Advice on backing up to external HD

I hope I'm putting this in the correct place.
I just bought an external hard drive. I want to back up my files. Is there a way to back up an exact copy of what I have on my internal HD onto the external one. What would be the easiest way of doing this? Is there a way of keeping the files the same on both the internal and external HDs synced- so if I delete something on my internal HD it will be deleted from my external HD. I think what I really want is an exact copy of my internal HD with all my setting that I could put on the internal HD should anything happen to it. Is this possible?
Also I want to store some photographs on the external hard drive. I wouldn't want to delete these even if I deleted them off the internal HD. Is there a way of doing this and keeping a backup copy of the internal HD synced. Would I need to partition the external HD to do this.
I really don't understand much about this stuff but I'm willing to read and learn if someone can point me in the right direction.
Message was edited by: pinkphish

Basic Backup
Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Retrospect Desktop (Commercial - not yet universal binary)
2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
3. Synk (Backup, Standard, or Pro)
4. Deja Vu (Shareware)
5. PsynchX 2.1.1 and RsyncX 2.1 (Freeware)
6. Carbon Copy Cloner (Freeware - 3.0 is a Universal Binary)
7. SuperDuper! (Commercial)
8. Intego Personal Backup (Commercial)
9. Data Backup (Commercial)
The following utilities can also be used for backup, but cannot create bootable clones:
1. Backup (requires a .Mac account with Apple both to get the software and to use it.)
2. Toast
3. Impression
4. arRSync
Apple's Backup is a full backup tool capable of also backing up across multiple media such as CD/DVD. However, it cannot create bootable backups. It is primarily an "archiving" utility as are the other two.
Impression and Toast are disk image based backups, only. Particularly useful if you need to backup to CD/DVD across multiple media.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Although you can buy a complete FireWire drive system, you can also put one together if you are so inclined. It's relatively easy and only requires a Phillips head screwdriver (typically.) You can purchase hard drives separately. This gives you an opportunity to shop for the best prices on a hard drive of your choice. Reliable brands include Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. You can find reviews and benchmarks on many drives at Storage Review.
Enclosures for FireWire and USB are readily available. You can find only FireWire enclosures, only USB enclosures, and enclosures that feature multiple ports. I would stress getting enclosures that use the Oxford chipsets (911, 921, 922, for example.) You can find enclosures at places such as;
Cool Drives
OWC
WiebeTech
Firewire Direct
California Drives
NewEgg
All you need do is remove a case cover, mount the hard drive in the enclosure and connect the cables, then re-attach the case cover. Usually the only tool required is a small or medium Phillips screwdriver.

Similar Messages

Time Machine not backing up other external hard drive

Hi,
I recently upgraded to Leopard and am trying to use Time Machine. I have one external hard drive that is used specifically for the Time Machine Backup, it's called "Backup Drive". The other hard drive is called "Captured Memories" and is used to store my graphic design files. Time Machine seems to backup my iMac because there is a folder called iMac and it contains the files, but the folder for Captured Memories is blank. I was getting errors saying that the backup failed but when I clicked the "Back Up Now" option on Time Machine, it doesn't list the error - but the Captured Memories folder is still blank so it didn't back up that external drive. I also changed the Spotlight preferences so that it does not search the Backup Drive.
Both the Backup Drive and the Captured Memories drives are the same, they're both Seagate Free Agent Pro drives, 1TB each.
The Free Agent Pro drives both have a sleep timer that I cannot adjust, does that have anything to do with why Time Machine won't backup the Captured Memories drive? If that is the case, what other software can I use to backup the Captured Memories external drive? I want it to sync to the Backup Drive because I am constantly saving and moving files around on the Captured Memories drive.
I was using a Memeo backup software that came with the Free Agent Pro drives but the problem I was having is it would make copies of files rather than move them. For example, I have a folder on the Captured Memories drive that is called, In Progress and one that is called In Proofing. So once a project is complete, I move the file to the In Proofing folder. The Memeo software would copy the file to the In Proofing folder rather than move it. So I'd end up with 2 copies of the file, one in the In Progress folder and one in the In Proofing folder.
Does anyone know how I can simply have the drive backed up like that?
What do I do?
Please help! I really need to make sure that the Captured Memories external drive is being backed up!

