Q: Time Machine backup very slow in Lion

Hi Pondini

I've read a lot of your blogposts and website today and I learned a lot. Thank you for your great work and excellent support! It was from you how I learned to erase the spotlight files to begin with (using TinkerTool). I'm a fan .

Tony, Pondini,

Time machine has just finished another one of it's hourly backups and has ejected the TM volume without a problem. Backups do take between 5 and 10 minutes but that was also the case in SL, so no complaints. Although I do wonder wether they would be faster without so many backup points on my TC drive, dating back to Sept 2009, and counting.(I know I'll never use that, but forgive me for feeling proud ).

I just launched the Repair. I've connected my MacBook to the TC with an Ethernet cable. I can go get some sleep now.

I will post back, thanks again for your support!

Reye

It took about 8 hours, but the Time Machine Backups volume eventually did dismount itself. My hourly backups are now taking about 9 minutes (most of that in "Cleaning up..." mode) and the volume is properly dismounting itself after each backup.

Thanks to all, especially Tony and Pondini. Now I just have my fingers crossed that it keeps working this way.

Disk Repair found no errors, so everything just seems to be fine. My backups now usually also take about 9 minutes, sometimes a bit longer. A lot of "Cleaning Up..." also, but that depends on how much I've used my computer the day before and the last week.

I have one more question: is the volume supposed to eject itself after you have used time machine ('Enter Time Machine') and left it by cancelling for example? I still have to eject manually (asking an admin password so something must be tying it up), or wait for the next hourly backup were it will eject after finishing.

ReyeBan wrote:

 

I have one more question: is the volume supposed to eject itself after you have used time machine ('Enter Time Machine') and left it by cancelling for example? I still have to eject manually (asking an admin password so something must be tying it up), or wait for the next hourly backup were it will eject after finishing.

That's how it always worked for me (even with SL).

except that it never asks for my Admin Password (see if anything is happening in Console).

Yes, that's how it always worked for me, also. If you manually mount the volume, or it is mounted by a command to "Enter Time Machine" it will not automatically dismount - until the next backup is complete.

Nothing even during a time Machine Backup!

But the Time Machine logs should show up during or shortly after the backup happens?

Anyway! After repairing my backup drive that took more than 16 hours Time Machine backups work without problem. They take slightly longer than with Snow Leopard (most of the time preparing and cleaning), but guess my old MacBook 2007 with 2,5 GB is to blame for that.

So I am happy my MacBook is backed up regularly again! :-)

Thanks again Pondini for all your help!

Tony T1 wrote:

 

That's how it always worked for me (even with SL).

except that it never asks for my Admin Password (see if anything is happening in Console).

Tony

It probably asks my password because I normally work from a non-admin account. I'll try from an admin account.

Thanks

Reye

Georg Portenkirchner wrote:

 

But the Time Machine logs should show up during or shortly after the backup happens?

Georg

Are you logged in with admin rights? If you're working from a non-admin account, you won't see those logs. They show up immediately in Console for admins.

Reye

Yep, no password is asked when I am logged on with admin rights.

ReyeBan wrote:

 

Georg Portenkirchner wrote:

 

But the Time Machine logs should show up during or shortly after the backup happens?

 

Georg

Are you logged in with admin rights? If you're working from a non-admin account, you won't see those logs. They show up immediately in Console for admins.

Reye

Thanks Reye. You are right, I was looking at the logs from my "every day" account.

Here we go again. Backups worked for a day and a half. First backup today worked but all of them since will not eject even though the backups were successful.

I thought mine was reindexing again too after working correctly for 2 days since I saw in the time machine icon messages 'Indexing Backup' at the start of an hourly backup. This was how my previous reindexing also started. However, this one seems to have finished a lot quicker since when I came back to my computer after 30 to 45 minutes, the backup disk was ejected and no indexing is going on. Maybe it only indexes the last couple of backups, I don't know. I just hope that the next hourly backup doesn't restart an 8 hour indexing again.

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to add something to this discussion even though my solution was painfully obvious. When i set up my time capsule for the first time i decided to create a new network instead of bridge over my existing network. Everything was working fine, but then all of a sudden back ups, the preparing and cleaning up stage, pretty much the whole process slowed to a crawl. WHen i was at my wits end I was about to switch off my wi-fi and use a USB to do the transfer, i noticed that the actual wi-fi network that was being used was my old network and not the one that the time capsule was set up on. once I switched my wi-fi network to the time capsule as my primary things were moving very smoothly and very quickly.

Cheers.