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Backup failed with error: 11

Hi all,

I had a problem backing up with timemachine in another post. I got a new hard drive, wiped it, verified it with disk utility, and set it up with time machine.

Now I am getting "unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume" all over again. It looks like it's something to do with the particular files but I don't understand what it's trying to tell me.

I had a similar error with a printer file and so I just deleted the entire printer files, but now it's bringing up others. Please help.

Macbook pro, all the newest updates, 1Tb brand new seagate hard drive via firewire.

Here is the log from the dashboard widget.

Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/Untitled/Backups.backupdb
Ownership is disabled on the backup destination volume. Enabling.
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
Backup content size: 134.6 GB excluded items size: 2.1 GB for volume Macintosh HD
No pre-backup thinning needed: 158.96 GB requested (including padding), 930.96 GB available
Waiting for index to be ready (909 > 0)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Applications/OnyX.app/Contents/Resources/sv.lproj/OnyXHelp/pgs/journal.html to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Applications/OnyX.app/Contents/Resources/Turkish.lproj/MainMenu.nib/designable .nib to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/Grant/Desktop/from windows/Memory Stick/Orginized/Therapeia/CD from Erika/_brand design#650E/therapeia mood_boards3.pdf to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/Grant/Desktop/Voice Memos from Ali's ipod/Recordings/IMT/20070312 055845.wav to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying /Users/Grant/Desktop/Voice Memos from Ali's ipod/Recordings/IMT/20070312 055845.wav to /Volumes/Untitled/Backups.backupdb/Grant Leitheiser’s Computer/2009-07-03-194552.inProgress/411DE787-EF1E-4930-B9F0-522C9A18B97C/Maci ntosh HD/Users/Grant/Desktop/Voice Memos from Ali's ipod/Recordings/IMT
Stopping backup.
Error: (-8062) SrcErr:NO Copying /Users/Grant/Desktop/Voice Memos from Ali's ipod/Recordings/IMT/20070312 055845.wav to /Volumes/Untitled/Backups.backupdb/Grant Leitheiser’s Computer/2009-07-03-194552.inProgress/411DE787-EF1E-4930-B9F0-522C9A18B97C/Maci ntosh HD/Users/Grant/Desktop/Voice Memos from Ali's ipod/Recordings/IMT
Copied 171883 files (28.6 GB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Copy stage failed with error:11
Backup failed with error: 11

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Jul 3, 2009 9:07 PM

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Posted on Jul 3, 2009 9:20 PM

Search these forums for UUID. There was a discussion recently that was related to your problem.
6 replies

Jul 3, 2009 9:46 PM in response to Kappy

Kappy wrote:
Search these forums for UUID. There was a discussion recently that was related to your problem.


I looked at your reply to one posted by TripleChime on 6/13/09.

It doesn't seem to relate. Is this the one you were referring to?

Kappy wrote:
TM uses the UUID to identify volumes, and apparently there's a problem with the UUID on the backup drive and the UUID of the main drive. I would suggest erasing the TM backup drive and starting the TM backup anew.


I did this and it was a brand new drive


You then wrote:

Kappy wrote:
Sorry, but Topher was closer to the right track than I was. Apparently it means that the TM logs are out of sync. Allow the backup to continue which, as Topher stated, may take awhile due to the required deep traversal. Eventually everything will get back in order.


It won't go the full time so I am not sure if this is relevant?

