Time machine never stops calculating time remaining

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Level 1

62 points

Time machine never stops calculating time remaining

My time machine is never getting beyond the stage of displaying "xxx MB of yyy GB -- Calculating time remaining..."

Seems to hang here forever. There's nothing in my console output to say what's causing this, but I find that I have had no successful backups for 7 days now.

In the console window, I see:

4/30/14 4:26:22.229 PM com.apple.backupd[40716]: Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD

4/30/14 4:26:29.569 PM com.apple.backupd[40716]: Deep event scan at path:/ reason:must scan subdirs|new event db|

4/30/14 4:30:51.000 PM kernel[0]: process backupd[40716] thread 1990063 caught burning CPU! It used more than 50% CPU (Actual recent usage: 61%) over 180 seconds. thread lifetime cpu usage 154.508455 seconds, (58.888333 user, 95.620122 system) ledger info: balance: 90002658471 credit: 154366715004 debit: 64364056533 limit: 90000000000 (50%) period: 180000000000 time since last refill (ns): 146215573849

4/30/14 4:30:54.634 PM spindump[40779]: Saved cpu_resource.spin report for backupd version ??? (???) to /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/backupd_2014-04-30-163054_rpgoldman-4.cpu_resou rce.spin

4/30/14 4:31:32.663 PM com.apple.backupd[40716]: Finished scan

4/30/14 4:31:32.665 PM com.apple.backupd[40716]: Not using file event preflight for Macintosh HD

4/30/14 4:36:23.697 PM com.apple.backupd[40716]: Found 70037 files (19.1 GB) needing backup

4/30/14 4:36:28.790 PM com.apple.backupd[40716]: 43.83 GB required (including padding), 701.16 GB available

The last entry corresponds to the time when the "Calculating time remaining" string was displayed. Now more than 20 minutes later, there's no sign of progress.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Apr 30, 2014 3:02 PM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

210,581 points

Apr 30, 2014 7:33 PM in response to rpg25

Sometimes, just restarting the computer will solve the problem. If not, do a test copy in the Finder from the source to the backup volume. Is that slow too? Delete the copied files from the backup volume after the test.

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Answer 2

Linc Davis

Level 10

210,581 points

Apr 30, 2014 6:45 PM in response to rpg25

It seems possible that trying to have two backups is causing the problem.

No, it's not.

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.

Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually login automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

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Answer 3

rpg25 Author

Level 1

62 points

Apr 30, 2014 6:32 PM in response to Linc Davis

My backup device is a recent time capsule. It has worked in the past.

I was backing up over wireless, and heard that this might be an issue. So I tried again over Ethernet. Same results: hangs displaying "86.0 MB of 21.16 GB -- Calculating time remaining ..."

I see this in the Console:

4/30/14 6:25:16.551 PM com.apple.backupd-helper[40188]: Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

4/30/14 7:25:27.120 PM com.apple.backupd-helper[40188]: Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

4/30/14 8:25:33.651 PM com.apple.backupd-helper[40188]: Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

which I believe represents Time Machine trying to start hourly backups, but being stymied because the original backupd has hung.

One possible oddity: I have two backup devices: the one here at home (that is hanging per above), and another time capsule at the office, which has never finished its initial backup.

It seems possible that trying to have two backups is causing the problem.

I will try deleting the office backup (low cost, since it has never completed its initial backup), stopping the Time Machine, and restarting, and see if that helps.

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Answer 4

rpg25 Author

Level 1

62 points

Apr 30, 2014 7:03 PM in response to Linc Davis

Thank you for the instructions. I am afraid that I am using FileVault, so I need to ask for further instructions.

FWIW, I did a soft reset on my Time Capsule, since that seems to be the procedure for checking the drive. I wanted to see if the drive was failing, perhaps. The Time Capsule came up successfully, so I believe that means that the Time Capsule disk has been verified (the instructions are a little unclear: they say to verify the disk we need to "reset" the Time Capsule, but don't specify hard or soft reset).

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Answer 5

rpg25 Author

Level 1

62 points

Apr 30, 2014 7:49 PM in response to Linc Davis

FWIW, every time I have retried I once again get this:

4/30/14 9:44:50.479 PM com.apple.backupd[231]: Event store UUIDs don't match for volume: Macintosh HD

4/30/14 9:44:59.339 PM com.apple.backupd[231]: Deep event scan at path:/ reason:must scan subdirs|new event db|

Is this repetition indicative of a problem? I.e., should the Event store UUID problem be resolved by this "deep scan"? Or do we only expect that to be resolved after a successful new backup is made.

Have restarted (blush -- should have thought of this myself, but I'm no longer used to rebooting being the goto remedy for problems). Waiting to see if there's any improvement.

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