I am having a similar problem. I initially set it up 3 days ago and had it back up just the iMac to Time Capsule (about 120 GB) which it did no problem (I initially had my LaCie drive excluded). I then un-excluded my other drive, where all my photos and music reside (about 130 GB). Since then, it keeps trying to back up about 102 GB each time. Looking at the list of backups it does not appear that it has ever successfully backed up the LaCie. I am not aware of any error messages, but I have not been home much. I normally shut down the computer at night but I have been leaving it on trying to let Time Machine do its thing. All I can say is that every time I am at the computer TM is running and it always looks like it is in the middle of backing up 102 GB (usually seems to be near the beginning, never seem to see it more than halfway done). Looking at the TM panel it says the latest backup was 2 days ago. I'd appreciate any advice!

Back up to external drive

I just bought a new fire wire external hard drive and I need some help/advice with backing things up.
I am thinking of downloading the free super duper program to clone my hard drive and then using .Mac backup for regular/scheduled back ups. I have a .Mac account already and see no reason to purchase superduper.
Does anyone know if this will work? Does it sound like a good idea? Why/why not?
Any help appeciated.
Dave

I use SuperDuper to clone my internal hard drive and then use .Mac to back it up every second day, won't the .Mac program backup any and all files that have been changed?
I think to achieve this with "any and all" files you would need two backup sets, David. 1), a cloned SuperDuper copy and 2), a set created by Back-up of all files, which would then be 'incrementally" backed up. The "BackUp" created set will, indeed, be regularly updated, but the SuperDuper one won't if you use the approach you suggest.
My advice be to stick with one or the other for regular use unless you have plenty of space.
When it comes to choosing between the two it comes down to simplicity and reliability for me.
I have both .Mac's "BackUp" and SuperDuper (paid version). SuperDuper, in my experience , is both more reliable and easier to use. Setting up a daily "identical bootable clone" backup process to run at a time of your choosing is a doddle with the paid version of superduper. "Backup" is better than it was in the past, but its still not as good as SD for this sort of purpose IMHO.
SuperDuper is well worth the shareware price.
Backup has some positives too, though. THe incremental backup process it uses doesn't erase the old versions of the file from the original set. It simply adds a copy of the new version of the file. If you want to revert to an older version of a file this can be good. It increases the HD space required substantially, though, and makes restoring things to the "just brfore the crash" state more complex.
If space is no issue, of course, then using both doubles your insurance.
Cheers
Rod

Advice for backing up

I need some advice on backing up
I don't want to use time machine because i dont need regular back-ups, i just need a program that will backup everything on my macintosh HD to my external hard drive once every 2 weeks or so
any suggestions?

andy.lawrence wrote:
I need some advice on backing up
I don't want to use time machine because i dont need regular back-ups, i just need a program that will backup everything on my macintosh HD to my external hard drive once every 2 weeks or so
So you're perfectly happy losing as much as two weeks of work when (not if) your HD fails, or some other major failure happens?
As Malcom says, you can still use Time Machine. Another way is to turn it off in TM > Preferences, then when you want to do a backup, use the +Back Up Now+ option from the TM icon in your Menubar, or control-clicking (right-clicking) the TM icon in your Dock.

Starting-point advice for buying/building an external HD?

