So, I have my Macbook using TimeMachine to a Synology DS418.
At Christmas as I was away I shut down the Mac (M1 MacBook Pro) - and
everything else - until my return on the 28th.
I noticed only on Wednesday that it said no backups since December 19th...
This was an outright lie s when I entered TimeMachine I could see that there
was one dated the 8th of January - no others since the 19th though.
Since then it sticks on preparing backup and gets no further...

Any thoughts?

My initial thought was that the NAS has a different address - which was true
and which I rectified but it's weird that it did a single backup on the 8th...

Anyway, it's been preparing since yesterday evening, seems to try for about 20
minutes or so then stop and schedule a backup for about an hours time...

It also says, "waiting to complete first backup"

Thanks,

David Kennedy

On 14 Jan 2022, David Kennedy wrote
(in article<J5-dnSt4x4qu-3z8nZ2dnUU7-VXNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>):

> So, I have my Macbook using TimeMachine to a Synology DS418.
> At Christmas as I was away I shut down the Mac (M1 MacBook Pro) - and
> everything else - until my return on the 28th.
> I noticed only on Wednesday that it said no backups since December 19th...
> This was an outright lie s when I entered TimeMachine I could see that there
> was one dated the 8th of January - no others since the 19th though.
> Since then it sticks on preparing backup and gets no further...
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> My initial thought was that the NAS has a different address - which was true
> and which I rectified but it's weird that it did a single backup on the 8th...
>
> Anyway, it's been preparing since yesterday evening, seems to try for about 20
> minutes or so then stop and schedule a backup for about an hours time...
>
> It also says, "waiting to complete first backup"

Same. Time Machine has been useless to me since Big Sur - cannot get it to
complete a single backup.

Cheers,
Ian

On 14/01/2022 12:14, Ian McCall wrote:
> On 14 Jan 2022, David Kennedy wrote
> (in article<J5-dnSt4x4qu-3z8nZ2dnUU7-VXNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>):
>
>> So, I have my Macbook using TimeMachine to a Synology DS418.
>> At Christmas as I was away I shut down the Mac (M1 MacBook Pro) - and
>> everything else - until my return on the 28th.
>> I noticed only on Wednesday that it said no backups since December 19th...
>> This was an outright lie s when I entered TimeMachine I could see that there
>> was one dated the 8th of January - no others since the 19th though.
>> Since then it sticks on preparing backup and gets no further...
>>
>> Any thoughts?
>>
>> My initial thought was that the NAS has a different address - which was true
>> and which I rectified but it's weird that it did a single backup on the 8th...
>>
>> Anyway, it's been preparing since yesterday evening, seems to try for about 20
>> minutes or so then stop and schedule a backup for about an hours time...
>>
>> It also says, "waiting to complete first backup"
>
> Same. Time Machine has been useless to me since Big Sur - cannot get it to
> complete a single backup.
>
> Cheers,
> Ian

I'm using macOS Monterey 12.1 and my TimeMachine is working just fine!

Proof? https://ibb.co/PG13NMr

Do you know how to start your computer in Safe Boot mode?

I suggest that that is what you should do and then restart normally.

Help available here:- https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201262

--
Kind regards,
David B.

David Brooks <David@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> On 14/01/2022 12:14, Ian McCall wrote:
>> On 14 Jan 2022, David Kennedy wrote
>> (in article<J5-dnSt4x4qu-3z8nZ2dnUU7-VXNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>):
>>
>>> So, I have my Macbook using TimeMachine to a Synology DS418.
>>> At Christmas as I was away I shut down the Mac (M1 MacBook Pro) - and
>>> everything else - until my return on the 28th.
>>> I noticed only on Wednesday that it said no backups since December 19th...
>>> This was an outright lie s when I entered TimeMachine I could see that there
>>> was one dated the 8th of January - no others since the 19th though.
>>> Since then it sticks on preparing backup and gets no further...
>>>
>>> Any thoughts?
>>>
>>> My initial thought was that the NAS has a different address - which was true
>>> and which I rectified but it's weird that it did a single backup on the 8th...
>>>
>>> Anyway, it's been preparing since yesterday evening, seems to try for about 20
>>> minutes or so then stop and schedule a backup for about an hours time...
>>>
>>> It also says, "waiting to complete first backup"
>>
>> Same. Time Machine has been useless to me since Big Sur - cannot get it to
>> complete a single backup.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Ian
>
>
> I'm using macOS Monterey 12.1 and my TimeMachine is working just fine!

