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My MacBook Pro can "see" that My Passport is connected to it, but when I try to back up with Time Machine onto My Passport, I get a window saying "Backup Disk Not Available"! My last backup to My Passport was on November 21, 2021 and it worked just fine. NOTE: the disk is not full
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.14
If you can't back up or restore your Mac using Time Machine - Apple Support is the place to start, but I have one additional suggestion to try before you proceed with it.
First, select Open Time Machine Preferences from the Time Machine menu bar icon, select Add or Remove Backup Disk... Then select that backup, select Remove Disk, then Stop Using This Disk.
Then, select Add or Remove Backup Disk... again, select the disk you just removed, select Encrypt (assuming you have been encrypting your TM backups), then Use Existing Backup.
At your option select Back Up Now from the TM menu icon. Otherwise just wait for the next scheduled backup. That backup will remain in the "Preparing..." stage for a very long time as TM traverses the disk's previous backup history, but subsequent backups will take the usual amount of time.
None of the above will alter your existing backup history in any way, but it might result in convincing TM to resume using it.
If that doesn't work then proceed with Apple's Support document instructions above. Just be aware that disk may have been operating in a state of failure, so you should consider getting an additional one at your earliest opportunity. One and only one backup does not comprise an effective backup strategy anyway.
If you can't back up or restore your Mac using Time Machine - Apple Support is the place to start, but I have one additional suggestion to try before you proceed with it.
First, select Open Time Machine Preferences from the Time Machine menu bar icon, select Add or Remove Backup Disk... Then select that backup, select Remove Disk, then Stop Using This Disk.
Then, select Add or Remove Backup Disk... again, select the disk you just removed, select Encrypt (assuming you have been encrypting your TM backups), then Use Existing Backup.
At your option select Back Up Now from the TM menu icon. Otherwise just wait for the next scheduled backup. That backup will remain in the "Preparing..." stage for a very long time as TM traverses the disk's previous backup history, but subsequent backups will take the usual amount of time.
None of the above will alter your existing backup history in any way, but it might result in convincing TM to resume using it.
If that doesn't work then proceed with Apple's Support document instructions above. Just be aware that disk may have been operating in a state of failure, so you should consider getting an additional one at your earliest opportunity. One and only one backup does not comprise an effective backup strategy anyway.
help! y MacBook "sees" my MY PASSPORT disk, but says the disk is ot available when I try to back up Time Machine. Why?
