Time Machine Message: Latest Backup Delayed

I'm a TM newbie. Someone else set up my TM to backup automatically every hour. Today I decided not to wait for the first automatic backup, so I hit the Back Up Now button as soon as I turned on my MacBook. I then got the message:
Latest Backup: Delayed...
What does this mean, and how do I undo it?
P.S. - Is it possible that it had already begun doing the automatic backup, and when I hit "Backup Now," I somehow disrupted the automatic backup that was already in process?
Thanks!

I haven't run across Backup Delayed, but if the last backup failed (which would presumably be your manually ordered backup) you could open the Console application and in the search field at the top type backupd (that's the Time Machine process). That may show the messages relevant to your last, failed backup. If you can't find those, then order a new backup and, assuming it too fails, check what error messages you get. Of course if the new backup doesn't fail then the problem is probably fixed.
Time Machine is set to automatically backup every hour but that does not conflict in any way with you ordering more frequent manual backups.

Similar Messages

Time Machine Oldest/Latest backup field is blank "--"

Hello,
In Time Machine under the Oldest and Latest Backup fields all it says is "--". It is also the same in the quickmenu.
It used to work perfectly fine but it now it is blank, when I go into time machine all the dates/backups are there including the one it did today. All it says in the TM prefs and the quickmenu is "--". Any ideas how to fix this?

I was surprised today to find that the next usable backup according to Timemachine is from March.
Other dates show up in Timemachine but are not selectable. They are light-blue and only dark-blue dates are selectable.
The two most recent entries are "today" and "July 20" and the two most recent dark blue entries are "today" and "March 3".
I checked the Timemachine disk and it has a folder for July 20 and all the files are in there (using hard links, I think).
Why would Timemachine not recognise certain folder it had created? What would have happened if I had needed to restore from that point in time?
After leaving Timemachine do whatever it wanted over night, I notice that it has added a few hourly backups (as it should), but that those backups are still not accessible.
In fact the Finder windows behind the Now window are black. And the arrow button brings me back to March 2.
Timemachine showing Now window and unusable recent backups:
http://www.netneurotic.net/bin/Picture1.jpg
Timemachine showing last unusable and first usable backup (March 2):
http://www.netneurotic.net/bin/Picture2.jpg
When I enter Timemachine all the windows behind the Now window turn dark and I cannot select them. On the disk itself all the backups/files/folders seem to be in order.

Time Machine showing latest backup.

Time Machine is showing my latest backup (Today) in the TM Browser, but then no backups until May. I know I have backed up since then. Backup drive is on the Network and mounts. There are also to two sparsebundle files on the backup drive. Am wondering how to get backups made in August, July and June etc to display in the "Star Wars" window?
TIA.

Antony Platt wrote:
Ok! so the missing backups are indeed in the "other" sparsebundle which i was able to browse and mount in the TM Browser window.
Ah, great! Not sure how or why that happened. Time Machine should only make a new sparsebundle for a new Mac (or if the logic board is replaced).
Just to be sure which is which, when you go into TM normally, via Enter Time Machine, do you see recent backups? Or are recent backups in the one you have to use the Browse... option for?
I guess now the question is if i should try and "reconnecd" or merge them so evreything is referenced thru one sparsbundle?
No, that can't be done. Everything is linked together in an intricate structure that can't be altered from outside. See the tan box in How Time Machine works its Magic for an explanation.
If TM is now backing-up to the set you see when you Enter Time Machine, you can continue viewing the old set via the Browse... option, and restore via the Restore To... option (#16 in the FAQ). Once those are no longer needed, you can just delete the sparsebundle (TM won't delete backups from a sparse bundle it isn't backing up to).

I am getting a Time Machine error "The backup disk image could not mount"

Time Machine message "The backup disk image could not be mounted"

Go to Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for assistance.

The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data/David Witkowski's Mac Pro.sparsebundle" is already in use. Whenever Time Machine starts to backup to Time Capsuel I get the previous error message. I need some help to fix this.

The backup disk image “/Volumes/Data/David Witkowski’s Mac Pro.sparsebundle” is already in use. Whenever Time Machine starts to backup to Time Capsuel I get the previous error message Where can I find this disk image?. I need some help to fix this.
Thanks,
David W

There are multiple answers and solutions if you look just to the right under the heading of More Like This.

