BEHAVIORS

(go to Error Messages)

Close Window buttons

This is the standard close window button for macOS located in the top left corner of the window in the title bar. It is deactivated during restore and abort operations, and it will not respond in the Snapshots window if a network destination is fully attached. Otherwise, it will close all dependent windows before closing itself. Closing the Snapshots window will terminate TM-Utilities. Confirmation is not requested.

This button is located at the bottom of all phase windows. It will close phase windows in reverse order of opening. Confirmation will be requested before closing the Snapshots window and terminating TM-Utilities. Confirmation may be requested if a restore operation is in progress.

Finder windows close on exiting TM-Utilities

Since TM-Utilities will detach and unmount the network backup files on exit, Finder windows referring to these volumes will also be closed. This is accomplished by closing all Finder windows, including those open before TM-Utilities started. This may be a minor inconvenience, but it is offset by having access to as many Finder windows as system resources permit without lingering desktop clutter from TM-Utilities.

See Apple Events for details about activating and deactivating this feature.

Finder windows persist on exiting TM-Utilities

Closing backup files for the first time in macOS Mojave+ displays an Apple prompt requesting permission to control the Finder.app. If Finder windows persist on exiting TM-Utilities, permission to control the Finder.app was not allowed. See Apple Events for details about changing this decision.

Navigating help files

The TM-Utilities icon in the heading of all help pages is an active link that animates when the mouse hovers over it, as demonstrated below:

Clicking the animated TM-Utilities icon in the heading of any help page returns to the TM-Utilities Main Help Menu or the Getting Started Menu (for Getting Started pages).

Network shares

As of macOS Sierra (v10.12), writing to the "/Volumes" folder requires root user privilege. TM-Utilities no longer uses the /Volumes folder for mount points. However, Reset Network in the Application Menu will attempt to remove Time Machine mount points in the /Volumes folder.

As of macOS Mojave (v10.14), network backup shares are mounted at "/Volumes/com.apple.TimeMachine.Backups-HHHHHHHH-HHHH-HHHH-HHHHHHHHHHHH", where H is a hexadecimal digit. This mount point tends to persist longer in Mojave than previous macOS versions. Reset Network in the Application Menu will attempt to remove this mount point as well. However, persistence of this mount point will not prevent TM-Utilities from running. TM-Utilities always uses its own mount point.

"other" button in Explore Snapshot does not seem to work

See Explore Radio Buttons for a detailed description of the "other" button.

Preferences Panel exit closes TM-Utilities

Time Machine is not set up on the computer, and destination information was not set in the Preferences Panel.

Preferences Panel closes after pressing "Automatic" or "Manual"

The Preferences Panel closes and the Snapshots window appears once destination information has been properly set. Current destination information is displayed in the Snapshots window.

Time Machine backup continues to fail

Time Machine backups may fail if the network backup files are not properly mounted and attached or are not properly detached and unmounted. Possible causes include a hardware or software crash while Time Machine or TM-Utilities is running.

This problem may also occur when Time Machine attempts a network backup while the destination is attached by another computer as a foreign sparse bundle. The backup will fail. If the backup shares are not detached and unmounted, Time Machine and TM-Utilities may continue to fail. If this is a network server problem, see hdiutil: attach failed - Resource temporarily unavailable below for additional information.

If this is a local problem, correct it with one of the following methods (which should be attempted in the order listed):

1. Reset Time Machine in the Application Menu.
2. Reset Network in the Application Menu (requires root user).
3. Reboot the computer.

TM-Utilities seems to hang

"DON'T PANIC!" - Douglas Adams; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; 1979.

Take a break. Get a cup of coffee. Use the bathroom. Chances are TM-Utilities will be finished when you return.

TM-Utilities interacts with the file system and network shares. Force quitting TM-Utilities may corrupt the file system and/or Time Machine backup files, making recovery difficult if not impossible.

TM-Utilities may exhibit extended periods of inactivity during file system operations. This is most often due to aborting a restore operation while a very large file is being copied. TM-Utilities may seem to hang when terminated, but it will gracefully exit once the single file operation is completed.

Detaching and unmounting the network may occasionally wait for the operating system to respond when TM-Utilities terminates or resets. The message center in the Snapshots window indicates when TM-Utilities is resetting or terminating.

