tuusday
Level 1 (4 points)
Desktops

Q: Initial Time Machine backup.

I recently purchased a 1TB Seagate external HD to use with Time Machine on my mid-2011 iMac. I have never used TM previously, but I read and watched some tutorials to the point where I knew what to do.

 

The HD was recognized, I initiated TM, and we were off. I would say the average speed was around 1-2GB/per minute with the estimated time to finish around 3 hours. No problems at all.

 

However... there's now a holdup. It's been over 16+ hours and I've hovered around 28-29GB for probably 15 of these. Is this normal for the first backup or have I stumbled across something? I can't wrap my head around the first 28GB taking less than an hour and the next GB taking upwards of 15.

 

For what it's worth, I selected to encrypt the drive and crated a password.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Here's a picture of what I see.

 

Screen Shot 2016-09-26 at 4.30.44 PM.png

iMac, iOS 10.0.2, null

Posted on Sep 26, 2016 1:32 PM

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tuusday

Q: Initial Time Machine backup.

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  • Helpful answers

  • by rkaufmann87,Helpful

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Sep 26, 2016 1:56 PM in response to tuusday
    Level 9 (58,805 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 26, 2016 1:56 PM in response to tuusday

    Let it finish, if it takes more than 24 hours then start over by formatting the new Seagate in Disk Utility as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and name the backup drive something like Time Machine and backup again. You should also re-read Apple's Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support

  • by tuusday,

    tuusday tuusday Sep 26, 2016 1:56 PM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 26, 2016 1:56 PM in response to rkaufmann87

    Is there any reason you can think of why I'd be stuck on the current 29.25GB point for the past 10+ hours? I have my computer on no sleep at the moment, thought through everything. Don't understand why it would just stop after starting very quickly.

  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 Sep 26, 2016 4:04 PM in response to tuusday
    Level 9 (58,805 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Sep 26, 2016 4:04 PM in response to tuusday


    Well, to be honest I 'm not a big fan of Seagate or any of the other mass produced EHDs. My preference is for OWC (www.macsales.com) Mercury Elite Pros due to their simple design and their reliability. That is why I have 5 of them!

     

    That being said, your EHD should work assuming the Seagate was formatted okay to begin with and your system is working okay too.