Time Machine doesn't connect to backup volume

I am trying to 'Enter the Time Machine' and it simply hangs. It tries to connect to the server but gets stuck on 'Connecting with backup volume. Eventually, I get the error message "Time Machine couldn't complete the backup - the backup disk image “/Volumes/Data/Larry's iMac.sparsebundle” could not be accessed (error -1)."
I think everything I had in the Time Machine has been lost as it shows 998GB of 998gb free. Annoying but not disastrous as my iMac hard drive is working fine. I just want to be able to backup before upgrading to Yosemite.
I'm on OSX 10.8.5
Can anyone help?
Thanks!

See C-17 in the 1st linked article.
Time Machine Troubleshooting
Time Machine Troubleshooting Problems

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    Message was edited by: Adam Lippiatt

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    Message was edited by: thenattylight
    Message was edited by: thenattylight
    Message was edited by: thenattylight

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