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How do I backup a MBP?

The Clark

The Clark

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Dec 11, 2013
1,187
3,216
Canada
He has a non retina MBP running OS X 10.9.2 and he wants me to back it up for him. I do not know how to back up Macs, only PC's but since I have a MB too I think it's a good idea to learn. So, I have an external hard drive, but I'm not sure where to go from here.

Any help?
 
The Clark said:
He has a non retina MBP running OS X 10.9.2 and he wants me to back it up for him. I do not know how to back up Macs, only PC's but since I have a MB too I think it's a good idea to learn. So, I have an external hard drive, but I'm not sure where to go from here.

Any help?
Click to expand...

https://www.google.com/search?q=how...0.3295j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=119&ie=UTF-8

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(there's an app on the mac called time machine. plug in your external, open time machine, and it's very basic from there)
 
The Clark said:
When it refers to time machine, does that mean the product that apple sells? Or can you just use a regular external hard drive to back your data on?
Click to expand...

Time Machine is the software included with all Macs since Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (2007), which makes backing up data to any external HDD easy.
Time Capsule is the hardware from Apple to have a WiFi router and NAS in one device. You do not need that.

Time Machine FAQ
 
I use the Time Machine software included on all post-10.5 OS X Macs to backup to any external hard drive. Currently I'm using a WD "My Passport" external HD, but its compatible with all external HDs that can connect to Mac (which is most) :) Its super simple to use too and very self-explanatory when you open the Time Machine program preferences.

The Time Machine program creates an exact replica of your Mac in that instant, including all files and settings on the computer. If the computer were to fail, you could plug the external HD into any Mac and restore it to the exact same settings or just pull off individual files very easily (I just did it on my replacement Mac)
 
If you back up your mac on one usual external hard drive, then you must have it plugged in all the time? To ensure making a replica of computer constantly.
 
It'll only back up when you're connected, of course, but you're fine to disconnect and take your MBP somewhere, then it will deal with the differences when you return. You should keep an eye out for the Time Machine logo and try not to disconnect when it's actually doing its thing.

A better solution (and very elegantly implemented) is to have two external drives. You can swap these over every week or two, and Time Machine will keep track of which is which. You keep the "other" one in a shed or garage, such that the theft or damage of the computer and backup drive doesn't lose you all your data.
 
If you want to be fancy, you can do a full clone of the disk with something like this

sudo dd if=/dev/rdisk0 of=/dev/rdisk1 bs=128m conv=noerror,sync


where disk1 is your external hdd. However, as others have pointed out, Time Machine is convenient and it also does incremental backups for you.
 
If you're concerned about data safety I would advise also setting a password on the backup disk (so it's encrypted).
 
And in case of having AirPort Time Capsule, it backs up wirelessly in some time interval? I assume you can set this interval as you want? Let say once a day.

And what happens when Time Capsule is full? Does it just erase the oldest data?
 
Just a note for the OP: It seems you want to back up a friends machine into your external drive.

A backup is something that should be done regularly, e.g. weekly or daily. This is why Time Machine is such a great feature: It will do a full backup one, and then every time you connect your external HD again, it will add an incremental update of the things that changed since last time. So at least your friend should get his own external HD for the backups.

For very important data in addition it is good to have a backup with a different physical location, e.g. your banks vault or somewhere in the cloud (Dropbox).


@slo-climber
Yes and yes. Time machine backs up in regular intervals. I have it set to one hour at home. If the external gets filled up it will start freeing up space by deleting older backups.
You can exclude folders from being backed up, for example games or Apps that you can just re-download from the vendor (or App store) can be excluded, or you can exclude a folder where you save intermediate results from video conversion.
 
Last edited:
Thanks.

And are there any similar products to Apple's Time Capsule from other companies (cheaper) which are able to backs up wirelessly? Because this wireless backing up is quite nice feature.
 
slo-climber said:
And are there any similar products to Apple's Time Capsule from other companies (cheaper) which are able to backs up wirelessly? Because this wireless backing up is quite nice feature.
Click to expand...

TimeMachine is able to back up your data wirelessly and you cannot get any cheaper then free which TM is.

If you use a NAS or cloud storage, as long as your mac is on wifi you have a wireless backup solution.
 
maflynn said:
TimeMachine is able to back up your data wirelessly and you cannot get any cheaper then free which TM is.

If you use a NAS or cloud storage, as long as your mac is on wifi you have a wireless backup solution.
Click to expand...

I wanted to ask if there are other devices like Apple's AirPort Time Capsule which are able to work wirelessly. If I understand you, every NAS device is able to do that.

If yes, could you tell me which companies or which model are worth to look?
 
I was looking at alternatives before buying the TC. At that time I was also in need of a new WiFi router. Reasons I went for the TC:

- one device combines router and backup, i.e. less cables, less stuff standing around, and it even looks nice
- a/c WiFi
- it is very quiet

A few weeks before I spent a night sleeping in a friends living room, which also had the WiFi routers and NAS backup device. The HDD noise was quite noticeable, and of course a mess of cables and blinking lights was everywhere. I also found that a/c routers are still somewhat expensive, so there wouldn't be much savings from going for an alternative. Finally the TC might be more energy efficient, but I'm not sure about that. But this is a device that runs 24/7, so a few more watts/hour can add up to quite a bit of money over the year.
 
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