Backing up my MacBook Pro

Can I use any hard drive to back up my MBP? I have been using a Time Capsule but it appears to have suffered the well known power supply failure and I don't feel like wasting more money on fixing it or getting a new one. I do have a regular 1TB hard drive handy, so can I use this? Also, can I use Time Machine with it, or does that only work with Time Capsule?

Time Machine works with any external hard drive, provided the device complies with applicable standards. There are many reports of problems with Seagate GoFlex drives, so I'd avoid those. Anything else should be OK, though of course I'm not guaranteeing anything.

Similar Messages

  • Every time I try to back up my Macbook Pro with an external hard drive using Time Machine, I receive the error of "the disk does not have enough space". I have a 500GB hard drive and only 120GB Macbook. It worked fine before the latest Maverick's

    Every time I try to back up my Macbook Pro with an external hard drive using Time Machine, I receive the error of "the disk does not have enough space". I have a 500GB external hard drive and only 120GB Macbook. It worked fine before the latest Maverick's update. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    My guess would be it has created an entirely new backup of your drive when you upgraded to Mavericks.
    See Here: http://pondini.org/TM/1.html
    And here: http://pondini.org/TM/9.html
    Peruse the whole site. There is a lot of information there.

  • Will LaCie D2 QUADRA with firewire restore my apps back onto my MacBook Pro if I upgrade to Lion and then restore from the external drive?

    I ordered the disk to update to Snow Leopard.  Did that so I could get the App Store.  Did that so I could download Lion.   After I installed Lion my MacBook is super sluggish.  Takes like 6 seconds just to open a drop-down menu in Finder. 
    I have been backing up. Will LaCie D2 QUADRA with firewire restore my apps back onto my MacBook Pro if wipe my drive using the USB Lion OS stick (which I think I'll have to buy even though I downloaded the new OS online)?  I have been plugging my laptop into the Lacie drive set on "auto" and it's been working great.
    One Genius said yes "you will get everything back" but my Mac buddy says "say goodbye to most of your apps".  Then a guy at the university I asked "do you have a disk image". And I said "what the **** is a disk image?".
    Is the problem that I installed an OS on top of new OS without wiping the drive?  Or, is my MacBook Pro too old? Do I need to buy a new one?
    15-inch, Late 2008
    Processor  2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
    Memory  2 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
    Graphics  NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256 MB
    Software  Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3 (11D50b)
    Any help?

    SA will indeed transfer accounts, files and apps at first start. Can do so even faster if you clone the internal HDD onto the external (just split into a partition large enough to contain it) and then use it as the source. Probably faster than Time Machine too. The safest and quickest way to do a disk image or clone is using CarbonCopyCloner (free), and it will preserve the Lion Recovery Partition too.
    Since you'll have to re--download the Lion installer again, note that you can concoct your very own Lion Installer USB Stick with it prior to reinstalling and not have to pay for the Apple-branded version. See Kappy's tutorial: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3786371?tstart=0
    As for the sluggishness, I believe that a great part of the cause is that you only have 2GB RAM. Don't know if your Mac can take more but try at least to get to 4GB, if not 8GB. Should attempt this before  messing with the reinstall, as this may get you what you want.

  • How do I easily transfer itunes back to my Macbook Pro?

    I transferred my whole iTunes folder from my Macbook Pro onto my Time Capsule in order to save space on my Macbook Pro. However this has caused plenty of problems especially when opening iTunes on my Macbook and it not being able to find the library. I have to physically locate it myself.
    I've since read on here that you should only move your iTunes Media Folder and keep the rest where they are, so maybe I should have done that instead of moving the whole folder!
    There are plenty of tips and advice on this forum in relation to where you should, or shouldn't store your itunes folder and/or library and I'm not a little confused. Some people say never store your itunes on the Time Capsule as this is only for backups and connect a separate external HD to your Macbook, but that doesn't make my Macbook very portable!! So I now don't know what to do for the best. If I transfer everything back to my Macbook Pro it will probably take a couple of days like it did do transferring it to the Time Capsule.
    Could I just delete iTunes and back up the library then reinstall it and start again from scratch?? I really don't know what to do and any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks

    LexSchellings wrote:
    Assuming you still have the CD's and they are still readable:
    Delete everything "jumbled" from your iTunes Library.
    Insert the CD, and do not read them into iTunes, but copy them instead  into a folder with the name you want in your iTunes Library afterwards, insert the next CD and copy it into a second folder (different name), etc.
    Then put the first folder into Yourname/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Automatically Add To iTunes folder.
    Start iTunes and see it appear in the iTunes Library. Close iTunes, do the same with the next folder, etcetera
    That was excessively complicated, and NOT how you import CD's into iTunes.  I have imported nearly 1000 CD's into iTunes and never once, not once, have I fulled around with folders.  That is done in preferences.  That's not how iTunes works.  William needs to post his question to the iTunes for Mac forum, where much easier solutions will be provided. 

  • How can I get the old view of iCal back on my MacBook Pro and iPhone?

