Waiting to Complete First Backup

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Level 1

1 points

Waiting to Complete First Backup

I have a new MacBook Pro running Monterey 12.0.1, with a new external storage connected to one of the Thunderbolt ports and formatted as APFS (Case-sensitive, Encrypted).

I have launched TimeMachine and after the first back-up, I got the message: "Waiting to Complete FirstBackup".

TimeMachine is not launching any incremental back-ups.

If I manually launch a back-up, TimeMachine will start from zero, i.e. a complete new back-up as if it was the first.

If I open TimeMachine, I can see 6 back-ups that take 300 GB in my external drive.

Any advice?

Thanks

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Dec 12, 2021 6:46 AM

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Answer 1

mario49

Community Specialist

Dec 13, 2021 7:34 AM in response to RAgVi

Hey RAgVi,

If we understand correctly, the MacBook Pro is taking a while to complete the first backup of the Mac. After the first backup, future backups should be faster than before. The automatic hourly updates begin after the first backup. You can go to the Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Time Machine, you can select to have Time Machine automatically back up your files.

"Time Machine automatically makes hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months. The oldest backups are deleted when your backup disk is full. The first backup might take a long time, but you can continue using your Mac while a backup is underway. Time Machine backs up only the files that changed since the previous backup, so future backups will be faster."

Back up your Mac with Time Machine

If a Time Machine backup takes longer than you expect

Change Time Machine preferences on Mac

If the Time Machine backup disk for your Mac is full

Please don't hesitate to let us know if you need additional assistance.

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. Have a good one.

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Answer 2

RAgVi Author

Level 1

1 points

Dec 13, 2021 10:38 AM in response to mario49

Thanks for your reply @mario49.

I know the basics of TimeMachine. My issue is that the first backup "ends" after a normal time (less than 30', for sure) but TimeMachine displays the message: "Waiting to Complete First Backup".

I have manually launched a back-up and I goes well...

...but then, when the back-up reaches 100%, I get this...

Then, after an hour, TimeMachine will not launch any incremental back-ups; every subsequent back-up will start from zero, i.e. a complete new back-up as if it was the first. And it will always end with the same message: "Waiting to Complete First Backup".

I think I am not the only one having this issue: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/12/08/time-machine-initial-backup-error/

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Answer 3

mario49

Community Specialist

Dec 13, 2021 1:52 PM in response to RAgVi

Hey RAgVi,

Thank you for using the Apple Support Community. Due to the nature of your issue, you will find more information by contacting Apple Support directly using the link below.

Contact Apple Support

Take care.

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Waiting to Complete First Backup

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