How to Backup your macOS Data to an External Drive
In this article I will show you how to back up your macOS data to an external disk using Time Machine. Regular data and system backups are extremely important. It is during this period that the probability of a system failure due to system or device upgrades is high. To learn more about the importance of backing up your data, click here. In this article I will use the standard backup solution from MacOS Time Machine, which is a great free tool to back up your data to an external drive or any other drive in MacOS if available.
Why should the Mac have abackup?
You probably know why you need to back up your data and your system. However, I will give you some reasons why you should back up your files.
- Because you or someone else could spill the alcohol on your Mac.
- Because your system drive may fail.
- Retrieving data from SSDs can indeed be very difficult.
- Because you could lose your Mac.
- Because someone could steal your Mac.
- Malware for Mac is rare, but if you are affected, you can recover your data before it becomes infected.
- Because you can access your data from another device.
- You may have access to an earlier version of the document.
- When you get a new Mac, you can easily restore all the data by essentially cloning the old Mac to the new one.
That’s what it looks like: Back up your Windows 10 computer to an external drive
Time machine: What is this fuse?
You can use Time Machine, the Mac’s built-in backup feature, to automatically back up all your files, including applications, music, photos, email, documents, and system files. You can also exclude certain folders that you do not want to back up. Time Machine allows you to exclude a specific folder, so you don’t have to save it. The time machine stops;
- Local images, space-saving
- Temporary backups for the last 24 hours.
- Daily backups for the last month
- Weekly backups for all past months
In addition, the oldest backups are deleted when the backup drive is full.
Macro data backup on an external disk (time machine)
Without going into details, let’s start by backing up MacOS data to an external drive using Apple’s standard backup software, Apple Time Machine. It is highly recommended to back up your data to an external hard drive.
- Connect the external drive to your Mac.
- Activate MacOS, click the Apple icon in the top left corner of the screen and select System Preferences.
Fault! The file name is not specified.
To back up macOS data to an external drive
data-medium-file=https://www..com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/System-Preferences-300×159.jpg data-large-file=https://www..com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/System-Preferences.jpg load=lazy class= size-full wp-image-24684 src=https://g6k7x4j6.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/System-Preferences.jpg alt=System settings width=687 height=363 />
System settings
- Select Timers in the system settings.
Fault! The file name is not specified.
To back up macOS data to an external drive
data-medium-file=https://www..com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/System-Preferences-300×262.png data-large-file=https://www..com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/System-Preferences.png load=lazy class= size-full wp-image-24685 src=https://g6k7x4j6.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/System-Preferences.png alt=System settings width=780 height=680 />
System settings
- Check the Backup box automatically if you want to back up your data regularly. You can also add a Time Machine to the menu bar for easy access.
- Click the Select Disk button under Backup Disk.
Time machine
- Select the backup disk on which you want to back up the system (data). Click Use Disk after selecting a backup disk.
Fault! The file name is not specified.
To back up macOS data to an external drive
data-medium-file=https://www..com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Use-Backup-Disk-300×218.png data-large-file=https://www..com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Use-Backup-Disk.png load=lazy class= size-full wp-image-24687 src=https://g6k7x4j6.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Use-Backup-Disk.png alt=Use backup-disk width=780 height=568 />
Using a Backup Disk
- Once you have selected a drive, the backup process starts automatically. Wait a few minutes or even hours, depending on the size of your data.
Fault! The file name is not specified.
To back up macOS data to an external drive
data-medium-file=https://www..com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Backing-Up-300×218.png data-large-file=https://www..com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Backing-Up.png load=lazy class= size-full wp-image-24679 src=https://g6k7x4j6.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Backing-Up.png alt=How to save macOS data on an external disk width=780 height=568 />.
Fuse
- As soon as the backup is complete, you will be notified that the backup has been completed.
Fault! The file name is not specified.
To back up macOS data to an external drive
data-medium-file=https://www..com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Backup-Completed-30 1.png data-large-file=https://www..com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Backup-Completed.png load=lazy class=size-full wp-image-24680 src=https://g6k7x4j6.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Backup-Completed.png alt=Backup completed width=370 height=100 />
Fuse completed
You can also consult our related guides on how to back up your data;
Summary
In this article, I have explained how to use Time Machine to back up MacOS data to an external drive. This software is a free tool to back up your data and restore it later. If you are using the Time Machine backup application, you can restore it when you purchase a new Mac device. I also mentioned the reasons why you need to back up your data and the elements of the time machine. Which backup solution do you use? Please let us know in the comment section below.
Related Tags:
does time machine backup photos,how to use time machine to restore files,time machine preparing backup,how to backup mac to icloud,searching for time machine backups,format time machine drive,mac backup software,backup mac to exfat drive,acronis mac backup,mac won't backup to external hard drive,how to use seagate expansion drive on mac,how to use seagate backup plus slim on mac,backup boot drive mac,external hard drive in safe mode mac,copy files from unbootable mac,create startup disk mac disk utility,can you backup a macbook that won t turn on,acronis time machine,backup mac senza time machine,how to backup macbook pro retina,backup mac fast,how to backup seagate backup plus for mac,restore mojave from time machine,mac os mojave to catalina,alternative to time machine,does time machine backup dropbox,restore mac from icloud,backup mac to google drive,how long does time machine restore take,time machine not enough space,does time machine backup when mac is asleep,mac time machine vs backup,pros and cons of using time machine mac,review time machine,is time machine reliable,best external hard drive for torrenting,best external hard drive with cloud storage,backup applications macos,get backup pro setapp,setapp disk drill,time machine backup to google drive,how to backup mac to icloud 2019,time machine vs icloud,how to backup mac to external hard drive without time machine,how do i backup my entire mac to an external hard drive?,how do i transfer everything from my mac to an external hard drive?,how to backup mac to external hard drive without erasing,how to backup mac without external hard drive,external hard drive for mac,how to backup mac to external hard drive using disk utility