My due diligence leads me to conclude that this is a whole lot more complicated than I thought it would be. Or I just don't know the difference between what I really need to know and what are just options.
One example: I want to get an enclosure and a drive separately but I don't know -- and don't know how much I need to care -- about the difference between IDE and serial ATA.
I wonder if someone could point me (and apparently many others) toward a top-level resource that says simply, "Here's all you really need to know if you're getting an external HD for the first time"?
The above would be great. But if you're willing to dig into my specific questions here, even better.
-- I obviously need to get an enclosure that supports bootable Firewire. I've seen advice dating back at least to 2001 that one should look for "Oxford 911." Is this still true, that if I want a bootable drive then the enclosure had better explicitly claim Oxford 911? Is there anything else I could look for to know whether the drive I put in it will be bootable?
-- I really really really want a fanless enclosure. Aside from being sure the case is well designed for heat dissipation, should I favor a lower RPM drive -- say 5400 vs 7200? Any other suggestions? I want the drive to be on and available all the time (for other, possibly remote users), but because it will not be in active use most of the time, can I assume that power management will spin down that drive, thus minimizing heat concerns?
-- Are the 3.5 and 2.5 fundamentally different interfaces, or can I get an enclosure with which I can use both drive types? (Minor concern, but it might be nice if I can plug in displaced notebook drives.)
-- Generally, other than the issue of booting via Firewire, what am I supposed to look for to be sure I get an enclosure and drive that works? Or are the array of options and the wildly diverse prices simply options and prices, and if I get a drive that plugs in to my plugin, for the most part it'll at least work?

I think the Oxford chipsets are still the cats meow over the rest of them. I have never had a problem with my enclosures containing them. IDE vs SATA, while more SATA external drives are coming out, you need an expansion card to provide the proper port. Most firewire cases support the IDE drives without issue.
Fanless shouldn't be a problem. There are many cases out there. My vendor of choice is Other World Computing (www.macsales.com). They are a good company and wonderful to work with. The faster the drive, yes the more heat that can be generated. This depends on what the drive is used for and for how long during sustained periods.
I have not seen a case that deals with both the 3.5 and the 2.5 drives - doesn't mean that one couldn't exist, I just haven't looked for them. Maybe over at the firewire depot? They have a large selection of all kinds of cases.
What I have noticed between the 3's and 2's, is that the 2s use much less power and therefore can be powered by the firewire bus. It is nice when I go in the field and just have to take the case and FW cable, no need to worry about hauling along the power supply as with the larger 3's.
If you need portability, the 2's are the ways to go. If attached to the desktop go with the 3.5's. They are generally a little faster also. From your posting it sounds like the 3.5 is the way to go. I have one of each, but both serve different purposes as stated above.

How to back up an external hard drive using Time Machine

I have a Macbook. I have iTunes. I have my iTunes folder and contents stored on an external (Lacie) hard drive. I want to be able to back up that external (Lacie) hard drive and my mac using Time Machine to a separate external hard drive. At the moment it is only my mac that is backed up, and not the Lacie. How can I also back up the Lacie so that only the recently added iTunes content is added? Cheers.

You may consider reading the detail in what third-party clone utilities could
do in regard to a backup clone and then use their utility to update that clone.
Once the copy/clone is made (a bootable backup, btw) the same utility can
be used to update the clone. Not certain how it works, and am a bit behind
on making backup bootable clones of my several Macs as it is. I do a whole
backup clone, though a partial or update supposedly is possible.
SuperDuper or CarbonCopy, I don't remember if one of them or both, do this.
Good luck in any event!

I can not get Time Machine to back up an external WD Passport 2 TB drive! Has anyone else had this problem? The drive is new and I was running Snow Leopard and upgraded to Lion and it still won't do it. Time Machine backs up the internal drive fine.

