Initial Time Machine Backup Failures Increasingly Being Reported by Mac Users

[applehotdog]

Was working fine on M1 Air running 12.1. Restored backup to M1 Pro running 12.1 then reformatted the disk for use with the M1 Pro and now it's busted. Waiting for first backup to complete.... attempted reformat multiple times.

Edit: I connected the drive to another USB-C port and attempted it again it spontaneously started working...verified by reconnecting to the original port and everything appears to be good. Strange. Computer was updated to 12.2 earlier today but was still showing issues originally.

 

[An-apple-a-day]

Well, I took the plunge a couple of days ago and finally upgraded my 2016 15” MBP all the way from Mojave to Monterey.

After that was done, I then updated to 12.2 which had just been released and installed all pending updates from the App Store.

Next, in TM System Preferences, I reselected the same TC volume for encrypted backups. That caused the existing TM backup for that machine to be deleted from my TC and a new encrypted sparsebundle to be created using the APFS filesystem. Finally, I started a maiden encrypted backup.

Other than an initial failure during the first minute due to a spurious “resource busy” error when trying to recreate the sparsebundle (I checked the system logs), everything went perfectly and 5 hours later I had my maiden TM backup to my TC. All subsequent incremental TM backups have been working fine.

I think that “resource busy” error may have arisen because I had the TC volume mounted (I had the existing sparsebundle showing in Finder at the time) and it had failed to unmount that before the sparsebundle re-creation attempt.

I have been a satisfied TM user for years and now I continue to be, even on Monterey (12.2).

It's worth noting that the TC uses AFP over TCP/IP and, although AFP is supposed to have been deprecated, Apple's latest SMB implementations don't seem to be very reliable. I believe most TC alternatives (e.g., Synology NAS devices) tend to use SMB for hosting TM backup volumes (by default).

 

[tardx]

Anyone still having this problem? I just migrated from 2014 Mac mini to M1 and claimed previous backups on TM (ext 4TB HD) but - as others reported - it fails to complete backup part way through and shows last backup before migration. Running Monterey 12.1. Any suggestions?

I just erased my TM drive (but kept MacOS Extended(Journaled) format), upgraded to 12.2 and restarted TM. Now all seems well. And the irritating failure to keep my desktop image after a reboot is fixed.

 

[RonaldH]

I am now unable to make reliable Time Machine Backups on 2 M1 Macs and an Intel based IMAC. On the intel mac the initial file was created successfully but my NAS drives are not being updated, only local snapshots are being stored. On my M1 Macs I was only able to create the initial backup in Safemode but subsequent backups appear to only be local snapshots as well. All three have OS12.2 loaded.

 

[SMGreenfield]

Glad to report that the issue appears to be FIXED in Monterey 12.2 on my 16" M1 Pro. Using Monterey 12.1, I had tried to do a full "first" backup last night, and ran into the dreaded "waiting to complete first backup", which never completed, despite waiting hours.

Then I read that Monterey 12.2 supposedly fixed the issue. Downloaded and installed 12.2, reformatted the 2 TB G-Drive SSD as APFS, and tried again. There was around 15 minutes after completing where the status was, indeed, "waiting to complete first backup" -- but it JUST finished, and I got a notification: "Backup Complete -- Time Machine has finished the first backup to "G-DRIVE Time Machine Backup".

Happy and surprised!

 

[MacRail]

Somewhat related - but has anyone else noticed a huge improvement in Time Machine responsiveness and the time it takes for incremental backups? I don't know if it was Monterey, or somewhere else along the line, but it is a significant improvement.

 

[wilsonlaidlaw]

I too have been having this problem with all four of our Macs (M1 Mini, M1 MBA, 2016 MBP and 2017 MBP. Then Time Machine permanently corrupted the HD on our Time Capsule. I therfore bought a 4GB WD MyCloud EX2 Ultra NAS, which was supposed to be Time Machine friendly. Gave up after multiple failures to complete back up just at the final hurdle each time. Tried with Carbon Copy Cloner but apparently that will not back up to an NAS drive. Don't know if Chronosync, which I used to use 15 years ago is still an option or if it even runs on Monterey.

