Time Machine - A quick trouble shooting guide

Backup, Restore, Netbak Replicator, Cloud Storage Services
dulcifium
Been there, done that
Posts: 720
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:52 pm

Re: Time Machine - A quick trouble shooting guide

Post by dulcifium »

I'm at my wit's end!

My TimeMachine said it keeps reporting as 77 GB free of 320 GB so it can't backup. I want to just delete it completely and start again. I've tried disabling in QNAP admin and adding back again. I've tried changing size in QNAP admin. I've tried deleting the sparsebundle completely. It still reports it as only 77 GB free!

I've tried markb and Horrus's techniques. Disabled Time Machine, deleted .com.apple.timemachine.supported, .AppleDB as well as /share/MD0_DATA/.timemachine and then restarted. Deleted the TimeMachine.plist on the Mac. Rebooted both NAS and Mac. Still, whenever I add the TMBackup as a source it still reports as 320 GB total size (no matter what it should be according to QNAP admin). And it still reports as only 77 GB free meaning I can't start a new backup.

Any ideas?
QNAP TS-EC1079 Pro (4.3.4.0435) | 10 x 4 TB (WD WDC WD40EFRX firmware 82.00A82) | 32 TB RAID-6
QNAP TS-639 Pro (3.8.1 Build 20121205) | 6 x 3 TB (Toshiba DT01ACA300 firmware MX6OABB0) | 12 TB RAID-6
Both shared over single port GbE and wifi router to Linux, Android, Windows, macOS and NVIDIA Shield
dulcifium
Been there, done that
Posts: 720
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:52 pm

Re: Time Machine - A quick trouble shooting guide

Post by dulcifium »

The issue seems to be every time I add the TMBackup as a TimeMachine source, something creates the Info.plist and Info.bckup files inside a new ~400MB sparsebundle with the following data:

Code: Select all

<dict>
	<key>CFBundleInfoDictionaryVersion</key>
	<string>6.0</string>
	<key>band-size</key>
	<integer>8388608</integer>
	<key>bundle-backingstore-version</key>
	<integer>1</integer>
	<key>diskimage-bundle-type</key>
	<string>com.apple.diskimage.sparsebundle</string>
	<key>size</key>
	<integer>311385128960</integer>
</dict>
</plist>
No matter what settings I have in QNAP admin and no matter whether I delete the whole sparsebundle, these files keep getting created making the Mac think there's only ~77 GB space on a 320 GB TimeMachine target.
QNAP TS-EC1079 Pro (4.3.4.0435) | 10 x 4 TB (WD WDC WD40EFRX firmware 82.00A82) | 32 TB RAID-6
QNAP TS-639 Pro (3.8.1 Build 20121205) | 6 x 3 TB (Toshiba DT01ACA300 firmware MX6OABB0) | 12 TB RAID-6
Both shared over single port GbE and wifi router to Linux, Android, Windows, macOS and NVIDIA Shield
dulcifium
Been there, done that
Posts: 720
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:52 pm

Re: Time Machine - A quick trouble shooting guide

Post by dulcifium »

Anyone? How can I completely reset TimeMachine?
QNAP TS-EC1079 Pro (4.3.4.0435) | 10 x 4 TB (WD WDC WD40EFRX firmware 82.00A82) | 32 TB RAID-6
QNAP TS-639 Pro (3.8.1 Build 20121205) | 6 x 3 TB (Toshiba DT01ACA300 firmware MX6OABB0) | 12 TB RAID-6
Both shared over single port GbE and wifi router to Linux, Android, Windows, macOS and NVIDIA Shield
User avatar
jasonbeem
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Posts: 7
Joined: Sat Mar 18, 2017 1:05 am

Re: Time Machine - A quick trouble shooting guide

Post by jasonbeem »

dulcifium wrote:Anyone? How can I completely reset TimeMachine?

This will reset the connection to your backup destination, and replace the preferences file containing your settings for Time Machine: the destination, options, and any exclusions. If it's corrupted, Time Machine may not work properly, if at all.
It will not delete anything in your backups, or cause Time Machine to start a new set of backups.
1.On the Time Machine Preferences window, turn Time Machine OFF and be sure a backup is not running (turning Time Machine off won't cancel a backup that's already running).
2.If you're backing-up some things, but not everything, on any external HDs, connect them temporarily (otherwise those exclusions won't appear in the next step, so you might forget them, and won't be able to re-enter them in step 6).
3.Click the Options button on the preferences window. Note everything in the exclusions box, and the settings of the other options (perhaps via a screen print), then click Cancel to return to the main window. Then quit System Preferences.
4.If you're backing-up to an external HD, eject, disconnect, and power it off for a few moments, then reconnect it.
5.Delete the file /Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist (in your top-level Library folder, not the Library folder inside your home folder, where most user preferences are).
(A Spotlight search won't find it, and neither will a Finder search, unless you include System Files).
If you have trouble finding it, from a Finder menubar, select Go > Go to Folder, copy /Library/Preferences to the prompt and click Go. Scroll down until you find com.apple.TimeMachine.plist
Or you can navigate to it, by opening your Startup Drive, usually named ""Macintosh HD,"" via the Finder.
6.Go back into Time Machine Preferences. If your backup drive is still selected, the contents of the old file are still there. Restart your Mac, and delete the file again.
Re-select your backup drive, and re-enter any exclusions and other options you noted in step 3. If you're backing-up any external HDs, they'll be excluded automatically, so remove those exclusions.
Note: If you're backing-up to an external HD, it's shown automatically, in gray, and you can't remove it. Any drives or partitions that aren't formatted for a Mac can't be backed-up by Time Machine, so they'll also be shown in gray, and can't be removed.
The oldest and latest backup dates won't appear on this window until the next backup is done. ""None"" does not mean the backups are lost, just that the dates haven't been re-loaded.
7.A 120-second countdown to a backup should appear. If you close the preferences window, it should "
dulcifium
Been there, done that
Posts: 720
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:52 pm

Re: Time Machine - A quick trouble shooting guide

Post by dulcifium »

jasonbeem wrote:
dulcifium wrote:Anyone? How can I completely reset TimeMachine?