Same here with Big Sur.

> Proof? https://ibb.co/PG13NMr
>
> Do you know how to start your computer in Safe Boot mode?
>
> I suggest that that is what you should do and then restart normally.
>
> Help available here:- https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201262
>

On 2022-01-14, Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> wrote:
> On 14 Jan 2022, David Kennedy wrote
> (in article<J5-dnSt4x4qu-3z8nZ2dnUU7-VXNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>):
>
>> So, I have my Macbook using TimeMachine to a Synology DS418.
>> At Christmas as I was away I shut down the Mac (M1 MacBook Pro) - and
>> everything else - until my return on the 28th.
>> I noticed only on Wednesday that it said no backups since December 19th...
>> This was an outright lie s when I entered TimeMachine I could see that there
>> was one dated the 8th of January - no others since the 19th though.
>> Since then it sticks on preparing backup and gets no further...
>>
>> Any thoughts?
>>
>> My initial thought was that the NAS has a different address - which was true
>> and which I rectified but it's weird that it did a single backup on the 8th...
>>
>> Anyway, it's been preparing since yesterday evening, seems to try for about 20
>> minutes or so then stop and schedule a backup for about an hours time...
>>
>> It also says, "waiting to complete first backup"
>
> Same. Time Machine has been useless to me since Big Sur - cannot get it to
> complete a single backup.

This is all very odd. No problems here with TM. However I did create new TM backups when I upgraded to BS and then Monterey as the backup media needs (or at least prefers) to be on APFS formatted volumes.

--
Cheers, Alan

On 14 Jan 2022, Alan B wrote
(in article<srrrre$jbf$1@alanrichardbarker.eternal-september.org>):

> On 2022-01-14, Ian McCall<ian@eruvia.org> wrote:
> > On 14 Jan 2022, David Kennedy wrote
> > (in article<J5-dnSt4x4qu-3z8nZ2dnUU7-VXNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>):
> >
> > > So, I have my Macbook using TimeMachine to a Synology DS418.
> > > At Christmas as I was away I shut down the Mac (M1 MacBook Pro) - and
> > > everything else - until my return on the 28th.
> > > I noticed only on Wednesday that it said no backups since December 19th...
> > > This was an outright lie s when I entered TimeMachine I could see that
> > > there
> > > was one dated the 8th of January - no others since the 19th though.
> > > Since then it sticks on preparing backup and gets no further...
> > >
> > > Any thoughts?
> > >
> > > My initial thought was that the NAS has a different address - which was
> > > true
> > > and which I rectified but it's weird that it did a single backup on the
> > > 8th...
> > >
> > > Anyway, it's been preparing since yesterday evening, seems to try for
> > > about 20
> > > minutes or so then stop and schedule a backup for about an hours time...
> > >
> > > It also says, "waiting to complete first backup"
> >
> > Same. Time Machine has been useless to me since Big Sur - cannot get it to
> > complete a single backup.
>
> This is all very odd. No problems here with TM. However I did create new TM
> backups when I upgraded to BS and then Monterey as the backup media needs (or
> at least prefers) to be on APFS formatted volumes.

Using NAS as the target? What seems to be in common to me is both of us are
trying to back up to a Synology NAS.

