Time Machine is endless preparing backup mode

My time machine backup is an endless preparing backup mode to a Time Machine. Prior errors were a failed backup. Do I need to power down the Time Machine and restart! I see the back disk icon on the desktop and the Time Machine is under the Finder Shared.

Give it as much time as you can. I've seen 2-3 hours of "preparing" before the backup starts.
Try to let it go until the end of the day if you can. If no luck, stop the process and try the next step.
Open Hard Drive > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility
Click your Hard Drive on the left to highlight it. Choose the icon with the exact name as the Hard Drive on your desktop. If you haven't changed this, it will be named Macintosh HD.
Click Repair Disk Permissions
This will take 15-45 minutes, maybe a little longer depending on how much data is on the disk.
When the permission repair is complete, try the Time Machine reset again to see if that will get things going.

Similar Messages

Time Machine stuck in Preparing Data Mode

In the past two days my time Machine has not made a successful back up. It seems to be stuck in "preparing data" and will stay like this all day. Even when I click the time machine preferences and stop it, it never changes. Does anyone have any solutions to this or has experienced it.Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!

Judith,
The following might contain an explanation for what you are experiencing.
*_Time Machine May Report "Preparing..." For a Long Time_*
First, it’s good to determine WHY Time Machine is "Preparing..." for an extended period of time. Examining the Console logs during this event can reveal what is actually going on behind the scenes. It may be “Preparing…” for a genuinely good reason. How long is 'too long' to wait for Time Machine to finish "Preparing..."? Some times, "Preparing..." is required to perform the normal housekeeping that Time Machine does periodically. Other times, it really is "stuck" and never proceeds after more than 24 hours.
*”Deep Traversal” (Recent Crash / Forced Restart / System Update / Extended Period Between Backups)*
According to the following KB article it can sometimes take quite a long time if Time Machine begins a “deep traversal” and has to compare data inventories. This may apply to your situation, particularly if many Gigs of data are involved. [http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1516]
You see, Time Machine *+does not+* ordinarily perform file-by-file comparisons to determine what has changed and thus determine what needs to be backed up. Rather, Time Machine relies on FSEvents notifications. This is a log that the system uses to keep track of changes to directories. Rather than scan tens of thousands of files for changes each time, Time Machine simply looks at this log and narrows its’ scan to only the directories that have experienced changes since the last backup. Otherwise, Time Machine would have to be running constantly just to catch every change on its own and thus eat up precious CPU.
Every event that FSEvents records has its’ own ID which includes a time stamp. At the end of every backup, Time Machine stores the last event ID that it processes. When the next backup is initiated, Time Machine looks at this stored ID and determines that it only needs to backup events that have occurred after the time stamp on this last event ID.
If, due to a system crash, power failure, forced restart, or some other major system event, Time Machine cannot find this last event ID in the system logs then it will consider the FSEvents log “untrustable” and it will go into what’s called “deep traversal”. The Console logs may report +“Event store UUIDs don't match”.+ In this event, Time Machine will by-pass the system log entirely and perform its’ own file-by-file comparison to determine what has changed since its’ last backup. Obviously, if tens or hundreds of Gigs are involved, then this process can take quite some time and should be allowed to proceed.
Additionally, it appears that if Time Machine has to go back too far to find the last event ID, then it will give up and simply go into “deep traversal” and do the file-by-file scan on its’ own. This can occur if Time Machine has not been able to perform its’ hourly backups for some time, as is the case for users who only backup once a week or so. This is also the case with major Mac OS system updates that change thousands of files at one time. There are simply too many events logged by the system for Time Machine to bother looking for the last known event ID.
*Consolidation / “Thinning”*
At the beginning, when Time Machine is first used, incremental backups are relatively quick events. But as time goes on, and backup files grow, Time Machine requires time to perform house-keeping on the backed up data. This maintenance is referred to in the Console logs as "thinning". The larger the backup files become, the more time Time Machine requires.
To prevent the backup drive from filling up too fast, Time Machine will periodically consolidate, or 'thin', backups to free up space for new data. After a certain period of time, each hourly backup becomes "expired". This occurs about 24-48 hours after the hourly backup took place. At that point Time Machine begins consolidating, or "thinning", all the hourly backups of a given day into one daily backup. Then, after about a month all daily backups for a given week “expire” and are consolidated into a single weekly backup.
Obviously, since the Time Machine process (backupd) does not run continuously, it has to do this "thinning" during routine backups. That is where "Preparing Backup..." and "Finishing Backup..." come in. It is during these initial and closing phases of a backup that "thinning" occurs. As a result, while not every backup will be accompanied by extended periods of "Preparing..." and "Finishing...", periodically Time Machine will require extra time to perform these space-saving consolidations.
*Anti-Virus Software*
Running anti-virus software can interfere with the backup process. Either disable it altogether, or try the suggestion outlined here, “If you use third-party anti-virus scanning software and have issues, make sure your Time Machine back up folder (Backups.backupdb on the Time Machine disk) is excluded from virus scanning.” (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1516)
*Software Updates* #
Installing new software, upgrading existing software, or updating Mac OS X system software can create major changes in the structure of your Macs directories. Time Machine will backup every file that has changed since the installation.
After an OS update (like 10.5.5) Time Machine realizes the system no longer matches what it looked like during the previous backup. So it has determined that it's earlier catalogue of what-should-be-where is “untrustable”. So it is going to go item-by-item comparing the before and after of your system.
*Spotlight Keeps Indexing Backup Drive* #
It may be that Time Machine can’t proceed or complete a backup due to Spotlight indexing. During this period, take a look at the Spotlight icon in the upper right corner of your screen. Is there a tiny dot pulsating in the center of the spyglass? Click on the icon. Is there a progress bar displayed? Generally, Spotlight indexing is a good thing. If it has only been a couple of hours then, stop the backup, turn Time Machine OFF, and let the indexing continue.
However, at times Spotlight may hang and never progress after many hours, preventing further backups from taking place.
Go to System Preferences --> Time Machine.
Using the slider on the left, turn OFF Time Machine backups for now.
Next, click “Show All” in the toolbar.
Select the Spotlight Preferences.
Click the Privacy Tab.
First, drag your Macs’ internal hard disk from the desktop to the Privacy list.
Wait 10 seconds, then highlight the Macs’ hard disk in the list and click the tiny “-” button at the bottom to remove it from the list.
Spotlight will initiate a reindex of the hard disk. If you click on the Spotlight menu icon you may see the message:
+“Spotlight helps you quickly find things on your computer. Spotlight will be available as soon as the contents of your computer have been indexed.”+
...and a progress bar will indicate the time remaining.
Once completed, drag your Time Machine backup disk into the Privacy list of the Spotlight Preferences.
Wait 10 seconds, then highlight the Time Machine backup disk in the list and click the tiny “-” button at the bottom to remove it from the list.
Spotlight will now initiate a reindex of the hard disk.
Once completed, if you have any other hard disks attached to your Mac that are also being backed using Time Machine, then force a reindex as well using the procedure outlined above.
Then turn Time Machine back ON and initiate a backup.
*Run Away System Process*
It’s possible that Time Machine is stuck “Preparing…” because another process is monopolizing your Macs’ CPU. Launch Activity Monitor and sort the items by “CPU”. Is there a process that is at or near 100% that might be preventing the backupd process from moving forward?
One poster stated, “I took it to my local Genius Bar and they found a Syslogd daemon running, taking up 100% of my CPU….This resulted in the "Preparing..." mode running forever.” [http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1755600&tstart=15]
You may be able use Activity Monitor to “kill” the offending process. Or you may be able to resolve it simply by rebooting your Mac. Then try backing up again.
*Verify/Repair Mac Hard Disk & Permissions*
It may be that your Macs’ internal hard disk has so many file/directory issues that Time Machine simply has trouble making sense of it. Some users have had success using Disk Utility on their Macs’ hard drive.
Launch Disk Utility and click “Repair Disk Permissions”.
Once complete, attempt a backup.
If Time Machine appears to hang at “Preparing…” again, then do the following:
Insert your Macs’ original install DVD and reboot holding down the “C” key.
At the Welcome screen go up to the “Utilities” menu and select Disk Utility.
Select your Macs’ hard disk on the left and click “Verify Disk” on the right.
If problems are found click “Repair Disk”.
Reboot to your normal desktop and try backing up again.
*For Time Capsule Users* #
If, though, none of the options above have helped and it has been 12 hours or more of “Preparing…”, then the Time Capsule may need to be restarted.
Stop the backup from the Time Machine menu. (Give if a few minutes while it says “Stopping backup…”)
When the Time Machine icon stops spinning, unplug the TC from the wall outlet.
Wait 10-15 seconds.
Re-plug it in again.
After it has restarted (30-60 seconds), attempt another backup.
Time Machine will report “Preparing…” again, but it shouldn’t be lasting more than a couple of hours.
Let us know if any of the above was helpful in resolving your issue.
Cheers!

