Time Machine won't connect to sparsebundle, wants to start over. Pls help!

I was in the midst of a 40GB iTunes Folder recovery, when it stopped after 5GB.
Now, when I go to Time Machine preferences and connect to the backup drive, it wants to start over rather than "reconnecting" to the old sparsebundle.
I've double-clicked the sparsebundle to open it and see that all my backups are in there... but of course, they're backed up in increments. I need to know how I get Time Machine to continue with the backups it already has.
I'm using Mac OS 10.6.7 on a MBP 13". Time Machine is being used on an Airport Extreme with connected Air Disk (WD hard drive). I know this may be officially unsupported, but I've had no problems with it for the year that I've been using Time Machine to back up and recover various files. I don't think anything is wrong with the sparsebundle other than it isn't seeming to want to reconnect to it.
I would really appreciate your help. I would hate that I started replacing (and lost) an entire 40GB iTunes folder for the silly reasons I'd wanted to restore it.

Harv Nagra wrote:
Time Machine is being used on an Airport Extreme with connected Air Disk (WD hard drive). I know this may be officially unsupported, but I've had no problems with it for the year that I've been using Time Machine to back up and recover various files.
That's likely the cause of the problem, and is the reason we advise against it -- it may work, for a while, but sooner or later, the backups tend to turn up corrupted.
Try repairing them, per #A5 in [Time Machine - Troubleshooting|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Troubleshooting.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).
If that doesn't help, you might be able to view and restore from the backups in that sparse bundle via the +*Browse Other Time Machine Disks+* option, per #E2 in Troubleshooting.
Whether you can recover the data or not, you're playing with fire. Please see #2 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), for supported destinations; and #27 for advice on "secondary" backups.

Similar Messages

Time Machine won't connect over WiFi

I'm running 10.7.4 on my MacBook Pro. I have an airport extreme that I have a Western Digital 2Gb network drive connected to. I performed a full backup over the network and have had subsuquent backups work fine. Recently I have been getting the following message and I can't get Time Machine to backup any changes I have on my computer. "The backup disk image “/Volumes/TimeMachine/dave (2).sparsebundle” is already in use." If I reboot the computer and the drive, I still can't get it to backup. I am able to access the drive by selecting connect to server in the GO menu, but the Time Machine won't connect. Any suggestions? Thanks.

See C17
http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
But your doing something that is not supported and frankly many people find does exactly what you experience... it works well for a while and then just won't work.. you can verify the disk.. see A5 in the same post as listed. You probably need to wipe it and start again.. but this will keep happening.. The AEBS is not suitable for this task.
See http://pondini.org/TM/Airport.html
Pondini is our guru on all things Time Machine.
When he says jump, the response is how high?? Not why?

Time machine won't connect to my shared external hard drive connected to my airport utility

I connected my hard drive directly to my iMac and have backed up my system. Ive since connected the external hard drive to my airport utility. I can save documents to my hard drive wirelessly however when I've tried to back it up again I'm unable to do so. The drive is visible when I go into utility settings I just can't back up to it. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Officially, like Bob said, it's not supported by Apple at all. Unofficially, it is really hit/miss for most people but may be worth a shot if you've got a spare afternoon to try it out.
As an anecdote, I had a first-generation 802.11n AEBS and it did not work for me at all. However, a few years later, I upgraded to a 3rd Gen AEBS (Dual-Band), it has worked just fine. In fact, it recognizes the drive as a Time Capsule backup.
My guess is it has or had something to do with converting Ethernet/Wi-Fi––>Router––>USB––>SATA (HDD) whereas the Time Capsule is simply Ethernet/Wi-Fi––>Router––>SATA (HDD). The Time Capsule is an ideal setup but if you've already got an AEBS and don't need two routers, it may be worth a shot.
I'm using a Western Digital 2TB "green" drive with a cheapie Acomdata USB 2.0 enclosure between an iMac (ours) and a Macbook (hers). I still back my personal laptop up manually simply because of the tradeoff of speed vs. convenience. For instance, our iMac is wired via Gigabit Ethernet to the AEBS while my wife's Macbook is always wireless (via 802.11n). The difference in backup speed for either of them is rather indistinguishable but the initial backup takes more than a few hours depending on how many GB of data you have. Hooked up directly, the backup is a fraction of time in comparison. Therefore, the point is: If you regularly make LARGE backups (i.e. Virtual Machines, Videos, etc.), it's worth it to backup locally. Otherwise, if your backups are rather small (i.e. Text docs, a few songs, pictures, etc.), it's a wash.
The idea of NAS for Time Machine backups is really nice but hardly ideal if you're routinely backing up large files (or equally large changes to them).

