Time Machine won't run

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Time Machine won't run

I keep getting a message that Time Machine won't run because my computer is running on battery power.

That is simply not the case. I use 2022 MacBook Pro that is connected to power with a fully charged battery nearly 100% of the time. I rarely take it anywhere. The last time it was not connected to power was many weeks ago. I'm running Sonoma 14.2.1. There is a 2 TB Crucial external drive attached which is functioning properly.

Can anyone suggest what the problem might be? Thanks in advance for all suggestions.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 14.2

Posted on Jan 25, 2024 5:25 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

D.I. Johnson

Level 8

35,345 points

Jan 25, 2024 8:18 AM in response to Kenneth Cohen1

• Go to System Settings > General > Time Machine > Options... and turn on the toggle for "Back up on battery power".

• If a simple reboot of your Mac doesn’t fix things, see if the problem still happens in Safe mode. It can take much longer to safe boot (5 min) so be patient.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

Safe mode will often correct weird software behavior by forcing the OS to do disk repair, clear caches and other housekeeping and disables third-party mods and acceleration. When you're in safe boot, the machine won’t be at its best performance, especially with graphics, but that's expected.

Exit Safe mode by restarting your Mac normally.

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Answer 2

Jan 25, 2024 8:48 AM in response to Kenneth Cohen1

After you have solved all of the obvious issues, there is one more.

There have been reports of time machine alerts that were issued LONG after the problem, and that did not go away LONG after resolution.

The current information shown in Time machine preferences is the most accurate. You may have to manually prune remarkably OLD Time machine notifications from the notifications area.

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Time Machine won't run

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