Time Machine stuck on preparing backup with in turn breaks internet connectivity.

Hi all!
I recently started using Time Machine (on a 1TB USB 2.0 external hard drive) on my MBP (Early 2011, 13") and I've noticed that it constantly gets stuck on the "Preparing backup" stage, which can only be unstuck by pulling the drive or hard rebooting the computer (otherwise it gets stuck on the gray post-logout screen forever). What's more interesting is that while Time Machine is stuck I am unable to use any of my browsers because DNS resolution fails outright (although I can still visit IP addresses and perform manually DNS queries and start SSH sessions in Terminal.app). If I pull the drive or reboot the computer, my internet connectivity is restored. As a relatively new Mac user this behavior is quite puzzling; has anybody else encountered this type of problem?
Thanks!
Max

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).
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.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including your login items.
Launch the application(s) and test. Same problem(s)?
After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)

Anyone having Time Machine "freeze" while "Preparing Backup"

Time Machine won't get past the "Preparing Backup" phase, just get the spinning candy bar in preferences. It did do a full new backup to start after the Mavericks install and two subsequent smaller backups but now this "freeze". Stopping the back up cancels it ok, restarting hasnt helped, neither has turning time machine on and off in preferences. I'm using a 2TB Apple Timecapsule.

Hi BellMonk,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. This article has some information for lengthy "Prepare" phases:
Time Machine: Troubleshooting backup issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3275
Message: "Preparing" phase takes a long time
Time Machine keeps track of files and folders that have changed since your last backup so that it only backs up those files and folders. If Time Machine loses track of files and folders that have changed since the last backup, it compares an "inventory" of your current data to an inventory of your backup. When this happens, Time Machine preferences displays a "Preparing..." status message for a longer period of time. See Mac OS X 10.5: Time Machine preferences may display "Preparing" for a longer time.
I would probably let it go to see how long it takes to actually complete, or possibly start a brand new full backup and see if the issue persists after that.
Cheers,
- Ari

Time Machine stuck on Preparing backup

Since upgrading to Mavericks a couple of months ago, one of my Mac Mini Servers can't backup using Time Machine. (I have another similar server with the same software versions but running different services, that doesn't have this problem). Both are currently running OSX 10.9.5 and Server 3.2.2 with all updates applied.
The problem machine gets stuck indefinitely on "Preparing backup". I've tried leaving it for several days, but it's not actually doing anything – the backupd process is on 0% CPU utilisation. It doesn't write any data to the backup drive – the drive is still empty since it was last reformatted.
It was working fine on Mountain Lion Server, before the upgrade to Mavericks.
So far, I've tried:
• Rebooting
• Reformatting the external USB backup drive and replacing it with another drive
• Verifying the startup drive with Disk Utility
• Deleting com.apple.TimeMachine.plist
• Excluding the startup drive from Spotlight searches
I've tried most of the above several times over the past few weeks to no avail.