Time machine won't find my wireless network for backup

Time machine won't connect to my external hard drive. It still exists in timemachine set up, but airport utility can't find it - says it doesn't exist. The option to set up airport utility manually is greyed out and not available. The problem happened when i changed my wireless router. The hard drive is a WD MyBookLive and the router is a Belkin. I'd really appreciate your help - this is driving me nuts! :-)

Well, the set up is this:
Motorola modem connects to
Belkin N300 by Cat 5 cable which then connects to
D-Link gigabit switch which connects to
Macbook pro by ethernet cable.
The Belkin also creates the wireless network, which is used by various devices in the house, including the printer.
Error messages I have received are:
From Time Machine (which lists the MyBook as one of its choices, but then can't find it): "
The server "MyBookLive.local" may not exist or it is unavailable at this time. Check the server name or IP address, check your network connection, and then try again."
From the MyBook (which was previously working fine):
Hoping this may assist!
Many thanks,
Bruce

After installing Mountain Lion, my Time Machine won't back up ... says the sparsebundle is in use

After installing Mountain Lion, my Time Machine won't back up ... says the sparsebundle is in use

Standard problem in ML.. apple do not seem to want to recognise.
Reboot the TC .. if that fails restart the whole network in correct order.. modem.. router/TC... clients.. with 2min gap.
There are other suggestions like changing the password.. all they do is the same as reboot.
Read C12.. most quoted Q in pondini website history. This is asked 10 times a day.
http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
Here is another way to get a useful utility in ML.. rather than toyland version.
How to load 5.6 into ML.
1. Download 5.6 for Lion.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1482
Click to open the dmg but do not attempt to install the pkg.. it won't work anyway.
2. Download and install unpkg.
http://www.timdoug.com/unpkg/
Run unpkg on the desktop.. it is very simple.. drag the AirPortUtility56.pkg file over to unpkg.. and it will create a new directory of the same name on the desktop.. drill down.. applications utilities .. there lo and behold is Airport utility 5.6 .. drag it to your main utilities directory or just run it from current location.
You cannot uninstall 6.1 so don't try.. and you cannot or should not run them both at the same time.. so just ignore the toyland version.. the plastic hammer.. and start using 5.6.. a real tool.

My Time machine won't back up. Recently updated to OS x 10.7.5. Error message is as follows: "The backup disk image "/Volumes/Time Machine Backup/Scott's MacBook Pro.sparsebundle" is already in use." What is wrong and how do I fix it? Thanks.

My Time machine won't back up. Recently updated to OS x 10.7.5. Error message is as follows: "The backup disk image “/Volumes/Time Machine Backup/Scott’s MacBook Pro.sparsebundle” is already in use." What is wrong and how do I fix it? Thanks.

Have you tried restarting the computer? Also, see Time Machine Error from this pages sidebar under More Like This.

Time machine won't backup on second mac because it says sparsebundle is already in use?

time machine won't backup on second mac because it says sparsebundle is already in use. What is the fix?

Make sure that the first Mac is not backing up at the time....then....
Pull the power cord from the back of the Time Capsule
Count to ten
Plug the power cord back into the back of the Time Capsule
Try a backup again from the second Mac in a few minutes
Post on your results

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).

