MobileMe: Backup troubleshooting tips

Resolution

Which version of Backup should I use?

• Always use the most recent version of Backup available. 
• Versions of Backup prior to 3.1.1 will not work in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

How do I use Backup?

• Backup has a rich set of Help content bundled with it. For basic how-to questions, open Backup and then choose Help from the menu bar. In the Help search field, enter a term or terms about which you would like more information.
• Backup allows users to create custom and pre-configured Backup Plans which provide an easy method to quickly choose which items you wish to back up.
• With Backup you can easily create Backups to a variety of locations.

Can I use Backup to back up my entire hard disk?

• Backup is only intended for backing up items in your Home folder. You should use another application, such as TimeMachine, to back up items outside of your Home folder or to back up your entire hard drive.

Does Backup work with FAT32/MS-DOS hard drives?

• Backup can create backups to and also restore from FAT32/MS-DOS hard drives.  However, you should first make sure you are using the latest version of Backup and create a full backup with it. Earlier versions of Backup might not create or restore some backups created on FAT32/MS-DOS devices.

Does Backup work with CD-RW media?

• Backup can create backups to and restore from CD-RW discs, however keep these tips in mind to avoid the possibility of creating incomplete backups.

I can't perform a backup to my iDisk

• Try connecting and and copying files to your iDisk. (If iDisk Syncing is on, make sure the sync is successful after copying files to your iDisk.) Make sure there is enough room on your iDisk for your backup. If you need to free up space on your iDisk by deleting previous backups, be sure to follow up with a full backup. If you're still unable to perform a backup, try simplifying your network setup or using a different Internet connection.
• You should not create or employ Backup Plans containing more than 90 MB of data with iDisk. Smaller backups, such as the default Personal Data & Settings Plan are ideal for iDisk. Larger backup plans may prove more restrictive and more of a challenge to troubleshoot when you attempt to create or restore them over the Internet, especially when considering unknown factors such as connection speed.

Backup says that it's in trial mode, but I'm a MobileMe member

• Make sure your MobileMe account and password are correctly entered into System Preferences. If Backup continues to indicate that it's in trial mode, you may need to troubleshoot the keychain.
  Note: Backup will continue to refer to .Mac for some time, although you are a MobileMe member.

The progress bar keeps repeating itself

• Depending on the size of your backup and your backup destination, you may experience progress bar repetitions. Backup breaks large backups into segments, and the backup progress bar will repeat for each one of those segments. As long as the backup is running and has not stalled for more than several minutes, allow the backup to complete as normal.

I can't perform a backup to an external hard drive

• Make sure that you can copy files normally to the hard drive. If you are able to format the drive and the drive is not already formatted as Mac OS Extended (HFS+), format the drive as HFS+ and then try the backup again.
  Note: Formatting a drive will erase all data on the drive.

My backup isn't occurring when scheduled

• If your computer was in sleep mode prior to a scheduled backup, your backup may be delayed.

I'm having difficulty restoring my backup

• Make sure you are using the latest version of Backup and that your full backup and all related incremental backups are in the same location. If you need to delete previous incremental or full backups, immediately perform a full backup to prevent potential data loss.
• If you are restoring to a new computer, new user, or new installation of Mac OS X, please see this article.
• If Backup does not appear to be responding during a restore session, Backup may be busy processing the restoration. Allow Backup to complete the restore operation.
• If Backup does not restore your files, and there are no further options available for restoring via the Backup application, you may be able to manually restore the files backed up with Backup.