Cheers,
Ian

On 2022-01-14, Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> wrote:
> On 14 Jan 2022, Alan B wrote
> (in article<srrrre$jbf$1@alanrichardbarker.eternal-september.org>):
>
>> On 2022-01-14, Ian McCall<ian@eruvia.org> wrote:
>> > On 14 Jan 2022, David Kennedy wrote
>> > (in article<J5-dnSt4x4qu-3z8nZ2dnUU7-VXNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>):
>> >
>> > > So, I have my Macbook using TimeMachine to a Synology DS418.
>> > > At Christmas as I was away I shut down the Mac (M1 MacBook Pro) - and
>> > > everything else - until my return on the 28th.
>> > > I noticed only on Wednesday that it said no backups since December 19th...
>> > > This was an outright lie s when I entered TimeMachine I could see that
>> > > there
>> > > was one dated the 8th of January - no others since the 19th though.
>> > > Since then it sticks on preparing backup and gets no further...
>> > >
>> > > Any thoughts?
>> > >
>> > > My initial thought was that the NAS has a different address - which was
>> > > true
>> > > and which I rectified but it's weird that it did a single backup on the
>> > > 8th...
>> > >
>> > > Anyway, it's been preparing since yesterday evening, seems to try for
>> > > about 20
>> > > minutes or so then stop and schedule a backup for about an hours time...
>> > >
>> > > It also says, "waiting to complete first backup"
>> >
>> > Same. Time Machine has been useless to me since Big Sur - cannot get it to
>> > complete a single backup.
>>
>> This is all very odd. No problems here with TM. However I did create new TM
>> backups when I upgraded to BS and then Monterey as the backup media needs (or
>> at least prefers) to be on APFS formatted volumes.
>
> Using NAS as the target? What seems to be in common to me is both of us are
> trying to back up to a Synology NAS.

Looks like you need to rattle Synology's cages then!

--
Cheers, Alan

On 14 Jan 2022, Ian McCall wrote
(in article<0001HW.2791AB23002EA22F70000CAD938F@news.individual.net>):

> Using NAS as the target? What seems to be in common to me is both of us are
> trying to back up to a Synology NAS.

Actually, that prompted me to have a look. There’s some fairly in-depth
ideas here:
<https://community.synology.com/enu/forum/1/post/134047>

May take a look later, though some of it will be quite drastic. Changing my
Synology from Ext4 to btrfs was -not- on my list of happy weekend tasks, for
instance.

Cheers,
Ian

On 14/01/2022 13:03, Ian McCall wrote:
> On 14 Jan 2022, Ian McCall wrote
> (in article<0001HW.2791AB23002EA22F70000CAD938F@news.individual.net>):
>
>> Using NAS as the target? What seems to be in common to me is both of us are
>> trying to back up to a Synology NAS.
>
> Actually, that prompted me to have a look. There’s some fairly in-depth
> ideas here:
> <https://community.synology.com/enu/forum/1/post/134047>
>
> May take a look later, though some of it will be quite drastic. Changing my
> Synology from Ext4 to btrfs was -not- on my list of happy weekend tasks, for
> instance.
>
> Cheers,
> Ian
>
>
Just ordered a new disc...

I'll have a fiddle at the weekend.

On 14/01/2022 12:55, Alan B wrote:
> On 2022-01-14, Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> wrote:
>> On 14 Jan 2022, David Kennedy wrote
>> (in article<J5-dnSt4x4qu-3z8nZ2dnUU7-VXNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>):
>>
>>> So, I have my Macbook using TimeMachine to a Synology DS418.
>>> At Christmas as I was away I shut down the Mac (M1 MacBook Pro) - and
>>> everything else - until my return on the 28th.
>>> I noticed only on Wednesday that it said no backups since December 19th...
>>> This was an outright lie s when I entered TimeMachine I could see that there
>>> was one dated the 8th of January - no others since the 19th though.
>>> Since then it sticks on preparing backup and gets no further...
>>>
>>> Any thoughts?
>>>
>>> My initial thought was that the NAS has a different address - which was true
>>> and which I rectified but it's weird that it did a single backup on the 8th...
>>>
>>> Anyway, it's been preparing since yesterday evening, seems to try for about 20
>>> minutes or so then stop and schedule a backup for about an hours time...
>>>
>>> It also says, "waiting to complete first backup"
>>
>> Same. Time Machine has been useless to me since Big Sur - cannot get it to
>> complete a single backup.
>
> This is all very odd. No problems here with TM. However I did create new TM backups when I upgraded to BS and then Monterey as the backup media needs (or at least prefers) to be on APFS formatted volumes.

