Time Machine backups fail with error 22

Question

Level 1

49 points

Time Machine backups fail with error 22

Since updating to Yosemite 10.10.3 my time machine backups are failing with the following errors:

13/04/2015 08:09:09.144 com.apple.backupd[31985]: Backing up to /dev/disk2s2: /Volumes/Tardis/Backups.backupdb

13/04/2015 08:09:10.872 com.apple.backupd[31985]: Error: (22) setxattr for key:com.apple.backupd.HostUUID path:/Volumes/Tardis/Backups.backupdb/Thor size:37

13/04/2015 08:09:10.877 com.apple.backupd[31985]: Backup failed with error 2: 2

The disk is a firewire 2-TB G-Drive and I have a 500GB partition for time machine backups. This has been running without problems for at least a year. Since updating to 10.10.3 and getting these errors I have run a Surface Scan using TechTool Pro (which took 8 hours) and it reports no errors. I have erased the partition and done a full time machine backup and this ran O.K. for one day, backing up each hour with no errors, and then the errors started again.

I have turned off Time Machine and will look for other ways of backing up until this gets resolved.

I've reported this to Apple.

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), Canon iP4500 printer

Posted on Apr 13, 2015 4:36 AM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Apr 13, 2015 7:16 AM in response to Geoff Roynon

Please take each of the following steps that you haven't already tried until the problem is resolved.

1. From the menu bar, select

 ▹ System Preferences ▹ Energy Saver ▹ Power Adapter

and uncheck the box marked

Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible

if it's checked.

2. Some external drives ignore the Energy Saver setting and spin down anyway. The application "KeepDriveSpinning" from developer Jon Stovell may help in that case. (Credit to ASC member dsrtmacusr for this solution.)

3. If the drive is connected to a hub, connect it to a built-in port on the computer.

4. If the drive has more than one bridge (e.g., FireWire and USB), try another one.

5. If a firmware update is available for the drive, apply it.

6. Contact the drive manufacturer to see whether there's a firmware setting you can change.

7. If you installed vendor software for the drive, uninstall it.

8. Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

/Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist

Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select

Services ▹ Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)

from the contextual menu. A Finder window should open with a file selected. Copy the file to the Desktop. Then move it (the original, not the copy) to the Trash. You'll be prompted for your administrator password. Restart the computer and recreate your settings in the Time Machine preference pane. It will show that you have no backups. Don't worry; that's expected. Run a backup to test. The backup may take much longer than usual. If TM now performs as expected, delete the file you copied to the Desktop.

9. If none of the above steps resolves the issue, the drive is faulty. Use another one. You may be able to salvage the mechanism of an external drive by installing it in another enclosure.

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Answer 2

Geoff Roynon Author

Level 1

49 points

Apr 13, 2015 7:53 AM in response to Linc Davis

Thanks for the response.

I saved the preferences file and removed it as you suggested and restarted. A backup has started now but it is backing up everything again - 263GB, so my 500GB partition will be full soon and I'll have to wipe it and start again.

I don't think it's a disk problem as the other partitions on the disk work fine with other applications and a surface scan using TechTool shows no errors.

I'll report back tomorrow as backup always works for a while after a restart before reverting to failing with error 22.

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Apr 13, 2015 10:08 AM in response to Geoff Roynon

"TechTool" is completely useless and its output means nothing at all.

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Answer 4

Geoff Roynon Author

Level 1

49 points

Apr 15, 2015 11:45 PM in response to Geoff Roynon

Someone on MacinTouch reported a similar problem, also on a firewire external drive. They solved the problem by running Disk Utility on the disk media (not the partition) which found and fixed a problem with the partition map. I did the same and also found a problem with the partition map which was fixed by Disk Utility. Running Disk Utility on the individual partitions showed no problems.

Time Machine has been running with no problems for 24 hours now so I am closing this issue.

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Answer 5

Apr 22, 2015 9:32 PM in response to Geoff Roynon

I had a similar issue since updating to 10.10.3 - Time Machine reporting it was unable to complete the backup. Also a 2TB drive, Lacie USB, but without any partitions. The Disk Utility scan found several incorrect numbers and was able to repair, taking about 5 or 6 hours. The problem went away for 2 days and returned early this morning. Trying Disk Utility again... so far reporting incorrect number of thread records.

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Answer 6

Geoff Roynon Author

Level 1

49 points

Apr 23, 2015 12:50 AM in response to davidpainter

I still have this problem and have an open bug report with Apple. Once the problem happens I've found that if I unmount the external drive, turn it off then on again, and then manually start backup, everything runs fine for 12 hours or more.

Disk Utility shows no errors on the partition or media.

I suspect that if I was able to revert to 10.10.2 the problem would disappear.

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Answer 7

Geoff Roynon Author

Level 1

49 points

May 5, 2015 1:09 AM in response to Geoff Roynon

I have now solved this problem. It appears to be caused by the Firewire connection to my G-Drive not responding properly after waking from sleep. There is a thread on the G-Technology forum discussing this here: http://support.g-technology.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=70066&sid=e7dc9c8f41 645f01715b8e1ec596225f

I used the USB connection on the G-Drive (instead of the Firewire connection) and backups have been running with no errors for 5 days.

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Answer 8

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

May 5, 2015 6:48 AM in response to Geoff Roynon

That was Step 4 in my first comment.

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