Is Time Machine all you need?

Although any backup is better than no backup at all , Time Machine may not protect your data point to the extent or in the way that you involve . A few significant weaknesses offset its impressive strengths .

What Time Machine can do for you

Time Machine re-create the files on your estimator to a name and address you designate — an external severe cause , a 2nd parkway inside your Mac , an excess partition on your inner hard disk , a mesh server , or Apple ’s new Time Capsule gadget . Then , once an minute , the programme lead again , updating your accompaniment to let in whatever single file have interchange since last time .

Effortlessly Produces Many BackupsWith each hourly accompaniment , Time Machine takes what amounts to a shot of your entire system at that moment . If you attend through the folders on your backup disc , you ’ll see what looks like a complete copy of all your files for each of numerous backup sessions . But to some extent that ’s an fantasy ; Time Machine copies to your substitute disk only those files and leaflet that are different from the ones in your previous backup . Using a minute of Unix conjuration know ashard connection , Time Machine can put in just one copy of a data file or folder but make it appear to be in several places at once . That way , your disk does n’t fill up with multiple copies of files that have n’t changed . Travel through Time : tap the up and down arrows or apply the timeline on the right to zoom back in time to an earlier version of a pamphlet .

Time Machine keep all of the solar day ’s substitute for 24 hour , but then it begin to edit older rendering to save space . you may count on it to keep the first substitute of any given day for an entire calendar month . Even after a calendar month , it preserves the first backup of each week until your disc is intimately full . Only at that point does the program begin cast file from your oldest weekly backups . The nett result is that you see your files as they appear at many level in the yesteryear , though notallpoints in the past .

Travel through Time: Click on the up and down arrows or use the timeline on the right to zoom back in time to an earlier version of a folder.

Quickly Restores FilesTo retrieve a file or pamphlet from your backups , press the Time Machine picture in the Dock . select the up and down arrows or use the timeline to the right to zoom in on earlier views of a particular folder or file until you find oneself the variation you need ( see “ locomote through Time ” ) . chatter on the Restore clitoris and your data file comes back to the nowadays .

repair an integral DiskAlthough the subroutine is somewhat clock time - eat up , Time Machine can also retort your full disk ( include OS X itself ) to its nation at some point in the past .

Uses a connection Volume , If You ChooseYou can practice Time Machine to back up multiple Macs in your home or situation to the same disk , as long as they ’re all running Leopard .

Simple Controls: The Time Machine preference pane has just a handful of controls, including a cartoonishly large on/off slider.

Runs Automatically or ManuallyIf you are n’t contented with Time Machine ’s hourly schedule , you’re able to turn it off and function backups manually at any sentence .

What Time Machine can’t do for you

When it come to storingarchives — copy of your files as they exist at numerous points in the past — Time Machine is unequalled in its simplicity . But liken with other Mac backup programme , Time Machine is missing a act of features :

Does n’t Make Bootable DuplicatesEven though Time Machine game up every file on your magnetic disc to another hard cause , you ca n’t start up your information processing system from your Time Machine backup . That intend if your interior hard drive is damage or defile , you ’ll have to pass hr reestablish your datum before you’re able to get back to study .

Does n’t Give You Much ControlYou can severalise Time Machine to brush off special file or folder by add them to its Do Not Back Up list . But you ca n’t exclude single file based on sealed criteria ( for model , all movie files over 2 GB in size or all files with the extension.dmg ) . In addition , you’re able to back up your files to only one destination at a time , and you ca n’t opt to back up some single file to one disk and others to a different one . Time Machine ’s hourly , daily , and hebdomadary fill-in agenda is likewise get . you’re able to release backups on or off ( see “ Simple Controls ” ) . You ca n’t , however , adjust the docket without using a command - line hack or third - party software , such as Stefan Klieme ’s free TimeMachineScheduler ) .

Check Your Drive: To see how much hard-drive space you’re using, select your drive in the Finder and look at the Used figure in the Get Info window.

Does n’t Use Optical DiscsTime Machine can store its data point only on a hard disk , not on CDs or DVDs . bare control : The Time Machine penchant pane has just a smattering of controls , including a cartoonishly big on / off luger .

Does n’t utilize AirPort DisksIf you have a concentrated ride attached to your AirPort Extreme Base Station — or for that issue , any net - attach computer storage ( NAS ) equipment except the Time Capsule — Time Machine wo n’t recognize it .

Does n’t Compress FilesTime Machine requires a significant amount of disk space , and although it does n’t put in twinned copy of indistinguishable filing cabinet , it does n’t press your files either . If you have lots of data and only a modest amount of storage space , Time Machine may not be for you .

Does n’t Use EncryptionAnyone with physical access to your Time Machine backup disk will be able to read all your files . If you ca n’t guarantee the security of that disc and you work with secret single file , you should think twice before using Time Machine . Files that were already encrypted , such as FileVault disk simulacrum , do stay on so in your backup — which convey us to our next point .

Does n’t Work Well with FileVaultTime Machine backs up FileVault - code substance abuser folders only when you ’re logged out — and does not let filing cabinet - by - file restoration of your FileVault data point using the Time Machine curriculum . In other words , Apple bear you to restart using your Leopard put in DVD and totally restore your disk if you want to recover even a single file . ( That said , you may manually mount a Time Machine disk image and utilise the Finder to copy a undivided file if you wish . )

Does n’t admit Off - web site ProtectionIn gain to those specific problem , Time Machine may provide you with a imitation sentience of security . After all , someone who breaks into your post and steal your Mac will probably plunk up the strong drive sit next to it , too . similarly , disasters like fervour and flowage wo n’t spare your backup crusade . If you ’re really serious about protect important data , it ’s dependable to include some sorting of off - internet site backup — for example , using an on-line backup man service or storing a bootable duplicate at your sister ’s house — in your plan .

