Low End Mac Reader Specials
TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com
OWC: We Make DIY Upgrading Easy! Maximize your Apple MacBook / MacBook Pro. Up to 8.0GB Memory, up to 1.0TB HD & More. Easy Guide + Free, Detailed Installation Videos. Click here
Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how
to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full
Tilt Poker Mac.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.
Adam's Apple
Maintaining Your Macintosh
Effective Backup Strategies for Mac Users
Adam Rosen - 2007.09.21 - Tip Jar
Popularity: ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Part 3 - Backup
Choose Your Method
Everyone knows they need to backup their data, but most people don't do so regularly (if at all). Backups are confusing and annoying. Besides, who has the time?
Well, your perspective may change during a post-crash enlightenment: Most people become religious about backups after their first catastrophic loss of data.
The best Mac maintenance you can do is to have current backups of all your files.
The key is to develop a backup strategy before that major disk crash. Be sure to pick methods that are easy for you to do and repeat so it becomes a habit. Backup important personal data on a daily or weekly basis.
A basic data backup simply involves copying important files and folders to other media. You can use any of the following items as backup destinations:
- copy to a second hard drive (internal or external)
- copy to a networked hard drive or file server
- copy to removable storage drives (Zip, Jaz, SyQuest, flash drive, your iPod, etc.)
- burn files to optical disc (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, etc.)
What are these important files and folders? They're anything that you use on a regular basis that would cause problems if you lost them. Under Mac OS X, most of your important files should be located inside your Home directory in one of these folders: Desktop, Documents, Movies, Music, or Pictures. Just copy these entire folders to a backup disk on a regular basis.
You may also wish to backup your Application Preference files; these are very useful to have if you need to reinstall any software. Preferences are also located in your Home directory, inside the Library folder. Copy the whole Preferences folder along with backups of your other files.
Incremental Backups
Once you have a backup of your data, you can use incremental backups to keep the data up to date. An incremental backup copies only new or changed files to your backup, leaving unchanged files alone. This is much faster than running a full backup and easy to do on a weekly basis.
Simple incremental backups can be done manually - just recopy to your clone any items you've worked on since the last backup. View folders containing your important files in List View in the Finder, and click on the Date column to sort by date; this makes it easy to find recent files. Or just drag the whole folder(s) full of your important files to your backup disk, that's very simple and still much faster than a complete system copy.
For more complex needs (or for those of us with bad memory), utilities such as File Synchronization SuperDuper, Carbon Copy Cloner 3, or Data Backup can help automate this process. These synchronization utilities allow you to specify one or more folders to copy, and the computer does the hard work of determining what files have changed since the last backup. For ultra-configurable incremental backups of multiple computers and across networks, the best choice is Retrospect.
Subscribers to Apple's .mac service can also use the Apple Backup application to save backups online, or to local and networked drives; see Apple's .mac website for full details.
Bootable Backups
Bootable backups (or clones) are full backups of your entire startup drive that provide full redundancy for your data and the operating system. Once you make a clone of your hard drive, you can restore files from this drive when needed or boot from the clone in case the primary drive fails. With hard drive prices falling all the time, this is one of the fastest and most convenient ways to backup your system.
You need to use a second internal hard disk (IDE or SATA) or an external FireWire drive in order to make a clone. (For Intel-based Macs, you can also boot from an external USB 2.0 drive.) My preference is to use external FireWire drives, since they can be stored on a shelf or offsite and are easily moved between computers.
Several utilities are available to help make the clone, including SuperDuper, Carbon Copy Cloner, and Data Backup. The process erases the destination drive, copies all files from the source drive, and then makes the cloned drive bootable. The procedure varies slightly among these programs, so read the instructions and/or help files before proceeding.
When complete, make sure to test that your cloned drive works to boot your Mac.
When complete, make sure to test that your cloned drive works to boot your Mac. It's not fun to find out you have a bad backup months later when you need it most. Just go to System Preferences --> Startup Disk, select your clone as the boot drive, then Restart your Mac. Once you're sure it works, repeat the process to set your internal drive back as the startup disk. You now have a full bootable backup of your computer ready when needed.
Maintaining Bootable Backups
Once you have a working clone, incremental backups can be used to keep the clone's data up to date. I like to use File Synchronization to keep my home directory current between the primary and backup drives; I run this once a week or as often as necessary after changes to my system. Programs such as SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner 3 can do this automatically, but because they are designed to keep the entire clone drive synchronized, they can take a lot longer to do their work.
I suggest making full clones of your computer every 3 to 6 months and before you install any updates to Mac OS X or major applications. If something then goes wrong during an upgrade, you can use your clone to revert back to the older install and keep working - or just work off the clone itself.
Different backup strategies and media can be combined; there's no harm in having too many copies of your data. Consider keeping a copy of important files offsite in a different location (at work, in a safety deposit box, with a friend, on your iPod) in case of fire or other damage to your home.
Whatever method(s) you choose, get started now and backup regularly.
Also, purchase the major applications you use regularly and keep copies of any downloaded installers. Besides being the right (legal) thing to do, if you have a hard drive crash or otherwise lose an important program, you can easily reinstall your software from the original disks or installers.
Remember, the best Mac maintenance you can do is to have current
backups of all your files!
This article was originally published on Adam's Oakbog website. It has been adapted and reprinted here with his permission.
Adam also publishes The Vintage Mac Museum Blog. If you find Adam's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent Adam's Apple Columns
- Multiroom Audio with iTunes, 11.03. Apple's iTunes software makes it easy to stream audio to another room. All you need is the right hardware and sometimes an extra app.
- Oops: A Macintosh Undelete Odyssey, 10.05. Accidentally wiping a drive is recoverable, but it's a long, slow process. A bit of creativity will help with files that lose their names.
- Step by Step Guide to Manual Mac System Migration, 08.18. Migration Assistant doesn't always do the job. Manual migration involves copying, deauthorizing, and reinstalling apps and user files.
- Tips for Installing or Reinstalling Mac OS X 10.4 'Tiger', 06.10. Mac OS X 10.4 uses less memory than Leopard, supports Classic Mode on PowerPC Macs, and, unlike Leopard, is supported on G3 Macs.
- More in the Adam's Apple index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
- Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
- November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Quad-Core CPU Makes Sense in MacBook Pro, OS X 10.6 Causing Overheating, Overseas Power, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.06. Also Late 2009 MacBook reviewed, how to add RAM to new MacBook, 18.4in Acer notebook used Intel i7, and SanDisk SSD chosen for Sony VAIO X.
- Dumping Macs for Google Apps, SSD in iMac, Late 2009 iMac Performance Problems, and More, Mac News Review, 11.06. /newsrev/09mnr/1106.html
- WiFi Paranoia, iMac-O-Lantern, Magic Mouse Does Click, Free Clipboard Managers, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.05. Also strange time stamps, problem with ColorIt on Intel Mac, and the story behind OS X 10.5.4 install discs.
- IDE Is Dead; Long Live SATA!, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.04. SATA has displaced parallel ATA. While IDE hard drives haven't disappeared, the best deals are in SATA hard drives.
- QuickTime X in Snow Leopard Imports, Trims, and Publishes Video Quickly and Easily, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 11.04. The long, slow process of importing video into iMovie to edit it, then render it to another format, is history as QuickTime X does that much more quickly.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
- Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
- Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
- More deals in our archive.
About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts
Navigation
Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists
Favorite Sites
MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System
6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Affiliates
The Apple
Store
Mac
Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial
Memory
batteries.com
Advertise
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com
