Time Machine fails

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Level 1

5 points

Time Machine fails

27inch iMac 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (8GB RAM) running OS X 10.9.

Time Machine backup to 4TB Touro external USB2 HD plugged directly via a USB socket at the back of the iMac (not running via a USB hub).

Backing up internal HD of iMac (1TB) and one external HD (1.5TB Samsung Story).

I keep getting Time Machine failures with the following error (as seen using the Time Machine widget):

Property list invalid for format: 200 (property lists cannot contain NULL)

Starting automatic backup

Backing up to /dev/disk3s2: /Volumes/TIME MACHINE/Backups.backupdb

Error: (22) setxattr for key:com.apple.backupd.HostUUID path:/Volumes/TIME MACHINE/Backups.backupdb/CTN iMac size:37

Backup failed with error 2: 2

And the following error as seen via Time Machine:

I tried the exellent Pondini's suggested full reset of Time Machine as seen here:

http://pondini.org/TM/A4.html

and when I do this, Time Machine works for about a day then I get the same error again.

Any suggestions?

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion, 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 8GB RAM

Posted on Oct 31, 2013 6:48 AM

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Answer 1

Luis001

Level 1

15 points

Nov 23, 2013 7:04 AM in response to CNix London

I have a similar issue, although my setup is different. I too have Mavericks, a 27in iMac, and 4TB Touro drive, but it is partitioned in two and connected to a time capsule. My backups work fine for about one or two days, and then fail with a similar message, or some times the error displayed is something to the effect of: Could not find the network drive, the drive has changed, need to reenter your user name and password.

It is very frustrating, as there's not a lot of information as why the network drive fails to connect. The issue is present whether I connect to time capsule via wi-fi or a network cable.

Could it be that the DHCP server assigned IP address to the iMac expires and when a new is assigned, time machine fails to recognize the drive? My time capsule is set up with a fixed IP address, and the DHCP server is my ISP provided modem.

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Answer 2

Nov 24, 2013 2:10 PM in response to CNix London

I cannot say why your TM backups are failing, but I did find this posting while searching for resolution to:

"Property list invalid for format: 200 (property lists cannot contain NULL):"

For me this was because I had path exclusions that no longer existed. The error was likely non fatal, but I happened to be in Console doing something else when the backup kicked off. I removed the missing directories from the Exclusion list via the TM Preference Pane and went about my business.

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Answer 3

Jan 28, 2014 12:22 PM in response to JustLarry

How did you figure out whith path exclusions to drop?

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Answer 4

Feb 17, 2014 11:07 AM in response to JustLarry

I think, this is the clue.

while my exclusions were empty, I vaguely recall that some files and directories were excluded and that those directories might no longer exist. My solution was to put something into the exclusion list where I don’t care, if it doesn’t get backed up. Now, my exclusion list is no longer empty, and backup appears to be starting normally.

We’ll have to see, whether, after backup is done, I can remove that exclusion and still have it work.

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