Michael Graubart

Q: Using Time Machine to back up only certain folders on iCloud

I am currently using Time Machine to back up my whole HD to an external hard drive. Can I also — at the same time — use Time Machine to back up certain folders (e.g. Documents and Pictures) to iCloud? If so, how do I set it up?

 

Thank you in anticipation.

Mac mini, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5)

Posted on Sep 20, 2015 7:41 AM

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Q: Using Time Machine to back up only certain folders on iCloud

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  • by Eric Root,Solvedanswer

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 20, 2015 7:53 AM in response to Michael Graubart
    Level 9 (72,634 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 20, 2015 7:53 AM in response to Michael Graubart

    Time Machine isn't designed to interact with cloud based storage. You would need a cloud based backup system.

     

    http://www.thetop10bestonlinebackup.com/online-backup-reviews/backblaze/review

     

    http://www.thetop10bestonlinebackup.com/online-backup-reviews/justcloud/review

  • by Michael Graubart,

    Michael Graubart Michael Graubart Sep 21, 2015 2:01 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 2 (275 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 21, 2015 2:01 AM in response to Eric Root

    Thanks, Eric Root. Since receiving your answer i have been doing a bit of reading about this and can see why Time Machine is not the answer to cloud storage. 'Just Cloud' sounds really interesting — but not for OS 10.8.5 users like me, unfortunately. So (belt and braces!) I shall stick to Google Drive for selected files, and folders and Time Machine, and also Carbon Copy Cloner, for complete backups to an external HD.

  • by Michael Graubart,

    Michael Graubart Michael Graubart Sep 21, 2015 2:09 AM in response to Michael Graubart
    Level 2 (275 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 21, 2015 2:09 AM in response to Michael Graubart

    I now have a further question about this whole area of cloud storage.


    I am currently using Google Drive on a Mac with OS 10.8.5 (Mountain Lion).

     

    Certain folders on the Mac, such as Documents and Pictures, cannot be moved. So if one sets about moving them into the Google Drive folder, they are actually duplicated, not moved. This has two consequences:

     

    1. It increases the amount of data stored on the Mac's hard drive. (This is not a serious matter in my case because I have plenty of spare HD space.)

     

    2. In order to ensure that changes are uploaded to Google Drive, one has to make the changes in the copy of the folder in the Google Drive folder. Then, to prevent confusion,the change has also to be made in, or copied to, the version of the folder that is still situated in its fixed place on one's HD. Given the fallibility of human memory, this is bound to lead to errors.

     

    Is there a relatively simple and straightforward, but reliable, way round this dilemma?

     

    (I tried making an alias of one of these 'fixed' folders and putting that into the Google Drive folder instead of an actual duplicate of the whole folder, but that did not work.)