How long does first time machine backup take?

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How long does first time machine backup take?

I am trying to back up the hard drive of my late 2012 mac mini using an external hard drive set up as "time machine".

The internal drive is a 1TB drive which has about 60 GB left on it, so it is very almost a 1TB back up I am attempting. The external drive is 4 TB partitioned with 2 TB for the time machine.

I did not expect this to be quick but it has been in the "preparing back up" stage for about 18 hours.

Is this a case of being patient or does this level of delay indicate that the time machine back has failed and I need to back up manually?

Many thanks for any help

Mac mini, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 8, 2023 04:24 AM

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Answer 1

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BillyBobGoat Author

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Jan 8, 2023 06:24 AM in response to muguy

Thank you very much Muguy for the helpful reply.

The external disk is a Seagate one which says it can be used for both Mac and PC.

I formatted it for Mac choosing "Mac OS Extended Journaled". As I understand it, this is the formatting to use when you only want to use the external disk with a Mac and not a PC.

I then partitioned the 4TB half and half and I note your comments about partitioning and so perhaps that is what has gone wrong.

I am not in a massive rush and so can wait longer to see if the time machine back up works, but perhaps I am just waiting time and should removed the partition and start again.

Aha. I just refreshed the screen and the status has changed. It is very slowly backing up. It has managed 7 GB of 937 GB so far.

I will let it continue to run, and then perhaps, if it successfully backs up all, I can remove the partition?

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Answer 2

John Galt

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153,586 points

Jan 8, 2023 11:34 AM in response to BillyBobGoat

BillyBobGoat wrote:

Is this a case of being patient or does this level of delay indicate that the time machine back has failed and I need to back up manually?

It's not unusual. I would expect backing up nearly 1 TB to take the better part of a day.

Be advised 2 TB might be just barely enough for continued use.

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Answer 3

BillyBobGoat Author

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Jan 8, 2023 04:54 PM in response to John Galt

Thank you for the help John.

The backup failed about 12 GB's in.

I have taken heed of your and Muguy's input and have removed the partition and I am now attempting a backup to the full 4TB external drive.

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Answer 4

muguy

Level 10

90,068 points

Jan 8, 2023 05:21 AM in response to BillyBobGoat

It can take a long time for the initial backup but 18 hours preparing seems long. Is the external disc formatted as apfs? While you can technically use a partition, it’s generally not recommended. Users on this forum have encountered numerous issues with Time Machine and partitions. It’s also not practical if you’re also backing up the info on the other partition. Just something to think about, especially since storage is cheap.

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How long does first time machine backup take?

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