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MalagLagoon

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 19, 2019
182
66
Not sure if this is directly related to Time Machine or if the extremely long wait times are another issue entirely. I have run Disk Utility and saw no errors on the data itself.

Anyway, for quite sometime I've noted how excruciatingly slow it is to mount my external hard drive - which is also the same drive used for my Time Machine backup.

Last night I got my stopwatch out and timed it.

Time it takes for password prompt to show up after plugging in the USB drive: 15 minutes

Time it takes password prompt to vanish after entering password: 12 minutes (for a total of 27 minutes).

Yes, it takes half an hour just to mount this drive. Why?

Then it takes time for TimeMachine itself to begin running. I got tired and fell asleep so I didn't record that time. But, I think you get the idea this thing is S L O W.

A couple of days ago I scanned this drive with Disk Utility - it took over 24 hours to complete the scan. The disk is a mechanical 4T hard drive called a Passport drive. It's the kind that has an older USB connector and is powered from that same USB connector (the drive was purchased new in Oct. of 2024).

I'll probably buy a new drive and create a new Time Machine backup - but, I thought I'd share my experience.

EDIT: I forgot to say I'm using a 2015 MacBook Pro running macOS Monterey.
 
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