Have you and/or other folk here, TESTED to make sure your TimeMachine
back-up will actually work in anger, as it were?

It does take a while, but gives one peace of mind! :-)

--
Kind regards,
David B.

David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 14/01/2022 13:03, Ian McCall wrote:
>> On 14 Jan 2022, Ian McCall wrote
>> (in article<0001HW.2791AB23002EA22F70000CAD938F@news.individual.net>):
>>
>>> Using NAS as the target? What seems to be in common to me is both of us are
>>> trying to back up to a Synology NAS.
>>
>> Actually, that prompted me to have a look. There’s some fairly in-depth
>> ideas here:
>> <https://community.synology.com/enu/forum/1/post/134047>
>>
>> May take a look later, though some of it will be quite drastic. Changing my
>> Synology from Ext4 to btrfs was -not- on my list of happy weekend tasks, for
>> instance.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Ian
>>
>>
> Just ordered a new disc...
>
> I'll have a fiddle at the

Presumably you want to rule out having a dodgy disk or NAS by creating a
new backup leaving the original intact?

--
Cheers, Alan

On 14 Jan 2022 at 13:03:34 GMT, "Ian McCall" <ian@eruvia.org> wrote:

> On 14 Jan 2022, Ian McCall wrote
> (in article<0001HW.2791AB23002EA22F70000CAD938F@news.individual.net>):
>
>> Using NAS as the target? What seems to be in common to me is both of us are
>> trying to back up to a Synology NAS.
>
> Actually, that prompted me to have a look. There’s some fairly in-depth
> ideas here:
> <https://community.synology.com/enu/forum/1/post/134047>
>
> May take a look later, though some of it will be quite drastic. Changing my
> Synology from Ext4 to btrfs was -not- on my list of happy weekend tasks, for
> instance.

I'm just glad I have a second means of backup in Carbon Copy Cloner :-)

--
Cheers, Alan

On 14/01/2022 13:46, Alan B wrote:
> David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 14/01/2022 13:03, Ian McCall wrote:
>>> On 14 Jan 2022, Ian McCall wrote
>>> (in article<0001HW.2791AB23002EA22F70000CAD938F@news.individual.net>):
>>>
>>>> Using NAS as the target? What seems to be in common to me is both of us are
>>>> trying to back up to a Synology NAS.
>>>
>>> Actually, that prompted me to have a look. There’s some fairly in-depth
>>> ideas here:
>>> <https://community.synology.com/enu/forum/1/post/134047>
>>>
>>> May take a look later, though some of it will be quite drastic. Changing my
>>> Synology from Ext4 to btrfs was -not- on my list of happy weekend tasks, for
>>> instance.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Ian
>>>
>>>
>> Just ordered a new disc...
>>
>> I'll have a fiddle at the
>
> Presumably you want to rule out having a dodgy disk or NAS by creating a
> new backup leaving the original intact?
>
I'm only using 3 bays at the moment so getting the fourth disc will kill two
birds etc.

I can check things and get the 418 up to full strength.

