Time Machine never stops backing up?!

I am using Mac OS Sierra latest version (10.12.3) and was using Time Machine without any issues for 2 or so years on my 8TB Western Digital drive. Mac OS then reported an issue with the drive and suggested I reformat it which I did. I then set up Time Machine again on this drive. The problem I am having however is that Time Machine never seems to stop backing up. It is literally always backing up GBs and GBs of data. As soon as it finishes, it seems to start again 10 minutes later with another large backup. I can't understand where it's finding all this data as i'm not changing anything on the Mac. It finished backing up around 12GB of data last night and I left the Mac left on as I went to bed, when I woke up this morning it was backing up again and this time 20GB of data?


it's not making any sense to me. Can anyone help me find out what's happening?


Thanks!

Posted on Feb 28, 2017 1:21 AM

Reply
8 replies

Feb 28, 2017 2:43 AM in response to Peter O'Toole

It's possible that TM isn't backing up anything much and that it's just reviewing 20GB of files that may have changed and it needs to check just in case.


Try Console.app and search All Messages for the string 'backup'. See if there are any clues.


IME, a common reason for TM playing up is a source disk has directory issues and needs some TLC from the Disk Utility 'First Aid' button.


If these suggestions aren't the answer there are tools available that allow you to compare two TM snapshots and list the files that have been changed.


C.

Feb 28, 2017 10:49 AM in response to Peter O'Toole

Mac OS then reported an issue with the drive and suggested I reformat it which I did.


What was that "issue"? If it required reformatting, it strongly suggests the drive had failed. That failure that is likely to occur again, probably in a very short period of time.


Over the course of a typical hard disk drive's lifespan you might tolerate one of those failures. The next one might occur a year later. The following one might occur in a week or two, and so forth, until the drive becomes completely unusable, manifesting itself in the exact same behaviour that you describe. Hard disk drives that have failed cannot be repaired in any permanent sense of the word, even if Disk Utility reports a successful "repair". In extreme cases Disk Utility will appear to "hang" and won't ever finish mounting the affected volume.


To extract potentially relevant Time Machine activity consider using the following shell script:


clear; printf '\e[3J' && log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.TimeMachine"' --info --last 24h | grep -F 'eMac' | grep -Fv 'etat' | awk -F']' '{print substr($0,1,19), $NF}'

Copy (triple-click to select the entire line) and Paste that line in a Terminal window. The Terminal app is in your Mac's Utilities folder.


It extracts Time Machine activity logged during the previous 24 hours. To change that time period change that value. If Time Machine is running there is no need to interrupt TM to use it. Be advised that log is fairly resource-intensive, and if you are using a portable Mac it will consume a lot of battery power as it runs.


log will need a few moments to extract the Time Machine log data. Wait for it to finish. It is normal for its results to include various "errors" and "failures" and none of them are necessarily an indication of anything wrong.


Copy (Edit > Select All and then Copy) and Paste that Terminal window's contents in a reply to this Discussion. Please omit or obscure any information that you may consider personal.

Feb 28, 2017 11:35 AM in response to John Galt

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply. I have the drive hooked up in a drive caddy and over the course of the past 2 years since I bought the caddy I seem to have nothing but issues with any drive i put into it. For a while I was thinking I was very unlucky with my drives but then i started to question whether it was the caddy that was corrupting my drives but I don't think that's possible is it?


I've done as you requested anyhow and copied TM's terminal info. Let me know if you spot anything in there.


2017-02-27 19:41:27 Copied 1.26 TB of 1.26 TB, 213370 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 20:16:47 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 20:41:28 Copied 1.33 TB of 1.33 TB, 216135 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 21:09:57 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 21:41:29 Copied 1.4 TB of 1.4 TB, 219133 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 22:15:20 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 22:41:29 Copied 1.45 TB of 1.45 TB, 283145 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 22:59:14 Copied 284044 items (1.47 TB) from volume My Files 4TB. Linked 0.

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:31 Copied 3433 items (54.3 MB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 7622.