Time Machine error -1, cannot access sparsebundle (but not a NAS or WD problem)

Hello, this is my first post here, so I'll try to make it a good one!
I've been wrestling with this problem ever since I bought my Core i7 iMac (SSD + 1TB HD) over a year ago. I have not gotten Time Machine to work during that whole time. Well, I got it to work backing up directly to my internal HD, but that was just a test; it's not what I want. So let me describe this in the most clear and consise way I can:
I want the Time Machine disk to be my Synology NAS. I've configured a share on it correctly. I have an older iMac running SnowLeopard backing up to the same share on the NAS with TimeMachine successfully. But, my iMac won't do it. Whether I create the sparsebundle manually, or I let TimeMachine create it, it always gives the same "error -1". I wrote a more detailed account of my symptoms here (my message is the reply), when I thought this was a NAS-specific issue.
New development: This is not a NAS issue. I found that out by trying an experiment:
First, I tried to back up my SSD using Time Machine to my internal 1TB disk - I selected the "1 TB Secondary Disk" as the Time Machine disk. I initiated the backup, and it worked fine, putting the time machine backup in the "Backups.backupsdb" directory structure at the root of the drive. I then turned off Time Machine and "removed" the 1TB as my backup disk.
Then, I created a sparsebundle at the root of the drive using this command:
hdiutil create -size 150g -fs HFS+J -volname "Time Machine" NAME_xxxxxxxxxxxx.sparsebundle
(where the "xxxxxxxxxxxx" is my ethernet MAC address). I then selected the "1 TB Secondary Disk" as the Time Machine disk again. Time Machine found my sparsebundle and started working with it... and got "error -1"! So even on a local drive, when Time Machine tries to use a sparsebundle for backing up, it still doesn't work.
Now, I have the console log entries that were written during the Time Machine backup attempt:
1/1/13 12:53:59.511 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: Starting manual backup
1/1/13 12:54:00.780 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: Renaming /Volumes/1 TB Secondary Disk/NAME_3c07540fdd8c.sparsebundle to /Volumes/1 TB Secondary Disk/iMac.sparsebundle
1/1/13 12:54:00.871 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: detach: could not open /dev/disk4
1/1/13 12:54:01.260 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: Resizing backup disk image from 161.06 GB to 999.76 GB
1/1/13 12:54:02.940 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: Waiting 60 seconds and trying again.
1/1/13 12:55:03.378 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: Resizing backup disk image from 161.06 GB to 999.76 GB
1/1/13 12:55:06.013 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: Waiting 60 seconds and trying again.
1/1/13 12:56:06.619 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: Resizing backup disk image from 161.06 GB to 999.76 GB
1/1/13 12:56:09.255 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: Giving up after 3 retries.
1/1/13 12:56:19.263 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: Backup failed with error: 21
1/1/13 12:56:19.265 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: [SnapshotUtilities mountPointForVolumeRef] FSGetVolumeInfo returned: -35
1/1/13 12:56:19.265 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: Failed to eject volume (null) (FSVolumeRefNum: 0; status: -35; dissenting pid: -1)
1/1/13 12:56:19.265 PM com.apple.backupd[4460]: Failed to eject Time Machine disk image: /Volumes/1 TB Secondary Disk/iMac.sparsebundle
So, here I see it tries to resize the sparsebundle to the full volume size, and fails. I don't think I want it to do this resize, because I don't want it to fill up my whole NAS share. I searched and found this post, which specifies how to set the permissions in the sparsebundle such that it won't be resized. I followed those instructions with a new sparsebundle, and see the same problem... tries to resize, and fails.
I do not have Western Digital software installed and never have.
I've tried everything on this page.
It seems like the attempt to resize is corrupting the sparsebundle. Before starting the backup, I can mount the sparsebundle and manually copy files to it. After attempting the backup, I can mount the sparsebundle, but I cannot copy anything to it manually. Note that I can mount the sparsebundle that the MacBook Pro uses for Time Machine, and manually copy files to and from it (in other words, the correct SnowLeopard configuration does allow manual copying).
I have tried repairing the sparsebundle using the Disk Utility, which restores the ability to manually copy files to it, but Time Machine once again renders it unwriteable when it attempts to back up.
Anyone know of anything else I can try? Thank you so much!
Dan

