Backup Options

[bayswater]

What backup methods do you use other the Time Machine. I've TM for a long time, but it seems to be going flaky like other aspects of Mac OS. Now and then I get a pop up saying something like "your Mac hasn't been backed up for 124 days."

So looking into this, I see the backup disk is mounted on the desktop. I can open it in the Finder and can see the backup bundle was modified a few hours ago, or maybe as long ago as yesterday. I can go into Time Machine and restore a file from yesterday. Sometimes, there hasn't been a back for more than a day, but the modified dates and the presence of the files in the backup volume never agrees with the warning message. I can go to the TM menu and tell it to do a backup now, and it does that.

So rather than tell me it hasn't done a backup, why doesn't it just do one? Maybe it can't find the backup volume at some point, and then rather than trying later, it stops working for 124 days, and then gives you a warning? "BTW, I've been dogging it for 4 months..."

So what do you do when TM seems to work, but tells you it doesn't? I don't trust it anymore. Is there a better option?

[HCMarkus]

Bays, you may be seeing warnings from an old TM Drive that is no longer connected. Check the drive description when you see the warnings you describe pop up.

As I've noted here on a number of occasions, I'm backed up three ways:

Working Projects get manually copied (merged) to two internal HDs at the end of every session
TM automatically creates a local backup of everything. I rotate TM drives periodically (and keep one off-site with my daughter.)
Backblaze automatically creates a cloud backup of everything

I have the basic $6/mo Backblaze account... drives must be connected to the studio Mac while running at least once every 30 days to stay backed up. Backblaze offers add-ons that extend the period to one year and indefinitely if so desired. Since getting Backblaze up and running (it took weeks to upload approx 8TB), I sleep better.

I also keep a periodically updated clone of my boot drive on a spare SSD.

[FMiguelez]

So what do you do when TM seems to work, but tells you it doesn't? I don't trust it anymore. Is there a better option?

I like using CCC (Carbon Copy Cloner).

It lets you keep true clones, or you can opt to do them TM style, where nothing gets deleted in the copy but collected. For piece of mind, it also offers an option to have checksums to always have accurate backups (i.e. avoid "bit rust" or errors due to faulty sectors in a disk).

I always try to have at least 2 different backup "methods/brands". TM is my other one, but I've noticed VERY weird things lately too, especially with a backup that hasn't realized I deleted a few folders like 2 years ago, and it still shows them in the latest backup. TM doesn't fill me with confidence anymore

Also, if I understand correctly the way APFS works, all files and their changes get eventually "partitioned" into little bits all over the SSDs... having them "repositioned" in a traditional more linear way in a HD clone gives me (false?) peace of mind (though this maybe totally unfounded on my part), especially since my confidence and love for Apple tech/products diminishes day by day by day.

[bayswater]

Bays, you may be seeing warnings from an old TM Drive that is no longer connected. Check the drive description when you see the warnings you describe pop up.

Thanks. I hadn't thought of that. The most offending Mac is early 2011, so likely it has had other TM volumes define.

I've taken to making 256 bit encrypted DMGs of important folders and storing them on iCloud or other places, and hoping for the best with TM. My main DAW machine has a new 8TB external used for TM and so far that has not generated any errors, but it would be nice to get to the bottom of this before it starts happening there too.

[bayswater]

I like using CCC (Carbon Copy Cloner).
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my confidence and love for Apple tech/products diminishes day by day by day.

I was thinking about CCC. I used to use SuperDuper but the one time I had to restore a large folder, it told me the backup was corrupted. Can you schedule CCC easily?

Yes my confidence is waning too. Apple recently admitted having serious quality control issues, but they still feel the need to go to a new major version of the OS every year, whether we need it or not.

[HCMarkus]

Backblaze storage is encrypted if that is a concern.

[bayswater]

Backblaze storage is encrypted if that is a concern.

Yes, it would be. Thanks.

[mikehalloran]

How are you connected? I do ethernet only these days. Every now and then USB goes to sleep on me.

[bayswater]

Its a wifi connection to a router with an internal drive. The drive shows on the desktop and is always accessible. I use it to save documents I think I might want to access from more than one Mac. Seems to work fine for everything except TM.

And as mentioned, the backups are there, and available to restore. It's just TM reporting that it hasn't done backups that causes the confusion.