    How can I get the old view of iCal back on my MacBook Pro and iPhone?  The Mavrick version is crisp and clean but a colored dot is not the same as a highlighted word. I rely on my iCal on my MacBook Pro and iPhone 5 to help me track which of the 8 sites I visit for my job during the week - the color coding is (was key) to organizing and tracking meetings.  I hate the upgrade! 

    If purchased through the Mac App Store then it can be installed on up to five authorized CPUs. Otherwise, it's controlled by the license that came with the software.
    To install on another computer copy the downloaded installer application to the other computer.

  • I backed up my macbook pro before they intalled a new hard drive but when I reinstalled, my book says it isn't compatible with Maverick and I can't get the last year of pictures or files back.

    I backed up my macbook pro before having a new hard drive installed. They installed Maverick for me, but now My Book says its not compatible and I can't restore my files and pictures from the external hard drive. What can I do?

    Simple if you have a complete backup of your old drive erase the new one and restore from your Time Machine backup. That will put your Mac back to exactly like it was before you had the hard drive changed.
    In all honesty I have no idea why most all the Apple stores upgrade every Mac that comes through to Mavericks.
    To do the erasing and restoring you need to either boot from the original system discs that came with your Mac or if it came with either Lion or Mt Lion use the Online Internet Recovery system. To boot to that at startup hold down the Command + Option/alt + r keys and keep them held down until you see a globe on the screen. Once thje Mac OS X Utilities screen loads use Disk Utility to Repartition the drive as one partiotion to remove all data from it. Then when that is done exot disk Utility and select Restore from Time Machine Backup. Have the TM backup drive connected before you start this process.

  • Can I back up my MacBook Pro hard drive on Backup Plus Slim disk, while upstreaming photos to the iCloud?

    Hello, I have never backed up my MacBook Pro since I bought it 3 years ago (ouch) and I have never saved anything on the iCloud. I am on a catching up mission now. I upgraded my OS to Yosemite, set up iCloud and started upstreaming all my photos (more than 4,000) into iCloud. I also bought a Backup Plus Slim disk to do a full back up of my Mac's HD using Time Machine. The problem is that at the moment my internet is slow due to problems in the area I live (being fixed but it will take days). I started the upstream of my photos over a day ago and I still have more than 3,000 left to do. I would like to start the back up process onto the external disk in parallel (too long a story to explain why here), but I am not sure whether the two processes will be able to work together?
    Thanks for letting me know.
    Robertrorro

    Hello, I have never backed up my MacBook Pro since I bought it 3 years ago (ouch) and I have never saved anything on the iCloud. I am on a catching up mission now. I upgraded my OS to Yosemite, set up iCloud and started upstreaming all my photos (more than 4,000) into iCloud. I also bought a Backup Plus Slim disk to do a full back up of my Mac's HD using Time Machine. The problem is that at the moment my internet is slow due to problems in the area I live (being fixed but it will take days). I started the upstream of my photos over a day ago and I still have more than 3,000 left to do. I would like to start the back up process onto the external disk in parallel (too long a story to explain why here), but I am not sure whether the two processes will be able to work together?
    Thanks for letting me know.
    Robertrorro

  • Can I Use an Old External Hard Drive to Back Up my MacBook Pro?

    I am currently using a 2010 MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6.8) and I am thinking of upgrading to Mountain Lion when it comes out. So that means I should really back up my Mac. I have never backed up my Mac before nor have I ever backed up any of the PC's I owned in the past. With this being my first Mac and my first time backing it up I want to make sure I do this right.
    So my question is can I use my old exteral hard drive (Got it back in 2004 for University. Used with a PC) to back up my MacBook Pro with out running into any issues if I have to restore my Mac??

    tokine wrote:
    So my question is can I use my old exteral hard drive (Got it back in 2004 for University. Used with a PC) to back up my MacBook Pro with out running into any issues if I have to restore my Mac??
    yes.  connect it to the usb port, open disk utility, erase the disk and format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled).  That is the most common format.  Then backup as necessary.

  • Setting up an external hard drive to back up my MacBook Pro?

    I am currently using a 320GB Western Digital external hard drive to back up my MacBook Pro using Time Machine, soon however I am going to be putting Windows 7 onto my machine so I am trying to figure out how I am going to back up the Mac OS X and the Windows partition at the same time using this hard drive. I am thinking about completetly erasing the drive and putting 2 partitions on it in 2 different formats (one for Mac OS X and one for Windows). I am also thinking of using Carbon Copy Cloner instead of Time Machine because it creates bootable backups. However, now that I am thinking about using Carbon Copy Cloner I am wondering if FAT32 will work for both partitions? (I have been using Mac OS X extended (journaled) only because it works with Time machine). I need help though because I would not know how to go about completely erasing/resetting the drive etc.. then partitioning it and formatting it. I am also wondering if there is a windows equivalent of CCC or Super Duper to back up the Windows partition. Thanks for your help in advance.