I have had this same issue just appear although I have been running Mavericks and Server for almost a year now. I backup across 3 drives, 2 of which are rotated on a weekly basis. I discovered this morning that the non-rotating disk has not backed up in several weeks and one of the rotating disks has not backed up during the same period of time. Interestingly this week's rotating backup drive it appears to be working perfectly fine. The non-rotating disk is now stuck on preparing backup. I have included a portion of my log below. One thing I have noticed is that Spotlight seems to be re-indexing my server with little to no progress being made.
10/22/14 9:26:54.494 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +6351ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:26:54.559 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:26:57.369 AM serveradmin[83827]: [WikiRequestHandler.m:74 754af310 +2929ms] Error getting a session GUID: Connection to DB failed
10/22/14 9:26:57.412 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +2821ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:26:57.474 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{SettingsService.globalSettingForKey:(projectCreators)}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010ceeb218 -[CSSettingsService globalSettingForKey:] + 101
5   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
6   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
7   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
8   CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
9   CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
10 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
12 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
13 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
14 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
15 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:26:57.475 AM serveradmin[83827]: [WikiRequestHandler.m:300 754af310 +2ms] Could not get project creators from collabd, Connection to DB failed
10/22/14 9:26:57.996 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +505ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:26:58.026 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:26:58.249 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83832]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:26:58.249 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:26:58.264 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83837]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:26:58.264 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:08.875 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83859]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:08.875 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:09.371 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +11301ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:27:09.390 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:27:09.611 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83858]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:09.611 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 9 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:13.180 AM xpcd[599]: restored permissions (100600 -> 100700) on /Users/administrator/Library/Containers/com.apple.TextEdit/Container.plist
10/22/14 9:27:20.459 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83881]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:20.459 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 9 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:22.698 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +13265ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:27:22.993 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:27:23.216 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83880]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:23.217 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 6 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:29.939 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83896]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:29.939 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:30.019 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +6884ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:27:30.125 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:27:30.358 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83895]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:30.358 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 9 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:32.166 AM com.apple.IconServicesAgent[640]: main Failed to composit image for binding VariantBinding [0x3b5] flags: 0x8 binding: FileInfoBinding [0x137] - extension: png, UTI: public.png, fileType: ????.
10/22/14 9:27:32.325 AM quicklookd[83883]: Warning: Cache image returned by the server has size range covering all valid image sizes. Binding: VariantBinding [0x203] flags: 0x8 binding: FileInfoBinding [0x103] - extension: png, UTI: public.png, fileType: ???? request size:16 scale: 1
10/22/14 9:27:34.728 AM com.apple.appkit.xpc.openAndSavePanelService[83868]: CGSGetWindowTransformAtPlacement
10/22/14 9:27:34.728 AM com.apple.appkit.xpc.openAndSavePanelService[83868]: CGSTranslatePointForWindow
10/22/14 9:27:34.728 AM com.apple.appkit.xpc.openAndSavePanelService[83868]: CGSGetWindowBounds
10/22/14 9:27:34.758 AM com.apple.appkit.xpc.openAndSavePanelService[83868]: Bogus event received by listener connection:
<error: 0x7fff73e14b50> { count = 1, contents =
"XPCErrorDescription" => <string: 0x7fff73e14e60> { length = 18, contents = "Connection invalid" }
10/22/14 9:27:40.275 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83915]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:40.275 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:40.312 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +10055ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:27:40.328 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:27:40.547 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83913]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:40.547 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 9 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:50.276 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1067f000 +9887ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:27:50.298 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1067f000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:27:50.507 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83934]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:50.507 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:27:50.528 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83932]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:27:50.528 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:28:01.077 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres[83949]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:28:01.077 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DeviceManagement.postgres) Throttling respawn: Will start in 10 seconds
10/22/14 9:28:01.827 AM collabd[368]: [CSConnectionPool.m:196 1049d000 +11486ms] Could not open a connection to Postgres. Please make sure it is running and has the correct access.
10/22/14 9:28:01.969 AM collabd[368]: [CSServiceDispatcher.m:261 1049d000 +0ms] Caught exception "Connection to DB failed" [CSDatabaseError] executing [http]Request{AuthService.enterMagicalAuthRealm()}:
0   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84f2e25c __exceptionPreprocess + 172
1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x00007fff85715e75 objc_exception_throw + 43
2   CSService                           0x000000010cecd76d -[CSConnectionPool openConnection] + 3309
3   CSService                           0x000000010cece13a -[CSConnectionPool currentConnection] + 98
4   CSService                           0x000000010cf4d839 -[CSAuthService unauthenticatedSession] + 82
5   CSService                           0x000000010cf4de13 -[CSAuthService currentOrNewSession] + 154
6   CSService                           0x000000010cf50c91 -[CSAuthService enterMagicalAuthRealm] + 51
7   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e199ac __invoking___ + 140
8   CoreFoundation                      0x00007fff84e19814 -[NSInvocation invoke] + 308
9   CSService                           0x000000010cec9055 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:asPartOfBatch:usingServiceImpl:] + 4578
10 CSService                           0x000000010cec9548 -[CSServiceDispatcher executeRequest:] + 120
11 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e218 +[CSServiceDispatchHTTPRouter routeServiceRequest:response:] + 1135
12 CSService                           0x000000010cecfacf __21-[CSServiceBase init]_block_invoke_6 + 48
13 CSService                           0x000000010cf3b2aa __53-[CSRoutingHTTPConnection httpResponseForMethod:URI:]_block_invoke + 95
14 CSService                           0x000000010cf3e7b4 -[CSHTTPBackgroundResponse bounce:] + 286
15 Foundation                          0x00007fff8dad9dfb __NSThread__main__ + 1318
16 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e899 _pthread_body + 138
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b47e72a _pthread_struct_init + 0
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff8b482fc9 thread_start + 13
10/22/14 9:28:02.194 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications[83950]) Exited with code: 1
10/22/14 9:28:02.194 AM com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.collabd.notifications) Throttling respawn: Will start in 9 seconds

