Time Machine has simply stopped backing up any new files. No items set to be excluded, No error messages.

I have a Macbook with OS X 10.6.8 and a 500GB external hard drive, which still has 208.5GB available. For some reason, Time Machine has simply stopped backing up any new files (documents, music, movies--anything). No items are set to be excluded from backups in Time Machine options except for the external hard drive itself. Also, no error messages appear, Time Machine seems to run just fine, but when I enter Time Machine, or look through the files on the hard drive, new files just aren't there. I am not very tech savvy, so I was not able to understand some of the answers people gave to similar questions on here. I did go to Pondini's website and followed as many troubleshooting instructions as I could understand (for example I did manage to do a full reset of Time Machine) but nothing changed. Do I just need to erase the entire backup drive and sart all over? If so, what will prevent this from happening again later on? Please help.

Your TM drive liekly stopped backing up because it hit a series of bad sectors on the drive, to eliminate this all new drives should be Disk Utility > Zero Erased (one step below 7x in Lion) before use.
Reducing bad sectors effect on hard drives
Diversify your backups with bootable clones and archives on DVD's etc so your prepared for anything, including using a PC.
only if you have too of course, but it happens, people just can't afford a Mac anymore.
Most commonly used backup methods explained
So make other backups, then Zero Erase teh TM drive and set it back up again and your problem should be resolved.
If not, then it's data corruption on your boot drive!
You'll know if it's data corruption on your boot drive, when you go to make the clone, it will hang too.

Similar Messages

Time Machine: can't "go back." Any ideas?

I installed Yosemite in mid-november, and also created a fresh, new Time Machine backup right after that, so the time machine and this install of Yosemite are basically the same age.
Earlier today, I discovered that I could not "go back" more than a couple of hours after Entering Time Machine. Apple support suggested a restart, which appeared to fix initially, but I just checked again and I'm back to only being able to go back an hour or two.
The backups are all there and easy to see in the Finder; it's the TM interface that appears to be failing.
Any ideas on how to fix this situation? Do I need to assume the backup is corrupt somehow?
Thank you,
rcat

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.”
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem? There will be no snapshots of the home folder.
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.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
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.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

Time Machine, when I stop back up at the menu bar...will files be deleted?

Hey Forum,
I am using snow leopard on my macbook and I just started using time machine, today i switch off auto backup and manually press backup at the menu bar, then I realised that i did not backup only for a day and when the time machine finished calculating the changes, it states that 49.22GB needs to be backup(i let it run for 2 mins), thus, I wanted to re-calculate, I press stop backup and then start backup again, but then it is still 49.22GB. So I thought that it is normal and continue backuping. So, forum, will the 1st backup(the one i said run for 2 mins) be deleted when I stop backup? And Is it normal to backup 49.22Gb in just one day when i dont backup?
In summary:
1. Will the 1st backup be deleted?
2.Is it normal to backup 49.22GB in a day without backuping?
Thanks.
ALa

alazahee wrote:
1. Will the 1st backup be deleted?
If you mean the one you interrupted, yes, sort of. Time Machine will automatically "recover" it the next time it does a backup. It's sort of suspended now -- since it's not complete, you won't see it in the Time Machine "Star Wars" display.
2.Is it normal to backup 49.22GB in a day without backuping?
Probably not.
How much data is on your internal HD?
Did the first backup complete normally?
Have you done a full restore, moved or renamed a very large folder or folders, or are you using any virtualization software, such as Parallels or VMware?

After I downloaded Mountain Lion my Time Capsule has virtually stopped backing up. It took 4 hours to back up 600MB out 68 GB

Hi Everyone,
My last backup using my MacBook Pro to my Time Machine was July 23,2012 my OS was Lion. Then I downloaded Mountain Lion and it 4 hours to backup 600MB out of 68GB. I tried agian and noticed something I have never seen before, KB's. Before Mountain Lion I could backup 58GB in 4 hours. Whats going on and does anyone else have a similar experience?
Robert A.

Hi Pondini from Florida,
I am on my 5th hour. I took your advice and connected via an Ethernet cable . So far I have backed up 53.92 GB of 68.88GB. It's very slow but it appears to be working. I never had this problem when I downloaded Lion. At least it didn't t take as long and that was on WiFi. Thanks for your help and insight on this issue.
Regards,
Robert A. from Los Angeles

Mini-DVI has simply stopped working. Any ideas?

