How to backup on mac. Backup systems for Windows and Mac OS

The release of new MacBook Pro models makes you want to buy one, but before doing so, it's a good idea to back up your current Mac.

If you're planning to get your hands on one of the new MacBooks, you have two options for setting up your new machine: migration or clean install. If you choose the first option, you will need a recent backup of the current Mac you will be migrating from to the new machine. And if you go down the path clean install, you'll still want to move important files, from work documents and favorite applications to music and photos.

Luckily, Apple provides the tools you need to perform a full system backup or file backup. I'll show you how to use Time Machine to copy everything on your Mac to an external hard drive and how to use iCloud to make copies of selected apps and folders. And there is also iTunes. I'll show you how to backup your iTunes library.

Time Machine.

Apple preinstalls its own application for backup on every Mac. Called Time Machine, it's the easiest way to back up your Mac to an external hard drive. This drive can either be connected directly to the Mac or to the network using Apple's Time Capsule, or external storage connected to a router with a USB port.

When you connect an external drive to your Mac, your Mac will ask you if you want to use the drive for Time Machine backups. If your Mac forgets its manners and doesn't ask, you can select the drive for the Time Machine by going to " System Settings> Time Machine" and click on the "Select Drive" button. When selecting a drive for Time Machine, you can also check the box to encrypt backups. This will prompt you for a password when you try to restore your Mac from backup copy Time machines.

In System Preferences, there's also a checkbox for automatic backups, so the next time you connect the designated drive to your Mac, Time Machine will launch and create a system backup.

If you keep your backup drive online or directly connected to your Mac at all times (on a desktop Mac rather than a laptop), Time Machine will create hourly backups for the last 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months. Time Machine will delete your oldest backups when you run out of disk space, replacing them with new copies of your system.

Click the "Options" button in the Time Machine panel of System Preferences and you can select or exclude items to copy. Without junk files can be accelerated backup Time Machine and you can continue to use your Mac as normal during the backup process. The time machine will work in background, although older Macs may experience sluggishness during the backup process.

There is also an option to "Show Time Machine in Menu Bar". By icon in the menu bar, you can monitor the backup status, stop the process and start the backup manually.

In order to restore the system to previous point in time, click on the menu bar and select "Enter Time Machine". You will see your previous backups; scroll and find the one you need, and click on the "Restore" button.

iCloud.

In addition to performing regular Time Machine backups, I use iCloud to create copies of selected folders. I mainly use it for a large photo library, because if the computer burns down or a meteorite hits it (while I'm away), I want copies of my photos to be stored in a safe place outside the office.

To back up your photos to iCloud, go to System Preferences > iCloud and check the box for Photos. Then click the "Options" button for Photos and check the "iCloud Photo Library". This will download copies of the photos to maximum resolution For safe storage in the cloud. This also includes additional benefit, making your Mac's photo library easily accessible from your iPhone and iPad.

Since I was about to switch to paid tariff iCloud for storing photos, I also use the option iCloud Drive- backup your Mac desktop and documents folder to iCloud, as well as reminders and notes so that they are synchronized on Mac and iPhone.

iTunes.

An alternative to iCloud is iTunes. It's so big and bulky that it could use its own backup system. Your iTunes library is included in the Time Machine backup, of course, but since I used to buy a lot of CDs and import them into iTunes, I keep separate copy iTunes libraries on an external drive.

Before you create a copy of your iTunes library, you can do a search for all media files that it can use that are not already in the iTunes folder. To do this, open iTunes program and go to File > Media Library > Organize Library. Check the "Collect files" box and click "OK".

Next, open Finder and go to your home folder (the one with your username) and find the Music folder. Inside the Music folder there is a folder called iTunes. This is the folder you want to copy.

If you've moved your music folder from the default location, you can view its current location by going to iTunes > Preferences and clicking on the Add-ons tab. At the top of the window is the path to your iTunes Media folder.

In Finder, open the iTunes library folder and connect the external drive to the Mac. The drive will be listed in the left pane of the Finder window. Just drag and drop iTunes folder from current location in Feidner to an external drive to copy it.

Previously, the mysterious “backups” on my MacBook didn’t take up much space and therefore didn’t bother me much; I didn’t really want to spend time on them. However, after checking again free place on the disk, I was surprised to find that now the backups take up more than 30 GB of the 120 GB SSD disk in my MacBook Air. This is, to put it mildly, a bit much, especially since the space was urgently needed for other purposes.