When my time machine tries to backup to my time capsule I get the following message"The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data/Kent's MacBook Pro.sparsebundle" is already in use. " What do I need to do to fix this?

When my time machine tries to backup to my time capsule I get the following message"The backup disk image “/Volumes/Data/Kent’s MacBook Pro.sparsebundle” is already in use. " What do I need to do to fix this?

Restart the Time Capsule.

What can I do when I get this message from my Time Machine? The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data/Jeanne's iMac.sparsebundle" is already in use.

What do I do when I get this message on my Time Machine? "The backup disk image “/Volumes/Data/Jeanne’s iMac.sparsebundle” is already in use."

See C12.
Time Machine Troubleshooting

Cannot open time machine; message on screen: time machine in backup. I want to find last 12 mos. of pictures.

cannot open application to time machine: Message on screen: time machine in backup.
Purpose to get into time machine; is to pickup lost photos

northernresort wrote:
I workedwith apple support on the phone it believe the backup is corrupt.
Yup, sure sounds like it.
It does have a .sparsebundle for the machine that is backup up. There is only 52G free on the 1T time capsule, so it seems that the data is there,
That's good, obviously. Often it won't mount at all, and you're in a very large pickle.
I'm not seeing nor beleive I'm having a hardware issue with the time capsule.
Probably not.
I'm wondering if I have some sort of version issue between 10.7.x that the Time machine on the time capsule was created with and 10.8.4
No, at least not that's been reported. A sparsebundle is a sparsebundle, as far as we can tell.
I don't use hdiutil or fsck, so bear with me. Drag the sparsebundle into Disk Utility's sidebar and try Repair Disk on it. See what messages it shows. (They may not appear in the window; click the Log icon or select Window > Show Log from the menubar.)
Do you have a copy of DiskWarrior? It can operate on a sparsebundle, and sometimes can fix things Disk Utility (and hdiutil or fsck) can't.
I haven't found any good way to parse out/copy files from a sparse bundle
If you double-click it, does the disk image (named "Time Machine Backups") mount (should appear on your Desktop and/or Finder sidebar)? If it does, can you open it via the Finder? If so, you'll find the usual Backups.backupdb folder inside, with one folder named for your Mac, and inside that all the date-stamped backup folders, each with one folder per drive that was backed-up, and inside that the full folder structure.
If so, you can probably drag & drop, but depending on what kind of damage there is, and where, that may not work well, if at all.
Best, of course, is if you can repair it and just do a full restore.

When time machine does a backup I get an error message

Added a new Seagate 3T external as a backup drive Every time Time Machine does a backup I get an error message that the disk was not ejected properly, no bid deal just a pain. System 3.5GHz Intel Core i7... 16GB DDR# memory ... OSX 10.8.4. How do I get rid of this error??

Notes/Tips on OS X 10.8.5 External Drive Eject During Sleep:
Updated the previous page on OS X 10.8.5 Problems/Notes and Tips with more info regarding external drive 'eject' in sleep and on drives going to sleep/spinning down despite ES settings. I ran some tests with drives I had but so far have not seen those problems with my setup/drives at least. Apparently many have based on the still growing number of threads on the subject in Apple's Mountain Lion forum.
... you posted inaccurate information about a Mac that I pointed out.
Posts from and about Hackintosh do get removed.

Time machine message repeats each time backup begins

A Time Machine message asking wheher I want to use another computers backup file or create a new one appears each time the backup begins. How do I stop it from asking the question each time?
Background: I recently used the migration assistant to transfer a user on a Snow Leopard computer to a Lion computer. Both computers use Time machine for back up. Now every time a backup begins on the Lion computer, a message asks whether I want to use the backup file on the Snow Leopard computer, create a new or cancel. I selected create a new file and the backup started. Now every time the backup begins it asks the same question before it begins. You would think that the initial answer would end the message.

Firewire can handle networking.. I wonder if you are or have in the past networked the LaCie.. maybe even shared it over the network??
I do not think the message is particularly problematic.. Since firewire is still not directly connected to a network.. and unless you share it, is still just a local drive.. sometimes TM comes up the strangest issues.. particularly since Mavericks.

Latest Backup: Delayed...