Any other ideas folks????

 

[pixxelpusher]

My Time Machine backups are working better too under 12.2.1.

However I still can't enter into older "inherited" backups that were connected to the new ones when I migrated my MacBook to the new M1 Max. They are all there in the side list, it's just I hit a wall when I try and go back further than ones made recently with the M1 Max.

Is there any trick to "re-interit" all the old backups to the new ones? I do remember Time Machine asking if I wanted to inherit the old Time Machine volume when it did the first backup, but it just doesn't look like it has associated it property.

Or can I perhaps just delete the new one's, and Time Machine might pick up properly from the older ones?

Any ideas?

 

[pixxelpusher]

I think Monterey still has problems with associating older backups. This issue hasn't been fixed.

 

[RumorSeeker]

The only thing worse than a backup program that can't create a backup is one that can't restore from a backup.

do you know when Apple abandoned Time Machine, has to be what you are talking about, messing with mine now, cannot connect to backup drive...

 

[WebHead]

Had to reset my old (2011) Time Capsule for unrelated reasons and backups have been slow since then. Even erased and re-mounted but it's taken hours to get to 0.1% of the new first backup.

I simultaneously updated from 12.1 to 12.2.1. Coincidence?

 

[daptb]

Apple's built-in Time Machine backup solution for macOS appears to be causing problems for some Mac users running the latest versions of Monterey and Big Sur, based on a steady trickle of reports on both the MacRumors Forums and Reddit.

While some users are complaining of different issues with Time Machine on different Macs and versions of macOS that are hard to replicate, one common complaint in particular has surfaced regarding Time Machine backups not completing for M1 Mac users running Monterey 12.0.1 or Big Sur 11.6.1.

The issue seems to occur when Time Machine runs its first backup after either Monterey/Big Sur is first installed or the operating system is updated to the latest point release. Time Machine says it is "Waiting to Complete First Backup," but as it appears to be reaching its conclusion, Time Machine suddenly reports "Oldest backup: None" and "Latest backup: None," and then fails to offer any notice that the initial backup has successfully been performed at all.

MacRumors forum member likegadgets reports:
Reddit user muhdakml reports:
Reddit user jg66ue reports:
MacRumors forum member netnative reports:
Some users report clean installing macOS or running the first backup in Safe mode has sorted out the problem for them, but that's not the case for everyone and a universal solution remains hard to come by for most of those affected.

Some users speculate that the issue could be related to an unspecified change to the APFS format that Apple has quietly implemented in recent versions of macOS, but it's still not entirely clear what's going on. We've reached out to Apple for comment and we'll update this article if we get more clarity on the problem, but for those afflicted by the error, the advice for now is to use a third-party backup solution like Superduper! or Carbon Copy Cloner.

Article Link: Initial Time Machine Backup Failures Increasingly Being Reported by Mac Users

My experience. Hope it helps.

The initial backup seemed to stop whenever my screens dimmed and the system locked. I believe the trick(s) I used allowed TM to complete its initial backup overnight...(from late evening to earlier morning).

Background:
Setting up TM on a M1 Macmini. For several days (at least 3), TM only showed ~25% backed up. How could this be? I searched much stuff online and nothing seemed to explain what was going on and more importantly, how for force TM to complete its initial backup!

Troubleshooting:
On my own, I figured there was this interupption occuring preventing TM from completing its backup since the TM drive would have to be unlocked each time I went to use my Mac after it it being unused for a long period. I then tried a few things to prevent the TM drive from disappearing or locking. I adjusted the screen from sleeping (turning the displays off manually), the system from sleeping (obviously) and trick (perhaps) the mac into stay awake by logging in another user & having that process run in the background.

