Users report bugs on Apple's backup solution

Posted by Joe on June 25th, 2008

When Apple launched its Leopard operating system earlier this year one of the most talked about features was the automated backup tool called Time Machine. However, some users are beginning to report problems with the service that prevent them from backing up the important files that are stored on their computer's hard drive.

David Zeiler from the Baltimore Sun is reporting a recent issue with Time Machine that has him wondering whether or not the service can truly be relied upon.

But a spate of bugs with Time Machine has me wondering whether I can fully trust it. If nothing else, backup software must be absolutely reliable.

The bug that caught my attention affects my Mac Pro. Since installing the incremental 10.5.3 Leopard update (released May 28), Time Machine occasionally craps out in the middle of one of its hourly backups.

It presents the following message: “Unable to complete backup. An error occurred while copying files to the backup volume.”

Not exactly reassuring, eh?

Mac users looking for a time machine alternative should investigate Mozy, an online backup service that received our highest five star rating in our recent comparison of online backup services. Unlike Time Machine or other backup services that depend on external hard drives for storage, Mozy stores all of their user's backed up files remotely. We prefer this solution since online backups solve many of the potential issues caused by offline storage.

You can learn more about Mozy and other online backup services by reading our reviews and comparison of online backup services.