Time Machine stuck in preparing backup...

Hi guys,
a few days ago I started to realise my TM Backup is taking ages. It is stuck for a long time in the process of preparing the backup..
I looked it up and found hints to solve it (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5294323) and followed everything Pondini said (http://pondini.org/TM/D1.html) , but nothing..
In the system.log file I found a few things which don't seem normal.
Jun 1 14:05:53 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Starting manual backup
Jun 1 14:05:53 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Backing up to /dev/disk1s2: /Volumes/Max' Backup/Backups.backupdb
Jun 1 14:08:32 MacBookMP kernel[0]: process backupd[5193] thread 394464 caught burning CPU! It used more than 50% CPU (Actual recent usage: 56%) over 180 seconds. thread lifetime cpu usage 90.091726 seconds, (34.200705 user, 55.891021 system) ledger info: balance: 90000253332 credit: 90000253332 debit: 0 limit: 90000000000 (50%) period: 180000000000 time since last refill (ns): 158890700927
Jun 1 14:08:35 MacBookMP spindump[5215]: Saved cpu_resource.spin report for backupd version ??? (???) to /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/backupd_2014-06-01-140835_Max.cpu_resource.spin
Jun 1 14:21:45 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Will copy (613.6 MB) from Macintosh HD
Jun 1 14:21:45 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Will copy (Zero KB) from Win8
Jun 1 14:21:45 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Found 249878 files (1.27 GB) needing backup
Jun 1 14:21:45 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: 3.95 GB required (including padding), 513.17 GB available
Jun 1 14:22:52 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 1086 items (620.1 MB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 4318.
Jun 1 14:23:02 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 1 items (Zero KB) from volume Win8. Linked 3.
Jun 1 14:23:02 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Will copy (1.2 MB) from Macintosh HD
Jun 1 14:23:02 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Not using file event preflight for Win8
Jun 1 14:23:02 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Found 60 files (1.2 MB) needing backup
Jun 1 14:23:02 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: 2.42 GB required (including padding), 512.54 GB available
Jun 1 14:23:05 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 124 items (1.2 MB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 971.
Jun 1 14:23:07 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 1 items (Zero KB) from volume Win8. Linked 3.
Jun 1 14:23:07 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Created new backup: 2014-06-01-142307
Jun 1 14:23:14 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Starting post-backup thinning
Jun 1 14:23:14 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "The operation couldn’t be completed. (OSStatus error -50.)" (paramErr: error in user parameter list) deleting backup: /Volumes/Max' Backup/Backups.backupdb/Max/2014-06-01-140555.inProgress/7F93D6C2-953B-493C-812 E-DF390922194D
Jun 1 14:23:14 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "The operation couldn’t be completed. (OSStatus error -50.)" (paramErr: error in user parameter list) deleting backup: /Volumes/Max' Backup/Backups.backupdb/Max/2014-06-01-140555.inProgress/9B5447B0-EBD6-4B76-903 E-CC4807095E97
Jun 1 14:23:14 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "The operation couldn’t be completed. (OSStatus error -50.)" (paramErr: error in user parameter list) deleting backup: /Volumes/Max' Backup/Backups.backupdb/Max/2014-06-01-140555.inProgress/D06592A0-5FC8-43CF-A6A 6-800A79B71165
Jun 1 14:23:14 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: No post-backup thinning needed: no expired backups exist
Jun 1 14:23:14 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Backup completed successfully.
So it took roughly 20 minutes to backup 1.27 GB which is a lot slower than it was!
I don't understand why it takes so long to get through the first steps..
And are these errors at the end serious?
a few seconds after the first backup I tried another one, which was done in 7 seconds !! Obviously it didn't had to backup nothing, but still, the whole process is faster, there are no errors at the end and no massage about burning the CPU...
Jun 1 14:24:34 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Starting manual backup
Jun 1 14:24:34 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Backing up to /dev/disk1s2: /Volumes/Max' Backup/Backups.backupdb
Jun 1 14:24:35 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Will copy (2.8 MB) from Macintosh HD
Jun 1 14:24:35 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Will copy (Zero KB) from Win8
Jun 1 14:24:35 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Found 27 files (2.8 MB) needing backup
Jun 1 14:24:35 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: 2.42 GB required (including padding), 513.16 GB available
Jun 1 14:24:36 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 37 items (2.8 MB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 331.
Jun 1 14:24:38 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 1 items (Zero KB) from volume Win8. Linked 3.
Jun 1 14:24:38 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Will copy (1 KB) from Macintosh HD
Jun 1 14:24:38 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Not using file event preflight for Win8
Jun 1 14:24:38 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Found 8 files (1 KB) needing backup
Jun 1 14:24:38 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: 2.42 GB required (including padding), 513.16 GB available
Jun 1 14:24:38 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 11 items (1 KB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 79.
Jun 1 14:24:39 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Copied 1 items (Zero KB) from volume Win8. Linked 3.
Jun 1 14:24:40 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Created new backup: 2014-06-01-142440
Jun 1 14:24:40 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Starting post-backup thinning
Jun 1 14:24:40 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: No post-backup thinning needed: no expired backups exist
Jun 1 14:24:41 MacBookMP com.apple.backupd[5193]: Backup completed successfully.
I would be really grate full if you could help me resolve this.