Yeah, sorry about the broken link. I noticed that link wasn't working after I replied, then I edited my earlier reply. Also, yes, copying the files was just meant as a test; I created new clean sparsebundles for other tries.
Anyway, I'm not too worried about the resizing for now; first things first, let's just get Time Machine working with a sparsebundle at all.
I don't know how to make Time Machine create its own sparsebundle on my local drive; if there isn't a manually created sparsebundle at the root, it just puts everything in the "Backups.backupsdb" directory structure without a sparsebundle. However, it of course does create its own sparsebundle when I point it to my NAS share (as I understand it, Time Machine knows the NAS filesystem doesn't support everything it needs, so it creates the sparsebundle to emulate the correct filesystem). As I have always gotten the same "error -1" when using the NAS share as I did when using the local sparsebundle, I was assuming the same problem was happening in both cases... but now I've checked the console log after doing a backup attempt on the NAS share, and I see different stuff:
1/2/13 9:21:12.000 PM kernel[0]: AFP_VFS afpfs_mount: /Volumes/TM Backups, pid 9615
1/2/13 9:21:12.000 PM kernel[0]: AFP_VFS afpfs_mount : succeeded on volume 0xffffff8148d5b008 /Volumes/TM Backups (error = 0, retval = 0)
1/2/13 9:21:13.000 PM kernel[0]: AFP_VFS afpfs_unmount: /Volumes/TM Backups, flags 0, pid 9624
1/2/13 9:21:13.000 PM kernel[0]: AFP_VFS afpfs_unmount : We are the last mnt/sbmnt using volume /Volumes/TM Backups 0xffffff8148d5b008
1/2/13 9:21:13.000 PM kernel[0]: AFP_VFS afpfs_unmount : We are the last volume using socket /Volumes/TM Backups 0xffffff8148d5b008
1/2/13 9:21:49.647 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Starting manual backup
1/2/13 9:21:49.737 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Attempting to mount network destination URL: afp://[email protected]/TM%20Backups
1/2/13 9:22:00.060 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Mounted network destination at mount point: /Volumes/TM Backups using URL: afp://[email protected]/TM%20Backups
1/2/13 9:22:00.000 PM kernel[0]: AFP_VFS afpfs_mount: /Volumes/TM Backups, pid 9630
1/2/13 9:22:00.000 PM kernel[0]: AFP_VFS afpfs_mount : succeeded on volume 0xffffff8148ffb008 /Volumes/TM Backups (error = 0, retval = 0)
1/2/13 9:22:15.323 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Creating disk image /Volumes/TM Backups/iMac.sparsebundle
1/2/13 9:22:46.397 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Failed to hide extension on /Volumes/TM Backups/iMac.sparsebundle, error: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=4 "The file “iMac.sparsebundle” doesn’t exist." UserInfo=0x7fe881407700 {NSURL=file://localhost/Volumes/TM%20Backups/iMac.sparsebundle/, NSFilePath=/Volumes/TM Backups/iMac.sparsebundle, NSUnderlyingError=0x7fe8814073c0 "The operation couldn’t be completed. No such file or directory"}.
1/2/13 9:23:10.209 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Failed to eject volume /Volumes/TM Backups (FSVolumeRefNum: -153; status: -47; dissenting pid: 0)
1/2/13 9:23:10.210 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Waiting 60 seconds and trying again.
1/2/13 9:24:10.241 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Network destination already mounted at: /Volumes/TM Backups
1/2/13 9:24:56.305 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Failed to eject volume /Volumes/TM Backups (FSVolumeRefNum: -153; status: -47; dissenting pid: 0)
1/2/13 9:24:56.305 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Waiting 60 seconds and trying again.
1/2/13 9:25:56.326 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Network destination already mounted at: /Volumes/TM Backups
1/2/13 9:26:40.171 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Failed to eject volume /Volumes/TM Backups (FSVolumeRefNum: -153; status: -47; dissenting pid: 0)
1/2/13 9:26:40.171 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Giving up after 3 retries.
1/2/13 9:26:50.177 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Backup failed with error: 21
1/2/13 9:26:50.178 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: [SnapshotUtilities mountPointForVolumeRef] FSGetVolumeInfo returned: -35
1/2/13 9:26:50.178 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Failed to eject volume (null) (FSVolumeRefNum: 0; status: -35; dissenting pid: -1)
1/2/13 9:26:50.178 PM com.apple.backupd[9623]: Failed to eject Time Machine disk image: /Volumes/TM Backups/iMac.sparsebundle
So... looking through this, it does some mounting, which all works fine, then it does a create sparsebundle, which appears to work fine, but then it tries to "hide extension", but it can't because it can't find the sparsebundle that it supposedly created. Then it tries three times to eject the NAS share ('TM Backups'), and fails, and gives up. At this time I get the "error -1" pop up on my monitor, and check the NAS share (using the disk utility on the NAS managment page), and sure enough there is the sparsebundle "iMac.sparsebundle". So why does it create it, but then not be able to use it?
Skiing tomorrow, must sleep now. :-)

