TM said it was backing up - NOT!

[MTShipp]

I thought I had up to date backups with my TM...no errors in logs and showing hourly backups completed.

However, I found out the hard way this is not true all the time.

I had to reload my Mini at the recommendation of AppleCare because a failed removal of a Bootcamp partition was locking up the Mini upon restart.

Well, SL was reloaded and I told it to restore data from my TM backup.

Low and behold, the last date of "up to date" media was dated 3/5/10! So I lost over a week's mail, iCal appts, taxes!, financials, iTunes, etc.

 

[JediMeister]

Time Machine should warn you if it hasn't backed up in X days. Do you back up to a Time Capsule or external hard drive? If so, were you not connected to the Time Capsule or the USB/FireWire drive at any time? Another possibility is that maybe Time Machine was switched to off on the 5th. 3/5 could also be the most recent complete system backup; did you set up any files or folders to be excluded from the backups perhaps?

 

[MTShipp]

I appreciate the feedback. Yes, it was running. If I open TM, I can scan each day and hour all the way back to the 5th...there is just nothing new there. I checked the logs and there are no errors either.

 

[MTShipp]

It's happening again!

Data created today is not showing up in any of the hourly backups!

No errors in System log.

Anyone know what can cause this?

Would this be covered under Apple Care for my Mini?

 

[JediMeister]

Hmm, definitely AppleCare could help you identify a software issue on the computer end. I doubt this is hardware related, at least with the mini itself. AirPort devices, with the exception of the Apple TV, which has its own AppleCare, are covered by the computer's APP, and are even eligible for complimentary replacement as long as they were bought within two years of purchase of the system.

 

[puma1552]

This has happened to me, and I found what fixed it at the time but can't find it now (it was something here, someone had a good explanation of what was happening and what fixed it).

It's definitely software related, and easily fixable although it could happen again--now I'm paranoid so I occasionally enter time machine to make sure it's copying new files--sometimes I'll just create a new Test folder on the desktop with a random name and then do a backup and make sure that folder is there when I enter time machine--then I know it's still working.