Hello,
I keep getting "couldn't complete back up, an error occurred while creating the backup folder" - I have an iMac with an external Iomega eGo hard drive. I checked previous discussions about this and cannot solve. What should I do?
iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11), Epson Perfection 4490 Photo Scanner
Please take each of the following steps that you haven't already tried until the problem is resolved.
1. Disconnect and reconnect the drive.
2. 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.
3. 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.)
4. If the drive is connected to a hub, connect it to a built-in port on the computer. If it's already connected to a built-in port, and there is another such port, use that.
5. If the drive has more than one bridge (e.g., FireWire and USB), try another one.
6. Check the drive vendor's website for a firmware update.
7. Contact the vendor to see whether there's a firmware setting you can change.
8. If you installed vendor software for the drive, uninstall it.
9. 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.
10. If none of the above steps resolves the issue, the drive may be faulty. Try another one. You may be able to salvage the mechanism of an external drive by installing it in another enclosure.
Please take each of the following steps that you haven't already tried until the problem is resolved.
1. Disconnect and reconnect the drive.
2. 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.
3. 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.)
4. If the drive is connected to a hub, connect it to a built-in port on the computer. If it's already connected to a built-in port, and there is another such port, use that.
5. If the drive has more than one bridge (e.g., FireWire and USB), try another one.
6. Check the drive vendor's website for a firmware update.
7. Contact the vendor to see whether there's a firmware setting you can change.
8. If you installed vendor software for the drive, uninstall it.
9. 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.
10. If none of the above steps resolves the issue, the drive may be faulty. Try another one. You may be able to salvage the mechanism of an external drive by installing it in another enclosure.
Thank you Linc, I followed all instructions, then I noticed my external Hard Drive clicking, I think the hard drive went bad and is now out of warranty, so I'll have to buy a new one. I have an iMAC from March 2008 - Is it accurate to say that a Firewire 800 would work the best on a 2008 iMAC? Thanks for all of your great information.
If by "best" you mean fastest, the answer is yes.
Time Machine Error - Backup Failed
