Summary
Time Machine Disk Not showing up as a disk to back up. Only my external drives are showing up. The image below should show a 'MacPro' and only the external is showing. I've done the NVram and shutting the computer off and unplugging it. Nothing has worked so far. I followed the instructions in “Can Time Machine back up to an external HD connected to another Mac?” but Time Machine will not present the remote drive as an option. The drive is formatted properly. I have an identical partition to which the MBP does a local Time Machine backup. The drive is shared properly.Time Machine Drive Not Showing Up In Disk Utility
What to do when the time machine is stuck in preparing backup for macOS 10.15 - OS X 10.6? Here we are going to talk about how long Time Machine preparing backup take and how to fix Time Machine stuck issues in macOS Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra or some other Mac versions. Mac Time Machine Backup Disk Not Available
This page unveils the solution to resolve the Time Machine stuck issue and offers a reliable data recovery software to help you bring lost files back with ease. If you are suffering from this issue, follow the provided process to make Time Machine work again:Workable SolutionsStep-by-step TroubleshootingPhrase 1. Check CauseFind the cause of Time Machine stuck: 1. The data size is too big; 2. Drive problem...Full stepsPhrase 2. Fix Time MachineStop failing Time Machine > Remove the .inProgress file > Prevent Spotlight from indexing...Full stepsPhrase 3. Recover Lost DataIf you lost data after fixing the issue, run EaseUS Mac data recovery software to restore lost data...Full steps
Many users have an unpleasant experience of Time Machine stuck in preparing backup in macOS Catalina, Catalina, Mojave, High Sierra or some other Mac versions. Time Machine is a simple and convenient backup tool for mac. Generally, it creates backups automatically - It starts and finishes without your interference. However, in certain cases, this tool can get frozen or stuck.
If Time Machine gets stuck, you shouldn’t feel helpless. The purpose of this article is to explain how to judge if Time Machine stuck in preparing the backup process or not and how to fix the issue.Does Your Time Machine Really Get Stuck
Before you start the process of fixing Time Machine, you’ll need to make sure that something is actually wrong. A number of things can make Time Machine take longer than usual. Generally, the preparing backup process is very quick. But some special situations will force Time Machine to take a long time preparing for a backup to begin.
1. The size of the data is too big.
*You have a really large hard drive to backup. For example, you have to back up terabytes of data.
*You've made major changes or added a number of new files to your drive.
2. There is something wrong with your device.
*The hard drive is very old.
*The device is too slow, you need to speed up the Mac.
*The virus attacked your Mac.
3. Haven't backed up data for a long time.
*It is the very first Time Machine backup or you haven't backed up a Mac in a while, say a few months.
In all the cases mentioned above, the Time Machine backup preparation phase does indeed take a long time. But if the Preparing Backup stage takes 12-24 hours, getting stuck in that stage overnight or all day long with no reason, it's not normal. At most times, it suggests that Time Machine has been stuck at preparing the backup.
If you are one of the victims, this guide should help you fix the problem and get Time Machine working on Mac again.What to Do If Time Machine Is Stuck in the 'Preparing Backup' Process
We’ll go through a multi-step troubleshooting process to resolve the preparing backup problem and get Time Machine working on Mac OS X or macOS again. Before you take any actions, back up Mac as soon as possible.Step 1. Stop the currently failing Time Machine backup attempt
*Open the 'Time Machine' settings panel within System Preferences (get there from the Apple menu or Time Machine menu).
*Click the little (x) icon until the backup attempt stops.
When the progress bar disappears and it no longer says 'preparing backup', it means that you have successfully stopped the currently failed Time Machine backup attempt. Then, you can move to the next step to troubleshooting Time Machine stuck in preparing backup issue.Step 2. Remove the .inProgress File
When Time Machine backup is stopped and stuck, the first thing to do is trash the Time Machine placeholder file, at most times the .inProgress file found on the backup drive.
*Open the Time Machine drive in the Finder and navigate to the 'Backups. backup' folder.
*Open the folder within Backups. backup that is the name of the current Mac which is stuck on preparing.
*Put this directory into 'List View' and sort by 'Date Modified', or just search the folder for a file with a '.inProgress' file extension.
*Delete the 'xxxx-xx-xx-xxxxxx.inProgress' file.Step 3. Prevent Spotlight from Indexing the Time Machine Backup Macos Disk Not Showing Up For Time Machines
Spotlight can interfere with the Time Machine preparation process if it's performing an index of the Time Machine backup volume. You can prevent Spotlight from indexing the Time Machine backup volume by adding it to the Privacy tab of the Spotlight preference pane as follows:
*Launch System Preferences by clicking its Dock icon, or selecting System Preferences from the Apple menu.
*Open the Spotlight preference pane by clicking its icon in the Personal Area of the System Preferences window.
*Click the Privacy tab.Macos Disk Not Showing Up For Time Machine 2017
Either drag-and-drop your Time Machine backup volume to the list of locations that will not be indexed, or use the Add (+) button to browse to your backup folder and add it to the list.Step 4. Reboot Mac and Initiate a Backup Again
Once the .inProgress file is removed, you can reboot your Mac computer with the Time Machine drive connected and turn Time Machine back on to initiate a backup as usual. If this doesn't work, you can use a third-party backup utility - EaseUS Todo Backup for Mac which can back up Mac with just 3 simple steps. Time Machine Does Not Show Up In Disk UtilityBest Data Recovery Software for Mac (Compatible With Catalina)
One of the most depressing challenges for Mac users must be Mac data recovery. Here EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard could do you a favor. No matter whether you lose a single Office file or terabytes of photos, EaseUS Mac data recovery software can help.
*Recover deleted, formatted, and inaccessible data in different data loss situations.
*Recover photos, audio, music, and emails from any storage effectively, safely and completely.
*Recover data from the Trash, hard drive, memory card, flash drive, digital camera, and camcorder.
Step 1. Select the disk location (it can be an internal HDD/SSD or a removable storage device) where you lost data and files. Click the Scan button.
Step 2. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will immediately scan your selected disk volume and display the scanning results on the left pane.
Step 3. In the scan results, select the file(s) and click Recover Now button to have them back.maxmautmacrumors regularSo I'm using an external USB 3.0 enclosure Age Star with 3GB Hitachi disk inside it as my Time Machine storage and as a general storage for music/video files.It was working just fine till this morning. Now, when I connect it, it does not show up in MacOS. The enclosure has two indicators, for when the disk is powered and when it's in use. When I hook it up to any of the macs I own, the 'in use' indicator starts blinking (it does not blink when I hook it up to a windows laptop). Also the sound that the disk is making corresponds to the sound it was making when it was in use.When I try to launch Disk Utility, it get's stuck on 'loading disks' spinner forever. If I disconnect the drive, then launch Disk Utility and connect it back, it does not show up there.I did the PRAM reset with the disk connected, it did not help.I hooked it up to a windows laptop, it did not show up either.I think there's a very high probability it was not disconnected 'properly', probably simply powered off (maybe while in use). What issues could this cause?If it's the drive that is causing issues, what are the chances to restore the information that's on it?
