Backing up os x. Arq Overview - Backing Up Data from Mac OS X and Windows to the Cloud. How can I use backup and sync

Using backup macOS, you will be able to avoid problems such as data loss due to drive failure or system problems that cannot be fixed.

Anything can happen - an unsuccessful system update, disk damage, software and system errors, or there will be a need for a pre-configured and saved system. In this guide, you will learn how to create macOS backups, protecting yourself from the loss of important data and other problems.

Backing up with Time Machine

To create a backup in Time machine is necessary external drive connected to a computer, such as a USB storage device with sufficient capacity.

Time Machine automatically performs hourly backups for the last 24 hours, daily, for a month, and every week for all the past months. As the disk becomes full, the previously created copies will be overwritten.

Connect the external drive to your Mac, go to system preferences and open " Time machine".

Click " Select a backup disk".


Select an external drive, check the box " Encrypt copies"(to keep your backups safe) and click the" Use disk".

Create a password that will be used to encrypt your drive.

Important ... If you forget your password, it will not be possible to restore your backups.


If the disc is not properly formatted, you will be prompted to erase it.

After that, Time Machine will periodically create backups of your system.

If you want to turn off automatic backups, just uncheck the " Create backups automatically".


If necessary, you can start the backup manually by selecting in top menu "Back up now".

Also, view the status of the backup, stop the backup, enter Time Machine and open the settings.

ICloud backup

Open " System settings "and go in" iCloud".


Check the data you want to back up.

Do not forget to look at " Parameters".

Now you can protect your data from loss and restore it when needed.

Has your computer ever crashed? Have you ever lost your laptop? If not, you are very lucky. This has happened to many of us. Ask anyone who has ever lost their computer and they will tell you:

It's not fun.

After all, most of us store all our data on our computer. Thesis, work files, family photos, finances - almost everyone has it all.

But when your computer crashes ... the question arises how to recover data ...

That's why important make a backup of your hard disk... Your Mac can work great, you can be 100% confident in it, but you never know what might happen tomorrow or now after 10 minutes. And when something happens, you should be in full arms.

Fortunately, there are several different ways to back up all your files. All these methods are quite simple and will take you very little time.

Mac backup with Time Machine

Apple makes it easy to back up your laptop by making a copy of your hard drive. Since 2007, Apple has equipped every laptop and desktop device with software called Time Machine.

Basically, this program is a built-in backup function that allows you to create copies of your hard drive at any time. This is great because it not only allows you to restore your computer if it stops working altogether, but it also allows you to recover individual files if you deleted them.

Accidentally empty your trash bin with an important folder in it?

Do not worry! If you've backed up your computer with Time Machine, you can restore that file back in just a few minutes!

After you turn on Time Machine, it will periodically back up all files on your computer, depending on your program settings. We suggest that you set up automatic backups for weekly or daily backups (you can even do hourly backups if you like). This way, you don't need to set aside time for backups, because your computer will do it automatically.

Here's how to use it:

First, you'll need an external drive to store your files. It can be a traditional external one that connects via USB, FireWire, or Thunderbolt. Or you can use one of the branded apple devices Time Capsule, if you have one.

You can even store your files on another computer on your network if that computer is compatible with the common Apple File Protocol (AFP) feature.

This disk will store all the duplicate files after they have been rendered. Thus, to make a backup, it needs to be connected.

Therefore, before you get started, you need to grab an external drive and plug it in. If you want to save your content on another computer using general access to the files, you can skip this step and move on.

Time Machine setup:

Does Time Machine make all backups every time?

New users often wonder when they use Time Machine if it creates a copy of each a separate file every time the computer backs up.

The answer is ... YES!

The program automatically copies all files to your hDD.

This way, every time it starts up, it will copy your system files, accounts, apps, settings, pictures, videos, documents, music, and even emails.

It may seem strange that the external drive has full copy your computer. But don't worry. If something goes wrong, you will be glad you have it.

Back up Mac to iCloud

Don't have an external hard drive for backup? No need to worry! There are ways to keep your files safe, even without an external drive.

One of the best ways to do this is with. The advantage of using the cloud as a backup is access to data from anywhere. Well, that's also the fact that you don't need to carry an external drive with you along with your laptop.

iCloud is pretty easy to use. All you have to do is drag and drop files directly to the cloud storage. You will sleep soundly at night knowing that your files are safe, even if your computer fails and your external hard the disk will break.

Here's how to use it:

  1. Before using iCloud drive, you must. You need latest version operating room mac systemswhen you try to access the cloud. Otherwise, you may have difficulties.

Can you back up your entire computer to iCloud?

