File Backup
How can I perform file backup of Mac OS?
MacBook, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)
Use Time Machine, or the Disk Utility's Restore feature, or a product such as Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper.
(144951)
4 replies
Basic Backup
For some people, Time Machine will be more than adequate. Time Machine is part of OS X. There are two components:
- A Time Machine preferences panel as part of System Preferences;
- A Time Machine application located in the Applications folder. It is used to manage backups and to restore backups. Time Machine requires a backup drive that is at least twice the capacity of the drive being backed up.
- Time Machine requires a backup drive that is at least double the capacity of the drive(s) it backs up.
Alternatively, 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. For help with using Time Machine visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine.
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.
Thank you very much for your reply! But sometimes I want to restore only 1 file file from backup, but not whole OS. So Time machine backup may not help.
Yes, Time Machine does single file restore. Please visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with Time Machine. This is an extensive site with most everything you may need for using Time Machine. You will not find a better resource for Time Machine in one location. Due to the passing of James Pondini the site is no longer being updated. Therefore, some of the information may be a little outdated.
File Backup