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Time Machine backup is over 3 times the size of my hard drive and I cannot backup

I just bought a brand new M1 MBP and put my old i7 up for sale to offset the cost. I wasn't planning on selling the old one so quickly but it just sold and I need to back it up. Problem is Time Machine is telling me it needs 1.7TB to back up my 500GB HD. My backup drive is 1TB. There are no items in my "exclude" list, nor any options that allow me to only backup the current state of my computer.

Is there any way to do a TM backup from the current state of my old machine only? I'm guessing it's trying to copy different states of the data.

I'm on Big Sur.

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 12.1

Posted on Jan 27, 2022 9:06 PM

Top-ranking reply

TheLittles

Level 10

196,437 points

Posted on Jan 27, 2022 9:29 PM

43percentburnt Said:

"Time Machine backup is over 3 times the size of my hard drive and I cannot backup: [...]Is there any way to do a TM backup from the current state of my old machine only? I'm guessing it's trying to copy different states of the data. I'm on Big Sur."

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Troubleshooting Hard Drive Inconsistency:

What to Try:

A. Boot in Safe Mode:

In Safe Mode, Login Items do not run at login, certain preferences are set aside, and damaged system files are then reset. So, once booted in to Safe Mode, wait 30 seconds, and then boot up normally, attempting another update install. For instructions, go here: How to Use safe Mode on your Mac - Apple Support

B. Try a New Admin User:

What happens when you create a new administrator user, and log into it? Do you still get this error? If not, then it is likely an error with the current user. If so, then it is likely an error with your Mac.

C. Reinstall the macOS:

Go Here: How to Reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery - Apple Support

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Time Machine backup is over 3 times the size of my hard drive and I cannot backup

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