Why is my Time Machine running so slow?

Several users suggested following these directions:

1) Launch Terminal.app (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app)

2) Enter the command text below followed by the Return key on the Terminal command line:

sudo tmdiagnose

3) Enter your admin password when prompted and wait for all of the tmdiagnose processes to finish.

Post here with your results, others can profit from your experience.

The information won't be automatically posted to Apple, infortunately, though they sometimes use this method for troubleshooting.

This article:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3411

...is a complete and accurate way to address your problem.

I recently used two backup applications at the same time: Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner. Time Machine works on a schedule, and the incremental backups were quite fast; but TM's weekly backups might take several hours. CCC invariably finished backup up in a few minutes. TM's best feature is its ability to capture old versions of documents that might otherwise be gone. However, I never ended up using the TM feature. Now, I use CCC exclusively.

I think you have it right. Time Machine is fine if you want detailed, incremental backups, especially if you need access to past versions of documents. However, CCC gives you fast backups of your data, and a minimal price - without having to leave your computer on for hours.

so, there is no solution for this? It is MADDENING! i've been happy with time machine and the backups to a small portable seagate drive...until this week. i finally set it last night to back up to a clean, wiped disk. i only have 35 GB to back up...i started it 6.5 hours ago when i went to bed. just woke up and it's not even half-way finished? ***?

I agree... someone broke something and isn't fessing up to it.

I have a driver that I connect to during work. Before it was able to backup during a normal work day just fine. Now it tends to not finish.

I can't figure out what it is waiting for.

well, here's a solution if you want one. i upgraded to mountain lion and viola! my time machine works again just like they advertise it. here's my catch with the upgrade: now when i open my laptop after it's gone to sleep, the display doesn't wake up. scary! makes you think your display is out. no! it's a bug...now i gotta sign in to a new forum and gripe about this to more people. oh well, overall rating: still stellar! mac beats the crap out of a dell pc every minute of every day of every week. came to mac...not looking back.

Yes. I'm on 10.7.5 and did an update last night. It was some sort of "Supplimental" update and it advertised a fix for time machine.

Here is it is here: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1599

My time machine completed multiple passes today like it normally use to do.

Message was edited by: pedz

Thanks pedz, that fix has solved the problem!

I have recently upgraded to Mountain Lion and since then began experiencing the really slow backups. Time Machine's backup meter says transer rate is 1 mb/s! Having over 100 GB that transfer rate is much too slow. Is there anything I can do to speed it up? Ideas of what causes such slow transfers?

I've followed many of the suggestions on this thread (except upgrading to Mountain Lion). My Time Machine and computer has been going for eight days straight backing up 580 gigs and last night there were 30 gigs to go! Something happened and in the middle of the night the computer crashed. I restarted the computer and external harddrive that I use for my Time Machine this morning and continued the backing up of 35.24 gigs. Except now the status window tells me it will take 9,624 days to back up!

I ran the diagnostic command prompt:

sudo tmdiagnose

And here are some of the results (I did not include the lines that identify my computer name and self-identifying info; also a zip file was generated by I did not include it because it is almost 3 megs):

2013-11-09 09:27:43.038 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/usr/bin/fs_usage -w'...

2013-11-09 09:27:53.069 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/usr/bin/top -l 10'...

2013-11-09 09:28:04.859 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Sampling 'backupd'...

2013-11-09 09:28:11.385 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Sampling 'mtmd'...

2013-11-09 09:28:11.451 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Sampling 'mtmfs'...

2013-11-09 09:28:11.517 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Sampling 'Finder'...

2013-11-09 09:28:20.769 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/bin/ls -la /Volumes/'...

2013-11-09 09:28:20.898 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/bin/df -H'...

2013-11-09 09:28:20.964 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/sbin/mount'...

2013-11-09 09:28:21.030 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/usr/sbin/diskutil list'...

2013-11-09 09:28:21.288 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/usr/sbin/diskutil cs list'...

2013-11-09 09:28:21.354 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/bin/bash -c /usr/sbin/diskutil list | /usr/bin/awk '/disk/ {system("/usr/sbin/diskutil info "$NF); print "*********************"}''...

2013-11-09 09:28:29.019 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/usr/bin/hdiutil info'...

2013-11-09 09:28:29.284 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/usr/sbin/netstat -aW -p tcp'...

2013-11-09 09:28:47.321 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/bin/bash -c /bin/ps auxc | /usr/bin/awk '/mtmd/ {system("lsof -p "$2); print("\n\n")}''...

2013-11-09 09:28:47.478 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/bin/bash -c /bin/ps auxc | /usr/bin/awk '/mtmfs/ {system("lsof -p "$2); print("\n\n")}''...