2017-02-27 23:02:16 Will copy (2.24 GB) from My Files 4TB

2017-02-27 23:03:56 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:03:56 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:03:56 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:03:56 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:07 Will copy (4.51 GB) from Macintosh HD

2017-02-27 23:05:07 Found 93146 files (6.75 GB) needing backup

2017-02-27 23:05:07 15.04 GB required (including padding), 799.18 GB available

2017-02-27 23:06:42 Copied 19 items (2.24 GB) from volume My Files 4TB. Linked 64.

2017-02-27 23:06:58 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:06:58 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:06:58 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:06:58 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:06:58 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:06:59 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:06:59 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:10:47 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 23:27:20 Copied 85647 items (3.17 GB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 382163.

2017-02-27 23:27:23 Created new backup: 2017-02-27-232720

2017-02-27 23:27:21 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-27 23:27:24 Copying OS X Recovery set

2017-02-28 00:10:47 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-28 01:10:47 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Starting post-backup thinning

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "paramErr: error in user parameter list" deleting backup: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-26-224116.inProgress/5AD55265-99E6-464B-B7DE-DEF27F584847

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "paramErr: error in user parameter list" deleting backup: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-26-224116.inProgress/5BA5FF4F-AAB6-45DE-91A3-F5DA1FCDDF75

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "paramErr: error in user parameter list" deleting backup: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-26-224116.inProgress/EDB5AC1E-816A-450C-A509-077454FB9853

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "paramErr: error in user parameter list" deleting backup: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-26-224116.inProgress/F2AEA0DA-7FBA-4C1E-A0D9-153CDB21CF13

2017-02-28 01:17:19 No post-backup thinning needed: no expired backups exist

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Backup completed successfully.

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 02:16:10 Starting automatic backup

2017-02-28 02:16:10 Backing up to /dev/disk4s2: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb

2017-02-28 02:17:10 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 02:17:14 Forcing deep traversal on source: "Movies" (device: /dev/disk5s2 mount: '/Volumes/Movies' fsUUID: FCB2C102-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806 eventDBUUID: 70CCF943-A260-48CA-B02C-26E9F8DD9ADB)

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Will copy (1.51 GB) from Macintosh HD

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Will copy (1.75 GB) from My Files 4TB

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Deep event scan at path:/Volumes/Movies reason:must scan subdirs|require scan|

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Running event scan

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Finished scan

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Saved event cache at /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-021711.inProgress/88280111-7BC3-48DA-8CE8-DD79A783EE45/.FCB2C10 2-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806.eventdb

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Not using file event preflight for Movies

2017-02-28 02:17:31 Will copy (2.47 TB) from Movies

2017-02-28 02:17:31 Found 3834 files (2.47 TB) needing backup

2017-02-28 02:17:31 2.5 TB required (including padding), 5.68 TB available

2017-02-28 02:23:31 Copied 1643 items (1.48 GB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 15752.

2017-02-28 02:25:27 Copied 19 items (1.75 GB) from volume My Files 4TB. Linked 119.

2017-02-28 03:39:54 Copied 11.92 GB of 2.47 TB, 17544 of 17544 items

2017-02-28 05:02:39 Copied 24.41 GB of 2.47 TB, 17545 of 17545 items

2017-02-28 05:47:34 Stopping backup.

2017-02-28 05:47:34 Error: (-47) SrcErr:NO Copying /Volumes/Movies/3D Movies/Gravity 3D 2013 1080p.mkv to /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-021711.inProgress/88280111-7BC3-48DA-8CE8-DD79A783EE45/Movies/3 D Movies

2017-02-28 05:47:35 Copied 13 items (22.72 GB) from volume Movies. Linked 0.

2017-02-28 05:47:35 Copy stage failed with error:11

2017-02-28 05:47:36 Backup failed with error 11: 11

2017-02-28 05:47:35 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 06:48:48 Starting automatic backup

2017-02-28 06:50:03 Backing up to /dev/disk4s2: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb

2017-02-28 06:50:04 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 06:50:06 Forcing deep traversal on source: "Movies" (device: /dev/disk5s2 mount: '/Volumes/Movies' fsUUID: FCB2C102-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806 eventDBUUID: 70CCF943-A260-48CA-B02C-26E9F8DD9ADB)

2017-02-28 06:50:30 Will copy (122.5 MB) from Macintosh HD

2017-02-28 06:50:34 Will copy (Zero KB) from My Files 4TB

2017-02-28 06:50:35 Deep event scan at path:/Volumes/Movies reason:must scan subdirs|require scan|

