Best App For HD Backup?

Hi everybody,
Just wondering, what is the best program out there (preferably free) for simply backing up my Mac. I don't like Time Machine because I can only use it for one thing, and I need to carry my External HD around.
Thanks in advance,
Jonathan

Hi Jonathan
The Restore feature within Disk Utility is capable of copying a bootable clone of your Internal Hard Drive on an External Hard Drive.
There are also two other great third party backup applications that I have personally used:
Carbon Copy Cloner > http://www.bombich.com/index.html
SuperDuper > http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
Dennis

Similar Messages

  • What is the best app for backing up my mac. I do publication work and need to save my work?

    what is the best app for backing up my mac. I do publication work and need to save my work?

    My answer does not have the black Apple logo but the hardearned black belt of (bad) experience.
    There is one problem with TimeMachine. It can get corrupted out of the blue with no warning and it will not want to restore correctly (as an added "bonus" you get to find this out the "hard" way, when you need it most). Plus it takes ages for the data to be copied back, sometimes days. Haven't tried my 600gb backup on Mavericks but Mountain Lion had this knack of breaking Timemachine after a couple of months.
    To back up my entire server is use SuperDuper. It mirrors the drive to an external one (usb for example) The cool thing is you can use that usb drive and start the OS X from it (by holding Alt when you hear the boot chime).
    This way you have a working copy of your entire machine. You can even go to another mac and boot it from there. I literally ran the OS X Server in my company from a usb drive on an old MacBook Pro until i got around to fix the problems with the actual server machine.
    This has saved me twice already as the Hitachi drives Apple uses, tend to die like clockwork after 4000-5000 hours of use with no warning.
    http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
    PS. As a sidenote... SSDs are more reliable than a normal HDD (not to mention faster) I can't stress this enough, my Server is on two SSDs now. I can't tell you how stress free the setup is, it doesn't feel like a computer but more like a router, it just works... forever. After two years with SSDs my server has had two days of downtime and their health is at 97%, they will literally last 100 years with normal use. I'd go so far as to recommend you buy an SSD and move your old HDD to an external enclosure and use that as a usb backup. (for SSDs i use Plextor / Lite-On M3s (older) or the M6s (newer))

  • What is the best app for Maintenance/Cleanup for my mac? Do I need Virus Protection?

    What is the best app for Maintenance/Cleanup for my Mac? Do I need Virus protection?

