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The "Time Machine" tool on a Mac allows you to create backups of your Mac data. You can back up your data to any external drive to prevent loss.
However, Mac users sometimes encounter issues with the Time Machine backup tool, displaying an error that it's waiting to complete the initial backup. Thus, you can't create new backups. Worry not, for we aim to help you resolve this issue.
Before we get into how to fix the Time Machine backup waiting to complete issue, let's first look at why it happens.
- Backup Disk Issue: This problem might be due to the backup disk that Time Machine is using for creating backups. Ensure that your backup disk is functioning properly and can be accessed without any issues.
- Pending Software Updates: For Time Machine to run smoothly, your Mac should be running the latest version of macOS. If not, update your macOS to the most recent version.
- Network Connection Issues: An unstable WiFi network or slow internet speed can also contribute to this error. It's highly recommended to have a stable and fast internet connection when performing a Time Machine backup.
- Incomplete Backup Process: Sometimes users get impatient and shut down their Mac while a Time Machine backup is in progress. This can lead to issues in the future, so it's best to always complete a backup before exiting.
Follow and remember these, and your Time Machine backup should proceed without issue. The next section will deal with how to fix a Time Machine that's stuck on “Waiting to complete initial backup.”
Time Machine Restore Button Grayed Out - How to Fix?
Time Machine is a built-in backup feature on Mac that backs up all your files automatically, including applications, music, photos, emails, documents, and system files.
How to Fix When Time Machine Gets Stuck on “Waiting to Complete First Backup”
The good news is that you can fix the Time Machine stuck on “Waiting for backup to complete” issue. Below, you'll find a list of six comprehensive solutions that you can try to get rid of this error yourself.
1. Cancel the backup process and start over
The first thing you can try is to cancel the current backup and start a new one. Follow these steps:
Step 1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences.
Step 2: Turn on Time Machine.
Step 3. Click the x icon to stop the current backup process.
Step 4. Trigger a new Time Machine backup by clicking the Time Machine icon in your menu bar and choosing Back Up Now.
2. Run First Aid on the Time Machine backup drive
File system errors on the Time Machine backup drive can also cause this issue. You can use the Disk Utility, which is built into your Mac, to help repair file system errors on the backup drive.
Follow these steps to run First Aid on the Time Machine backup drive:
Step 1: Press CMD + Space, type Disk Utility, and open it.
Step 2: Select your Time Machine backup drive from the sidebar on the left.
Step 3: Click the "First Aid" button.
It will scan and check for file system errors on the backup disk, then fix them, and you should be able to run Time Machine backups without issue.
3. Excluding Affected Directories from Backup
Sometimes, there can be problematic directories that prevent a Time Machine backup from completing. For example, they might prevent the Mac from suspending or stopping a backup because of an “Unable to actively claim device lock assertion” error.
You need to identify these directories and exclude them from the Time Machine backup. To exclude affected directories from backup, follow these steps:
Step 1: Open the Terminal on your Mac and enter the following command.
The command in English for displaying log information related to Time Machine device lock failures in the past 24 hours on a MacOS terminal is: **Show log entries from the past 24 hours where the subsystem is "com.apple.TimeMachine" and the event message contains "Failed * to get device lock assertion*", presented in compact format with detailed information.**
Running this command would list the directory as output.
Step 2: From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences, and then open Time Machine.
Step Three: In Time Machine preferences, click Options, and use the plus sign to exclude these folders from backups.
When you're done, click Save to exclude the files from the backup.
4. Boot into Safe Mode for the First Backup
The first Time Machine backup can take a long time, so you might want to start your Mac in Safe Mode to prevent any incompatible software from interfering with the backup.
To start your Mac in Safe Mode for the initial backup, follow these steps:
Step 1: Turn off your Mac.
Step 2: Press and hold the Power button until you see the following screen.
Step 3: Start up your Mac in Safe Mode, and then initiate a Time Machine backup.
5. Format the Time Machine backup disk as APFS
It's recommended to format your backup Time Machine drive to APFS (Apple File System). Here are the steps to do so: 1. Connect your backup drive to your Mac. 2. Open the "Disk Utility" application. You can find it in the "Applications" > "Utilities" folder. 3. In the "Disk Utility" window on the left, locate and select the backup drive you want to format. 4. Click on the "Erase" option in the top menu bar. 5. In the popup window, enter a new volume name (e.g., "Time Machine Backup"). 6. From the "Format" dropdown menu, choose "APFS". 7. After verifying all settings, click the "Erase" button. A warning will appear, informing you that all data will be erased, so make sure important information is backed up. 8. Wait for the formatting process to complete. Once finished, your backup drive will be formatted in APFS, and you can now use it for Time Machine backups.
Step 1: Press CMD + Space to open Spotlight, search for Disk Utility and launch the app.
Step 2: Select your Time Machine backup disk from the sidebar on the left.
Step 3: Click the “Erase” button at the top, choose APFS as the format, and then click “Erase.”
6. Install any available updates for macOS
If there are any pending macOS updates, install them pronto, because outstanding updates can also cause Time Machine backup issues.
To install a new macOS update, follow these steps:
Step 1: Press CMD + Space, and then type Software Update.
Step 2: If an update is available, click Upgrade Now.
Useful Tips to Avoid Time Machine Backup Failures
While this article focuses on the “backup could not be completed” problem, there are other issues with Time Machine backups. For example, users also encounter:
- The Time Machine backup couldn't be completed.
- The backup failed because of an error copying files to the backup disk.
- The backup volume is read-only.
You might see other errors with Time Machine. To avoid losing important data, try the following:
Time Machine backup failed, not enough space: You might encounter this error if you don't have sufficient space on your backup drive. You can resolve this issue by expanding the storage on your backup drive, deleting unnecessary files, or excluding large files from your backup.
Time Machine backup not automated: You need to enable the automatic backup option in Time Machine settings. If it's not enabled, you'll always have to initiate Time Machine backups manually.
But what if your data is still missing? In that case, you'll need data recovery software to restore lost data from your Mac. Read on to the next section to find out how to recover lost Mac data when Time Machine backup fails.
How to recover data without a Time Machine backup
Data Recovery Wizard is a reliable and free data recovery tool for macOS and older versions of Mac OS X. It's absolutely free and allows you to recover files on Mac when you don't have a Time Machine backup or experience issues with Time Machine.
We highly recommend this software because it can recover your data from any situation. Whether you deleted your files, lost them mysteriously, or they became corrupted, Data Recovery Wizard for Mac can help you restore them for free with simple steps.
Step 1: Select the drive to scan
In the main “Data Recovery Wizard” tool window, all the drives connected to your Mac will be listed. Select the drive from where you want to recover lost/deleted files and then click on the “Search for Lost Files” button.
Note: Before data recovery, it is recommended that you click “Disk Backup” from the left sidebar to create a backup of your Mac to prevent further data loss. After the backup, the software can recover data from the Mac backup, and your computer can write new data again.
Step 2: Choose the lost data/files you want to recover
Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will scan the disk volume you select immediately and display the scan results in the left pane. If you're looking for specific files, you can sort the results to locate the file you need.
Step 3: Recover Lost/Deleted Data
Once you locate the files you want to recover, you can preview them and then click the “Recover” button to start retrieving your deleted/lost files from Mac.
