We are told above that this is one of the longest running threads on this forum.
I thank everyone for allowing this thread to go on & on & on & on....
My difficulties with TM also went on & on.... The TM problem caused me to purchase additional external drives and spend many hours over an extended problem duration of years.
In an effort to provide, I hope, the final posting of info for those who assisted me, please accept this final assessment of this situation.
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It is now four days since I discovered that TM is now working exactly as it should. Over the recent years and relevantly last months, there have been no changes in my general use of this MacBook Pro. That includes use of Windows 7, Parallels, and all features and systems.
Over the four days since discovery, I have variously allowed TM to run as it chose, ejected the external drive, mounted that drive, run 1, 2, 3, and more backs during various periods of use.
The results after these four days is consistent:
TM selects about 500 to 700 items, backs up approximately 250 megs to 550 megs, depending upon and seemingly roughly correlated to my use. Each back-up takes 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 minutes. TM then schedules its next back-up correctly.
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I apologize if this thread ran too long. I felt from the first post that the knowledgeable people on this forum, by posting and reading, were interested in this situation.
Thank you to everyone.
Let us hope that all other problems are resolved in fewer posts -- and as well resolved.