Want to create a copy of your hard drive and upload it to iCloud?

The short answer is yes. But that's kind of a problem. The problem is that Apple gives you limited space in the cloud. And while they give you 5GB of storage space for free in your account, they will make you pay to expand the space.

The cost of hosting data in iCloud varies from region to region. You can currently buy 50GB additional cloud storage for $ 0.99 a month. Or, you can invest in 2 TB of extra storage for $ 9.99 per month.

Unfortunately, your computer probably contains over 5 GB of data. Therefore, if you want to back up your entire hard drive to iCloud, you will have to pay Apple's monthly subscription.

And there is one more obstacle in this process ...

You will need to create a copy of your hard drive before you can export it to the cloud. Most likely, there is not enough space on your device for two copies.

Thus, you will probably need an external drive. This way you will have a storage device for your copy. Once copied, you can drag this file to your iCloud account.

There are several advantages to having two copies of your hard drive. As I said, it's nice to have both a local backup and a cloud backup so you never lose your files.

But you have to pay for it - both in the cloud and in physical space.

Backup Mac to Google Drive

Another way to back up your Mac is to save all of your files to Google Drive. Similar to iCloud, this option gives you the ability to store all of your data in a safe and secure folder on the Internet.

We now understand that Google Drive is not the first choice apple user in storage solutions. I mean, why are you using this when you already have iCloud access?

As a Mac owner, iCloud will be your first choice. Who wants to open up a whole new site when they can just drag and drop their files into a folder that's already on their computer?

But if you're looking for extra storage, Google Drive might be the best option. When you sign up for a Drive account, Google gives you 15GB of free disk space. That's more than the 5 GB that comes with account iCloud.

And you can still if needed. You can get 100GB for $ 1.99 per month, which might be worth it when you factor in the 15GB free they already give you.

Google Drive is also relatively easy to use. In fact, you probably already have an account if you have a Gmail address, so all you have to do is go to Or you can download the app via App Store.


Whether you install it or use it on your website, all you have to do is drag files or folders to disk. They will be downloaded instantly.

It is so simple!

How can I use backup and sync?

Disadvantage Google Drive is that you have to download each folder separately. It is not possible to drag the entire hard drive into the application at the same time.

But with the help google apps Backup and Sync you can create a copy of your hard drive and save it online.

It's kind of inconvenient that you have to download an additional application. But, if it prevents me from losing all my files, if my computer breaks down, such efforts will not be in vain.

This is how it works:


You can get general information by clicking the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your desktop and choosing About This Mac. When the Browse window opens, select the Storage tab to see how many GB you have saved on your computer.

Make sure you free up enough disk space (or iCloud) to store all of the files you plan to keep.

If you are still not backing up Mac OS X on a regular basis, you should be prepared for the fact that one day all your data may be irretrievably lost. There is hardly a single user who would say that this is not a problem for him. Even if your Mac is full of simple garbage, it is all the same dear garbage in the configuration you need, with which you have grown together, and its loss will sadly affect your state of mind. That is why you can and should regularly back up your disk. And even if you use an excellent antivirus, constantly check how everything works, you can still miss the "X" moment.

What if everything has already happened - the system fell, burying everything that was so dear to you under the rubble? Probably, for a start, try to save as much as possible with the help of special data recovery utilities. But even this does not guarantee you a full return: at best, you will be able to revive only part of what was on the hard drive. And then it's worth introducing a new habit - regular system backups.

I think that the real paranoid always keep several backups of irreplaceable, critical files, and in different places. And this is correct, because you never know when sclerosis will hit? But in fact, many do not even realize how conservative we are and how attached to our personal environment - our favorite system. And only after losing it, we begin to look for ways to prevent this from happening again. And there really are ways, and quite a lot. The most popular of these are Time Machine backups and Disk Utility tools.

Using Time Machine

So, if your Mac is running OS X 10.5 or later, the easiest way to back up your hard drive is to use the built-in Time Machine utility, which in automatic mode creates backups of the system and all important files on an external hard drive or network. System files, digital photos, music, films, documentation and more - all this will remain with Time Machine safe and sound. This utility allows you to truly "go back in time" to restore files in their original form at the moment when you need it.

Setting up Time Machine doesn't take much of your time. The utility dialog box appears as soon as the user connects a second drive to the Mac, you are politely asked if you want to use this tool for backup.


Your task is to answer “yes” by clicking on the “Use as Backup Disk” button. Basically, that's all. If suddenly your hard drive orders to live for a long time, you can now not only restore all files, but also the complete configuration of the system before the "accident".

