Is time machine worth it for me?

[chocolate632]

I wanted to buy an external hard drive to back up my stuff that i want to delete off my computer. Im probably will never need to go back in time to retrieve a file its just a security option incase my drive crashes or something. My questions are:

1) Would it be worth it for me?
2)Can i still drag files onto the hard drive and delete them from the time machine part?
3)Is it worth it to have a time machine taking up a half of the drive if i don;t use it often?

 

[Ugg]

1. It's always worth it to back up your hard drive. Externals are pretty cheap. You could probably get one for less than $100.

2. You can use an external for Time Machine and for other files but I've read that it's best to have a dedicated Time Machine external hard drive.

3. It really depends upon what you do on your computer. Do you have a lot of emails/documents/correspondence that are important?

A good way to look at it is what if your computer died tonight. Is there anything you couldn't do without? If there is, then backing up is essential, not an option.

 

[djejrejk]

I wanted to buy an external hard drive to back up my stuff that i want to delete off my computer. Im probably will never need to go back in time to retrieve a file its just a security option incase my drive crashes or something. My questions are:

1) Would it be worth it for me?
2)Can i still drag files onto the hard drive and delete them from the time machine part?
3)Is it worth it to have a time machine taking up a half of the drive if i don;t use it often?

1. If you don't have a backup system, it is worth it... if you don't think so , you will the 1st time your hard drive dies.
2. Yes, simply partition your drive, leave the time machine partition alone and use the other half for storage,.. I have this exact setup. If you don't want time machine to take up much space, put it on a small partition. I would much rather have some protection rather than none at all.
3. If you value your data...Yes.

You should also try super duper,.. it allows you to make bootable backups.. very handy.

 

[Macky-Mac]

I wanted to buy an external hard drive to back up my stuff that i want to delete off my computer.....

just to point out; "back up" means you've got it in more than one place.....if you copy your files to an external drive and then delete the original files from your computer, you haven't really got a "back up"

 

[jemeinc]

I've got 3 macs that I need to backup.. I was thinking of getting an external HD for Super Duper and creating 3 partitions (1 for each computer) and backing these up weekly to use as my bootable disk in case my HD dies..

In addition I was going to add a Time Capsule unit to use with TM for daily backups to use if I somehow lost a file or needed to reinstall an app.. Does this sound like a sound back-up strategy- or am I way off base? I have nothing right now and am planning to get this going immediately..

 

[a104375]

its always important to backup your stuff and having the computer backup for u its well worth it

 

[Ugg]

I've got 3 macs that I need to backup.. I was thinking of getting an external HD for Super Duper and creating 3 partitions (1 for each computer) and backing these up weekly to use as my bootable disk in case my HD dies..

In addition I was going to add a Time Capsule unit to use with TM for daily backups to use if I somehow lost a file or needed to reinstall an app.. Does this sound like a sound back-up strategy- or am I way off base? I have nothing right now and am planning to get this going immediately..

The Time Capsule alone should be enough although redundant backups are always a good thing.

 

[stainlessliquid]

Time Machine protects your operating system. Using TM to backup data files is redundant unless you are on a laptop, just put all of your data that you want backed up on the other hdd and access them there. Youll save room on your main drive.

What I do is just backup the OS once then turn off TM. I'll back it up again every now and then as I install more useful programs. All of my data is on different drives than the OS so I dont use TM to back that stuff up and take up extra space for no reason.

 

[chocolate632]

How reliable are external hard drives?

 

[jemeinc]

what if my HD dies? Don't I need a bootable back-up? If I just re-install Leopard, and every other program, and then restore from TM won't that take forever?

Wouldn't it be better to have a clone to boot from?

 

[chocolate632]

Do internal drives really crash that often?

 

[Ugg]

Do internal drives really crash that often?

No, but they do crash and they don't last forever.

 

[Macky-Mac]

How reliable are external hard drives?

Do internal drives really crash that often?

No, but they do crash and they don't last forever.

external and internal drives are both prone to occassional failure, there really isn't much difference between the two....As Ugg says, they wont last forever so if you want to protect your data, you really need to have it stored in at least two places

 

[alembic]

Time Machine protects your operating system. Using TM to backup data files is redundant unless you are on a laptop, just put all of your data that you want backed up on the other hdd and access them there. Youll save room on your main drive.

What I do is just backup the OS once then turn off TM. I'll back it up again every now and then as I install more useful programs. All of my data is on different drives than the OS so I dont use TM to back that stuff up and take up extra space for no reason.

I don't use Leopard yet but that's the setup I'm considering also. I'd use Super Duper to periodically clone a bootable partition that holds just the OS files. All my data and third party apps reside on another partition. But I would automate the backup of this second partition using TM since its contents change far more frequently. So I'm not clear on why you wouldn't use TM to back up your data files. Or did I misunderstand you?

