Time Machine not doing hourly backups on El Capitan

Will give it all another try and see what happens when I wait a few hours (reset the UPS, reset the SMC, deleted the com.apple.TimeMachine line, rebooted, etc). Backup drive still shows as a normal drive. Also of note: some sort of warning flashes when I re-plug-in my UPS's USB cable, but it disappears too fast to see what it says (it only shows on screen for a split second)

The message flashing when you plug in the UPS is a bit of a concern. Since it doesn't stay on the screen long enough to read it - you might be able to open the console first - place a marker in the console (just click the marker button in the toolbar) - and then watch the console messages closely as you plug in the UPS data cable? Out of curiosity - what is the brand and model number of your UPS?

~Scott

OK, the auto backups are working again. Thanks for your solution!

Backup drive still shows as normal drive, which is weird. Oh well, I can deal with that.

The UPS is a Cyber Power 425VA. Never noticed the warning popup until today, but it's not like I have been unplugging it and replugging it, so I don't know when that began.

Glad to hear that hourly backups are working again. I'm assuming you have deleted the plist temporary fix - and are running on 10.11.2 - and that you have done an SMC reset - and have booted the Mac while the UPS data cable is attached. Please monitor the hourly backups and re-test that hourly backups continue to work across several subsequent reboots - and report back. I'm in the process of upgrading my Mac Mini Server to 10.11.2. I will report my results after I do my testing.

As for the drive icons not showing the time machine icons - I would not worry about that just yet. On my Mac Mini - after having the backup issue and implementing either the plist fix or a reboot without the UPS data cable attached - I have noticed that it takes about a day for the time machine drive icon to appear for the drive. I also backup round-robin to multiple drives and multiple partitions - and strangely I only every see the time machine icon appearing on one of the volumes.

Did you make any progress on capturing the error message when connecting the UPS? I suspect that none of us have previously unplugged our UPS data cables - except when needing to move something around. I did do a test of unplugging and replugging the UPS data cable on my late 2012 iMac - which is now updated to 10.11.2 - and I don't see anything happening when the cable is connected or disconnected. The UPS on the iMac is an APC BackUPS XS 1300.

~Scott

SBeattie2 wrote:

Hersco - Over the course of time that this thread has been going on - I have seen a few circumstances where a reboot - with the UPS data cable attached - does not encounter the backup problem - and I am not sure if it has anything to do with actually physically powering down the UPS. However - the problem inevitably returns on a subsequent reboot. Can you confirm that 10.11.2 has truly fixed your problem by doing at least two more reboots? Unfortunately it may take quite a few hours of watching the backups to ensure that they are in-fact running hourly - and also not checking until after the second expected hourly backup has passed it time to run.

~Scott

Despite posting today, I discovered that it was working yesterday. I have rebooted at least twice since then and can confirm more than two automatic backups have occurred after each reboot. For what it's worth, I never powered down my UPS.

This is useful information. The only reason I even mentioned powering down the ups was because yesterday I actually had to power down and move my UPS so that I could do some work in the area where it normally sits. I noticed that the hourly backups mysteriously started working when they should have failed. Well - they went back to failing after a subsequent reboot. I think I have maybe powered down the UPS no more than once per year.

~Scott

Here are my test results after the 10.11.2 update:

I updated to 10.11.2 last night and the backups are running correctly. I had previously removed my plist workaround fix prior to upgrading. I did not do an SMC reset and have watched the hourly backups running after two reboots with the UPS data cable attached - without issue. I also monitored the backups on my cleanly installed 10.11.1 Mid 2010 MacBook Pro - that was upgraded to 10.11.2. I wasn't actually having the backup issue with the MacBook Pro with the clean install of 10.11.1 - but decided to confirm that the backups were in-fact working while on AC power and with the "allow backups on battery" NOT selected in Time Machine Preferences. I believe this issue is fixed.

I would suggest doing an SMC after the 10.11.2 update - for those that have not done one recently.

~Scott

SBeattie2 – here are my results after your hint to reset SMC:

Yesterday I worked only without the UPS data cable attached. Everything works fine. The iMac boots normally (multiple restarts and normally starts) and the hourly Time Machine backups run like a charm. Further I completely shut down the UPS using its power button, restart it and performing an SMC reset.

