Disk Corruption, Wiped Disk, Time Machine

[ufgatorvet]

Hey MacOS Gurus -

Something happened to my 2017 iMac Monterey Fusion Drive ... wouldn't boot, got stuck at the Apple logo and bar half-way across. Rebooted in recovery mode, tried First Aid in Disc Utility --- failed, used Disk Utility to erase disc, reinstalled OS and recovered my user data from a Synology drive/NAS.

Needed to recover a couple of additional files, no problem from the Time Machine.

Now, new backups to the Time Machine are failing with an error that the Time Capsule file already exists.

How can I continue to backup to the same Time Capsule backup that I have been using? I don't want to lose years of backups ...

I am afraid that I may have wiped my Time Capsule backup, as now when I Enter Time Capsule, I only have a couple of what appear to be local snapshots. ...

How can I save my backups and continue to use the existing backup on the Time Machine that I have been using moving forward,

Thank you,

 

[kitKAC]

I recently had to wipe my Mac to fix some errors on the disk, once I had restored my files (using an external backup) Time Machine wouldn't automatically back to my Time Capsule again (The error was that it couldn't find the backup disk).

What I did was to go into the Time Machine preferences, click on Select Disk, remove the Time Capsule from the list of Backup Disks, and then add it back.

Once the Backup started, I was asked if I wanted to continue using the existing backup or erase the disk and start again. I clicked Continue and it did a deep scan of the existing backup before it continued using it.

 

[ufgatorvet]

I recently had to wipe my Mac to fix some errors on the disk, once I had restored my files (using an external backup) Time Machine wouldn't automatically back to my Time Capsule again (The error was that it couldn't find the backup disk).

What I did was to go into the Time Machine preferences, click on Select Disk, remove the Time Capsule from the list of Backup Disks, and then add it back.

Once the Backup started, I was asked if I wanted to continue using the existing backup or erase the disk and start again. I clicked Continue and it did a deep scan of the existing backup before it continued using it.

OK, this sounds promising ... can you elaborate on what you mean by remove Time Capsule from the list? I thought that would delete the backup file.

My wife also backs up her MBA to the time capsule in a separate file ... if that matters.

Thank you for your assistance, I really don't want to lose years of backups as many of those files don't still exist in this multiverse.

PS: I don't have an Apple branded Time Capsule (that died long ago), but a third-party Synology drive that I use for Time Machine, if that influences the steps. Thanks again.

 

[kitKAC]

Exactly what I said, although since you're not using an actual Time Capsule then it'll be the location of your Time Machine backup in the Time Machine preferences. When you re-add the location, macOS will ask you what you want to do with the existing backup it finds (nothing is deleted unless you say so).

Your Wife's Time Machine backup is separate and won't be touched.

If you're worried, can you make a copy of the Time Machine backup(s) to another part of the drive?

 

[ufgatorvet]

Exactly what I said, although since you're not using an actual Time Capsule then it'll be the location of your Time Machine backup in the Time Machine preferences. When you re-add the location, macOS will ask you what you want to do with the existing backup it finds (nothing is deleted unless you say so).

Your Wife's Time Machine backup is separate and won't be touched.

If you're worried, can you make a copy of the Time Machine backup(s) to another part of the drive?

That makes sense. Yes, good idea, I will try to figure out how to make a backup of the backup ...

I've been backing up for years and years -- to either the cloud or locally -- and never needed it. Was beginning to think it was a waste. Until now, so glad that I was prudent enough to follow the wisdom of others. Now my only regret is that I don't have a redundant backup. Guess need to consider those options considering how much this backup solution saved the day!

 

[ufgatorvet]

Can Time Machine on an iMac backup to two Time Capsules/drives simultaneously (or sequentially, I guess). If I plug an additional NAS into my network, would that work alongside the existing one?

My drive is a single drive box and wouldn't mind having a multi-drive box that can do some redundancy.

 

[kitKAC]

Yes you can, TM uses them sequentially. I had multiple backup volumes once while testing the use of a Hard drive connected to my Asus router as a TM destination.

 

[ufgatorvet]

I recently had to wipe my Mac to fix some errors on the disk, once I had restored my files (using an external backup) Time Machine wouldn't automatically back to my Time Capsule again (The error was that it couldn't find the backup disk).

What I did was to go into the Time Machine preferences, click on Select Disk, remove the Time Capsule from the list of Backup Disks, and then add it back.

Once the Backup started, I was asked if I wanted to continue using the existing backup or erase the disk and start again. I clicked Continue and it did a deep scan of the existing backup before it continued using it.

This worked, and although it never asked me if I wanted to continue using or start again, it continued using the previous TM backup for the iMac as I wanted. Going into Time Machine now I see all my previous umpteen backups.

Thank you for the advice, it saved me a lot of Googling and time I am sure. Really appreciate you.

 

[KaliYoni]

Now my only regret is that I don't have a redundant backup.

I maintain backups using Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner. The Time Machine drive is always connected. The CCC drive is disconnected most of the time. I do a CCC backup about once a week or before installing an OS update.

I do this for redundancy and to increase the chances of having a clean version of my entire setup in the event of a catastrophic failure or a security breach.

More discussion:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/now-that-the-m1-imac-does-not-allow-booting-from-a-clone-is-there-any-advantage-of-ccc.2306894/post-30156566

 

[HDFan]

Make sure your 3-2-1 backups have only 1 of the 3 being TM. TM backups are subject to corruption, particularly on NAS devices.