"Unable to create hard link" error when cloning Time Machine drive
 

| 11:42:30 PM | Error | SDCopy: Unable to create hard link from directory /Volumes/Time Machine/Backups.backupdb/****** *****’s MacBook/2008-12-23-010022/Macintosh HD/Users/*******/Documents/Fonts to /Volumes/Time Machine/Backups.backupdb/****** *****’s MacBook/2008-12-12-214946/Macintosh HD/Users/*******/Documents/Fonts: No such file or directory

I'm doing a "backup all files/erase then copy" from my current Time Machine drive, to my new, bigger, hard drive that I'm going to use for Time Machine. It happily copies everything just fine until it almost reaches the end, and then I get this error. I'm not why this would happen. Am I doing something wrong? Is there something wrong with the files that are in my current Time Machine drive?

I have gotten the "Time Machine fail" error before, a few times, but then Time Machine kept working when I made it back up again after a fail, so I didn't think too much of it. I wonder if this error have something to do with those fails?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Use the "Send to shirt pocket" button to send the log to me via email. Thanks!

Okay, I sent the log. Please let me know if you figure out what's going on. Thanks!

Is there a fix for this issue? I'm having the same problem cloning a TimeMachine hard drive. I tried it twice and it failed twice at the exact same file (using a smart update the second time).
I don't have the log right now as I'm trying a third time after copying the "missing directory" myself in the Finder (which doesn't feel like a thing I should be doing).

Oh, by the way. The folder that is said to be missing is actually locked. I don't know if this is relevant or not.

Thanks!

Yes, it's relevant: unlock the folder in the Time Machine backup on the source.

Of course, my manual copying of the offending folder and the subsequent smart update didn't work.
So thank you for the quick answer. I unlocked the original folder, did a new Time Machine backup, and went through the other 30-something Time Machine backups to check the folder was unlocked everywhere. I had to unlock it manually twice, I think. Probably where the folder had actually changed and was not just a hard link.

I'm starting a new SuperDuper "erase, then copy" action. I'll feel better if it works at once, rather than after my smart updates and my tinkering. I'll write back in a day or two to report how the cloning went.

Thanks!