What is wrong with my laptop? I want Time Machine!

20DDan · Dec 23rd, 2007, 08:59 PM

Well I'm going to throw this out there. Hopefully there is someone who has had a similar experience n can help me resolve it bc I'd REALLY like to get Time Machine up and running properly. I have 56GB to backup on a 250GB Firewire external HD and it usually goes to about 16Gb or so and then the error that you see below in the photo pops up. I'm wondering... if it's a corrupted file on my HD what program can I use to find all the corrupted files on my HD and eliminate them or repair them? If anyone knows programs to do that specific task please help me or if you know how to solve that error. I've already erased my external HD twice and checked it for bad sectors n such and it's all fine so I know it isn't the external thats the problem....

dona83 · Dec 23rd, 2007, 09:55 PM

Um... how large is the hard drive you're trying to back up?

sergeg1 · Dec 23rd, 2007, 10:18 PM

I went through this exact same thing a month ago, which is in a thread in the Troubleshooting forum somewhere.

Basically, your internal HD needs to be defragmented. I know I know... Macs are not supposed to need it, but Leo doesn't do a good job of it.

TM is very finicky and too much fragmentation gives it the willies.

Find software (however you do it) that defragments on Mac, run it, and run TM again. This cured my TM.

Cheers

jamesB · Dec 23rd, 2007, 10:38 PM

If in fact this deal with fragmentation is the problem, and there is some evidence that points that way, here is what I would do.
I'd Partition and format my external drive, (the one destined for Time Machine), making sure to use the GUID partition table.
Then I'd use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone my operating system drive to this external drive.
Next, boot from the newly created external system, and repartition and format the internal drive, followed by a system restore using Carbon Copy cloner again.
This will result in a nice defragmented drive, which should solve the aformentioned Time Machine problem.

jb.

20DDan · Dec 24th, 2007, 12:16 AM

wow... that sounds like a HUGe amount of work... n I don't have a full-version copy of carbon copy cloner... n I'd rather not go the illegal route of getting it. Anyone know of a good Leopard Disk Defragmenter? Does the new release of OnyX do it with the "system optimization" oh... and has anyone managed to install it properly? I cant find mine after I installed it. Sorry for the million questions everyone. Happy Holidays to everyone who passes by this

jamesB · Dec 24th, 2007, 01:37 AM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by 7gabriel5elpher
	wow... that sounds like a HUGe amount of work... n I don't have a full-version copy of carbon copy cloner... n I'd rather not go the illegal route of getting it. Anyone know of a good Leopard Disk Defragmenter? Does the new release of OnyX do it with the "system optimization" oh... and has anyone managed to install it properly? I cant find mine after I installed it. Sorry for the million questions everyone. Happy Holidays to everyone who passes by this

It's pretty hard to get an "illegal" full version copy of Carbon Copy, being as it is free to all.
And my earlier suggestion is the fastest, most secure, and will give you the best defragmented drive in the end.
jb.

eMacMan · Dec 24th, 2007, 01:54 AM

Download CCC at:
Bombich.com: Mac OS X Deployment and Management Solutions

I still use Super Duper but it has not caught up to Leopard as yet. CCC should be straight forward. If you get into it and are confused don't hesitate to post and ask for a bit more guidance. Cloning time will depend on how big your total system is. How fast your drives (internal & external) are and the connection method (USB2 FireWire 400 or FireWire 800). Fire Wire will generally be noticeably faster than USB.

As mentioned before Carbon Copy Cloner is Free.

chas_m · Dec 24th, 2007, 03:12 AM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by 7gabriel5elpher
	wow... that sounds like a HUGe amount of work...

It only SOUNDS like a huge amount of work. It's not really.

1. Use CCC to clone your current HD. This will take a while, but it just runs in the background.

2. Reboot from the clone to make sure it's all good.

3. Erase the main HD while booted from the clone.

4. Use CCC to clone back FROM the clone TO the main HD.

5. Reboot and enjoy new defragmented drive!

The only part you even need to be around for is the beginning of step one, steps 2 and 3, the beginning of step 4 and step 5. Won't take but a couple of hours unless you really have a LOT of stuff on your HD.

PS. If CCC has any problems with cloning your drive, check out the LOG. That will probably tell you what the problem file (if there is one) is. Come to think of it, Time Machine's log may tell you as well!

	Quote:
	Anyone know of a good Leopard Disk Defragmenter?

There are a couple of products that claim to do this, but I wouldn't trust anything other than the method outlined above. I don't think any of the commercial products are Leopard-ready yet anyway.

	Quote:
	Does the new release of OnyX do it with the "system optimization" oh... and has anyone managed to install it properly? I cant find mine after I installed it.

1. No.
2. Yes, I have installed it and it seems to work great.
3. It SHOULD be in Applications, but I manually move mine to Utilities.

20DDan · Dec 24th, 2007, 02:42 PM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by chas_m
	It only SOUNDS like a huge amount of work. It's not really. 1. Use CCC to clone your current HD. This will take a while, but it just runs in the background. 2. Reboot from the clone to make sure it's all good. 3. Erase the main HD while booted from the clone. 4. Use CCC to clone back FROM the clone TO the main HD. 5. Reboot and enjoy new defragmented drive! The only part you even need to be around for is the beginning of step one, steps 2 and 3, the beginning of step 4 and step 5. Won't take but a couple of hours unless you really have a LOT of stuff on your HD. PS. If CCC has any problems with cloning your drive, check out the LOG. That will probably tell you what the problem file (if there is one) is. Come to think of it, Time Machine's log may tell you as well! There are a couple of products that claim to do this, but I wouldn't trust anything other than the method outlined above. I don't think any of the commercial products are Leopard-ready yet anyway. 1. No. 2. Yes, I have installed it and it seems to work great. 3. It SHOULD be in Applications, but I manually move mine to Utilities.

Ya your right... it just sounded like a bunch of work but it was easy... n boy am I happy that Carbon Copy Cloner is FREE =) Aparently a few RAW files in my iPhoto Library were Corrupt and that's why I've been having trouble copying things into Time Machine. Now on to phase 2 to re-copy my HD to the laptop. Oh and as for the OnyX.... I've installed it several times and I can't seem to locate the new Leopard version on my HD anywhere! It's odd... can anyone just send me the package file of the program?

btw...chas_m I enjoyed your blog posting about what you think of us Canadians... "ridiculously friendly" :P thats too funny! Things are very different over here in Ontario... I still haven't gone to visit BC... someday...

chas_m · Dec 24th, 2007, 04:07 PM

Thanks, glad we could help. Cheers.