Time machine fails to back up and crashes computer

Hi I've been using time machine since April on my first external hard-drive (Partitioned so that it had time machine and room for music and photos) now I am trying to make time machine back up to a new external drive and every time it gets so far it crashes my mac please help me with any pointers I tried erasing it and formatting the new drive and making time machine back up to no drive then start backing up to this new drive but it keeps on failing.

First, make sure the new drive is set up properly. See #C1 in [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).
If it's ok, do a "full reset" of Time Machine, per #A4 there.
If that doesn't help, verify your internal HD, per #A5 there.
If it still crashes your Mac, try running this: [Apple Hardware Test: iMac (Mid 2007) and later models|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1883].

Similar Messages

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    I have a mid 2012 MBP (MacbookPro9,1) running Mountain Lion 10.8.2.  When I start a Time Machine backup to an external Western Digital HD (WD5000MT) connected using a Firewire 800 cable, my open programs stop responding and in general my computer freezes up not allowing me to open activity monitor or the console utility.  I can't even shut down or restart my computer and must hard boot to reset.  Though removing the firewire cable that goes to the external HD can sometimes get my system working again.  However, the WD external HD also has a usb port and when I connect it to my computer via a USB cable, Time Machine seems to backup my system fine without stalling my computer.  This same external HD worked fine with Firewire 800 using my old late 2007 MBP running snow leopard.  I should note that my brother has the exact same model WD external HD and he also had issues with the firewire port on his MBP running mountain lion.  I have run the disk utility checking for disk/file permission errors and the drive itself seems fine.  I initially formatted that drive as ExFAT but while troubleshooting reformatted to HFS+ and still had the same issue.  I tested using a different firewire 800 cable but still had the same issue.  Can't think of anything else to do.  I don't have another firewire-compatible device to test if it is the HD vs the firewire port.   I would prefer to use the firewire port for quicker transfer speeds but I'm stuck with USB for now.  Any suggestions? 

    Maybe these will help:
    http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11194
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3275 (note - older article)
    Have you tried looking at the Western Digital web site to see if you can find anything?
    http://support.wdc.com

  • HT3275 My time machine does not back up and giving me this error message: The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data-1/Amiel's MacBook Pro.sparsebundle" is already in use. Pls help.

    My time machine does not back up and giving me this error message: The backup disk image “/Volumes/Data-1/Amiel’s MacBook Pro.sparsebundle” is already in use. Pls help.

    Make sure that there are no other Macs backing up at the present time.
    Pull the power cord from the back of the Time Capsule
    Count to ten
    Plug the power cord back in
    This will "fix" things about 98% of the time. Post back if you are in the unlucky 2% category.

  • HT201250 My Time Machine is not backing up and gives me this error report, 'The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data/Valarie'siMac.sparsbundle" is already in use.  Time machine could not complete backup.    Can anyone help me?

    My Time Machine is not backing up and gives me this error report:
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    Look at the discussion on the following forum:
    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3882138?start=0&tstart=0
    The responses given there may help.

  • My time machine will not back up and i get this message: /Volumes/Data/Kathy P's MacBook.sparsebundle" is already in use

    my time machine will not back up and i get this message: /Volumes/Data/Kathy P’s MacBook.sparsebundle” is already in use....i have tried multiple fixes but still unable to back up

    If  you have tried the fixes in Pondini's Time Machine Troublshooting, specifically #C12 and nothing helps, then it is time to let one of the genius types at an Apple Store take a look.
    http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
    If you cannot take the Time Capsule to an Apple Store, contact Apple Support directly.
    http://www.apple.com/support/contact/

  • Time Machine failing to back up

    Hello Apple Community!
    I've got a brand new MacBook pro 13" 2.3GHz i5 model. This is my first Mac and I would just like to say I absolutely love them and can never ever see myself going back to Windows ever again
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    +*The problem may be temporary. try again later to back up. If the problem persists use Disk Utility to repair your backup disk."*+
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    Next I figured it could be the format of the drive? But TimeMachine tells you if the disk is wrong.
    Could be the size of the volume? I had it partitioned ready for media to go on the other half, so I redid the partitions to make the backup one 400GB (plenty big enough, my MacBook's hard drive is only 320GB)
    Still no luck so I removed the partitions completely and reverted the disk to how it was when I purchased it. When I re-setup TimeMachine, it changed the disk format to what it wanted to be (Mac OS X extended (case sensitive, journaled)) - not sure what the difference between each type is, but this was automatically set up. The error occurred again.
    I've tried using a different external harddrive and that didn't work either.
    So I'm thinking there is probably a setting that I've missed out or it's because I'm using the computer while it's running (hopefully this is not the case).
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    Thanks in advance
    Josh

    Actually, Time Machine does not always tell you if its disk is formatted incorrectly. Open the Disk Utility utility (in the utilities folder, which is in the applications folder) and make sure you initialize your Time Machine disk as Mac OS X extended with the GUID option set in the partition table.
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  • Using time machine, multiple computers back- up and update

    hi all,
    to start off, i'm planning to buy a new iMac in the Q1 2009... the comming update, and i'm wondering:
    whit time machine, is it possible to let's say back up my macbook.
    and whit the new iMac update from the backup so my iMac is in sync whit the macbook?
    and when i add, change or kill a file, time machine update's this in the backup, and my macbook will notice this and update the macbook of the backup the iMac changed?
    hard question, hope somebody out there can help me by answering or refering me,
    cause i realy want this to be true, gheghe!
    Kind regards,
    Lennart.
    Message was edited by: Lennart Hendriksma