I am trying to back up my computer on Time Machine and my wireless internet keeps cutting in and out so the backup keeps getting interrupted. When I click on the icon on the top tool bar, it says Latest Backup: Delayed... Is there anyway to resume where I left off so I don't have to start over every time this happens.
Any help much appreciated

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
Just select +Back Up Now+ in that same menu. Time Machine will "recover" the previous interrupted backup automatically.
But if this is happening frequently, you need to fix whatever's causing the interruption/interference. I assume you're backing-up to a Time Capsule?
You might want to 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.
There's an explanation of some of the more common messages in #7 of the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum.
If in doubt, copy and post them here.

Time Machine doesn't backup iPhoto Library (if iPhoto is open)

I just wanted to alert other people to the fact that Time Machine DOES NOT backup your iPhoto Library (that is, any of your photos), if iPhoto is open when Time Machine performs the backup (which in my case, is all of the time).
I've just posted this information to my blog: http://www.pigsgourdsandwikis.com/2010/01/timemachine-is-not-backing-up-your.htm l
But the basics are that although Time Machine promises to perform automatic backups in the background, it will skip your photos if iPhoto is open. Unfortunately, it won't tell you it hasn't done the backup and you'll be lulled into a very false sense of security, broken only when you have a problem and there's no backup to be found.
So, be sure to close iPhoto when Time Machine is doing backups and check your backed up files to make sure all your photos are there.
Please spread the word. I hate to think people are losing their photos because of this.
best,
Liz
http://www.lizcastro.com/iphotobookthemes
http://www.elizabethcastro.com

OK, ran a test with iPhoto open and got this from Time Machine Buddy:
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
Node requires deep traversal:/Users/lizx/Pictures/Big iPhoto Library/iPhoto 7 Library current reason:kFSEDBEventFlagContainsChanges|kFSEDBEventFlagMustScanSubDirs|kFSEDBEven tFlagReasonFSEvent|kFSEDBEventFlagReasonMissedReservation|
No pre-backup thinning needed: 3.91 GB requested (including padding), 60.52 GB available
Copied 12483 files (50.9 MB) from volume Macintosh HD.
No pre-backup thinning needed: 1.06 GB requested (including padding), 60.47 GB available
Copied 1088 files (16.6 MB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Starting post-backup thinning
Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/lizxp/2010-01-14-145941: 60.54 GB now available
Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/lizxp/2010-01-14-095812: 60.57 GB now available
Deleted backup /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb/lizxp/2010-01-14-085710: 60.60 GB now available
Post-back up thinning complete: 3 expired backups removed
Backup completed successfully.
Also, when I look on my external drive, the latest backup says it was opened on January 14, but of course, I had iPhoto open when I ran the backup (that is, it was last opened TODAY).
Now, I closed iPhoto and ran Time Machine again. I got a pretty similar message from Time Machine Buddy:
-------Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/Time Machine Backups/Backups.backupdb
Node requires deep traversal:/Users/lizx/Pictures/Big iPhoto Library/iPhoto 7 Library current reason:kFSEDBEventFlagContainsChanges|kFSEDBEventFlagMustScanSubDirs|kFSEDBEven tFlagReasonFSEvent|kFSEDBEventFlagReasonMissedReservation|
No pre-backup thinning needed: 3.90 GB requested (including padding), 60.60 GB available
Copied 10309 files (2.4 GB) from volume Macintosh HD.
No pre-backup thinning needed: 1.06 GB requested (including padding), 58.19 GB available
Copied 2935 files (16.7 MB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Starting post-backup thinning
No post-back up thinning needed: no expired backups exist
Backup completed successfully.
If there's a significant difference there, I can't see it.
On the other hand, when I go look at the backed up file, although it still won't tell me how big it is (or I'm too impatient to wait), it does say the (backed up) iPhoto Library was last opened today. Much better.
What do you think?
best,
Liz

TimeMachine not backing up, as hard drive is full. Can the time machine clear old backups and replace them with new?

Time Macine not backing up.
As the harddrive is full, Can the time machine clear old backups, and override them with new backups. For example 5 - 6 days +++ old. Backups were proformed dayly
Any help much appreciated
Many thanks,

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. If you don't see that menu, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
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. Select the messages timestamped from then until the end of the backup, or the end of the log if that's not clear. Copy them (command-C) to the Clipboard. Paste (command-V) into a reply to this message.
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 this discussion.
Some personal information, such as the names of your files, may be included — anonymize before posting.

