Replacing Hard Drive and avoiding full Time Machine Backup

I have started a new discussion (first time in doing so), but haven't posted it yet, it's Titled "Errors with Time Machine (not completing backup, and needing to erase the ".inProgress" package)". I included the past post and other relevant information about my setup. Is this a good way to start a discussion, including a prior post in its entirety?

Also, I mentioned "another Member has been helping me with my Time Machine problems", is it appropriate to include your name Pondini? (I haven't)

Gator TPK wrote:

. . .

I just realized this was on my small Developers partition. Perhaps there is an error with the build, OR an error with the initial restore. I'd like to perhaps exclude the entire /Volumes/Mac OS Lion GM. I expect that Time Machine is working fine with my main partition and the error happens when it's almost done with the Mac OS Lion GM partition.

Yes, that would get you a good backup. Then you can deal with the problem(s) that are "left over."

This ".inProgress" has a total of two (nearly) full backups; it didn't cleanup the first full backup attempt while starting the second,perhaps it would have had it finished.

Yes, that's one of the reasons to exclude things, sometimes including more than may be necessary, to get a completed backup. Then not only will the ".inProgress" package be deleted, but the next backup won't need a deep scan. (Note that for some reason the "finished scan" message, new to Lion, is sent at the wrong time; the one on your startup drive actually took about 6 minutes; the scan of your second volume took about 3.)

In your case of two separate volumes, when you start removing exclusions from one volume, only the second volume will need a deep scan on the next backup if it fails.

I'm still curious about the problems you've had deleting those; it does take a while, but usually isn't such a PITA. May be something new in Lion.

I have started a new discussion (first time in doing so), but haven't posted it yet

Be sure to put it in the Lion forum, not this one (I should have asked the Hosts to split this thread lomg ago).

Also, I mentioned " another Member has been helping me with my Time Machine problems", is it appropriate to include your name Pondini? (I haven't)

Doesn't matter; I suspect I'll be posting there soon enough . . . 😉

I just posted the new discussion I typed around 2 AM PST this morning and already added another post with your tip to just get ONE good backup to delete the ".inProgress" file. The discussion is in "Mac OS X v10.7 Lion" and "Time Machine" category is checked.

I just wanted to update about Time Machine problems with backing up two partitions with different versions of Lion to one TM Partition. Now that Mac OS 10.7.3 is released. I updated my test partition to 10.7.3 and kept my main partition at 10.7.2, and just as before, Time Machine failed to backup with this exact situation. It got to about 2GB out of 4.2 GB to copy and then "Latest Backup: Failed ℹ" is in the Time Machine Control Pane.

The only thing that makes sense is that Apple changed some ways on how the different versions of Lion (10.7.2 vs 10.7.3) use indexing and does Time Machine backups. My main partition is currently indexing, and I bet it will do this forever as it did before. So I'm going to waste no time in updating my main partition as well.

I will update my main partition to 10.7.3, and hopefully Time Machine will work normally again, as it has all along when both partitions were at OS X 10.7.2. I'll keep you posted.

(I wonder if others will finally notice this problem? I know this is an unusual situation, but easily duplicated and repeatable!)

Gator TPK wrote:

. . .

It got to about 2GB out of 4.2 GB to copy and then "Latest Backup: Failed ℹ" is in the Time Machine Control Pane.

Click the red "i" icon and see what the actual message was.

It says the same thing as the dialog box said at failure:

___________________

Time Machine Error

The problem may be temporary. Try again later to back up. If the problem persists, use Disk Utility to repair your backup disk.

Latest successful backup: 2/1/12 at 2:28 PM

___________________

I have always gotten this message. It will happen everytime, I have tried using Disk Utility to repair the backup disk. There has never been a problem with the backup disk. Time Machine always resumes functioning again when I restore the test partition to Mac OS X 10.7.2. This time I hope that updating both partitions to 10.7.3, everything will work fine as when both were at 10.7.2.

Also, my main partition is Mac OS X Server v10.7.2. But the server is turned off, and the Mac App store does now recognize that Server is installed, so I can re-install Mac OS X into my main partition as I have in my test partition many times (to restore to v10.7.2). I just haven't done that because I haven't had a problem with my main partition. I'm just a little weary about re-installing Mac OS X on my main partition if everything is working fine otherwise.

(Before, I couldn't re-install Mac OS X onto my main "Server" partition because I had to install "Server" first before I could select the volume in the installer. The Mac App Store didn't recognize that I already purchased "Server" even though I had ran the Server App before when it was still v10.7.0. I guess it was Apple's way of not allowing me to have an illegal copy of "Server", though I had downloaded it before. One cannot re-install Mac OS X on to "Mac OS X Server" without the Mac App store recognizing the prior "Server" purchase.)

Update:

I just updated my Main Partition to Mac OS X 10.7.3, and disaster. Finder will barely run. No other App will launch. I couldn't even restart or shutdown. I had to force shutdown and start up with a Mac OS X 10.6.3 Install DVD to switch start up disks. I restarted in my tester partition Mac OS X 10.7.3.

Apparently my Main Partition had some problems with the Mac OS X. The buttons looked like this:

This was at the report problem window (when an App crashed). It is supposed to be the usual "OK" and "Reopen" buttons.

I kind of feel like an idiot, that perhaps all my problems with Time Machine was because of something corrupt with my installation of Mac OS X on my Main Partition that otherwise seemed to work perfectly. Only this last 10.7.3 update was able to reveal the true problems! I'm downloading a copy of Mac OS X 10.7.3 Installer. I surely hope I can install it onto my Main partition from this partition even though I don't have "Server" installed on this partition.