I did not disable it because of your comment. I did it ages ago (due to lack of space on my SSD). When I followed the instructions from Pondini there is a part where you delete your Time Machine settings (such as local snapshots). You just made me remember that I had to turn it off again.
But do you know what's the meaning of this part of the log message:
Jun 1 14:08:32 MacBookMP kernel[0]: process backupd[5193] thread 394464 caught burning CPU! It used more than 50% CPU (Actual recent usage: 56%) over 180 seconds. thread lifetime cpu usage 90.091726 seconds, (34.200705 user, 55.891021 system) ledger info: balance: 90000253332 credit: 90000253332 debit: 0 limit: 90000000000 (50%) period: 180000000000 time since last refill (ns): 158890700927
and how to prevent it?

Time Machine stuck on "Preparing backup" whenever returning from Boot Camp to OS X

I have Windows 7 installed in Boot Camp. Whenever I go into Windows 7 and then go back to OS X Lion, and then run a Time Machine backup, Time Machine is stuck on the "Preparing Backup" stage for a long time (roughly 30 minutes). It usually takes 30 seconds in this stage in most cases.
The reason it's stuck at this stage is probably because it is re-indexing everything again (per this KB article), but the question is, why does it have to re-index everything again after restarting out of Boot Camp? I think this only started happening in the past few weeks, while I've had Boot Camp installed on this computer for a few years now.

I had this same problem, this is going to sound ridiculous but this is what I finally did. I wiped my backup, crazy right?
It's there for when your hard drive crashes, so it's not like you are going to miss much if you wipe it. Tell it to stop backing up, go to disk utility, click your external and then erase it. Go back to time machine settings and reselect it as your backup drive. It will do an initial back up again and you are good to go.
Hope this helps.

Time machine stuck in 'preparing backup' in mavericks

I have just upgraded to Mavericks on my macbook pro 13" 2009. I have a 2TB time capsule which has run perfectly for years under several OS X. I also have an external HDD to which I copy an image of my internal HD once a week using Carbon Copy Cloner.
Since upgrading to Mavericks the whole 'backing up' has become a total nightmare. Backing up using CCC is fine. Backing up to the time capsule using Time machine has now become completely unusable.
I have verified both my internal HDD and the time capsule. I have repaired permissions. I have disconnected my HDD as I now realise that this is a problem under Mavericks but I do feel let down by Apple. Its their software, their hardware and their time capsule and it is clearly failing. Even a USB memory key (essential for me) throws everything off!!!
Has anybody any bright ideas? I am not a guru by any means but have a working knowledge of the various bits of kit.....sort of.
Thanks in advance. First time poster so looking forward to some help here.......
R