I had been appily using the mini-DVI port to play content on TV, using the DVI to Video adapter : plugging and unplugging probably twice a week.
Now it seems to have stopped: no signal at all is reaching the TV. Tears everywhere. (Adapter still works fine on my MacBook.)What are the chances of wear and tear damaging the DVI port? Is this a complicated fix? Any other thoughts? No recent upgrades or updates. "About this Mac" reckons it's mirroring fine, so it feels like a hardware thing. Many thanks in advance.

hey there rising tide,
does your Mac have ADC + DVI ports on rear or 2 DVI ports, if your Mac is a G5 towe? if so you'll need to get the appropriate adapters--either ADC> DVI or VGA + DVI or VGA cable & DVI > DVI or VGA cable, depending on the inputs on your LG monitors & what you may want to use. connect both displays, turn on. one should appear as main display(menu bar & dock). go to System Prefs>Displays>Detect Displays>Gather Windows. set rez on 2nd display, turn Mirror Off if you don't want/need it.
if your Mac is an iMac G5 same applies as to how, but you'll need to use a MiniVGA>VGA adapter to connect your 2nd display.
good luck.

Time Machine has stopped working, HD errors

Time Machine has suddenly stopped working on my 2008 24" iMac. I have tried two separate drives, but neither work.
When I try and verify my internal HDD it comes back with a number of errors, and it has started to click recently. I expect the two must be linked!
I can't find my install disk to try to repair the main disk and some advice says that might be a bad thing to do anyway if the drive is physically damaged.
I have a full TM back up from two days ago, and I use Carbon Copy Cloner to backup my iPhoto/iTunes library separately.
My questions are:
1. What are the issues with running the iMac without TM until the disk finally dies? If it lasts, say, 6 months, can I just restore my Oct 2011 TM back up and rebuild my media libraries from CCC backups or will I lose something else?
2. Does anyone know the approx cost of getting Apple to replace the HDD? I have seen the online guides to doing it myself and don't really fancy trying!

Time Machine has suddenly stopped working on my 2008 24" iMac. I have tried two separate drives, but neither work.
When I try and verify my internal HDD it comes back with a number of errors, and it has started to click recently. I expect the two must be linked!
I can't find my install disk to try to repair the main disk and some advice says that might be a bad thing to do anyway if the drive is physically damaged.
I have a full TM back up from two days ago, and I use Carbon Copy Cloner to backup my iPhoto/iTunes library separately.
My questions are:
1. What are the issues with running the iMac without TM until the disk finally dies? If it lasts, say, 6 months, can I just restore my Oct 2011 TM back up and rebuild my media libraries from CCC backups or will I lose something else?
2. Does anyone know the approx cost of getting Apple to replace the HDD? I have seen the online guides to doing it myself and don't really fancy trying!

Time machine has stopped backing up to my Western Digital Network Drive

I have a WD 1TB World Edition drive which pretty much worked plug 'n' play when I bought it in early Jan backing up with with Time Machine instead of the bundled software. I've had a few troubles backing up, but largely due to router problems. Time machine has worked great with the drive, as promised.
Until a few days ago, when it stopped backing up altogether. The usual backup icon stopped appearing on the desktop and it came up with error message saying the backup file cannot mount or something like that. Strangely, the shared folders on the drive still show up and I can access all the mp3 files, etc I have loaded up. So, I checked the router, cabling to the drive, rebooted the drive, resetted the drive and checked the settings using MyBookWorld. This stopped the error message showing when I tried to backup and the backup icon now shows on the desktop again. But it won't backup !!! It just stalls and in Time Machine says its configuring without doing anything. I have tried hooking up to the drive directly, still no joy.
I'm now at the end of my tether. Does anyone have any ideas? I have asked WD support and they were next to useless. Thanks !

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
Time Machine does not back up reliably, if at all, to most network drives, except Time Capsules or a shared drive on another Mac running Leopard or Snow Leopard on the same local network.
Here's the criteria they must meet: Disks that can be used with Time Machine. And be careful here: just because some 3rd-party hardware claims to support Time Machine doesn't necessarily mean that Apple supports it, or that it will work in all circumstances.
We've seen a number of problems reported with that drive. Have you downloaded the firmware update that's supposed to make it work?
with error message saying the backup file cannot mount or something like that.
The exact message might help.
Time Machine says its configuring
Is the word "configuring" or is it "Calculating changes"? "Configuring" sounds more like a message from WD, or perhaps your router, than one coming from Time Machine.
Click here to download the +Time Machine Buddy+ widget. It shows the messages from your logs for one TM backup run at a time, in a small window. Navigate to the backup in question, then copy and post all the messages for that run here.
You might also try to Repair the backups. I don't know exactly how you'd get to them on a NAS, but try the procedure for a Time Capsule in #A5 of the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.

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.
Launch the Console 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 Console in the icon grid.
Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left.
Enter the word "Starting" (without the quotes) in the String Matching text field. You should now see log messages with the words "Starting * backup," where * represents any of the words "automatic," "manual," or "standard." Note the timestamp of the last such message. Clear the text field and scroll back in the log to that time. Post the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear.
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.
Some personal information, such as the names of your files, may be included — edit that out, too, but don’t remove the context.