Time Machine won't back up onto Time Capsule

I upgraded to Mountain Lion last week, and Time Machine won't back up to my Time Capsule. When it fails, I get the message:
Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "Tom's Time Capsule".
The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data/TomsMac.sparsebundle" could not be created (error 60)
I sometimes get the same message, but with "error 17"
I also get the following error message popup (even though the disk is the one in my Time Capsule):
The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer.
The popup offers three choices: Initialize, Ignore, Eject.
My local Apple Store Genius concluded that the problem must be with the Time Capsule, so I bought a new one. That didn't fix the problem.
Time Machine Buddy messages:
Starting manual backup
Attempting to mount network destination URL: afp://Tom%[email protected]/Data
Mounted network destination at mount point: /Volumes/Data using URL: afp://Tom%[email protected]/Data
Creating disk image /Volumes/Data/TomsMac.sparsebundle
Error 60 creating backup disk image
Failed to create disk image /Volumes/Data/TomsMac.sparsebundle, status: 60
Backup failed with error: 20
Failed to eject volume /Volumes/Data (FSVolumeRefNum: -108; status: -47; dissenting pid: 0)
I did Repair Disk Permissions and Verify Disk and everything's OK.
I erased the Time Capsule using AirPort Utility and did a hard reset on the Time Capsule.
I did a re-install of Mountain Lion and that didn't fix anything.
My MacBook Pro is accessing the Time Capsule wirelessly, as it always has.
Help!

Just to be sure, we're talking about a Time Capsule -- not an AirPort Extreme connected to an external hard drive. Right?
If so, proceed as follows.
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).
*Note: If FileVault is enabled under OS X 10.7 or later, or if a firmware password is set, you can’t boot in safe mode.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem(s)?
After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

New MBP and Time Machine won't let me search out my NAS to save too. Any ideas?

When trying to set up time machine and using a NAS drive in my wireless network Time Machine won't let me search and select the storage device. I can access the storage and save/retrieve files so I can see and use it. Anyone got any ideas please?
Brand New MBP running Mavericks.

I'm having the same issue with Mavericks - and it appears to be Mavericks specific. I don't have this problem with Mountain Lion. Mountain Lion can see both of my NAS drives.
Additionally, with Mavericks Time Machine won't see your backup properly. It may only see the most recent backup. Though in my case it wouldn't load either one (I had two on different drives). To recover some files I had to use a machine running Mountain Lion to mount a backup file then I was able to extract the files to a USB drive, which I then moved to the Mavericks machine.
I've tried using terminal to run tmutil commands without luck. I have mounted the volume I want to use - it shows when I do "ls -l /Volumes". Then when I do sudo tmutil setdestination /Volumes/VOLUMENAME the system seems to go into an infinite loop. I have to ^c to get back to terminal.
Clearly with Time Machine on Mavericke Apple has really screwed the pooch.
MacBook Pro 2.3GHz i7 with DVD drive and standard resolution display.