    How to maintain a Mac
    Make two or more backups of all your files
    One backup is not enough to be safe. A copy of a backup doesn't count as another backup; all backups must be made directly from the original data.
    Keep at least one backup off site at all times in case of disaster. Backing up to a cloud-data service is one way to accomplish this, but don't rely exclusively on such backups.
    In fact, don’t rely exclusively on any single backup method, such as Time Machine.
    If you get an indication that a backup has failed, don't ignore it.
    Keep your software up to date
    In the App Store or Software Update preference pane (depending on the OS version), you can configure automatic notifications of updates to OS X and other Mac App Store products. Some third-party applications from other sources have a similar feature, if you don’t mind letting them phone home. Otherwise you have to check yourself on a regular basis.
    Keeping up to date is especially important for complex software that modifies the operating system, such as device drivers. Don't install such modifications unless they're absolutely necessary. Remove them when they are no longer needed. Before installing any Apple update, you must check that all system modifications that you use are compatible. Incompatibility with third-party software is by far the most common cause of difficulties with system updates.
    Don't install crapware
    ...such as “themes,” "haxies," “add-ons,” “toolbars,” “enhancers," “optimizers,” “accelerators,” "boosters," “extenders,” “cleaners,” "doctors," "tune-ups," “defragmenters,” “firewalls,” "barriers," “guardians,” “defenders,” “protectors,” most “plugins,” commercial "virus scanners,” "disk tools," or "utilities." With very few exceptions, such stuff is useless or worse than useless. Above all, avoid any software that purports to change the look and feel of the user interface.
    It's not much of an exaggeration to say that the whole "utility" software industry for the Mac is a fraud on consumers. The most extreme examples are the "CleanMyMac," "TuneUpMyMac," and “MacKeeper” scams, but there are many others.
    As a rule, you should avoid software that changes the way other software works. Plugins for Photoshop and similar programs are an obvious exception to this rule. Safari extensions, and perhaps the equivalent for other web browsers, are a partial exception. Most are safe, and they're easy to get rid of if they don't work. Some may cause the browser to crash or otherwise malfunction. Some are malicious. Use with caution, and install only well-known extensions from relatively trustworthy sources, such as the Safari Extensions Gallery.
    Only install software that is useful to you, not (as you imagine) to the computer. For example, a word processor is useful for writing. A video editor is useful for making movies. A game is useful for fun. But a "cache cleaner" isn't useful for anything. You didn't buy a computer so you could clean caches.
    Never install any third-party software unless you know how to uninstall it. Otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve. Do not rely on "utilities" such as "AppCleaner" and the like that purport to remove software.
    Don't install bad, conflicting, or unnecessary fonts
    Whenever you install new fonts, use the validation feature of the built-in Font Book application to make sure the fonts aren't defective and don't conflict with each other or with others that you already have. See the built-in help and this support article for instructions.
    Deactivate or remove fonts that you don't really need to speed up application launching.
    Avoid malware
    "Malware" is malicious software that circulates on the Internet. This kind of attack on OS X was once so rare that it was hardly a concern, but it's now increasingly common and dangerous.
    There is some built-in protection against malware, but you can’t rely on it—the attackers are always at least one day ahead of the defense. You can’t rely on third-party "anti-virus" products for protection either. What you can rely on is common-sense awareness—not paranoia, which only makes you more vulnerable.
    Never install software from an untrustworthy or unknown source. If in doubt, do some research. Any website that prompts you to install a “codec” or “plugin” that comes from the same site, or an unknown site, is untrustworthy. Software with a corporate brand, such as Adobe Flash Player, must come directly from the developer's website. No intermediary is acceptable, and don’t trust links unless you know how to parse them. Any file that is automatically downloaded from the web, without your having requested it, should go straight into the Trash. A web page that tells you that your computer has a “virus,” or that anything else is wrong with it, is a scam.
    In OS X 10.7.5 or later, downloaded applications and Installer packages that have not been digitally signed by a developer registered with Apple are blocked from loading by default. The block can be overridden, but think carefully before you do so.
    Because of recurring security issues in Java, it’s best to disable it in your web browsers, if it’s installed. Few websites have Java content nowadays, so you won’t be missing much. This action is mandatory if you’re running any version of OS X older than 10.6.8 with the latest Java update. Note: Java has nothing to do with JavaScript, despite the similar names. Don't install Java unless you're sure you need it. Most people don't.
    Don't fill up your disk or SSD
    A common mistake is adding more and more large files to your home folder until you start to get warnings that you're out of space, which may be followed in short order by a startup failure. This is more prone to happen on the newer Macs that come with an internal SSD instead of the traditional hard drive. The drive can be very nearly full before you become aware of the problem.
    While it's not true that you should or must keep any particular percentage of space free, you should monitor your storage use and make sure you're not in immediate danger of using it up. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of free space on the startup volume for normal operation.
    If storage space is running low, use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the most space. Move seldom-used large files to secondary storage.
    Relax, don’t do it
    Besides the above, no routine maintenance is necessary or beneficial for the vast majority of users; specifically not “cleaning caches,” “zapping the PRAM,” "resetting the SMC," “rebuilding the directory,” "defragmenting the drive," “running periodic scripts,” “dumping logs,” "deleting temp files," “scanning for viruses,” "purging memory," "checking for bad blocks," "testing the hardware," or “repairing permissions.” Such measures are either completely pointless or are useful only for solving problems, not for prevention.
    To use a Mac effectively, you have to free yourself from the Windows mindset that every computer needs regular downtime for maintenance such as "defragging" and "registry cleaning." Those concepts do not apply to the Mac platform.
    A well-designed computing device is not something you should have to think about much. It should be an almost transparent medium through which you communicate, work, and play. If you want a machine that needs a lot of attention just to keep going, use a PC, or collect antique cars.
    The very height of futility is running an expensive third-party application called “Disk Warrior” when nothing is wrong, or even when something is wrong and you have backups, which you must have. Disk Warrior is a data-salvage tool, not a maintenance tool, and you will never need it if your backups are adequate. Don’t waste money on it or anything like it.

  • What is the best app for cleaning up the hard drive?

    What is the best app for cleaning up the hard drive?

    No such application needed.
    Leave 10 to 15% disk space free.
    Restart once in a while.
    Keep a backup, clone preferably.
    If there is any problem with the disk, repair disk.
        Repair Disk
        Steps 1 through 7
        http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
    Best.

  • I phone 5 need to use antivirus? If i need to use antivirus which is best app for i phone 5

    I phone 5 need to use any antivirus ? If i want to use which is the best app for i phone 5

    It is certainly not a virus. There are none.
    Try the basic troubleshooting steps.
    Start here: http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/assistant/phone/#section_1
    Sometimes all that is required is to restart the iPhone.
    The final step is to restore it. Always back up your iPhone first.

  • What is the Best app for Internet radio, iPhone 4????????

    What is the Best app for Internet radio, iPhone 4????????

    There are a number of streaming radio apps available. Best as with beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

  • Is pages the best app for creating wedding programs? or would you recommend something else?, is pages the best app for creating wedding programs? or would you recommend something else?

    Is pages the best app for creating wedding programs, or would you reccomend something free or cheaper?

    As the question is asked three times, I guess that you wish to marry three times.
    From my point of view, the best app to do this or that is the one with which we are comfortable.
    Every Word processor may be used to achieve your goal.
    Yvan KOENIG (VALLAURIS, France) vendredi 20 janvier 2012
    iMac 21”5, i7, 2.8 GHz, 12 Gbytes, 1 Tbytes, mac OS X 10.6.8 and 10.7.2
    My Box account  is : http://www.box.com/s/00qnssoyeq2xvc22ra4k
    My iDisk is : http://public.me.com/koenigyvan

  • What is the best app for construction project management

    what is the best app for construction project management

    Probably best to search for "project management" in the App Store, there are a tonne of Apps in there for this. Check out some of the ratings and reviews then you can make a reasonably informed decision.
    Hope this helps?

