Do Time Machine Editor Programs Work

I hear what you're saying and want to reduce technical errors on my part. It's just that my computer is old and my work involves a lot of media processing and having an ongoing TM backup in addition to a cloud backup may tax my system. Perhaps it's worth the strain for the security?

Thanks for the feedback. It's very helpful. I know I'm pressing this point about backups hard, but that's because it's an important issue.

Since I'll be working with a partitioned drive partially dedicated to PC projects, it would be helpful to use another backup program that is PC compatible just to be safe. If I'm doing that, I'm wondering if I might as well continue using that program for my Mac files. Hence my hesitation and further inquiry.

Here are my remaining questions about Time Machine:

1) Will it wake up my computer from sleep mode for backups?

2) Will it notify me of instances of potential file corruption? Or does it notify of any errors of any kind during backups? Is there a report that can be run? (I'm slightly concerned that TM may work so well, but if there's a problem during backup and I'm not notified then the issue won't be addressed until it's too late.)

3) Can Time Machine operate on a hard drive that is partitioned? Or will it require full use of the entire drive?

Regarding TM alternatives, I just read through the SuperDuper! manual today. Very extensive. The program can do a lot. I've heard good things about CCC, too. Tri-Backups looks robust, but maybe a little less user-friendly?

Ultimately, I just need something easy to use; something that makes scheduled backups that allow for versioned archiving of files (that way I can return to an earlier version of a project if there is an issue with file corruption and such); and it would be nice if the program is compatible with Windows and allows for bootable clones. I think those are the essentials.

I'm not sure about SandBoxing. How necessary is that? SuperDuper! allows for that, but I'm not sure if the others do. I'm also not sure if I would have the patience to work with that process. Anyway, thanks for the feedback as I'm coming to a conclusion about my backup software needs.

I'm still trying to understand this principle distinction between a clone backup and a bootable clone. A clone backup should contains all system files, right? Is the difference solely that a user can't boot their computer off of the drive where the backup is located directly?

I imagine that other programs like Carbon Copy Cloner or Try-Backup or SuperDuper! can all function as bootable clones? Is there not another option for just cloning the OS and system files independently of the other data? Then I can supplement the general backup with that system info. If I'm already running routine backups, then creating a bootable clone seems redundant -- and especially unwieldy because my new internal drive will be so big.

Additionally, does anyone know if any of the three above alternative programs work especially well in running diagnostic checks during backups to alert the user of potential file management issues, even alerting of potential file corruption issues?

Ultimately, I'm trying to do a little bit of everything. I want a program that allows for backups, cloning/syncing, and creation of bootable disk images. So even if I work with TM, I'll need to supplement its functions with another program.

But I want the ability to set scheduled backups on a rolling calendar basis rather than on an hourly basis. I'm just finding that other programs have program quirks that people are reporting about. This is probably inevitable though...

Yes, I have in mind a bootable clone.

I've heard of those two programs. Will try them out. By rolling calendar I mean an ongoing backup process that is set to backup periodically upon a timeframe of your choosing. I don't know the technical terms. :)

Thanks for the feedback. I don't wish the issue to be any more complicated; I'm just trying to understand it from a forward-thinking process as someone who is very green about this issue to begin with. Consider me a layperson who would like to feel at least slightly comfortable about issues related to data management and backup and such.

Besides my ignorance, I also have fairly particular needs and preferences. I'm working with partitioned drives spanning both Mac and PC worlds. I'm also working with old projects and I'm trying to figure out a way to proactively look out for file corruption issues that might arise. It would also be nice to be able to resort to an earlier version of the OS if there are compatibility issues while retaining the newest user data, for example. I'm not sure how well-equipped TM is to handle those situations. I suppose that I can boot from internet recovery or use a bootable installer.

I'm just thinking this through. Maybe I'm thinking too hard. But this is a serious subject.