2017-02-28 06:50:35 Reading cached event database from: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-065004.inProgress/88280111-7BC3-48DA-8CE8-DD79A783EE45/.FCB2C10 2-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806.eventdb

2017-02-28 06:50:35 Using cached disk scan

2017-02-28 06:50:35 Saved event cache at /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-065004.inProgress/E349C984-B05E-4BE1-B34E-10D46949AA16/.FCB2C10 2-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806.eventdb

2017-02-28 06:50:35 Not using file event preflight for Movies

2017-02-28 06:50:37 Will copy (2.45 TB) from Movies

2017-02-28 06:50:37 Found 3391 files (2.45 TB) needing backup

2017-02-28 06:50:37 2.48 TB required (including padding), 5.66 TB available

2017-02-28 06:53:50 Copied 1338 items (122.5 MB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 17381.

2017-02-28 06:53:58 Copied 12 items (Zero KB) from volume My Files 4TB. Linked 126.

2017-02-28 07:38:00 Stopping backup to allow disk to be unmounted or ejected.

2017-02-28 07:38:00 Copied 4 items (10.72 GB) from volume Movies. Linked 10.

2017-02-28 19:07:32 Received XPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_INVALID for connection com.apple.backupd.xpc

2017-02-28 19:07:32 com.apple.backupd-auto launchd job enabled

2017-02-28 19:07:32 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

Peters-iMac:~ peterotoole$


Thanks again for you help.

Feb 28, 2017 1:50 PM in response to Peter O'Toole

Some questions:


What is the volume "My Files 4TB" and are you certain you need it to be backed up? That's taking a long time and there is no indication of a backup having been completed for that volume within the past 24 hours.


2017-02-28 07:38:00 Stopping backup to allow disk to be unmounted or ejected.


If that volume became unmounted, either intentionally or otherwise, it will obviously interrupt the backup and it will need to start all over again. So, make sure it remains mounted long enough for the backup to finish. If it becomes unmounted for unknown reasons that problem would need to be addressed separately.


You can re-run that script but change the 24h period to something longer. For example,


clear; printf '\e[3J' && log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.TimeMachine"' --info --last 7d | grep -F 'eMac' | grep -Fv 'etat' | awk -F']' '{print substr($0,1,19), $NF}'


... will extract relevant logs for the previous seven days. Longer than that is likely to be too much information.


The same question applies for the volume "Movies". For example, "Gravity 3D 2013 1080p.mkv" failed to back up for reasons unknown. On very rare occasions certain files have been known to cause trouble, and may be an indication of that particular file being corrupted in some way. The last time I heard of that happening was with some game app, but anything is possible. If you can't find a way around that failure, consider renaming the source file in the usual manner with the Finder, which has also been known to fix things. Lastly, consider copying the source file using the Finder, and deleting the original (make sure the copy plays for you before deleting the original).


If it continues to occur I'd just back it up some other way. If that particular movie file is in fact corrupted in a manner that TM cannot resolve, whatever app you are using to play that movie might have a way of coping with it as if the corruption didn't even exist. If it were a program it would probably crash, but things like movies, music, or photos don't need to be perfect.


2017-02-27 23:27:20 Copied 85647 items (3.17 GB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 382163.

2017-02-27 23:27:23 Created new backup: 2017-02-27-232720


Those entries are conclusive indications of a completed backup. They indicate completion of the backup for "Macintosh HD" which is the usual name for a Mac startup volume.


There is no indication of any disk corruption and no reason to suspect that, which is good news. It's just taking a long time, which may be TM simply choking on that one particular movie file.


Backing up multiple volumes is certainly OK, but to advance troubleshooting I recommend excluding one or more of those additional volumes, at least temporarily. To do that use Time Machine's Preferences > Options.


The first few lines of that log excerpt (e.g. "Copied..." etc that repeat every hour or two) indicate normal TM backup progress, and is the best way to monitor that if you are so inclined.

Feb 28, 2017 3:09 PM in response to John Galt

Hey John,

Thanks again for all your time on this. To answer your questions, My Files 4TB is crucial to be backed up as it's all my work files and is the main priority. I could stop backing up Macintosh HD for e.g. as that wouldn't be as important to me. I could also turn off backing up My Movies drive but the whole point in me getting an external drive to use with TM was to back up personal files and if I end up not backing up certain files just to fix this issue, I feel there is no point in using it at all. I have removed the Gravity from that drive and renamed it, so that might fix the issue.