Jul 3, 2009 9:48 PM in response to gsleitheiser

I just tried again after deleting a few problem files and here is the error this time:

Starting standard backup
Backing up to: /Volumes/Sick New Backup/Backups.backupdb
Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD
No pre-backup thinning needed: 132.95 GB requested (including padding), 900.52 GB available
Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Users/Grant/Documents/School.zip to (null)
Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying /Users/Grant/Documents/School.zip to /Volumes/Sick New Backup/Backups.backupdb/Grant Leitheiser’s Computer/2009-07-03-194552.inProgress/23CD838F-E3B6-45C5-850F-CA9254C88092/Maci ntosh HD/Users/Grant/Documents
Stopping backup.
Error: (-8062) SrcErr:NO Copying /Users/Grant/Documents/School.zip to /Volumes/Sick New Backup/Backups.backupdb/Grant Leitheiser’s Computer/2009-07-03-194552.inProgress/23CD838F-E3B6-45C5-850F-CA9254C88092/Maci ntosh HD/Users/Grant/Documents
Copied 123885 files (35.7 GB) from volume Macintosh HD.
Copy stage failed with error:11
Backup failed with error: 11

Jul 3, 2009 10:01 PM in response to gsleitheiser

No, I don't think that's the one. There was one that had a specific fix for the UUID mismatch problem. As I recall it had something to do with using the Advanced Options in Accounts preferences. I'm afraid if I tell you what I think it is it may prove wrong, and if you screw that up it could mess with the whold operating system.

The various errors reported suggest something is wrong with the files or folders TM is trying to copy. A -36 error, for example, can mean a corrupted file, a file that is too large, a file whose filename is too long or contains illegal characters.

This could also mean your TM backup drive was never properly partitioned and formatted. In any case you may want to do this:

Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions

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 and Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.

If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger, and 4.1 for Leopard) and/or TechTool Pro (4.6.1 for Leopard) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

Have you tried deselecting your backup drive in TM preferences, then turn off TM. Then turn TM back on and reselect your backup drive. And if all else fails repartition and reformat the drive then start your TM backup anew.

Jul 15, 2009 6:26 AM in response to Kappy

I have this error, too. It makes Time Machine unusable for me. This is really bad. I purchased a new internal 1GB hard drive for my Mac Pro (and checked it; it's perfect). TM even formats the drive, so it is not a formatting issue. I also checked the file system on the source drives, and it is ok. the error is reproducible.


why can't Time Machine give a more informative error? we are no longer in the era where text for error messages consumed expensive bytes.

what file is TM trying to copy? is the error in reading the file or in writing the file? (when an 'exception' occurs, TM could then try to read the source file and then try to write the dest file, and see which of these two is the problem.)

for a "big feature" in OSX, this would not seem to be too much to ask for.

is there a way to learn what file is being copied when the error occurred? some of my file systems are case-sensitive, so I wonder if this could be the problem.

/iaw

Jul 15, 2009 11:29 AM in response to iaw4

iaw4 wrote:
I have this error, too. It makes Time Machine unusable for me. This is really bad. I purchased a new internal 1GB hard drive for my Mac Pro (and checked it; it's perfect). TM even formats the drive, so it is not a formatting issue.


Not necessarily. It sometimes formats it as case-sensitive when it shouldn't.

Check it via the procedure in item #C1 of the Time Machine - Troubleshooting post at the top of this forum.

I also checked the file system on the source drives, and it is ok.


Again, not necessarily. That checks the directory structure, etc., not the content of individual files.

why can't Time Machine give a more informative error? we are no longer in the era where text for error messages consumed expensive bytes.


It does. If you notice the messages in a couple of the previous posts, TM sends detailed messages to your logs. The easiest way to see them is to Click here to download the +Time Machine Buddy+ widget. It shows the messages from your logs for one TM backup run at a time, in a small window.

You can copy these messages by selecting them via dragging your mouse over them (be sure to get them all, as they may overflow the small window), then pressing CMD-C. This copies them to your "clipboard," so you can post them here (via CMD-V).

some of my file systems are case-sensitive, so I wonder if this could be the problem.


Yes, that's entirely possible. Do you mean that some of your drives being backed-up are case-sensitive and others are not? If so, that may not be the reason for your current failure, but it's a recipe for trouble.

Post the widget messages (and/or look in the Troubleshooting post referenced above), and we should be able to address this failure.

Backup failed with error: 11

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