Timemachine stops working after update to FW 5.19.117

mine is still working beautifully in the office, … no problems there

My Cloud2EXUltra runs on 5.19.117 and I’m using the default TimeMachineBackupshare.
How do I solve this for MacOS 10.11.6.

I tried to open a support case but some how that failed. I found no way to upload the service logs and my message ended up on this page.
Please note that English is NOT my first language, and not all directiones on the page just are clear to me.

Here is what I did after WD sent me instructions which did solve the problem.

  1. UPGRADED MY FIRMWARE to 5.19.XXX (latest)

  2. DID A “SYSTEM ONLY RESET” using the EX2 ULTRA local DASHBOARD (under settings). Make sure it is a system only reset (if you choose system recovery, it will warn you that if you continue, you will lose all data to include shares, etc.). If you can do a backup of your server, that is best - if you cannot, proceed with caution and ENSURE you are doing a SYSTEM ONLY RESET.

  3. TURN OFF MY CLOUD UNDER “CLOUD ACCESS” (NOT BY INDIVIDUAL SHARE, BUT COMPLETELY) to do your first backup after the reset. Why? It will take forever to do it with cloud service turned-on. After the initial backup after the reset, it does not matter whether CLOUD SERVCE is on or off.

  4. KEEP YOUR BROWSER OPEN UNTIL THE SERVER REBOOTS. When the server reboots, the reset window will turn into a sign in to CLOUD OS 5 window. You can choose to sign in using previous credentials. If you try to create new credentials using the former user name (email), it will tell you that you already have an account and ask you to sign-in using the old credentials. If you forgot your sign-in information, you will need to make the appropriate changes by requesting sign-in information be sent to your email.

  5. MAKE SURE YOU CAN ACCESS YOUR SHARES LOCALLY. MOUNT THE TIMEMACHINEBACKUP share.

  6. MAKE SURE YOU TURN ON MAC BACKUPS UNDER SETTINGS.

  7. TURN ON YOUR TIME MACHINE.

  8. IT WILL SHOW NO BACKUPS ARE STORED AND MAY TAKE SOME TIME TO PREPARE YOUR BACKUP. If it fails to prepare your backup, unmount the Time Machine Share on your desktop and mount it again. Then restart your backup.

Hopefully that will help someone - I spent a week trying to figure this out and this was the only workaround that gave me full server functionality - both cloud and backups. And oh…yes…the Time Machine has to be set up to 100% on your EX2 Dashboard or subsequent backups will fail. If you only need occasional backups, then simply turn off Automatic Backups (do manual backups).

NOTE: I have not tested to see if I can reduce the space allotted to TimeMAchineBackups and still have functionality. I only need to backup once a month – so I do it manually – no danger that I will run out of space any time soon. I am just glad to have this thing working: as soon as I recover from all the time spent trying to figure this out, I may move the slider and see what happens. For now, I am just happy to get things working again.

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Please mr @SBrown. As you see in my messages here in this string I just can’t figure out how to upload the screenshots and the system log you ask for,
not on the page Warranty Services
and not on the page International Phone Numbers | Western Digital.

So will you please, please be so kind as to tell me what page and what button I should hit, because I just can’t find it.
Jeez, I may be an absolute moron, but just helping me can’t be so hard. And pleasee note that English is not my first language, so small details may escape my understanding.

Today my device upgrade to 5.20.xxx with the same results as on 5.19.xxx: When I reduce the amount of diskspace for the TM-Share, the volume can no longer be found :frowning:

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@Holf and @HarrieR - just in case you are wondering about a possibility to keep time machine and limit the size - I’ve posted the guide here Temporary solution to TimeMachine Backup issues (fails after the first backup)

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@andrewtch Nice. It works. Thanks.

Thanks Andrew, for all the work you did, but this is way bejond my limited understanding of computers.

At the moment I’m working at a different solution.

Since I found in “My WD” on the manufacturers site that my warantee is valid for another 22 months, I think I just let them should solve this problem for me. They caused it in the first place, didn’t they?
From the first contacts with them I got the very welcome impression that they are perfectly willing to honor that obligation, so hope flares and I keep my fingers crossed.

HES van Schoonhoven
Life is a learning experience

Maybe yes but I have a strange feeling that I’m banging my head against the wall when it comes to support )

I mean they are fast to replace your device if it’s broken but firmware support is somehow… slow.

Replacing my machine wouldn’t do any good, because the new device would still run on the same faulty firmware.

One more with same problem here. Thanks to this thread, the workaround of set the limit to max (100%) worked for me. Hope WD fix this soon, as I don’t want to use the entire disk just for TimeMachine backups.

Do you know is this is still relevant with the new 5.20.113 update last night? I still get he same error message on Time Machine

The steps I outlined continued to work [FOR ME] after Firmware update 5.20.113, but only AFTER I restarted my WD EX2 Ultra and mounted the TimeMachineBackup share. For whatever reason, my Time Machine showed no older backups were present after Firmware update 5.20.113; however, after I completed a backup on the same day you emailed me (10 Feb 2022), all looks normal again (see below: it shows the oldest backup from last year as well as today’s backup). If I did not answer your question, pls rephrase it and I will try to answer it again. My Time Machine is working at this time.

Are you sure it is SYSTEM ONLY “RESET” and not Restore to default? I can’t see a a reset option in settings Dashboard

If you click on System Setting, Utilities you should see this. At the VERY BOTTOM, where it says RESTORE TO DEFAULT it gives you several option for which kind of RESTORE you want.

The DEFAULT RESTORE TO DEFAULT OPTION you want is System only. That should be the “preselected” tab. See below:

There are multiple RESTORE TO DEFAULT OPTIONS (System Only, Quick Restore, Full Restore):

Again – be sure to effect a Restore to Default - System Only. Once you choose System Only and click Restore you get this final warning to let you know that only system files will be replaced – DATA FILES SHOULD REMAIN INTACT.

I recommend a server backup if feasible because machines have a mind of their own. I DID NOT do a backup and it worked as it should [FOR ME]; all of that said, I cannot predict the final outcome for your specific NAS.

Thanks for asking.

All seems to be working, back up is now possible and its just started - cheers

Glad you got it working…

Time machine stopped working on MyCloud Home device around this same time (January 17th). I have tried everything suggested by WD. Spent an hour on the phone with an Apple TM specialist, who said it appeared to be a WD problem. Cranked up an old Time Capsule, and TM works fine there. Spent an hour on the phone with a WD specialist who said to upgrade to Monterey. STILL NOT WORKING. Time Machine just dies with no explanation, and even worse – I can’t find the old backups on the device. Clearly the firmware upgrades broke something!!! How about a fix that involves putting the old firmware back!!!

Dear WD Community, @WDStaff and @SBrown,

I contacted @WDsupport and specifically asked when the issue discussed here and acknowledged by @WDSupport will be resolved. In essence, the answer was:

‘We identified the issue and are in the position to reproduce it. Accordingly, it does not make sense to open a support case. We will fix it with a future firmware update and publish the update on our website once it’ll be ready.’

For the time being, it seems as if the workaround (setting the TimeMachine limit to 100%) will have to serve as temporary ‘solution’.

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I got a similar message by phone, so hopefully they’ll fix it soon. @WDStaff