You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

💡 Did you know?

⏺ If you can't accept iCloud Terms and Conditions... Learn more >

⏺ If you don't see your iCloud notes in the Notes app... Learn more >

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

iCloud back up the entirety of the machine's hard drive?

iCloud back up the entirety of the machine's hard drive? I have tried backing up to external hard drives and apple time capsule's in the past. What's the best full hard drive back up system one can do? Thanks for your replies.

Posted on Jun 23, 2021 11:23 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 23, 2021 11:34 AM

I use Time Machine to backup to an external drive and also use Carbon Copy Cloner.

Apple offers iCloud Backup for iPhones and iPads but not for Mac computers.


It is possible to sync data from a Mac to iCloud if you turn on those options (e.g., iCloud Photos, iCloud Drive including the Desktop & Documents option). Syncing has some of the benefits of a backup (and the benefit of being offsite) but is not the same as a backup. Major differences include the fact that not everything on your Mac can be synced and the fact that if you delete something, accidentally or otherwise, there is only a limited time period (30 days in most cases) during which it can be recovered.


Also see: https://support.apple.com/mac-backup


And more information on syncing in:

Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support

and

iCloud Drive FAQ - Apple Support

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 23, 2021 11:34 AM in response to Cuda33

I use Time Machine to backup to an external drive and also use Carbon Copy Cloner.

Apple offers iCloud Backup for iPhones and iPads but not for Mac computers.


It is possible to sync data from a Mac to iCloud if you turn on those options (e.g., iCloud Photos, iCloud Drive including the Desktop & Documents option). Syncing has some of the benefits of a backup (and the benefit of being offsite) but is not the same as a backup. Major differences include the fact that not everything on your Mac can be synced and the fact that if you delete something, accidentally or otherwise, there is only a limited time period (30 days in most cases) during which it can be recovered.


Also see: https://support.apple.com/mac-backup


And more information on syncing in:

Set up and use iCloud Photos - Apple Support

and

iCloud Drive FAQ - Apple Support

iCloud back up the entirety of the machine's hard drive?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.