How to hunt out corrupt files (Error 36) causing my Time Capsule backups to fail

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How to hunt out corrupt files (Error 36) causing my Time Capsule backups to fail

I used Time Machine (with my Time Capsule) flawlessly for years but then a month or two ago it failed every time I tried to run it. I connected a new external drive correctly formatted etc. and that too failed half way through saying "Time Machine couldn't complete the backup. An error occurred while copying files. The problem may be temporary..."

I then tried to manually copy my important folders to an external where I started getting many error 36 messages. The usual Dot Fix didn't help for these though so I just deleted the ones I came across. These errors possibly date back to when my older HDD was failing, hence the SSD replacement. I at that time restored from the Time Machine backup so possibly put corrupt files back.

I have run Disk Utility First Aid on both the external and my SSD on my iMac 27" running Mojave 10.14.5 and no errors come up.

I suspect there could be a few more error 36 files floating about that are causing the Time Machine backup to fail every time.

An advice here please?

iMac 27", macOS 10.14

Posted on Jun 5, 2019 12:15 PM

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Answer 1

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LaPastenague

Level 9

67,226 points

Jun 5, 2019 9:09 PM in response to Elquin

Use Carbon Copy Cloner.. (or alternative like SuperDuper or Chronosync.. I have no connection to CCC but I think it is the best value for money and functionality).

Mojave seems to really have more issues with Time Machine than ever.. Particularly to Network targets.

It is free to try and I would use an external USB drive plugged directly to your computer.. if CCC completely a full backup and a couple of incrementals without issues.. your files are unlikely to be the problem.. especially since you have already run first aid over them.

Anyway once you create a bootable clone on USB drive.. you can then boot from it and make sure everything is working properly on your computer.. If it all looks good.. reformat the drive and clean install Mojave.. then use migration assistant to copy your files and applications back to the computer. Remember you always can boot from the clone and be back to exactly how it was before you started so you have a safe way of doing this.

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Answer 2

Elquin Author

Level 1

8 points

Jun 7, 2019 11:47 AM in response to LaPastenague

Thank you LaPastenague

I installed CCC and it failed due to the corrupt (Code 36) files but did log them all. I then manually removed them and wallah its all working now. I think I still want to rebuild my Mac including a drive format. I'll make another Time Machine backup to be doubly safe since that's finally working again too.

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How to hunt out corrupt files (Error 36) causing my Time Capsule backups to fail

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