Backups are stored for the last 24 hours, week, month until the disk becomes full. After creating the first backup, the program will save only those files that have changed. If you have files that you do not need to save, configure the program to exclude their backup.


To do this, in the "System settings" of the program, click the "Options" button, and in the dialog box that appears, specify the files and folders that should not be copied. Time Machine can also be started manually. To do this, select "Create a backup now" in the Program Menu.

Restoring your Time Machine backups is as easy as launching the program itself. To do this, click the Time Machine icon, opening a window in which you should select desired fileusing the timeline on the right. Be sure to make sure that this is indeed the version you were looking for using the "quick view" function (select the file and press the spacebar). Then just click the "Restore" button, and the required file will be automatically revived "from the ashes".


Naturally, the main advantage of Time Machine is the ability to restore the entire system in just one click. Booting Mac OS from boot disk, just click "Restore system from backup".

Using Disk Utility

A great alternative to Time Machine backups is to create virtual image disk along with all the contents of your Mac OS X using Disk Utility. Disk Utility has a number of unique featuressuch as access rights, the Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) and the Access Control List (ACL). With Disk Utility, you can back up to an external hard drive that has enough free space.


Backing up to an external hard drive using Disk Utility

1. Connect an external hard drive (FireWire or USB) with sufficient space to store your Macintosh HD backup;


4. On the left side of the panel, select the disk you want to back up;
5. Click the Verify Disk button, if you need to fix any errors, click the Repair Disk button;


6. Click the New Image button on the toolbar, give a name for the disk image, in addition, the copy creation time and the name of the saved disk will be indicated;

Note: For increased security, Disk Utility allows you to create an encrypted disk backup. From Encryption: From the pop-up menu, choose 128-bit or 256-bit AES encryption. When prompted, you will have to enter a password for encryption.

7. Click the Save button;
8. Enter the administrator name and password when (and if) required; will save about 1 GB / min depending on various factors;
9. After the copying process is complete, select the newly created disk image in the device's Images\u003e Scan Image for Restore panel from the menu and enable full scan.
10. Close Disk Utility (by pressing Q) and the Mac OS X installer (again by pressing Q), restart your computer.

To restore a disk backup of your Mac OS X:

1. Connect the external drive containing the data backup;
2. Run the installation DVD;
3. Select a language and select Disk Utility from the Utilitie menu;
4. Select mac disk The OS X you want to restore;
5. Click the Restore tab and drag the internal drive to the Destination: field;
6. Click the Image ... button next to the Source: field;
7. Go to the local folder where the backup copy of the disk you need is saved (on an external disk);
8. Click the Open button to continue, then click Restore;
9. Enter the name and password of the administrator; if you have encrypted backup images disk, enter the password specified when saving the encrypted disk image; data recovery takes different time depending on the size of the saved disk.

In the article, we described only two of several possible ways Mac OS X backups and data recovery. If you know of other (better) ways to back up a disk, please share with us and other readers in the comments.

The year 2011 is drawing to a close - we are all summing up its results, making plans for the future. Some promise to quit drinking, others - to smoke, still others - to play sports or lose weight. But, as a rule, it is difficult to say goodbye to habits if there is no strong desire and willpower. Why not promise to make a backup of your Mac files next year?

This is much easier to accomplish than fighting bad habits or exhausting yourself with difficult physical exercises. In addition, if this is not done, sooner or later you can lose valuable and irreplaceable information on your computer. And if you consider that the backup should be done regularly, new beginnings will be enough for you for a whole year. Of course, this advice is not at all new and almost every user knows about the need to backup files, but this procedure should be done diligently and carefully so as not to start the process of irreversible changes on the device's hard drive.

A year earlier, Chris Breen, in How to Make a Solid File Backup on a Mac, detailed the process, emphasizing: “You can easily do without backing up a huge number of files: applications from Mac App Store and other programs available for download on the network, applications for iOS. Also, you can skip backing up your email if you use IMAP mail or a Gmail account. On these postal services messages are stored on a remote server, so you can open your messages on the network. The question of information security and data confidentiality on such services remains open. Also, you can skip backing up your music files if you are using. Of course, the backup provides a much higher speed of data recovery in the event of a fatal error, but to save time and relatively quickly perform the operation, you can make a superficial backup of files.

The most important files that should be backed up without fail are text documents in Word, photos, home videos. Of course, if you want to do a more thorough backup of your Mac device, check out our other backup plans. We will concentrate on the most simple solutionsavailable for every user, even a beginner.

Backup with Dropbox is the easiest solution

Download Dropbox from dropbox.com, install the program. If all went well, the Dropbox folder will appear in the main user directory of the device, as well as in the sidebar of the search box.