Alan B <alanrichardbarker@nospamgmail.com.here> writes:

> On 2022-01-14, Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> wrote:
>> On 14 Jan 2022, Alan B wrote
>> (in article<srrrre$jbf$1@alanrichardbarker.eternal-september.org>):
>>
>>> On 2022-01-14, Ian McCall<ian@eruvia.org> wrote:
>>> > On 14 Jan 2022, David Kennedy wrote
>>> > (in article<J5-dnSt4x4qu-3z8nZ2dnUU7-VXNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>):
>>> >
>>> > > So, I have my Macbook using TimeMachine to a Synology DS418.
>>> > > At Christmas as I was away I shut down the Mac (M1 MacBook Pro) - and
>>> > > everything else - until my return on the 28th.
>>> > > I noticed only on Wednesday that it said no backups since
>>> > > December 19th...
>>> > > This was an outright lie s when I entered TimeMachine I could see that
>>> > > there
>>> > > was one dated the 8th of January - no others since the 19th though.
>>> > > Since then it sticks on preparing backup and gets no further...
>>> > >
>>> > > Any thoughts?
>>> > >
>>> > > My initial thought was that the NAS has a different address - which was
>>> > > true
>>> > > and which I rectified but it's weird that it did a single backup on the
>>> > > 8th...
>>> > >
>>> > > Anyway, it's been preparing since yesterday evening, seems to try for
>>> > > about 20
>>> > > minutes or so then stop and schedule a backup for about an hours time...
>>> > >
>>> > > It also says, "waiting to complete first backup"
>>> >
>>> > Same. Time Machine has been useless to me since Big Sur - cannot get it to
>>> > complete a single backup.
>>>
>>> This is all very odd. No problems here with TM. However I did create new TM
>>> backups when I upgraded to BS and then Monterey as the backup media needs (or
>>> at least prefers) to be on APFS formatted volumes.
>>
>> Using NAS as the target? What seems to be in common to me is both of us are
>> trying to back up to a Synology NAS.
>
> Looks like you need to rattle Synology's cages then!

Although I would not hold out much hope. I used Netgear NAS and Time Machine would often think that there was no existing backups. I just don't think TM works reliably with NAS (or perhaps sparse bundles) . It seems OK with external disks up to and including Monterey.

Although with my new M1 mini CCC is my main backup now and TM is now just used for documents to keep a longer history and ignore Applications etc. CCC just works, provides logs and its developer gives explanations of what it does.

--
Mark

On 14/01/2022 17:23, Mark Bestley wrote:
> Alan B <alanrichardbarker@nospamgmail.com.here> writes:
>
>> On 2022-01-14, Ian McCall <ian@eruvia.org> wrote:
>>> On 14 Jan 2022, Alan B wrote
>>> (in article<srrrre$jbf$1@alanrichardbarker.eternal-september.org>):
>>>
>>>> On 2022-01-14, Ian McCall<ian@eruvia.org> wrote:
>>>>> On 14 Jan 2022, David Kennedy wrote
>>>>> (in article<J5-dnSt4x4qu-3z8nZ2dnUU7-VXNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>):
>>>>>
>>>>>> So, I have my Macbook using TimeMachine to a Synology DS418.
>>>>>> At Christmas as I was away I shut down the Mac (M1 MacBook Pro) - and
>>>>>> everything else - until my return on the 28th.
>>>>>> I noticed only on Wednesday that it said no backups since
>>>>>> December 19th...
>>>>>> This was an outright lie s when I entered TimeMachine I could see that
>>>>>> there
>>>>>> was one dated the 8th of January - no others since the 19th though.
>>>>>> Since then it sticks on preparing backup and gets no further...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Any thoughts?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> My initial thought was that the NAS has a different address - which was
>>>>>> true
>>>>>> and which I rectified but it's weird that it did a single backup on the
>>>>>> 8th...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Anyway, it's been preparing since yesterday evening, seems to try for
>>>>>> about 20
>>>>>> minutes or so then stop and schedule a backup for about an hours time...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It also says, "waiting to complete first backup"
>>>>>
>>>>> Same. Time Machine has been useless to me since Big Sur - cannot get it to
>>>>> complete a single backup.
>>>>
>>>> This is all very odd. No problems here with TM. However I did create new TM
>>>> backups when I upgraded to BS and then Monterey as the backup media needs (or
>>>> at least prefers) to be on APFS formatted volumes.
>>>
>>> Using NAS as the target? What seems to be in common to me is both of us are
>>> trying to back up to a Synology NAS.
>>
>> Looks like you need to rattle Synology's cages then!
>
> Although I would not hold out much hope. I used Netgear NAS and Time Machine would often think that there was no existing backups. I just don't think TM works reliably with NAS (or perhaps sparse bundles) . It seems OK with external disks up to and including Monterey.
>
Its worked fine for the past 4 years...

