Time Machine unable to Backup!!!

Please help. I am unable to backup to my time machine since I downloaded the new Lion. Says no disk is available.

Patricia Podolec wrote:
I'm having the same problem. I tried re-selecting, but got an error message -- "there's a problem connecting. . ." with a suggestion I check the IP address.
I assume that means you're backing-up to a Time Capsule? If not, what are you backing-up to?
If so, you may need to reset it, per Resetting an AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule FAQ. Try a soft reset; if that does't work, try a hard reset.
If still no help, you might also try resetting Time Machine, per #A4 in Time Machine - Troubleshooting.
I don't know if related, but I am also having trouble with my internet provider (Cox). I can get to the internet, except for the ISP's website. Also, I cannot get mail or send mail from Cox. I'd go to their website, but it times out. It does work on my computer at work, though.
That's probably unrelated, but you never know. It appears the Time Machine problem is between your Mac and the Time Capsule, not between Cox and the TC.

Similar Messages

Time Machine unable to backup. "Backup disk not available"

I have been having issues backing up to Time Capsule for a few weeks. I keep getting error messages. The latest backup attempt was 'delayed'. When I clcik to see why, it says "The backup disk not available". It says the last successful backup was at 8:00 PM tonight, but that doesn't seem to make sense since it says it was delayed.
Are there steps I can take to try and resolve this?
Thanks

I have consistantly had this problem.
Time Machine could not complete the backup.
The backup disk could not be found.
Make sure the backup disk is connected or open the Time Machine preferences to select a different backup disk.
If I unplug it and plug it back in it will probably work, although I have had to totally start from scratch a couple times to get it working.
Is this a DHCP issue or how can I avoid this in the future?
Thanks,

Time Machine: Unable to backup after changing my base station configuration

Greetings folks.... I just did a little switching around of APs, and now my Time Capsule is the only AP I have that my mac laptops connect to. Things seemed to work find before I left for the weekend, but upon my return, attempts to run back up do not work. I get the following in the system.log.
Mar 9 20:38:33 sole /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[404]: Backup requested by user
Mar 9 20:38:33 sole /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[404]: Starting standard backup
Mar 9 20:38:34 sole /System/Library/CoreServices/NetAuthAgent.app/Contents/Resources/NetAuthSysAgen t[405]: Warning: accessing obsolete X509Anchors.
Mar 9 20:38:34 sole /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[404]: Error: FSMatchAliasBulk returned -6602 while resolving alias to backup target
Mar 9 20:38:34 sole /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[404]: Backup failed with error: 19
ideas?

I've run into the same problem - however, I don't see the messages you've indicated in the system logs. The only way I've found to fix is to do as you and re-specify where TM is to backup.

I am getting this error message on my iMac. Time Machine unable to complete backup. An error occurred while creating the back up folder. Any ideas on how to fix???

i am getting this error message on my iMac. Time Machine unable to complete backup. An error occurred while creating the back up folder. Any ideas on how to fix???

See Pondini's TM FAQs

Keep getting this message when trying to back up iMac to time Machine: Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume.

Keep getting this message when trying to back up iMac to time Machine: Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume. tried everything.

Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with TM problems. Also you can select Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu and search for "time machine" to locate articles on how to use TM. See also Mac 101- Time Machine.
Time Machine- Troubleshooting backup issues

Can't install Mavericks, damaged disk, restore from Time Machine, unable to find destination disk. What to do?

After downloading Mavericks, tried installing, it told me that I have a damaged disk and to restore from backup. Selected Time Machine's latest backup. Then I was prompted to select backup disk. My only option was the Mac HD icon with a "?" on top of it, unable to verify disk. With the "continue" button grayed out, I hit the back button a few times in an attempt to start over. I went back to the install page and it started installing. 40 minutes later it was up and running. Every thing seemed fine. I tried opening GarageBand, I got the spinning wheel. Then a prompt page asking me to select a language. I selected English and the computer shutdown. It being late and I being frustrated, I decided to wait until morning.
On startup I got the message that I have a damaged disk and to restore from backup. Selected Time Machine's latest backup. Then I was prompted to select backup disk. This time there was no icon or anything to choose from.
I'm wondering if I need to use my original Mac mini, Mac OS X install DVD, or is it time for a trip to the Apple store.
Ideas and options welcome.
Thanks

