It’s always wise to back up regularly, but what if you have problems?
Dbackups, or not enough? Can you easily recover from the backups you do have? Here we talk you through how you can create and restore from Time Machine backups, and also how to clone your internal and external drives using third–party apps. We strongly recommend you use both Time Machine and disk cloners. Time Machine is great for delving into if you need to retrieve a file deleted in error, or to restore your hard drive from a previous backup. Cloned backups, on the other hand, are kept in exactly the same state as the drive you’re cloning. Therefore, if the original drive fails, it means you have an exact copy of it.
Here’s a quick tip about Time Machine. If you need to recover an accidentally deleted file, or one that’s been edited and you need an older version, open the Finder window where it is — or was — stored. Open the Time Machine app and navigate to the time and date when the file you want was present, or before the edit. Click on it, and then click the Restore button to recover the file, or earlier version of the file.
5 other ways to back up your Mac
Carbon Copy Cloner
> $49.99 > https://bombich.com
Clone your Mac’s hard drive, or your external drives. You can back up anything from a single folder to a complete hard drive, and schedule backups so they’re always up to date. It’s an excellent backup application.
SuperDuper!
> $27.95
Another cloner, SuperDuper! offers a clear and friendly interface, scheduled backups, smart delete, native Notification Center and more. Whether you go for SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner is largely a matter of preference.
Get Backup Pro
> $29.99 > www.belightsoft.com
Get Backup Pro lets you back up and archive your data, clone your drives and sync folders and drives. Quickly back up data, create bootable and encrypted backups, sync folders, and be confident that your data is safely stored.
Backblaze
> $9/month
Backblaze automatically backs up all files including documents, photos, music, movies and more to the cloud. Even if your computer and its drives are stolen or destroyed, your backups will be safe and accessible.
iDrive
> From $9.95/month
Another cloud backup service, you can back up multiple devices to a single account, manage your data with a web interface and more. iDrive retains up to 30 different versions of a file too, so you can recover historical data.
Image rights: Apple Inc, Bombich Software Inc, Shirt Pocket, BeLight Software Ltd,
