Beware Monterey Time machine problems

[Lifeisabeach]

Nope, I got that, LIAB. I don't have a solution for the OP. But I responded to your comment about TME not being compatible with Monterey. You said, "Most likely culprit is incompatibility with TME, so ok, no problem." That was what I responded to. Sorry you missed that.

No sweat. I think it was the most likely culprit for the daily backup not being performed, but I didn't expect it to be responsible for the failure of Time Machine to log its seemingly successful manual backups. Uninstalling TME verified that. At any rate, the bottom line is that there are problems with Time Machine and Monterey, and I just wanted to support the OP on that point and raise awareness.

 

[MacInWin]

If you are still having problems, you might go here: Downloads

Download The Time Machine Mechanic (T2M2), and run it. Set the time to make sure it covers at least one TM backup. What T2M2 does is go through the console log looking for every entry for TM and the backup process during the time period you specified and pulls them together for you to see. There may be a clue there for you about the phenomenon you are seeing.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

If you are still having problems, you might go here: Downloads

Download The Time Machine Mechanic (T2M2), and run it. Set the time to make sure it covers at least one TM backup. What T2M2 does is go through the console log looking for every entry for TM and the backup process during the time period you specified and pulls them together for you to see. There may be a clue there for you about the phenomenon you are seeing.

Nice little tool! Here's what I have for the past 24 hours:

Started 8 auto backup cycles, and 3 manual backups;
no backup has been completed successfully in the period,
currently still making an auto backup,
currently still making a manual backup,
last manual backup started 313.5 minutes ago,
Created 0 new backups, and deleted 0 old backups,
Created 10 new snapshots, and deleted 3 old snapshots,
Of 0 volume backups:
0 were full first backups,
0 were deep scans,
10 used FSEvents,
0 used snapshot diffs,
0 used consistency scans,
0 used cached events.

This doesn't gibe. I'm mulling the possibility of a caching issue. Gonna fire up Onyx and wipe it! (EDIT: Onyx hasn't been updated yet for Monterey. TinkerTool System has been though, so I used that).

 

[MacInWin]

Weird to have two still running. Wonder if they are interfering with each other? Also, it deleted 3 snapshots, which should happen only during a backup. Strange.

I would reboot, then run T2M2 again, which should eliminate the two running instances. If you want to do a deep (really deep) dive into TM and how it works, the website where you got the download has in depth articles on the internals.

 

[Rod]

I think I would be inclined to erase the EHD used for TM especially if it was used with the beta version of Monterey and create a new one. I'm not suggesting this as a solution but it's been my practice to create a new TM backup at each new macOS. Not updates mind just at new upgrades.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Weird to have two still running. Wonder if they are interfering with each other? Also, it deleted 3 snapshots, which should happen only during a backup. Strange.

I would reboot, then run T2M2 again, which should eliminate the two running instances. If you want to do a deep (really deep) dive into TM and how it works, the website where you got the download has in depth articles on the internals.

Well the iMac seems to be back on track. It did its overnight backup just fine. The MBA is still jacked up despite flushing the caches. This is from the past 10 hours.

Started 1 auto backup cycles, and 1 manual backups;
no backup has been completed successfully in the period,
currently still making an auto backup,
last manual backup started 395.9 minutes ago,
Created 0 new backups, and deleted 0 old backups,
Created 2 new snapshots, and deleted 2 old snapshots,
Of 0 volume backups:
0 were full first backups,
0 were deep scans,
2 used FSEvents,
0 used snapshot diffs,
0 used consistency scans,
0 used cached events.

No error messages found.

Something is hung up. It did run an auto backup when I woke the MBA up a short while ago, and I let that run its course before running that app. Gonna do some digging...

AHA! So, I examined the list of local snapshots with TinkerTool System and deleted all of them. I also turned off TimeMachineEditor to let the system do hourly backups as normal. A short while later, a new auto backup initiated and appeared to be complete. Now here's the AHA part. I checked Time Machine, and all the manual and auto backups I had done since yesterday? That I was able to see in Time Machine even though it said my last one was the 27th? All gone, except the one it had just done. So I wasn't ACTUALLY seeing those backups on the Time Capsule. Those were all local snapshots.

 

[pine man]

it's been my practice to create a new TM backup at each new macOS. Not updates mind just at new upgrades.

Is this good practice?

I've often wondered whether or not to do this and have never really been sure.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Is this good practice?

I've often wondered whether or not to do this and have never really been sure.

It depends on your backup strategy. The intent of Time Machine is to have incremental backups of changed files going back as far as storage permits so that you can recover something you may have deleted or modified since it was backed up. I've done this a few times over the years... recovered a version of a file from a backup done a few weeks or even several months earlier. If I was to wipe my entire backup history now, and a week from now found a file I needed was corrupt, or needed an older version of it due to unwanted changes, well if those changes happened over a week earlier, I wouldn't be able to recover it. So Time Machine isn't JUST a backup. It's literally a way to go back in time to recover something.

 

[pine man]

Thanks for that advice.

My old iMac had TM backups going back about 7 years without change. My new one came with Big Sur and the advice to format the drive APFS. Having done that I will just let it run with the Monterey upgrade included.

Thanks again.

 

[DesMoinesBoy]

No sweat. I think it was the most likely culprit for the daily backup not being performed, but I didn't expect it to be responsible for the failure of Time Machine to log its seemingly successful manual backups. Uninstalling TME verified that. At any rate, the bottom line is that there are problems with Time Machine and Monterey, and I just wanted to support the OP on that point and raise awareness.