It sounds as if your hard drive may have failed or may be failing. Boot your computer from the REcovery Disk by holding down the Command+R keys during the boot. From the Recovery drive you can run Disk Utility. Once in DU select your hard drive then run "Repair Disk".
If errors are found and repaired run Repair Disk a second time.
If errors are found and not repaired you are going to need a more robust volume repair utiity such as DiskWarrior, TechTool Pro, or Drive Genius and an external drive to boot from to run the repairs or...
You may be in the market for a new HD

Time Machine: "Partially Deleted Backup"

Last night, after Time Machine performed a backup and began its post-backup thinning, it got stalled on "Finishing backup... ." The system log showed that it was attempting to delete a previously partially deleted backup:
Starting standard backup
Starting post-backup thinning
Found partially deleted backup - trying again to delete: 2009-09-30-110803
The backup it was trying to delete was the last one on its list (i.e., the oldest one on that TM volume). And when I opened it up, it indeed appeared to be a partially deleted folder. So I let TM run. However, it never finished "Finishing backup... ," so after letting it run all night and all day, I simply told TM to stop. It did, and the system then added two more messages to the log, acknowledging my cancelation as well as TM's current success:
Starting standard backup
Starting post-backup thinning
Found partially deleted backup - trying again to delete: 2009-09-30-110803
Backup deletion was canceled by user
Backup completed successfully.
However, the next time TM ran, it began all over again:
Starting standard backup
Starting post-backup thinning
Found partially deleted backup - trying again to delete: 2009-09-30-110803
It's still sitting there in its "Finishing backup..." mode.
I was thinking about entering Time Machine, selecting that backup, and telling Time Machine to delete that backup—and only that backup. But I'm (a) not sure that will address the actual problem, and (b) wondering if deleting that particular backup (i.e., the oldest one on the list) is advisable.
Suggestions?

Pondini wrote:
Maxwell’s Demon wrote:
I'm aware of the multilink nature of TM's backups. What I don't understand is how you immediately concluded that the backups were corrupted.
TM finding partially deleted backups, trying repeatedly to deleted them, and failing to.
(And yes, I though you meant that you'd tried to delete the backup yourself.)
It took forever. I ran TechTool Pro, and it "choked" (i.e., ran out of memory) trying to rebuild the directory. When I asked Disk Warrior to graph the directory, it revealed that it was more than 40% fragmented!
I'm not sure fragmentation is a problem, or even applies, given the structure of TM backups.
So I ran Disk Warrior. It ran without incident. When I then looked inside the TM drive, I discovered that along with rebuilding the directory—which is what I understood its job to be—DW apparently removed/deleted the offending (partially deleted) backup. The next time Time Machine ran, everything went smoothly. It's been running fine ever since.
Great! And yes, there are times it can repair/rebuild TM backups that nothing else can (I guess that's why it costs $100!).
I'm obviously quite pleased with the results: Not only did DW perform an incredible directory rebuild (fragmentation went from more than 40% to less than 1% !!) but it cleared out the partially deleted backup that was causing TM to stumble. But I remain awfully curious: Had I simply gone into Time Machine and deleted the partially deleted backup myself, wouldn't that have fixed the problem? (Granted, DW not only got TM back on track, but it also rebuilt its directory, which is a definite plus in my mind...I'm just trying to understand.)
It's possible you couldn't have deleted it completely, any more than TM was able to. Remember, a single backup folder has hard links to hundreds, thousands, or hundreds of thousands of other items. Just one of those being screwy can have a ripple effect through the whole structure.
And if you could have, it might well have left some of the actual backup files "abandoned" -- some or all of the hard links to them deleted, but still somewhere in the disk directory, so still taking up space.
I got the idea from
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20090515063602219
which provided a link to the "solution" when partial backups remain that result in TM "error: 11" failures:
http://www.bytebot.net/blog/archives/2008/08/13/fixing-time-machine-backup-faile d-with-error-11
Admittedly, mine wasn't an "error: 11" problem, but it sure seemed similar. My hesitation/concern was due to the fact that the partially deleted backup was the last one (i.e., the "oldest") in my TM volume: I wasn't sure if deleting it would screw up all of the links used by the remaining backups. However, since DW removed it without causing any problems, it seems like I may have been able to accomplish the same result by removing it "manually" from within TM. If that is the case, then it suggests that there may not have been any actual "corruption."
Again, I am very happy with the result, and likely will resort to DW again the next time I have similar problems. The only reason I'm harping on it is simply to try to gain a deeper understanding of how to determine when such problems are indeed due to corruption as opposed to simply an errant file that causes TM to stumble. (Had TM indicated that it stumbled and was unable to successfully perform the backup, then I would have little doubt that there was actual corruption.)