I bought 2 2TB WD Passport Drives with the intention of housing my iTunes/iPhoto libraries off my older MacBook. I have successfully transferred the Libraries to one and am using the other one for Time Machine. In Snow Leopard I could back up my computer to Time Machine no problem but when I did not exclude the iTunes/iPhoto drive the back up fails. Both drives have been reformatted, permissions repaired and checked in Disk Utility and one was replaced. I have been to the Genius Bar now 5 times. I have tried using USB drive and FireWire. Both drives are recognized and are working properly otherwise regardless how they are connected. Finally yesterday the Apple store installed Lion to see if that fixed the issue and it did not. Time Machine successfully backed up a USB Flash drive, and today I will try an older external drive. Any ideas on what else to try??? Do I have to resort to third party software like Carbon Copy Cloned to get this done? Any ideas why this wont work? I am using a FireWire converter but as I said, both drives are working normally otherwise (libraries working, time machine working for the computer's hard drive. Any ideas would be appreciated!!?

Thanks so much but none of that helped. It was driving me crazy because it would back up another external drive. I just changed the name of the drive from iPhoto/iTunes Library to Media Libraries and IT WORKED!! I guess for some reason it didn't like the drive being called iPhoto or iTunes ???? I don't understand but I have tried so many solutions and exchanging things out but the name change did it????!!!
Thank you for your help and replying to this. Guess I made my own issue!

How can I tell if Time Machine is backing up my external HD?

Mac Newbie here. I just have a quick question: I have two external HD hooked up to my 2012 iMac, one holding media files (not iTunes, just miscellaneous avi and mkv type files) and the other serving as the backup drive for use with Time Machine. When I first hooked up the media external HD, the OS asked me if I wanted to use it with Time Machine. Interpreting that as a request to use it as the backup drive, I replied "no." Then when I hooked up the second external HD, I replied "yes" when asked if I wanted to use it with Time Machine.
Since that time, Time Machine has been running smoothly, but I'm not sure if it is backing up both my internal HD and my external HD #1 used for media files. When I open Time Machine using Launchpad, it shows me a picture of Finder listing all my different hard drives, but only in the "now" timeframe. When I go back a few backups, the external HD used for media files is grayed out. Does that mean it has not been backing up my external HD files? If so, how do I tell it to include that external HD in the backup process?
Note that I am trying to backup contents of one external HD (including my internal HD) to another - the internal HD has 1 TB, the first external HD has 2 TB, and the second external HD has 3 TB (this is the one I'm using as the backup drive). So I think I should be ok from a space standpoint.

Open System Preferences > Time Machine > Options and see Excluded Items. If the external drive is there, it's not being backed up

Can time machine be used to back up one external drive to another external drive?

I use the photography program Lightroom to organize and develop digital photos. All my photos are stored on my iMac internal drive. The internal drive is almost full so I want to move my photos to a new external drive. At present, I have an external drive devoted to backing up my iMac using time machine. I have no need to change this arrangement. I would like to use a new external drive to serve as the primary location for my pictures, which I will move from the internal drive. Then I would like to backup that drive to a third external back up drive. Can time machine be used to automatically back up the second drive to the third drive as well as for continuing to provide ongoing backups to my internal drive as it is currently doing?
Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Jeffery t wrote:
Thanks for the links, but I don't see in the pondini links, the scenario I am asking about.
Time Machine can easily back up multiple internal and/or directly-connected external drives and partitions simultaneously (but Time Machine cannotback up data that's on a network).
From the first link.
Jeffery t wrote:
... Please note that my iMac internal drive is backing up to external drive number 1 using time machine. I want my pictures on external drive two and those backed up to external drive three. So are you saying that if I have 500 GB of pictures on drive number 2, I will need a third drive that is at least 1 TB?
the confusion starts in your above statement...
There should be Only One Time Machine Drive.

Backing up an external hard drive with time Machine

I backed up my internal disk with Time Machine, but I can not back up an external drive that I use for my media. I see the drive in the options part of Time Machine system preferences, but the minus sign to take it off of the "do not back up these drives" is blanked out. Any suggestions?

I successfully backed up the contents of an external hard drive, but the next time Time Machine did a backup, I didn't happen to have that drive connected, so Time Machine said it couldn't find it and deleted the existing backup. Is there any way to get it to keep the backup? The drive I want to back up is only used occasionally (naturally, anything I use more frequently is on my Mac) and I don't want to have to plug in both hard drives every time I want to run a backup, only to risk losing all of that history if I ever accidentally plug in only the backup drive. But I do want to keep Time Machine backups of that drive because it contains my iPhoto Library.

Backing up an external drive using Time Machine

I am trying to back up an external hard drive with Time Machine, but in Options, the drive is greyed out and cannot be removed from exclusions.
I read that it cannot back up Fat32, if that is true, how do I work around that? My Aperture library is on this drive.

If the drive is formatted FAT32 then there is no way around it. Time Machine will not be able to backup the drive. You would have to repartition and reformat the drive for OS X, but that will make it unusable on a PC. You should try using a third-party backup utility if you cannot reformat the drive:
Backup Software Recommendations
Carbon Copy Cloner
Data Backup
Deja Vu
SuperDuper!
Synk Pro
Tri-Backup
Others may be found at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
If you backup to the same drive used for your Time Machine backup, then you should create a separate partition on the drive for these backups.

Can I back up an external drive and an airbook with a third drive

I would like to back up an external drive and an airbook with a third drive. This was the setup I used with my Imac. The third drive was linked to the external drive which was linked to the imac. I used time machine. Both the third drive and the external drive were visible on the desktop of the imac. Now I want to use this system to back up the airbook and the external drive, but the third drive doesn't appear on the airbook's desk top, in fact it is invisible and doesn't seem to be recognized in finder or anywhere else from the airbook. Is there some distinction that prevents the airbook from allowing this back up configuration, but that allowed the imac to work in this configuration.
Thanks,
Daviiiiiiid

Of course, always that the external drive is formatted in “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)”. Apart from that, you shouldn't have any issue,
Then, open System Preferences > Time Machine > Options, and remove the external drive from excluded items. The next backup will include your external drive.
Note that you may not be able to back up the external drive if it's connected to your Time Capsule. If it doesn't work, connect the external drive to your computer

Will Time Capsule back-up an external hard drive that is connected to it directly via USB?

I'm considering a macbook air, but I have ~200GB of music and photos that currently lives on another laptop (and is manually backed up to a 500GB ext. hard drive). Ideal set-up would be as follows:
1. MBA (128GB) with just the OS, applications and ~ 5GB of .doc, .xls, .pdf, etc.
2. The 500GB hard drive (loaded w/ music and jpegs' and permanently connected to Time Capsule so that I don't have to plug it into the MBA everytime I want to use music/jpegs)
3. Time capsule (constantly backing up the MBA and hard drive via time machine).
Does anybody know if this is possible (i.e. will the TC back up an external hard drive that is permanently attached to it, rather than attached to a Mac?)
Does anybody have other suggestions (without having to buy any more gear) for storage/back-up that don't require that I plug that external HD to a computer every time I want to access the data?

sixschlitzes wrote:
Does anybody know if this is possible (i.e. will the TC back up an external hard drive that is permanently attached to it,
No, sorry, Time Machine cannot back up from a network location.
Does anybody have other suggestions (without having to buy any more gear) for storage/back-up that don't require that I plug that external HD to a computer every time I want to access the data?
The 3rd-party apps CarbonCopyCloner and ChronoSync (and probably others) can back up from a network location.

Will time capsule back up an external hard drive

Will time capsule back up an external hard drive?

Time Machine will backup the drive to the Time Capsule if it is formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and it is connected directly to your Mac by USB or FireWire....and it is not "excluded" from backups in Time Machine Options.

Can time capsule back up an external hard drive attached to my imac and the iMac internal Harddrive

Can time capsule back up an external hard drive attached to my imac and the iMac internal Harddrive

In addition to Kappy's comments, the external drive must be formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) in order for Time Machine to be able to back it up.

Advice on backing up to external HD

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