I bought a new external hard drive for backups, but time machine won't do a full back up. I think it is remembering backing up onto previous external hard drives, which I don't own anymore. How do I do a new full backup?

I bought a new external hard drive for backups, but time machine won't do a full back up.
I think it is remembering backing up onto previous external hard drives, which I don't own anymore. How do I do a new full backup?
When I bought the new (used) iMac, I also bought an external hard drive for backups. It worked fine, but my husband stole it.
Then I bought a new external hard drive (Seagate) and it worked fine for three weeks, then died.
So I just got a new external hard drive, which was put together from an internal hard drive and a hard drive enclosure.
Time machine did the first backup today, and it should have taken 9 hours like it did on the previous first time full back up. Instead, it took 30 minutes. That can't be right. I want to start over and do a full backup to make sure everything gets onto my new external hard drive, but I can't figure out how to do that. Please help.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:
tmutil compare -E
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).
Launch the Terminal 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 Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V).
The command will take at least a few minutes to run. Eventually some lines of output will appear below what you entered.
Each line that begins with a plus sign (“+”) represents a file that has been added to the source volume since the last snapshot was taken. These files have not been backed up yet.
Each line that begins with an exclamation point (“!”) represents a file that has changed on the source volume. These files have been backed up, but not in their present state.
Each line that begins with a minus sign (“-“) represents a file that has been removed from the source volume.
At the end of the output, you’ll get some lines like the following:
Added:
Removed:
Changed:
These lines show the total amount of data added, removed, or changed on the source(s) since the last snapshot.

Time Machine won't back up external drive to Time Capsule

I recently got a Time Capsule, and successfully set it up to back up my iMac's primary drive, but for some reason Time Machine won't back up my external drive to the Time Capsule.
I removed the external drive from the exclusion list in System Preferences > Time Machine > Options, and from what I've read this should be sufficient to make Time Machine back up the drive.
The external drive is connected to my iMac via Thunderbolt > Thunderbolt-to-Firewire adaptor > Firewire 800 input, and the Time Capsule is connected via Ethernet to my LAN.
Since I'm using Ethernet, I've disabled Wi-Fi on the Time Capusule by going to AirPort Utility > My Time Capsule > Edit > Wireless > Network Mode > Off.
The reason I believe the external drive is not being backed up is because when I click the Time Machine icon in the upper-right status bar and choose "Enter Time Machine", none of the folders on external drive show any older versions.
Furthermore, when I click Finder > Time Machine Backups > Backups.backupdb, I can see only one sub-folder which has the name of my iMac's primary drive. I can't see any equivalent folder for my external drive.
Any idea what I'm doing wrong?

I don't see anything you have done wrong.. perhaps it does backup in a different way.
Load the widget.. A1 here... http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
That will allow you to track the log of TM to see what it is doing.
I would also try rebooting the computer.. exclude the drive again.. reboot.. and remove the exclusion.
You should be able to check the actual settings of TM in plist file.
And you can do a full reset of TM as well.. See A4. Check what is in the file. Pondini lists the location for you.
Nothing surprises me with Mountain Lion ...!!

