Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
I have had a MacMini for a couple of years and have never really known how I should back up in case of trouble. Now I just lost all my photos from iPhoto, so decided it was time to learn what to do. I have used Dropbox for some files and have used a thumb drive a bit. Need well explained details, please. Thank you.
Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.6.8)
Basic Backup
Get an external drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Although you can buy a complete external drive system, you can also put one together if you are so inclined. It's relatively easy and only requires a Phillips head screwdriver (typically.) You can purchase hard drives separately. This gives you an opportunity to shop for the best prices on a hard drive of your choice. Reliable brands include Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. You can find reviews and benchmarks on many drives at Storage Review.
Enclosures for FireWire and USB are readily available. You can find only FireWire enclosures, only USB enclosures, and enclosures that feature multiple ports. I would stress getting enclosures that use the Oxford chipsets especially for Firewire drives (911, 921, 922, for example.) You can find enclosures at places such as;
All you need do is remove a case cover, mount the hard drive in the enclosure and connect the cables, then re-attach the case cover. Usually the only tool required is a small or medium Phillips screwdriver.
Mac OS X 10.6.8 which you state you are running has an excellent automatic incredibly easy to use backup system called Time Machine.
All you need is an external hard disk, plug it in to your Mac and set Time Machine to backup to it.
Note: The drive should be Mac formatted i.e. in HFS+ format.
how to properly back up MacMini OS X 10.6.8?
