Using snow leopard 10.6 snd can't get time machine  to back up

Every time I try back up my computer with time machine a error message comes up and says unable to complete backup, an error occurred while creating the backup folder. How do I fix

See if the late great Pondini's site can help you http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

Similar Messages

  • How can I get Time Machine to back up an external hard drive (iPhotos) that is attached to airport extreme base station. Note: Time machine is usb to macbook pro and external drive with iphotos is usb to airport extreme base station. Help please. Thanks!

    How can I get Time Machine to back up an external hard drive (iPhotos) that is attached to airport extreme base station. Note: Time machine is usb to macbook pro and external drive with iphotos is usb to airport extreme base station. Help please. Thanks!

    Once you have the drive connected to your Mac, click System Preferences (gear icon) on the dock
    Click Time Machine
    Click Options
    Be default, the hard drive will be Excluded from backups. Click the drive to highlight it, then click the "-" (minus) button at the bottom of the list to remove the drive from Excluded items.
    The drive will be backed up on the next Time Machine pass
    Everything above assumes that the hard drive has been formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as Time Machine will only backup drives in that format.

  • I can not get Time Machine to back up an external WD Passport 2 TB drive!  Has anyone else had this problem?  The drive is new and I was running Snow Leopard and upgraded to Lion and it still won't do it.  Time Machine backs up the internal drive fine.

    I bought 2 2TB WD Passport Drives with the intention of housing my iTunes/iPhoto libraries off my older MacBook.  I have successfully transferred the Libraries to one and am using the other one for Time Machine.  In Snow Leopard I could back up my computer to Time Machine no problem but when I did not exclude the iTunes/iPhoto drive the back up fails.  Both drives have been reformatted, permissions repaired and checked in Disk Utility and one was replaced.  I have been to the Genius Bar now 5 times.  I have tried using USB drive and FireWire.  Both drives are recognized and are working properly otherwise regardless how they are connected.  Finally yesterday the Apple store installed Lion to see if that fixed the issue and it did not.  Time Machine successfully backed up a USB Flash drive, and today I will try an older external drive.  Any ideas on what else to try??? Do I have to resort to third party software like Carbon Copy Cloned to get this done?  Any ideas why this wont work?  I am using a FireWire converter but as I said, both drives are working normally otherwise (libraries working, time machine working for the computer's hard drive.  Any ideas would be appreciated!!?

    Thanks so much but none of that helped.  It was driving me crazy because it would back up another external drive.  I just changed the name of the drive from iPhoto/iTunes Library to Media Libraries and IT WORKED!! I guess for some reason it didn't like the drive being called iPhoto or iTunes ???? I don't understand but I have tried so many solutions and exchanging things out but the name change did it????!!!
    Thank you for your help and replying to this.  Guess I made my own issue!

  • Can't get Time Machine to back up server or attached drives

    Tried to use the search on these new discussion forums and was told I'm not authorized to search the server forums so sorry if this has already been asked and answered.
    I'm having a serious issue trying to back up my Mac Mini Server running 10.6.7.  The setup is I've got the main server hard drive running the OS and storing user folders, the second drive is storing all server data (mail, ical, etc).  I have an attached Drobo that is where all our company's job files are stored.  I want to back up mainly the job files to an external USB drive via time machine.  I wouldn't mind having the server and data backed up as well but it's not as essential as the customer files.  I have not been able to get a successful Time Machine Backup of anything.  Time Machine will start backing up and hang after what seems like a random amount of data has been backed up.  This can range anywhere from a few hundred Gigabytes or a few Megabytes.  The last attempt has stalled out at 17MB of 518GB.
    The troubleshooting I've done so far is to try to back up only certain things, so:
    Format the USB Drive then try to back up only the main server hard drive, excluding all else.
    Format the USB Drive then try to back up only the server data hard drive, excluding all else.
    Format the USB Drive then try to back up only our jobs folder on the Drobo, excluding all else.
    The result has been the same every time.  Seemingly random amount of data get's copied and then the backup hangs.  I do not get an error message the Time Machine backup icon on the menu bar just keeps spinning and I have the Time Machine window up that says:
    Time Machine Backup
    Backing up 269,376 Items
    17.3 MB of 518.7 GB
    This current attempt was to backup just our jobs folder and was started yesterday morning so it has been over 24 hours.  Disk Checks on the external USB drive come up with no errors every time I've scanned it.
    Hoping someone has a solution.  One of the main reason's the company owner decided to get a mac server was how well time machine worked on his mac at home and the idea of being able to go back to pervious versions of customer jobs if necessary.

