Time Machine - OS backup?

[Zephyras]

Hello there

I'm having a new HD installed in my my 2010 iMac due to http://www.apple.com/uk/support/imac-harddrive/

I'm going through an authorised service provider as I'm nowhere near an Apple Store and apparently Apple don’t pay them to copy the data over so unless I pay them 25 quid, the new HD will be a system default of Snow Leopard.

Would anyone happen to know if I back up my HD now using Time Machine, it’ll back up the actual OS so when I restore from backup, it restores it to Lion along with all my data?

Thanks

[Thessman]

Originally Posted by Zephyras

Hello there

I'm having a new HD installed in my my 2010 iMac due to http://www.apple.com/uk/support/imac-harddrive/

I'm going through an authorised service provider as I'm nowhere near an Apple Store and apparently Apple don’t pay them to copy the data over so unless I pay them 25 quid, the new HD will be a system default of Snow Leopard.

Would anyone happen to know if I back up my HD now using Time Machine, it’ll back up the actual OS so when I restore from backup, it restores it to Lion along with all my data?

Thanks

Do you have a second HD? Either external or internal will do. You need to have a partition with enough space to accommodate all your data from the drive to be replaced. Given that you can then use this link
http://www.bombich.com/download.html
and get the free version by clicking on "Download Version 3.4.7".
CCC can duplicate your startup disk live to the empty partition, so that when you get your mac back, you can boot from your new copy and restore all your data back to the internal drive.
I hope all that is clear enough.
Good luck

[DoctorCrap]

Try getting an external hard drive. Seems much easier then using a Time Machine, personal experience.

[Mal]

Originally Posted by DoctorCrap

Try getting an external hard drive. Seems much easier then using a Time Machine, personal experience.

I don't think that means what you think it means.

Perhaps you're thinking of the Time Capsule, but Time Machine backs up to an external hard drive as well. I'm assuming that's what the OP meant, since there was no mention of a Time Capsule.

OP, to actually answer your question, Time Machine does back up the OS. I don't remember if this was introduced in Lion or Mountain Lion, but currently it also places a recovery partition on there so you can boot from it and restore your files. If not, you'll have to use another bootable source.

jW

[FlatlinerG]

Did your computer come preinstalled with Lion or did you buy the upgrade? If you paid for it, just use Time Machine to backup your data, get the replacement, upgrade to Lion, then get your data back onto it.

Time Machine won't backup your complete OS so if the above option doesn't work for you, I would just look into making a Lion boot disc/USB and do it that way. Info is here: http://www.macrumors.com/2012/07/25/...key-installer/

[Weaselboy]

Originally Posted by FlatlinerG

Did your computer come preinstalled with Lion or did you buy the upgrade? If you paid for it, just use Time Machine to backup your data, get the replacement, upgrade to Lion, then get your data back onto it.

Time Machine won't backup your complete OS so if the above option doesn't work for you, I would just look into making a Lion boot disc/USB and do it that way. Info is here: http://www.macrumors.com/2012/07/25/...key-installer/

There is no need to go through all this. As Mal mentioned in the above post, since 10.7.2 (Lion) a USB or firewire local Time Machine backup backs up the entire OS along with a copy of the Recovery HD partition on the backup disk. Just option key boot and select the Recovery HD from the backup disk. You can read more about it here.

[FlatlinerG]

Originally Posted by Weaselboy

There is no need to go through all this. As Mal mentioned in the above post, since 10.7.2 (Lion) a USB or firewire local Time Machine backup backs up the entire OS along with a copy of the Recovery HD partition on the backup disk. Just option key boot and select the Recovery HD from the backup disk. You can read more about it here.

This is good to know. I thank you very much for your post

[Zephyras]

Originally Posted by Mal

I don't think that means what you think it means.

Perhaps you're thinking of the Time Capsule, but Time Machine backs up to an external hard drive as well. I'm assuming that's what the OP meant, since there was no mention of a Time Capsule.

OP, to actually answer your question, Time Machine does back up the OS. I don't remember if this was introduced in Lion or Mountain Lion, but currently it also places a recovery partition on there so you can boot from it and restore your files. If not, you'll have to use another bootable source.

jW

Thanks for this - cleared it right up.

Backing up now :-)

[Mal]

Originally Posted by FlatlinerG

Time Machine won't backup your complete OS

As stated, this is not and has never been true. You needed to use an install disk prior to 10.7.2 in order to access the Restore from Time Machine program, but it has always backed up the OS unless you specifically excluded it (which I personally have always done in order to save space).

jW

[DoctorCrap]

Originally Posted by Mal

I don't think that means what you think it means.

Perhaps you're thinking of the Time Capsule, but Time Machine backs up to an external hard drive as well. I'm assuming that's what the OP meant, since there was no mention of a Time Capsule.

OP, to actually answer your question, Time Machine does back up the OS. I don't remember if this was introduced in Lion or Mountain Lion, but currently it also places a recovery partition on there so you can boot from it and restore your files. If not, you'll have to use another bootable source.

jW

Oh yeah! Sorry.