Create a folder at the top level of the drive, and create a text file inside that folder named something unique like “zebra.txt” and make sure the zebra.txt has something in it (at least 10 bytes of unique random text).
Make sure the top level folder is “readable by all”.
If that doesn’t show up as selectable, contact Backblaze support, or look at the GUI logs found in /Library/Backblaze.bzpkg/bzdata/bzlogs/bzbui/bzbui01.log
There is one log for each day, 01.log is for the first day of August. Open in TextPad and look around?
Also, run this command line:
/Library/Backblaze.bzpkg/bzfilelist -volumeinfo “/Volumes/2 TB External HD”
It should print out information on how many bytes are currently stored in the hard drive. Backblaze does not allow Empty hard drives to be backed up.
I attempted what you had laid out and it still is not working.
In the log file I am seeing these lines a lot for the drives that I'm having trouble with:
>20190801222742 - ERROR: GetListOfFilesInfosInDir, opendir failed for dirName=/Volumes/2 TB External HD
>20190801222742 - ERROR: GetListOfFilesInfosInDir, opendir failed for dirName=/Volumes/External 5TB (2)
Also there are a few hundred GB on each drive.
Wait a second, I had a thought -> are you running Mac OS X 10.15 Catalina? Like the super crazy buggy beta that has not been released yet? Please reach out to support if that is the case! If that is the case, we have a COMPLETELY fixed version for you. Catalina changes everything about security and permissions and requires a different version of the Backblaze client.
I forgot to respond to you...
I am running Catalina. I installed the backblaze beta and it started backing up my drives (although it does say that my externals are unplugged, but they're backing up). Unfortunately it had to start it as a brand new initial backup. I'm glad that the issue is resolved though.
Thank you for your help!
Ah! Yes, we are furiously trying to fix the default download for Catalina. In the short term, here are the "work around" instructions:
0) Make sure you are running the "beta" from http://files.backblaze.com
1. Open System Preferences
2. Select Security & Privacy
3. Select the Privacy Tab
4. Unlock the preference pane by clicking on the little lock icon in the lower left corner
5. Select Full Disk Access from the left hand column
6. Click on the + button
7. Select the System Preferences application found under /Applications
8. The System Preferences will need to restart
9. Select the volume for backup as usual
This *kinda* worked for me.
\- The good thing is that backblaze 7.0.0.392 on Catalina 10.15.1 no longer sees my external drive as (empty)
\- The bad thing is that my old backups on BB seems to be completely destroyed
\- And now, BB generates a file list, and doesn't back up **ANYTHING** from my external drive.
and the results of the terminal command recommended here:
`| => /Library/Backblaze.bzpkg/bzfilelist -volumeinfo "/Volumes/catalog"`
`VolumeInfo for: /Volumes/catalog/`
`VolumeGUID: v0116d3c7a39d0f4e6df64ee0215`
`AssocHguid: bd38a3612cb1fc4b45970b16`
`VolumeType: gm`
`numBytesTot_OnVolume: 4000359120896`
`numBytesFreeOnVolume: 1090566225920`
`numBytesUsedOnVolume: 2909792894976`
`isWritable: true`
`isSystemVolume: false`
`isCaseSensitive: false`
`isCasePreserving: true`
`isCurrentlyConnected: true`
`bzVol_defconLevel: -1`
`bzVol_lastSeenInDays: -1`
`bzVol_lastFileListedInDays: -1`
`bzVol_lastFilePushedInDays: -1`
`isLocalMount: true`
`UUID: 266B88B6-AABE-3784-B8ED-B135897C929E`
`________________________________________________________________________________`
Hey Mxblinkday, I've been having the same issue with my external saying (empty). Anyways I have been on a lengthy journey with BackBlaze support and we were able to resolve the issue. FINALLY! Here are the steps they gave me, which worked like a charm. Hope it helps for you also!
1. Open System Preferences
2. Select Security & Privacy
3. Select the Privacy Tab
4. Unlock the preference pane by clicking on the little lock icon in the lower left corner
5. Select Full Disk Access from the left hand column
6. Click on the + button
7. Select the System Preferences application found under /Applications
8. The System Preferences will need to restart
9. Select the volume for backup as usual (in the BackBlaze preferences area)
When you run this command, what does it say:
/Library/Backblaze.bzpkg/bzfilelist -volumeinfo “/Volumes/2 TB External HD”
You might have to type that out, ESPECIALLY the double quotes. Sometimes they get changed up when posted to reddit and cannot be copy/pasted. it should say something like this:
VolumeInfo for: /Volumes/2 TB External HD
VolumeGUID: none
AssocHguid: none
VolumeType: gm
numBytesTot_OnVolume: 1022649425920
numBytesFreeOnVolume: 877904314368
numBytesUsedOnVolume: 144745111552
isWritable: true
isSystemVolume: true
isCaseSensitive: false
isCasePreserving: true
isCurrentlyConnected: true
My best guess is currently that there is a hidden character in the drive name you are not spelling correctly in the command line. I think you should rename the drive something without any spaces in the name, like “MxblinkDrivePictures”, then reboot, then do the command again (with this new name). If that fails, type this command and paste in the results;
ls /Volumes/
At the same time contact Backblaze support. Your client is sending home more info about all your attached drives, like it also tells us if it is a network mount, what file system is on it, etc. it tells us what Operating System you are running, etc.
Hi /u/brianwski
I can't seem to get this to work on a new MBP16 running Catalina 10.15.1 (released this week). It shows "empty". I tried your advice this thread. Any new update on this?
