Time Capsule access via Time Machine blocked by Catalina (after clean install)

Time Machine problems after Catalina install have been discussed in several threads for about 5 months now. Is an update coming to fix this problem or not?

Apple do not reveal secret inner workings of their OS.. their plans for future... nor do they openly admit errors, mistakes or anything that puts them in a bad light. Hence in a user to user forum all we can go on is past history which is not encouraging.

After 3 major bug fixes.. Time Machine has not been fixed.. nor was it fixed in the last 4 or 5 versions of Mac OS where it was noted in outside press that Time Machine was becoming a joke.

https://www.macworld.com/article/3170844/when-backups-go-bad-the-problem-with-using-network-drives-with-time-machine.html

https://eclecticlight.co/2017/05/13/macos-sierra-bug-not-fixed-time-machine-backups-still-stop-working/

With Catalina more major changes were made. For the first time since Leopard Time Machine backup container name was changed from Sparsebundle to Backupbundle without any info to the unwashed.. we have no idea why but maybe to do with the new way APFS partitions the drive. This has stopped people seeing pre-catalina backups and often even recent post catalina backups.

All we can say here really is backups to network targets are more error prone than ever.

Two recommendations.

Use local disks for Time Machine.

Use Carbon Copy Cloner or similar for backups to network disks.

I am a bit confused.

Thanks. I should note that the Mac Air is running 10.9 -- I'm reluctant to update it due to low RAM.

Your first post stated,

However, daily backups from my MacAir to the Time Capsule are no longer accessible, both pre- and post-Catalina install.

I did assume that meant you had updated the Air to Catalina.. I now see you did not do that but in fact the Time Capsule stopped working before all this happened.

I also want to clarify the issue here.

So is there no way to retrieve 1,000 family photos from the Time Capsule? Uninstall 10.15 ???

Which computer had the 1000 family photos?

Are the photos in a Time Machine backup and no longer on a computer?

Or did you move the photos to a directory on the TC using Finder.. without Time Machine.

After you installed Catalina didn't you use migration assistant to copy the files back to the mini?

Let me make it clear .. Time Machine is NOT SAFE place ever to store files. It cannot be used as repository. You must copy those files to a separate disk or cloud.. indeed Apple almost forced you to copy all the photos to cloud.

Tell us the full story because we are missing something.

It also sounds like trouble started well before you installed Catalina.

You need to make a backup NOW of the disk in the Time Capsule. If it is not responding on either Mac or iOS to airport utility even after a reboot then reset it. No files are lost on the TC by reboot or reset.

Plug in a Mac formatted hard disk of 2TB or larger and use Archive function in the TC disk tab.

It will probably take 24hours to copy a full 2TB but leave it run before you do anything else.. you can then plug that disk into your computer and attempt to open the backup.

If you stored your files/photos in a new directory you created on the TC they will be copied to the archive. And you can access them from the USB drive. If you created the folder inside a sparse bundle YOU ARE IN TROUBLE.

So when you clean installed Catalina you never restored your files to the mini?

That might still work. Reboot the TC or even as mentioned above reset it and reconfigure from the mini. That should get things going as far as network access is concerned. Start migration assistant and see if you can find the previous backup for the mini.

It might also help if you show me a list of backups on the mini by mounting the TC disk in Finder.

I figure what is important now is

Can you access the TC and recover your files.. ?????

Once you do that you can ignore the whole lot and start again any way you desire..

I need to know everything to help.. so far you have not actually given us sufficient network info to help with network.

. Do you still think Migration Assistant will work? I haven't tried it yet.

Do or Do NOT .. there is no try.. master yoda.

In the world of pain called Time Machine there is lots of trial and pain. So throw out all your Force indoctrination... it is useless not to try.. so try.. and try and try some more.

Chose Extend as the option for the Airport Extreme, which created the extra password.

You are introducing new items into the discussion all the time. Give me everything.

I need to know what model your main router is and how it is configured.. Screenshots of what you are seeing in airport utility helps me enormously.

What model is the Extreme and how it is configured??

What model is the TC and how it is configured??

Screenshots from airport utility assuming it now works helps no end.

It is perhaps time to move the TC directly to plug into the Mac Mini and see if you can access it for recovery of your files. Forget the network outside of that.

Once you accomplish this.. reestablish the network.

For the future .. Forget Time Machine as backup software for Catalina.. download and use Carbon Copy Cloner.. a reliable backup as opposed to Time Machine which is NOT reliable at all.