Time Machine Won't Continue Old Backup

My computer was being repaired at Apple for a few weeks and I just got it back. No hard drive data was modified during the repair; the optical drive needed work. Anyway, I plugged in my external hard drive a few moments ago and it's backing up the whole system and won't let me return to the previous backups that I already have. I'm trying to recall a few files and Time Machine won't let me find them even though they're on the external drive. I did, however, accidentally rename the external hard drive when I was using it without Time Machine a few days ago.
Is there a way for me to continue where I left off with my old Time Machine backups? I'd hate to lose them all and I don't want to re-install the entire system from a previous one from a month or so ago; I just need to look at a few old files. Thanks for any help!
Greg

So, here's what happened.
Time Machine uses the xattr system to assign specific folders hidden attributes. Time Machine sets each folder up in its hierarchy with a xattr tag for the Ethernet MAC address of the machine it is backing up. This is all done invisibly. So, when I got a logic board, and a new MAC address, it wouldn't treat the old archive as concomitant with the new machine. So, here's how you fix this:
- remove the ACLs from the Time Machine DB
- use the xattr command at Terminal to put your new MAC address on the folder.
Full details are available here:
http://www.tombridge.com/rta/2008/01/after-the-apple.html

New Hard Drive installed - Time Machine wants to start over!?

Info: My MacBook Pro is the old version. Plus I have not upgraded to Snow Leopard.
I was running out of hard drive space so I took my MacBook to MacTown where I bought it on Monday night and they put in a 500GB hard drive for me. I asked if it would affect anything such as Time Machine, etc. They said it would not.
When I plugged it in Tue. night (after I picked it up) I got a message saying that it needed about 300GB for the backup and it only had 200GB available (I use a 500GB external drive for my Time Machine backups). I called yesterday and asked if it had to do with the new hard drive. The guy said no, I just had too much stuff on my backup and needed to delete some of it.
Well, last night I messed around with it and a)saw that Time Machine is supposed to delete old backups if it gets too full so this should not be the problem. b)I went into Time Machine and it does not show any old backups. It only has Feb. 1, 2010 as the last one. So, my conclusion: It does not recognize the old backup and wants to start over with my new hard drive.
I called back today and spoke with the guy who did the work. I told him this and he said I should just delete the old backups from my external drive and start over (if I am sure there is nothing I will ever want on it). He said to go to Disk Utility and re-format it.
My question: I am sure I don't need anything from the old backups, but am I not thinking of anything? Is there a chance they didn't copy something over, etc.?
Any advice would be appreciated. I am not impressed with the MacTown people right now.
Thanks,
Peace

Guitar Dude 7 wrote:
Info: My MacBook Pro is the old version. Plus I have not upgraded to Snow Leopard.
I was running out of hard drive space so I took my MacBook to MacTown where I bought it on Monday night and they put in a 500GB hard drive for me. I asked if it would affect anything such as Time Machine, etc. They said it would not.
Tell them about this Apple article: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1338
It does say may, not will, but it always does for me, and there are lots of similar posts in these forums. (This was supposed to be fixed in Snow Leopard, but it still does it.)
Well, last night I messed around with it and a)saw that Time Machine is supposed to delete old backups if it gets too full so this should not be the problem.
That depends. It won't delete the last remaining backup. To do a new full backup requires as much space as the data it's backing-up, plus 20% for workspace, etc., on the TM drive.
I went into Time Machine and it does not show any old backups. It only has Feb. 1, 2010 as the last one. So, my conclusion: It does not recognize the old backup and wants to start over with my new hard drive.
I called back today and spoke with the guy who did the work. I told him this and he said I should just delete the old backups from my external drive and start over (if I am sure there is nothing I will ever want on it). He said to go to Disk Utility and re-format it.
Correct. It is a new drive after all, and Time Machine's main role in life is to back-up anythng that's new or changed.
That's your only choice (although you can just erase it).
My question: I am sure I don't need anything from the old backups, but am I not thinking of anything? Is there a chance they didn't copy something over, etc.?
No, most likely, that's your only option.
Any advice would be appreciated. I am not impressed with the MacTown people right now.
Unfortunately, even the Geniuses at Apple Stores don't know a lot about Time Machine; in some cases, the AppleCare folks aren't a lot better.
You might want to review these:
Time Machine Tutorial
How to back up and restore your files
Time Machine Features
and perhaps browse the Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* at the top of this forum.

Time Machine won't connect to sparsebundle, wants to start over. Pls help!

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