Backup MacBook with Time Machine via Lan

Question

Level 1

13 points

Backup MacBook with Time Machine via Lan

Hi,

I have a Mac mini M4 and a MacBook Pro M4 with 24 GB RAM and a 512 GB hard drive. I need to back up my MacBook, so I created a 1024 GB partition on an external hard drive connected to my Mac mini. I followed the instructions to set up disk sharing for Time Machine and access it via a local administrator account.

On the MacBook, I connect to the disk, set up the backup, and when I start the backup, a file is created on the remote disk: petr-macpro – MacBook Pro.sparsebundle, and then it ends with an error: Time Machine cannot complete the backup to "MacBook_Pro_M4."

The backup disk image was ejected or disconnected from the Mac during the backup.

I have sent screenshots, including a connection diagram, in the attachment. Some of the images are in Czech.

I have spent a lot of time on this and I am completely at a loss. I work as a network administrator, so I understand these things quite well, but I have no idea what to do with this.

I would be very grateful if you could advise me.

Thank you very much in advance.

MacBook Pro (M4 Pro, 2024)

Posted on Nov 15, 2025 9:37 AM

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Answer 1

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,126 points

Nov 15, 2025 9:56 AM in response to petrvvales

Is the drive inside of the NAS? People have been having problems with various NAS implementations. Can you connect the drive without the NAS?

It sounds like the connection to the drive is dropping and I have seen similar descriptions on the posts that are having problems with a NAS.

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,126 points

Nov 18, 2025 6:11 AM in response to petrvvales

Do you have the same system modifications installed on all your Macs? Something seems to be interfering with the networking on them all.

I’ve been sharing out a Time Machine backup for at least a decade using every macOS version since and have never seen what you describe.

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Answer 3

petrvvales Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 19, 2025 4:03 AM in response to Barney-15E

I deleted, reinstalled, and updated all devices, and I also reinstalled all applications. I did not restore from any backup.

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Answer 4

petrvvales Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 15, 2025 10:39 AM in response to Barney-15E

The QNAP TR-002 is just an external enclosure with RADI 1 or 0, so there's no need to configure it in macOS—it's just an external drive. Local backups work perfectly. For example, I back up my Mac mini without any problems, and I also tried it locally on my MacBook, and it works fine too. I tried to back up over the network to another external SSD drive connected to my Mac mini, and it didn't work either. It worked for me in the previous version of macOS. I said I tried almost everything :)

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Answer 5

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,126 points

Nov 15, 2025 6:05 PM in response to petrvvales

I tried to back up over the network to another external SSD drive connected to my Mac mini, and it didn't work either. It worked for me in the previous version of macOS. I said I tried almost everything :)

I have never had a problem backing up to an external drive over the network. If you had it working with other things, I would imagine you have set it up correctly.

With the SSD, did you get the same message about it being ejected or disconnected?

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Answer 6

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,126 points

Nov 16, 2025 5:15 PM in response to petrvvales

It is exactly the same on all drives, regardless of the type of drive.

My guess then is you have something not working correctly on your Mini. I don't know what it might be or how to fix it.

Have you tried the standard voodoo of starting up in Safe Mode, then restarting it normally?

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Answer 7

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,126 points

Nov 19, 2025 3:58 AM in response to petrvvales

It has a completely new clean installation of 26.1 everywhere.

What does “clean” mean? Every macOS since Big Sur is always “clean” as it cannot be modified short of an Apple update. Any system modifications are on the Data volume, not the macOS System volume. In order for the Mac to be free of third-party system modifications, you would have to Erase all Contents and Settings (or erase the drive completely).

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Answer 8

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,126 points

Nov 19, 2025 4:09 AM in response to petrvvales

petrvvales wrote:

I deleted, reinstalled, and updated all devices, and I also reinstalled all applications. I did not restore from any backup.

I have no idea. I can’t replicate your problem. You should contact Apple Support.

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Answer 9

Tesserax

Level 10

157,884 points

Nov 15, 2025 10:15 AM in response to Barney-15E

@Barney-15E

FWIW, the QNAP TR-002 is a NAS storage extension device, but can be used as a standalone external drive enclosure that can be controlled via a QNAP app on a Mac.

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Answer 10

petrvvales Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 16, 2025 10:33 AM in response to Barney-15E

It is exactly the same on all drives, regardless of the type of drive.

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Answer 11

petrvvales Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 17, 2025 6:00 AM in response to Barney-15E

I tried connecting the external drive to my other MacBook and sharing it, and it's exactly the same. I tried backing up the other MacBook to the Mac mini, and it's the same.

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Answer 12

petrvvales Author

Level 1

13 points

Nov 19, 2025 3:50 AM in response to Barney-15E

It has a completely new clean installation of 26.1 everywhere.

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