BTW, the home network and the user with admin privileges on the Catalain MacMini both still have Apple-prompted space characters in their names, so I should change those two as well, then try once more to access TM?

You need to fix the setup in Time Machine by repointing it to the location of the backup.

Just select the backup location now and add it to time machine.. and delete old entries.. they won't work now.

However, I avoided upgrading MacMini from 10.13 due to quirks I read about when 10.14 came out, so maybe just re-install 10.13 if I can find it via App Store?

Yes.. but do it via Recovery as I already explained.. boot to recovery and use set assistant. If the last backup is still available then load it to a USB drive otherwise you are going to totally mess yourself up and us as well..

I reiterate that Catalina is unsuited to 2012 mac mini.. Mojave is likely the best one to stick with. And no more upgrades.

Just as a general observation to start with.. I did upgrade a 2012 mini to Catalina in just the last week or so.. it was only i5 version but I quickly determined it was causing far to much processor activity. Went back to Mojave and it was a lot better. Let me say I think Mojave suits the 2012 mini better.. In communication with another person the genius at Apple store said Mojave was really the best after they had issues with Catalina.. which tied with what I already discovered. Your i7 4 core will be better but it really caused issues because all the old software which was 32 bit no longer works in Catalina. Also I would put 16GB of RAM into the mini.. it is relatively cheap if you search around. 4GB is no where near enough with later OS.

AFAIK Catalina cannot affect the backups from other Macs.

I would turn off the mini and reboot the TC and see if that helps get your TM backups working on the other computers.

You did not tell me where and how the photos are stored.. but I am guessing it is inside a Time Machine backup from another computer.

Use wired Migration Assistant to copy photos (probably <20 GB total) from the Time Capsule to the MacAir.

Difficult but not impossible.. the issue here is you cannot select just photos.. you must select all user files of the particular user.. however you can select recovery to a different disk.. and that should be external drive so you can then have the files in a location you merely copy them to the Mini.

Reset Time Capsule (via Airport Utility?)

Possible but the easiest way is to hold in the reset button for 10sec.. then reconfigure the TC from whichever computer you are desperate to recover files to.

This time when you run through the setup.. use only short names.

eg Name of the Time Capsule.. tc

wireless name tc

password short and simple. randomly type 8 numbers..

This helps everything work properly.

Backup for MacMini was still spinning as "loading" after half an hour.

Sometimes it will need to reindex a backup and that can take a long while.. let it spin.. with direct connection you can be pretty sure it is at least doing something.

Post back if it fails.

Sorry I am using old names.. It might still be called that when you boot from empty disk..

Read the Apple guide.. the first part is using Migration after the reinstall of clean OS.

The second part is full reinstall of backup.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203981

Restore both macOS and your files

These steps erase your hard disk, then use your backup to restore both your files and the specific version of macOS you were using when you created the backup.

The section says Restore from Time Machine Backup.

Is an update coming to fix this problem or not?

No one on a user to user forum.......we are all users, just like you......will know what Apple might be planning to do or when they might be planning to do it.

Apple discontinued the Time Capsule two years ago, so......in my opinion......it is not likely that Apple has any interest or motivation to fix issues that have arisen since the Time Capsule was abandoned.

As LaPastenague has mentioned, Apple went to a different drive format.....APFS.....when they introduced Catalina.....but Time Machine must still back up to a drive that is formatted in HFS+......what previous operating systems used.......so there are plenty of opportunities for problems in the conversion process when Time Machine tries to back up.

BTW, going back to the original thread, the "still loading" of TM backup of the MacMini on TC is still churning after 15+ hours. Time to press the OFF button and install an older OS.

Yes, kill it and start over.

Boot to recovery and see if you can install to USB drive.. just so you don't mess up the current install from setup assistant.

The advantage then is even if you still have issues you can use the USB drive as source for migration assistant with clean install on the mini boot disk. (As long as the version of Mac OS is same or greater than the backup).

To fix password you do a soft reset.

Good to read the actual Apple document.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201945

When you soft reset the password/s are set back to default for 5min.. you can then access the Airport and open Passwords.

You must have the airport setup open in the background.

You can also change any passwords you like within the 5min time frame.

If you do a full reset you must reconfigure the Time Capsule from scratch and that will also set the password.. so I have no idea what you have done.

leaving in the morning for a two-day trip. I'll deal with it later.

I think you need a rest from it.. sometimes you cannot see the forest for the trees.

Start a new thread on getting the printer working.. and I will need a lot more network info to help.

The exact model of the printer would also help.

Keep safe from nasty viruses.