> Although with my new M1 mini CCC is my main backup now and TM is now just used for documents to keep a longer history and ignore Applications etc. CCC just works, provides logs and its developer gives explanations of what it does.
>
TimeMachine does the job normally. I don't have to remember or intervene in
any way.

On 14/01/2022 14:08, David Kennedy wrote:
> On 14/01/2022 13:46, Alan B wrote:
>> David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 14/01/2022 13:03, Ian McCall wrote:
>>>> On 14 Jan 2022, Ian McCall wrote
>>>> (in article<0001HW.2791AB23002EA22F70000CAD938F@news.individual.net>):
>>>>
>>>>> Using NAS as the target? What seems to be in common to me is both of us are
>>>>> trying to back up to a Synology NAS.
>>>>
>>>> Actually, that prompted me to have a look. There’s some fairly in-depth
>>>> ideas here:
>>>> <https://community.synology.com/enu/forum/1/post/134047>
>>>>
>>>> May take a look later, though some of it will be quite drastic. Changing my
>>>> Synology from Ext4 to btrfs was -not- on my list of happy weekend tasks, for
>>>> instance.
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Ian
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Just ordered a new disc...
>>>
>>> I'll have a fiddle at the
>>
>> Presumably you want to rule out having a dodgy disk or NAS by creating a
>> new backup leaving the original intact?
>>
> I'm only using 3 bays at the moment so getting the fourth disc will kill two
> birds etc.
>
> I can check things and get the 418 up to full strength.

So, disc arrived and fitted and TimeMachine sets off with no apparent problems
backing up...

I'm at a loss to explain what the problem was so I'll try to revert to the
original disc and see if that now works.

Nope. Still faffs around preparing. My thought is that because the original
has old TM backups it has somehow become disconnected/disassociated with these
and got itself confused?

I'll pair the two discs and start fresh.

On 18/01/2022 11:22, David Kennedy wrote:
> On 14/01/2022 14:08, David Kennedy wrote:
>> On 14/01/2022 13:46, Alan B wrote:
>>> David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On 14/01/2022 13:03, Ian McCall wrote:
>>>>> On 14 Jan 2022, Ian McCall wrote
>>>>> (in article<0001HW.2791AB23002EA22F70000CAD938F@news.individual.net>):
>>>>>
>>>>>> Using NAS as the target? What seems to be in common to me is both of us are
>>>>>> trying to back up to a Synology NAS.
>>>>>
>>>>> Actually, that prompted me to have a look. There’s some fairly in-depth
>>>>> ideas here:
>>>>> <https://community.synology.com/enu/forum/1/post/134047>
>>>>>
>>>>> May take a look later, though some of it will be quite drastic. Changing my
>>>>> Synology from Ext4 to btrfs was -not- on my list of happy weekend tasks, for
>>>>> instance.
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>> Ian
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> Just ordered a new disc...
>>>>
>>>> I'll have a fiddle at the
>>>
>>> Presumably you want to rule out having a dodgy disk or NAS by creating a
>>> new backup leaving the original intact?
>>>
>> I'm only using 3 bays at the moment so getting the fourth disc will kill two
>> birds etc.
>>
>> I can check things and get the 418 up to full strength.
>
> So, disc arrived and fitted and TimeMachine sets off with no apparent problems
> backing up...
>
> I'm at a loss to explain what the problem was so I'll try to revert to the
> original disc and see if that now works.
>
> Nope. Still faffs around preparing. My thought is that because the original
> has old TM backups it has somehow become disconnected/disassociated with these
> and got itself confused?
>
> I'll pair the two discs and start fresh.

