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User profile for user: Carl_Temp
Carl_Temp Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Time Machine Backup not completed

Which disk is this error message suggesting is too full - the Macintosh HD or the External backup hard drive?


"Time Machine could not back up the disk “Macintosh HD” because it is nearly full. Delete some files on this disk and try again."


I attached a new external hard drive, but got the same error message. The Macintosh still has 1.87 GB on it (500 GB drive), so I didn't think it is the one that is too full... but maybe it needs more space than that to run the backup?

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 13.3

Posted on Apr 21, 2023 11:06 AM

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User profile for user: steve626
steve626
User level: Level 6
11,657 points

Posted on Apr 21, 2023 11:11 AM

The Macintosh being backed up has far too little space available to operate properly, let alone complete a backup. To do a backup, it needs space to create a snapshot and 1-2 GB of space is inadequate. That is also not enough space to properly operate virtual memory and paging. Typically it is recommended to always have 10% or more free disk space on your Mac, which for you would be 50 GB free space.


I would try to free up space to 50 GB and then try again with the backup. You may have to move images, movies, etc. to an external drive for storage to free up that much space. You should also make copies of those files as well so they are properly backed up too.

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User profile for user: steve626
steve626
User level: Level 6
11,657 points

Apr 21, 2023 11:11 AM in response to Carl_Temp

The Macintosh being backed up has far too little space available to operate properly, let alone complete a backup. To do a backup, it needs space to create a snapshot and 1-2 GB of space is inadequate. That is also not enough space to properly operate virtual memory and paging. Typically it is recommended to always have 10% or more free disk space on your Mac, which for you would be 50 GB free space.


I would try to free up space to 50 GB and then try again with the backup. You may have to move images, movies, etc. to an external drive for storage to free up that much space. You should also make copies of those files as well so they are properly backed up too.

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Time Machine Backup not completed

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