Cannot back up my Mac to WD SmartWare 'My Book' external drive

WD External and Portable SSD External SSD for macOS
1

This message appeared: “An error occurred while preparing the backup.” Any tips?

2

Hi @mgroff,

Please refer to the article WD Smartware: macOS End of Support:
https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/28860

For more information, please contact the WD Technical Support team for best assistance and troubleshooting:
https://support-en.wd.com/app/ask

3

Time machine is a main backup utility for mac users offered by Apple. But sometimes time machine unable to backup your data and shows error like Time machine backup failed, An error occurred while preparing the backup etc.

Here are few DIY fixes to resolve the time machine backup failure issue:

  1. Check external hard drive’s file system.
  2. Check free disk space on external hard drive.
  3. Check for junk files or other unwanted data as it might be causing problem.
  4. Check if the Mac software is updated.
  5. Try restarting your Mac.
  6. Check if the mac and the backup drive connected to the same network.

By checking the above issues, you might resolve the time machine backup failure.

Hope it helps!