Cannot VERIFY Time Machine Backup(s)

[jmac0408]

Attempting to VERIFY backup files downloaded and installed via Time Machine to an external HD. Research has indicated that a NETWORKED external HD will NOT allow/permit the option to "Verify Backup", i.e. the option is "greyed out" when performing OPTION + Time Machine icon in Menu bar.


From a mounted/connected via USB (not Networked ?) WD My Passport for Mac 4TB icon on Desktop, I perform/select the following sequence/progression:

Right-click to OPEN > Backups.backupdb > John's Macbook Air > (select a ramdom backup file from the list of saved backup files) > Macintosh HD > Applications / Library / System / Users > Library > Caches = EMPTY and no SAFARI folder shown !!! The other 3 available folders from the list do show content.

Is this a problem or concern? If so, would there be a resolution process to perform?

Any and all input/direction will be greatly appreciated.

MacBook Air (early 2015)
High Sierra 10.13.6

Attached: Screenshot

View attachment Time Machine Backup VERIFICATION Issue.txt

 

[ferrarr]

Are you using Finder, or are you entering Time Machine? You should be using the Time Machine Menu Bar icon, or you can even click on the Time Machine Application (in Applications).

Here is the user guide for macOS Time Machine, Back up your files with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support. It will show the proper procedures to restore a file.

When you use Finder, it is hard to navigate to the "originally dated" location of the file you are looking for, and all the instances of the files are copies, updated for that "newer dated" file version.

 

[MacInWin]

Do not use Finder for any activity with Time Machine backups. What you see in Finder if you look into backups.backupdb are NOT files, but specialized links to files. If you muck with the links, the entire backup can be lost. I wrote out the entire sequence for TM a while ago, but I can't find it right now. Bottom line, leave TM backups alone and ONLY look at them through Time Machine.

 

[jmac0408]

Hi MacInWin:

Thanks for your response! I ONLY use TM to look into backup files! Should you ever find the entire sequence for TM that you mentioned, I would greatly appreciate you providing a link or eMail for same!
Thanks again.

John A.

 

[MacInWin]

Here you go. Post #8 in this thread: https://www.mac-forums.com/forums/macos-apps-and-games/353300-time-machine.html?353300=#post1834128

 

[jmac0408]

Hi MacInWin:

Again, many thanks for your input!! I still don't thoroughly understand the concept that backup files within/created by TM are only links but I'll do my best to improve my understanding/knowledge of the concept.
I still don't know how to actually VERIFY that a backup is a good one/capable of being restored yet! Can't do it from within OPTION + TM in that the "Verify Backup" option is "greyed out"!

I should let you know that the present reason for ensuring that I have VERIFIED backup(s) is because I'm considering moving from High Sierra to either Mojave or Catalina. BTW, do you have a preference one over the other??

Just this morning, I used TM to "Backup Now" and the file showing in the list of my backups was an .inprogress type and the KIND was "Package" and not "Folder". Is this normal or do I have a problem with TM? On several occasions over the past few weeks these .inprogress files have been 6 - 13 GB's in size and take far far longer than normal to completion (if at all, at what point I send them to TRASH)!!

Hoping you may provide more insight!

Sincerely appreciate all your effort thus far.

John A.

 

[IWT]

Hi John A,

One thing worth consideration is that with macOS High Sierra (and before), you can have two Time Machine Backups if you want. It requires two External Hard Drives, of course, but these are cheap nowadays.

If you added an extra EHD as a TM backup (System Preferences > Time Machine > Add or Remove Backup Disk), then your system will be backed up to both Disks on an alternate basis (Disk 1, then an hour later, Disk 2, then back to Disk 1 etc).

This reduces the anxiety of wondering if the BU has been successful as well as coping with the unexpected failure of one EHD. Worth considering, I would say.

Of course, Time Machine is not the only BU solution. Having a cloned and bootable BU such as Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! is an added bonus.

Ian

 

[MacInWin]

You do NOT want to delete .inprogress files/folders. Those are the newest backup being held in place while TM rebuilds the links it needs. They will look large, again because Finder sees the links as files and reports the size of the file being pointed to, not the size of the link. So a 13GB folder may only be a couple of Mb, or even KB, depending on how many "real" files are in the .inprogress folder. And you don't send them to the Trash because they eventually become a TM backup.

In short, never, never, never do any Finder activity inside the backups.backupdb folder. Only approach it through TM itself.

BTW, Verify Backups is also greyed out on my MBP under Catalina. I've never used that function so I don't know what it is supposed to accomplish. TM backups, if you leave them to TM, are pretty stable. The fact you can navigate in the TM window and see what is "in" the backup is usually an indicator that the backup is valid.

 

[MacInWin]

I found this statement about the Verify Backup option:

If your backup isn’t over the network, or was created by an older version of macOS, the option may be greyed out.

I suspect the reason it's there for networked drives is that they are stored in a different format than directly attached drives, so you cannot look into them with Finder on a Networked drive. Without getting too specific, on networked drives TM uses what is known as a sparsebundle, compressing out all the empty space in the files and links to minimize network traffic. On a directly attached drive that compression is not needed as the I/O speeds are sufficiently high to just use normal file transfers.

 

[MacInWin]

So, getting back to WHY you asked the question, if you have a recent TM backup and it completed normally and you can open TM and see the backup in the window and on the sidebar, then you should be good to go on the upgrade. I'm using Catalina and have been successful with it. Before you make that move, make sure none of your applications are 32-bit as Catalina doesn't allow 32-bit applications.

 

[ferrarr]

What issue are you experiencing, that you need to constantly, be going through your Time Machine backups? You're just supposed to set it and forget it.

 

[MacInWin]

Bob, he doesn't have a problem, he wants to know his backup is good before upgrading from High Sierra to either Mojave or Catalina. Other than checking that TM opens the backup, there isn't anything more to verify with a direct connect drive.

 

[pm-r]

Bob, he doesn't have a problem, he wants to know his backup is good before upgrading from High Sierra to either Mojave or Catalina. Other than checking that TM opens the backup, there isn't anything more to verify with a direct connect drive.

Maybe it's time for the OP to use Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) and create a backup clone.
Then go to CCC's site and read up on how to verify the backup:

How to verify or test your backup
How to verify or test your backup | Carbon Copy Cloner | Bombich Software



- Patrick
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