Today I started the iMac again without the UPS data cable attached. So, little time to deal with: I attach the UPS data cable by running a screen record. There is a message flashing when I plug in the UPS data cable:

Console says:

11.12.15 08:14:15,976 powerd[55]: UPSDeviceAdded. _alreadyRunningIOUPSD:0

11.12.15 08:14:16,115 powerd[55]: PowerManagement: UPS low power warning

OK so far. Now perform a restart. Shut down the iMac normaly and hit the power button to start again with the attached UPS data cable – little bit concern about a further freeze at 50–60 % – but nothing, hooray, the iMac boots normaly. First automatic Time Machine backup have been done so far. Think my problems are gone in addition to reset the SMC (thanks for your solution, Scott!). Only the flashing message when plug in the UPS data cable is a bit of a concern …

My specs

iMac 11,3 (Mid 2010)

OS X 10.11.1 (clean install)

OS X 10.11.2 (combo update)

APC Smart-UPS 750 via USB

SMC reset after upgrade OS X 10.11.2

The console messages that you are seeing when you attach the UPS data cable are normal. I see those as well - and I have several APC UPSs. I do not get any pop up message when I attach the UPS data cable while the Mac is running. Can you translate the message in the popup and post here - the message appears to be in German - but the screen print is blurry when I zoom it. If the pop up message is indicating a low power condition - is it possible that your UPS battery needs to be replaced? How old is the battery in the UPS and how many times has the battery actually been discharged? Are you using any 3rd party UPS monitoring software (such as APC Powerchute) on the Mac? If so - that could be causing a problem.

SBeattie2 wrote:

[…] Can you translate the message in the popup and post here - the message appears to be in German - but the screen print is blurry when I zoom it. […]

Warning! Your computer is now running on UPS backup battery power. Save your documents and shut down soon.

With the UPS everything is be fine. Batteries are in good condition and UPS self test says passed. No software, only the build in power management.

You say that you do not get any pop up message when attach the UPS data cable while your Mac is running – I think you do 😉.

It appears only for a fraction of a second. Recheck it by run a screen record via QuickTime Player.

But I do not think that this is a issue to deal with it. Probably a little APC glitch …

That message is quite normal when the power actually fails and your machine is running on the UPS battery inverter. I don’t see this as any kind of issue. My guess is that it takes a moment for the UPS and OS X to communicate with each other about the status of power and that’s why the pop-up is almost unnoticeable.

rj-vlj - You are 100% correct. I do see that pop up for a fraction of a second - on every Mac (even a MacBook Pro) - when the UPS Data cable is first attached. I did not realize you were referring to the momentary pop-up and I thought you were referring a pop-up that was remaining on-screen and flashing. I am pretty sure I have always seen that pop up - and since it is not there long enough to actually read - without screen capture - I assumed it was just a message indicating that the UPS was being attached and never thought much of it. I think this is expected behavior and has nothing to do with El Capitan. Out of curiosity I may boot up Yosemite and see if I see the pop up. Any way - we are all now playing with our UPSs because of the backup issue (which appears to be resolved) and we may be noticing things that we never noticed before. In a normal use scenario - the UPS data cable is not going to be unplugged and re-plugged - unless the UPS or Mac is being moved for some reason. I believe that everything is fine.

~Scott

Well, I posted too soon about OS 10.11.2 fixing the problem for me. This morning, Time Machine is no longer backing up automatically with the UPS USB cable connected. Reset SMC. The only thing I noticed since is that the message, Warning! Your computer is now running on UPS backup battery power. Save your documents and shut down soon, popped up again after a couple of days of not appearing.

When are you seeing the message: Warning! Your computer is now running on UPS backup battery power. Save your documents and shut down soon? This message seems to pop up (and disappear very rapidly) only if the UPS data cable is reattached while the Mac is up and running. It is not a new message and appeared prior to El Capitan. It should not pop up on its own while the Mac is running - unless there is possibly a problem with the UPS Data cable. When you get this message does it remain on screen long enough to view it? The only way that I was able to even read the message was to do a screen capture and then replay the screen capture very carefully. In the past - I simply assumed this pop up was a message indicating that the UPS was being detected and never thought much of it. For me - everything has been running fine since 10.11.2.

You may also want to try starting up in safe mode - as that tends to clean up some things.

To safe boot: Shutdown the Mac, Start up the Mac - pressing and holding the left shift key upon hearing the boot chime - keep holding the shift key until you see and indication of boot activity occurring. Release the shift key. When the login screen appears - there will be a red Safe Boot indicator in the upper right corner of the screen. Let the Mac sit at the login screen and wait about 5 minutes. Login - it will be slow. After login completes - let the Mac sit at the desktop for 5 minutes (don't use the Mac during this time). After 5 minutes - shut down the Mac - and restart normally. See if this makes any difference.

~Scott

Update: Time Machine backups are automatic again. Unsure what happened earlier today.

Meanwhile, I only occasionally see the warning message, but when it happens it is after I startup. One or two minutes after startup usually go by before the message appears. Then it disappears pretty quickly, though sometimes it stays onscreen long enough for me to read it. The UPS data cable remains plugged in all the time, so it is not occurring in response to a change in connectivity.

Your suggestion of doing a Safe Boot makes sense. I'll do that. Thanks.