2013-11-09 09:28:47.570 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/usr/sbin/ioreg -ls -w 0'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.096 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'backupd'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.103 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'mtmd'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.104 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'mtmfs'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.105 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'mds'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.111 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'Locum'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.112 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'diskimages-helper'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.113 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'newfs_hfs'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.114 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'NetAuthSysAgent'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.115 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'Finder'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.116 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'Locum'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.117 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'System Preferences'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.126 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'SystemUIServer'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.127 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'iPhoto'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.128 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'MailTimeMachineHelper'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.129 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering system diagnostic logs for 'Address Book'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.130 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering recent user diagnostic logs for 'Finder'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.294 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering recent user diagnostic logs for 'Locum'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.318 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering recent user diagnostic logs for 'System Preferences'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.343 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering recent user diagnostic logs for 'SystemUIServer'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.366 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering recent user diagnostic logs for 'iPhoto'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.391 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering recent user diagnostic logs for 'MailTimeMachineHelper'...

2013-11-09 09:28:56.416 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering recent user diagnostic logs for 'Address Book'...

2013-11-09 09:28:58.687 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Executing '/usr/sbin/system_profiler -xml SPParallelATADataType SPAirPortDataType SPBluetoothDataType SPDiagnosticsDataType SPEthernetDataType SPFibreChannelDataType SPFireWireDataType SPFirewallDataType SPHardwareDataType SPHardwareRAIDDataType SPNetworkLocationDataType SPManagedClientDataType SPMemoryDataType SPNetworkDataType SPPowerDataType SPSerialATADataType SPSoftwareDataType SPUSBDataType'...

2013-11-09 09:29:14.646 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Gathering host information...

2013-11-09 09:29:14.649 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Getting Time Machine configuration...

2013-11-09 09:29:14.984 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Executing '/bin/bash -c /bin/launchctl list | /usr/bin/grep -e 'PID' -e 'com.apple.mtm' -e 'com.apple.backup' -e 'com.apple.TMLaunchAgent''...

2013-11-09 09:29:15.052 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Making backup disk available...

2013-11-09 09:29:15.086 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Building classic Time Machine snapshot skeletons...

2013-11-09 09:29:16.675 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Executing '/bin/ls -lde /Volumes/TimeMachine/Backups.backupdb/.spotlight_repair'...

2013-11-09 09:29:16.741 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Executing '/usr/bin/xattr -l /Volumes/TimeMachine/Backups.backupdb/.spotlight_repair'...

2013-11-09 09:29:17.523 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Executing '/bin/ls -lde /Volumes/TimeMachine/Backups.backupdb/.spotlight_temp'...

2013-11-09 09:29:17.589 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Executing '/usr/bin/xattr -l /Volumes/TimeMachine/Backups.backupdb/.spotlight_temp'...

013-11-09 09:29:17.788 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Executing '/bin/ls -l /Volumes/TimeMachine/Backups.backupdb/.spotlight_repair'...

2013-11-09 09:29:18.614 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Executing '/bin/ls -l /Volumes/TimeMachine/Backups.backupdb/.spotlight_temp'...

2013-11-09 09:29:19.392 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Building Mobile Time Machine overlay snapshot skeletons...

2013-11-09 09:29:19.393 tmdiagnose[864:4303] Building Mobile Time Machine delta store snapshot skeletons...

2013-11-09 09:29:19.505 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Gathering information about reachable AirPort devices...

2013-11-09 09:29:49.509 tmdiagnose[864:2303] unable to locate any Bonjour services within 30 seconds

2013-11-09 09:29:49.540 tmdiagnose[864:2303] Executing '/usr/bin/mddiagnose -h'...

2013-11-09 09:29:49.708 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/sw_vers'...

2013-11-09 09:29:49.776 mddiagnose[974:707] Getting system version...

2013-11-09 09:29:49.778 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/arch'...

2013-11-09 09:29:49.865 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/what /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/Metadata.framework /Versions/A/Support/mds'...

2013-11-09 09:29:49.866 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/what /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/Metadata.framework /Versions/A/Metadata'...

2013-11-09 09:29:49.867 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/top -l 2 -s 2'...

2013-11-09 09:29:54.050 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/bin/df -H'...

2013-11-09 09:29:54.117 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/bin/ls -la /Volumes/'...

2013-11-09 09:29:54.184 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/sbin/mount'...

2013-11-09 09:29:54.251 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/vmmap -resident -w mds'...

2013-11-09 09:29:54.761 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/heap mds'...

2013-11-09 09:29:55.018 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/local/bin/ddt mds'...

2013-11-09 09:29:55.166 mddiagnose[974:707] Sampling 'mds'...

