I have been plagued with this problem for well over a year, and am hoping someone can shed some light on what is going on.
My setup is that I have a Macbook Pro that I use with a monitor while I'm at home, but I take it out of the house on a daily basis. While I'm at home, I backup the machine to a Western Digital MyBookLive network drive, using Time Machine. This arrangement worked just fine for the longest time. But about last year (sometime in Mountain Lion), I started having this issue where every time I'd come home and connect to my local WiFi, TimeMachine would kick in but soon gives me this message:
The backup disk image “/Volumes/TimeMachine/MyMBPro.sparsebundle” is already in use
I've looked far and wide for a proper solution to how to resolve this issue, but not found one.
The temporary solution (recommended by various websites) is always to restart the MyBookLive, either by disconnecting it's power or using it's website to restart, both of which are annoying and time-consuming options, especially on a daily basis. The Pondi website seems to suggest some network drive has been left connected, but that's not the case either.
There has to be a better way. Should I be disconnecting my machine before leaving the house to prevent this message when I reconnect? I've tried sleeping the computer before leaving, but that doesn't help. Neither does trying to 'Skip this backup', which takes forever to finish up.
If someone has a good work-around or a suggestion I could try out, I'd really appreciate it.
Z SZ S
3 Answers
Do you have access to you Western Digital MyBookLive via ssh ?Can you change some config files from it?
I believe Western Digital MyBookLive use netatalk for allow connect to it via afp protocol from mac os x.If it is true, when you abnormally disconnect from you MyBookLive netatalk wait by default 24 hours before dropping you connection see disconnect time parameter.
If you have access via ssh to you MyBookLive you can add 'disconnect time = 1' parameter (one hour before dropping you connection) to the afp.conf file
And you can set 'sleep time = 1' (Keep sleeping AFP sessions for number hours before disconnecting clients in sleep mode. Default is 10 hours.)
If you don't have access via ssh. I don't now. Maybe need check new firmware for you device, contact WD technical support on this issue.
zombi_manzombi_man
I tried to remedy this problem from everything this and other sites said to do. It wasn't until the suggestion to go on the Western Digital MyBookLive to change parameters that I found it needed to be updated. I updated the firmware and the backups started automatically while I took a nap!
GlenGlen
File in use Error is supposed to prevent a scenario where two apps compete to make changes to the same target, thus resulting in a corrupt file. Most files don't need to be locked, so you can piratically edit a .txt file both TextEdit and TextMate simultaneously. When Time Machine accesses a backup file (.sparebundle), it places a Hold on the file, so a user wouldn't, say use Finder to rename the .sparebundle at that moment.
The Hold should be removed as soon as TM finishes backing up. So:
Run this command in THREE cases:
When WiFi at home is normal, i,e. just finished up a backup.
When the error message is present.
When TM is doing the backup.
Purgeable Sparsebundle Is In Use
This will show if ANY process on your OS X is accessing the file.
For example, when I use TextMate to edit a file called notes.txt
I get:
If the result is empty in case 1 and 2 but not 3, it means you OS is running correctly. The problem is with Western Digital.
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In the past, I had used only an external hard drive for my backups. It worked great, and it backed up to folders, in a way that I could go to individual files in the backup. I decided that since I was on a laptop, I should be backing up wirelessly (so I don't have to keep it plugged in). After my first painfully long backup to my old Time Capsule, I realized the file was not a folder but a .sparsebundle file. What is this? How do I change it back?
Sam MagidSam Magid
3 Answers
I'm pretty sure you can't, and you wouldn't want to. The OS only bypasses the bundle for locally attached backup destinations.
Direct attached storage (DAS) uses the HFS+ filesystem and /Backups.backupsdb folder structure
Network attached storage (NAS) uses the sparse bundle format to embed a HFS+ filesystem on whatever filesystem that the NAS uses natively.
Time Machine's backup format plays some very interesting tricks with the Mac OS Extended filesystem that aren't really possible over a generic network storage volume. It's also optimized to minimize network traffic when files change. This speeds both backup, browsing and restore operations and minimizes the volume of data file changes on the NAS for small changes on the source disk.
In order to get TM to work over a network connection, it stores a disk image (in sparse bundle format) on the network server, and mounts that locally on the client. Since it's mounted locally, the client has full access to the filesystem and can play all of the necessary tricks.
So, without the .sparsebundle, you wouldn't be able to back up over the network since it optimizes the amount of data sent to the Time Capsule when a file changes as well as reduces the load on the Time Capsule to handle easier IO to the disk.
You can still mount the sparse bundle image on any OS X machine and navigate to files. The only drawback might be if you are using an OS that doesn't have a filesystem plug in for sparse bundle storage format.
A Sparsebundle is a disk image format introduced by Apple in OSX 10.5 as a method of effectively using space for backups on a disk. This is an expandable/retractable disk that will only take up as much room as the data inside of it up to a predefined limit (in the case of TM, the size of the partition). This also allows for incremental backups in which parts of a file can be layered on top of one another so you can perform a revisional history instead of replacing a file with a full new copy each and every time.
