macOS: Time Machine Must Create A New Backup For You

Apple File Protocol (AFP) is no longer supported on My Cloud OS 5 firmware 5.19.197 and My Cloud Home firmware 7.16.0-217 and higher.

Description

The following message can appear when Time Machine executes its periodic verification of previous backups.

Time Machine completed a verification of your backups. To improve reliability, Time Machine must create a new backup for you

When the message occurs, Time Machine will lock the sparse bundle which prevents future backups from occurring. A damaged sparse bundle cannot be repaired with Disk Utility. Time Machine backups that result in a verification error should be considered damaged.

There are many possible causes of Time Machine sparse bundle corruptions. The most common are detailed below.

• Network Related Issue
• auto switching from 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz
• weak Wi-Fi signal when using 5 GHz band
• device going in and out of sleep mode during a backup
• intermittent network connectivity loss or pause
• network traffic caused by streaming media devices (Kindle Fire, Roku, Amazon, Netflix)


• Power Issues
• Rebooting device during TM Backups
• Power surge, loss or fluctuation
• Faulty power supply


• Hardware Failure
• Failing router or network ports
• Failing hard drive

Resolution

Due to the unknown nature of the sparse bundle corruption, we recommend creating a new Time Machine backup in line with the original Time Machine message.

The following items may help if this is a recurring issue:

1. Prevent the Mac from auto switching between network bands


2. Configure the Mac to use the 2.4 GHz band to increase Wi-Fi range


3. Ensure the Mac does not go in and out of sleep mode during Time Machine backups
   For more information, refer to Answer ID 24863: Why Initial macOS Time Machine Backup Fail?


4. Perform the initial Time Machine backups during low network usage hours


5. Reboot networking equipment to clear system cache, DNS and routing tables which can cause network latency


6. Deploy a UPS system for computer equipment to aid in power loss scenarios


7. Use a surge protector where necessary


8. Run "Full Disk Scans" to check for failing hard drive, write errors and bad disk sectors

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