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It changes nothing, for better or worse, and therefore will not, in itself, solve your problem.
If you don't already have a current backup, back up all data before doing anything else. The backup is necessary on general principle, not because of anything in the test procedure. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.
Below are instructions to run a UNIX shell script, a type of program. All it does is to gather information about the state of your computer. That information goes nowhere unless you choose to share it on this page. However, you should be cautious about running a program at the instance of a stranger on a public message board. If you have doubts, search this site for other discussions in which this procedure has been followed without any report of ill effects. If you can't satisfy yourself that the instructions are safe, don't follow them.
Here's a summary of what you need to do: Copy a line of text from this web page into the window of another application. Wait about a minute. Then paste some other text, which will have been copied automatically, back into a reply on this page. The sequence is: copy, paste, wait, paste again. Details follow.
You may have started the computer in "safe" mode. Preferably, these steps should be taken in “normal” mode. If the system is now in safe mode and works well enough in normal mode to run the test, restart as usual. If you can only test in safe mode, do that.
If you have more than one user, and the one affected by the problem is not an administrator, then please run the test twice: once while logged in as the affected user, and once as an administrator. The results may be different. The user that is created automatically on a new computer when you start it for the first time is an administrator. If you can't log in as an administrator, test as the affected user. Most personal Macs have only one user, and in that case this paragraph doesn’t apply.
The script is a single long line, all of which must be selected. You can accomplish this easily by triple-clicking anywhere in the line. The whole line will highlight, though you may not see all of it in your browser, and you can then copy it. If you try to select the line by dragging across the part you can see, you won't get all of it.
Triple-click anywhere in the line of text below on this page to select it:
clear; shopt -s extglob; Fb='%s\n\t(%s)\n'; Fm='\n%s:\n\n%s\n'; Fs='\n%s: %s\n'; Fu='User %s%%\t\tSystem %s%%'; PB="/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c Print"; A () { [[ a -eq 0 ]]; }; R () { o=; [[ r -eq 0 ]]; }; Pm () { [[ "$o" ]] && o=`sed 's/^ */ /' <<< "$o"` && printf "$Fm" "$1" "$o"; }; Pc () { o=`egrep -v '^[[:blank:]]*($|#)' "$2"`; Pm "$1"; }; Pp () { o=`$PB "$2" | awk -F'= ' \/$3'/{print $2}'`; Pm "$1"; }; Ps () { o="${o##+( )}"; [[ ! "$o" =~ ^0?$ ]] && printf "$Fs" "$1" "$o"; }; id | grep -qw '80(admin)'; a=$?; A && sudo true; r=$?; t=`date +%s`; clear; { A || echo $'No admin access\n'; A && ! R && echo $'No root access\n'; system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType | sed '8!d;s/^ *//'; o=`system_profiler SPDiagnosticsDataType | sed '5,6!d'`; [[ "$o" =~ Pass ]] || Pm "POST"; o=`pmset -g therm | sed 's/^.*CP/CP/'`; egrep -q 'No th|pms' <<< "$o" && o=; Pm "Thermal conditions"; o=`pmset -g sysload | grep -v :`; grep -q '= [^GO]' <<< "$o" || o=; Pm "System load advisory"; o=`nvram boot-args | awk '{$1=""; print}'`; Ps "boot-args"; d=(/ ""); D=(System User); for i in 0 1; do o=`cd ${d[$i]}L*/L*/Dia* && ls *.{crash,hang,panic} | tail | awk -F_ '{$NF=a[split($NF,a,".")]; print}'`; Pm "${D[$i]} diagnostics"; done; o=`syslog -F bsd -k Sender kernel -k Message CReq 'GPU |hfs: Ru|I/O e|n Cause: -|NVDA\(|pagin|SATA W|timed? ?o' | tail -n25 | awk '/:/{$4=""; $5=""; print}'`; Pm "Kernel messages"; o=`df -m / | awk 'NR==2 {print $4}'`; [[ o -lt 5120 ]] && Ps "Free space (MiB)"; o=$(($(vm_stat | awk '/eo/{sub("\\.",""); print $2}')/256)); o=$((o>=1024?o:0)); Ps "Pageouts (MiB)"; s=( `sar -u 1 10 | sed '$!d'` ); [[ s[4] -lt 90 ]] && o=`printf "$Fu" ${s[1]} ${s[3]}` || o=; Pm "Total CPU usage" && { s=(`ps acrx -o comm,ruid,%cpu | sed '2!d'`); o=${s[2]}%; Ps "CPU usage by process $s of user ${s[1]}"; }; s=(`top -R -l1 -n1 -o prt -stats command,uid,prt | sed '$!d'`); s[2]=${s[2]%[+-]}; o=$((s[2]>=25000?s[2]:0)); Ps "Mach ports used by process $s of user ${s[1]}"; o=`kextstat -kl | grep -v com\\.apple | cut -c53- | cut -d\< -f1`; Pm "Loaded extrinsic kernel extensions"; R && o=`sudo launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.(apple|openssh|vix\.cron)|org\.(amav|apac|calendarse|cups|dove|isc|ntp|post[fg]|x)/{print $3}'`; Pm "Extrinsic system jobs"; o=`launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.apple|org\.(x|openbsd)|\.[0-9]+$/{print $3}'`; Pm "Extrinsic agents"; for d in {/,}L*/{La,Priv,Sta}*; do o=`ls -A "$d" | egrep -v '^(\.DS_Store$|com\.apple\.)'`; Pm "$d"; done; o=`find -L /S*/L*/E* {/,}L*/{A*d,Compon,Ex,In,Keyb,Mail,P*P,Qu,Scripti,Servi,Spo}* -type d -name Contents -prune | while read d; do ID=$($PB\ :CFBundleIdentifier "$d/Info.plist") || ID="No bundle ID"; egrep -qv "^com\.apple\.[^x]|Accusys|ArcMSR|ATTO|HDPro|HighPoint|driver\.stex|hp-fax|\.hpio|JMicron|microsoft\.MDI|print|SoftRAID" <<< $ID && printf "$Fb" "${d%/Contents}" "$ID"; done`; Pm "Extrinsic loadable bundles"; o=`find /u*/{,*/}lib -type f -exec sh -c 'file -b "$1" | grep -qw shared && ! codesign -v "$1"' {} {} \; -print`; Pm "Unsigned shared libraries"; o=`launchctl getenv DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES`; Pm "Inserted libraries"; o=`find {,/u*/lo*}/e*/periodic -type f -mtime -10d`; Pm "Modified periodic scripts"; o=`scutil --proxy | grep Prox`; Pm "Proxies"; o=`scutil --dns | awk '/r\[0\] /{if ($NF !~ /^1(0|72\.(1[6-9]|2[0-9]|3[0-1])|92\.168)\./) print $NF; exit}'`; Ps "DNS"; R && o=`sudo profiles -P | grep :`; Pm "Profiles"; for f in fstab sysctl.conf crontab launchd.conf; do Pc $f /etc/$f; done; Pc "hosts" <(grep -v 'host *$' /etc/hosts); Pc "User launchd" ~/.launchd; R && Pc "Root crontab" <(sudo crontab -l); Pc "User crontab" <(crontab -l); R && o=`sudo defaults read com.apple.loginwindow LoginHook`; Pm "Login hook"; Pp "Global login items" /L*/P*/loginw* Path; Pp "User login items" L*/P*/*loginit* Name; Pp "Safari extensions" L*/Saf*/*/E*.plist Bundle | sed 's/\..*$//;s/-[1-9]$//'; o=`find ~ $TMPDIR.. $ -flags +sappnd,schg,uappnd,uchg -o ! -user $UID -o ! -perm -600 $ | wc -l`; Ps "Restricted user files"; cd; o=`system_profiler SPFontsDataType | egrep "Valid: N|Duplicate: Y" | wc -l`; Ps "Font problems"; o=`find L*/{Con,Pref}* -type f ! -size 0 -name *.plist ! -exec sh -c 'plutil -s "$1" >&-' {} {} \; -print`; Pm "Bad plists"; d=(Desktop L*/Keyc*); n=(20 7); for i in 0 1; do o=`find "${d[$i]}" -type f -maxdepth 1 | wc -l`; o=$((o<=n[$i]?0:o)); Ps "${d[$i]##*/} files"; done; o=$((`date +%s`-t)); Ps "Elapsed time (s)"; } 2>/dev/null | pbcopy; exit 2>&-
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Time Machine stuck on "preparing backup" and "Indexing Backup" after forced restart and install from Lion

Hello!
I have been using Time Machine on the Time Capsule for over a month now and no problems. However when I was installing Lion it had to restart. I did not see that Time Machine was going at the time when I pushed restart until it was too late.
Now Time Machine seems to be stuck on "Preparing Backup" and "Indexing Backups". It has been nearly 20-30 minutes for Indexing and I wonder if I corrupted something or something else. If there a way I can solve this problem? Thanks!

