I have turned on my Macbook Air and clicked on Time Machine. My external device (

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I have turned on my Macbook Air and clicked on Time Machine. My external device (

I have turned on my Macbook Air and clicked on Time Machine. My external device ("My Passport for Mac") is blinking and humming. What do I do next? Is it automatically backing up? The "clockface" says 4:00 (it's 6:00 in Mpls.) Is this to show how far the backup has progressed? The non-adjoining arrow are on the lower left at about 7:00. Does that have meaning? I'd just like 3 or 4 simple steps to know "Time Machine for Dummies." If my "Passport" is blinking, is it backing up? How do I know when it's finished? When I click Time Machine it just gives me three options: Skip Backup. or Enter Time Machine. Or Preferences. I tried reading the article and it just has two many alternative options for different situations. What do I do now to backup my Mac? I just want to know what to click to begin its backing up. Thanks.

MacBook Air 11", macOS 10.13

Posted on Feb 13, 2020 4:07 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

mulberry58

Level 6

10,436 points

Feb 13, 2020 8:59 AM in response to UsingTimeMaching

If one of the options = skip Backup, this means that TimeMachine hasn't finished the backup yet.

Also see the difference:

= not finished (there is a little arrow on the icon)

= finished (the little arrow has disappeared)

Be patient: a first backup or a backup after updating your OS can take a very long time

If you want to see more:

click on the Apple icon at the menubar
click on SystemPreferences
click on TimeMachine. You'll see the progress of the backup if still busy
Check on the left side of this window if 'Back Up automatically' is checked. If not: unlock the padlock at the bottom and select it.

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