If anyone doesn’t know, it’s quite easy to see what your hard drive is doing on a Mac. IN apple menu go to - About this Mac ▸ More details ▸ Storage.

What are local backups and where do they come from?

There's a great article on the Apple website about local Time Machine snapshots. I wouldn’t want to engage in plagiarism, so I always send my readers to the original source.

For the most impatient or those who are too lazy to read the whole thing, I’ll briefly explain what the point is.

When using a laptop, your Time Capsule or a backup disk where it stores copies Time Machine. During these moments, Time Machine saves copies of files it creates, changes, and deletes on local disk. These copies are called local snapshots. Once the backup disk is available, Time Machine copies these local snapshots to it, after which they are stored both there.

As a result, you can restore files from local snapshots even when you are away from the backup drive.

I note that Time Machine does not create and save local copies until the disk runs out, but leaves a certain space on the disk, deleting old ones. If you want more details, still read the article, I gave the link above :)

Deleting local backups

Now let's move on to the most interesting thing, which is not in Apple's article, namely how to disable the function of creating local backups and delete those already created. Actually, there is nothing terrible here, and many people live without backup copies, even though this is not correct. In any case, copies will continue to be created on our Time Capsule or backup disk when available.

To delete local backups, open a terminal and write the command:

Sudo tmutil disablelocal

Your local backups will be deleted and the feature will be disabled. You can enable the function back in the same way with the command:

Sudo tmutil enablelocal

This way you can simply delete local backups (they are stored in hidden directory/.MobileBackups). Maybe someone else will need a command to create an instant backup of the current system state.

I very often write in my articles that “before you begin, create a backup copy...”, and now, I want to tell you in detail about creating those same backup copies using Time Machine! You can ignore backups (), but only until important data from your computer or iPhone/iPad is lost. But anything can happen - loss of the device, accidental deletion necessary files, drive failure in a Mac - almost always in such cases the thought of data recovery arises. And this is where it comes to our aid Time Machine, if it was activated before, and if not, then backup copies will be created after the incident, I'm sure! Agree, it’s better to buy a disk in advance for 2-4 thousand than to restore data later for 10 thousand! This way your nerves will be fine :)

What is Time Machine, and how to create backups using it? The backup function has existed in Mac OS since 10.5 and is present in all subsequent operating systems from Apple. To start creating copies, we need a storage medium on which we will save the data - external hard disk (USB, FireWare or Thunderbolt), network storage (NAS) or Time Capsule (for the first copy, I recommend connecting the capsule via a wire Ethernet). If you want to use a disk, I recommend using new disk, preferably a stationary one - this way the volume will be larger, the speed will be higher and the price will be lower. Plus, you won't be tempted to take it with you somewhere and accidentally drop or lose it.

The backup copy saves: system files Mac OS, programs, personal data— the user folder with all the contents, including libraries and settings, if you have not made changes in the Time Machine settings, but more on that later.

The main thing is not to make a mistake with the disk space for copies: the best thing is to use a disk at least 2 times larger than what is installed in your Mac. For example, you have an iMac with a 1 TB HDD, so it’s better to take a disk of 2 TB or more (although there is an exception - if your disk is very large, and you only work with documents and use 5-10% of the volume, then and the disk can be taken based on the maximum amount of your data). If there is a disk and it is empty, then you can start creating a backup copy, but you need to make sure that it is in file system HFS+! If not, then you need to save all the data from it and format it into the desired format through the program. For OS X El Capitan users I have the same :)

Set up Time Machine

So, there is a disk, now you need to connect it and launch the Time Machine program, which is located in the Apple menu () -> System Preferences.

In the window that appears, click on the “Select disk” button and then click on the disk intended for backups and click on “Use. disk".

If all conditions are met: the disk is connected, the volume is sufficient for copies, and the disk is in the desired file system, then the process will begin in 120 seconds. Please note that the first copying session is the longest in time, because... Time Machine copies all the contents of your built-in Mac disk! So it is better to leave this process overnight. Subsequent copies will be made faster, although much depends on the amount of data changed and time last connection external drive for copies.