After downloading the program, you will be given up to 2 GB of disk space for free. If you have few backup files at your disposal, this is more than enough. If you need additional space, you will have to pay $ 99 per year. Move important documents and photos to your Dropbox folder, and the service will automatically synchronize them with a remote server.

Installation Dropbox and upload to the server important information takes minutes. But if you don't mind spending a little time and money, there are other ways to make a more thorough data backup on your Mac device.

Next simple solution: Time Machine

You probably know about free program Time machine for Mac, allowing you to back up your data. But if you've never configured Time Machine, it's unlikely to come to your aid. But if you configure the program correctly, it will take very little time for the backup.

The plan is as follows:

1. Buy another hard drive. For less than $ 100, you get at least a terabyte of disk space. When shopping for Mac OS drives, consider that Thunderbolt drives are faster.
2. Connect the drive to the device.
The system will ask you if you want to use the new disk for backup with Time Machine, after your consent, the data will be backed up to the new disk. This procedure is very effective and most painless. If you have purchased a large disc, you can be sure that your data is safe, just in case. The program saves information, and if you have already changed the file, you can always return to it old versionif the need arises. Also, if you accidentally deleted a file, you can restore it at any time.

The advantage of Time Machine is the ability of the program to make regular data backups, even if the files are updated by the user. As soon as this happens, a new backup is automatically started. In the event of a fatal error, the program provides a backup up to a minute of the previously unforeseen situation. And unlike Dropbox, Time Machine copies everything to another drive, and you don't need to check if all the files have been moved to the backup folder.

Time Machine can also be used to back up files to remote network drives.

Of course, working with Time Machine involves purchasing additional hard disk, its regular synchronization with the program. But there is another opportunity to do backup files, and this does not require additional hardware, but only a monthly or annual subscription and Internet access. It:

CrashPlan

This program has already become popular with many users. A subscription to CrashPlan costs only $ 3 per month, thanks to it you can make a backup of information on one computer; for $ 6 per month, you can back up data on 10 personal computers. These prices are subject to a one-time payment for a period of 4 years, but if you intend to pay monthly, then this service will cost a little more.

With CrashPlan you don't need to buy additional hard drives for backup. CrashPlan backs up data over the Internet, which eliminates the possibility of a one-time error.

All you need to do is subscribe to CrashPlan, choose a plan, download the corresponding software, and wait. The program automatically backs up files using worldwide network to the CrashPlan servers. You can run the application and see the progress of the copy, or just leave the program closed and it will quietly do its job.
Also CrashPlan will notify you by e-mail or on Twitter about the status of backups, and in case there is no backup for several days. If you need to recover a file, you can easily do it through the CrashPlan app or website. Similar to Time Machine, CrashPlan backs up multiple versions of files, so you can access more early versions files. The same applies to files that you have deleted. The service provides almost unlimited data backup options for a reasonable price.

Bootable backup

But none of these systems, Dropbox, Time Machine, or CrashPlan, are designed to run a bootable backup. This means that you won't start your Mac if your hard drive fails. But this problem can be solved thanks to the regime emergency assistance Lion.

If you are using Snow Leopard or it doesn't suit you Recovery Modebut you still want to make the backup bootable, the most suitable tools for this are SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner. But working with them requires more attention and effort.

Make sure your backups are working

It is very good that in the end you decided to do backup data. But how can you check if it will work in an emergency? After all, you must agree that losing valuable data is a big disappointment, which is very difficult to cope with. And if there are no duplicate files on disks or flash drives, this frustration intensifies and becomes doubly unpleasant. That is why Macworld journalist Adam Engst even suggested celebrating the International Day for Checking Backups. And we have to agree that this is a very good idea. This year the day falls on January 13th.

Checking the backup is simple: find a couple of important files, make sure you can successfully restore them in the event of a fatal error, and open those files.

After all, if the backup is inoperable, consider that it is not. Checking will help you sleep well at night without worrying about the safety of your data.

Enjoy the beginning of the New Year and the realization of your goals

If you started new Year from the fact that you have pleased yourself with the confidence in the safety of important information, you can consider that a good start has been made for the better. After all, you will spend very little time on backup, and the result is worth it. A good start is half the battle.

No matter who you are, you should always back up your Mac. It's like life insurance except for your digital files. You never know when something might happen to your Mac and you should always have a backup plan in case emergencies; someone might spill a drink on your Mac, your hard drive might fail, you might lose your Mac, and your Mac might even get a virus on rare occasions.

