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Time Machine did not finish backing up because some files were unavailable (BigSur 11.7.2 on MacBook Air M1)

None of the proposed solutions or turnaround for this TimeMachine issue in the Apple Community Forums worked for me. And this Time Machine issue seems still unresolved on Monterey.

My last backup date is December 6, 2022, and I don't want to upgrade to Ventura without a fresh backup. Any news on how to fix this TimeMachine issue ?


MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.7

Posted on Dec 29, 2022 6:27 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 30, 2022 11:36 AM

Issue resolved by making M1 MBP not to sleep while TM backup completes.


I had a similar issue when I migrated to an M1 from intel MBP (both were on 13.1 ventura) with last backup Dec14th. Inherited the TM backup and the error kept recurring with the same message. I saw many discussions and none worked as-is, but figured out something new with M1 makes TM disconnect.


I went into the Displays - Adv settings - Turned On "Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when display is off". This ensured my TM backup completed while on adapter and sleep. It took almost ~2+ days tracking all changes - backup - space release and final cleaning up.



HTH

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 30, 2022 11:36 AM in response to Pat75

Issue resolved by making M1 MBP not to sleep while TM backup completes.


I had a similar issue when I migrated to an M1 from intel MBP (both were on 13.1 ventura) with last backup Dec14th. Inherited the TM backup and the error kept recurring with the same message. I saw many discussions and none worked as-is, but figured out something new with M1 makes TM disconnect.


I went into the Displays - Adv settings - Turned On "Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when display is off". This ensured my TM backup completed while on adapter and sleep. It took almost ~2+ days tracking all changes - backup - space release and final cleaning up.



HTH

Dec 30, 2022 9:24 AM in response to Pat75

Hi Pat75,


Since you cannot complete a Time Machine backup of your data on your Mac, we recommend that you give the steps in the link below a try.


If you can't back up or restore your Mac using Time Machine


Next, we'd like to show you how to perform the recommended troubleshooting steps via the link above. Please click to open the link, then read through the steps in the section below.


*Make sure that you're using a backup disk supported by Time Machine.
*Unless you're using a network backup disk, make sure that your backup disk is connected directly to your Mac, not through a USB hub or other device.
*If your backup disk is connected directly to your Mac, use Disk Utility to repair the disk.
*If you're using a network backup disk, make sure that the network connection is good and your Mac is connected to the same network as the backup disk. If you completed a previous backup successfully, verify that backup: Press and hold the Option key while choosing Verify Backups from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar.
*Make sure that the firmware of your backup disk is up to date. Check with the manufacturer of the backup disk for details.
*If no other solutions work, start over: Erase your backup disk, then use Time Machine to select it as your backup disk again. 


The reason why we are recommending the steps above is because they will show you what to do if you need help to complete a Time Machine backup of your data on your Mac.


If you're still experiencing the same issue, try the following article: Time Machine troubleshooting on Mac


Please let us know the outcome after giving the above steps a try.


Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.


Cheers!



Time Machine did not finish backing up because some files were unavailable (BigSur 11.7.2 on MacBook Air M1)

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