“How will copies be created?” - you may ask, because I have 1 TB of space occupied, and a 2 TB disk - after all, it will use up all the space for 2 copies! A reasonable question, and therefore copies are made as follows - during the first backup, the system creates a “clone” on the external drive, after which, each subsequent backup session, it will only add to the disk modified files. For example, you made the first backup copy, after which you downloaded 2 documents from the Internet to your computer and bought 1 album from iTunes Music Store. At the next backup session, the system will scan the data on the disk and, “seeing” that nothing has changed except a few files, will save them to the disk. This way your copy disk won't fill up in a couple of sessions!

Besides, in parameters Time Machine, you can specify those folders that No need reserve, for example, movies (they are either downloaded from the Internet, or purchased in iTMS, or are already stored on an external drive). Just click on the “+” icon and select required folders for exception:

Once the backup is complete, the external drive can be disconnected from the Mac and put away on the shelf until next time. If you have a stationary Mac, then you can leave it connected to it - the disk in the background, every hour, will scan the data and make copies. As you can see from the screenshots, I don’t make backups very often, and the disk for copies is not constantly connected to the Mac - I only periodically, once every 1-2 weeks, receive a message in Notification Center that the copies are not entirely fresh, after which I connect the disk and Time Machine independently carries out the backup procedure.

And now about recovery (I hope that you will have a pleasant reason for recovery, for example, moving to new mac!). When you turn on your new computer for the first time, it is enough to select the disk with backup copies as the recovery source. If you have already made initial setup Mac, then the Migration Assistant will help you - through it you can transfer data, including programs, settings and personal files- in general, everything that was saved using Time Machine! In addition, you can go back in time at any time through the Time Machine program (in the Programs folder) and restore deleted file. Naturally, you can only restore the file/files that were once backed up in Time Machine.

I would also like to add a little about Parallels and VMware, if you use them - it is necessary in the settings virtual machines make changes for proper organization backups from them. The most correct information will be on the Parallels website - and for VMware -!

I really hope you back up via Time Machine and never need to! 🙂 If you didn’t have time to create a copy, and something happened to your computer, for example, it won’t turn on or load Mac OS, you can feel free to contact me - I’ll help save your data and return it to you!

No matter how well-functioning the Mac platform is, there is always the possibility that, due to various circumstances, the user may lose his data, often quite important. Most popular information backup tool Mac OS X is the Time Machine program that comes with the operating system. This fairly well-thought-out application, for all its advantages, has one noticeable drawback - the lack of advanced backup settings. The program indiscriminately copies everything that the user has on the disk. Meanwhile, the user does not always need to make a copy of the entire disk; quite often it is necessary to save only certain data. In this case they will help him alternative applications from third party developers, which includes a small utility from a development company with the funny name Grapefruit.

The multilingual interface of the program is localized in 15 languages, including Russian. It cannot be said that the Russian localization was done flawlessly - somewhere there are untranslated phrases, somewhere the translation was made without taking into account the peculiarities of the Russian language... However, all these translation shortcomings are found mainly in the program settings menu, where the user will look occasionally.

At the top of the program window there is a panel of program profiles, and on the left there is a list of groups of objects whose contents are supposed to be copied. The right side of the window displays a list of the contents of the selected group. At the very bottom of the window there is a very small toolbar, which also performs an information function, displaying information about the selected profile. Additionally, you can display a retractable panel that displays information from the log file of completed operations. The display of this panel is controlled using the corresponding button on the toolbar.

All copying and restoration operations are carried out using profiles that are created in a special section of the settings menu. Initially, iBackup already has two profiles, “ Recovery" And " Backup copy“, the purpose of each of which can be guessed by its name. To be able to literally make a backup copy of certain data with just one click of the mouse, the user will need to set up a profile, specify the folder where the data file should be saved and mark the objects that should be copied. We select the profile we need and, using the button Set…, set the folder to save the backup file. Now we need to select objects to backup. To do this, go to the list of groups and select one or another group, for example System parameters. After selecting a group, a list of objects included in this group will be shown on the right side of the application window. These are the ones that need to be marked so that the program knows what it should copy. If you want to copy all the objects included in the selected group, then you do not need to mark each element at all - just check the box next to the group name and all elements of the group will be automatically selected.

After completing the selection of the objects we need, use the button Create, located on the mini-toolbar - and the program will save a backup copy of the marked data in the specified folder. As you can see, the operation is quite simple and it can only be simpler than restoring data from a saved copy. To do this in the profile Recovery indicate the path to the file with the saved data, mark those elements of the list of its contents that we want to restore, and press the button Restore.

We have now described the operation of one-time data copying and recovery. If the operation of copying the same data is supposed to be performed more than once, then during the next copying session you will no longer have to mark the objects again - you will just need to select the desired profile and use the button Create.

The undoubted advantage of the utility is that if regular backups are necessary, all operations can be automated using the ability of the program to work according to a schedule. In accordance with additional settings profile specified in the tab Profiles program settings menu, iBackup can copy data to a specified folder daily, weekly or monthly, on specified days and times. Additionally, you can set the program to end after a copy operation, put the computer into sleep mode, or turn it off completely. Before the operation begins and after its completion, you can enable the execution of certain scripts.

iBackup can copy data not only to specific folder on the local hard drive, but also upload them to a specified AFP or SMB server (unfortunately, the program does not work with FTP servers), and automatically disconnect from it after the download is complete. To do this, the user needs to set the full path to the desired folder on the remote server in the corresponding tab of the settings menu.

Why do you need several profiles, you might say, because one profile for saving and one for recovery would be enough. Using several profiles opens up the possibility of storing data separately, for example, documents on a mobile device, photos on remote server etc.

Initially, iBackup operates with 10 groups ( system settings, program settings, desktop, home folder user, programs, documents, films, music, pictures, website), which contains potential objects for copying. It is quite clear that the list of groups is compiled based on the average Mac and it may not contain certain applications, data folders, etc., that are used on the computer specific user. That is why the developers have provided the ability for the user to add any other folders and objects to the general list.

As for the groups System parameters And Program settings, then the situation here is somewhat more complicated. The thing is that the utility can make a backup copy of the parameters only those Mac applications OS X or third parties that it knows about. The utility takes information about applications and where exactly the files with their parameters are located from the corresponding plugins. Current version iBackup can copy parameters 26 Mac OS X applications (including settings operating system) and more 260 programs and games from third-party developers, which is quite enough for the average user.

If the plugin for desired application is not in the list, then it is possible to create and upload your own plugin (a template for creating a plugin can be downloaded from the application developer’s website). The plugin is an XML file, analysis of the template of which showed that the only difficulty when creating a plugin will be the need to specify the paths to ALL settings files of the selected application, while knowing program code not required.

The program settings menu is quite simple and consists of three tabs, one of which ( Plugins), you have already met in the previous screenshot. Tab Are common is responsible for General settings iBackup (including launching the application at login and automatic check updates).

Overall, iBackup is a simple and convenient solution for backup and recovery of almost any data on the user’s hard drive. The function of launching the application upon login and the ability to work according to a schedule make the program’s operation almost invisible to the user, without diverting his attention to himself.

iBackup is completely free for private use and can be recommended to all those users who want to be able to selectively back up their data, with the ability to fine-tune to the level separate folder or file.

Latest operating version Apple systems, OS X Mavericks, is available to download today. In this article we will tell you how to save your data, update your operating system and prepare for latest version OS X

Before you begin, you need to make sure you have everything you need. To create a backup copy of your data, you will need an external hard drive, at least, the same amount of memory as your computer's hard drive (or Time Capsule). You should also make sure your Mac can run Mavericks and make sure you have iTunes account to purchase an update.

Before installing the update, you must ensure that your device is compatible with Mavericks. Most of the information you need is in the About This PC tab. To open it, click on apple icon, in the upper left corner of the screen, then click the About This PC button.

This window will allow you to see what operating system is installed on your computer, check whether your software is up to date or not, find out how much memory your computer has, and also get serial number to find out what year it was purchased.

Because Mavericks is downloaded through the store Mac App, you must ensure that the version number listed on the About This Mac page is 10.6.8 or higher. If you don't have 10.6 (also known as Snow Leopard), you can buy it online. When you click on "Software Update", the system will check for an update for your machine. We strongly recommend that you ensure that your software is up to date before installing your operating system. In addition, you must have at least 2 GB of RAM.

Here full list machines that are compatible with OS X Mavericks:

MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or early 2009 or newer)
iMac (mid 2007 or newer)
Mac Mini (Early 2009 or newer)
Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)
Xserve (early 2009)
MacBook Pro(mid/late 2007 or newer)
MacBook Air (late 2008 or newer)

You can find out the exact year of manufacture of your Mac by its serial number:

Data backup

If your machine supports Mavericks, we recommend that you back up your data before upgrading.