Paired the two and off it went, just as if nothing had happened...

On 18/01/2022 12:37, David Kennedy wrote:
> On 18/01/2022 11:22, David Kennedy wrote:
>> On 14/01/2022 14:08, David Kennedy wrote:
>>> On 14/01/2022 13:46, Alan B wrote:
>>>> David Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> On 14/01/2022 13:03, Ian McCall wrote:
>>>>>> On 14 Jan 2022, Ian McCall wrote
>>>>>> (in article<0001HW.2791AB23002EA22F70000CAD938F@news.individual.net>):
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Using NAS as the target? What seems to be in common to me is both of us
>>>>>>> are
>>>>>>> trying to back up to a Synology NAS.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Actually, that prompted me to have a look. There’s some fairly in-depth
>>>>>> ideas here:
>>>>>> <https://community.synology.com/enu/forum/1/post/134047>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> May take a look later, though some of it will be quite drastic. Changing my
>>>>>> Synology from Ext4 to btrfs was -not- on my list of happy weekend tasks,
>>>>>> for
>>>>>> instance.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Cheers,
>>>>>> Ian
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>> Just ordered a new disc...
>>>>>
>>>>> I'll have a fiddle at the
>>>>
>>>> Presumably you want to rule out having a dodgy disk or NAS by creating a
>>>> new backup leaving the original intact?
>>>>
>>> I'm only using 3 bays at the moment so getting the fourth disc will kill
>>> two birds etc.
>>>
>>> I can check things and get the 418 up to full strength.
>>
>> So, disc arrived and fitted and TimeMachine sets off with no apparent
>> problems backing up...
>>
>> I'm at a loss to explain what the problem was so I'll try to revert to the
>> original disc and see if that now works.
>>
>> Nope. Still faffs around preparing. My thought is that because the original
>> has old TM backups it has somehow become disconnected/disassociated with
>> these and got itself confused?
>>
>> I'll pair the two discs and start fresh.
>
> Paired the two and off it went, just as if nothing had happened...

For 5 days...

Then, on the 23rd it failed again.

And it seems reluctant to pair up again.
if I start a fresh backup there's no problem but it won't do increments after
the point of failure.

Any thoughts?

On 28/01/2022 07:36, David Kennedy wrote:
> On 18/01/2022 12:37, David Kennedy wrote:
>>> I'll pair the two discs and start fresh.
>>
>> Paired the two and off it went, just as if nothing had happened...
>
> For 5 days...
>
> Then, on the 23rd it failed again.
>
> And it seems reluctant to pair up again.
> if I start a fresh backup there's no problem but it won't do increments after
> the point of failure.
>
> Any thoughts?

Another hiccough this morning.

Discovered that Finder had dropped the connection to the NAS so simply
reconnecting resumed things.

But why?

In article <iJOdnUAL8pPtrWj8nZ2dnUU7-fvNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>, David
Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Another hiccough this morning.
>
> Discovered that Finder had dropped the connection to the NAS so simply
> reconnecting resumed things.
>
> But why?

does the nas support time machine over smb, and are you using smb?

On 29/01/2022 12:26, nospam wrote:
> In article <iJOdnUAL8pPtrWj8nZ2dnUU7-fvNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>, David
> Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Another hiccough this morning.
>>
>> Discovered that Finder had dropped the connection to the NAS so simply
>> reconnecting resumed things.
>>
>> But why?
>
> does the nas support time machine over smb, and are you using smb?
>
Yes and yes...

Baffled.

The wretched thing worked fine for 2 years.
Changed to a new MacBook and everything goes to hell.
It has to be something fairly trivial (stupid?) But what?

In article <RZWdnS4PObHxCWj8nZ2dnUU7-KGdnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>, David
Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:

> >> Another hiccough this morning.
> >>
> >> Discovered that Finder had dropped the connection to the NAS so simply
> >> reconnecting resumed things.
> >>
> >> But why?
> >
> > does the nas support time machine over smb, and are you using smb?
> >
> Yes and yes...
>
> Baffled.
>
> The wretched thing worked fine for 2 years.
> Changed to a new MacBook and everything goes to hell.
> It has to be something fairly trivial (stupid?) But what?

time machine has never been particularly reliable, nor is smb for that
matter.