I had this same problem, this is going to sound ridiculous but this is what I finally did. I wiped my backup, crazy right?
It's there for when your hard drive crashes, so it's not like you are going to miss much if you wipe it. Tell it to stop backing up, go to disk utility, click your external and then erase it. Go back to time machine settings and reselect it as your backup drive. It will do an initial back up again and you are good to go.
Hope this helps.

Time Machine just saying Preparing Backup and Does nothing

Has this happen to anyone? I have about 7gigs left, on my external hard drive.

This, along with many other 10.5.2/Time Machine related problems, has been reported many times before in this Forum. So far I haven't seen any post(s) which provides a universal fix. I'm assuming that it's a bug and hoping that if/when Time Capsule finally ships there will be an update for everyone (not just Time Capsule).

Time Machine stuck on 'Preparing to back-up'

Hi
Since upgrading to Lion my iMac has not completed a Time Machine back-up. It's constantly turning away, saying 'Preparing to back-up'.
Any suggestions please?
Cheers
Phil

A word of warning:
I too have this same problem, the Time Machine is showing "preparing Backup" for more than 24 hours.
I have tried all the solutions I could find on the 'net, and none have worked, so I took it all in to the Apple store in Sydney.
After 1 hour of them playing around they decided I had a corrupt "in progress" file on the Time Capsule preventing the backup from progressing beyond the preparation stage.
So what was the solution to my problem? I was told I had to either:
* delete all the backup data on the TC and format it or
* take it away, copy all the data to another 500+gb hard drive, format the Time Capsule and copy all the data back again.
Apparently Apple have "no liability" as it is a corrupted file, which "could have been caused by anything - installing or uninstalling software, or just a random glitch".
So it seems that because their Time Machine software can apparently cause a backup file to be easily and randomly corrupted by day to day usage, I now have to either lose all my backup data, or fork out hundreds of dollars for a new hard drive to copy all the backup data to.
I am NOT IMPRESSED that Apple can seemingly wash their hands of the failings of their software and hardware combination, causing me to be out of pocket.
If anyone here believes what I was told is wrong, I would be grateful for your advice, otherwise it looks like I'm going to have to spend out more cash to solve this problem...

TC & MacBook - endless "Preparing backup"

Hi,
Environment: Mac Mini, MacBook and Time Capsule.
Since begin april my MacBook's Time Machine only shows "Preparing Backup...".
My latest backup now is 9 april 2009, and the oldest 23 March 2008.
I already left it running for over three days...
I also did a verify using Disk Utility...
TMBuddy gives the following.
<<
Starting standard backup
Mounted network destination using URL: afp://Roger%[email protected]/Time%20Capsule
Backup destination mounted at path: /Volumes/Time Capsule
Disk image /Volumes/Time Capsule/BookSels_001b63b78713.sparsebundle mounted at: /Volumes/Backup of BookSels
Backing up to: /Volumes/Backup of BookSels/Backups.backupdb
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
Node requires deep traversal:/ reason:kFSEDBEventFlagMustScanSubDirs|kFSEDBEventFlagReasonEventDBUntrustable|
Any ideas?
Roger
PS: my Mac Mini's backup is running without any problem.

Roger Sels wrote:
The Permissions scan did something, and the Verify gives me a "First Aid Failed - Filesystem verify or repair failed.".
So, I think I need to go for the Install Disc.
Any risks here in loosing my data? If yes, I'll schedule it for this weekend...
Probably not, at least not anything that isn't already damaged.
If you aren't having any other problems, and since TM's "deep traversal" never seems to finish, it may be something wrong with one file or folder, causing TM to get lost trying to examine it.
The procedure is, insert your Leopard Install disc, then hold down the "C" key while starting up. This will take a few moments. Select your language when prompted, then on the next screen select Utilities from the menubar, then +Disk Utility.+
Use that to +Repair Disk+ on your internal drive. If it repairs some things but not others, try again until it either fixes everything or keeps reporting only the same error(s). Then reboot normally.
If there are errors that DU can't fix, it's possible a more heavy-duty specialized 3rd-party app can. Many experienced folks say DIskWarrior is the best (about $100 in the U.S.), but there are others, some less expensive. I don't think there are any that are downloadable, and I have no idea what's readily available in Europe, though. In the U.S., I'd say try Google, VersionTracker.com, or MacUpdate.com.
But if DU can't fix it, it's also possible it's a failing drive .

Time Machine stuck in "preparing" endlessly.