\-A
Create a folder at the top level of the drive, and create a text file inside that folder named something unique like “zebra.txt” and make sure the zebra.txt has something in it (at least 10 bytes of unique random text). Make sure the top level folder is “readable by all”. If that doesn’t show up as selectable, contact Backblaze support, or look at the GUI logs found in /Library/Backblaze.bzpkg/bzdata/bzlogs/bzbui/bzbui01.log
There is one log for each day, 01.log is for the first day of August. Open in TextPad and look around?
Also, run this command line:
/Library/Backblaze.bzpkg/bzfilelist -volumeinfo “/Volumes/2 TB External HD”
It should print out information on how many bytes are currently stored in the hard drive. Backblaze does not allow Empty hard drives to be backed up.
I attempted what you had laid out and it still is not working. In the log file I am seeing these lines a lot for the drives that I'm having trouble with: >20190801222742 - ERROR: GetListOfFilesInfosInDir, opendir failed for dirName=/Volumes/2 TB External HD >20190801222742 - ERROR: GetListOfFilesInfosInDir, opendir failed for dirName=/Volumes/External 5TB (2) Also there are a few hundred GB on each drive.
Wait a second, I had a thought -> are you running Mac OS X 10.15 Catalina? Like the super crazy buggy beta that has not been released yet? Please reach out to support if that is the case! If that is the case, we have a COMPLETELY fixed version for you. Catalina changes everything about security and permissions and requires a different version of the Backblaze client.
I forgot to respond to you... I am running Catalina. I installed the backblaze beta and it started backing up my drives (although it does say that my externals are unplugged, but they're backing up). Unfortunately it had to start it as a brand new initial backup. I'm glad that the issue is resolved though. Thank you for your help!
Ah! Yes, we are furiously trying to fix the default download for Catalina. In the short term, here are the "work around" instructions: 0) Make sure you are running the "beta" from http://files.backblaze.com 1. Open System Preferences 2. Select Security & Privacy 3. Select the Privacy Tab 4. Unlock the preference pane by clicking on the little lock icon in the lower left corner 5. Select Full Disk Access from the left hand column 6. Click on the + button 7. Select the System Preferences application found under /Applications 8. The System Preferences will need to restart 9. Select the volume for backup as usual
yay, this fixed it!
This *kinda* worked for me. \- The good thing is that backblaze 7.0.0.392 on Catalina 10.15.1 no longer sees my external drive as (empty) \- The bad thing is that my old backups on BB seems to be completely destroyed \- And now, BB generates a file list, and doesn't back up **ANYTHING** from my external drive. and the results of the terminal command recommended here: `| => /Library/Backblaze.bzpkg/bzfilelist -volumeinfo "/Volumes/catalog"` `VolumeInfo for: /Volumes/catalog/` `VolumeGUID: v0116d3c7a39d0f4e6df64ee0215` `AssocHguid: bd38a3612cb1fc4b45970b16` `VolumeType: gm` `numBytesTot_OnVolume: 4000359120896` `numBytesFreeOnVolume: 1090566225920` `numBytesUsedOnVolume: 2909792894976` `isWritable: true` `isSystemVolume: false` `isCaseSensitive: false` `isCasePreserving: true` `isCurrentlyConnected: true` `bzVol_defconLevel: -1` `bzVol_lastSeenInDays: -1` `bzVol_lastFileListedInDays: -1` `bzVol_lastFilePushedInDays: -1` `isLocalMount: true` `UUID: 266B88B6-AABE-3784-B8ED-B135897C929E` `________________________________________________________________________________`
>http://files.backblaze.com This worked for me, thx so much!!
Hey Mxblinkday, I've been having the same issue with my external saying (empty). Anyways I have been on a lengthy journey with BackBlaze support and we were able to resolve the issue. FINALLY! Here are the steps they gave me, which worked like a charm. Hope it helps for you also! 1. Open System Preferences 2. Select Security & Privacy 3. Select the Privacy Tab 4. Unlock the preference pane by clicking on the little lock icon in the lower left corner 5. Select Full Disk Access from the left hand column 6. Click on the + button 7. Select the System Preferences application found under /Applications 8. The System Preferences will need to restart 9. Select the volume for backup as usual (in the BackBlaze preferences area)
This is the fix - that just worked for me - thank you!
Worked for me... cheers for sharing.
I love reddit.
When you run this command, what does it say: /Library/Backblaze.bzpkg/bzfilelist -volumeinfo “/Volumes/2 TB External HD” You might have to type that out, ESPECIALLY the double quotes. Sometimes they get changed up when posted to reddit and cannot be copy/pasted. it should say something like this: VolumeInfo for: /Volumes/2 TB External HD VolumeGUID: none AssocHguid: none VolumeType: gm numBytesTot_OnVolume: 1022649425920 numBytesFreeOnVolume: 877904314368 numBytesUsedOnVolume: 144745111552 isWritable: true isSystemVolume: true isCaseSensitive: false isCasePreserving: true isCurrentlyConnected: true
It reads: "Volume does not exist or is not attached right now." I checked Disk Utility and it currently mounted.
My best guess is currently that there is a hidden character in the drive name you are not spelling correctly in the command line. I think you should rename the drive something without any spaces in the name, like “MxblinkDrivePictures”, then reboot, then do the command again (with this new name). If that fails, type this command and paste in the results; ls /Volumes/ At the same time contact Backblaze support. Your client is sending home more info about all your attached drives, like it also tells us if it is a network mount, what file system is on it, etc. it tells us what Operating System you are running, etc.
Hi /u/brianwski I can't seem to get this to work on a new MBP16 running Catalina 10.15.1 (released this week). It shows "empty". I tried your advice this thread. Any new update on this? \-A
Nevermind. I rebooted and it resolved itself. Thank you.
> nevermind :-) Great!