Time Machine failure after power failure

Question

Time Machine failure after power failure

Like many others in these forums, I am unable to make a Time Machine backup following a power failure the other night. Prior to the power failure, I have been backing up using Time Machine to a WD500GB FW HD without incident for the past 6 months. I have tried everything listed in these forums, including reformatting the drive. I have also deleted time machine preference files, etc.

The backup appears to start and transfers a tremendous amount of information over several hours. It then quits - this time looks like related to iPhoto file. A subsequent attempted backup (at 13:22) gives "error: 18". The typical log file looks like this:

Nov 9 10:14:22 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Backup requested by user
Nov 9 10:14:22 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Starting standard backup
Nov 9 10:14:22 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Backup requested by user
Nov 9 10:14:22 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Untitled 1/Backups.backupdb
Nov 9 10:14:22 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
Nov 9 10:14:22 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Backup content size: 193.6 GB excluded items size: 344 KB for volume Macintosh HD
Nov 9 10:14:22 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: No pre-backup thinning needed: 232.29 GB requested (including padding), 465.29 GB available
Nov 9 10:14:22 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Waiting for index to be ready (909 > 0)
Nov 9 13:10:01 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Stopping backup.
Nov 9 13:10:01 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Error: (-47) SrcErr:NO Copying /Users/username/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2008/GRB 2008/IMG_3333.JPG to /Volumes/Untitled 1/Backups.backupdb/Intel iMac/2008-11-09-101422.inProgress/B25E8C1A-4D02-4272-9970-612A9BF60D90/Macintos h HD/Users/username/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2008/GRB 2008
Nov 9 13:10:01 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Error: (-8062) SrcErr:NO Copying /Users/username/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2008/GRB 2008/IMG_3333.JPG to /Volumes/Untitled 1/Backups.backupdb/Intel iMac/2008-11-09-101422.inProgress/B25E8C1A-4D02-4272-9970-612A9BF60D90/Macintos h HD/Users/username/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2008/GRB 2008
Nov 9 13:17:35 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException: * -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Resource busy
Nov 9 13:17:35 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException: * -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Resource busy
Nov 9 13:17:35 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException: * -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Resource busy
Nov 9 13:17:35 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Copied 179642 files (168.8 GB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Nov 9 13:17:35 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException: * -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Resource busy
Nov 9 13:17:35 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException: * -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Resource busy
Nov 9 13:17:36 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException: * -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Resource busy
Nov 9 13:17:36 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Error writing to backup log. NSFileHandleOperationException: * -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: Resource busy
Nov 9 13:17:41 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[336]: Backup canceled.

Nov 9 13:22:28 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[760]: Backup requested by user
Nov 9 13:22:28 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[760]: Starting standard backup
Nov 9 13:22:28 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[760]: Volume at path /Volumes/Untitled 1 does not appear to be the correct backup volume for this computer. (Cookies do not match)
Nov 9 13:22:33 Intel-iMac /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd[760]: Backup failed with error: 18

This is incredibly frustrating, and I would appreciate any assistance or suggestions.
Thanks in advance,
Josh

iMac Intel 24", Mac OS X (10.5.5), WD 160GB FW/USB2 HD

Posted on Nov 9, 2008 10:49 AM

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Answer 1

Nov 9, 2008 2:37 PM in response to Joshua Salvin

Joshua,

First, reboot the Mac. While it is rebooting, disconnect the Backup drive, shut it off, and then restart it.

Next, turn "OFF" Time Machine and force Spotlight to re-index BOTH your Mac and the backup drive. See the following...

*”Waiting for index to be ready” / “Unable to rebuild path cache for source item” / “Bulk setting Spotlight attributes failed”*
One of the processes Time Machine relies on for accurate backups is Spotlight indexing. With these indexes, Time Machine can quickly search the backup disk for files the user wishes to restore. When a routine backup begins, often the “Preparing Backup…” stage will include a phase that permits Spotlight to update its’ index of the backup disk. Momentarily the Spotlight icon in the menu bar will pulsate and the Console logs will report “Waiting for index to be ready”. Generally, this phase is so quick that the user is unaware that it occurred.