I ran Terminal again and pasted the past 7 days code below. I'd be very interested in hearing if you spot any issues here. From a quick glance i see other movies there that might also be causing an issue.


2017-02-26 00:57:22 Copied 377.21 GB of 377.21 GB, 930332 of 1984116 items

2017-02-26 01:11:23 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-26 01:12:09 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-26 01:20:02 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-26 01:21:06 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-26 01:22:08 Stopping backup to allow disk to be unmounted or ejected.

2017-02-26 11:38:30 Received XPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_INVALID for connection com.apple.backupd.xpc

2017-02-26 11:38:30 com.apple.backupd-auto launchd job enabled

2017-02-26 11:38:30 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-26 12:23:44 Starting automatic backup

2017-02-26 12:23:56 Backing up to /dev/disk2s2: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb

2017-02-26 12:24:00 Forcing deep traversal on source: "Macintosh HD" (device: /dev/disk1 mount: '/' fsUUID: 73748146-7846-30CF-B150-C6889DCF4D10 eventDBUUID: B682744D-CC92-4F60-9A5C-C2A2FEBDA2F3)

2017-02-26 12:24:00 Forcing deep traversal on source: "Movies" (device: /dev/disk5s2 mount: '/Volumes/Movies' fsUUID: FCB2C102-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806 eventDBUUID: 0AB7145F-72D4-4452-A2B1-8C565061657C)

2017-02-26 12:24:00 Forcing deep traversal on source: "My Files 4TB" (device: /dev/disk3s2 mount: '/Volumes/My Files 4TB' fsUUID: B2C2FF88-9340-38FA-BDB7-5E7F933DF7A6 eventDBUUID: 31F7E507-54DD-41D8-9B93-E0F4E193341B)

2017-02-26 12:24:00 Warning: Bytes to copy estimate was negative (-15215214)

2017-02-26 12:24:00 Found 1984116 files (104.9 MB) needing backup

2017-02-26 12:24:00 4.17 GB required (including padding), 3.03 TB available

2017-02-26 12:24:34 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-26 12:24:34 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-26 12:24:34 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-26 12:24:34 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-26 12:24:34 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-26 12:24:34 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-26 12:24:34 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-26 12:41:04 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-26 13:05:54 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-26 13:06:05 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-26 13:06:05 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-26 13:06:05 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-26 13:24:01 Copied 45.87 GB of 45.87 GB, 568210 of 1984116 items

2017-02-26 13:47:46 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-26 14:24:01 Copied 147.93 GB of 147.93 GB, 582603 of 1984116 items

2017-02-26 14:43:00 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-26 15:24:01 Copied 244.36 GB of 244.36 GB, 589463 of 1984116 items

2017-02-26 15:48:10 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-26 16:24:02 Copied 345.17 GB of 345.17 GB, 592320 of 1984116 items

2017-02-26 16:39:44 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-26 17:24:02 Copied 444.65 GB of 444.65 GB, 595469 of 1984116 items

2017-02-26 17:39:07 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-26 18:24:03 Copied 546.56 GB of 546.56 GB, 598338 of 1984116 items

2017-02-26 18:42:41 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-26 19:24:04 Copied 614.15 GB of 614.15 GB, 665873 of 1984116 items

2017-02-26 19:45:31 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-26 20:24:04 Copied 701.81 GB of 701.81 GB, 696935 of 1984116 items

2017-02-26 20:37:19 Copied 711680 items (722.44 GB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 23972.

2017-02-26 20:41:46 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-26 20:43:45 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-26 21:07:22 : Device not configured

2017-02-26 21:07:22 Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying /Volumes/Movies/3D Movies/Guardians.of.the.Galaxy.2014.3D.1080p.BluRay.Half-SBS.DTS.x264-HDAccess. mkv to /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-26-122400.inProgress/68D8F9E4-5D6D-417A-B841-1DB97254B64B/Movies/3 D Movies

2017-02-26 21:07:22 : Device not configured

2017-02-26 21:07:22 Error: (-36) SrcErr:YES Copying /Volumes/Movies/3D Movies/Guardians.of.the.Galaxy.2014.3D.1080p.BluRay.Half-SBS.DTS.x264-HDAccess. mkv to (null)

2017-02-26 21:07:22 Stopping backup.