As for why, Apple reserves the right to have their proprietary backup tool save data under whichever format they think would work best. As such, they developed their own. At this time, there is no way to make Time Machine use a different format - you will have to use a different backup utility to achieve that.
smooooshersmoooosher
I'm pretty sure Time Machine uses the .sparsebundle format only if you encrypt your backup.
You have two options if you want to be able to browse the contents of your backups. The first is to deselect the option to encrypt your backups. The second option, which I would recommend is to just double click on the .sparsebundle and let OS X mount it as a drive (you'll need the encryption password). That little bit of effort will get you what you want—you'll be able to browse the backups—without sacrificing security.
djmochdjmoch
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You can use Disk Utility to create a disk image, which is a file that contains other files and folders.
Note: You can burn information to a CD or DVD using the Burn command in the Finder. See Burn CDs and DVDs.
Create a blank disk image for storage
You can create an empty disk image, add data to it, then use it to create disks, CDs, or DVDs.
In the Disk Utility app on your Mac, choose File > New Image > Blank Image.
Enter a filename for the disk image, add tags if necessary, then choose where to save it.
This is the name that appears in the Finder, where you save the disk image file before opening it.
In the Name field, enter the name for the disk image.
This is the name that appears on your desktop and in the Finder sidebar, after you open the disk image.
In the Size field, enter a size for the disk image.
Click the Format pop-up menu, then choose the format for the disk:
If the disk image will be used with a Mac that has a solid state drive (SSD) and uses macOS 10.13 or later, choose APFS or APFS (Case-sensitive).
If the disk image will be used with a Mac with macOS 10.12 or earlier, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled).
If the disk image will be used with a Mac or Windows computer and is 32 GB or less, choose MS-DOS (FAT); if it’s over 32 GB, choose ExFAT.
To encrypt the disk image, click the Encryption pop-up menu, then choose an encryption option.
Click the Partitions pop-up menu, then choose a partition layout.
Click the Image Format pop-up menu, then choose an option:
Sparse bundle disk image: Same as a sparse disk image (below), but the directory data for the image is stored differently. Uses the .sparsebundle file extension.
Sparse disk image: Creates an expandable file that shrinks and grows as needed. No additional space is used. Uses the .sparseimage file extension.
Read/write disk image: Allows you to add files to the disk image after it’s created. Uses the .dmg file extension.
DVD/CD master: Changes the size of the image to 177 MB (CD 8 cm). Uses the .cdr file extension.
Click Save, then click Done.
Disk Utility creates the disk image file where you saved it in the Finder and mounts its disk icon on your desktop and in the Finder sidebar.
In the Finder, copy your files to the mounted disk image, then eject it.
Restore the disk image to a disk.
For more information about disk image types, see the manual (man) page for hdiutil.
Create a disk image from a disk or connected device
You can create a disk image that includes the data and free space on a physical disk or connected device, such as a USB device. For example, if a USB device or volume is 80 GB with 10 GB of data, the disk image will be 80 GB in size and include data and free space. You can then restore that disk image to another volume.
In the Disk Utility app on your Mac, select a disk, volume, or connected device in the sidebar.
Choose File > New Image, then choose “Image from [device name].”
Enter a filename for the disk image, add tags if necessary, then choose where to save it.
This is the name that appears in the Finder, where you save the disk image file before opening it.
Click the Format pop-up menu, then choose an option:
Read-only: The disk image can’t be written to, and is quicker to create and open.
Compressed: Compresses data, so the disk image is smaller than the original data. The disk image is read-only.
Read/write: Allows you to add files to the disk image after it’s created.
DVD/CD master: Can be used with third-party apps. It includes a copy of all sectors of the disk image, whether they’re used or not. When you use a master disk image to create other DVDs or CDs, all data is copied exactly.
To encrypt the disk image, click the Encryption pop-up menu, then choose an encryption option.
Click Save, then click Done.
Disk Utility creates the disk image file where you saved it in the Finder and mounts its disk icon on your desktop and in the Finder sidebar.
Important: Don’t create a disk image of a disk that you believe to be failing or that contains corrupted information. The disk image may not serve as a reliable backup.
For technical information about creating a restore disk image, see the Apple Software Restore (ASR) manual (man) page.
Create a disk image from a folder or connected device
You can create a disk image that contains the contents of a folder or connected device, such as a USB device. This method doesn’t copy a device’s free space to the disk image. For example, if a USB device or volume is 80 GB with 10 GB of data, the disk image will be 10 GB in size and include only data, not free space. You can then restore that disk image to another volume.
In the Disk Utility app on your Mac, choose File > New Image, then choose Image from Folder.
Select the folder or connected device in the dialog that appears, then click Open.
Enter a filename for the disk image, add tags if necessary, then choose where to save it.
This is the name that appears in the Finder, where you save the disk image file before opening it.
To encrypt the disk image, click the Encryption pop-up menu, then choose an encryption option.
Click the Image Format pop-up menu, then choose an option:
Read-only: The disk image can’t be written to, and is quicker to create and open.
Compressed: Compresses data, so the disk image is smaller than the original data. The disk image is read-only.
