how long does time machine "cleaning up old backups" take?!?!

eroxx · Feb 12, 2012, 05:03 PM

It's been 2+ hours .... I brought my computer to apple and they had to reformat the 2TB harddrive, which is now a different name. So I get that it needs to upload all of that again, but I don't understand why time machine says "cleaning up old backups" for hours and hours ... ?

GGJstudios · Feb 12, 2012, 05:04 PM

I'd recommend some patience. It can take some time.

eroxx · Feb 12, 2012, 05:10 PM

Thanks ... I'm frustrated that Apple reformatted the second internal drive so that it's now named "Macintosh HD 2 1" When I try to rename it without the 1, the one just appears anyway. But bizarrly, in the finder, it appears as "Macintosh HD 2." So who knows ...

geoffreak · Feb 12, 2012, 07:02 PM

To fix that issue (after the process is done), disconnect the drive, open Terminal, and run the following commands:

Code:

cd /Volumes
ls

If you see in the displayed list more drives than are actually attached, they are "stuck" drives that have become folders and just need to be deleted. If you are absolutely sure that a specific folder isn't an actual drive, you can run the following to remove it (after the above commands):

Code:

sudo rm -rf notARealDrive

Once you have run this, you can reattach your drive and it should go back to the name without the 1.

eroxx · Feb 12, 2012, 07:13 PM

Wow I wish I'd asked earlier ... I spent a good number of hours pointing a lot of my apps to the "new" drive's data. Gar.

Thanks so much, however. I will keep this handy!

trustever · Feb 17, 2013, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GGJstudios

I'd recommend some patience. It can take some time.

Same problem here of the original poster, my TM is taking more than 2 hours to "clean the old backups" but in my case the HD that as been backup is only 256GB... Not 2 TB, is this normal? Is there anyway I can guess how long will it still take?

Thanks for your reply...

trustever · Feb 17, 2013, 11:25 AM

For who is curious my TM is now doing some backup works, it does says 70 of 120 GB... It has been on all the time since this morning..

I went for a walk and got back home with the hope it would have long finished but I was wrong...

Damn!

Feb 12, 2012, 05:03 PM	#1
eroxx macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2010	how long does time machine "cleaning up old backups" take?!?! It's been 2+ hours .... I brought my computer to apple and they had to reformat the 2TB harddrive, which is now a different name. So I get that it needs to upload all of that again, but I don't understand why time machine says "cleaning up old backups" for hours and hours ... ?
	0

Feb 12, 2012, 07:02 PM	#4
geoffreak macrumors 68020 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Texas; Wish I was in Japan	To fix that issue (after the process is done), disconnect the drive, open Terminal, and run the following commands: Code: cd /Volumes ls If you see in the displayed list more drives than are actually attached, they are "stuck" drives that have become folders and just need to be deleted. If you are absolutely sure that a specific folder isn't an actual drive, you can run the following to remove it (after the above commands): Code: sudo rm -rf notARealDrive Once you have run this, you can reattach your drive and it should go back to the name without the 1. __________________ rMBP 2.6GHz 16GB 512GB \| Mac Mini 2009 2.26GHz \| MBP Early '08 2.4GHz \| iPhone 4S 32GB \| Drobo Nimbix - Accelerated Cloud Supercomputing
	0

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Feb 12, 2012, 05:04 PM	#2
GGJstudios macrumors Westmere Join Date: May 2008	I'd recommend some patience. It can take some time.
	1

Feb 12, 2012, 05:10 PM	#3
eroxx Thread Starter macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2010	Thanks ... I'm frustrated that Apple reformatted the second internal drive so that it's now named "Macintosh HD 2 1" When I try to rename it without the 1, the one just appears anyway. But bizarrly, in the finder, it appears as "Macintosh HD 2." So who knows ...
	0

Feb 12, 2012, 07:13 PM	#5
eroxx Thread Starter macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2010	Wow I wish I'd asked earlier ... I spent a good number of hours pointing a lot of my apps to the "new" drive's data. Gar. Thanks so much, however. I will keep this handy!
	0

Feb 17, 2013, 11:25 AM	#7
trustever macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2013	For who is curious my TM is now doing some backup works, it does says 70 of 120 GB... It has been on all the time since this morning.. I went for a walk and got back home with the hope it would have long finished but I was wrong... Damn!
	0