged in for 30 days, so today I plugged it in to let it do it's thing (USB). I went to work and came back 10 hours later to see that it had copied 0KB in the 10 hours I was gone. It was just hung on "Backing up [amount of] items"
So I figured that was weird and I'd just wipe the Time Machine drive and try a fresh backup from scratch
It's 3 hours later and my "new" backup has also copied 0KB over. Time Machine says it's backing my files up, but it's not actually copying anything. It's just an endless "Backing up..." with nothing actually being copied
Anyone have any idea what the deal is?

scottbrown wrote:
I hadn't had my Time Machine drive plugged in for 30 days, so today I plugged it in to let it do it's thing (USB). I went to work and came back 10 hours later to see that it had copied 0KB in the 10 hours I was gone. It was just hung on "Backing up [amount of] items"
So I figured that was weird and I'd just wipe the Time Machine drive and try a fresh backup from scratch
That was probably a mistake - you lost all your backups
It's 3 hours later and my "new" backup has also copied 0KB over. Time Machine says it's backing my files up, but it's not actually copying anything. It's just an endless "Backing up..." with nothing actually being copied
Anyone have any idea what the deal is?
Check the logs to find out what is happening. They are very informative.
Have you repaired internal HD and permissions recently? Have you checked same on TM drive?
Is the TM drive powered from the computer or does it have its own power? Sometimes plugging a drive in that uses USB power can be problematic. It's always safer to start the computer with USB devices already plugged in if they use computer power.

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Time Machine does not backup all of my files

Hi,
If I compare my Dropbox folder to what Time Machine backups there are differences which means that Time Machine does not backup all files:
diff <(cd "/Users/phil/Dropbox" && ls -R | sort) <(cd "/Volumes/TimeMachineBackup/Backups.backupdb/Computername/Latest/Macintosh HD/Users/phil/Dropbox" && ls -R | sort)
There are also differences if I compare my user folder to the Time Machine Backup:
diff <(cd "/Users/phil/" && ls -R | sort) <(cd "/Volumes/TimeMachineBackup/Backups.backupdb/Computername/Latest/Macintosh HD/Users/phil/" && ls -R | sort)
I did not exclude the folders affected from the Time Machine backup.
I have verified this behaviour on other computers as well.
Does anybody else have this kind of problem?
Philipp

These commands solved the problem for now:
1) Stop the Dropbox desktop application (if needed)
- Click on the Dropbox icon.
- Choose Quit/Stop/Exit
2) Open your Terminal app (Located at /Applications/Utilities/Terminal)
3) Copy and paste the following lines into the Terminal, one at a time, and press RETURN after each one. PLEASE make sure you copy and paste these commands (don't type them by hand), as getting them wrong could cause some harm. You'll be prompted for your computer user's password (not your Dropbox password) after entering the first command. Keep in mind that the password field in the terminal will remain blank as you type your password. After you type it, just press ENTER.
sudo chflags -R nouchg ~/Dropbox ~/.dropbox ~/.dropbox-master
sudo chown "$USER" "$HOME"
sudo chown -R "$USER" ~/Dropbox ~/.dropbox ~/.dropbox-master
sudo chmod -RN ~/.dropbox ~/Dropbox ~/.dropbox-master
chmod -R u+rw ~/Dropbox ~/.dropbox ~/.dropbox-master

Time machine does not respond when entered for file recovery

When I enter time machine, the expected display appears but there is no response when trying to move time back, select a file or exit, even with Cmd Q.
I can only get back to a useable screen by powering down or using Cmd+Alt+Esc.
I was able to use TM to restore old files about 6 months ago, but only after restarting system.

Welcome to Discussions.
Select your Time Machine drive in the finder and do a Get Info (command-i). The format should be Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If it isn't you will need to reformat the drive. This will erase it so copy any files you need from the drive first. Directions for formatting your Time Machine drive are in this article. People with PPC Macs should substitute Apple Partition Map for GUID when following the directions.
If Time Machine doesn't automatically ask you to use the drive you can choose it for Time Machine backups by going to System Preferences > Time Machine > Change Disk.

Time Machine Error: "An error occurred while copying files. The problem may be temporary. If the problem persists, use Disk Utility to repair your backup disk."

I have a MacBook Pro 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB, 500GB HDD, running 10.8.2 My computer as been running slow and fearing my HDD might die. I bought a brand new 1TB G-Drive from Apple yesterday and started my back up. It gets to just over 22GB backed up then I get this error message:
"An error occurred while copying files. The problem may be temporary. If the problem persists, use Disk Utility to repair your backup disk."
Anyone out there who might be able to help me fix this?

I have a MacBook Pro 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB, 500GB HDD, running 10.8.2 My computer as been running slow and fearing my HDD might die. I bought a brand new 1TB G-Drive from Apple yesterday and started my back up. It gets to just over 22GB backed up then I get this error message:
"An error occurred while copying files. The problem may be temporary. If the problem persists, use Disk Utility to repair your backup disk."
Anyone out there who might be able to help me fix this?