    I agree with Sven.  I use TM to backup my server and have had EXCELLENT success.  I work in a school with many teachers that love to delete files and empty the trash on their user accounts.
    >>facepalm<<
    They promptly come-a-runnin' crying about how they've lost that ever important document.  Time machine to the rescue!
    About the hanging problem...  I've see it as well.  I fixed it by finding the document that it was trying to back up.  I copied it to a USB stick and deleted said file from the server.
    I ran the time machine backup again, and it worked!  I kindly asked the teacher to just remake the file in question.  Luckily it wasn't anything important.  I just chalked that one up to a corrupt or unreadable file.
    Another thing to beware of.  DO NOT expect time machine to be able to do a complete system restore on OS X server.  It's great for getting those lost files while the system is up and running, but it will not work when trying to replace your Open Directory.  It might get stuck on MySQL, and Mail as well.  These databases are VERY finicky.  If you need to back up your OD database, open up server admin and select "Open Directory."
    Click the "Archive" button at the top.
    To the far right hand side of the "Archive in" field, click choose. 
    Select the location that you want to save your archive to (the time machine drive will work) and click choose.
    Click "Archive..."  Type the name for your OD backup and type a password if desired.  You don't need to have one. 
    Lastly... Smile on the inside knowing that your OD is nicely backed up and safe!

  • How can I get time machine to back up windows partion?

    How does that work with bootcamp?

    PokemonFan1987 wrote:
    winclone is a dmg mac program?
    I don't understand the question. Winclone is a mac program for backing up bootcamp partitions.
    http://twocanoes.com/winclone/

  • I am trying to update my time machine backup on time capsule, but time machine keeps trying to create an entirely new backup (evidenced by the 200GB backup size). How can I get time machine to modify my old backup rather than create a new one?

    I am trying to update my time machine backup on time capsule, but time machine keeps trying to create an entirely new backup (evidenced by the 200GB backup size). How can I get time machine to modify my old backup rather than create a new one?

    It must have found the old backup corrupt.. so you will more than likely have little choice. You can archive off the old backup if it is still useful.
    You can also verify it. See A5 http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
    He also has some info on this problem. eg C13.

  • Can you ask time machine to back up on command instead of waiting?

    Can you ask time machine to back up on command instead of waiting for time machine to back-up on next back-up time?

    ctrl (or right) click the TM icon in the Dock and say "Back up Now" is one way.
    ctrl (or right) click the Backup Disk icon in the Finder and say "Back up Now" is another
    This will give you an 'extra backup' as the regularly scheduled next backup will still take place.

  • How can I get time machine to use a previous backup db

    I back up my school macbook pro once every few months. I'd like to use the older backup DBs but time machine keeps creating a new one using the computer's name and adding a number to it. For example School Computer (3) 2. Is there a way to get time machine to just use the old DB so I don't run out of room on my external drive.
    Thanks in advance.

    Hi I'd like to jump in here. Your app showed me this:
    Time Machine:
              Skip System Files: NO
              Mobile backups: OFF
              Auto backup: YES
              Volumes being backed up:
                        Macintosh HD: Disk size: 749.3 GB Disk used: 453.81 GB
              Destinations:
                        Plastic Wrapper [Local] (Last used)
                        Total size: 999.86 GB
                        Total number of backups: 64
                        Oldest backup: 2013-07-24 23:25:11 +0000
                        Last backup: 2013-11-17 01:40:47 +0000
                        Size of backup disk: Too small
                                  Backup size 999.86 GB < (Disk used 453.81 GB X 3)
              Time Machine details may not be accurate.
              All volumes being backed up may not be listed.
              /sbin excluded from backup!
              /usr excluded from backup!
              /System excluded from backup!
              /bin excluded from backup!
              /private excluded from backup!
              /Library excluded from backup!
              /Applications excluded from backup!
    Aside from the size of my backup drive, which I will increase at some point, I'd really like to have time machine backing up all system folders, especially Applications. How to I reset this hidden exclusions?
    Thanks,
    Darcy

  • Can't get Time Machine to see new hard drive

    since I now have three computers using time machine to back up to one hard drive via airport base station USB connection, I decided to upgrade to a 1 TB hard drive from a 300 gb. The new HD is showing up as a shared drive in Finder attached to my wireless base station. However it's not showing up as a drive in Time Machine's setup. What I am missing here. The 300 gb drive worked fine.
    Roger

    Is the drive properly prepared?
    Extended Hard Drive Preparation
    1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
    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. Set the number of partitions from the drop down menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. 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 Options 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.
    This may be necessary for use with TM. Is the larger drive installed in an enclosure that supports drives larger than 500 GBs up to at least 1 TB?

  • I can't get Time Machine to recognize my external hard drive.

    I bought a new hard drive when we moved last September and it backed up my files once or twice.  Now I cannot get Time Machine to recognize it at all.
    I have tried to format it with Disc Utility and only get an error message:  Error: Unable to unmount volume for repair.  Is there anything I can do with this?

    Is the drive showing up in finder?
    Did you have it working then upgraded to Yosemite??
    Amongst the many many bug in yosemite is a bug/s to do with no longer being able to use USB drive.
    Did you try the fixes here.
    OS X Yosemite: If a USB device isn’t working
    Personally I would plug it into a computer running anything except Yosemite and you might find it works perfectly.. the issue then is not the drive.

  • How can I get Time Machine to only backup new and changed files?

    Time machine is backing up more than just new and changed files and is filling up my back up disk too fast.  How can I change it so that it will only back up the new or changed files instead of the whole drive?  I used to have my backups go back months, but now it is backing up only a couple days back, since there is no room left on my back up hard drive.  Each back up is like 400 gigs, instead of just the amount of the changed or new files.
    Thanks for any ideas or help!
    kt

    Thank you Eric!  I did go look at this info and tried to do a full reset of TM and I am still getting full backups of my HD instead of just new/changed files.  The weird thing is that I have 9 BU's from over the last 2 days and they all seem to be around 415 gigs and my backup HD is only 750 gigs!  I don't get it.  It shows that I have around 75 gigs of free space on that 750 gig drive.  It doesn't make sense.
    So I am having the same problems even after doing the full reset of TM. I am using Mavericks 10.9.5 which they don't talk about in this info.
    Does anyone have any further ideas on this?  I don't understand how I could possibly have that many full BU's on my HD that is only 750 gigs.
    Thank you,
    kt

  • Can't get Time Machine to work at all..

    I am very new to Mac, and have a Macbook running OS X 10.4.11 I have the 500 gb Time Capsule, but I can't find Time Machine anywhere.. do I need to upgrade my operating system? Sorry to be such a noob, but I am a recent convert, and it's a whole new world for me. thanks.

    Hi jayjay22
    Welcome to Apple Discussions!
    Yes Time Machine is only available in 10.5, to upgrade you will need to purchase a retail copy of Leopard.
    Click > [Here|http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC094Z/A/Mac-OSX-Leopard?fnode=MTY1NDAz OA&mco=MzgxMDAzMg] <
    Dennis

  • Can you get Time Machine to backup to a disk image?

    I just bought an OWC external enclosure that holds two SATA drives. I upgraded my internal (main) HD to a 1TB drive, and then put my old internal 500 gig (main) HD and my old internal 500 gig (time machine) HD into the external enclosure.
    So I'm good, with an external time machine raid array, that I can take off site.
    But, I really wanted to encrypt the data, so as if someone broke into my car and stole my offsite backup, not have my data.
    I thought about creating a 1TB (well, 930 gigs) encrypted image in disk utility on the external, mounting it, and choosing that for time machine. When I leave, shutdown would dismount the image, then turn off drive, unplug and leave.
    But time machine won't allow me to choose the image.
    I read about a terminal hack for backing up to unsupported network volumes....I tired that just for kicks, didn't work.
    Is there any way to get time machine to allow me to choose a mounted disk image as my backup volume?
    Thanks!

    Likewise, I'm interested in the same question, but for a different reason: backing up to a NAS. Since a disk image gives you a nice virtual HFS+ partition, it seems a lot less suicidal than trying to shoehorn a Time Machine backup into whatever the NAS's native filesystem happens to be.
    In theory it should be possible, since nested disk images (even mixing sparsebundle and plain old DMG) work just fine normally. And having your data in a nice monolithic DMG file would make it easier to copy and move the TM backups -- not to mention, you cap the max size and do encryption easily, as you described.
    But it's almost impossible to find this information on the Web -- Googling for this topic results in a bunch of noise about Time Machine's sparsebundle images. I managed to find one similar thread:
    http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=91297
    But that thread, like this thread, so far doesn't have any solution.
    I'm going to try to copy an existing TM backup to the disk image and see if that works. Will post again later, and hope that someone might have a solution someday.
    Incidentally, if all you want is encryption, apparently you can get an encrypted TM backup by manually creating the sparsebundle file and turning on encryption. See the parent thread to this comment:
    http://www.macosxhints.com/comment.php?mode=view&cid=98733
    Anyway, let's hope someone might have a time-machine-inside-a-disk-image solution someday...

  • How can I get Time Machine to restore a Leopard date on a Snow Leopard Mac?

    I just got a new winter 2011 MacBook Pro. I want to load up the date of May 30th via Time Machine, but I've run into a few errors. The biggest one being that it said Snow Leopard cannot use an older OS Leopard date. Therefore, I used Migration Assistant, which said it was a success after a 2-hour transfer. What do I do after that? It did not load the May 30th OS.

    I think the only way to do what you are asking is to first reinstall Leopard which will involve erasing the disk first before you can install the older version of Leopard. Once you have done that then you should be able to do the restore you are asking about.
    Since that is probably a significant amount work to do the restore, exactly what do you hope to gain by doing this? If you will share with us the problem you are attempting to solve, maybe we can come up with a easier solution for you.
    Allan

  • Snow leopard iMac fails to start up have time machine - what next?

    I have an iMac which is powering up the showing a spinning icon and the apple logo. But it goes no further. I have tried presiing shift on start up and zapping the pram but no improvement.
    For a while the iMac has been failing to start up but always did second time round.
    What is the strategy here? I have an external drive with time machine backups and the snow leopard install disks. I also have access to extra external hard drives and a mac mini.
    What would you recommend and what is the issue?

    Hi ukcfuser;
    Where is Time Machine backing up to?
    Hopefully not your system disk because it may have filled it up which can prevent you Mac from starting.
    I would suggest that you boot from the install DVD for your Mac. Let us know that results of that.
    Allan

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