Time Machine backup is taking too long

Bs325 wrote:

I’m backup my MacBook Pro with Time machine and the bar is continuously blue and it says Preparing backup. It’s been like this for an hour and nothing is happening. I have Back up Automatically box checked.

what can I do to get backup completed?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

If a Time Machine backup takes longer than you expect

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204412

If this backup is beginning for first time, or after lengthy lack of backups

the duration of time required may be much longer. Depending on how

much has changed, since last backup with Time Machine was done.

And an all new backup to external USB or other attached drive, can

be hours before it's done. With a portable Mac, an occasional backup

and not connected full-time via Time Machine to a local storage drive

makes for lengthy extra times.

I've two portables and one desktop Mac, each with their own external

USB connected backup drive for Time Machine usage. And have other

backups on different drives; such as Clones. Be sure connecting USB

and disconnection, is correctly done. Otherwise the drive may fail.

Perhaps 'too long' was the duration between backup intervals?

If you have another suitable USB drive to use, a spare, that may

be time to consider a new (better?) backup Time Machine idea.