You need reset the time machine. I had exactly what you had and almost bought a new drive, but after a week, I think we are caught up: So here is how to fix it. 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). If in doubt, see item #D6.
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. If you have a problem finding the file, see item #A7.)
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. If you're not sure how to do that, see Time Machine FAQ #10.
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 begin immediately.

 

[Rod]

I agree that TM's incremental backups are it's best feature and a really valuable addition to my backup strategy but I've never found a file that was more than a year old that I had to restore from TM. I simply wouldn't trust TM for documents or data that valuable. Nor do I hold with storing unique data on TM, it is not intended to be an archive. Who knows a brand of EHD that you could rely on not to fail over 5 years?

TM does two things very well; allows you to quickly go back to a previous version of a file or restore an accidentaly deleted file.
And provide a source for a full data restore in case of loss of your data or device.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

You need reset the time machine. I had exactly what you had and almost bought a new drive, but after a week, I think we are caught up: So here is how to fix it. 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). If in doubt, see item #D6.
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. If you have a problem finding the file, see item #A7.)
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. If you're not sure how to do that, see Time Machine FAQ #10.
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 begin immediately.

This is a good tip and deleting the plist to reset the preferences was on my todo list. Unfortunately that didn't do the trick. Most likely I'll have to start with a new backup, but I'll be doing a little more digging later this week when I have time.

 

[Rod]

Just FYI, I did erase my TM backup as per my usual practice and it now works perfectly on my Intel MBP running macOS 12.1 Monterey.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I may be on to something. I told Time Machine to select a new disk and re-chose my Time Capsule. When I attempt to use my existing backup, it prompts me for my encryption password. It insists my password is wrong. There's no way it's wrong. I have a stupidly strong password, which is saved in 1Password. I'm copy/pasting it and no dice. This simply can't be wrong. It didn't change. It's the same password already stored in Keychain also.

 

[ferrarr]

It insists my password is wrong.

I don't know if this matters, but when I look in System Preferences > Time Machine, and choose Select New Disk, it shows my TM backup disk as Encrypted. Then in Available Disks it shows my TM disk as Encrypted, Case Sensitive. But I never use Case Sensitive when I format any disk drives.

 

[pine man]

Bob

When I set up my Ext HDD as APFS for Big Sur, and subsequently Monterey, I made particularly sure I only selected APFS but it showed up afterwards as 'case sensitive'. I tried again being particularly careful and exactly the same happened!!

Having done some (internet) research this appears to be a common occurence with either case sensitive and/or encrypted resulting in an APFS format and nobody appears to have got just APFS.

 

[chscag]

This was covered in another thread some time ago. Formatting an external disk (spinner or SSD) with Big Sur Time Machine will automatically default to APFS Case Sensitive. The same appears to occur with Monterey.

Not sure I understand why Apple has chosen that way but it may have something to do with encryption.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I may be on to something. I told Time Machine to select a new disk and re-chose my Time Capsule. When I attempt to use my existing backup, it prompts me for my encryption password. It insists my password is wrong. There's no way it's wrong. I have a stupidly strong password, which is saved in 1Password. I'm copy/pasting it and no dice. This simply can't be wrong. It didn't change. It's the same password already stored in Keychain also.

Ok, this is nutty. So I decided to give up and start anew, but I didn't want to lose the existing archive just yet. So.... what I did was rename the backup on my Time Capsule from MacBook Air.sparsebundle to MacBookAir-old - do not use.sparsebundle. My thinking was that Time Machine would think no backup existed now on the Time Capsule and it would create a new one. Well! It recognized the renamed one (aaaargh!) and again asked if I wanted to use the existing one. I resigned myself, for laughs said to use it and once again pasted my encryption password in. THIS TIME it took the password, and renamed the sparsebundle back to the original name. THIS MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL!!!!!

So the backups STILL aren't going across. I tried reinstalling Monterey for laughs... no dice. I'm going to plan on erasing that backup to start fresh. Not worth the hassle.

 

[bernard smith]

Me too

Are you on CCC v5 or V6? I got a message from Bombich saying that V5 would not work with Monterey and I had to upgrade to V6. As an existing customer I received a 40% discount .. so it only cost me $30 (Australian)

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Ok, this is nutty. So I decided to give up and start anew, but I didn't want to lose the existing archive just yet. So.... what I did was rename the backup on my Time Capsule from MacBook Air.sparsebundle to MacBookAir-old - do not use.sparsebundle. My thinking was that Time Machine would think no backup existed now on the Time Capsule and it would create a new one. Well! It recognized the renamed one (aaaargh!) and again asked if I wanted to use the existing one. I resigned myself, for laughs said to use it and once again pasted my encryption password in. THIS TIME it took the password, and renamed the sparsebundle back to the original name. THIS MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL!!!!!

So the backups STILL aren't going across. I tried reinstalling Monterey for laughs... no dice. I'm going to plan on erasing that backup to start fresh. Not worth the hassle.

Welp, Time Machine backups are truly broken right now. So I gave up, told the software to erase the existing backup and start fresh. After reaching 100% progress, it got hung up on the mssage "Waiting to complete first backup" where it normally says when the most recent backup was done. I gave up on that. Started over by first deleting the backup manually off the Time Capsule, then started wholly fresh rather than "technically" re-using an existing sparsebundle. Once again, after hitting 100%, stuck on "Waiting to complete...". Meanwhile, my iMac is happily doing daily Time Capsule backups just fine. So there's no way this is a problem with the Time Capsule. It's Monterey on "some" Macs at least.