Time Machine backups stopping without completing

Question

satsi Author

Level 1

32 points

Time Machine backups stopping without completing

Hi,

Time Machine fails to complete backups changing from creating backups to stopping.

Prior to that it was working properly with 1,57 TB of available space and regular backups.

I tried the following without success:

Resetting Time Capsule from AirPort utility
Resetting Time Capsule to factory setings from AirPort utility
Deleting the latest back up in progress from Time Machine
Deleting all backups from Time Machine and erasing the disk from AirPort Utility
Repairing both discs on Mac and Time Capsule using Disk Utility
Deleting Time Machine .plist from library
Stopping Auto Backups and selecting again target disc from Time Machine Utility

My set-up is the following:

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)
MacOS Mojave 10.14 (Build: 18A391)
AirPort Time Capsule 3TB with firmware 7.7.9 (Build: 77900.2)

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2016), macOS Mojave (10.14)

Posted on Oct 14, 2018 4:33 AM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

151,935 points

Oct 14, 2018 9:19 AM in response to satsi

You have already done some extensive troubleshooting on this issue so I won't waste your time with things you have already tried.

We get numerous posts here related to users having issues with using Time Machine (TM with the Time Capsule (TC) since macOS Sierra, and continuing with High Sierra and Mojave. The bottom line is that Time Machine has become unreliable for backups. Interestingly, this issue does not seem to affect backups to drives that are locally attached or to NAS devices. As such, a number of us have been recommending that users should look into alternative incremental backup solutions, like Carbon Copy Cloner, if they wish to continue using their Time Capsules for backups.

Here are some things you can try:

Check your Mac first:
- Remove or disable any anti-virus programs that it may be running.
- Verify that it does not have any adware or malware present. I would suggest that you consider using Malwarebytes for Mac if you currently aren't already doing so.
- Configure your Mac's network configuration to use, as a minimum: IPv6 Link-local only
  System Preferences > Network > Ethernet OR Wi-Fi > Advanced > TCP/IP > Configure IPv6: Link-local only
  Note: This should not be performed if your ISP is providing you with a full implementation of IPv6. In that case, use the IPv6 settings recommended by your ISP.
- Verify your TM backups:
  Hold down the option key, and then, click on the TM icon on the macOS menu bar.
  Click on Verify Backups.
For the TC:
- Use a fixed local IP address for the TC.
- Use WPA2 Personal for the wireless security type.

For both the base station name AND the wireless security password, use between 8-16 characters that do not include spaces or special characters in the name to begin with. If successful, you can increase the security by adding special characters to the mix.

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Answer 2

Oct 14, 2018 12:55 PM in response to satsi

Good luck!

As an FYI, if you call Apple Support to ask about an issue with Time Machine backups not completing, the first question that they usually ask is......"Are you using any kind of anti-virus on your Mac, or any other utility that claims to "speed up", "optimize", "keep" etc. your Mac?".

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Answer 3

satsi Author

Level 1

32 points

Oct 14, 2018 12:34 PM in response to satsi

Thanks to both of you for your support.

I am using AVG AntiVirus and this worked without any issues with Time Machine until last Thursday when the problem occured. I will try nevertheless to use it with AVG disabled.
I am currenty using Malwarebytes for Mac as a precaution.
IPv6 is set to Automatic which I believe covers Link-local only setting as a minimum, but I will try that as well.
Backups are now deleted but I have used Repair function on Disk Utility before deleting them without success.
Time Capsule has been set on Bridge Mode from the beginning.
WPA2 password has been set but I have disabled the Wi-Fi function of Time Capsule as I am using my router's network (Speedport Entry 2i).
Same password with minimum 8 characters is being used for both base station and wireless network.
I am always using an Ethernet connection through a USB to Ethernet adaptor without any issues so far.
I have also tried the Backup with Consistency Scan from the Time Machine icon without success.

I am currently zero erasing the Time Capsule's HDD in order to see if the process will be completed without errors.

If the drive has no bad sectors then the problem is rather a configuration or a software one which is good because otherwise Time Capsule would be useless and I have already replaced it once since 2014 that I originally bought it, using Apple Care in 2016.

I will contact Apple support tomorrow and I will update you with any alternative workarounds. Please feel free to add to this.

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Answer 4

Oct 14, 2018 9:45 AM in response to satsi

If there are no backups on the Time Capsule disk, you won't be able to run the Verify Backups check that Tesserax has suggested, but if there is a partial backup on the Time Capsule, it would not hurt to run Verify Backups.

In addition to the suggestions from Tesserax, try connecting your MacBook Pro to the Time Capsule using a wired Ethernet cable connection for the first "master" back up of the MBP.....rather than using wireless. Be sure to turn off the WiFi on the Mac to insure that the connection will be over Ethernet.

If your MBP does not have an Ethernet port, you can use a Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter to establish the connection.

Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter - Applehttps://www.apple.com › All Accessories › Power & Cables

No guarantees that this will help, but if it does, the backup will probably occur twice as fast this way. You can switch back to WiFi for incremental backups.

As a last resort, hold down the Shift key on your Mac while you click on the Time Machine "clock" icon at the top of the screen. Click on Back Up With Consistency Scan to start the backup attempt.

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Answer 5

satsi Author

Level 1

32 points

Oct 24, 2018 3:24 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Hi,

The issue has been solved as it was related with the limited amount of disk space available on the MacBook Pro.

The SSD on the device had fewer than 1GB of space available from the 0.5TB of total capacity and this prevented Time Machine to create the necessary temporary space on Macintosh HD that was needed to perform the backups and this was the reason for stopping on different time intervals.

After freeing up some space the initial Time Machine backup of 499GB was concluded successfully and after that the process is continuously running seamlessly.

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Answer 6

iain1951

Level 1

1 points

Oct 24, 2018 5:06 AM in response to satsi

Hi,

I had the same problem.

I have App Cleaner installed and I followed their advice re the Time Machine issue. I have been successful with Time Machine both times I have used it since using their advice.

Good Luck

Iain

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Time Machine backups stopping without completing

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