Help! I am backing up my hard drive for the first time through disk utility and it'a stuck in "preparing imaging engine". What do I do now?
When I open my mac, I am given 4 options: restore from time machine backup, reinstall OS X, help online, and disk utility. So I am backing up for first time, I have a lot of files to save, please help!
Hi cponce3,
The best way to back up your Mac is to use an external drive formatted for Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and the Time Machine application that comes with your Mac. Here is some information to help you get started with Time Machine.
Format external drives to Mac OS Extended
Even though this document mentions Aperture, the process is the same for formatting all external drives to work with a Mac.
Use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac
Time Machine is the built-in backup feature of OS X. To use it, you need one of these external storage solutions, sold separately:
- External hard drive connected to a USB, FireWire, or Thunderbolt port on your Mac
- Time Capsule or OS X Server on your network
- External hard drive connected to the USB port of an AirPort Extreme (802.11ac) base station on your network
When you connect an external hard drive directly to your Mac, you might be asked if you want to use the drive to back up with Time Machine. Click “Use as Backup Disk.”
Take care,
Hi judysings,
Thank you for your response. I still have a problem. Every time I turn on my computer I get a screen with 4 options; restore from time machine backup, reinstall OSX, help online, and disk utility. I have only tried to make a backup through disk utility and it freezes in "preparing imaging engine." Is there a way to backup with time machine when I am only given the 4 options I mentioned above? Thank you for your time.
HELP! I'm backing up my hard drive via disk utility and it's stuck in " preparing imaging engine". What do I do now?