  • Advice on best app for tracking iphone

    I want to be able to track my kids iphone behind the scenes, what is the best app for this. I do not want my child to know the app is running.

    Yes, I kind of guessed that. What I mean to say is that the service must not depend upon an App running upon the phone but uses the towers themselves and the inbuilt GPS providing the location.
    The alternative would be a hacked phone with the hacking done by AT&T instead ?

  • What's the best app for taking a video on ipad2?

    I am a tennis coach and am looking for an app for my iPad2 to do video analysis. I need to be able to video someone doing a serve and then show it to them in slow motion and be able to pause it. What's the best app for this?

    Do some research into HTML5 video. Unless the user is using a modern browser with video playback capabilities, they would need to have an app to provide video playback, as well as the codecs for the video file format that you will be serving them. At this point in time, MP4 is the "clear(est)" winner of the online video formats. However not all browsers provide built-in playback. For instance, Firefox currently does not support MP4. Future Firefox builds will rely on whatever video playback the native OS provides. So coming back to your question - no, there's no real way of guaranteeing video playback on the web. You do the best you can and provide links to users where they can download the appropriate codecs and players and call it a day.

  • What's the Best App For Watching Videos on iPad Air?

    Okay, so there's no Flash past, present or future for the iPad.  I read some discussions here in the archives from a year and two ago about which workaround works around best (or least badly).  Is there any update now as of December 2013 for what's the best app for viewing videos online on the iPad (Air)?  Thanks.

    I downloaded the new (2013) version of Photon and it's been playing, appropriately enough, episodes of Star Trek: TAS that otherwise require Flash.   The one thing I have to remember is to click the goofy lighting bolt icon toward the top right-hand corner of the Photon screen when I return to warch an episode if I stopped in the middle.  Basically it will turn off the "Flash" emulation when the screen goes dark with inactivity, and then when you reopen Photon it crashes and you have to re-reopen Photon, click on the link to return to the website, and then click the lightning bolt icon.  I don't know why the producers made it that way, as it's pretty inconvenient, but maybe they wanted to make a browser more than a Flash emulator.  I haven't tried other Flash videos yet, but so far, so good.  :-)

  • Best command for script backup?

    hello,
    i always use robocopy for file backup , but with powershell and the new technologies is still the easiest and best choice?

    Your initial question was "Best command for script backup?". For this you received an answer. If you now need support on the subject of your script then you should start a new thread. Note also that you must test your robocopy command from a
    command line before trying to embed it in a PowerShell script.

  • Is the 'Undercover' app the best app for the job ?

    Hi,
    Is the 'Undercover' app the best app for help finding a lost iPhone/Touch or is there an app that does a better job ?
    Thanks

    Short of getting MobileMe that is probably the best you are going to come up with. You will have to hope that whoever finds the iPhone actually plays the game and that you check for this information close to the time they do so. You also need to hope they don't connect the iPhone to their computer which will wipe the app from the device.

  • Is Imovie the best app for history of a business

    Is Imovie the best app for making a presentation on the history of a business?  It caused multiple crashes on my MacBook Pro and dowloaded commercials did not have audio at all. 

    Obviously if it's crashing it isn't....Powerpoint is the classic presentation program. iMovie is capable if you get it working, as is any video editing program. Powerpoint or other classic presentation programs have the advantage of being able to go back to sildes and incorporate pdfs you can print and such so while iMovie can make a good presentation, it's really a video editing program and whether it's right for you depends on your audience and how you want to communicate with them. Personally I loathe iMovie but that's because I edit in Final Cut Pro 7. Your crashing is a whole 'nother topic...

  • What's the best app for editing and viewing office doc's

    What is the best App for editing and viewing office doc's, that will be compatable with IPhone 5S and Air pad?

    Search the app store, find one that you like and that works for you.

Maybe you are looking for

  • Data is not loaded into info cube

    Hi All, I have a custom defined info cube and full load is running every month and It's hardly taking 1 hour to finish the same. But this month data came to PSA successfully from there to data target process stopped at update rules, non of the record

  • Trouble disabling autoupdate in j2re install

    I am trying to install the Java 2 Runtime environment 1.4.2_04 silently via a script. Everything seems to work the way I want it to except that after it is done, there is a task in the 'run' key (hklm\software\microsoft\windows\current version\run) t

  • Help! My Lighrtoom is running crazy slow!

    Lately my Lightroom 4 catalog has been running more and more slowly - especially when I go to edit photos in Photoshop (CS5) or the Nik Software plugins (for Lightroom). It can take several minutes for photos to open between LR and the plugins, and i

  • What happens if I need to cancel my subscription before the year is up? Also, how do you cancel?

    How do you cancel subscription before the year is up? How do you cancel

  • Issue with Wacom Intuos tablet since installing Leopard

    I have been having a problem with my Wacom Intuos 3 tablet ever since I loaded Leopard. Often on initial start, the tablet is not working. I have to shut down and start again (notice I didn't say Restart because that doesn't fix it). Often after waki