TAPB (Yet Another Preparing Backup) [Time Machine] thread

[deckeda]

2-3 yr old MacBook running Sierra. 22 days since the last Time Machine backup, via USB-connected external hard disk.

256MB of 18GB done, and then a stall for many hours. Can't fathom why there would be 18GB of stuff needing backup, on a Mac that hadn't been used for 3 weeks, but whatever.

Impatient, I rebooted it, tried again, and now it's "preparing" for quote awhile.

LET IT RIDE, is the the time-honored advice. No biggie. And I've got no problem with wiping the drive and starting over with an all-new Time Machine backup.

But, it's 2016 and this crap is annoying.

[Onamuji]

When a problem with the drive or the backup is detected or if it's simply been a long time between backups, backupd will do a deep-traversal scan.

Let it chug.

...As for why you might have 18GB of backups to do, perhaps about 12GB of that is your new operating system?

[deckeda]

I don't understand. Sierra, installed, weighs 12GB more than El Cap? Even if the installer was kept, which it wasn't, that's a huge difference, no?

I stopped it, when it got stuck in the same spot as yesterday. There's no chugging happening after that point.

[deckeda]

Keeps trying each hour but haven't been watching it during those attempts. "Last backup Sept 4"

Seems as if it's trying, failing and trying the next hour.

[deckeda]

I erased the external disk. Now, Time Machine is working.

[Onamuji]

deckeda wrote:
I don't understand. Sierra, installed, weighs 12GB more than El Cap?

12GB of new/changed system files to back up.