Time Machine Server won't accept username and password, won't connect to shared drive either....

[gpspad]

I just got a 2020 M1 Mac Mini I am using as a flex server and time machine server. It's running the latest version of Venture. I have a 10TB thunderbolt drive attached Im trying to use as a time machine drive.

I followed all the steps on like; sharing the drive, enabling SMB, and enabling share as a time machine drive under the advanced options tab.

When I go to mount the time machine drive....

"Enter your user name and password so TM can access the file server 'XXXX Time Capsule' "

But it never accepts the drive, it just endlessly asks for a password. I even tried making an account just for time machine backups, but that didn't work either.

When I try to login to the iMac over the network and access the shared drive I get.....

"The operation can’t be completed because the original item for “10TB G-Drive” can’t be found."

Any ideas of what Im doing wrong, I dont think I can reboot or restart the mac mini any more times than i already have. I have also erased the drive and tried to start from scratch.

 

[hobowankenobi]

Not sure, but one thing to consider:

When connecting to a file share, Macs historically auto populate the user field with the local account (the user name of the machine you are on), when you need the remote account (the user name of the computer you are connecting to). This has a long history of confusing poeple, as it is almost always the wrong user name. It would be better if the file share connnectionn box did NOT append a user name.

One way around this on a local home network is to use the exact same user name and password on both computers, so no matter which way a connection is going, the credentials are always the same. It also has a big added benefit of simplying user permissions, which can also get challenging and messy in Mac file sharing.

Obviously this won't work in a multi-user environment, and is less secure (one set of credentials gains admin access to multiple computers).

If you sure this is not the issue, it must come down to sharing access and/or permissions. Be sure you can mount the share and access the directories needed first...TM over the network will never work if file sharing is not right. Review the file sharing settings and permissions, rinse and repeat.

 

[hobowankenobi]

Forgot to ask...how is the external drive formattted? HFS+ or something else?

Does the iMac and/or the external drive go to sleep? Sleep has been somewhat problematic over the years regarding file sharing.

 

[gpspad]

Thanks for the reply, this is driving me nuts.

I agree it's consfusing about the username. I actually have the same username on the server. So thats not the problem, but I did try that.

The drive is formatted in "APFS Volume • APFS (Case-sensitive, Encrypted)"

Should it be formatted a different way?

Even weirder is I can login into the remote mac and get to every directory the user has permission to....

But the minute I try and get into the external thunderbolt drive I get......

"The operation can’t be completed because the original item for “10TB G-Drive” can’t be found."

Why would i be able to get into any directory with finder i want, then get booted when i go to the external; drive?

You might be onto some thing regarding be able to access the drive before I even try to setup the time capsule.

I may have to try reformatting the external drive again, but Im sure Im just going to get this when I try to access the external drive....

"The operation can’t be completed because the original item for “10TB G-Drive” can’t be found."

 

[hobowankenobi]

Yes, you want to be sure file sharing is working first as TM server is dependant on that.

As long as you have no unique data on it, I would consider formatting the external drive. APFS should be fine, but you could try HFS+ too, as it is still supported.

The case-sensitive part might be an issue; I would try not selecting that..it is not the norm on Macs. You could also skip the encrypted part, at least for testing.

 

[satcomer]

APFS is only for sids or DAS NVME externals! HFF+ is for NAS or old style external drives still!

 

[gpspad]

I reformatted the external drive, when I tried to make a time machine drive from scratch the first thing it did was reformat it as APFS.

From many posts it seems Ventura broke the time machine server function, Ill have to wait until the next OSX comes out.