I have been able to successfully back up my MacBook Pro twice in the past two months using Time Machine, but both times I had to monkey with it, and I'm not even sure what exactly I did to make it work.
Today I've tried several times to back up my machine, but it seems to get stuck "preparing" for hours.
I don't keep Time Machine plugged into my laptop because I need that USB for my printer. Rather, I periodically plug my Sea Gate FreeAgent external drive in and attempt to manually back up. But it never just works without a lot of clicking around.
What am I doing wrong??? How can I get it to work??
Thanks so much!

xtine,
Your situation is explained in the first section of the info below:
*_Time Machine May Report "Preparing..." For a Long Time_*
Consider these factors regarding an extended period of "Preparing...". Consider each topic separately and do not attempt to act on all of them at once.
*Recent Crash or Other Major System Event* (Deep Traversal)
The reasons for this process are described in an article by George Schreyer. “During the preparation step it checks the FSEvents log for consistency. If it determines that something isn't quite right it has to rescan the whole disk. This can take quite awhile. A full rescan is always triggered by a crash, an unplanned shut down event or by booting from some other bootable disk between backups…. After a crash, Time Machine must scan the whole disk to determine what it has to do because it cannot trust the information that it left behind. Connected via an Ethernet connection, this phase would typically take 20 minutes on an older PowerBook. Being connected wirelessly stretches this phase out to over 3 hours.” [http://www.girr.org/mac_stuff/backups.html]
According to the following KB article it can sometimes take a very long time if Time Machine begins this “deep traversal” and has to compare data inventories. This may apply to your situation, particularly if many Gigs of data are involved. (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1516) Additionally, if Time Machine has not been able to perform its’ hourly backups for 24 hours or more, then it will perform a “deep traversal” once backups are renewed. This is the case for users who only backup once a week or so.
*Anti-Virus Software*
Running anti-virus software can interfere with the backup process. Either disable it altogether, or try the suggestion outlined here, “If you use third-party anti-virus scanning software and have issues, make sure your Time Machine back up folder (Backups.backupdb on the Time Machine disk) is excluded from virus scanning.” (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1516)
*Software Updates* #
Installing new software, upgrading existing software, or updating Mac OS X system software can create major changes in the structure of your Macs directories. Time Machine will backup every file that has changed since the installation.
If you take a look at the Console logs Time Machine may be reporting that your backups need "deep traversal". That's fine. Time Machine knows what is wrong and how to fix it. If you have a great deal of data, it may take quite awhile.
After an OS update (like 10.5.5) Time Machine realizes the system no longer matches what it looked like during the previous backup. So it has determined that it's earlier catalogue of what-should-be-where is 'untrustable'. So it is going to go item-by-item comparing the before and after of your system. If you have just performed an OS Update then Time Machine knows what it's doing - let it do it!
*Spotlight Keeps Indexing Backup Drive* #
It may be that Time Machine can’t proceed or complete a backup due to a Spotlight indexing error. During this period, take a look at the Spotlight icon in the upper right corner of your screen. Is there a tiny dot pulsating in the center of the spyglass? Click on the icon. Is there a progress bar displayed? Generally, Spotlight indexing is a good thing. If it has only been a couple of hours then let the process contiune.
However, at times it may hang and never progress after many hours, preventing further backups from taking place.
Go to System Prefs --> Spotlight --> Privacy Tab.
Drag your Time Machine disk into the window. It should now be among the items to exclude from indexing.
Now quit System Prefs.
Reboot your Mac.
Reopen System Prefs and remove ("-") the Time Machine disk from the window.
Now initiate a backup.
This should clear out Spotlights cache. Naturally, Spotlight should begin indexing again (maybe even for a few hours depending on how much data there is), but it should eventually stop.
*Reboot Time Capsule* #
If, though, none of the options above have helped and it has been 12 hours or more of “Preparing…”, then the Time Capsule may need to be restarted.
Stop the backup from the Time Machine menu. (Give if a few minutes while it says “Stopping backup…”)
When the Time Machine icon stops spinning, unplug the TC from the wall outlet.
Wait 10-15 seconds.
Re-plug it in again.
After it has restarted (30-60 seconds), attempt another backup.
Time Machine will report “Preparing…” again, but it shouldn’t be lasting more than a couple of hours.
Let us know if any of the suggestions above helped in your case.
Cheers!

"Preparing Backup" mode

My Time Machine is constantly spinning on "Preparing Backup" mode and never completed a single back up at all couple of days ago?
I can, however still enter time machine to retrieve the old backups prior that day.
What's is going on?
Please help!
Thanks.

Welcome to the discussions!
Try resetting Time Machine as follows:
Open Hard Drive > Library > Preferences and delete the "com.apple.TimeMachine.plist" file and restart your computer.
Now open System Preferences and click on Time Machine to set it up again. Your backups should start again, but Time Machine may be in a "preparing" mode for some time since backups have not occurred for the past few days. Leave it alone and things should get back to normal.

I tried to install a new hard drive using Snow Leopard to back up with Time Machine. When I installed the new HD I installed Leopard (10.5) on it and tried to use time machine to restore the backup I had made using 10.6. Kernel panic screen occurred.

I backed up my system using 10.6 Snow Leopard's Time Machine to an external hard drive. I did this because I purchased a new internal hard drive to upgrade my 2007 White Macbook from 80GB to 320GB. When I installed the new hard drive, I installed 10.4 (Tiger) and then 10.5 (Leopard) and once Leopard was in I tried to use Time Machine to restore my backup from 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and received a kernal panic screen directly after the bootup.
The screen had code asking for 10.6, so does this mean that the computer is searching for Snow Leopard? If so, how can I do this? Will a bootable drive with Snow Leopard on it be able to solve the issue or will I somehow need to find a way to wipe out this new hard drive?
-Steve

Booting From Snow Leopard Installer Disc
1. Insert Snow Leopard Installer Disc into the optical drive.
2. Restart the computer.
3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
5. Wait for installer to finish loading.
Drive Preparation and Installation
1. 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. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
7. After formatting is complete quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.

Time Machine is endless preparing backup mode

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