Fix slow backups

Using Check Speed tells you which paths are causing your backups to slow to a crawl. Use that to exclude those folders and items from your backups and improve their performance and chances of successful completion.

In most cases, the folder at fault is hidden at the root level of a volume, and named .DocumentRevisions-V100 . This contains the macOS Versioning database, which is only useful when you perform a full volume restore. You may prefer quicker backups to retaining that feature, in which case you can add that folder to Time Machine’s exclude list. This is easiest when you detect this during a first full backup as you can then:

- stop that backup,

- disable automatic backups,

- delete the backup folder (which is incomplete),

- add the troublesome folder to the exclude list,

- start backups again.

To add this hidden folder to the exclude list, open the Time Machine pane and click on the Options… button. When the item selection dialog opens, press Command-Shift-. (period/stop) to show hidden files. Select the .DocumentRevisions-V100 folder on the correct volume, then click on the Exclude button to add it to the list.

Once you have finished adding folders and other items, click on the Save button to use that exclude list in the next backup. When the next backup has finished, use T2M2 to check again that the backup didn’t get slowed by another folder or item.

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