When you use Time Machine, the inbuilt backup software for Mac, to back up all of your Mac data, if it is stuck in “Preparing backup” stage, you can follow the 5 steps introduced in this article to fix it.
When it comes to avoiding data loss, undoubtedly, making regular data backups is a matter of necessity in that backups will make later data recovery much easier. For example, it is blazing simple to restore damaged Outlook data from your PST backups.
Hence, similarly, in order to prevent Mac data loss, you should also back up your Mac data. Apple has taken this factor into account, so it provides Mac users with a built-in backup program – Time Machine. But, many users complain that Time Machine frequently gets stuck in “Preparing backup” stage. Now, we’ll teach you how to solve this problem in 5 easy steps.
1. Stop the Backup Progress
First of all, you ought to force stop the stuck backup progress. As you can see, in the “Time Machine” screen, there is the stuck “Preparing backup” progress bar. In the end of progress bar, there is a “X” icon. Click it to stop the backup progress. If the progress bar and “Preparing backup” characters vanish, it means that you’ve successfully terminated the stuck Time Machine backup.
2. Check Antivirus Software
After that, you should check the antivirus software installed on your Mac system. It’s because some such applications will not permit you to exclude Time Machine backup volume. Therefore, you should ensure that your software is configured to exclude Time Machine backup volume, namely the “Backups.backupd” folder.
3. Trash the .inProgress file
Subsequently, you need to remove the “.inProgress” file. To start with, open Time Machine drive in the Finder application and browse to “Backups.backupd” folder. Open this folder, in which you should sort all the internal files by “Date Modified” or directly search to locate the file with a “.inProgress” file extension. Then delete this file.
4. Reboot Your Mac
Later, after the above step, you should reboot your Mac with the Time Machine drive connected. In this course, you should make sure that all the programs that are running should be exited properly. Also, all the files being edited should be saved in advance. Otherwise, you’ll suffer data loss or corruption unexpectedly.
5. Try Time Machine Again
Ultimately, after you enter your Mac system in success, you should try the Time Machine once again. Just turn Time Machine back on to start a backup as normal. Most of time, Time Machine will function well and will no longer get stuck in “preparing backup” progress.
Author Introduction:
Shirley Zhang is a data recovery expert in DataNumen, Inc., which is the world leader in data recovery technologies, including damaged mdf and outlook repair software products. For more information visit www.datanumen.com
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