My Time Machine backups are done wirelessly to a Time Capsule located in a different room of the house. The backups are scheduled to run each hour on the hour using TimeMachineEditor. About once every several weeks the backup fails, delivering a message that the backup drive couldn't be found. When this happens I'm able to "cure" the problem by unlocking Time Machine Preferences and manually running a backup, after which I relock Time Machine Preferences so that backups are again scheduled by TimeMachineEditor. Then things are back to normal until the next failure occurs. Suggestions as to how this problem might be cured are most welcome. I'm running on the latest model iMac and the latest model Time Capsule. I'm running on the latest releass sof Lion (10.7.3), and TimeMachineEditor (2.5.3 (26)).
No idea what your issue it, but a question. If you leave it alone will the next backup (next hour) run?
The issue is that about once every couple of weeks my hourly Time Machine backups fail to take place and I receive an error message stating that the backup drive could not be found. As I stated, after I do a manual backup following whidh I set things so that the timing of the backups is controlled by TimeMachineEditor which is programmed to do backups each hour on the hour, regularl hourly backups occur until the next "incident" which typically is several weeks removed. I hope this clarifies things ..
No. Because you did not (from what you wrote) try what I asked: if, following that failure, you do _nothing_ (no invoked backup) will the next sched. backup run or not. You probably haven't tried that (or you would have said so). Also, in the grand traditions of this NG, and per the incessant reminders from JR: Did you check the logs after such a failure for any other hints of what the issue may be?
On 2012-02-26 16:34:17 +0000, Alan Browne said: [in response to what I thought was his question] When the scheduled Time Machine backup fails no more backups will take place until the following action sequence is followed: a) launch Time Machine preferences. b) with Time Machine preferences enable Time Machine backups as they are normally off as the launching of a backup is undertaken by TimeMachineEdiitor which has been programmed to have a backup occur each hour on the hour. c) manually initiate a backup. d) when the backup has completed with Time Machine preferences disable Time Machine backups. e) after the disabling the running of Time Machine backups is controlled by TimeMachineEditor and backups will continue until the next failure occurs, and that is usually in a few weeks. The logs have not been checked after a backup failure, and this is something I will be sure to do the next time a failure occurs. Hopefully this will clarify things, but I'm most willing to answer further questions.
The above does not match my experience. Occasionally I'll forget to plug in my Drobo (where TM goes). The 12:15 backup (I use Time Machine Editor too) fails. I clear the error message and nothing else. I plug in the Drobo and the 19:15 backup goes as planned w/o me needing to do anything. I think you should, next time, clear the error message and let it go and see what happens - as well as checking the logs and making sure the volume is in fact available.
In regards to the Time Machine backups I just now had an interesting experience…. When I came home after having been gone for a number of hours I was greeted yet again with the "cannot be found" message in regards to the Time Machine backup. I then opened Time Machine Preferences which showed that the failed backup had been initiated a bit over an hour before I chdcked. The normal time for a Time Machine backup is about fifteen minutes. I then noticed that the progress indicator in the Time Machine Preferences showed that the backup in question was on the verge of completion. I waited another couple of minutes without doing anything and the backup suddenly completed. So it seems that now the question is why didn't the scheduled backup complete in the "normal" fashion?
On 2012-02-27 22:10:35 +0000, Alan Browne said: [continuing in the discussion in this thread] The computer is set to never sleep. The display is set to sleep in 15 minutes. TimeMachineEditor is set to perform a Time Machine backup every hour on the hour except for the hours 2, 3, 4, and 5 AM. This is so my SuperDuper! backups can run without there being an interference with the Time Machine backups -- the interference is a known but with SuperDuper!. And my thanks to you, Alan, for taking the time to help me determine the cause of the Time Machine backup failures.