Time Machine does not backup all files

I recently did a clean install and to my horror i can see that Time Machine does NOT back up all my files.
It seems to be worst in my music library which fortunately is pretty easy to rebuild do to itunes index.
But is there any way to make sure that Time Machine does in fact back up all files?
Or is it just broken and should be avoided?
I have 1,5 year old Macbook Pro Retina 15 inches 500 GB SSD

If you use the third-party application "Dropbox," you may see files in the Finder that are not present locally, but are actually on a network server. Those files won't be backed up and won't appear in Time Machine, even though they show in a Finder window. If the files in question are in a Dropbox folder, disable the software or refer to its developer for support.
Continue only if you've ruled out Dropbox or any similar product as a possible cause of the issue.
Open the Time Machine preference pane and unlock the settings, if necessary. Click the Options button. If there is one particular folder with items that are not being backed up reliably, add it to the list of excluded items. If there are many such folders, add your home folder to the list, or add a whole volume (i.e., what Apple calls a "disk.") Save the changes.
Start a backup, or wait for one to happen automatically. When it's done, open the preference pane again and remove the exclusion(s) you made earlier. Back up again and see whether there's a change.

I just got a new MacBook Pro, and I tried to bring across my files from my last mac using time machine. After it was done copying I can't find my files anywhere but the space (about 130gb) has been used on my hard drive. Help please!!

I just got a new MacBook Pro, and I tried to bring across my files from my last mac using time machine. After it was done copying I can't find my files anywhere but the space (about 130gb) has been used on my hard drive. Does anyone know how I can get to them? I did change my user name from 'user' while it was copying, could this have something to do with it?

You don't want to do that by copying.
Your best bet, by far, is to use Setup Assistant. If your Mac is running Snow Leopard, see Using Setup Assistant on Snow Leopard or Leopard.
If it came with Lion, it's a bit different: Using Setup Assistant on Lion

Time machine does not backup anymore

Hello all,
I've been using my time machine for a month now, I kept it turned off and only connected the disk when I wanted to make a backup. Then I just hit Back Up Now from the menu and it always backed up everything (I used to check it afterwards). FYI, I've got a 500GB drive and for backups I use a 500GB partition on an external disk, where about 100GB is still free. All of a sudden, my time machine does not backup anymore. It does its run, whether a scheduled hourly one when turned on, or an on-demand one, but it only lasts a split second as though there is nothing to backup and when I enter the time machine, the files are really missing. I can't make it backup anything anymore. What is going on?
thanks everyone

cukerko wrote:
Hello all,
I've been using my time machine for a month now, I kept it turned off and only connected the disk when I wanted to make a backup. Then I just hit Back Up Now from the menu and it always backed up everything (I used to check it afterwards). FYI, I've got a 500GB drive and for backups I use a 500GB partition on an external disk, where about 100GB is still free.
It's not related to this problem, but that may not be large enough. What's important is not the size of your internal HD, but how much is on it (or is expected to be on it in the next year or so). It varies widely, of course, depending on how you use your Mac, but Time Machine usually needs 2-3 times the space of the data it's backing-up.
. . . it only lasts a split second as though there is nothing to backup and when I enter the time machine, the files are really missing.
That sounds like the year-old unfixed bug detailed in red in #D5 of [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

My Time Machine does not recognize Airport Time Capsule 2TB

I just connect my new Airport Time capsule 2TB and the wifi work fine in the whole house.
But Time machine does not recognize my Airport time capsule. It remain stuck on my ex baxkup My Book. If I press select disk or option nothing happen . If I click on remove backup disk nothing happen. I want to use Airport Time capsule as my back up disk.
Thank you for your help.
Guy-Gabriel

Do a full TM reset.. see A4 here.
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
You might also need to manually mount the TC disk..
In finder use Go, Connect to server in the top menu.
AFP://TCname or TCIPaddress (using the actual name or IP of course).

Time Machine does not see my external HD

I would like to setup TM but it does not see my external HD, but I can see it on desktop in and finder. I can browse it. But time machine does not see it and forces me to use airport time capsule but I don't have it. Help please.

What format is the external drive in?
If it's formatted for Windows (either using the MBR partition table or using FAT/NTFS volumes) then Time Machine cannot back up to this disk.
The disk needs to be formatted as Mac OS X Extended using either the APM or GPT partition tables.
Life is complicated somewhat by the fact that the OS, in general, can read MBR/FAT drives, but they're not suitable for Time Machine (limitations in the disk formats prevent some of Time Machine's features from working).
You can check the current partition map/disk format in Disk Utility.app - just select the disk on the left and the information will be displayed below. If the disk is using MBR and/or FAT then you'd need to reformat the drive in order to use it with Time Machine.