I use Time Machine with an external hard disc which has worked perfectly for some years. Recently Time Machine has aborted backups if the screen saver starts when back-up is in progress. I use a Maxtor OneTouch4 back-up system. Any ideas?

I use Time Machine with an external hard disc which has worked perfectly for some years. Recently Time Machine has aborted backups if the screen saver starts when back-up is in progress. I use a Maxtor OneTouch4 back-up system. Any ideas?
Has Apple recently up-dated my OS (Lion) such that every time the screen saver starts it disables Time Machine. I have to switch-off the computer and re-start in order to undertake a back-up. I have now switched of all screen savers.

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).
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
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.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem(s)?
After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)

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 has stopped making backups

Time Machine has worked fine for me fore many months, the backup disk being a 1 TB external firewire drive.
But now Time Machine will not make a backup. I keep getting the same error message: "Time Machine Error. This backup is too large for the backup volume. The backup requires 88.7 GB but only 58.5 are available."
I thought Time Machine just deleted the oldest files on the drive to make the room it needs for continued backups. So why isn't it doing that now? How do I get it to go back to doing that?
Thanks for any help!
Tom

Tom Baker1 wrote:
My Time Machine backup disk is an external 1 TB firewire drive with only one partition, dedicated entirely to TM, and it backs up the two internal drives in my G5. One of these two internal drives has about 600 GB of data on it and the other about 400, so together they would be enough to fill the external Time Machine backup drive.
Yes, that's too small. Our "rule of thumb" is, TM needs 2-3 times the space of the data it's backing up. See #1 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
Now I have discovered that there is something wrong with the Time Machine backups as well. I decided to go into TM to see just how far back in time the backups go, but it will only allow me to go back as far as yesterday. It acts as though there are no backups older than yesterday afternoon.
That's probably correct; your TM disk is too small, and there's just not room for more. Here's the situation: A full backup has nearly filled the disk; something fairly large has been added or changed, and there just isn't room for it, in addition to the full backup.
The 88.7 GB it's requesting means it's trying to back up about 74 GB (it adds 20% for workspace, etc., on the TM disk).
This is getting stranger all the time. At this point should I just give up trying to fix the situation, erase the backup drive, and start all over again?
That probably won't help much, if at all. To confirm what's going on, Click here to download the +Time Machine Buddy+ widget. It shows the messages from your logs for one TM backup run at a time, in a small window. Navigate to the last backup attempt, then copy and post all the messages for that run here.
You need to do one of the following:
Get a larger drive, at least 2 TB.
Get an additional drive; use one for TM backups of one of your internal HDs, the other for a different app to back-up the other internal HD.
Exclude a lot of stuff from Time Machine (at least 300 GB).
Use a different app, such as CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper, to back up your internals to separate partitions on the 1 TB drive. These will be exact copies only; no previous copies of things you've changed or deleted.

My brand new back up drive is connected but now time machine has disappeared after working perfectly for a week. - no icon, not appearing as an option to save to - have rebooted everything a few times.

My brand new back up drive is connected but now time machine has disappeared after working perfectly for a week. - no icon, not appearing as an option to save to - have rebooted everything a few times.

It's not clear whether you were able to do any backups to this drive at all. If not, it's probably not formatted properly. See #5 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions for instructions.
If you did get any successful backups, there may be a problem with the drive, or the backups may be corrupted. Try to repair the backups, per #A5 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.

HT203177 I had to get a new hard drive in my 27 in IMac. I used time machine to get everything back on my computer. I just turn on time machine and its says it's preparing over 800,000 items to back-up, it never back-up, it stop and starts the process ove

I had to get a new hard drive in my 27 in IMac. I used time machine to get everything back on my computer. I just turn on time machine and its says it's preparing over 800,000 items to back-up, it never back-up, it stop and starts the process over again.

Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu at top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair Disk, (not Repair Permissions). Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then repair the backup/TM drive.

Time machine has stopped working.

I just noticed that the green light on my time machine has gone out. So, I checked the connections, replaced the fuse in the plug and plugged it into a different socket. It still doesn't work. I am concerned that the problem is in the time machine itself. Does anyone have an answer?

Hi Peter,
It sure would seem that it's likely failed.

HT201250 How can I verify that the time machine has backed up all the files on my macbook pro?

Does someone have experience with the question I have raised on Time machine?

I use the Time Machine Buddy widget. It shows the log files or you could look in the Console and spotlight for Time Machine.

Time Machine has simply stopped backing up any new files. No items set to be excluded, No error messages.

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