ProfessorP
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Q: Time Machine backup slowed to a crawl with El Capitan

Hello!

 

I am trying to back up my wifes 2011 Mac Book Air 13".  It is an i7 1.8 GHz with 4 GB ram and a 256 GB SSD. 

It is about a 135 GB back up.  And it slows to a crawl at some point after it has backed up about 55 GB worth of data.  Keeps backing up but at the rate it is going it would take years to finish the backup.  I left it running over night while it was backing up at a snails pace, and it never sped up again.  I know the first backup takes a long time, but it shouldn't take literally years (I am not exaggerating the time estimate).  I tried to do two fresh backups on two different hard drives, one of them is a brand new drive bought a few days ago, and I experience the same exact problem on both: at about 55 GB worth of data the back up slows to a literal crawl.  I have run first aid disk utility on the SSD in the Air, and on the two back up disks, and all three are running normally according to disk utility with no errors. 

 

Also I tried the solution posted here where you try to (1) backup from safe mode, or (2) boot into safe mode and then restart, and then back up again.  None of those proposed solutions solved my problem.

 

I backed up earlier yesterday a 2008 15" MBP, with around the same amount of data on a 5200 HDD, running Mavericks, and it only took a few hours.

 

Following this post: Re: Time Machine very slow after upgrade to El Capitan

 

I am posting here my log file in pastbin: http://pastebin.com/d90QBmHZ

 

Actually the log file went all night until around 8:30am so that is only a small part of it, but the whole thing was way bigger than pastebin would allow me to include...

 

(I think there is only a first name in the pastbin and no other personal info as far as I can tell.)

 

... can anyone help me determine the cause of my extremely slow time machine backup under el capitan?  Thanks!

Posted on Nov 23, 2015 6:04 AM

by ProfessorP,Solvedanswer
ProfessorP ProfessorP
Level 1 (0 points)
A:

I wanted to report back to this topic.  After talking with you, and also talking with a hcomputer guy at my job, I came to the conclusion that whatever was happening was because of some corrupted software or something like that...  so I backed up my user directories and did a fresh install of OS X and then restored my applications and my user directories and my settings.  Seems to be working now. 

 

deleting the spotlight thing, didn't seem to solve my problem and I tried that first. 

 

So I had to create an external boot drive and use migration assistant to the external drive and then back to the computer... since Time Machine wasn't working...  but somehow that worked. 

 

Anyway it looks like my problem is solved.  thanks 

Posted on Nov 24, 2015 2:17 PM

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ProfessorP

Q: Time Machine backup slowed to a crawl with El Capitan

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Linc Davis,Helpful

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Nov 23, 2015 1:03 PM in response to ProfessorP
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Nov 23, 2015 1:03 PM in response to ProfessorP

    It looks like the internal drive may be failing. You must back up all the data on it as soon as possible, if you still can. Since Time Machine isn't working, see below.

    There are several ways to back up a Mac that is not fully functional. You need an external hard drive or other storage device to hold the data.

    1. Start up from the Recovery partition, from Internet Recovery, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.

    If you use FileVault 2, then you must first unlock the startup volume. Select its icon ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) It will be nested below another disk icon, usually with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar. Enter your login password when prompted.

    2. If Method 1 fails because of disk errors, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.

    3. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. A Retina MacBook (from 2015 or later) with a USB-C port can also be started in target disk mode and connected to another Mac using a USB cable and an adapter.

    Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive.

    This technique won't work with USB (except on a Retina MacBook), Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. Note that a Retina MacBook Pro (with Thunderbolt) is different from a Retina MacBook, and it can't be connected to another Mac via USB in target disk mode.

    4. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.

  • by ProfessorP,

    ProfessorP ProfessorP Nov 23, 2015 1:03 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 23, 2015 1:03 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thanks! 

     

    Can you tell me what indicates to you that the internal SSD drive is failing? 

     

    Everything except time machine appears to work as normal.  Disk Utility said there were no problems with my internal drive when I ran first aid (booting from an external drive)..

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Nov 23, 2015 2:12 PM in response to ProfessorP
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Nov 23, 2015 2:12 PM in response to ProfessorP

    Can you tell me what indicates to you that the internal SSD drive is failing?

    The log and your description of the problem. The fact that Disk Utility finds nothing wrong doesn't mean anything. It's not a test of the drive hardware. I'm not sure the drive is failing, but I am sure that you need to back up the data.

  • by ProfessorP,

    ProfessorP ProfessorP Nov 23, 2015 2:16 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 23, 2015 2:16 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Ok, thanks.

     

    I easily copied all of the important files off the the computer just now.  I don't care about the specific set up or backing up preferences and all that kind of stuff on this machine.

     

    The SSD shows no observable signs of going bad, it isn't working slowly and it copies and loads everything just as it always did.  (Although I'm not really sure what I would be looking for...)

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Nov 23, 2015 2:41 PM in response to ProfessorP
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Nov 23, 2015 2:41 PM in response to ProfessorP

    Please back up all data before proceeding.

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

    /.Spotlight-V100

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

              Services ▹ Open

    from the contextual menu. A folder should open with a subfolder named ".Spotlight-V100" selected. Move the subfolder to the Trash. You may be prompted for your administrator login password.

    Restart the computer. If you try to search now from the magnifying-glass icon in the top right corner of the display, there should be an indication that indexing is in progress.

    You can't see the folder in the Trash because it's invisible. The next time you empty the Trash, it should be deleted.

  • by ProfessorP,

    ProfessorP ProfessorP Nov 24, 2015 4:45 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 4:45 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Thank you!  I am trying that now.  So you think I had some sort of situation in my spotlight index file that is messing up my Time Machine back up?  I deleted it and I will attempt a new backup once the new indexing is done.  Then I'll report back here.

  • by ProfessorP,Solvedanswer

    ProfessorP ProfessorP Nov 24, 2015 2:17 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 2:17 PM in response to Linc Davis

    I wanted to report back to this topic.  After talking with you, and also talking with a hcomputer guy at my job, I came to the conclusion that whatever was happening was because of some corrupted software or something like that...  so I backed up my user directories and did a fresh install of OS X and then restored my applications and my user directories and my settings.  Seems to be working now. 

     

    deleting the spotlight thing, didn't seem to solve my problem and I tried that first. 

     

    So I had to create an external boot drive and use migration assistant to the external drive and then back to the computer... since Time Machine wasn't working...  but somehow that worked. 

     

    Anyway it looks like my problem is solved.  thanks 

  • by Linc Davis,Helpful

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Nov 24, 2015 4:07 PM in response to ProfessorP
    Level 10 (207,963 points)
    Applications
    Nov 24, 2015 4:07 PM in response to ProfessorP
    I backed up my user directories and did a fresh install of OS X and then restored my applications and my user directories and my settings.  Seems to be working now.

    The fact that you had to do that is the best indication there is of a drive malfunction. I hope the effect won't be all too brief.

  • by ProfessorP,

    ProfessorP ProfessorP Nov 24, 2015 4:07 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 24, 2015 4:07 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thanks!  Yeah I don't know how to check for a failing SSD.  If there is some way that I can do that I'd be happy to know what it is.  I'm not a pro, but seems like either the drive is on the way out or some spotlight software got corrupted somehow that caused the time machine to mess up.  I've had software get corrupted without a drive failing before.