Something is locked and blocking my time machine backup

Hello,


I found an answer to this question from 2023 but it is now closed. And, I have a follow-up question regarding the resolution the problem. First, here is what's happening:


Only in the last couple of days has this error been showing up and I have had my computer set to require a password to wake it up, well for forever, really. And, I recently updated every Apple device I have to its new OS.


I, too, am having issues with Time Machine unable to finishing backups overnight while computer is locked from not being in use after one hour. I only see the error in morning when I first wake it up. note that the backups do complete while I am actively using the computer and it's awake.



The solution given in the previous post from 2023 titled 'Locked files block my time machine backup' was as follows:

"It says some files were unavailable. That could happen for many different reasons, but that message did not specify why.


It says the backup will resume when your Mac is unlocked.


To me, this implies your Mac automatically Locked itself, and refused to transfer any more files.


That could happen if your Mac went to sleep or you have screen locking and password required in:


system preferences > Security & Privacy > General ...

[√] require password after sleep or nnn minutes after screensaver begins.


There may be other more obscure reasons as well."


I have followed the directions to remove a required password to wake the computer, but I really would prefer not to do that. I have also looked what has Full Disk Access and Files and Folders access in Privacy & Security, but I am not sure what I need to grant the access to, as you can't specify Time Machine.


What are the other possibilities for this happening and how can I resolve them?


I greatly appreciate your help and have a great day!


Lisa Atlanta


Mac mini

Posted on Sep 30, 2024 6:48 AM

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Question marked as ⚠️ Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 17, 2024 3:20 PM

Had the exact same issue. No need to go in Terminal to resolve this issue. In System Settings, go to Privacy & Security and next in Full Disk Access. Add Time Machine and give it full access. Just did my first backup with no issue and no error message. Spent 1 hour on the phone with Apple and they didn't know this... Hope this helps!

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Mar 24, 2025 3:27 PM in response to jwhitt

If the result is long then there are several files you need to exclude, the file paths are all mentioned in the result, if you are not IT savvy enough to see the file paths and then exclude them using the command I mentioned before then I can't really help you further unless you post the result, I was able to post my result.

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Mar 24, 2025 7:30 PM in response to jwhitt

You need to run these three commands separately then try back up again:

 

tmutil addexclusion ~/Library/Daemon Containers/E8568DA5-629C-42D6-A799-93E78C67C0B1/Data/com.apple.milod/milo.db-wal


tmutil addexclusion ~/Library/Daemon Containers/E8568DA5-629C-42D6-A799-93E78C67C0B1/Data/com.apple.milod/milo.db-shm


tmutil addexclusion ~/Library/Daemon Containers/E8568DA5-629C-42D6-A799-93E78C67C0B1/Data/com.apple.milod/milo.db

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Apr 14, 2025 5:44 PM in response to lisaroser

Found this post while troubleshooting this same issue. This is on a brand new Mac Mini M4 Pro running Sequoia 15.4. I tried allowing full disk access to Time Machine and that appeared to work, however, just today, I got the error again, twice.


This is crazy. I have multiple Time Machine drives and have backed up TB of data over the years without issue. There has to be a real fix for this from Apple at this point. Why would this even be a thing?

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Something is locked and blocking my time machine backup

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