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Mar 28, 2019 How to Back Up a Mac. This wikiHow teaches you how to back up the data and files on your Mac to an external hard drive and/or Apple's cloud-based storage service, iCloud. Connect your Mac to a formatted external hard drive. If you read my previous post about how to format an external hard drive, you know that I bought a 2TB Seagate Expansion external drive and managed to create two partitions on the disk — one for Mac backup purposes, and the other for personal use. A new way to access all of your Google Drive files on demand, directly from your Mac or PC, without using up all of your disk space.
BestExternal Hard Drives for MaciMore2019
When it comes to storing data, personal information, and essential documents, you can never be too safe. External hard drives are not only useful for storing data but are an excellent way to transport files from one location to another. When you take into account price, ease of use, and portability, the Seagate Backup Plus Slim is the most reliable hard drive you can carry around with you at all times.
Best Overall: Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
If you want a reliable external hard drive that has a decent amount of storage, is super easy to carry around and has a very affordable price tag, the Seagate Backup Plus Slim is the best option for most people. Formatted for Windows and Mac right out of the box, it's easy to carry all your essential documents from desktop to laptop without missing a beat.
The Seagate Dashboard back up system is a fantastic simple tool that can let you schedule backups to ensure you never miss any critical files you need in case something terrible happens to your computer. You can set automatic backups daily, weekly, or monthly, and change the frequency whenever you want.
Seagate also throws in a one-year complimentary subscription to Mylio Create. This can help you wrangle your photo library if you don't already use some photo managing tool, and a two-month membership to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Great backup software
- USB 3.0
- Metal enclosure
Best Overall
Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
Reliable, portable, and affordable.
Don't worry about lengthy setups or formatting procedures. Plug in the Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB which is formatted for Mac right out of the packaging.
Best USB-C hard drive: Samsung T5 Portable SSD (1 TB)
This small compact SSD drive from Samsung comes with both a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A, meaning it's perfect to use with your MacBook or Mac.
Its fast 540 MB/s read and write speeds are more than enough to transfer any file. And should be able to store all your photo and video files with ease thanks to its straightforward software. Plus, if you're worried about encryption, the Samsung T5 Portable SSD has you covered with an optional password to launch the drive, and AES 256-bit hardware encryption on all your files.
Pros:
- USB-C
- SSD
- Super compact
- AES 256-bit hardware encryption
Best USB-C
Samsung T5 Portable SSD (1 TB)
Fast and encrypted
With 540 MB/s read and write speeds the Samsung T5 Portable SSD is fast enough for photographers and videographers to transport all their work.
Compatible with Time Machine right out of the box, the 8 TB storage capacity on the Western Digital My Book is perfect for people looking for a lot of stage at a reasonable price. It's USB 3.0 meaning it's easy to take advantage of its storage speed with fast transfer speeds.
While portability is not the Western Digital My Book's strong suit and it needs a separate power source, it does offer 256-AES encryption when you download its easy-to-use security software. It ensures all your important files and documents stay private.
If you're looking for a drive that has lots of space, os you don't have to have multiple as your storage needs grow, look no further.
Pros:
- Lots of storage
- 256-AES encryption
- Time Machine compatible
Best Capacity
Western Digital My Book (8TB)
Lots of storage for those who need it
Western Digital offers 256-AES encryption when you download its security software, meaning you can rest easy knowing your private information and personal data is safe. Shortcut for screenshot mac.
Best Thunderbolt 3 Drive: LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt
LaCie hard drives have always been good for people on the go because of the rugged design. The LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt can withstand some dust, dirt, and even a tiny bit of water being splashed on it.
It's 7200 RPM Hard drive keeps things running smoothly. And the included USB-C cable — which supports Thunderbolt 3 — makes it perfect for MacBook and Mac users alike!
Cons:
- Only 130MB/s
Best Thunderbolt 3 Drive
LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt
Rugged design with Thunderbolt 3
The LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt 3 is a favorite because it can withstand drops, dust, and even the occasional splash of water, making it easy to carry around!
Best for Legacy Hardware : G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
While Apple has been going the way of USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 for a while now, some of us still use older hardware and thus don't need hard drives that have USB-C connections. If you're still rocking USB-A or even a Thunderbolt 2 connection from your Mac, the G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB) is a perfect companion.
Its all-metal design is not only more durable than plastic hard drives, but it also looks stylish! Plus, it's 7200 RPM speed allows the G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 to achieve 195 MB/s read and write speeds. This makes it fast enough to transfer large video files quickly and efficiently.
Cons:
- Needs to be reformatted for Windows
Best for legacy hardware
G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
Stylish and fast even on older computers
With 7200 RPM, this hard drive works hard and fast to get your files transferred quickly. Plus, it uses USB 3.0, and it even has a Thunderbolt 2 port.
The CalDigit Tuff does the best it can to live up to its name, giving you a hard drive that isn't as delicate as most. Its official IP rating is IP57, meaning it can be submerged in 3-feet of water for 30 mins and come out the other side functional. That's not all; this Thunderbolt 3 compatible drive can also withstand falling from about 4-feet high. We still don't suggest that you purposely abuse the CalDigit Tuff. Still, it's always good to have peace of mind when you're carrying your hard drive around.
Cons:
- Only come in 2TB
Best rugged drive
CalDigit Tuff
Can withstand drops and water
Official rated IP57, the CalDigit Tuff can survive an accidental dip into the water and has a great price tag.