Leopard applications all hang while Time Machine prepares for backup

I'm sure others have posted about this but I can't find a usable solution. I have the most recent version of Leopard, a 1TB external FireWire drive dedicated to Time Machine storage and about 400GB of backups on it. Every day at some point, Time Machine starts a backup, pauses while preparing, and the entire Mac grinds to a halt. New processes won't launch, open applications hang, Finder becomes unresponsive, menus and dock freeze in whatever position they were in at the point of launch, and I can't cancel the backup process.
The only solution is to turn off the backup drive while its running and wait for the Mac to wake up again (which it does in under a minute). I have no virus protection running. I have erased the drive and started fresh at least once to no avail.
Since I am effectively breaking a live connection every time I turn the drive off without unmounting it first (an obvious no-no), the data has great potential to be getting more and more screwed up. What can I do?

Message logs:
October 12, 2009, 1:43:25 AM
Volume at path /Volumes/Racer BU does not appear to be the correct backup volume for this computer. (Cookies do not match)
Backup failed with error: 18
October 12, 2009, 11:32:32 AM
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/Racer BU/Backups.backupdb
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Racer X
Node requires deep traversal:/ reason:kFSEDBEventFlagMustScanSubDirs|kFSEDBEventFlagReasonEventDBUntrustable|
No pre-backup thinning needed: 984.2 MB requested (including padding), 443.72 GB available
Copied 21948 files (368.1 MB) from volume Racer X.
No pre-backup thinning needed: 548.2 MB requested (including padding), 443.35 GB available
Copied 961 files (965 KB) from volume Racer X.
Starting post-backup thinning
Deleted backup /Volumes/Racer BU/Backups.backupdb/Eric’s Mac Pro/2009-10-10-215828: 443.35 GB now available
Deleted backup /Volumes/Racer BU/Backups.backupdb/Eric’s Mac Pro/2009-10-10-205855: 443.36 GB now available
Deleted backup /Volumes/Racer BU/Backups.backupdb/Eric’s Mac Pro/2009-10-10-195856: 443.40 GB now available
Deleted backup /Volumes/Racer BU/Backups.backupdb/Eric’s Mac Pro/2009-10-10-185908: 443.46 GB now available
Deleted backup /Volumes/Racer BU/Backups.backupdb/Eric’s Mac Pro/2009-10-10-175907: 443.51 GB now available
Post-back up thinning complete: 5 expired backups removed
Backup completed successfully.
October 12, 2009, 12:18:32 PM
Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/Racer BU/Backups.backupdb
No pre-backup thinning needed: 954.4 MB requested (including padding), 443.51 GB available
Unable to rebuild path cache for source item. Partial source path:
Copied 16717 files (339.6 MB) from volume Racer X.
No pre-backup thinning needed: 569.5 MB requested (including padding), 443.17 GB available
Copied 634 files (18.7 MB) from volume Racer X.
Starting post-backup thinning
Deleted backup /Volumes/Racer BU/Backups.backupdb/Eric’s Mac Pro/2009-10-10-225832: 443.24 GB now available
Deleted backup /Volumes/Racer BU/Backups.backupdb/Eric’s Mac Pro/2009-10-10-165828: 443.25 GB now available
Deleted backup /Volumes/Racer BU/Backups.backupdb/Eric’s Mac Pro/2009-10-10-155855: 443.30 GB now available
Deleted backup /Volumes/Racer BU/Backups.backupdb/Eric’s Mac Pro/2009-10-10-145857: 443.36 GB now available
Deleted backup /Volumes/Racer BU/Backups.backupdb/Eric’s Mac Pro/2009-10-10-135852: 443.38 GB now available
Post-back up thinning complete: 5 expired backups removed
Backup completed successfully.
October 12, 2009, 4:46:51 PM
Starting standard backup
Volume at path /Volumes/Racer BU does not appear to be the correct backup volume for this computer. (Cookies do not match)
Backup failed with error: 18
etc...
The long periods between backups are when it is "preparing for backup" and nothing is happening. Sometimes this is while I'm not using it and the machine is asleep.

