Time Machine stuck in Preparing backup step

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Level 1

11 points

Time Machine stuck in Preparing backup step

I have a MacBook 12 inch early 2015 running macOS Mojave v 10.14.3. I am backing it up via wifi to an AirPort Time capsule. It has been running fine up until now. It no longer makes it past the "Preparing backup ..." message. I have let it run for two days and still nothing. I have tried to stop it and then go into the Backups.backupdb for the MacBook. There is never any file with the extension/name of .inProgress. What steps are there to troubleshoot and fix the hung TM process?

MacBook, macOS 10.14

Posted on Feb 27, 2019 5:57 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Tesserax

Level 10

157,830 points

Mar 3, 2019 12:38 PM in response to dewoody

FWIW. Time Machine is dependent on Spotlight. During the "Preparing for backup" stage, Time Machine is reviewing Spotlight's FSEvents database to see what has changed since the last backup. If it can't find or can't use this database, it will perform a "deep scan" in which all the files' date stamps are compared against an earlier record ... and basically a new database is built. Depending on how many files are present ... or if any file is corrupt, this could either take a considerable amount of time or never complete. Possibly what is happening in your case.

One potential option is to force Spotlight to re-index all of the drives that are being backed up. This can be done simply, by adding, and then, removing each drive from System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy > Exclusion List

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Answer 2

dewoody Author

Level 1

11 points

Mar 3, 2019 6:30 PM in response to Bob Timmons

There is Norton Security running on the MacBook. I will try to pause it and try the TM again. If the pause does not work i will uninstall it altogether to see if that clears it. If neither of these work then can try the Disk Utility First Aid on the Macintosh HD

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Answer 3

Feb 27, 2019 6:05 PM in response to dewoody

Stop the backup if it is still trying to run

Power off the Time Capsule

Restart your Mac

Power up the Time Capsule

Hold down the option key on your Mac while you click on the Time Machine "clock" icon at the top of the Mac's screen

Click on Verify Backups

The process might take 10-30 minute or more depending on how much data is stored on the Time Capsule and the speed of your WiFi connection.

Let the process run until it completes, or you receive an error message.

Report on your results.

If an error message appears, please post back with the exact message that appears

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Answer 4

Mar 3, 2019 7:49 AM in response to dewoody

We assume that you are not running any kind of anti-virus or any other application that claims to "enhance", "optimize", "speed up", etc your Mac.

Try the following on your Mac:

Open Disk Utility (Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility)

Select the Mac's hard drive, likely named Macintosh HD

Click on First Aid at the top of the screen

Wait for the process to complete, then try another backup

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Answer 5

dewoody Author

Level 1

11 points

Feb 28, 2019 6:07 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks for the quick reply Bob, i ran the verify and it did come back with a message ... Time Machine completed a verification of your backups on “xxxxx Airport Time Capsule”. To improve reliability, Time Machine must create a new backup for you.

So now I am back to square one and starting a new backup but at least it will not be stuck anymore. Thanks for the tip on holding down the option key and running the verify. I have started the new backup and will post back once that finishes.

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Answer 6

Tesserax

Level 10

157,830 points

Mar 1, 2019 12:53 PM in response to dewoody

Somethings to consider for future reference, should this issue reoccur ... and, unfortunately, it will:

Use the AirPort Utility's Archive option to make periodic archive copies of your Time Capsule's internal drive.
Be prepared to use a different backup destination as, you are probably already aware, Apple has gotten out of the networking hardware game. Although you can still find TCs from third-party sources, they will eventually "dry up" and you will be "forced" to use another method sooner than later.
Since the release of macOS Sierra, Time Machine backups to TCs have become, more and more, unreliable. What you just experienced is a perfect example. Interestingly, TM backups to just about anything other than the TC, does not seem to have the same issue.
Finally, you may also want to reconsider your overall backup strategy, especially if you are only relying on TM. Please take a look at the following article to see if it can help: macOS Backup Strategy - Apple Community

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Answer 7

dewoody Author

Level 1

11 points

Mar 3, 2019 6:26 AM in response to Tesserax

Well Tesserax, looks like you have a future as a fortune teller. The fresh new copy in TM never got past the Preparing backup step. I gave it two days since it was a new copy and needed to gather all files but to no avail it is stuck again. I have a second backup I keep remotely (at work) which is a USB portable drive (Seagate). I backup to that on a much less frequent basis. I tried that one and it is also stuck in the "Preparing Backup" state for over a day.

It must be something with the mac or with the OS.

If anyone has any other suggestions on how to get past the "Preparing Backup" stage please let me know.

Also - thank you for the information on TC and your backup strategy link. Once I get my TM working again, I will look into another option for a WiFi storage backup with TM.

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Answer 8

dewoody Author

Level 1

11 points

Mar 19, 2019 6:16 PM in response to dewoody

Well still no luck although I have more details ....

TM still stuck after pausing Virus Software. Totally uninstalled virus software and TM still stuck
Ran First Aid on Mac HD in Disk Utility - kick out some warning messages and said it needed to run First Aid in Recovery mode (tied TM anyway and still stuck) - I have the warning messages if needed.
Decided to manually back up my files and folders. Took some time for this step.
Booted up in Recovery mode and ran First aid on Mac HD. - just got the spinning beach ball and eventually laptop went to sleep mode and when pushed power button was a fresh power up
made appointment at genius bar at local apple store - they tried running their scan but laptop would not boot up with it running... they recommended sending it for a detailed hardware analysis for $575 (out of warranty) which would cover any needed hardware parts. I passed on that option for now as Mac runs fine (except for the one thing i could really use right now ... a TM backup!)
I think my next step will be to get the software reinstalled fresh and see if that clears the issue unless any other suggestions

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Answer 9

Mar 19, 2019 6:33 PM in response to dewoody

Ran First Aid on Mac HD in Disk Utility - kick out some warning messages and said it needed to run First Aid in Recovery mode (tied TM anyway and still stuck) - I have the warning messages if needed.

I have not ever seen this type of behavior, but think it would be a good idea to reinstall the Mac operating system.

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Time Machine stuck in Preparing backup step

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