Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

What do I need to back up *before* partitioning?

S

surprise!

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 10, 2010
5
0
I want to partition my MacBook, so I can install Windows and I currently have access to an external harddrive, but my laptop has the equivalent of my life on it so I want to make sure I back up anything and everything!

So far I've copied all my Document files, iTunes, iCal, Downloads, other music and I'm in the process of backing up my iPhoto library.

Aside from that... is there anything I'm missing?

Also, how can I backup my Firefox bookmarks?
 
You're going about it in a difficult way.

1. Get Carbon Copy Cloner.
2. Do a full bootable backup of laptop.
3. Boot from backup and make sure everything is OK.
4. Partition MacBook.
5. Restore from backup using Carbon Copy CLoner.
 
Thanks! I had no idea that there were those programs for free.

Buut I still have an issue that, as the my roommate's external hard drive is WD and this is apparently a big issue:
http://forums.bombich.com/viewtopic.php?t=11152

So just to be safe, since I don't own the external hard drive, I think I'd rather do it the hard way...

Do you have any advice in regards to this?
 
surprise! said:
I want to partition my MacBook, so I can install Windows and I currently have access to an external harddrive, but my laptop has the equivalent of my life on it so I want to make sure I back up anything and everything!
Click to expand...

You should always maintain a backup, but there is no particular need to make a backup today as opposed to yesterday or tomorrow. Boot Camp uses non-destructive partitioning, so your files shouldn't be affected.

surprise! said:
Buut I still have an issue that, as the my roommate's external hard drive is WD and this is apparently a big issue:
http://forums.bombich.com/viewtopic.php?t=11152
Click to expand...

My WD hard drive works fine.
 
sounds like you backed up all your major stuff. i think you're making too big a deal out of this and overestimating the process. just take the plunge and partition your disk. i doubt your data will even be affected and you'll find you were over thinking the problem and be surprised how easy it is
 
The partition you want to do is called non-destructive; hence the name, in 99.99% of the cases it doesn't delete any data. It just creates a new partition in your harddrive in free space.

Now, it is possible that something go wrong, and as such, in an effort to cover their behinds, people always say backup.

If you don't have a backup, then now is a perfect time to do it. Having a backup is always a good idea.

The apple document talks about partitioning as part of the process of formatting (which deletes the data), then partitioning.

You should be fine to create a partition for bootcamp, without losing any data.
 
surprise! said:
I want to partition my MacBook, so I can install Windows and I currently have access to an external harddrive, but my laptop has the equivalent of my life on it so I want to make sure I back up anything and everything!

So far I've copied all my Document files, iTunes, iCal, Downloads, other music and I'm in the process of backing up my iPhoto library.

Aside from that... is there anything I'm missing?

Also, how can I backup my Firefox bookmarks?
Click to expand...

I agree, get carbon copy. I've used it numerous times without a complaint.

Good luck,

Habitus :apple:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back