So, backups.

• On my Time Capsule (ca. 2015) I get the same bland unhelpful error message described on this blog post.
• I got the same error message when I moved the Time Machine backup to my Western Digital 2TB external drive (ca. 2010). I've been using the latter mainly for miscellaneous photos, DVD rips, and the like. A junk drawer, of sorts, with not many valuables.
• Is the problem the Time Machine software or the drives it's writing to? I can't tell.
• I used Disk Utility to 'repair' both drives, which wound up deleting the last good Time Machine backup on the Time Capsule, and I think wrecked the WD2TB. I cannot now write or edit any file on the WD2TB.
• Most hard drives have an average life span of about 5 years, so it's past time to upgrade the WD2TB, I suppose.
• I have key folders synced with Dropbox, and my and Liz's user folders backed up to Crashplan. So our really critical stuff is still OK but it would take time to restore all those files. I would feel more comfortable with one or more full local backups.

Here's my plan, such as it is:

1. First, do no harm. Stop trying to repair these devices. It just seems to bollix them up more.
2. Focus now on getting one or more reliable local backups of this iMac.
3. Buy a 4TB external drive and plug it into the iMac. Use Disk Utility to format it and split it into two 2TB partitions.
4. Use Carbon Copy Cloner to create a bootable backup on one of the partitions.
5. Use Time Machine to create a versioned backup on the second partition. Cross my fingers that it will work.
6. STOP! Get two local backups and verify they work before fiddling any further.
7. Use Disk Utility to wipe and repair the WD2TB. If the drive continues to cause problems, securely wipe it and recycle it.
8. Document our wifi settings in Time Capsule in case the next step clobbers them.
9. Perform soft and hard resets on the Time Capsule as necessary to see if that will help kickstart Time Machine backups there.
10. Take the damn thing to the Apple Store if I can't get it working as I'd like. Has the disk gone bad? Do they need to puff more blue smoke into its inner circuitry?
11. If it's not the Time Capsule, but the Time Machine application? Lord, I do not want to go there.

I'm using Joe Kissell's Backing Up Your Mac ebook as a guide for planning and thinking through the local backups.