Perhaps there's something wrong with my system, but lately Time Machine seems like it's dragging its butt. All last week I was working on some heavy graphic apps and frequently they would slow to a crawl. When I look up in the top right corner, sure enough Time Machine is busily working.
Is this normal or do I have something setup wrong?
Are the files you are working on large and are they included in your Time Machine Backups?
You might want to look in the log for Time Machine? To access the Time Machine log, go to Applications > Utilities > Console. Under Files in the sidebar select system.log and search for "backupd"
Are the files you are working on large and are they included in your Time Machine Backups?
You might want to look in the log for Time Machine? To access the Time Machine log, go to Applications > Utilities > Console. Under Files in the sidebar select system.log and search for "backupd"
I'm using Mac OS 10.6.8. No, the files are not particularly large. I just did a search for backup and nothing came up. However, that may be because I just ran Cocktail.
As I suggested above, can you go to Applications > Utilties > Console, selected "system.log" from the sidebar (if you don't see a sidebar select "Show Log List") and searched for "backupd" (no quotes)?
If you are doing Time Machine backups there will be entries there.
Alternatively if you're comfortable with the Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal) you can try this:
cat /var/log/system.log | grep backupd
Edit: The log isn't verbose, it simply provides a summary and indicates if there's a problem.
Okay, TM is definitely screwed up. I just tried to retrieve a file from June and the whole month of June is missing, along with bits and pieces of other months. Since I have no idea of what is wrong, perhaps I'm better of just wiping the whole TM backup file and starting anew. I do have media on this drive in a separate directory, but I don't want to erase that.
Okay, I discovered the problem. The Cat 5e Ethernet cable leading to the time machine was damaged, which is why TM wasn't able to backup to the NV+. I still have no idea how the cable was damaged.
Cables can and do fail. It's a very easy thing to check. Often a direct-connection (http://sphardy.com/web/direct-connect) with a known working cable can be a good troubleshooting step.
At some point some of your wiring may fail, but I think eventually you'll want to replace the lot anyway. Laying more cables than you need can be a good idea so that if one cable fails you don't have to redo wiring. Cords that are exposed are more likely to be damaged (e.g. squashed, trodden on) than cords hidden inside walls, I think, but hopefully a networking expert can comment on that.
If you had a working Cat5e link behind the wall fail on you, it likely failed for one of the following reasons:
1) Rodents chewing on cable 2) Cable was damaged/kinked when installed and it was just a matter of time before it failed. (or its possible cable had an internal defect from factory) 3) Someone was in your attic or working behind the wall and damaged the cable after install. 4) Water leaking/moisture has damaged jack in wallplate. Sometimes corrosion can occur especially if you live coastal or moisture is getting to jacks. 5) Jack in wallplate was never wired properly to begin with. 6) Cable was run along a serious electromagnetic/radio transmitting device that is interfering (usually unlikely in a home).
Normally Cat5e should last a "lifetime". Meaning a long time!
Or, maybe the Cat6 police got to you early to try to force early upgrade... :lol:
