Backing up an external HD

[erikrocks]

I'm not sure where to post this question, but I think this forum is as good as any. So, I'm preparing to upgrade my 2007 MB to a 2012 13"/128SSD MBA in the next week or so. I currently keep all of my music (which is in Apple Lossless) and videos on an external HD and I access it through my Airport Extreme.

Is there an easy way to back up an external drive to another external HD? I have SuperDuper, but I don't believe it's possible to do what I want to do. I just don't want to rely solely on one copy of my iTunes and video libraries.

 

[Repo]

If it's a temporary situation, just copy all the files from your current external drive to another.

If you're looking for something more permanent/regular, configure Time Machine to back-up your external drive(s) automatically.

I imagine SuperDuper would work too, though I've never used it.

 

[erikrocks]

So Time Machine can automatically back up an external HD to a second external HD? I thought the data had to be on the Mac's internal HD in order to work with TM.

EDIT: Yes, I'd like it to be a permanent way to back up my external HD.

 

[Repo]

Connect your external hard drive to your computer then go into System Preferences > Time Machine > Options. Make sure your external drive is not "excluded" from the backup, and let Time Machine do its thing.

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This Apple support page should answer most if not all of your questions.

 

[erikrocks]

Hmm...but could I do it with both HDs wirelessly, over Airport Extreme?

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From the Mac 101 page:

"Setting up Time Machine is as easy as connecting an external drive to your Mac via Thunderbolt, FireWire or USB."

This is what I figured. I don't think TM can back up a network drive.

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Now that I dig a little deeper...it looks like ChronoSync may be able to do what I want.

http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/howto_back_network_drive

Anyone have any experience using it?

 

[Repo]

Just a side thought: since backing-up a wireless drive to another wireless drive isn't (at this time) the easiest thing to do, you may want to consider getting a RAID on your network, that way your data is instantly backed-up.

 

[erikrocks]

Yeah, I've thought about that. It's definitely an option.

 

[Weaselboy]

Hmm...but could I do it with both HDs wirelessly, over Airport Extreme?

Time Machine backup to a USB drive attached to an Airport Extreme is not supported by Apple. Some users report it does work, but often just stops working for no reason. It is not an officially supported configuration.

 

[dmelgar]

Time Machine backup to a USB drive attached to an Airport Extreme is not supported by Apple. Some users report it does work, but often just stops working for no reason. It is not an officially supported configuration.

Where does it say its not supported?
Works fine for me. Its sometimes even referred to as a Time Capsule in the OS.

 

[Weaselboy]

Where does it say its not supported?
Works fine for me. Its sometimes even referred to as a Time Capsule in the OS.

See this Apple KB document and note the Time Capsule is the only device that lists USB external drive support for Time Machine.

Also see this from Lion help.

Like I said, it works for some people then often just stops working. It is a known issue. It is not supported and you should trust your data to this solution.