Time Machine Backup is slow (perhaps corrupt?) after Mountain Lion upgrade

I am also experiencing very slow backups since upgrading to ML. You didn't go into specifics on your hardware setup (type of machine, backup drive, etc).

I'm using a MB air (Mid 2011) with a Thunderbolt display. I have a G-Tech 2 gig external drive connected with Firewire 800 through the Thunderbolt display.

My backups had always been pretty quick. Now they can take up to half an hour or longer depending on the amount of data to be processed.

One suggestion for you is to obtain a time machine log viewer. I use "logviewer for time machine" that I got in the Mac App store. I think it is $0.99, but there other apps that are available for free. This is nothing more than a log viewer that you refresh and see each step of your backup including any errors. A lot better than right clicking the spinning circle around the clock in the menu bar for status updates.

I am baffled on why the slowdown. I am think of opening a case with Apple Support.

Take care

I am also getting this issue. I use a MacBookPro (2008) I have a freestanding 1TB Disk connected via USB.

Prior to ML i had no noticeable issues with TM, but now it is slowing down the system, to such an extent i think i will switch it off until the evening, when i do not use the machine that much. I have noticed that since ML the status info seems to have changed.. prior to ML it us ed indicate ..Backing up 40MB of 80MB for example and the 80MB did not change, now on my system it indicates 40mb of 80mb, then you look at it again some minutes later and it could be 50MB of 100MB?? is this correct?

John

John

I don't know if you are viewing the log file or watching the TM button in the menu bar. I have been viewing the log files for quite some time (started in Snow Lion, I think).

I noticed that some of the verbage in the log files has changed in the ML time machine logs. I see, like your statement, that it seems the amount of data listed to be backed up is displayed several times in the body of the log file.

I work during the day, and I can't really speak with Apple until the evening. It seems if we three are experiencing this, then there is probably a larger 'silent majority'. If you happen to take the time to contact Apple Support, please consider posting any fixes or suggestions they offer.

Thank you and good luck.

OK,

I called Apple Support and they took me through the simple procedure of powering off the system and restarting. when TM was run after the restart it seems to be working fine. The explanation ---- when Mountain Lion first does a backup it will not do an incremental backup, but it does a full system back up. the possibility exists that the "Cleaning up " process may not have been completed correctly and causing TM to be very slow....... on subsequent incremental back-ups

However i have a case number of 334091208 just in case this issue re-appears.

Hope this is some help.

John

I am having the same problem. I completed the first backup after the upgrade, which took a reasonable amount of time for a ~ 9 GB backup. However, it now takes forever to backup even 200 mb. I have restarted my system several times and I am still having the issue.

I have a 2011 MBP with 2.3Ghz i5 and 8 GB RAM.

McCoy

Same problem here. MacBook Pro 8,2 with 8 GB of RAM and a solid state drive.

Everyone:

I bit the bullet last night and erased and reformatted my g-tech drive that held my TM backup. I have never had to do a restore and my goal is really to keep the most current 'snapshot' of what is on my computer in case of hardware failure. That way I restore mail, calendar, etc., etc back to where it was prior to the problem.

Long story short, TM is working beautifully again. Very fast the way it should be, with no lags or errors showing up in the log files.

I know this sounds extreme and probably won't work for everybody, but I now consider my problem solved.

I also have downloaded a 30 day trial of a 3rd party backup program (there are many available) and plan on testing that with different drive.

Thanks to all for sharing.

I tried to repair the TC sparsebundle with Disk Utility, but Disk Utility won't let me drag and drop the sparsebundle into its window.

Console gives the following error:

Disk Utility[671]: Error: <DUOutLineView: 0x7f8b44a2ac80>: Attempt to set dropItem=(null), dropChildIndex=3 when [0 - 2] is the valid range of indices.

I have the same Problem with my MBRro (Mid 2010); TM shows a time of 9 Days to backup ca. 222 GB.

Anyone else unable to use DU to repair their sparsebundle?

if you stop a running virus scanner, TM will work properly.

I am not running a virus scanner

Problem here as well. I upgraded to ML and Time Machine is now deathly slow even to USB2 external drive. Was very fast before upgrade. No other changes to hardware that would cause difference in performance. Checked system HD and external with Drive Utitity and found no problems. Looks like a bug to me.

Have issues myself with Mountain Lion and backup with Time Machine. I have done a few backups now and they are still taking a long time to perform. When I listen to the hard drive (external) I use with a USB connection. I don't hear the hard drive writing very much. So I suspect something is not right with Time Machine and ML.

To be honest I think I probably will look for a alternative to Time Machine as I have never been really impressed with it.