If you're already using Time Machine, it's very easy to check when your data was last backed up and run it again if necessary. Just click on the Time Machine icon to see when the backup was completed. If you need to make another copy, just click on the "Create Backup" button.

If you haven't backed up using Time Machine, let's discuss various methods reserve copy Mac using Time Machine. You have two options: with using Time Capsule, or via third party external hard disks.

1. Backup to Time Capsule. To set up your AirPort Time Capsule for backup, open System Preferences and click the Time Machine button. Then click the "Select Disk" button and select Time Capsule from the list that appears.

2. Backup to external hard drive. When connecting any external hard drive for the first time, a pop-up window will appear asking you to use it for Time Machine.

Backup encryption will allow you to encrypt your backup copy of Time Machine using FileVault 2. It's up to you whether you want to encrypt the backup or not. This will give you an extra layer of password protection for accessing your backup, but encrypting your data can significantly slow down the backup process.

Click on "Use as backup drive" and select an external hard drive to use with Time Machine. The first backup may take several hours, I would recommend doing it quickly so as not to interrupt the process. After the initial backup copy Time Machine backs up hourly only those files that have changed while the drive is connected. If the drive is not connected, when it's time for a backup, Time Machine will simply wait until the drive is connected again and continue working normally.

In addition to, or instead of Time Machine backup, online backup can be used, although this may be much slower than using a local drive.
Installing Mavericks

Once your have created all the backups, you are ready to download Mavericks from App Store. The download is free and takes about an hour, depending on your internet connection. Once it has finished downloading, the installer will automatically open and you will be prompted to begin. To install, click the “Continue” button.

The first part of the installation process simply involves agreeing to Apple's terms of use. To continue, click the “Agree” button. If you decide later that you want to read (or re-read) all of the terms, you can find them on Apple's website.

You need to re-confirm that you have read the terms and conditions.

Next, you will have to choose which drive you want to install OS X Mavericks on. For most it must be your inner hard drive, which is often the only choice, but if you have several hard sections disk or several hard drives in the car, select the disk that the best way suits your needs.

In order to continue the installation, you need to enter the administrator password on the computer. Typically this password is different from your Apple ID. This password is used when you log into your computer and is sometimes needed to change settings. Not all users have an administrator account as the only user on their computer, so it's important to make sure you're signed in to an administrator account. If you have more than one account on your computer, the administrator is usually the first user of the computer.

Now everything is ready for installation.

After a few minutes, your computer will automatically restart and the installation will begin.

The computer will boot to a black screen, with a gray window showing the current installation progress. This usually takes about forty-four minutes, but sometimes actually takes an hour and twenty minutes, depending on the speed of your machine.

If the progress bar seems stuck at "Less than a minute left," don't worry. This message is almost always wrong, and takes much longer than he says. Do not attempt to restart your computer during this step.

When the installation is complete, you will receive a message that the installation was successful. Your computer will reboot into last time. You are currently running OS X Mavericks. Once you restart, there are a few additional steps you'll need to follow to get back to using your Mac.

Even though the installation is complete, there are still a few things the installer must do before you can continue using your Mac. This process takes a few minutes, but is much faster than the previous stage.

If the installer detects that you have older, incompatible versions software on your computer, it warns you that these programs have been moved to the Incompatible Programs folder.

To start using the machine, click the “Start” button using Mac" At this point, depending on the version of OS X that was updated, you may have to complete a few additional steps, such as logging in (or creating) iCloud account, it's not very long and quite simple.

When you log into your desktop for the first time, two notifications will appear on the right top corner screen. The first reports that your Mac will be optimized for use with Mavericks, which will affect performance and time battery life until it is completed.

And the second will offer to get acquainted with the features of the new operating system.

Clicking the "Show" button will take you to a page on Apple's website that details the changes to Mavericks. You can always find "What's new in OS X Mavericks" later using the Help menu in Finder. First option, " Help Center", you will be taken to the Mavericks user guide. The second option, "What's New in OS X Mavericks," will take you to an Apple page that highlights some of the new features.

Congratulations! Your computer is now running OS X Mavericks. Over the next few days we will be publishing several help articles to help you get maximum return from an updated Mac.

And if your computer is too old for Mavericks, now is the time to upgrade! New MacBoo Pro, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Retina Display always available in our online store Mac-Books.ru!