Doesn't Time Machine delete old backups when it needs more space?

I've had time machine running for a long time now. It worked flawlessly for quite some time.
Today it gave me the error that there was not enough free space on the disk to complete the backup (the error message says something like there is 360 GB of data on the Time Machine drive already, 140 GB of free space and it would require more than that to complete my backup). I have a 500 GB Time Machine disk and my Mac has a 500 GB hard drive, so I should technically never run out of space.
The Time Machine almost acts like this is the first time I've ever backed up, which is not true. Shouldn't Time Machine delete old backups to make space for the new? What's even weirder is that if I open the "Star Wars" window of Time Machine I only see one backup from March 31, 2011, but I have been running Time Machine for well over a year now. I'm totally confused as to what happened. Any advice on how to get my Time Machine back up and running (without buying a new drive) would help!

You see only one backup in the Time Machine window because Time Machine has deleted the older backups to make space to do the current backup.
Time machine needs some working space to do its backups, and so backing up a 500GB drive onto a 500GB time machine volume is not ideal.
However, I do essentially the same thing, and what I do, when I have this problem, is exclude things from the backup.
First off, figure out what you changed. If you moved things from one partition to another, then that will cause a backup of the size of the thing that was moved. This may be why you have a large backup.
When I have this problem, I exclude large things that have changed recently from the backup. This makes the backup smaller, and means that there is less working space needed. I do this until I get a successful backup. Then I remove things, one by one, from the exclusion list, and back up after each one.
So, for instance if you just put 4 new folders on your drive, each of which s 20GB of data and they are named A, B, C and D, add all four to the exclusion list, do a backup, then remove A from the exclusion list (leaving B, C & D on it) and do a backup, and continue like this, adding 20GB of backup data each time until none of the new data is on the exclusion list and you get a completed backup.
Another possible issue, if you use multiple partitions, is that Time Machine may be keeping an obsolete backup of a partition that you previously reformatted. To see if this is the case, go into time machine (The universe interface) and go back to the most recent backup it shows. Click on your computer and see what partitions show up-- are any of them old ones that have been reformatted and renamed? You may be storing a duplicate backup because Time Machine does not realize that the disk that went away isn't coming back (because it has been reformatted as a different partition)
You can right-click on these items and remove them from your backup by sleecting "Delete all backups of...." This will free up space as well.

Warning: Time Machine won't backup iPhoto if left open

I just learned the hard way that Time Machine will NOT backup iPhoto if you leave it open. In the past, I usually have iPhoto left open, and now I've lost TONS of data. Can Apple change how Time Machine works so that it backs up data of open applications?
http://www.pigsgourdsandwikis.com/2009/05/timemachine-doesnt-back-up-iphoto-if.h tml
The next question is, does this mean I haven't had a REAL iTunes backup for months either? I AWLAYS keep that one open.

polishedstaple wrote:
I just learned the hard way that Time Machine will NOT backup iPhoto if you leave it open. In the past, I usually have iPhoto left open, and now I've lost TONS of data. Can Apple change how Time Machine works so that it backs up data of open applications?
Probably not. Few backup apps can manage to back up a single file that's being written-to by another app at the same time. What would it do with a partial file? What would YOU do with part of a photo, if you had it and could restore it?
iPhoto is much more complex than a "normal" folder -- it's a "package," with various files, indexes, and cross-references, many of which can be open at the same time -- worse, all the data that the app has written isn't necessarily on the disk yet; it's likely in an OS buffer somewhere, and may not actually go out to disk until the app is closed.
The next question is, does this mean I haven't had a REAL iTunes backup for months either? I AWLAYS keep that one open.
I can't be sure, but I think iTunes is probably ok (but by all means check it), depending on what you were doing at the time of the backup. If you were downloading a file, that file most likely wasn't backed-up; but if you were just playing songs, it's probably up to date.
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. If you look at the messages for various backups, you may see some that mention doing a "deep traversal" on your iPhoto library, because of a "missed reservation." That's a clue that some things weren't backed-up earlier because of open file(s).
But I would agree entirely that Time Machine ought to send some sort of message when it skips things -- perhaps if something like iPhoto doesn't get backed-up in a 24-hour period.
Feel free to suggest that to Apple at: http://www.apple.com/feedback

Time Machine Message: Latest Backup Delayed

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