Backup Time Machine

[Nille]

I keep getting a message saying that my backup disk (external seagate disk) id taken out wrong so the Time Machine can not do backup.
I have recently formatted the disk again, but that did not help.
What can I do?

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

The Seagate ext hd keeps unmounting?

 

[honestone]

What exact Mac model do you have? And what exact Mac OS are you running?

 

[Nille]

The Seagate ext hd keeps unmounting?

It keeps telling me that it was wrongly removed last time, but I have not touch it.

 

[Nille]

What exact Mac model do you have? And what exact Mac OS are you running?

A IMac 2009 recently updated to El Capitain and added RAM so I now have 8 RAM

 

[honestone]

It keeps telling me that it was wrongly removed last time, but I have not touch it.

First, how do you have that external Seagate Drive connected to the iMac, ie, via which port?

Secondly, how old is that external drive?

Third, in your first post, you state "I keep getting a message saying that my backup disk (external seagate disk) id taken out wrong", but up above, you stated "It keeps telling me that it was wrongly removed last time, but I have not touch it.". So, does that mean you have not disconnected the external Seagate drive at all?

Fourth, with the drive connected, can Disk Utility "see it"? If it can, run First Aid on that drive and see what it tells you.

Fifth, when you say "I have recently formatted the disk again", how exactly did you do that?

Lastly, do you happen to have a more robust disk maintenance/repair program, like TechTool Pro or Disk Warrior? If not, do you have a friend who has a Mac and has either (or both) of those?

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

It keeps telling me that it was wrongly removed last time, but I have not touch it.

Which means it's unmounting itself ... try another USB cable. I have seen this happen before.

 

[Mac Lifesaver]

Reset parameter ram command(Apple online keyboards)+option+p+r keys together at startup, hold til you hear the startup chime 3 times.
Second the new USB cable idea also.

 

[Patsy Cockrum]

Exact same thing happened to me a few months ago. Very frustrating! I finally had to call Apple. Turns out that a previous power outage had interrupted the connection of Time Machine and, even though the power light was on, it needed to be reset:

Turn off the Time Machine

Unplug the Time Machine, both from the computer & from the power source

Restart the computer

Plug in the Time Machine & turn it on

 

[honestone]

Strange that would happen. I use SuperDuper! for my backups, and I run it manually once a week. So, I suspect that unless such a power outage happened during the backup (although I have 2 backups, to 2 separate external SSDs, for each machine), it would not happen in my situation.

I of course understand why some folks would need an automated, frequent backup of their stuff. Once a week is sufficient for my needs, and thus SuperDuper! is good. And it makes a bootable backup, which can make recovery a breeze!