Filevault and backing up to external drive

I have a desktop which I use at my office which contains all of my personal and business data. I am trying to figure out how to secure the data on this computer. I do daily encrypted backups to an external drive using prosoft engineerings data backup 3.0 (which is a very good app) so I have a back up. I had tried filevault but got scared after reading about corrupted data and data loss. My question about filevault is: If I have filevault on and if I am logged in to my account and I back-up to an external drive am I backing up readable data or is it encrypted?

But wouldn't monfriar have to enable FileVault to try? That's an easy way to lose your data.
From what I've heard (I don't use FileVault), FileVault will not back up your home directory files while you are logged in. It will, however, backup your encrypted sparseimage if you are logged out. Unfortunately, I also this it will back up a brand new copy of that sparseimage file each time. You should run out of external drive space in about 3 days.
In any event, if the file system on the sparseimage file is corrupted, that will get backed up as well. I don't see how using FileVault with Time Machine would be better than your current system.
I don't recommend that anyone use FileVault without a good, unencrypted backup. If you are backpacking across Azerbaijan, for example, it might be a good idea to use FileVault on your Macbook you take with you. Just leave an unencrypted copy at home.

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    You had two choices:
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    You used neither is seems.

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    rob at the orchard wrote:
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  • Cannot reinstate catalog after returning PC (Windows 7) to factory settings (because of worm infection). Catalog was backed up on external drive but not using PSE backup facility. Cannot find and *.tly file. Is this hopeless?

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  • Easy question I'm sure. imac hard full (500gb) mostly from iphoto. no capacity left. what are my options? I've thought of an external drive of 1tb and then a 2nd external drive of 3tb to back up both???? please help.

    easy question I'm sure. imac hard full (500gb) mostly from iphoto. no capacity left. what are my options? I've thought of an external drive of 1tb and then a 2nd external drive of 3tb to back up both???? please help.

    Those are the options - more space is more space.
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    TD

  • The MacBook Pro will not allow me to cut-and-paste to and from or to click-and-drag to the external drive. I can copy-and-paste, but then I must send the original to the trash, which doubles the time and effort. Is there any way to cut-and-paste?

    I have recently switched from a PC to a MacBook Pro.
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    Also, the MacBook Pro will not allow me to rename multiple documents or photographs. I can click-and-rename a single one, but this is impossibly time consuming. I can batch-rename in iPhoto, but when I transfer the photographs to the external drive, the rename does not transfer.
    I’m reduced to using my wife’s Toshiba to cut-and-past, rename, and transfer documents. It works perfectly. Is there any way to do this on the MacBook Pro?
    Thanks!
    Roderick Guerry
    [email protected]

    Roderick Guerry wrote:
    The MacBook Pro will not allow me to cut-and-paste to and from or to click-and-drag to the external drive. I can copy-and-paste, but then I must send the original to the trash, which doubles the time and effort. Is there any way to cut-and-paste?
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    (In addition there are different rules for drag-copying within the same volume or between different volumes. If you drag between two folders on the same volume, the files are moved. If you drag between different volumes, the files are copied unless you hold down Command to delete the copies on the source volume.)
    Roderick Guerry wrote:
    Also, the MacBook Pro will not allow me to rename multiple documents or photographs. I can click-and-rename a single one, but this is impossibly time consuming. I can batch-rename in iPhoto, but when I transfer the photographs to the external drive, the rename does not transfer.
    Two problems in this case. First, batch file renaming is not built into OS X unless you build something with Automator. However, there are many utilities that can do batch file renaming which you can find at macupdate.com or on the App Store. Since I work with media I often batch rename using one of the media managers I have lying around like Media Pro or Adobe Bridge (comes with Photoshop).
    iPhoto is a database front end designed to shield the file system from the consumer and let them concentrate on creativity and sharing. As such it is often a poor choice for managing files directly. When you "transferred the photographs" chances are you moved the originals, not the ones iPhoto edited which are stored in a hidden folder.
    Roderick Guerry wrote:
    I’m reduced to using my wife’s Toshiba to cut-and-past, rename, and transfer documents. It works perfectly. Is there any way to do this on the MacBook Pro?
    There will not be a way to do it exactly like Windows. As described above, there are ways to do it "the Mac way." If it is possible to remove judgment on which way is "better" you might find the Mac way to be acceptable, but of course sometimes we simply prefer what we're used to.

  • 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...
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  • I have been storing my music and photos in an external drive how to I transfer them to Time Capsule now that I acquired one?

    I have been storing my music and photos in an external drive to save disk space in my computer. Now that I purchased the Time Capsule what do I have to do to transfer such files to my time capsule?

    I have been storing my music and photos in an external drive to save disk space in my computer
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  • HT1751 I am trying to backup my iTunes to an external hard drive, but it won't let me click and drag or copy and paste into the external drive.

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  • How do I configure my timecapsule to back up an external drive connected to macbook?

    How do I configure my timecapsule to back up an external drive connected to macbook?

    First, insure that the external drive has been formatted in Mac OS Extended Journaled
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  • Can you download a rental movie from itune and move to an external drive

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  • Backing up an External Drive to a Mini using Time Machine

    My Old (Very Old) G5 iMac just died... (So Sad...) anyway, luckily for me I've been real good about doing daily backups to Time Machine on an External Drive.
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