The content of /Volumes on macOS is unpredictable and may change over time. It may include:
- Mounted external media
- Mounted network shares
- Mounted disk images
- Mounted Time Machine backup contents (while a Time Machine backup is in progress)
This content is usually undesirable for inclusion in backups, and for this reason, /Volumes is excluded from the backup selection.
However, sometimes it may be necessary to include items from /Volumes in the backup, for example if you need to backup the contents of external media or a network share. This can be done in one of two ways:
- Mount the volume(s) in a different location that is not affected by the exclusion of /Volumes.
- Override the exclusion of /Volumes.
When overriding the exclusion of /Volumes, it is important to ensure that the mount points under /Volumes are stable between backups, and that any unwanted volumes are excluded from the backup selection.
To override the exclusion of /Volumes, follow the steps below:
1. Stop the ESE service by running the following command in a terminal:
sudo launchctl stop com.redstor.backuppro.service
2. Edit /Library/Application Support/Redstor Pro ESE/config/a5backup.properties as follows:
- For ESE 26.2 and newer, add the line:
macos.include.volumes=true - For ESE 26.1 and older, add the line:
macos.override.system.exclusion.ContentsExcluded=/Volumes
3. Start the ESE service by running the following command in a terminal:sudo launchctl start com.redstor.backuppro.service
6. Update the backup selection to exclude any unwanted content under /Volumes.
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