You ’ve learn the advice uncounted times , but it isoh so easyto ignore : You simplymustback up your Mac . If you do n’t back up your files , it ’s a interrogative of when — not if!—you’ll miss something authoritative or irreplacable . rather of making a heavy - to - keep New Year ’s resolution like misplace exercising weight or exercising more , this year resolve to do something that only take a smidgen of self-possession to get startle and then mostly rent care of itself : Make — and manage — regular backups of your computer .
This is n’t new advice . Intellectually , you know should be backing up your files . It just seems like so much try , and your knockout drive seems fine anyway . So permit ’s make gravel a reasonable stand-in in place as painless as potential .
Think essentials
Chris Breen go into great detail about determining just what you need to back up nearly a yr ago in his piece “ How to make a solid Mac backup plan . ” you could get awaywithoutbacking up a surprising number of filing cabinet : apps from the Mac App Store , apps that you could easy redownload from elsewhere on the Web , and iOS apps . you could also skip mount up your email , so long as you habituate an IMAP email write up ( or a serve likeGmail ) where your message remain stored on a remote server . Ditto for your euphony , if you use a service likeiTunes Match . Of course , it doesn’thurtto back up files like these — and doing so certainly makes restoring your information quicker in the event of catastrophic failure — but if you ’re looking to start pocket-size , you may passably forfend backing up such data if you ’re looking to save clock time or difficult drive space .
What ’s lead ? Your irreplaceable written document ( Word , Pages , and schoolbook docs and the like ) , photographs , and home base film are musts . Life gets much easy after a restore if you also backup primal place setting and preferences , too . But again , the biggest hurdle to ensure that you finally lodge with a New Year ’s resolution is making it well-to-do to get started . So let ’s focus on keep affair dewy-eyed . ( If you want an approach focalise more on completeness than warm configuration , readmy backup architectural plan , or backup plans from my colleaguesKirk McElhearnandDan Frakes . )
Easiest backup plan of all: Dropbox
That ’s it . Now , there ’s a Dropbox folder in your main exploiter folder on your Mac . If all went well , that Dropbox folder should look in the sidebar of your finder window , too .
You get 2 GB of computer storage space with Dropbox , gratis . If you do n’t have much in the way of pic and papers to back up , that may be plenty . ( If you do need more space , you could pay $ 99 per year for 50 gigabyte . ) Move your important documents and photos to the Dropbox leaflet , and the serving will automatically sync them to Dropbox ’s servers on its own . If your hard drive kick the bucket belly up , you may simply instal Dropbox again on your switch , and the service will automatically download all your synced file .
set up Dropbox , and keeping your most important files there , can take mere minute . And as long as you ensure that you deliver your important information to that folder , you ’re golden . But if you ’re willing to drop a minuscule more fourth dimension and a little more cash , there are other approaches that can back you up even more wholly .
Next easiest plan: Time Machine
As you probably jazz , you have telling backup software built into your Mac , for free . But if you never configure Time Machine , then it ca n’t aid you . The safe news is , configuring Time Machine to back up your computer accept just a bit of time .
Most of the clock time , Lion should ask you whether you ’d like to use the newly - connected hard drive for Time Machine backups . Say yes , and your Mac will mechanically back up your single file to the drive as needed . It ’s great , and it ’s mostly painless . If you ’ve buy a big enough drive , you ’ll have a copy of everything in case of emergency . Time Machine stores incremental backups of your data in metre - based snapshots . So if you updated your big demonstration for work yesterday , and substantiate today that in fact you screwed everything up , you could use Time Machine to maltreat back to an early version of that single file . And you may find the file cabinet if you accidentally erase it , too .
Time Machine ’s smart enough to only back up information that ’s convert ; that way , or else of recopy the complete content of your punishing drive each time your Mac start a new backup , only the updated and young files are reassign . In your primary drive fails , your belated Time Machine support should contain a near up - to - the - minute snapshot of how everything looked before the collapse . And unlike Dropbox , Time Machine backs up middling much everything on your Mac — you do n’t need to check that you ’re cast all your important clobber in a single leaflet .
you’re able to even use Time Machine to back up to remote mesh drives ( say , drives tie to your Airport base post ) .
Of course , Time Machine involve that you buy that punishing drive , and that you connect to it on a regular basis . There ’s another selection that requires no special hardware on your end — only a monthly ( or yearly ) fee , and an Internet connection :
Extra safety option: CrashPlan
CrashPlanisn’t the only online backing answer out there , but it’sconsistently a favoriteamong theMacworldstaff . For as little as $ 3 per month , you could back up a single computer ; for as little as $ 6 a calendar month , you could back up as many as ten of your family ’s computers . ( Those prices require paying for four long time of service upfront ; make up monthly incurs a a higher per - calendar month fee . )
With CrashPlan , you need n’t care about buy ( or replacing ) international hard drives , and obviously you do n’t need to interest about connecting one either . As with all online backing services , CrashPlan works by backing up your files over the cyberspace . And since CrashPlan backs up your data on its own system , you avoid the single - point - of - bankruptcy situation that a single Time Machine backup driving force creates .
You contract up for CrashPlan , pick out a plan , download the CrashPlan package — and then wait . It mechanically backs up your Mac over the cyberspace to CrashPlan ’s servers . you could launch the app and watch out its progress , or just leave it close up and it will taciturnly do its matter .
Out of sight penury n’t be out mind : CrashPlan can e-mail you or message you via Twitter with status updates on your backups — along with warnings when a computer has n’t backed up in a few days . When you take to restore a file , you could do so via the CrashPlan app or the web site . Like Time Machine , CrashPlan even back up multiple versions version of your filing cabinet , intend you’re able to get at early copies of a document if pauperism be . And it defy onto files you delete , too . The service of process offers impressive heartsease of brain for the damage .
Don’t worry about bootable backups
None of these alternative — Dropbox , Time Machine , or CrashPlan — offer a means of make a bootable stand-in . That is , you ca n’t start up your Mac with any of these options if your master hard drive fails . But that ’s okay now , thanks to Lion’sRecovery Mode .
If you ’re running Snow Leopard , or if you are n’t comfortable with Recovery Mode , you probably want to start making a bootable backup as well ; the most popular tools for doing so are SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner . But those need a smidgen more tending and aid , and we want to see to it you keep your New Year ’s resolution , so let ’s not sweat those options this time around .
Make sure your backups work
It ’s wonderful that you ’ve in the end started backing up , through whichever mean(s ) you chose . But who ’s verifying that your backups are work ?
Verifying your backups is a snap : Find an important file or two , and make certain you may successfully restitute it — and then open it . ( Here’show to restore a surd private road using Time Machine . )
A blemished backup is about as useful as no backup . assert your backup should serve you sleep tardily at night .
Enjoy the new year with peace of mind
unexampled twelvemonth , new you . Specifically , a you who need n’t worry about what might bechance to your treasured data if the unthinkable happens to your Mac ’s arduous drive . The right backup routines require valued slight maintenance ( beyond Verify Your Backups Day ) ; they just work . Before you start croon Auld Lang Syne , get over the hurdle . localise up a fair backup scheme need n’t take much sentence or money — just a few minute of focus . You ’ll give thanks yourself later .