This will reset the connection to your backup destination, and replace the preferences file containing your settings for Time Machine: the destination, options, and any exclusions. If it's corrupted, Time Machine may not work properly, if at all.
It will not delete anything in your backups, or cause Time Machine to start a new set of backups.
1.On the Time Machine Preferences window, turn Time Machine OFF and be sure a backup is not running (turning Time Machine off won't cancel a backup that's already running).
2.If you're backing-up some things, but not everything, on any external HDs, connect them temporarily (otherwise those exclusions won't appear in the next step, so you might forget them, and won't be able to re-enter them in step 6).
3.Click the Options button on the preferences window. Note everything in the exclusions box, and the settings of the other options (perhaps via a screen print), then click Cancel to return to the main window. Then quit System Preferences.
4.If you're backing-up to an external HD, eject, disconnect, and power it off for a few moments, then reconnect it.
5.Delete the file /Library/Preferences/com.apple.TimeMachine.plist (in your top-level Library folder, not the Library folder inside your home folder, where most user preferences are).
(A Spotlight search won't find it, and neither will a Finder search, unless you include System Files).
If you have trouble finding it, from a Finder menubar, select Go > Go to Folder, copy /Library/Preferences to the prompt and click Go. Scroll down until you find com.apple.TimeMachine.plist
Or you can navigate to it, by opening your Startup Drive, usually named ""Macintosh HD,"" via the Finder.
6.Go back into Time Machine Preferences. If your backup drive is still selected, the contents of the old file are still there. Restart your Mac, and delete the file again.
Re-select your backup drive, and re-enter any exclusions and other options you noted in step 3. If you're backing-up any external HDs, they'll be excluded automatically, so remove those exclusions.
Note: If you're backing-up to an external HD, it's shown automatically, in gray, and you can't remove it. Any drives or partitions that aren't formatted for a Mac can't be backed-up by Time Machine, so they'll also be shown in gray, and can't be removed.
The oldest and latest backup dates won't appear on this window until the next backup is done. ""None"" does not mean the backups are lost, just that the dates haven't been re-loaded.
7.A 120-second countdown to a backup should appear. If you close the preferences window, it should "
Sorry but you'll notice that doesn't work as I need to reset TimeMachine on the QNAP.
QNAP TS-EC1079 Pro (4.3.4.0435) | 10 x 4 TB (WD WDC WD40EFRX firmware 82.00A82) | 32 TB RAID-6
QNAP TS-639 Pro (3.8.1 Build 20121205) | 6 x 3 TB (Toshiba DT01ACA300 firmware MX6OABB0) | 12 TB RAID-6
Both shared over single port GbE and wifi router to Linux, Android, Windows, macOS and NVIDIA Shield
hulster
Starting out
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 6:27 am

Re: Time Machine - A quick trouble shooting guide

Post by hulster »

Thought maybe the best to ask here. I have Problems with RESTORE. At least run QNAP TimeMachine for several years and had never issues doing Upgrades.
I am running Sierra and the BACKUP on this system is running without issue.
As l like to do a half way clean install for High Sierra I was going to do a Sierra (not High Sierra) on an external Drive with full TimeMachine restore (to test the restore and have working system drrive in parallel).
The installation app see the volume but not able to connect to it. Error message is unfortunately just "Can't connect" without any further details. I tried to define manually by IP which is shown in the list then, but same issue. Any idea?

Qnap 251 4.3.4
hulster
Starting out
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2013 6:27 am

Re: Time Machine - A quick trouble shooting guide

Post by hulster »

hulster wrote:Thought maybe the best to ask here. I have Problems with RESTORE. At least run QNAP TimeMachine for several years and had never issues doing Upgrades.
I am running Sierra and the BACKUP on this system is running without issue.
As l like to do a half way clean install for High Sierra I was going to do a Sierra (not High Sierra) on an external Drive with full TimeMachine restore (to test the restore and have working system drrive in parallel).
The installation app see the volume but not able to connect to it. Error message is unfortunately just "Can't connect" without any further details. I tried to define manually by IP which is shown in the list then, but same issue. Any idea?

Qnap 251 4.3.4
Seems it was only a temp issueu. After 4.3.4 Upgrade it works in GENERAL. I can access it defining the protocol using IP and folder like

"afp://192.168.1.1/TMBackup"

STILL I do not understand why the automatically detected drive and folder Is not able to connect. It is shown with the name of the QNAP, showing the right folder and NOT able to connect to this drive.

Any idea why?
BillyJean
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Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2019 6:22 pm

Re: Time Machine - A quick trouble shooting guide

Post by BillyJean »

That was helpful. Thanks!
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