Time Machine Couldn't Complete the Backup

Question

Time Machine Couldn't Complete the Backup

I'm running macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 (17G65) and my Time Machine backups have stopped being able to be completed out of the blue.

Time Machine gives the following error:

Time Machine couldn't complete the backup to "[Drive Name]". An error occurred while copying files. The problem may be temporary. If the problem persists, use Disk Utility to repair your backup disk.

I have tried repairing my backup disk but it did not fix the problem.

I have tried a new backup disk but it did not fix the problem.

I have tried backing up to another computer on my network but it did not fix the problem.

I have tried repairing my internal drive with Disk Utility, including in Target Disk Mode with another computer but it did not fix the problem.

Searching in Console for "backupd" returns the following error message but no other information:

13:36:51.561666 -0700 backupd OSActivityID: 0x80000000002e75e1

com.apple.message.domain: com.apple.backupd.backupResult

com.apple.message.signature: BACKUP_FAILED_COPY_STAGE

com.apple.message.result: fail

SenderMachUUID: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX

How can I diagnose this problem reliably?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS High Sierra (10.13.6), null

Posted on Aug 9, 2018 1:54 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Old Toad

Level 10

215,676 points

Aug 9, 2018 2:30 PM in response to The Smiling Goat

Download and run Etrecheck. Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Reply

Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

215,676 points

Aug 9, 2018 3:13 PM in response to The Smiling Goat

You've installed what is considered by most around here to be malware - CleanMyMac3. Uninstall it according to the developer's instructions: How to uninstall CleanMyMac 3. Knowledge Base - MacPaw

Boot into Safe Mode, Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode, and try TM from there. You should reboot more frequently than 18+ days. Rebooting cleans out temp cache and swap files which help with system and application performance. With 16 GB of RAM you shouldn't be getting that much swap. Backblaze seems to be one of the big culprits. I'd remove it from the User Launch Launch section and run it only when you want to do a backup. With Time Machine (assuming it's working) I don't see a need for an online backup. They are slow, use system resources and can't successfully backup and restore an iPhoto or Photos library. I prefer using Time Machine and have a clone of my boot drive on an external HD, updated weekly.

Also uninstall PACE. There's no need for any anti/virus software on a Mac. Again they just lighten the bank account and use up system resources. Uninstall according to the developer's instructions.

Reply

Answer 3

leroydouglas

Level 10

199,116 points

Aug 9, 2018 3:06 PM in response to The Smiling Goat

I would look for a dataless local snapshot. If found delete it and try your TM again.

From the terminal, look at Time machine local snapshots, copy & paste:

tmutil listlocalsnapshots /

example output:

$ tmutil listlocalsnapshots /

com.apple.TimeMachine.2017-10-04-014927 (dataless)

com.apple.TimeMachine.2017-10-04-024750

com.apple.TimeMachine.2017-10-04-024752

com.apple.TimeMachine.2017-10-04-024835

com.apple.TimeMachine.2017-10-04-024852

See if you have any dataless snapshots in the list. IF so delete them , here is an ex from the above list.

sudo tmutil deletelocalsnapshots 2017-10-04-014927

as a sidenote I would check that box that says Automatic backups—this will insure Local snapshots are being saved whether you use TM regularly or not. Do not wait for a catastrophic lose of data—How to create a boot clone

Reply

Answer 4

Aug 9, 2018 2:50 PM in response to Old Toad

Thank you for the reply.

Here are my Etrecheck results:

EtreCheck version: 4.3.6 (4D041)

Report generated: 2018-08-09 14:39:24

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 6:24

Performance: Below Average

Problem: Other problem

Description:

Time Machine fails when attempting to backup.

Major Issues:

Anything that appears on this list needs immediate attention.

Unsigned files - There are unsigned software installed that could be adware and should be reviewed.

Minor Issues:

These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems.

Time Machine auto backup disabled - Time Machine auto backups are disabled.

Heavy RAM usage - This machine is using a large amount of RAM.

Apps with heavy CPU usage - There have been numerous cases of apps with heavy CPU usage.

Clean up - There are orphan files that could be removed.

System modifications - There are a large number of system modifications running in the background.

Low performance - EtreCheck report took over 5 minutes to run. This is unusual.

32-bit Apps - This machine has 32-bits apps that may have problems in the future.

Hardware Information:

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)

MacBook Pro Model: MacBookPro11,5

1 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-4980HQ) CPU: 4-core

16 GB RAM - Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0 - 8 GB DDR3 1600 ok

BANK 1/DIMM0 - 8 GB DDR3 1600 ok

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 279

Video Information:

AMD Radeon R9 M370X - VRAM: 2048 MB

DELL U2717D 2560 x 1440 @ 60 Hz

Intel Iris Pro - VRAM: 1536 MB

Drives:

disk0 - APPLE SSD SM1024G 1.00 TB (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

Internal PCI 8.0 GT/s x4 Serial ATA

disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk0s2 1.00 TB

disk1s1 - H********e (APFS) 1.00 TB (901.99 GB used)

disk1s2 - Preboot (APFS) [APFS Preboot] 1.00 TB (20 MB used)

disk1s3 - Recovery (APFS) [Recovery] 1.00 TB (519 MB used)

disk1s4 - VM (APFS) [APFS VM] 1.00 TB (3.22 GB used)

disk2 - My Book 1112 4.00 TB

External USB

disk4 - Seagate Backup+ Desk 5.00 TB

External USB 5 Gbit/s

disk4s1 - EFI [EFI] 315 MB

disk4s2 - H*********e (Journaled HFS+) 1.25 TB

disk4s3 - O*******e (Journaled HFS+) 379.04 GB

disk4s4 - O*********e (Journaled HFS+) 372.39 GB

disk4s5 - H***********e (Journaled HFS+) 3.00 TB

Mounted Volumes:

disk1s1 - H********e 1.00 TB (94.40 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /

Encrypted

disk1s4 - VM [APFS VM] 1.00 TB (94.40 GB free)

APFS

Mount point: /private/var/vm

Network:

Interface en4: Thunderbolt Ethernet

One IPv4 address

3 IPv6 addresses

Interface en0: Wi-Fi

802.11 a/b/g/n/ac

One IPv4 address

3 IPv6 addresses

Interface fw0: Thunderbolt FireWire

Interface en3: Bluetooth PAN

Interface bridge0: Thunderbolt Bridge

Interface en6: iPad

Interface en5: iPhone

iCloud Quota: 95.45 GB available

System Software:

macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 (17G65)

Time since boot: About 18 days

System Load: 1.91 (1 min ago) 1.89 (5 min ago) 1.92 (15 min ago)

Configuration Files:

File /etc/sysctl.conf exists but not expected

/etc/hosts - Count: 22

Security:

System	Status
Gatekeeper	Mac App Store and identified developers
System Integrity Protection	Enabled

Unsigned Files:

Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.motu.proaudio.HTTPServer.launchd.plist

Executable: /Library/Application Support/MOTU/ProAudio/MOTUProAudioHTTPServer.app/Contents/MacOS/MOTUProAudioHTT PServer