External hard drive stuck in "preparing backup"

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Level 1

49 points

External hard drive stuck in "preparing backup"

There are numerous solutions for getting Time Machine unstuck in "preparing backup" mode but nothing for an external drive.

Also, the screenshot below tells how to do the next step after stopping the attempted backup. However, I can't seem to find that anywhere in the Finder folder. Any help would be appreciated.

Oh, uh, I'm also a techno-impaired senior so it would be helpful if you would think of me in layman's terms.

THANKS!

MacBook Air 11″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Oct 16, 2020 7:58 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Sparks0829

Community Specialist

Oct 20, 2020 5:01 PM in response to Tom Perkins1

Hi there Tom,

It sounds like your backup doesn't seem to be progressing past the 'Preparing backup' stage when backing up to an external hard drive using your Mac. We're glad you're here, and we can help. To start, which method are you using to back up your Mac if you don't use Time Machine? We'd suggest reviewing the information in the links below to see if they help:

If you can't back up or restore your Mac using Time Machine

If Time Machine on your Mac can’t find your backup disk

Time Machine troubleshooting on Mac

Cheers.

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Answer 2

Tom Perkins1 Author

Level 1

49 points

Oct 21, 2020 11:03 AM in response to Sparks0829

Thank you for your help! I should have clarified. I do use Time Machine for backup but I also have a separate external HD (Lacie) that i keep in my safe deposit box in case the zombies come. Actually, I have two and I just switch them at the bank once a month

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Answer 3

mulberry58

Level 6

10,286 points

Nov 2, 2020 3:36 PM in response to Tom Perkins1

Did you look for the file on your external backup drive? Maybe you are looking on your macbook itself.

If that’s the case: open the backup drive, open the folder Backups.backupdb and open the folder MacBook Air.

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Answer 4

Tom Perkins1 Author

Level 1

49 points

Nov 6, 2020 11:50 AM in response to mulberry58

Rats! Unfortunately, I wiped the hard drive and had it reinstalled. However, I will copy and paste this advice since I suspect in the future it will happen again. In fact I have two Lacie Hard drives. One for the safe deposit box and the other at home which I switch every month.

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Answer 5

Tom Perkins1 Author

Level 1

49 points

Nov 18, 2020 5:51 AM in response to Tom Perkins1

THANK YOU! What I ended up doing was, gulp, erasing my external hard drive. Of course, I still had time machine as well as a two week old extra hard drive that I switch once a month in my safe deposit box.

I backed up with Time Machine and it works perfectly...for now...(-;

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Answer 6

Tom Perkins1 Author

Level 1

49 points

Nov 2, 2020 2:43 PM in response to Sparks0829

I solved the issue by wiping the external hard drive and then backing up again through Time Machine.

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External hard drive stuck in "preparing backup"

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