Unfortunately, this phase can hang thus preventing Time Machine from completing a backup. During this period, the Spotlight icon will continuously pulsate. Clicking on the Spotlight icon will reveal a progress bar with no estimate of the remaining time or it will indicate many hours of indexing still remains. The Console logs will continually report “Waiting for index to be ready”.

Ordinarily, Spotlight indexing is a good thing. And at times, if an index has become corrupt or untrustworthy, Spotlight will require a period of time to rebuild the index. If it has only been a couple of hours then let the process continue. However, if it has been many hours, and the Spotlight menu progress bar still does not indicate an estimated time of completion, then things have hung. You will need to force Spotlight to clear its’ indexes and re-catalogue all volumes. [http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2409]

*Force Spotlight to Rebuild Indexes*
Go to System Preferences --> Time Machine.
Using the slider on the left, turn OFF Time Machine backups for now.
Next, click “Show All” in the toolbar.
Select the Spotlight Preferences.
Click the Privacy Tab.
First, drag your Macs’ internal hard disk from the desktop to the Privacy list.
Wait 10 seconds, then highlight the Macs’ hard disk in the list and click the tiny “-” button at the bottom to remove it from the list.
Spotlight will initiate a reindex of the hard disk. If you click on the Spotlight menu icon you may see the message:

+“Spotlight helps you quickly find things on your computer. Spotlight will be available as soon as the contents of your computer have been indexed.”+

...and a progress bar will indicate the time remaining.
Once completed, drag your Time Machine backup disk into the Privacy list of the Spotlight Preferences.
Wait 10 seconds, then highlight the Time Machine backup disk in the list and click the tiny “-” button at the bottom to remove it from the list.
Spotlight will now initiate a reindex of the hard disk.
Once completed, if you have any other hard disks attached to your Mac that are also being backed using Time Machine, then force a reindex as well using the procedure outlined above.
Then turn Time Machine back ON and initiate a backup.

Let us know if this resolves your issue.

Cheers!

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Answer 2

Nov 9, 2008 5:44 PM in response to Glenn Carter

Glenn,
Thanks for your suggestions. Based on several of your previous posts in this forum, I had already re-indexed Spotlight on both the source drive (iMac) and the Time Machine drive (which I have re-partitioned and erased several times). Since that point, the "waiting for index" portion is very brief, and Time Machine promptly begins to transfer files. Transfer occurs for ~2 hours, then quits as per the log. When you browse the Time Machine Drive in the Finder, it appears empty. However, when you "Show Info", it appears that 190GB were transferred prior to failure of the backup.

I'm not sure, but looking at the log, it appears that an iPhoto file stops the transfer? The next message is "Error writing to backup log" error.

Subsequent backups then give the Error 18 message - "does not appear to be the correct backup volume for this computer"

Any additional insight is very much appreciated. I have come to greatly rely on Time Machine backups, and it would be great to get this working again.

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Answer 3

Nov 9, 2008 5:46 PM in response to Joshua Salvin

Joshua,

Launch Disk Utility and "Repair Disk Permission" on your Mac's internal drive. Then try resuming backups. If that fails...

Boot from your Leopard DVD, go up to the Utility menu and launch Disk Utility. Then run "Verify Disk". If problems are found run "Repair Disk". Do not run "Repair Disk Permissions" while booted from the Leopard DVD though. Then reboot and try backing up again.

Finally, if that fails, try excluding the specific folder that photo is in, then resume the backup. At least try to get the initial backup completed. You can deal with he corrupt photo later.

Cheers!

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Answer 4

Nov 9, 2008 5:56 PM in response to Glenn Carter

Thanks for the prompt reply, Glenn. I have repaired disk permissions on the internal drive before several attempts. I have also Verify Disk from Leopard DVD (no problems found).

Any thoughts on the fact that all problems started after the power outage the other night? Prior to this, backups worked flawlessly. Also, the photo is in iPhoto library - it has been there unchanged for months! I will try now to exclude iPhoto library for now, but obviously it is critical to have a backup of my photos.

Thanks again for your input,
Josh

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