Fix (for me):
1. Set displays to never sleep
2. Login with another account. Open an app or 2. I opened Safari and browsed to some random website. Then switch back to the main account managing TM.
3. Unlock TM drive & monitor the TM control panel for its status

Keep in mind that before the TM drive is unlocked, TM CP will show ~ "never backed up" and/or "waiting for initial backup" messages. When the TM drive is unlocked, TM CP will update and actually show how much has been backed up on the way to completing its initial backup!

Outcome:
What initially took 3/4 days for just 25% of the backup job to complete, the remaining 75% was backed up in a few hours, over the course of one evening.


I'm curious if what I did helps others.

 

[WebHead]

I've tried Ethernet for the first backup and it's now working. Hoping WiFi will be sufficient after that.

 

[gmiller598]

I see people noting that their backups work better on 12.2.

I just got a new 14" and it is on 12.3.1 and I am getting the "Waiting to Complete First Backup" message. Any other thoughts on resolving this?

 

[RonaldH]

I see people noting that their backups work better on 12.2.

I just got a new 14" and it is on 12.3.1 and I am getting the "Waiting to Complete First Backup" message. Any other thoughts on resolving this?

I have three computers using 12.x. one Intel and two M1X. I was able to get an initial backups to work if I started in Safe mode and was using a USB attached drive. Two out of three times I had to initiate the backup twice to get it to complete. Once I got the initial backup it continued to work in normal mode. I was able to get an initial backup using the same procedure on 2 different NAS drives but follow up backups would not work. Only local snapshots would be produced. The NAS drives would not update after the initial update.(if you look at hte time machince preference panel it would look normal as if the backup appeared, I noticed the issue when I looked at the finder window for the NAS drives and saw only the original lfile creation time) I reached out to the Tech Support individual I originaly raised the issue with and he indicated that Apple still has not resolved the issue.

 

[Robin Bonathan]

I see people noting that their backups work better on 12.2.

I just got a new 14" and it is on 12.3.1 and I am getting the "Waiting to Complete First Backup" message. Any other thoughts on resolving this?

you need to be patient, first one takes ages.

 

[lam0218]

I seldom use Time Machine as it backup a corrupted system and migrate a corrupted system to new Mac. I rather use paste and copy method for my important data and drag them back to the right place on new Mac.

 

[SB1500]

Anybody know how to get that amazing 10.5 Leopard background back from the background of Time Machine once you entered it? I loved that. The Mac was a cool place to be back then.

 

[Robin Bonathan]

I seldom use Time Machine as it backup a corrupted system and migrate a corrupted system to new Mac. I rather use paste and copy method for my important data and drag them back to the right place on new Mac.

i dont think thats true. when you restore your system you have to download new OS.
Its just the apps & data / configuration that is restored.

 

[gmiller598]

you need to be patient, first one takes ages.

It did take a long time and then it got stuck.

I did end up deleting my previous backups and starting over with an empty Time Capsule drive last night. It ended up completing fine.

 

[Robin Bonathan]

i use timecapule to do its thing but i also use a SSD weekly to do a backup. Multiple copies in different places in house.

 

[name99]

you need to be patient, first one takes ages.

I would agree with this analysis.

More precisely, as far as I can tell, what Apple has done with macOS 12 (maybe started with macOS 11) is to be REALLY strict about enforcing IO priority.
IO priority on disks is this weird thing where a seek by one program can have substantial performance implications for another program, so to ensure that IO priorities work, Apple has become draconian in how little IO access a low priority IO program is allowed.

You can see this if you have something like iStatMenus installed. Leave the machine quiescent for a while, then start using it partway through a Time Machine backup. You'll see that it was backing up a 40MB/s or whatever, something nice and smooth until the UI kicked in, and now the backup rate drops to essentially zero.

