Time machine not working anymore / crashes everytime during preparation

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Level 1

8 points

Time machine not working anymore / crashes everytime during preparation

Hi there,

On my aunt's iMac 2017 with macOS Catalina (10.15.4) time machine is not working anymore since March.

It crashes everytime when it starts to prepare for a backup. We tried to restart the mac, plug off and plug on the external hard disk but that did not help.

I checked the crash reports but I can't understand them. I attached the recent one and I'm looking forward to your help.

Thanks

Thomas

Recent crash report

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on May 21, 2020 12:14 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

rkaufmann87

Level 10

143,598 points

May 21, 2020 1:01 PM in response to thommyslaw

The drive may be failed or failing. Please run First Aid on it several times, you will find FA in the Disk Utility App. If any errors apper that simply confirms my hunch, however if no errors occur that does not mean it is still not failing.

What is the brand of the EHD being used for Time Machine?

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

210,389 points

May 21, 2020 2:09 PM in response to thommyslaw

Be aware that running First Aid on a Time Machine drive will take much longer than it would on a regular drive due to the complex ecosystem of permissions and hard links. So patience is a virtue here.

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Answer 3

thommyslaw Author

Level 1

8 points

May 24, 2020 6:11 AM in response to rkaufmann87

It's a Western Digital 500 GB 3.5 inch external drive.

First aid is running since yesterday evening... Thanks for your advise to be patient :).

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Answer 4

rkaufmann87

Level 10

143,598 points

May 24, 2020 8:49 AM in response to thommyslaw

Fairly low quality drive, however as long as it is running okay then continue using it. When it shows sign of age or failing, then please replace it with a higher quality enclosure.

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Answer 5

Old Toad

Level 10

210,389 points

May 24, 2020 1:57 PM in response to thommyslaw

If you find you have to replace the TM drive I recommend one of these drives from MacSales.com: OWC Mercury Elite Pro. Get one that's at least 3 times the size of the drive you're backing up.

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Time machine not working anymore / crashes everytime during preparation

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