So, want to know how to back up your Mac? In this article, you will learn the many ways and best ways to back up your Mac. We have 5 tips for you on how to back up Mac devices And we even have a bonus tip to make it easy to back up your Mac in just a few clicks.

Tips:

Article guide

Option 1: How to back up Mac using Time Machine

  1. Connect an external storage device to your Mac.
  1. When your Mac connects successfully, your Mac may be asked if you want to use Time Mac
  2. Click "Use as spare disk".

If there is no warning, double check that the disc is formatted correctly.
- It must be Mac OS Extended (Journaled)

If the warning still does not appear, you should:

  1. Open system settings
  2. Select Time Machine
  3. Select Backup Disk
  4. Then select your storage device

Option 2: How to Back Up Mac via iCloud

  1. Open System Preferences on your Mac
  2. click on iCloud.
  3. Sign in to iCloud.
  4. Check the box next to iCloud.
  5. Click on the Options box in the iCloud row.
  6. Check the box next to the things you want to keep in iCloud

In addition, you can:

  1. Click Finder, you will see ICloud Drive Folder in the panel on the left.
  2. Move any folder on your Mac that isn't already in ICloud to your ICloud Drive .

Option 3: How to back up Mac using Dropbox

  1. To come in
  2. Download and install the software
  3. Once the software is installed on your Mac, open Dropbox
  4. The web interface will open and you can copy your files there.
  5. Click on Upload Files or Upload Folder on the right
  6. Find the folder you want to download.
  7. Click on Select.
  8. Wait for the download to finish

Alternatively, you can also

  1. When DropBox is installed on your Mac, you'll see the Dropbox tab under Favorites in the Finder. Just drag and drop something into this folder and it will be saved to Dropbox.

Option 4: How to Back Up Mac with Online Backup Service

Note that the process for backing up your Mac will vary depending on the service, but in general it will be something like this:

  1. Register an account, possibly a subscription or an advance payment
  2. Install their software and start the installation process.
  3. The process may start immediately, or you may need to initiate it yourself.
  4. The process may take some time.
  5. If you want the process to be faster, you can manipulate some of the settings or only choose what you want to back up.

Option 5: How to Back Up Mac by Cloning Your Mac

Note that the process for cloning your Mac will differ depending on the software, but in general it will look like this:

  1. As with Time Machine, you need to connect an external mass storage device to your Mac.
  • If you need to format external storage:
  • Open Disk Utility
  • Select external drive
  • Click "Erase"
  • Format options
  • Select MacOS Extended (Journaled)
  • Click Erase again
  1. Open your cloning software.
  2. Find the option "Copy" to external drive.

** Make sure everyone required files copied, otherwise your clone may not boot.

  1. You may be prompted for a password to confirm the transfer
  2. Wait for the end of the translation

Before backing up your Mac, you should make sure there are no junk files on your Mac. You don't want to back up your Mac along with all the other files you don't need. Junk files can also be the reason why your Mac is running slowly. You can even back up your files due to a virus on your Mac, but if you back up your Mac along with the virus, you may have other problems. Therefore, before you even start backing up your Mac, make sure you are using clean up your Mac.

IMyMac's PowerMyMac is a powerful all-in-one tool with many features to clean up your Mac. It has built-in tools like performance monitor, memory extraction, app uninstallation, smart cleanup, and a cleanup module.

Of the many features on PowerMyMac A cleaner module, we'll teach you how to use the System Junk utility to clean up junk files from your Mac. If you know how to use this tool, you will have an idea of \u200b\u200bhow to use other tools, as the steps for this tool are similar to other tools.

  1. Run the program.
  2. Using the main interface of the program, you should check your Mac's system status if everything is okay to avoid backing up the slow or infected version of your Mac.
  3. Once you find that your Mac is fine, click the Cleaner button and you will see System Junk.
  4. Click System Junk and the program will start scanning the system cache, application cache, and other system components on your Mac. In the left circle you will see the scanning progress.
  5. After the scan is complete, you should review the scanned items in case you don't want to delete certain files. If necessary, you can also go back to the previous page to re-scan if you find that you have missed some garbage.
  6. Click the Clean button to remove the system unnecessary files on your Mac. You may also need to enter a password when prompted.
  7. Press the confirm button after pressing the "Clear" button.
  8. Let the cleaning process complete, but it may take a while.


Now that you know how to back up your Mac, just remember our bonus tip and remember to clean up your Mac before backing up your Mac. There are many ways to back up your Mac, but all of these options won't be enough unless you clean up your Mac before backing up your Mac. Use any of these options to back up your Mac, and don't forget to use before backing up your Mac.