2013-11-09 09:30:01.114 mddiagnose[974:707] Spindumping 'mds'...

2013-11-09 09:30:08.686 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/TimeMachine/Backups.backupdb/.Spotlight-V100 ( -type d -and ( ! -name Cache -or -prune ) ) ! -name Cache -exec echo ; -print -execdir ls -l {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:08.753 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/TimeMachine/Backups.backupdb/.Spotlight-V100 -name *.plist -exec echo ; -print -exec echo ; -exec /bin/cat {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:08.823 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /.MobileBackups/.Spotlight-V100 ( -type d -and ( ! -name Cache -or -prune ) ) ! -name Cache -exec echo ; -print -execdir ls -l {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:08.890 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /.MobileBackups/.Spotlight-V100 -name *.plist -exec echo ; -print -exec echo ; -exec /bin/cat {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:08.958 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/TimeMachine/.Spotlight-V100 ( -type d -and ( ! -name Cache -or -prune ) ) ! -name Cache -exec echo ; -print -execdir ls -l {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:23.311 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/TimeMachine/.Spotlight-V100 -name *.plist -exec echo ; -print -exec echo ; -exec /bin/cat {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:23.570 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/Video/.MobileBackups/.Spotlight-V100 ( -type d -and ( ! -name Cache -or -prune ) ) ! -name Cache -exec echo ; -print -execdir ls -l {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:23.637 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/Video/.MobileBackups/.Spotlight-V100 -name *.plist -exec echo ; -print -exec echo ; -exec /bin/cat {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:23.705 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/IPOD/.Spotlight-V100 ( -type d -and ( ! -name Cache -or -prune ) ) ! -name Cache -exec echo ; -print -execdir ls -l {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:23.772 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/IPOD/.Spotlight-V100 -name *.plist -exec echo ; -print -exec echo ; -exec /bin/cat {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:23.841 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/Video/.Spotlight-V100 ( -type d -and ( ! -name Cache -or -prune ) ) ! -name Cache -exec echo ; -print -execdir ls -l {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:23.971 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/Video/.Spotlight-V100 -name *.plist -exec echo ; -print -exec echo ; -exec /bin/cat {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:24.041 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/Audio/.Spotlight-V100 ( -type d -and ( ! -name Cache -or -prune ) ) ! -name Cache -exec echo ; -print -execdir ls -l {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:24.297 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/Audio/.Spotlight-V100 -name *.plist -exec echo ; -print -exec echo ; -exec /bin/cat {} ;'..

2013-11-09 09:30:24.816 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/Photo/.Spotlight-V100 ( -type d -and ( ! -name Cache -or -prune ) ) ! -name Cache -exec echo ; -print -execdir ls -l {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:24.946 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/Photo/.Spotlight-V100 -name *.plist -exec echo ; -print -exec echo ; -exec /bin/cat {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:25.077 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find //.Spotlight-V100 ( -type d -and ( ! -name Cache -or -prune ) ) ! -name Cache -exec echo ; -print -execdir ls -l {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:25.207 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find //.Spotlight-V100 -name *.plist -exec echo ; -print -exec echo ; -exec /bin/cat {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:35.454 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/Audio/Backups.backupdb/.Spotlight-V100 ( -type d -and ( ! -name Cache -or -prune ) ) ! -name Cache -exec echo ; -print -execdir ls -l {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:35.520 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/Audio/Backups.backupdb/.Spotlight-V100 -name *.plist -exec echo ; -print -exec echo ; -exec /bin/cat {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:35.587 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/Photo/.MobileBackups/.Spotlight-V100 ( -type d -and ( ! -name Cache -or -prune ) ) ! -name Cache -exec echo ; -print -execdir ls -l {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:35.654 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes/Photo/.MobileBackups/.Spotlight-V100 -name *.plist -exec echo ; -print -exec echo ; -exec /bin/cat {} ;'...

2013-11-09 09:30:35.951 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find / -name .metadata_never_index -maxdepth 1'...

2013-11-09 09:30:36.018 mddiagnose[974:707] Executing '/usr/bin/find /Volumes -name .metadata_never_index -maxdepth 2'...

2013-11-09 09:30:36.590 mddiagnose[974:707] Getting crash logs for 'mds'...

2013-11-09 09:30:36.651 mddiagnose[974:707] Getting crash logs for 'mdworker'...

2013-11-09 09:30:36.652 mddiagnose[974:707] Getting crash logs for 'Spotlight'...

My problem was fixed by upgrading to Mavericks. Course, other things have come up, but at least Time Machine is working now.

You might want to do a file system check of your time machine disk. It will probably take a day to do but it may save you a lot of grief later on.