2017-02-26 21:07:22 : Device not configured

2017-02-26 21:07:22 Error: (-8062) SrcErr:NO Copying /Volumes/Movies/3D Movies/Guardians.of.the.Galaxy.2014.3D.1080p.BluRay.Half-SBS.DTS.x264-HDAccess. mkv to /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-26-122400.inProgress/68D8F9E4-5D6D-417A-B841-1DB97254B64B/Movies/3 D Movies

2017-02-26 21:07:22 Copied 14 items (36.82 GB) from volume Movies. Linked 0.

2017-02-26 21:07:22 : Device not configured

2017-02-26 21:07:22 : Device not configured

2017-02-26 21:07:22 : Device not configured

2017-02-26 21:07:22 : Device not configured

2017-02-26 21:07:22 Copy stage failed with error:11

2017-02-26 21:07:23 : Input/output error

2017-02-26 21:07:23 : Input/output error

2017-02-26 21:07:23 : Input/output error

2017-02-26 21:07:23 Backup failed because a backup source disk was ejected or disconnected unexpectedly!

2017-02-26 21:07:23 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-26 21:07:23 Backup failed with error 37: 37

2017-02-26 22:08:50 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: No destinations resolvable

2017-02-26 22:41:14 Starting automatic backup

2017-02-26 22:41:13 Backing up to /dev/disk4s2: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb

2017-02-26 22:41:15 Forcing deep traversal on source: "My Files 4TB" (device: /dev/disk3s2 mount: '/Volumes/My Files 4TB' fsUUID: B2C2FF88-9340-38FA-BDB7-5E7F933DF7A6 eventDBUUID: EF849438-E993-46BE-A910-922C00956C55)

2017-02-26 22:41:15 Forcing deep traversal on source: "Macintosh HD" (device: /dev/disk1 mount: '/' fsUUID: 73748146-7846-30CF-B150-C6889DCF4D10 eventDBUUID: B682744D-CC92-4F60-9A5C-C2A2FEBDA2F3)

2017-02-26 22:41:15 Warning: Bytes to copy estimate was negative (-14708736)

2017-02-26 22:41:15 Found 1984116 files (104.9 MB) needing backup

2017-02-26 22:41:15 5.3 GB required (including padding), 2.27 TB available

2017-02-26 23:16:44 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-26 23:41:16 Copied 49.54 GB of 49.54 GB, 12470 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 00:10:08 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 00:41:15 Copied 105.3 GB of 105.3 GB, 19961 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 01:09:48 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 01:41:16 Copied 160.38 GB of 160.38 GB, 33003 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 02:10:10 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 02:41:17 Copied 220.45 GB of 220.45 GB, 41607 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 03:10:44 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 03:41:17 Copied 282.72 GB of 282.72 GB, 49419 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 04:17:33 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 04:41:18 Copied 341.89 GB of 341.89 GB, 57030 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 05:09:56 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 05:41:19 Copied 403.1 GB of 403.1 GB, 63764 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 06:20:43 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 06:41:20 Copied 464.94 GB of 464.94 GB, 71382 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 07:16:14 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 07:41:20 Copied 525.12 GB of 525.12 GB, 77941 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 08:12:19 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 08:41:21 Copied 585.72 GB of 585.72 GB, 84981 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 09:12:50 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 09:41:22 Copied 646.56 GB of 646.56 GB, 92437 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 10:15:28 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 10:41:22 Copied 699.13 GB of 699.13 GB, 105450 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 11:09:27 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 11:41:23 Copied 764.6 GB of 764.6 GB, 110255 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 12:10:44 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 12:41:23 Copied 830.53 GB of 830.53 GB, 115508 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 13:12:57 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 13:41:24 Copied 898.37 GB of 898.37 GB, 118802 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 14:12:49 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 14:41:24 Copied 965.53 GB of 965.53 GB, 121377 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 15:10:44 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 15:41:25 Copied 1.03 TB of 1.03 TB, 123659 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 16:12:57 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 16:41:26 Copied 1.1 TB of 1.1 TB, 125262 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 17:16:47 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 17:41:26 Copied 1.17 TB of 1.17 TB, 127399 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 18:10:47 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 18:41:27 Copied 1.23 TB of 1.23 TB, 137996 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 19:10:47 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 19:41:27 Copied 1.26 TB of 1.26 TB, 213370 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 20:16:47 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 20:41:28 Copied 1.33 TB of 1.33 TB, 216135 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 21:09:57 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 21:41:29 Copied 1.4 TB of 1.4 TB, 219133 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 22:15:20 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 22:41:29 Copied 1.45 TB of 1.45 TB, 283145 of 1984116 items

