SOLVED Back up with Big Sur

[deanattaway]

Since installing the newest version of iOS 14.0.3, I have not been able to get the laptop to recognize a thumb drive that I use for back up. Is there a way to use a thumb drive to back up my laptop?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

I am little confused. You mentioned iOS 14.0.3 and a thumb drive for backup.

-Which exact model is your Mac?
-Are you trying to make a backup of your iPhone/iPad to your Mac?
-Are you trying to create a Time Machine backup of your Mac?
-What brand/model/size is the USB thumb drive?

C

 

[deanattaway]

Hello,

I am little confused. You mentioned iOS 14.0.3 and a thumb drive for backup.

-Which exact model is your Mac?
-Are you trying to make a backup of your iPhone/iPad to your Mac?
-Are you trying to create a Time Machine backup of your Mac?
-What brand/model/size is the USB thumb drive?

C

Sorry for the confusion, I am not very computer-literate. I am using a MacBook Pro and running Big Sur ver. 11.2.1. I have been backing up my files, using Time Machine, to a thumb drive by plugging the drive into the Mac using the cable to connect the USB drive to the laptop. The drive is a Patriot Memory XT Supersonic 256GB.

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, thanks, no worries.

-Which exact model s the MacBook Pro - it can be found in  > About This Mac in the menu bar.
-What cable are you using to connect the Patriot flash drive to the MacBook Pro?
-Is the Patriot flash drive recognized when you connect it - does it mount on the Desktop or can it be seen in the Disk Utility application?
-If it was working previously, do you get any errors when trying to run Time Machine?

C

 

[deanattaway]

Thanks for your help. The model is: MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports). The cable is a short cable with a USB connection at one end and plugs into one of the Thunderbolt ports on the laptop. The laptop does not recognize the thumb drive - it doesn't show up in Finder. When using Catalina, it would show up quickly after plugging the cable into the port. Now when I plug it in, the light on the thumb drive flashes, but it never shows up in Finder and Time Machine states it will back up when the disk is connected. Even leaving the drive attached to the laptop overnight, it never recognizes the disc. Using the Disk Utility I tried to mount the drive and the error message is: Could not mount “PATRIOT”. (com.apple.DiskManagement.disenter error 0.) It previously worked, and since the laptop doesn't recognize the disk as mounted, I can't run Time Machine.

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

Have you tried a different cable, or plugged a different thumb to test?

 

[deanattaway]

Thanks, I had not. I have only one cable with the USB and thunderbolt connections. I use it for printing as well and it works fine for that. I did try another thumb drive and it was mounted just fine!. I retried the Patriot drive and got an error message "macOS can't repair the disk "PATRIOT". I have not seen that before. How do I reformat the disk?

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

I have not seen that before. How do I reformat the disk?

You can use Disk Utility that is in your Applications folder.

 

[deanattaway]

I followed the instructions on reformatting the disk and now it is mounted and running Time Machine! Thanks so much!

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

You are most welcome, pleased all is fine now.