Time Machine and you

Given Time Machine ’s talent and drawback , most Leopard users descend into one of three categories : those people for whom Time Machine can serve as asolebackup , those who should apply Time Machine along with other backup methods , and those who should invalidate Time Machine on the whole . Here ’s how to figure out what you need .

habituate Time Machine OnlyIf you have n’t been indorse up your data at all , distinctly Time Machine is a sight well than your premature plan . However , I recommend using Time Machine alone in only a few portion : if you have more than one external hard drive on which Time Machine can store its backups and you’re able to keep one of them safely offsite at all times ; if you do n’t listen the sentiment of drop several hours restoring a support in the consequence of serious problems ; or if you have two or more Macs running Leopard , so you’re able to chop-chop interchange to another computer in the event that your main toilsome drive fails .

employ Time Machine and Then SomeIn many cases , Time Machine will do the fast one if you add just one element . For example , if you also want a bootable duplication of your laborious record , you may practice any of legion programs to make one separately . ( For instructions , see Easy Mac Backups . ) You must store the duplicate on its own drive or partition in ordination for it to be bootable . If your external drive is large enough , you may use Disk Utility ( in /Applications / Utilities ) to make an superfluous segmentation just for the bootable extra .

If you have only a exclusive extraneous unvoiced drive but want to lay in an extra transcript of your data offsite , one possibility is to supplement your difficult phonograph record - based Time Machine backups with online backups . ( See Easy Online Backups for details . )

If you use FileVault and require to be able to restore individual file cabinet from your user ’s folder more well , you could use Prosoft Engineering ’s $ 99Data Backup 3 , Memeo ’s $ 30 LifeAgent ( ) , Code 42’sCrashPlan Pro($60 plus monthly on-line backup monetary value ) , or other software that provides file - by - file encryption to back up those file safely while you ’re logged in .

Skip Time MachineAvoid Time Machine altogether if you do n’t have , and ca n’t get , a sufficiently orotund hard drive ( see “ Think Big ” ) . too , pass on it if you want to back up to optic mass medium ( recordable CD or DVD ) . If security concerns require that your championship be cypher , Time Machine is not for you .

What If You Already Have a System?Even if you lessen into one of the family of people who ’d benefit from using Time Machine , there ’s another doubt to consider . What if you already , prior to installing Leopard , had a utterly skilful backup system in place ? Should you trench it and use Time Machine alternatively ? Keep the exist system and add Time Machine ? Or mix the best factor of each ?

Without a doubt , adding Time Machine to your backup strategy makes sense if you ’ve only been pull in bootable duplicates of your parkway . As useful as those are , by themselves they provide no way to recover multiple sometime variant of any given Indian file , or files deleted before you made your most recent backup .

If you have been using another program to do basically the same thing that Time Machine does — shop archive of your files on an external arduous disk — then you should indeed regard switch to Time Machine for that task . Time Machine makes rejuvenate files easier than any other backup program . It also requires well-nigh no attention or intervention while it runs , and it intelligently recycles space on your disk by delete the oldest backups . ( And do n’t forget that it also comes devoid with your operating system . )

However , in some circumstance , the route of least resistance may be to stay with your existing backup scheme . For instance , that ’s probably the case if you use a client - server accompaniment system , such as EMC Insignia ’ s $ 129 Retrospect Desktop 6.1 ( ) , to stack away your backups on a connection server that ’s undesirable for Time Machine . Likewise , if you back up one or more data processor to an AirPort Disk or other NAS twist , Time Machine ’s incompatibility with these may prove to be a cause of death , unless you ’re unforced to invest in a Time Capsule .

Check Your cause : To see how much hard - effort space you ’re using , take your drive in the Finder and look at the Used figure in the Get Info windowpane . It might also be easiest to stick with your current system of rules if your occupation need you to preserve copy of every stand-in you make , disk outer space notwithstanding , or if the cost of obtaining the additional disc space needed for Time Machine is prohibitory .

Think big

Time Machine unremarkably salt away your backups on an outside concentrated drive , or on a 2nd internal drive on a Mac that has more than one . ( Although you could also use an extra partition on your main drive , it ’s not a good idea — turn a loss that driving and you lose all your backup . ) So if you have a spare drive ( or a drive with enough innocent space ) , you may be capable to use it with Time Machine . But how much free space is enough ?

start by find out how much blank space your data presently occupies on your startup disk . To do this , select the disk in the sidebar of a Finder windowpane and choose File : Get Info . In the window that come along , look in the General section next to the word Used to bump out how much space your data is using . Now , multiply that number by 1.2 ; the result is the minimum amount of disc quad Time Machine can work with . ( That ’s because Time Machine needs space for all your files plus some extra elbow room to enable it to store new data and multiple copy of file that change . ) However , more infinite is always secure , because it enable Time Machine to hold patronage that go further into the past . I suggest have a backup disc with at least 1.5 times as much free quad as the amount use up on your inauguration volume , and more if possible .

Time Machine works advantageously when it has an entire platter , or at least a partition on a magnetic disk , all to itself . So if you have a suitably with child drive that ’s completely blank or that you’re able to erase , that ’s ideal . you’re able to use Disk Utility ( /Applications / Utilities ) to erase a disk , or to divide an subsist disk into multiple partitions — one of which you ’ll dedicate to Time Machine .

[ Joe Kissell is the senior editor ofTidBitsand the author of the e - bookTake Control of Mac OS X Backups(TidBits Publishing , 2007 ) . ]