    Lennart Hendriksma wrote:
    hi all,
    to start off, i'm planning to buy a new iMac in the Q1 2009... the comming update, and i'm wondering:
    whit time machine, is it possible to let's say back up my macbook.
    and whit the new iMac update from the backup so my iMac is in sync whit the macbook?
    you can use use Migration Assistant to migrate your settings and data from the TM backup of the macbook to the new imac. you'll also have an option to do it during the initial computer setup.
    This is a one time operation. You can not use Time Machine to keep computers synced after that. each computer has its own TM backup and they don't interact with each other.
    and when i add, change or kill a file, time machine update's this in the backup, and my macbook will notice this and update the macbook of the backup the iMac changed?
    sorry, I don't understand what you are asking. please rephrase.
    hard question, hope somebody out there can help me by answering or refering me,
    cause i realy want this to be true, gheghe!
    Kind regards,
    Lennart.
    Message was edited by: Lennart Hendriksma

  • I just updated Safari 7.1 and OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 now my Time Machine is not backing up and I don't know how to fix it.

    I get "Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "Time Capsule". The backup disk could not be found. Make sure the backup disk is connected or select a different back up disk." Which Time Capsule do I choose and I'm afraid I'll delete what is on the Time Capsule?

    Ok.. this is very typical.
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    Use TCgenx (replace x with the actual gen of the TC). As base station name.
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  • Time machine fails to back up...always some kind of error

    As I said, the Time Machine attempts the daily back up and always ends up stopping because of some kind of error, Worked perfectly until I installed  OS10.7

    It's still trying. I'll post the last few error messages.
    Aug 13 14:24:16 Rick-Eisners-iMac com.apple.backupd[2408]: Deep event scan at path:/Volumes/Macintosh HD reason:contains changes|must scan subdirs|new event db|
    Aug 13 14:32:57 Rick-Eisners-iMac com.apple.backupd[2408]: Finished scan
    Aug 13 15:07:08 Rick-Eisners-iMac com.apple.backupd[2408]: Backup canceled.
    Aug 13 15:17:55 Rick-Eisners-iMac com.apple.backupd[6234]: Starting standard backup
    Aug 13 15:17:58 Rick-Eisners-iMac com.apple.backupd[6234]: Backing up to: /Volumes/TMBackup/Backups.backupdb
    Aug 13 15:18:11 Rick-Eisners-iMac com.apple.backupd[6234]: Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
    Aug 13 15:18:21 Rick-Eisners-iMac com.apple.backupd[6234]: Waiting for index to be ready (101)
    Aug 13 15:18:28 Rick-Eisners-iMac com.apple.backupd[6234]: Deep event scan at path:/ reason:must scan subdirs|
    Aug 13 15:18:28 Rick-Eisners-iMac com.apple.backupd[6234]: Finished scan
    Aug 13 15:22:17 Rick-Eisners-iMac mdworker[5688]: zip importer encountered an error (2) scanning "/Volumes/TMBackup/Backups.backupdb/Rick Eisner’s iMac/2011-07-31-010126/Macintosh HD/Users/rickeisner/Library/Preferences/chc.4875E02D9FB21EE389F73B8D1702B320485 DF8CE.1/Local Store/downloads/client.Lightroom_3.0_Using_en-us.zip".

  • My Time Machine won't back up and files won't open when double clicked.

    I'm not sure if these are related, but recently my MacBook Pro has been acting much more sluggish than usual.
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    Please read this whole message before doing anything.
    This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
    Step 1
    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
    Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
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    Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
    After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
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    Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.
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  • HT3275 My Time Machine has stopped backing up and now it errors out everytime I make another attempt.

    My Time Machine has stopped working and now errors out everytime I try to re-connect ?

    What is the error.. ??
    We cannot help much without details.
    Look at the pondini troubleshooting.
    http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
    The vast majority of issues are C12 or C17.. especially with ML.. which rather than fixing issues left over from Lion exacerbated them.

  • Time machine will not eject. And my computer won't turn off!

    I have an external hard drive designated for time machine, but it won't back up. It also won't eject and my computer will not shut down unless i turn off the power to the external hard drive, which i don't want to do since i can't eject it properly!! YIKES!! I have never had so much trouble with an Apple product as i have with time machine!!!
    But i'm desperate to get my stuff backed up and clean some things off my computer!! HELP!!????

    I don't know. The people at the Apple store set it up.

  • My Time machine has stopped backing up saying there are some read only files.

    My Time machine has stopped backing up and says that ther are some read only files preventing this. What steps do I need to take to fix it?

    If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.
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    Post the log text, please, not a screenshot. If there are runs of repeated messages, post only one example of each. Don't post many repetitions of the same message.
    When posting a log extract, be selective. Don't post more than is requested.
    Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into a message.
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  • Time Machine Won't Back up Completely

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    jcwong15 wrote:
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  • Will Time Machine identify a back up hard drive after main has been erased?

    I went to the Genius Bar a couple of days ago and was told that in order to fix some of the problems I was having I should do a achieve and install (or maybe erase and install I can't remember.) Then use Time Machine to restore all the files on my computer except for the system and library folders (since there is a lot of stuff inside them that has been causing errors.)
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