    I'm inferring from the way you wrote about using Windows that you plan on using it through Boot Camp.  Have you considered using VMware Fusion (or Parallels) instead?  Then Time Machine would back up the virtual machine along with everything else.  You also have the advantage that you can use both Mac OS and Windows at the same time - you don't have to choose one or the other.  There are two disadvantages.  First, since both Mac OS and Windows are running simultaneously, you need more memory.  I'd recommend no less than 8 GB if you run any serious software on either OS.  You can get away with 4 GB, but at times the system will be really slow.  Second, the virtual machine images are BIG - mine typically run over 20 GB - so you'll probably want a bigger backup drive if you go this way.

  • I backed up my macbook pro using time machine and now my iphoto and itunes are empty. how do I reset the computer to an earlier date?

    I backed up my macbook pro using time machine and now my iphoto and itunes are empty. how do I reset the computer to an earlier date? and why would this have happened?

    Without more information, I can't tell you why it happened. As to how to restore to an earlier date, please check out the article below. Should help you to restore form a time machine backup.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427

  • I have backed my iTunes with over 10,000 songs on a hard drive and than i reset my computer to factory settings, when i put it back on my macbook pro only 2030 were able to be downloaded back to the same computer

    i have backed my iTunes with over 10,000 songs on a hard drive and than i reset my computer to factory settings because my email was hacked, when i downloaded the music back to my macbook pro only 2030 were able to be downloaded . how can i download all my music back?
    michel p.

    I usually err on the sideof caution when someone says "downloaded" and take it to mean anything fro actually downloaded, to copies, to imported, to moved (frolder to folder), but even if they were "downloaded"... if the old email was hacked, and subseuqently closed out, that leaves the downloaded files "orphaned" if you will, belonging to the old ID. So, while they may be on the HD, they're inaccessible now.
    One of the biggest reasons I NEVER keep anything in my library with DRM employed in it.  I bought it. I own it. I'm not going to get locked out of it.

  • How large of a storage device would I need to back up my macbook pro that says I have used about 150G of my 232G hard drive?

    How large of a storage device would I need to back up my macbook pro that says I have used about 150G of my 232G hard drive?

    RJ Lange wrote:
    So eventually you could end up using more data space in a back-up drive than the original drive, huh?
    With TimeMachine, yes.
    With a bootable clone, no. Provided you don't save the backup states changes which CCC is doing now.
    I prefer a straight clone backup, I keep many copies of clones on seperate hardware to "go back in time" with and thus avoid saving the changes with my clones.
    I swear I tried to back up my computer on a 250g G-Drive and it told me there was not enough room. But I am not positive if the entire drive was available or not. I may have had it sectioned into 150 & 100 sections and I might have tried to back it up on the 150 section. or I might be imagining that.... either way, it didn't work.
    Your data is going to grow, 232GB is rather small for a boot drive.
    So your going to be needing storage drives eventually, just plan ahead and remmeber hardware redundancy is key.

  • How do I FTP files from a security camera to iCloud so they can be retrieved back to my MacBook Pro whenever I connect when travelling?

    How do I FTP files from a security camera to iCloud so they can be retrieved back to my MacBook Pro whenever I connect when travelling?
    Russ

    Do you want to watch the live feed of your secutiry cameras or recorded footage?
    In either case, I don't think iCloud is your solution.
    For the first one, check with your security camera software, they usually have this option of broadcasting, so you'll know how to access it.
    For the later, you should use something like Dropbox (www.dropbox.com), since iCloud file sharing is, up to this date, app restricted.
    Hope it helps.
    JP

  • What is the best way to back up my MacBook Pro (OSX 10.9.5) before taking it in for service?

    What is the best way to back up my MacBook Pro (OSX 10.9.5) before taking it in for service?

    While I have nothing against Time Machine (and I do use it on some of my systems), I always make a bootable clone before taking a Mac in for service (2 actually), and I verify that clone boots before I let the Mac leave.
    SuperDuper is free for a full clone (you only pay for incremental features).
    <http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html>
    Carbon Copy Cloner provides a 1 month fully enabled demo mode before you have to buy the product or stop using it.
    <https://www.bombich.com/>

  • How do i back up my macbook pro to an external hard drive?

    how do i back up my macbook pro to an external hard drive?

    schmunzelmonster, greetings;  Your suggestion is a good one.  CCC does create a boot drive which as you point out can be most useful at times. Time Machine does not have that capability but it retains a history of activities and transactions that CCC does not.  CCC only retains information as of the last update.
    Neither individually is the 'perfect' backup solution individually, but if both are utilized it becomes that.  There is no harm in backup redundancy.
    My only complaint about CCC is that is is very slow in performing updates compared with Time Machine.  Just a nit on my part.
    Ciao.

  • Scratched on the back of my MacBook Pro, can I get this fixed with Apple Care?

    Hello community,
    today I found out there are some scatches in the back my aluminum MacBook Pro. There is one fairly deep scratch. This has probably happened in my backpack since I use it for school.
    My question is: is this something Apple Care will help me fix? If not, how much will it cost to get a completely new back.
    Regards,
    Alwin.

    That damage is not covered by AppleCare.

Maybe you are looking for