Log in fail after backup/restore

[JulieMc]

Hi:

I have a MacBookPro, and am running the most recent version, although I can't remember the name of it. The other day, I decided to do a backup to my dedicated external hard drive. After the back up, I tried to log in and got a message that I had to restore my OS, so I chose to do so from the back up I had just created. Once the restore was complete, I booted up and was prompted to log in. I enter my password, but all I get is the spinning ball. I don't get a password error message. I have tried to boot in recovery mode, and I have tried to do a safe boot, but as the machine is booting up, it won't respond to any keys and it just continues to go through the boot up process, taking me back again to the screen where I need to enter my password, and again, will not respond to what I enter. It just gets hung up. I can't get in at all to do anything, and I can't get into recovery mode.

 

[honestone]

Sorry to hear you are having issues, Julie. I suspect the Mac OS you are using is Sierra, but which version? V10.12.0, V10.12.1, V10.12.2, V10.12.3, V10.12.4, or V10.12.5.

Also, what software did you use to make the back up? Additionally, not sure why you would have needed to log in again on the MacBook Pro after the backup completed. The backup was written to the external drive, and if the software you used was Time Machine, that backup would not be bootable.

And, how are you making posts here, given that you cannot get back into the MacBook Pro? Are you using another Mac? If you are, what exact Mac model is it, and what is the exact model of your MacBook Pro?

 

[JulieMc]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I can't answer your questions about versions, because I can't get into my computer to check them. Right now, I am on a PC, for the purposes of trying to find a solution. I did use Time Machine to back up, and I can't remember why I had to reboot after the backup was done, except that I was prompted to log back in and when I did, my hard drive was "gone." Then I was prompted to restore, which I did from the newly created back up. I wish I hadn't backed up... I was trying to be responsible

 

[honestone]

Again, Julie, sorry for your "pain". I have never used Time Machine for my backups (I backup two Macs to two separate external devices (SSDs)), preferring to use SuperDuper! (here is a link for it:

http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html; you actually can use it in "demo" mode for as long as you want, and for basic backups, that's good enough).

After the backups are complete, I am never prompted to "re-log in". Backups are critical, but not sure why it was a "disaster" for you.

Too bad you are using a PC, as my thought was that if you were using another Mac, you could boot your problematic Mac in Target Disk Mode. Do you know anyone who has a Mac? Also, how critical is the stuff on your Mac?

Not sure if my next suggestion is going to work, but disconnect your external drive from your Mac, and try and start it up. Again, I'm unsure if that will work.

Additionally, prior to the backup attempt, have you ever done any disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs, from a software perspective, on your internal drive? Also, what brand/model external drive do you have, how old is it, and what have you been using it for? For disk cleanup, one can actually do a number of helpful things with that. And there are some excellent tools available (both free and commercial) to help you with the cleanup/maintenance/repairs efforts.

 

[JulieMc]

Thanks so much for the suggestions. I finally gave in and took it to my local Mac guy. When I explained the issue to him, he seemed to think it was a hard drive cable inside the machine. I don't know why I logged back in after I backed up, and since I am notorious for leaving my computer on all the time, I doubt I would have done it unless I was forced to. I am on my PC at work right now, and the Mac is at home for personal and creative projects. I do have all of my stuff on the external hard drive now, so if it can't be fixed, at least I've got the latest and greatest. The external drive is only about a year old, and it is dedicated for file backups. I do need to learn more about maintenance and clean-up for sure, so any links are welcome. Thanks again!

 

[honestone]

Thanks for the reply/update. Before you did the backup, it seems the external drive already had files on it. Did you first partition the drive to have a dedicated "volume" for the Time Machine backups? If you did not do that, it could be a possible cause of your issue.

As for disk cleanup/maintenance/repairs:

1. For disk cleanup, you can do a lot on your own: get rid of files you no longer need, get rid of applications you no longer need, have deleted EMails permanently removed, etc. Besides doing a lot on your own, these two free, excellent apps can help you:

AppCleaner: https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/

Onyx: https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/onyx.html

AppCleaner is excellent for getting rid of just about all files associated with an application you want to remove. And note that for Onyx, there are specific versions for each Mac OS.

2. For more "intense"/complete disk cleanup, and disk maintenance/repairs, I use the venerable software TechTool Pro:

https://www.micromat.com/products/techtool-pro

It really works well at keeping my Macs in "tip top" shape.