Time machine will not backup my home folder

I am having problems with time machine backing up my home folder. There is nothing in the TM exclusion option except (time machine backup) which is understandable. Even if I wanted to exclude it from backups it does not give me the option like its not recognized. Could this be a problem because my home folder is encrypted? I have talked to someone at the apple store about the issue and they where unable to help.

Yes, it's because it's encrypted. Time Machine does not backup a File Vault protected Home folder as it would an unencrypted one. The File Vault disk image is only backed up after you log out. If you never log out then it will not be backed up.
If you want a "normal" backup of your Home folder you will have to turn off File Vault.

Time Machine Folder-Specific Backup

Hello all,
I have a new external hard drive that I want to use as a Time Machine backup drive. I want Time Machine to only backup 4 folders. Documents, Movies, Music, and Pictures. I just want the data in those folders to be backed up. No system backups, preferences, applications, etc... I just want those 4 folders and their contents, but I'm seemingly unable to figure out how. Thank you!
Nick

Nicolas Online wrote:
Yeah I kinda figured.
If I backup everything, when I do a restore, it will restore everything including all the system files etc.
that would only be if you do full system restore. you can easily restore any individual files you want without restoring the whole system. nothing is stopping you there. full system backups gives you flexibility to go with either option and there is never a worry that you forgot to back up something. for example, you mentioned only
Documents, Movies, Music, and Pictures. what about your Mail data? your address book data? your passwords, your bookmarks? you don't want any of these?
The advantages of installing a fresh copy and just re-installing the applications one needs is advantageous. Furthermore, when one does a full system restore its usually because things weren't going well, so to decide at which backup point it is better is subjective. I think time machine is great for retrieving files deleted by accident and/or having it automatically backup new pictures, movies, music, etc...
Are you familiar would you recommend "Backup 3.1" it's available to MobileMe users.
I don't use Mobile me so I'm not familiar with Backup.

Time machine cannot complete backup sparse bundle already in use

I'm getting an error message: time machine unable to complete backup, sparse bundle already in use?
Please advise, I need to find the "yellow brick road", guess it wouldn't be cool for a guy to click red slipper heels together?
Help? Much appreciated....
Macmanusider

What constructive purpose do these smart mouth answere provide? I have been through the "more like this" discussions and the mostly have answers referring you to "more like this". The troubleshooting links refer to old and outdated systems. After all these years, doesn't anyone have an intellrgent suggestion? Is there any way to make the Time Machine backups dependible? It's not worth the trouble to have to reconnect by USB, reboot the time machine, etc. every couple of weeks.

Time machine won't backup, yet plenty of space & not much used on Mac HD

Well, this is yet another "Time machine won't backup becuase there is not enough space" thread. I have searched Google and threads here but it's still a mystery why this error is occurring and it seems there is no clear solution. I also looked at the Apple Time Machine errors FAQ as well.
Here are my specs and what I have tried so far.
2010 Mac Pro Quad Core with 1 TB hard drive with 12 GB RAM. (137 GB used so far on internal Mac hard drive disk, so about 863 GB free space).
- New external 1 TB hard drive initialized as Time Machine backup disk when inserted for the first time.
The exact error I am getting is this: "This backup is too large for the backup disk. The backup requires 1.80 TB but only 999.20 GB are available."
I have tried deleting the Time Machine system preference, reinitializing the external disk, clearing the system caches with Cocktail, restarting and letting Time machine ask me all over again if I wanted to use the external drive for Time Machine. Still the same error.
My question is how on earth can 1.80 TB be required for the backup when I only have 137 GB of used space?