In theory this seems like it should be fine. In practice, multiple aspects of the tuning of this IO feature seem broken.
These include
- a single higher priority IO interaction seems to freeze out low priority IO for 30 minutes or so. You can see this if you examine iStatMenus over 24 hrs. You'll see a backup running smoothly at around 3am, then suddenly drop to zero for a long time, presumably because other (in fact also low priority but not marked as such...) IO kicks in from some demon, cron or whatever.
- the IO priority seems scoped over all drives. So even if UI is only using the internal hard drive and backup is copying external drive A to external backup drive B, backup is still frozen!
- dumbest of all (and presumably a casualty of this lack of per drive scoping) none of this has any relevance to SSDs, but they seem to get caught in the crossfire.

It's all very sad. Apple FINALLY implements a feature that might have been very useful ten years ago, but is now largely irrelevant, and then they implement it so badly that it basically makes things worse for pretty much every normal user.

 

[dysamoria]

i dont think thats true. when you restore your system you have to download new OS.
Its just the apps & data / configuration that is restored.

Depends on how much you want to wipe out. The root level Library is not replaced if you install over top of an existing install. There’s a considerable amount of stuff that can be left unchanged (problems remaining) in this situation, as I JUST discovered myself, last evening. In my case, I luckily had a fresh OS install on an external drive, and manually replaced what I discovered was the source of my problem, left unfixed by an OS reinstall.

 

[SummerSalt]

I had a brand new iMac in June 2021 and this was an issue out of the box. I spent countless hours trying to solve it with Apple. They basically told me it was my fault and no one else was having the problem. The computer started crashing, the crashing became so frequent (about every 5-10 mins), I couldn’t do my job. It was past the 30 days because we’d spent so much time troubleshooting. I had no Time Machine backup and while my data was manually backed up, all the little settings I have were so important. I had to fight with them like crazy to let me have a replacement and let me keep it for a week so I could manually migrate everything to make sure I had all the hidden files etc.

As a professional with my own business that relies on my computer - it was a nightmare. New computer didn’t have the issue…. Here I am 2 years later and the computer is crashing again. Disk utility reveals it is something related to Time Machine despite having two different TM drives that appear to be backing up and working fine. The disk can’t be repaired even in recovery mode… so now I’m back to where I was hoping I can get through my busy seasons before it starts crashing every 5-10 minutes.

Apple has been becoming less and less reliable and more and more problematic. Prior to June 2021, j had a Mac that lasted 8 years with no issues. Now two in two years are crashing and unreliable.

I imagine reaching out for help I’ll be told the same thing again—- it’s an issue created by me… and maybe a year later I’ll get to find out the rest of you are having an issue as well.

 

[MacBH928]

I had a brand new iMac in June 2021 and this was an issue out of the box. I spent countless hours trying to solve it with Apple. They basically told me it was my fault and no one else was having the problem. The computer started crashing, the crashing became so frequent (about every 5-10 mins), I couldn’t do my job. It was past the 30 days because we’d spent so much time troubleshooting. I had no Time Machine backup and while my data was manually backed up, all the little settings I have were so important. I had to fight with them like crazy to let me have a replacement and let me keep it for a week so I could manually migrate everything to make sure I had all the hidden files etc.

As a professional with my own business that relies on my computer - it was a nightmare. New computer didn’t have the issue…. Here I am 2 years later and the computer is crashing again. Disk utility reveals it is something related to Time Machine despite having two different TM drives that appear to be backing up and working fine. The disk can’t be repaired even in recovery mode… so now I’m back to where I was hoping I can get through my busy seasons before it starts crashing every 5-10 minutes.

Apple has been becoming less and less reliable and more and more problematic. Prior to June 2021, j had a Mac that lasted 8 years with no issues. Now two in two years are crashing and unreliable.

I imagine reaching out for help I’ll be told the same thing again—- it’s an issue created by me… and maybe a year later I’ll get to find out the rest of you are having an issue as well.

1) disable time machine

2) start using CarbonCopyCloner for backups