Gator TPK wrote:

Update:

I just updated my Main Partition to Mac OS X 10.7.3, and disaster. Finder will barely run. No other App will launch. I couldn't even restart or shutdown. I had to force shutdown and start up with a Mac OS X 10.6.3 Install DVD to switch start up disks. I restarted in my tester partition Mac OS X 10.7.3.

Yes, that's happened to a few folks: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3703113?start=105&tstart=0

The cure is simple: download and install the "combo" update: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1484

Yes, thanks Pondini. Unfortunately I read about all this while on the road today when I couldn't do anything about it. This problem happened on both iMacs in the household, the other iMac isn't even mine. Now, I have a copy of the MacOSXServerUpdCombo10.7.3.pkg and a copy of Mac OS X 10.7.3 Installer (Install Mac OS X Lion.app, version 1.0.16). I'm debating whether I should run the Combo Update, or just re-install Mac OS X 10.7.3 all together, replacing any possible problems with the original installation of Mac OS X Lion (if there is any).

I also read: (quoted from TidBITS Macs & Mac OS X: Mac OS X 10.7.3 Fixes Bugs, Improves Lion Server)

"As always, there are oodles of security-related fixes in 10.7.3, relating to vulnerabilities in (deep breath): Address Book, Apache, ATS CFNetwork, CoreMedia, CoreText, CoreUI, curl, dovecot, filecmds, ImageIO, Internet Sharing, Libinfo, libresolv, libsecurity, OpenGL, PHP, QuickTime, Subversion, Time Machine, WebDAV Sharing, Webmail, and X11. Plus, Mac OS X will no longer trust SSL/TLS certificates issued by DigiCert Malaysia, which has issued certificates with weak keys that it cannot revoke.

...

There are fixes to well-known applications or technologies you recognize, like Address Book, QuickTime and Time Machine."

It appears that there were changes to Time Machine after all. Your earlier suggestion to back up multiple partitions to different Time Machine partitions (disks) may be best, especially if I wanted to run different versions of Lion. However I plan on running both partitions with the same versions of Lion most of the time.

Gator TPK wrote:

. . .

Now, I have a copy of the MacOSXServerUpdCombo10.7.3.pkg and a copy of Mac OS X 10.7.3 Installer (Install Mac OS X Lion.app, version 1.0.16). I'm debating whether I should run the Combo Update, or just re-install Mac OS X 10.7.3 all together, replacing any possible problems with the original installation of Mac OS X Lion (if there is any).

I have no idea how (or if) the problem affects the Server product.

It appears that there were changes to Time Machine after all.

Yes, there were some fixes (as there typically are to many apps in every update), but there's no basic change.

Pondini wrote:

I have no idea how (or if) the problem affects the Server product.

It appears that there were changes to Time Machine after all.

Yes, there were some fixes (as there typically are to many apps in every update), but there's no basic change.

But this may explain why Time Machine didn't like backing up two different versions of Lion to the same Time Machine backup partition. Though the indexing problems I was having before with two different versions of Lion on one drive (or one Mac) seems to have been resolved. It's not continuously indexing forever anymore. I have Time Machine turned off at the moment, because it keeps failing with the same message.

Also, the update affected my Mac OS X Lion (Server) exactly the same way as the Client version on the other iMac and many other people's Macs as reported in the news and blogs. My I never ran my Server App the second time I downloaded it, but unfortunately my main partition still technically Mac OS X Lion Server. Eventhough I have Server turned off, it's annoying to have special requirements to re-install Mac OS X on to it, (the Mac App Store has to recognize that I have purchased the Server, which it hadn't a couple months ago).

When I read more information about the update issues in the next couple of days, I'll probably finally update this (main) partition to 10.7.3 and turn Time Machine back on. I understand that the combo update will probably work fine, I'd like a little more confirmation and information to what caused the delta update problem in the first place, since my iMac is working just fine now at 10.7.2. I curious to how widespread this delta update problem is! I certainly hope it's less than 0.1% (for me it's 2 of 2). I hate bad press for Apple. I'm not attempting this delta (or combo) update on the other two MacBook Pro's in my household just yet.

I feel bad for those Mac users that aren't well versed with solutions and work around to this issue. Such as using Target Disk Mode with a different working Mac, or Mounting the Combo Update within the Recovery Partition using the terminal (sometimes cmd-R doesn't even work!) or starting up from another partition or DVD if they even have one. And worse case, they don't have a Time Machine backup to start over with, and they can't do any of these work around options. The most difficult part being, after the faulty update, I haven't found any App that works, not even "About this Mac" or "Force Quit...", those just turn the screen gray and the Finder re-launches. I couldn't even open a Finder window, or connect to the Bad Mac with another Mac using File Sharing!

Had been having the same problem and the pink box worked a charm. Just wanted to chime in to say thanks.

I feel your pain ELF, and empathize completely, in every respect. After so many years, I am so disappointed.

This thread dates back to 2011 / 12.... it is now 2016 and I have the exact same questions / frustrations running Sierra, without any clear way to proceed without wiping my present TM backup after a new boot drive install.

Has anyone considered what was said here, back in 2012?: https://simon.heimlicher.com/articles/2012/07/10/time-machine-inherit-backup-usi ng-tmutil

Pondini... Mr TM... are you still out there?

Thx

Mr Pond, Pondini, died about 3 years ago.