Backing Up MacBook Pro

[warburg]

Now that we no longer have iTunes, how does one back up the MacBook Pro? I keep getting notifications that I haven't backed up the computer–now for 197 days. I have an external drive that I use for backups, but that's clearly not what's meant.

 

[pshufd]

Now that we no longer have iTunes, how does one back up the MacBook Pro? I keep getting notifications that I haven't backed up the computer–now for 197 days. I have an external drive that I use for backups, but that's clearly not what's meant.

You backup the MacBook Pro with Time Machine, not iTunes. iTunes is used to backup your mobile devices to your Mac.

 

[warburg]

Thanks. I didn't know Time Machine existed. Could you tell me how to use it for a backup?

 

[pshufd]

Thanks. I didn't know Time Machine existed. Could you tell me how to use it for a backup?

You attach an external drive (network or physical connection), go into Settings and select Time Machine.

 

[Fishrrman]

Better solution:
Download CarbonCopyCloner from here:
Carbon Copy Cloner - Download
It's free to download and use for 30 days
Open CCC and accept the defaults
Put the source drive on the left
Put the "target" (backup) drive in the middle
Leave the right side as it is
Click clone.
Wait while the clone is created.
Done.

 

[leman]

I wouldn’t really describe CarbonCopyCloner as a better solution (nor do I see why would one pay money for software that basically schedules rsync runs for you), but everyone has their favorite tool. At any rate, Time Machine is free, is reasonably fast, reasonably reliable (if you use it redundantly), does versioned backup, can be used over wireless, and is directly included in your OS.

 

[pshufd]

I wouldn’t really describe CarbonCopyCloner as a better solution (nor do I see why would one pay money for software that basically schedules rsync runs for you), but everyone has their favorite tool. At any rate, Time Machine is free, is reasonably fast, reasonably reliable (if you use it redundantly), does versioned backup, can be used over wireless, and is directly included in your OS.

I've used CCC and SuperDuper in the past. They're fine if you want a point-in-time backup but the versioned backup adds an additional dimension to being able to retrieve files accidentally deleted or lost that may not be in point-in-time backups.