2017-02-27 22:59:14 Copied 284044 items (1.47 TB) from volume My Files 4TB. Linked 0.

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:26 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 22:59:31 Copied 3433 items (54.3 MB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 7622.

2017-02-27 23:02:16 Will copy (2.24 GB) from My Files 4TB

2017-02-27 23:03:56 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:03:56 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:03:56 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:03:56 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:01 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:05:07 Will copy (4.51 GB) from Macintosh HD

2017-02-27 23:05:07 Found 93146 files (6.75 GB) needing backup

2017-02-27 23:05:07 15.04 GB required (including padding), 799.18 GB available

2017-02-27 23:06:42 Copied 19 items (2.24 GB) from volume My Files 4TB. Linked 64.

2017-02-27 23:06:58 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:06:58 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:06:58 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:06:58 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:06:58 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:06:59 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:06:59 Failed getting logical url for promise: Error Domain=NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 "The file couldn’t be opened."

2017-02-27 23:10:47 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-27 23:27:20 Copied 85647 items (3.17 GB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 382163.

2017-02-27 23:27:23 Created new backup: 2017-02-27-232720

2017-02-27 23:27:21 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-27 23:27:24 Copying OS X Recovery set

2017-02-28 00:10:47 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-28 01:10:47 Not starting scheduled Time Machine backup: Backup already running

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Starting post-backup thinning

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "paramErr: error in user parameter list" deleting backup: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-26-224116.inProgress/5AD55265-99E6-464B-B7DE-DEF27F584847

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "paramErr: error in user parameter list" deleting backup: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-26-224116.inProgress/5BA5FF4F-AAB6-45DE-91A3-F5DA1FCDDF75

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "paramErr: error in user parameter list" deleting backup: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-26-224116.inProgress/EDB5AC1E-816A-450C-A509-077454FB9853

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Error: Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-50 "paramErr: error in user parameter list" deleting backup: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-26-224116.inProgress/F2AEA0DA-7FBA-4C1E-A0D9-153CDB21CF13

2017-02-28 01:17:19 No post-backup thinning needed: no expired backups exist

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Backup completed successfully.

2017-02-28 01:17:19 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 02:16:10 Starting automatic backup

2017-02-28 02:16:10 Backing up to /dev/disk4s2: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb

2017-02-28 02:17:10 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 02:17:14 Forcing deep traversal on source: "Movies" (device: /dev/disk5s2 mount: '/Volumes/Movies' fsUUID: FCB2C102-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806 eventDBUUID: 70CCF943-A260-48CA-B02C-26E9F8DD9ADB)

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Will copy (1.51 GB) from Macintosh HD

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Will copy (1.75 GB) from My Files 4TB

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Deep event scan at path:/Volumes/Movies reason:must scan subdirs|require scan|

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Running event scan

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Finished scan

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Saved event cache at /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-021711.inProgress/88280111-7BC3-48DA-8CE8-DD79A783EE45/.FCB2C10 2-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806.eventdb

2017-02-28 02:17:27 Not using file event preflight for Movies

2017-02-28 02:17:31 Will copy (2.47 TB) from Movies

2017-02-28 02:17:31 Found 3834 files (2.47 TB) needing backup

2017-02-28 02:17:31 2.5 TB required (including padding), 5.68 TB available

2017-02-28 02:23:31 Copied 1643 items (1.48 GB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 15752.

2017-02-28 02:25:27 Copied 19 items (1.75 GB) from volume My Files 4TB. Linked 119.