On 29/01/2022 19:24, David Kennedy wrote:
> On 29/01/2022 12:26, nospam wrote:
>> In article <iJOdnUAL8pPtrWj8nZ2dnUU7-fvNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>, David
>> Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Another hiccough this morning.
>>>
>>> Discovered that Finder had dropped the connection to the NAS so simply
>>> reconnecting resumed things.
>>>
>>> But why?
>>
>> does the nas support time machine over smb, and are you using smb?
>>
> Yes and yes...
>
> Baffled.
>
> The wretched thing worked fine for 2 years.
> Changed to a new MacBook and everything goes to hell.

Is it a new macOS version on the new MacBook? Apple does tend to update
things like SMB in major macOS versions... You'd *think* they'd do lots
of interop testing with 3rd party SMB servers, and perhaps they do, but
stuff still breaks.

Make sure your NAS has been updated, and check with them about any known
issues. If they're selling it as supporting time machine over SMB, then
they're on the hook for keeping it working IMO.

--
Chris

On 29 Jan 2022 at 12:17:51 GMT, "David Kennedy"
<davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:

> On 28/01/2022 07:36, David Kennedy wrote:
>> On 18/01/2022 12:37, David Kennedy wrote:
>>>> I'll pair the two discs and start fresh.
>>>
>>> Paired the two and off it went, just as if nothing had happened...
>>
>> For 5 days...
>>
>> Then, on the 23rd it failed again.
>>
>> And it seems reluctant to pair up again.
>> if I start a fresh backup there's no problem but it won't do increments after
>> the point of failure.
>>
>> Any thoughts?
>
> Another hiccough this morning.
>
> Discovered that Finder had dropped the connection to the NAS so simply
> reconnecting resumed things.
>
> But why?

You shouldn't need to reconnect manually btw, TM is *supposed* to reach
out and connect to the TM destination silently if it's not mounted
already, as normal behaviour.

It'd be worth dismounting the drive, and dropping it then picking it
again in TM prefs.

Cheers - Jaimie
--
If C gives you enough rope to hang yourself, then C++
gives you enough rope to bind and gag your
neighborhood, rig the sails on a small ship, and still
have enough rope to hang yourself from the yardarm.
-- The UNIX-HATERS Handbook

On 30/01/2022 09:09, Chris Ridd wrote:
> On 29/01/2022 19:24, David Kennedy wrote:
>> On 29/01/2022 12:26, nospam wrote:
>>> In article <iJOdnUAL8pPtrWj8nZ2dnUU7-fvNnZ2d@brightview.co.uk>, David
>>> Kennedy <davidkennedygm@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Another hiccough this morning.
>>>>
>>>> Discovered that Finder had dropped the connection to the NAS so simply
>>>> reconnecting resumed things.
>>>>
>>>> But why?
>>>
>>> does the nas support time machine over smb, and are you using smb?
>>>
>> Yes and yes...
>>
>> Baffled.
>>
>> The wretched thing worked fine for 2 years.
>> Changed to a new MacBook and everything goes to hell.
>
> Is it a new macOS version on the new MacBook? Apple does tend to update things
> like SMB in major macOS versions... You'd *think* they'd do lots of interop
> testing with 3rd party SMB servers, and perhaps they do, but stuff still breaks.
>
Well now, I replaced a 2010 Macbook Pro with a 16" M1 Pro so yes, new OS
version. But, as mentioned. After setting up the new machine it worked fine
for the first 6 or 7 weeks...

> Make sure your NAS has been updated, and check with them about any known
> issues. If they're selling it as supporting time machine over SMB, then
> they're on the hook for keeping it working IMO.
>

Synology DS418play running their latest system.

Since the last disruption on the 29th no problems...