Time Machine: com.apple.backupd: Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying

Question

Time Machine: com.apple.backupd: Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying

Hi,

I've got some problems doing Time Machine backups. Console log says the following:

12.12.13 08:10:21,631 com.apple.backupd[25365]: Not using file event preflight for Macintosh HD

12.12.13 08:12:16,057 com.apple.backupd[25365]: Found 855105 files (805.59 GB) needing backup

12.12.13 08:12:16,137 com.apple.backupd[25365]: 831.75 GB required (including padding), 1.01 TB available

12.12.13 08:16:44,950 com.apple.backupd[25365]: Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying /Users/johannes/.adobe/md5 to /Volumes/Seagate Bac/Backups.backupdb/JL MacBook Pro/2013-12-12-080032.inProgress/F5982447-571A-4EBE-A5BB-778B82D5E926/System/Us ers/johannes/.adobe

12.12.13 08:16:44,950 com.apple.backupd[25365]: Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying /Users/johannes/.adobe/userid to /Volumes/Seagate Bac/Backups.backupdb/JL MacBook Pro/2013-12-12-080032.inProgress/F5982447-571A-4EBE-A5BB-778B82D5E926/System/Us ers/johannes/.adobe

Many more Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying

12.12.13 08:16:45,164 com.apple.backupd[25365]: Stopping backup.

12.12.13 08:16:45,164 com.apple.backupd[25365]: Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying /Users/johannes/.com.apple.timemachine.supported to /Volumes/Seagate Bac/Backups.backupdb/JL MacBook Pro/2013-12-12-080032.inProgress/F5982447-571A-4EBE-A5BB-778B82D5E926/System/Us ers/johannes

12.12.13 08:16:45,209 com.apple.backupd[25365]: Copied 24475 items (1.37 GB) from volume System. Linked 61890.

12.12.13 08:16:45,218 com.apple.backupd[25365]: Copy stage failed with error:11

12.12.13 08:16:46,098 com.apple.backupd[25365]: Backup failed with error 11: 11

I/O to backup volume seems to be okay, as 1.37 GB of data are copied.

The backup always goes wrong with the same files, apparently the first files from my home directory (/Users/johannes/.adobe/md5) and subsequent files from my home.

What is special in my case: I recently moved my home dir from one volume to another (HDD to SSD) via Unix rsync command.

I could imagine that something is messed up internally, that Time Machine "remembers" those files as being from a different volume and previously being backuped to a different location, but cannot find those previous files on the backup volume where expected.

How can I make my backup work again? I don't need the history of files in Time Machine, but I don't want to format the backup drive and thus be without any backup.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2010), OS X Mavericks (10.9)

Posted on Dec 12, 2013 12:30 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 12, 2013 12:40 AM in response to Johannes Lietz

Well, Time Machine likely does not think that it is the same folder since the volume (disk or partition) is different. Not sure how to fix that part without formatting a drive or making a partition and starting a new backup.

For the issues you mentioned first, you may want to go into disk utility (spotlight search or Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility) and do a "verify disk" and "verify permissions". That could fix the time machine issue if it was caused by the cp command not doing things the way Time Machine wants.

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Answer 2

Dec 12, 2013 12:58 AM in response to Zak Adelman

I have run Disk Utility before, the volumes and permissions are all okay.

But yes, unless somebody else knows a secret trick, it sounds resonable to me to start my backups over again. I'll borrow another backup volume, make a backup on that, and then format mine to let Time Machine start over.

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Answer 3

Dec 12, 2013 1:02 AM in response to Johannes Lietz

Ya, unfortunately it does not see UserName/whatever it sees Volume/Users/UserName/wahtever so it thinks it is a similarly named folder not the same folder. Even if the volume was named the same it probably bases the volume on the ID (random set of numbers) not the name you and I would see.

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Answer 4

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,535 points

Dec 12, 2013 8:51 AM in response to Johannes Lietz

Temporarily exclude your home folder from backup in the TM preference pane. Run a backup. Then remove the exclusion and try again.

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Answer 5

Dec 13, 2013 12:11 AM in response to Linc Davis

Bingo, that worked, backup is done!

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Answer 6

x77686d

Level 1

8 points

Jan 4, 2014 1:03 PM in response to Linc Davis

Linc's temporary exclusion worked for me, too.

I noted that when the backup with exclusion was complete, .../Backups.backupdb/myhost/2013-11-05-001417.inProgress was deleted during the "cleaning up" phase. I imagine that something in that tree was tripping up TM but it's sure silly that Time Machine can't provide better diagnostics about this.

I wonder what percentage of Time Machine owners have a mysteriously failing backup that they just haven't gotten around to dealing with.

Apple could sure do a lot better on this.

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Answer 7

Apr 11, 2014 6:18 PM in response to Johannes Lietz

I too am having this problem. I'm trying the workaround now.

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Answer 8

Apr 11, 2014 9:07 PM in response to alienimplant

Update:

In my case, the failure started in /library/application support/

First, I repaired the backup disk. Then I fixed disk permissions on the boot HD. Next, I excluded the folder above and ran a successful backup. Then I removed the exclusion and ran a successful full backup.

Because I tried several things as once, I can't say with any certainty what fixed it, but it is fixed now.

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Answer 9

Aug 13, 2014 3:36 AM in response to alienimplant

In my case, it seems to be no co-incidence that I changed the problematic location from being a symbolic link to another directory to being a real directory.

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