2017-02-28 03:39:54 Copied 11.92 GB of 2.47 TB, 17544 of 17544 items

2017-02-28 05:02:39 Copied 24.41 GB of 2.47 TB, 17545 of 17545 items

2017-02-28 05:47:34 Stopping backup.

2017-02-28 05:47:34 Error: (-47) SrcErr:NO Copying /Volumes/Movies/3D Movies/Gravity 3D 2013 1080p.mkv to /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-021711.inProgress/88280111-7BC3-48DA-8CE8-DD79A783EE45/Movies/3 D Movies

2017-02-28 05:47:35 Copied 13 items (22.72 GB) from volume Movies. Linked 0.

2017-02-28 05:47:35 Copy stage failed with error:11

2017-02-28 05:47:36 Backup failed with error 11: 11

2017-02-28 05:47:35 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 06:48:48 Starting automatic backup

2017-02-28 06:50:03 Backing up to /dev/disk4s2: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb

2017-02-28 06:50:04 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 06:50:06 Forcing deep traversal on source: "Movies" (device: /dev/disk5s2 mount: '/Volumes/Movies' fsUUID: FCB2C102-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806 eventDBUUID: 70CCF943-A260-48CA-B02C-26E9F8DD9ADB)

2017-02-28 06:50:30 Will copy (122.5 MB) from Macintosh HD

2017-02-28 06:50:34 Will copy (Zero KB) from My Files 4TB

2017-02-28 06:50:35 Deep event scan at path:/Volumes/Movies reason:must scan subdirs|require scan|

2017-02-28 06:50:35 Reading cached event database from: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-065004.inProgress/88280111-7BC3-48DA-8CE8-DD79A783EE45/.FCB2C10 2-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806.eventdb

2017-02-28 06:50:35 Using cached disk scan

2017-02-28 06:50:35 Saved event cache at /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-065004.inProgress/E349C984-B05E-4BE1-B34E-10D46949AA16/.FCB2C10 2-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806.eventdb

2017-02-28 06:50:35 Not using file event preflight for Movies

2017-02-28 06:50:37 Will copy (2.45 TB) from Movies

2017-02-28 06:50:37 Found 3391 files (2.45 TB) needing backup

2017-02-28 06:50:37 2.48 TB required (including padding), 5.66 TB available

2017-02-28 06:53:50 Copied 1338 items (122.5 MB) from volume Macintosh HD. Linked 17381.

2017-02-28 06:53:58 Copied 12 items (Zero KB) from volume My Files 4TB. Linked 126.

2017-02-28 07:38:00 Stopping backup to allow disk to be unmounted or ejected.

2017-02-28 07:38:00 Copied 4 items (10.72 GB) from volume Movies. Linked 10.

2017-02-28 19:07:32 Received XPC_ERROR_CONNECTION_INVALID for connection com.apple.backupd.xpc

2017-02-28 19:07:32 com.apple.backupd-auto launchd job enabled

2017-02-28 19:07:32 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 20:47:50 Starting automatic backup

2017-02-28 20:48:24 Backing up to /dev/disk2s2: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb

2017-02-28 20:48:24 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 20:48:25 Forcing deep traversal on source: "Movies" (device: /dev/disk5s2 mount: '/Volumes/Movies' fsUUID: FCB2C102-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806 eventDBUUID: 70CCF943-A260-48CA-B02C-26E9F8DD9ADB)

2017-02-28 20:48:30 Deep event scan at path:/Volumes/Movies reason:must scan subdirs|require scan|

2017-02-28 20:48:30 Reading cached event database from: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-204824.inProgress/E349C984-B05E-4BE1-B34E-10D46949AA16/.FCB2C10 2-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806.eventdb

2017-02-28 20:48:30 Using cached disk scan

2017-02-28 20:48:30 Saved event cache at /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-204824.inProgress/A08F49FB-3D3D-4A8A-AAE6-2DAC27298012/.FCB2C10 2-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806.eventdb

2017-02-28 20:48:30 Not using file event preflight for Movies

2017-02-28 20:48:32 Will copy (2.45 TB) from Movies

2017-02-28 20:48:50 Will copy (2.11 GB) from Macintosh HD

2017-02-28 20:48:52 Will copy (8.3 MB) from My Files 4TB

2017-02-28 20:48:52 Found 6584 files (2.45 TB) needing backup

2017-02-28 20:48:52 2.47 TB required (including padding), 5.66 TB available

2017-02-28 22:11:37 Copied 18.69 GB of 2.45 TB, 13 of 6584 items

2017-02-28 22:13:49 Stopping backup.

