macOS real basic automator help

[MyRomeo]

hey guys, i've wrote a really basic automator script for my wife to back up her college work to her macbook which in turn backs up to a time capsule. it simply uses rsync to copy her entire USB drive to a directory on her desktop. Now, this works perfectly on my macbook but on hers sometimes works, other times returns an error message.

Theres only two objects in the script, the first being the script itself:

rsync -avr /Volumes/"USB"/ ~/Desktop/"College Backup"/

The second a simple notification to say the backup has complete.

Now, she uses the same USB stick every time "USB".

Can anyone advise why sometimes it works perfectly and others errors before even starting?

Thank you

 

[chown33]

What is the exact error message when it fails?

Error messages are important clues in figuring out what's wrong.


Exactly how is the Automator workflow started?

If it's started before the USB drive is fully ready, then the 'rsync' command might be failing for a simple reason, such as the disk it's trying to read isn't ready.

This is why having the exact error message is an important clue. Even if you don't know the reasons behind an error message, others might, so seeing the exact error message can reduce the range that has to be examined.

There might be a reason other than the disk not being ready. That's just one example.

 

[MyRomeo]

Chown, for some reason I can't recreate it on the MBP or MBA with my own USB stick but my wife seems to be able to repeatedly using her USB stick. Anyhow I've ditched it and rewrote it in applescript, much happier using that and it seems to be working smoothly.