danomatic12 wrote:
My question is how on earth can 1.80 TB be required for the backup when I only have 137 GB of used space?
Two possibilities:
There's another disk (or disks) connected to your Mac. If they're formatted HFS+, Time Machine is trying to back it/them up as well. You can exclude them per #10 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum). The 1.8 TB includes 20% for temporary workspace on the TM drive, so TM is estimating the backup at about 1.5 TB.
Something on your internal HD is corrupted, causing an incorrect calculation. Verify your internal HD, per #6 in [Formatting, Partitioning, Verifying, and Repairing Disks|http://web.me.com/pondini/AppleTips/DU.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of the +Using Snow Leopard+ forum).

How do I use a Mac Mini + Airport Express + Time Machine disk to backup another iMac

How do I use a Mac Mini + Airport Express + Time Machine disk to backup another iMac?
The question pretty much says it all.
I have a Mac Mini with an attached 3TB Hard Drive used for Time Machine Backups.
I have an Airport Extreme base station which services that machine plus several others.
I would like to backup my new iMac and a MacBook Pro to the Mac Mini.
What do I need to do on the mini to export that hard drive so that it can be used as a Time Machine target from the other systems?
All systems are running 10.6.8.

Well you would have to do backups over a network which is much slower and has highest chance of becoming corrupt. I think your best option would be to get an apple time capsule to act as a network and back if thats how you wanna do that

HT201250 Can I recover the backups from Time Machine, but the backups is deleted by the Time Machine!

Unfortunately, the Time Macchine deleted my oldest backups in my hard drive.
I have the important files in the backups.
So hope someone could help me to recover the backups.

Time Machine will remove old backups automatically. It tells you when it does, but of course by then it's too late.
There is no recovering deleted backups, since it was necessary to overwrite them with newer backups.
For further explanation read the following entries from Apple Support Communities contributor Pondini's Time Machine FAQ:
12. Should I delete old backups? If so, How?
20. Once my Mac is backed-up, can I delete some stuff to save space?
Time Machine is for backups. It is not an archiving utility. To archive files requires something like one of these:
Carbon Copy Cloner ($39.95) http://sites.fastspring.com/bombich/product/ccc
or
SuperDuper! ($27.95) http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

Time Machine does not backup home/user directory (on separate drive)

I recently installed a SSD into my Mini. Due to size restrictions, my home/user directory has to be kept on another drive. I retained the stock 1TB drive that came with the Mini for this.
Ok, installed the SSD, restored a Time Machine backups (sans user data). Used a different admin user and configured my user to use the 1TB drive for it's home directory (/Volumes/1TB/home/<user>). Restart, log in as my user, all is good. All data, settings, etc is there. Everything looks normal.
Time Machine REFUSES to backup this directory. It will backup the 1TB drive and anyting else I create in it, but not the home directory. I tried every permission trick I could think of or found online. I even tested it further by formatting the 1TB drive fresh, adding a new user, configuring the user to use the 1TB for their home directory and it still won't back it up (this was a test of permissions the OS set, to make sure I didn't change my data perms somewhere along the way). Time Machine would not backup the new user's home directory on the 1TB drive.
Any thoughts? I can't be the first person to have their home directory on a non-OS drive.
If I were to create a folder/file in /Volumes/1TB/<test file> ... Time Machine gets it perfect. It just will NOT touch /Volumes/1TB/home/<anything here>
Thanks!

Open the Time Machine preference pane and unlock the settings, if necessary. Click the Options button. If there is one particular folder with items that are not being backed up reliably, add it to the list of excluded items. If there are many such folders, add your home folder to the list, or add a whole volume (i.e., what Apple calls a "disk.") Save the changes.
Start a backup, or wait for one to happen automatically. When it's done, open the preference pane again and remove the exclusion(s) you made earlier. Back up again and see whether there's a change.

Time Machine unable to Backup!!!

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