Read/write: Allows you to add files to the disk image after it’s created.
DVD/CD master: Can be used with third-party apps. It includes a copy of all sectors of the disk image, whether they’re used or not. When you use a master disk image to create other DVDs or CDs, all data is copied exactly.
Hybrid image (HFS+/ISO/UDF): This disk image is a combination of disk image formats and can be used with different file system standards, such as HFS, ISO, and UDF.
Click Save, then click Done.
Disk Utility creates the disk image file where you saved it in the Finder and mounts its disk icon on your desktop and in the Finder sidebar.
Steam divinity original sin 2 workshop. Kingdom come deliverance the house of god quest. For technical information about creating a restore disk image, see the Apple Software Restore (ASR) manual (man) page.
Create a secure disk image
If you have confidential documents that you don’t want others to see without your permission, you can put them in an encrypted disk image.
Note: If you want to protect the contents of the system disk, turn on FileVault using the FileVault pane of Security & Privacy Preferences.
In the Disk Utility app on your Mac, choose File > New Image > Blank Image.
Enter a filename for the disk image, add tags if necessary, then choose where to save it.
This is the name that appears in the Finder, where you save the disk image file before opening it.
In the Name field, enter the name for the disk image.
This is the name that appears on your desktop and in the Finder sidebar, after you open the disk image.
In the Size field, enter a size for the disk image.
Click the Format pop-up menu, then choose a format:
If you’re using the encrypted disk image with a Mac computer using macOS 10.13 or later, choose APFS or APFS (Case-sensitive).
If you’re using the encrypted disk image with a Mac computer using macOS 10.12 or earlier, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled).
Click the Encryption pop-up menu, then choose an encryption option.
Enter and re-enter a password to unlock the disk image, then click Choose.
WARNING: If you forget this password, you won’t be able to open the disk image and view any of the files.
Use the default settings for the rest of the options:
Click the Partitions pop-up menu, then choose Single partition - GUID Partition Map.
Click the Image Format pop-up menu, then choose “read/write” disk image. O hobbit 2 download.
Click Save, then click Done.
Disk Utility creates the disk image file where you saved it in the Finder and mounts its disk icon on your desktop and in the Finder sidebar.
In the Finder , copy the documents you want to protect to the disk image.
If you want to erase the original documents so they can’t be recovered, drag them to the Trash, then choose Finder > Empty Trash.
When you’re finished using the documents on the secure disk image, be sure to eject the disk image. As long as it’s available on your desktop, anyone with access to your computer can use the documents on it.
To access the data in a disk image, double-click it. It appears on your desktop, and you can add, remove, and edit files on it just as you would with a disk.
See alsoAdd a checksum to a disk image using Disk Utility on MacVerify that a disk image’s data isn’t corrupted using Disk Utility on MacRestore a disk image to a disk using Disk Utility on MacConvert a disk image to another format using Disk Utility on Mac
You can restore a disk image to a disk. To do this, you first need to erase the disk. If the disk image has multiple partitions, you must restore each partition individually.
Restore a disk image with a single volume to a disk
In the Disk Utility app on your Mac, select the volume that you want to restore in the sidebar, then click the Restore button .
This is the volume that is erased and becomes the exact copy.
Click the Restore pop-up menu, then choose the volume you want to copy.
If you’re restoring from a disk image, click the Image button, then navigate to that disk image.
Click Restore.
Restore a disk image with multiple volumes to a disk
To restore a disk image with multiple volumes to a disk, you must partition the destination disk, then restore each volume individually.
In the Finder on your Mac, double-click the disk image to open it.
The disk image’s volumes appear as disks in the Finder.
In the Disk Utility app, select the disk in the sidebar, click the Partition button , then partition the destination disk.
The destination disk must have as many partitions as the disk image, and each of the disk’s partitions must be at least as large as the corresponding partition in the disk image. See Partition a physical disk using Disk Utility on Mac.
In the sidebar, select the volume that you want to restore, then click the Restore button .
This is the volume that is erased and becomes the exact copy.
Do one of the following:
Restore from a volume: Click the “Restore from” pop-up menu, then choose the volume you want to copy.
Restore from a disk image: Click Image, choose the disk image you want to copy, then click Open.
Click Restore.
Repeat steps 3–5 for each remaining partition.
See alsoCreate a disk image using Disk Utility on MacAdd a checksum to a disk image using Disk Utility on MacVerify that a disk image’s data isn’t corrupted using Disk Utility on Mac
I have an airport extreme with a drive connected, and use it for backing up snow leopard macs. I have an occasional problem with one of them that says 'the backup disk image .. is already in use' and it fails to backup.
Any ideas?
Michael NealeMichael Neale
3 Answers
What worked for me in the end was to 'disconnect all users' from the Airport Utility - and then unplug/plugin the drive again (remount it) - it was then able to backup successfully.
Michael NealeMichael Neale
There isn't an .InProgress file still on the drive is there? That can cause problems.Just delete it to get the backup working again.
alimackalimack
The disconnect, power off/on works, but only temporarily. I think for me it hoses up if I close my macbook pro lid while its trying to backup.
mohrtmohrt
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