Backing up iphoto library from MacMini

[Mrsooty]

First time out, so bear with me please!

I run an old Macmini (Circa2007 - running OSX 10.7.5) which currently houses all of my photos (and some music), which I really need to get backed up somewhere pronto!

This has been prompted by some concerns over the hard drive, which at best is running slower than before and might be in the early stages of failing - or has simply run out of horse power.......

I see my immediate options as either using Time Machine to create a back up on the disk, or more likely, purchasing 50gb of storage on icloud - which should cover both my iphoto library (V09 8.1.2) and music.

Having had an initial look at doing this, it seems rather 'involved' - particularly with regard to the various 'versions' of Apple software that could be required to achieve my objective!

I accept that I may have to upgrade (and even pay for) some software, but would appreciate a clear response from someone who can provide me with an 'end to end' solution for my requirement.

Thank you

 

[Fishrrman]

1. Get an external drive and plug it in.

2. Initialize the drive if necessary.

3. Download CarbonCopyCloner (or SuperDuper)
CCC is FREE to download, and it's FREE to use for the first 30 days
SD will create a complete (i.e., non-incremental) backup forever, without having to register.

4. Create a cloned backup of your internal drive with either of the above.

That is all.

 

[Micky Do]

First time out, so bear with me please!

I run an old Macmini (Circa2007 - running OSX 10.7.5) which currently houses all of my photos (and some music), which I really need to get backed up somewhere pronto!

This has been prompted by some concerns over the hard drive, which at best is running slower than before and might be in the early stages of failing - or has simply run out of horse power.......

I see my immediate options as either using Time Machine to create a back up on the disk, or more likely, purchasing 50gb of storage on icloud - which should cover both my iphoto library (V09 8.1.2) and music.

Having had an initial look at doing this, it seems rather 'involved' - particularly with regard to the various 'versions' of Apple software that could be required to achieve my objective!

I accept that I may have to upgrade (and even pay for) some software, but would appreciate a clear response from someone who can provide me with an 'end to end' solution for my requirement.

Thank you

I am using an early 2009 Mac Mini, with the original 120 GB HDD. Time Machine automatically backs up most of my files including iPhoto to a 1 TB HDD. That is my first line of storage, and I have recovered some photos from that without much problem.

I wanted to clear some space on the HDD, so I deleted many of the photos I didn't want to keep. There were others, mainly sports events, and other files I seldom access, but I did want to keep them archived. I bought a 500 GB external USB HDD. I dropped the events I wanted to archive into named folders on my desk top, then put them in the external HDD. Then I delete them on the desktop.

Restoring them to iPhoto is just a matter of finding the folder on the external HDD, and dropping it into iPhoto.

There is no extra software involved. The only cost is the extra external HDD.

 

[Mrsooty]

1. Get an external drive and plug it in.

2. Initialize the drive if necessary.

3. Download CarbonCopyCloner (or SuperDuper)
CCC is FREE to download, and it's FREE to use for the first 30 days
SD will create a complete (i.e., non-incremental) backup forever, without having to register.

4. Create a cloned backup of your internal drive with either of the above.

That is all.

 

[Mrsooty]

Thank you Fishrrman!

I am sure you have a very good reason for not proposing that I use the icloud service, which I inquired about in my post.

May I ask whether this due to the complexity of this route or its suitability for my situation?

Your solution certainly seems quite straightforward, but involves the cost of a new external drive, whereas the cost of 50gb of cloud storage from Apple is negligible at under a Euro/Pound per month.

Your further thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[jbarley]

64GB flash drives can be picked up for 15-20 dollars, at least on this side of the pond.
That's not much to pay for the ease and convenience, not to mention the faster transfer speed over a cloud backup, another plus is it's a one-shot cost rather then an ongoing monthly expense.

 

[Mrsooty]

64GB flash drives can be picked up for 15-20 dollars, at least on this side of the pond.
That's not much to pay for the ease and convenience, not to mention the faster transfer speed over a cloud backup, another plus is it's a one-shot cost rather then an ongoing monthly expense.

 

[Mrsooty]

I like your thinking JBarley - especially with regard to the flash drive!

Thank you

 

[Ebenezum]

I agree with Fishrrman and jbarley.

There is nothing wrong using Time Machine but clone is more flexible option.

Using Flash drive works fine as long as its large enough to hold all data you wish to backup. To be on the safe side you might want to consider making multiple backups to different drives.