Stratiegery01

Q: Time machine wont copy to new drive

I purchased a new external hard drive to use as a Time Machine backup. I've since reformatted said drive to OSX Extended (journaled) and have followed the Apple Support instructions for moving it over  (Time Machine: How to transfer backups from a current backup drive to a new backup drive - Apple Support). However despite these instructions, an error message pops up saying "The operation cant be completed because backup items cant be modified."

 

I'm sure this is not an unique problem on these forums (though I cannot find a relevant article). Can anyone please recommend me a solution?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2009), OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Mar 22, 2015 4:15 PM

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Q: Time machine wont copy to new drive

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  • by Linc Davis,Helpful

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 22, 2015 7:48 PM in response to Stratiegery01
    Level 10 (207,990 points)
    Applications
    Mar 22, 2015 7:48 PM in response to Stratiegery01

    Although Apple documentation says you can copy Time Machine backups in the Finder, it's very slow and sometimes doesn't work at all.

    This technique will only work if the volume you're copying to is the same size, or larger than, the one you're copying from.

    First, open the Time Machine preference pane and click the Select Disk... button. You may have to unlock the settings first by clicking the padlock icon in the lower left corner of the window. Authenticate as an administrator.

    Delete the volume you're going to copy from the list of backup destinations. Then turn Time Machine OFF.

    Launch Disk Utility, open the built-in help, and search for the term "Duplicate." Follow the instructions. All existing data on the destination volume will be erased. That shouldn't be a problem, because you don't want to mix backup and non-backup data on the same drive anyway.

    If the volume you're copying was encrypted by Time Machine, you may have to unlock it first. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar of the Disk Utility window.

    Turn Time Machine back ON and select the new volume as a backup destination. You can also continue to use the old volume, if you wish. The two will be alternated when both are available.

    CAUTION: If the volume you're copying is corrupt, as shown by Repair Disk or Verify Disk in Disk Utility, then that corruption will be copied to the new drive. Don't copy data from a corrupt volume on a malfunctioning drive. Put the drive aside and don't use it until you're sure you'll no longer need the data. Then securely erase it and take it to a recycling center. Do the same if the Restore operation fails with "disk errors."

  • by Stratiegery01,

    Stratiegery01 Stratiegery01 Mar 24, 2015 9:16 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 24, 2015 9:16 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Hello Linc,

     

    Unfortunately following your instructions word-for-word is not possible. The TM preferences using the 'select disk' option does not allow the user to delete any drives from the list.

     

    The disk utility preferences did help however after i realized that the "duplicate" option no longer exists, and instead was replaced with the 'restore' function. This restore function exactly replicated the TM backup disk as predicted (after a 14hr copy) and I am able to use that copy as the new drive.

     

    All is well that ends well.