Mounting and attaching the network may also wait for the operating system while TM-Utilities validates the network destination.

TM-Utilities is designed to fail gracefully and abort after a standard timeout if a network operation fails.

ERROR MESSAGES

(go to Behaviors)

AUTO INIT FAILURE

Time Machine is not set up. However, TM-Utilities can access other (foreign) Time Machine backups with the right credentials (user name and password). This error is displayed by the Preferences Panel, which can be used to modify destination information.

hdiutil: attach failed - image not recognized

This error appears when attempting to open a sparse bundle created by another computer or user. If it is necessary to access a foreign sparse bundle, log in to the network share with the user name and password of the sparse bundle's creator.

hdiutil: attach failed - no mountable file systems

This error appears when a sparse bundle is corrupted. To resolve this issue, allow Time Machine to complete an incremental backup. Time Machine will automatically clean up the backup files, fix errors, and rename the sparse bundle, if necessary.

If this error occurs accessing a foreign sparse bundle and the computer that created the sparse bundle is disabled, the sparse bundle can be manually repaired with "hdiutil" and "fsck" in the shell (Terminal). Repairing a sparse bundle requires advanced computer skills and should only be attempted on a copy of the sparse bundle. TM-Utilities will include sparse bundle repair in a future version.

hdiutil: attach failed - Resource temporarily unavailable

This error occurs when attempting to access a foreign sparse bundle that is currently in use. The sparse bundle will be available after it is detached by its current user.

Occasionally, the network server may erroneously report that the sparse bundle is in use. Resolve this issue by resetting the network server, which may require cycling the power OFF and then ON. If the network destination is provided by Apple's Server app or File Sharing, disconnect all users before turning File Sharing OFF and then ON.

invalid operation

See Explore Radio Buttons for a detailed description of the "other" button.

mount_afp: error -1069

The network server was not found. Problems resolving the network address and other network connection issues may arise after waking from standby.

Turning Wi-Fi off and then on may correct the problem. This maneuver may actually work for wired as well as wireless network connections. Otherwise, there may be other network connection issues beyond the scope of this application.

mount_afp: error -5023

afp:// network authentication failed. The user name or password is not valid.

mount_afp: error -6754

Apple Time Capsule authentication failed. The user name or password is not valid.

mount_smbfs: server rejected the connection: Authentication error

smb:// network authentication failed. The user name or password is not valid.

mount_smbfs: "mount-point": Permission denied

smb:// network authentication failed. The user name is not recognized by the network server. This error may need to be corrected on the network server.

mount point conflict

The mount point is in use, but the backup destination is not mounted. Reboot the computer if the mount point cannot be removed with Reset Network in the Application Menu.

Time Machine backup in progress

Time Machine may be using the backup files. Since Time Machine maintains and repairs the backup files, an ongoing backup should be allowed to complete. Accessing Time Machine preferences will display the backup status.

In macOS Mojave (v10.14), the disk image attachment "/Volumes/Time Machine Backups" persists longer after incremental backups and entering Time Machine than in previous macOS versions. As long as this disk image is attached, TM-Utilities will report "Time Machine backup in progress". TM-Utilities should limit the need to enter Time Machine.

Reset Network in the Application Menu will stop Time Machine backups in progress, and attempt to forcibly detach, unmount, and remove Time Machine and TM-Utilities network shares. It runs asynchronously in the background as a launch agent. Since macOS Mojave, the launch agent is unable to detach the "Time Machine Backups" disk image that was attached by Time Machine, unless the user is root. TM-Utilities now requires the root user to execute this feature.

Reset Time Machine in the Application Menu will stop Time Machine backups in progress and attempt to forcibly detach the "Time Machine Backups" disk image. It runs synchronously in the foreground, allowing any user with administrator privileges to stop Time Machine backups in progress and forcibly detach the disk image. Using this feature to detach the disk image allows TM-Utilities to run after encountering the "backup in progress" error.

The network may also be reset by manually stopping Time Machine and rebooting the computer, as detailed below:

1. If the Time Machine icon is not in the menu bar, use Time Machine preferences to activate it.
2. Stop Time Machine backups in progress by clicking the Time Machine icon in the menu bar and selecting "Skip This Backup" (see screenshot below).
3. Once backups have stopped, close all programs and windows.
4. Reboot the computer.

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