My time machine does not want to save any more the data from my powerbook 13" Snow Leopard; i get the message "Time Machine could not suppress the disk image of saving "Volumes/Time Capsule Disk/PowerBook _2011_03_21_123627 sparsebundle" What should I do?

My time machine does not want to save any more the data from my powerbook 13" Snow Leopard; i get the message "Time Machine could not suppress the disk image of saving "Volumes/Time Capsule Disk/PowerBook _2011_03_21_123627 sparsebundle" What is the problem? What should I do?
Thanks !!
Alain

Could that read " . . . could not access . . ."? If so, try repairing your backups, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
If not, or if that doesn't help, see #A1 there. Use the TM Buddy widget it details to copy and post the messages here.

IMac 7,1. Snow Leopard. 2 printers that printed nothing, or more than ±1/4 from page top. Reinstalled OS. Time Machine BU now allows only latest (faulty) files. ±4 series shown, each taking +8 hours to complete. How to reinstall from 'DEVICES' in 'iMac'?

iMac 7,1. SnowLeopard. 2 printers that printed nothing, or more than ±1/4 from page top.Reinstalled OS. Time Machine BU now allows only latest (faulty) files. ±4series shown, each taking +8 hours to complete. How to reinstall from ‘DEVICES’in ‘iMac’?

You need to get rid of MacKeeper (Zeobit). Do not use their uninstaller, follow the instructions here ...
http://applehelpwriter.com/2011/09/21/how-to-uninstall-mackeeper-malware/
When that is done there does not appear to be a lot wrong if you correct the red ink entries.
The 4Gb is sufficient for Yosemite though 6 or 8 Gb would be better. You may find the download slow so be prepared.

Time machine does not open after i reinstalled os

time machine does nlot open. I reinstalled Lion to see if that was the culprit but nothing happens when I try to start Time mchjione. Anybody got and ieas about it?

Please look over Time Machine FAQs & Time Machine Troubleshooting to begin understanding Time Machine.

Time machine does not appear in Disk Utility

Time machine does not show up in Disk Utilities, connected by ethernet. I need to erase the disk. How to solve?

I am sorry - I simply do not understand your instructions!
I have 2 Time Capsules and have been using both. However a few days ago they quit working. I have had to turn off Time Machine because I am getting hourly alerts that back-up failed because there is not enough space. It does not delete old backups to provide additional space. I am willing to erase both to try to get them working again but I cannot figure out how to erase and setup the drives. Hence I turned Time Machine off.
There is nothing wrong with the MBP internal hard drive. "Sparse bundle" is total Greek to me! My wifi network appears to be working properly. The internal HD is mounted in Disk Utilities and verified as working properly. I am a long time user of Apple but I am still a novice (Level 1)!
Perhaps I should start a new thread.

Time Machine does not show after installing Lion?!

I upgraded to Lion and now my Time Machine does not work. When I connect the disk it starts and then shuts down. It does not show neither on desktop or on Time Machine. Any ideas. I hate the thought of reinstalling Snow Leopard but...
Thank you in advance
Matej

No reason to reinstall Snow Leopard.
What's shown on the Time Machine Preferences window for Latest Backup? If it shows "Error" in red, see #C2 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
If not, a clue may be lurking in your logs. Use the widget in #A1 of Time Machine - Troubleshooting to display the backup messages from your logs. Locate the backup in question, then copy and post all the messages here.

Since installing Lion, I have not been able to utilize Time Machine (does not recognize the back-up drive); my wireless mouse does not function properly; I have experienced unreasonable delays in the system. Is there a fix or upgrade coming?

Is there a fix or upgrade to deal with the many problems I am experiencing since I installed Lion? I can no longer utilize Time Machine (Does not see the back-up drive); my wireless mouse does not work properly; my iMac has slowed down considerably. I am reminded of having a PC machine again. Bummer!

Either downgrade to Snow Leopard or try reinstalling Lion.
Reinstalling Lion Without the Installer
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alterhatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You can also re-download the Lion installer by opening the App Store application. Hold down the OPTION key and click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar. You should now see an active Install button to the right of your Lion purchase entry. There are situations in which this will not work. For example, if you are already booted into the Lion you originally purchased with your Apple ID or if an instance of the Lion installer is located anywhere on your computer.
Downgrade Lion to Snow Leopard
1. Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.
This will erase the whole drive so be sure to backup your files if you don't have a backup already. If you have performed a TM backup using Lion be aware that you cannot restore from that backup in Snow Leopard (see below.) I suggest you make a separate backup using Carbon Copy Cloner 3.4.1.
If you have Snow Leopard Time Machine backups, do a full system restore per #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions. If you have subsequent backups from Lion, you can restore newer items selectively, via the "Star Wars" display, per #15 there, but be careful; some Snow Leopard apps may not work with the Lion files.

Time Machine does nothing - just hangs on "copying files"

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