Time Machine external drive stopped mounting Feb 29, 2024

becki181 wrote:

this is running sonoma 14.4.1 on a 24" desktop (if that matters). I've had the same external drive connected to this desktop, and the one before that, for writing Time Machine to it. Suddenly on Feb 29, 2024, it stopped mounting it for backup. The external drive spins up fine. I ran disk utility->fix disk (FSCK) for hours and it said it fixed it and I could hear the disk being accessed the whole time. The mac still can't mount the disk. I rebooted and started the FSCK again. The only thing on this external drive was the Time Machine data. Has anyone heard of this before and if I have to trash the drive, will a new Time Machine backup pick up everything again? I opened a ticket with Apple today who told me to erase the drive, that was all I could do.

TIA

Sure start a new backup on a new drive and compare your results.

All new drives need to be erased/formatted/initialized—

Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support

If you value your user data

3-2-1 Backup Strategy: three copies of your data, two different methods, and one offsite.

More than one device, more than one backup methodology.

You can ref: Trouble Shooting Time Machine

Time Machine troubleshooting on Mac - Apple Support

becki181 wrote:

how would i compare results if i can't mount the old drive?

?

Does your Mac mount a new external drive...if it does by comparison it informs you the old drive has failed.

The resolve— replace the old drive for the one that works.

What is the make and model of the TM drive?

How is it formatted?

Have you tried different ports on the Mac?

Have you tried different cables?

Have you tried to mount the drive on another Mac?