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Best way to backup a Mac?
Posted on 10/9/22 at 1:35 pm
Posted on 10/9/22 at 1:35 pm
I just upgraded my computer from about 500GB to 1TB. If I doubled my internal storage should I also double my Time Machine storage? I'm thinking about going to 4TB instead of just 2TB. Right now my biggest external drive is 1TB. I wouldn't think 1TB is enough to backup a 1TB machine. It will fit everything but it won't allow for more than 1 backup. I've heard it's recommended you at-least double the size of your computer on an external drive.
A few questions.
The simplest solution is to buy a 2TB or 4TB external drive and back it up using Time Machine. However I've heard there are alternatives out there. One person told me they use a mirror image of their computer on iCloud to backup their computer. That sounds to complicated. I also know there are third party applications which claim to be better than Time Machine.
Secondly when it comes to physically storing the data, is HDD good enough for a backup? it doesn't need to be fast or portable as it will likely stay in one place at all times. Should I go with an SSD instead? Depending where I get it the SSD is probably 2 to 4 times more expensive than HDD. Edit: price is a consideration for me. What about cloud storage?
Thanks for any suggestions.
A few questions.
The simplest solution is to buy a 2TB or 4TB external drive and back it up using Time Machine. However I've heard there are alternatives out there. One person told me they use a mirror image of their computer on iCloud to backup their computer. That sounds to complicated. I also know there are third party applications which claim to be better than Time Machine.
Secondly when it comes to physically storing the data, is HDD good enough for a backup? it doesn't need to be fast or portable as it will likely stay in one place at all times. Should I go with an SSD instead? Depending where I get it the SSD is probably 2 to 4 times more expensive than HDD. Edit: price is a consideration for me. What about cloud storage?
Thanks for any suggestions.
This post was edited on 10/9/22 at 1:36 pm
6
Posted on 10/9/22 at 1:48 pm to catholictigerfan
How big of a drive you get for a Time Machine backup is going to be dependent on your circumstances. A 1TB drive would be enough to backup a 1TB main drive, but you'll only back up what's currently on the drive and not store older file history.
The larger size difference between the main drive and backup drive size, the more file history you can store (files that are deleted). If your drive is filled up but you hardly have any file turnover (deleting files and creating new ones) then you'll be able to store file history for long lengths of time.
You don't need a SSD for a backup drive. Just stick to a HDD, you don't need your backups done in a hurry, it's fine if they slowly run in the background.
Personally I wouldn't bother with cloud stuff in this scenario. Especially if we're talking about backups terabytes in size. I have a home server setup and backup my Macs to my local storage server, but if you don't have anything like that or don't need to back up more than one Mac, a regular USB3 external hard drive will do just fine.
The larger size difference between the main drive and backup drive size, the more file history you can store (files that are deleted). If your drive is filled up but you hardly have any file turnover (deleting files and creating new ones) then you'll be able to store file history for long lengths of time.
You don't need a SSD for a backup drive. Just stick to a HDD, you don't need your backups done in a hurry, it's fine if they slowly run in the background.
Personally I wouldn't bother with cloud stuff in this scenario. Especially if we're talking about backups terabytes in size. I have a home server setup and backup my Macs to my local storage server, but if you don't have anything like that or don't need to back up more than one Mac, a regular USB3 external hard drive will do just fine.
This post was edited on 10/9/22 at 1:49 pm
Posted on 10/9/22 at 5:34 pm to catholictigerfan
There’s really no need to get a backup drive that big imo. Say you got your internal drive maxed out, I can’t imagine there’s multiple versions of every single file or enough versions of several files that you would need 4 TB. Time Machine doesn’t copy your entire hard drive everytime it backs up, only when you make changes to a file. So if you have tons of movies chances are there’s only going to be one copy on Time Machine
Posted on 10/9/22 at 7:58 pm to whiskey over ice
Thanks for the advice 
Posted on 10/10/22 at 2:45 pm to catholictigerfan
The best way is to backup to a bootable external hard drive with a software called Super Duper. Restoring from Time Machine is far from ideal. With a bootable backup drive, you have a mirror image of your internal hard drive. If the internal drive ever fails, you simply have your computer boot up from your “backup” drive and you don’t miss a beat. I’ve used Time Machine and Super Duper, and there is really no comparison if you ever really need it.
Posted on 10/10/22 at 2:56 pm to catholictigerfan
I like to keep things simple. SSD + Time Machine does the job just fine. SSDs are way faster and less likely to fail.
Backing up to iCloud is not very complicated, and is probably the best and most failproof modern solution.
You could do one, the other, or both.
Backing up to iCloud is not very complicated, and is probably the best and most failproof modern solution.
You could do one, the other, or both.
Posted on 10/10/22 at 6:42 pm to catholictigerfan
With large fries and a coke.
Posted on 10/15/22 at 3:49 am to catholictigerfan
I would rather have a 2TB SSD than a 4TB HDD. The SSD is so much faster. Buy a cheap HDD for TimeMachine. You'll need to follow some specific rules though if you are preparing to clone for a "boot drive" versus a "backup" drive.
Posted on 10/16/22 at 8:26 am to NPComb
How do y’all backup iCloud Drive also?
I use iCloud Drive across all devices and need a better way to backup
I use iCloud Drive across all devices and need a better way to backup
Posted on 10/17/22 at 11:23 am to djangochained
You probably know this: iCloud is synching data. It backups only in sense that at a moment in time it has what you have on your Mac or iPad. But delete a photo or file on your computer and it gets deleted in the cloud, too, as it reflects what is going on.
I use iCloud but also back up to external hard drive(s). SSD drives are relatively cheap and you can archive your whole system. Use Time Machine, stick a date on it, and put it in a safe place. Repeat as needed on other drive. I use 3TB on a time machine as well. I have not had good luck with some third party apps in restoring drives, BTW.
I use iCloud but also back up to external hard drive(s). SSD drives are relatively cheap and you can archive your whole system. Use Time Machine, stick a date on it, and put it in a safe place. Repeat as needed on other drive. I use 3TB on a time machine as well. I have not had good luck with some third party apps in restoring drives, BTW.
Posted on 10/18/22 at 11:57 am to Pepperoni
I use iCloud Drive for my files across all four devices ( MacBook Pro, Mac desktop, and iPhone/iPad)
I usually back up to an SSD weekly… is there a better way I can do this?
I usually back up to an SSD weekly… is there a better way I can do this?
Posted on 10/19/22 at 7:03 am to djangochained
Hi, depending upon value of your data, you could make more frequent backups onto a second or third SSD and certainly store at least one SSD in a remote safe(r) location.
See for example the 3-2-1 method
LINK https://www.nakivo.com/blog/3-2-1-backup-rule-efficient-data-protection-strategy/
You could search for cloud services for storage of your entire Mac.
See here (be sure to check for Mac friendly options)
LINK https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-cloud-backup
See for example the 3-2-1 method
LINK https://www.nakivo.com/blog/3-2-1-backup-rule-efficient-data-protection-strategy/
You could search for cloud services for storage of your entire Mac.
See here (be sure to check for Mac friendly options)
LINK https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-cloud-backup
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