Time Machine is killing me

bombtrack · Nov 13, 2008, 02:22 PM

I have a macbook, a 1TB Time Capsule, and a 1TB external hard drive. I previously had the 1TB external connected via USB to the TC--serving as my main source of data--but #1 The TC won't backup the attached external and #2 data access is very slow. So ... now I have my external USB'd into the laptop and just want to have Time Machine use the Time Capsule--as intended--to back up the mac and the external, which total roughly 400GB. However, whenever I tell TM to backup the appropriate files, it "prepares" for a few minutes then sits on "backing up 0GB of 400GB" for literally 8 hours. I deleted the entire backup file on the TC (and of course now I have NO backup whatsoever) in an attempt to start from scratch. I've reset, turned on and off--etc, etc, etc-- and still all I see is $#%&*@ "backing up 0GB of 400GB"!!

Anybody have any pearls of wisdom for me?

r.j.s · Nov 13, 2008, 02:24 PM

You might need to delete the TM preferences ... although, I'm not exactly sure where to find them.

nevisbound · Nov 13, 2008, 09:07 PM

I had the same problem. Tried a million things. Couldnt get the TC to work. Returned it. Just doing external backups with a USBd HD to my macs. Will but another TC later when it is updated and hopefully works.

Its not worth the time to keep futzing with the TC at this point.

Let's wait till they get the bugz out !

bombtrack · Nov 14, 2008, 11:07 AM

That's a bummer. Last night I disconnected the external, zeroed everything out on the TC and just ran TM to back up my laptop. Much to my surprise it actually worked. I read some comments on the web stating that firewire seems to work better for externals than usb2.0 ... so tonight I will take another shot at backing up the external using fw.

rkdiddy · Nov 14, 2008, 11:24 AM

I had the same issues. Ended up returning and purchasing an AE and external hard drive. I then partitioned the external and use 25% of it for TM backup and the other to share files between my PC and MPB.

bombtrack · Nov 14, 2008, 07:20 PM

I'm guessing I've had my TC too long to return it.

Is there something I need to do as far as settings for the external drive to make this work? It's a WD My Book Home 1TB and I tried USB2.0 before and FW 400 today--both to no avail. Surely the, ugh, $500 I spent on the TC gets me more than this! Backing up the 35GB on my Macbook isn't why I bought it!!

Any Apple tech people out there who can help me (and the rest of us with this problem)?

vorkorsigan · Nov 15, 2008, 07:18 PM

Don't know if this helps but for an external HD attached to a AEBS you need to make sure that the drive is not mounted to ensure that the backup starts properly. Your problem sounds different but may be related to the same issue.

How I finally got it working was to point time machine at the drive and while it is counting down eject it. The backup then worked OK.

Fonzijr1964 · Nov 16, 2008, 11:22 AM

sux

All i know is my "MyBook Studio" via FW800 is very fast compared to the pocket duel USB drive i have but when backking up my Air to the "MyBook" via wifi (Air>>>APX___iMac___MyBook ) is slow as hell. Back ups take 30 min

Nov 13, 2008, 09:07 PM	#3
nevisbound macrumors newbie Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Connecticut and NYC USA	I had the same problem. Tried a million things. Couldnt get the TC to work. Returned it. Just doing external backups with a USBd HD to my macs. Will but another TC later when it is updated and hopefully works. Its not worth the time to keep futzing with the TC at this point. Let's wait till they get the bugz out ! __________________ MacBook Pro 4+320 GB (08) \| Macbook 4+320GB (08) \| Mac Classic (1991)
	0

Nov 14, 2008, 11:24 AM	#5
rkdiddy macrumors 65816 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: OC Baby!	I had the same issues. Ended up returning and purchasing an AE and external hard drive. I then partitioned the external and use 25% of it for TM backup and the other to share files between my PC and MPB. __________________ Mini: rMBP 15" 2.6ghz i7/16/256GB \| 2.5ghz i5/8/750GB 27" TB ACD \| B&W MM-1 \| 2TB TC \| iPhone 5 \| iPad 4G advertising : design : marketing : print : social media : web - www.risencreative.com
	0

Nov 15, 2008, 07:18 PM	#7
vorkorsigan macrumors member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Toronto	Don't know if this helps but for an external HD attached to a AEBS you need to make sure that the drive is not mounted to ensure that the backup starts properly. Your problem sounds different but may be related to the same issue. How I finally got it working was to point time machine at the drive and while it is counting down eject it. The backup then worked OK. __________________ 15.4" MacBook Pro 2.5Ghz \| T240 Samsung iPod Touch 16Gb Canon Powershot G10
	0

Nov 16, 2008, 11:22 AM	#8
Fonzijr1964 macrumors 68000 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Maryland	sux All i know is my "MyBook Studio" via FW800 is very fast compared to the pocket duel USB drive i have but when backking up my Air to the "MyBook" via wifi (Air>>>APX___iMac___MyBook ) is slow as hell. Back ups take 30 min __________________ 15" 2.66Ghz i7 MacBookPro24"ACD24" 2.8GHz[C2E] iMac 500GB64GB iPhone4S
	0

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Nov 13, 2008, 02:22 PM	#1
bombtrack macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2007	Time Machine is killing me I have a macbook, a 1TB Time Capsule, and a 1TB external hard drive. I previously had the 1TB external connected via USB to the TC--serving as my main source of data--but #1 The TC won't backup the attached external and #2 data access is very slow. So ... now I have my external USB'd into the laptop and just want to have Time Machine use the Time Capsule--as intended--to back up the mac and the external, which total roughly 400GB. However, whenever I tell TM to backup the appropriate files, it "prepares" for a few minutes then sits on "backing up 0GB of 400GB" for literally 8 hours. I deleted the entire backup file on the TC (and of course now I have NO backup whatsoever) in an attempt to start from scratch. I've reset, turned on and off--etc, etc, etc-- and still all I see is $#%&*@ "backing up 0GB of 400GB"!! Anybody have any pearls of wisdom for me?
	0

Nov 13, 2008, 02:24 PM	#2
r.j.s Demi-God (Moderator emeritus) Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Fort Knox	You might need to delete the TM preferences ... although, I'm not exactly sure where to find them. __________________ After the Army: no one can stay forever
	0

Nov 14, 2008, 11:07 AM	#4
bombtrack Thread Starter macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2007	That's a bummer. Last night I disconnected the external, zeroed everything out on the TC and just ran TM to back up my laptop. Much to my surprise it actually worked. I read some comments on the web stating that firewire seems to work better for externals than usb2.0 ... so tonight I will take another shot at backing up the external using fw.
	0

Nov 14, 2008, 07:20 PM	#6
bombtrack Thread Starter macrumors member Join Date: Nov 2007	I'm guessing I've had my TC too long to return it. Is there something I need to do as far as settings for the external drive to make this work? It's a WD My Book Home 1TB and I tried USB2.0 before and FW 400 today--both to no avail. Surely the, ugh, $500 I spent on the TC gets me more than this! Backing up the 35GB on my Macbook isn't why I bought it!! Any Apple tech people out there who can help me (and the rest of us with this problem)?
	0

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