 

[themoonisdown09]

I've got 3 macs that I need to backup.. I was thinking of getting an external HD for Super Duper and creating 3 partitions (1 for each computer) and backing these up weekly to use as my bootable disk in case my HD dies..

You don't have to create a partition for each computer because Time Machine creates a separate folder for each machine. I haven't used it this way, but I first used Time Machine on my Macbook Pro and then when I got my iMac, I started using TM with that instead. I looked on the HD and there was a folder for both the Macbook and iMac. I did delete the folder for the Macbook because I don't put anything on there that's not already on my iMac anymore.

 

[chocolate632]

So can i have time machine set up so that i can unplug the drive and back it up whenever i want?

 

[themoonisdown09]

So can i have time machine set up so that i can unplug the drive and back it up whenever i want?

Yes. If you have OS 10.5.2, you should have a little Time Machine menu item on the top-right of your screen. When you plug in your external HD, you can click on the menu item and select "Backup Now". If you have the Time Machine icon in your dock, you can right-click it and select "Backup Now".

 

[chocolate632]

How long would an internal hard drive last before it starts giving you problems?

 

[chocolate632]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I ended picking up the laCie 500 GB hd but I havent tried it yet. It looks pretty durable and I read alot of good reviews on it and will be trying it out tonight. Thanks again for all the feedback!

 

[uaaerospace]

How long would an internal hard drive last before it starts giving you problems?

Keep in mind that internal and external hard drives are exactly the same drive. One will not necessarily last longer than the other (given ample cooling in both situations).

As far as how long they will last, no one can really say. The original drive in my PM G5 (4 yrs old?) is still ticking along nicely. The second drive I added 1.5 years ago crashed two weeks ago. I was using Leapord but not Time Machine. Needless to say, I replaced my hard drive and promptly started using Time Machine.

 

[simplogic]

"Is time machine worth it", that's what I Googled and this is where it got me. I ask because I'm considering purchasing the 500GB Time Capsule. I wonder if this is really what I need, though as I'm already running a 2TB Raid-1 (2 mirrored 1TB drives).

First off I'm a graphic designer and use my Macbook Pro both at home and at work. At work I'm working directly off of our network and rarely store files locally. At home I have a Mac Mini which has the aforementioned external drive attached to it. All of my downloads end up directly on the external, and I'm really just using the Mini as a server and home theater PC.

So, my question (again) is: do I really need to use Time Machine? What purpose would it server aside from allowing me to reinstall from a disc image instead of the original DVD's? Yes, I realize I'd lose my settings/fonts/etc., but is it really worth $300 just to avoid the hassle of restoring some fonts and settings?

Opinions on the matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[TJones]

"Is time machine worth it", that's what I Googled and this is where it got me. I ask because I'm considering purchasing the 500GB Time Capsule. I wonder if this is really what I need, though as I'm already running a 2TB Raid-1 (2 mirrored 1TB drives).

First off I'm a graphic designer and use my Macbook Pro both at home and at work. At work I'm working directly off of our network and rarely store files locally. At home I have a Mac Mini which has the aforementioned external drive attached to it. All of my downloads end up directly on the external, and I'm really just using the Mini as a server and home theater PC.

So, my question (again) is: do I really need to use Time Machine? What purpose would it server aside from allowing me to reinstall from a disc image instead of the original DVD's? Yes, I realize I'd lose my settings/fonts/etc., but is it really worth $300 just to avoid the hassle of restoring some fonts and settings?

Opinions on the matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

If you were to take your computer and threw it out the window right now and had someone bring you a brand new machine out of the box would you be able to replace everything that was on your computer?

If you answerred no, then you need Time Machine.

If everything on your computer has a copy somewhere or a back up of all your data somewhere and it's all fairly easy to get to then you can live without TM.

 

[basqarl]

I am not quite understanding how to use Time Capsule with other HDDs. Is it that Time Machine backs up to Time Capsule which will then back up to other HDDs if it is set up properly? For some reason, I'm just not understanding this even though I've tried to read everything I can put my hands (well, fingers-to-keyboard) on.

Thanks for any help.............

 

[TJones]

I am not quite understanding how to use Time Capsule with other HDDs. Is it that Time Machine backs up to Time Capsule which will then back up to other HDDs if it is set up properly? For some reason, I'm just not understanding this even though I've tried to read everything I can put my hands (well, fingers-to-keyboard) on.

Thanks for any help.............

Time Machine is an application on your Mac OS X. It backs up your data to a second hard drive such as a USB or Firewire connect drive.

Time Capsule is a hardware device that has a wireless router and hard disk built into it. Time Machine can use a Time Capsule to save your backups so that you no longer have to plug in an external drive to your computer. It will do it over the wireless network that's included in Time Capsule.