If you're used to dealing with giant file sizes and need a hard drive that can handle transfer data fast, the Samsung X5 is one of the fastest SSD's you'll find. Its read and write speeds are 2,800MB/s and 2,300MB/s respectively, and the entire body is made of metal, making it much harder than plastic drives. Plus, The internal frame on the inside is shock resistant for drops from 2 meters.
This SSD comes with Thunderbolt 3 technology included. This you can take advantage of the fast speeds on your Mac or MacBook Pro, and it doesn't need any formatting, so it's plug and play!
Pros:
- 2,800MB/s read speed
- Shock resistant
- Thunderbolt 3
Best fast drive
Samsung X5
![External backup drive for mac External backup drive for mac](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133936134/976723606.jpg)
Incredibly fast SSD
If you need blazing fast speeds for giant files, the Samsung X5 is a monster external SSD that can handle any workload.
Bottom line
The Seagate Backup Plus Slim is the most reliable hard drive you can carry around with you at all times. It is formatted for both Mac and Windows right out of the box, and its easy-to-use software can automatically do backups for you as often or as little as you want.
Seagate also throws in a one-year complimentary subscription to Mylio Create. This program can help you wrangle your photo library if you don't already use some photo managing tool. A two-month membership to Adobe's Creative Cloud Photography Plan means it's perfect for budding photographers as well.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Luke Filipowicz is an iMore staff writer who has been carrying around his Seagate Backup Plus Slim since his college days.
External Backup Drive For Mac
Lory Gil is the Managing Editor of iMore and an avid believer in having as many backups of your important files and documents as possible.
Rene Ritchie is the foremost authority on all things Apple and has insider knowledge about the goings-on at the biggest tech company in the world. When it comes to accessories for Mac, Rene has used them all.
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You may have already heard my diatribe about backing up your devices in order to safeguard your most precious data. If you're already using iCloud to sync your content, do you really need to do a full backup? Yes. One of the biggest reasons a full backup is so important is to cover you if or when your device crashes and you lose everything.
Virtual Memory Card – Up to 30GB of memory. Dual Screen – Use both screens like in real, in 2D or with optional 3D effect. Here are some of the features that you will notice when you run Switch Emulator. Ios emulator for mac.
Symbols character map mac. Apple Mac OS X Character Viewer. The easiest way is to just go to the top menu bar and from there choose Edit Special Characters (at the very bottom). That way you can access Character Viewer at least in a lot of programs, one of them being Safari. https://brandever189.weebly.com/blog/character-map-for-mac.
If you're in the middle of a very important, time-sensitive project and your Mac poops out, you may have protected the document you're working on in iCloud, but without a backup, you didn't protect your apps or settings and it'll take you a really long time to get things back the way you want them. With a recent backup, you can just restore your Mac and continue working. Believe me, you'll be happier if you just back up your Mac.
How to restore your Mac from a Time Machine backup
If you use Time Machine to back up your Mac, you can restore individual files, or restore your entire hard drive from a recent backup.
Note: Because you have to enter Recovery mode on your Mac, I suggest printing out these instructions or switching to another device to read them.
Backup Hard Drive For Mac
- Restart your Mac.
- While the startup disc is waking up, hold down the Command and R keys simultaneously. You're Mac will boot into macOS Utilities. If it doesn't, try again.
- Select Restore from Time Machine Backup from the list of available options.
- Click Continue.
- Click Continue on the Restore Your System Page.
- Select your Time Machine Backup.
- Click Continue.
- Select the most recent backup of your Mac's hard drive.
- Click Continue.
Your mac will restore the Time Machine backup and then restart once it is finished.
How to restore your Mac from a local backup
Backup Device For Mac
If you clone your Mac using a cloning program like Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner, you can restore your entire hard drive from a backup, and even create a bootable installer.
Note: Because you have to enter Recovery mode on your Mac, I suggest printing out these instructions or switching to another device to read them.
- Restart your Mac.
- While the startup disc is waking up, hold down the Command and R keys simultaneously. You're Mac will boot into macOS Utilities. If it doesn't, try again.
- Click on Disk Utility.
- Click Continue.
- Select your Mac's hard drive.
- Click the Restore tab at the top of the Disk Utility window.
- Select the external hard drive that your cloned backup is stored next to 'Restore From.'
- Select your Mac's hard drive next to 'Restore to.'
- Click Restore.
Your Mac will restore the cloned backup and then restart once it is finished.
If you want to install a bootable backup, hold down the Option key while your Mac is restarting and select the clone from your external hard drive in your partitioned hard drive.
How to restore your Mac from a cloud backup
If you use a cloud-based backup service, like Backblaze or CrashPlan, you can download missing data so you can restore you Mac.
Each cloud-based backup service is different. All of them will require that you download a backup from their remote servers, though - unless the service offers to send you a physical hard drive that you can use as a backup (Backblaze offers this feature).
Most programs will have a Restore files tool right in the user interface. You can launch the remote app on your Mac, or visit the company's website.
You can then select the files and folders you want to restore from your backup menu.
Because you either have to download files from the Internet, or send away for a physical copy, I only recommend using a cloud-based backup service to restore your Mac if you don't already have a local backup on hand. It is very time consuming and less efficient than restoring directly from an external hard drive you have sitting right on your desk.
Any questions?
Do you have any questions about how to restore your Mac from a recent backup? Put them in the comments and I'll help you out.
Updated October 2018:Updated for macOS Mojave.
![Drive Drive](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133936134/580103495.jpg)
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