2017-02-28 22:13:49 Error: (-47) SrcErr:NO Copying /Volumes/Movies/3D Movies/IMAX Under The Sea 3D (2010).mkv to /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-204824.inProgress/A08F49FB-3D3D-4A8A-AAE6-2DAC27298012/Movies/3 D Movies

2017-02-28 22:14:00 Copied 5 items (21.02 GB) from volume Movies. Linked 10.

2017-02-28 22:14:00 Copy stage failed with error:11

2017-02-28 22:14:01 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 22:14:01 Backup failed with error 11: 11

2017-02-28 22:15:47 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 22:57:35 Starting automatic backup

2017-02-28 22:57:35 Backing up to /dev/disk2s2: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb

2017-02-28 22:57:36 Failed to send message because the port couldn't be created.

2017-02-28 22:57:37 Forcing deep traversal on source: "Movies" (device: /dev/disk5s2 mount: '/Volumes/Movies' fsUUID: FCB2C102-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806 eventDBUUID: 70CCF943-A260-48CA-B02C-26E9F8DD9ADB)

2017-02-28 22:57:38 Deep event scan at path:/Volumes/Movies reason:must scan subdirs|require scan|

2017-02-28 22:57:38 Reading cached event database from: /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-225736.inProgress/A08F49FB-3D3D-4A8A-AAE6-2DAC27298012/.FCB2C10 2-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806.eventdb

2017-02-28 22:57:38 Using cached disk scan

2017-02-28 22:57:38 Saved event cache at /Volumes/Time Machine 8TB/Backups.backupdb/Peter’s iMac/2017-02-28-225736.inProgress/8C3A6E80-A670-4455-987B-C79103DAB5AE/.FCB2C10 2-228D-3355-8A53-A749677F7806.eventdb

2017-02-28 22:57:38 Not using file event preflight for Movies

2017-02-28 22:57:39 Will copy (2.43 TB) from Movies

2017-02-28 22:57:41 Will copy (2.1 GB) from Macintosh HD

2017-02-28 22:57:41 Will copy (1.76 GB) from My Files 4TB

2017-02-28 22:57:41 Found 7157 files (2.44 TB) needing backup

2017-02-28 22:57:41 2.46 TB required (including padding), 5.64 TB available

Peters-iMac:~ peterotoole$

Feb 28, 2017 7:40 PM in response to Peter O'Toole

I believe two separate problems exist. One is the fact that several .mkv (Matroska video format) movies seem to be giving TM a hard time, not just "Gravity". I doubt that Apple intended that to be so, but I don't have any of those movie file formats to test with TM.


This old Discussion may hint at that problem: Re: Time Machine hangs. External drive the issue?


You might consider reporting that to Apple as a bug. I have other suggestions that I'll get to later.


2017-02-26 21:07:23 : Input/output error


That's not a good sign, and repeated occurrences of it generally means hard disk drive failure. Whether that failure followed a spontaneous disconnection of the backup drive for reasons unknown or that failure caused it to become unmounted cannot be determined. If you should encounter it again but are certain the drive is still mounted and available, it's a conclusive indiction the drive needs to be replaced.


For now I suggest simplifying your TM backup to advance troubleshooting. Drag the "Movies" volume to Time Machine's exclusion list, and let TM work long enough for you to draw a conclusion that it is backing up "My Files 4TB" reliably, since that volume is most important to you. Do the same for "Macintosh HD", at least until you isolate the cause.


I'll offer the following suggestions. For backups, it's not a good idea to have one enormous backup volume. It too will eventually fail, and everything on it permanently lost. Because all hard disk drives should be considered disposable wear items, I advocate using multiple, redundant backup devices, probably in smaller capacities than the 8 TB one you're using.


TM is ideal for work products and other frequently modified files. Movies are large, but they never change, so for them I recommend using something other than Time Machine. For movies I use inexpensive SD cards or USB flash drives. You can even use their hardware write-protect switches. Back them up once and you're done.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Time Machine never stops backing up?!

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