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Time machine backup failed

I'm on 10.11.6 and my TM backup has stopped working.


Can't even run it manually



Message says "Backup failed" and suggests using Disk Utility to repair; I run the utility, apparently successfully, but the error persists



Backup disk is WD My Passport external drive with plenty of free space


Wanting to backup before updating from El Capitan to Catalina

MacBook Pro 15", OS X 10.11

Posted on May 20, 2020 4:11 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 20, 2020 4:25 PM

Hello,


Have you tried restarting your Macintosh?


How to turn your Mac on or off - Apple Support



If restarting does not resolve the problem then most likely your external hard disk has failed.


Repair a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support


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2 replies

May 20, 2020 8:20 PM in response to QuickPost

Hi yes I have turned off - restarted - I've reformatted the external hard drive - I've run first aid and erased - and reformatted again. The external drive checks show everything with it is A-OK. But I keep getting the Backup Failed error.


Apparently there is an issue with El Capitan and Time Machine but I can't find how to work around as I need to do a backup before I upgrade to Catalina.

Time machine backup failed

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