tom in mpls

Q: Time  Machine hangs up on "Preparing Data"

My Time Capsule has been saving my automatic backups from my Macbook without any problems for a very long time. Recently I discovered that backups had stopped. I have not been able to reestablish backups. I decided to delete the file on my TC that I chose for my backups, then selected that same file again. When instructed to "Back up now", Time Machine progresses to "Preparing backup..." but never completes this stage. The blue progress bar shows movement  (deep blue keeps traveling to the right) but nothing more happens. Any suggestions on how to reestablish backups with the preexisting backups file?

Posted on Sep 12, 2016 8:36 PM

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Q: Time  Machine hangs up on "Preparing Data"

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  • by LaPastenague,Apple recommended

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Sep 12, 2016 11:30 PM in response to tom in mpls
    Level 9 (52,464 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 12, 2016 11:30 PM in response to tom in mpls

    You need to do a factory reset of the TC.. and a completely new configuration.

     

    Let me recommend the following.

     

    Factory reset universal

    Power off the TC.. ie pull the power cord or power off at the wall.. wait 10sec.. hold in the reset button.. be gentle.. power on again still holding in reset.. and keep holding it in for another 10sec. You may need some help as it is hard to both hold in reset and apply power. It will show success by rapidly blinking the front led. Release the reset.. and wait a couple of min for the TC to reset and come back with factory settings. If the front LED doesn’t blink rapidly you missed it and simply try again. The reset is fairly fragile in these.. press it so you feel it just click and no more.. I have seen people bend the lever or even break it. I use a toothpick as tool.

    N.B. None of your files on the hard disk of the TC are deleted.. this simply clears out the router settings of the TC.

     

    Setup the TC again.

     

    Then redo the setup from the computer you want to use for TM using Airport Utility.

    1. Use very short names.. NOT APPLE RECOMMENDED names. No spaces and pure alphanumerics.

    eg TCgen5 for basestation and TCwifi wireless name.

     

    If the wireless is still a problem set wireless names like TC24ghz and set the 5ghz to different name.. eg.TC5ghz

     

    2. Use all passwords that also comply with 1. but can be a bit longer. ie 8-20 characters mixed case and numbers.. no non-alphanumerics.

     

    **3. If the TC is main router you can skip this point. This is only an issue when the TC is bridged.

    Ensure the TC always takes the same IP address.. you will need to do this on the main router using dhcp reservation.. or a bit more complex setup using static IP in the TC.

    Ignore this point if you don't understand it .. post back if you have drop out issues.

     

     

    4. Make sure IPv6 is set correctly in the computer. ie link-local only for ethernet and/or wireless depending on which you use. Auto is not good enough.

    Once you complete the above..

    Reselect the TC as your backup target in TM setup.

    TM will say it is going to create a new backup and start in 120sec.

    What it will do is discover the existing setup and do a check of it.. if the old backup is verified as OK TM will continue using the existing backup.

     

    Be warned if the existing backup is corrupt TM will delete it and start over. Sometimes it is necessary to actually delete the old backup to get things going again. If the old backup is important to you .. archive the TC to a USB drive before you do a full erase and start over.

     

    Please read a few of the notes from Pondini. Old but still helpful.

     

    http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

     

    A4 and A5 on reset of TM and verifying backup and drive.

     

    B5 and B6 on reconnecting to your backups.

     

    IMHO it is simply better to start a fresh clean backup.

     

    TM is also less and less reliable to network drives.. if you want a reliable backup then buy a self powered USB drive .. plug that into your computer.. partition it in two and use Carbon Copy Cloner to make a bootable clone on the first partition and use TM on second partition. This is going to be faster, far more reliable and cheaper substitute to a new TC which is otherwise most likely needed.

    If your TC is more than 3years old it can simply need replacement.. they do die before that fairly often so if your is AC version don't be surprised.

  • by tom in mpls,

    tom in mpls tom in mpls Sep 17, 2016 11:19 AM in response to LaPastenague
    Level 1 (39 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 17, 2016 11:19 AM in response to LaPastenague

    Thank you for all of this information. There is still some sort of problem even when I reset the TC. I don't know if it is the TC or something else. TM seems to be able to locate the TC but still hangs up on "Preparing backup..."

  • by LaPastenague,

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Sep 17, 2016 2:10 PM in response to tom in mpls
    Level 9 (52,464 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 17, 2016 2:10 PM in response to tom in mpls

    Archive off all the existing backups. Start fresh backup. In the end you need to kick start it and that is often what is required.

     

    The TC older than 3 years should just be replaced. They become unreliable.

     

    You must verify local disk.

    Did you load any software recently into the computers.. security or anti-virus software on a Mac causes huge problems.. it will typically not work with Time Machine.

     

    The computer should backup directly (over wireless or ethernet) to the TC. Not via any other router in your network.

     

    No luck with any of this.. well I recommend you do a backup to a USB drive plugged directly into the computer. That way you have a viable current backup and can work out if Time Machine is having issues due to corrupt files on the local computer. TM works a lot better to local drives.

     

    And I would buy a 3rd party backup software like Carbon Copy Cloner and use that. Since about Mavericks we have seen the number of TM issues go up and up and the TM backup is much harder to work from than a direct clone. CCC can also backup to your TC. It is not over expensive and provides a way around your problem.

  • by tom in mpls,

    tom in mpls tom in mpls Sep 20, 2016 5:07 PM in response to LaPastenague
    Level 1 (39 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 20, 2016 5:07 PM in response to LaPastenague

    Very odd. I can still go into the Time Machine and access all the older backups. And the TC still shows up as a device in the finder. If I click on it, I can see the folder I created there called "Data" that holds all  my files. But if I click on that file to see it's contents, I get the message "The operation can’t be completed because the original item for “Data” can’t be found."

  • by LaPastenague,

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Sep 20, 2016 11:54 PM in response to tom in mpls
    Level 9 (52,464 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 20, 2016 11:54 PM in response to tom in mpls

    It sounds like you have setup a folder under an identically named folder.

     

    TM must work in the main folder of the TC .. it cannot put files into a secondary folder..

     

    And you did not create the main folder named data.. that is default configuration for every Time Capsule.

  • by tom in mpls,

    tom in mpls tom in mpls Sep 21, 2016 5:37 AM in response to LaPastenague
    Level 1 (39 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 21, 2016 5:37 AM in response to LaPastenague

    Sorry for creating confusion. I had forgotten that the Data file was preformatted and had assumed that I must have created it. There is only one Data file.

  • by LaPastenague,

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Sep 21, 2016 3:21 PM in response to tom in mpls
    Level 9 (52,464 points)
    Wireless
    Sep 21, 2016 3:21 PM in response to tom in mpls

    I would still go ahead and archive off data if you need to .. then erase the TC and start over. That is the best way to get things back to starting point and running.

  • by Informatixau,

    Informatixau Informatixau Sep 23, 2016 5:23 AM in response to LaPastenague
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 23, 2016 5:23 AM in response to LaPastenague

    we have done all this and it still does not work - there is a bug somewhere