How do i back up a macbook air to an external hard drive

I want to back up my macbook air. How do I back it up to an external hard drive?

You must first partition and format the drive for use with OS X. If the drive is at least twice the capacity of your MBA's drive, then you can use Time Machine if you wish. Or you can simply clone your drive to the external drive so  you can boot from it. Use Disk Utility:
Clone Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
     1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
         button.
     2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
     3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
     4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
         to the Destination entry field.
     5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
         the Source entry field.
     6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.

Similar Messages

  • 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.

  • How do I put my pictures back on my macbook air from my external hard drive?

    i have a macbook air and i put all my iphoto library on a toshiba external hard drive and i can not get them back onto my computer. can anyone please help me, i also dont want to do anything that will make me lose the photos that i now already have on my computer. if any body knows anything please let me know asap i really need the help.

    hook up your Toshiba USB external to your AIR.
    Open the Toshiba and drag your file with photos back to a file on your Air.
    A: are the files on the HD in a time machine backup?  Or are they just stored there as archived data?
    B: Can you or can you not access your HD when you hook same to your Air? ....or is the case that you cannot SEE to open it?

  • How do I back up my MacBook Pro from an external hard drive if my macbook won't boot up from the white start up screen? HELP!

    I went to the Genius Bar a week ago, and the guy helping me there was nice enough to help me save some money by telling me I could replace the bad hard drive my MacBook Pro had by myself. I bought everything I needed (hard drive, screws, external hard drive) and my computer won't boot past the white start up screen. It doesn't even show the Apple sign at the start up screen. How do I back up my computer so I can save all my music, school files, etc.? Could really use someone's advice on what to do! Thanks!

    Ok, to be sure I understand what's going on. You were able to boot the Macbook from the existing "damaged" internal drive, and it has been backed up to the internal.
    If that is correct, your internal drive is working. Just to be sure, try booting with the R key down. Then run Disk Utility to repair the internal drive. That drive may in fact be useable.
    You should be aware that you cannot boot the MBP from a Time Machine back up.
    Please post back so I am sure I am understanding the situation.

  • 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.

  • How can I back up multiple itunes libraries to an external hard drive?

    How can I back up multiple itunes libraries to an external hard drive? I have tried dragging them across but they all open up as the primary library.

    See this -> https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2682

  • HT201250 How do I back up a MAC G4 on an external hard drive?

    How do I back up a MAC G4 on an external hard drive?
    It's actually OS 10.4.11
    Am not exactly sure of what to do and just received the hard drive.
    Can I download something from the Internet?

    Look at Mac Backup - Mac Backup Software, Hardware, and Guides for Your Mac http://macs.about.com/od/usingyourmac/tp/backuphub.htm and  Mac OS X data backup FAQ http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html  and Important Mac Backup Tips- Time Machine, CCC, SuperDuper http://mikosweb.com/it-advice-blog/70-mac-backup-tips Here's a list/description of Mac backup software http://www.pure-mac.com/backup.html
    The majority of Mac users use CarbonCopy Cloner @ http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html , or SuperDuper @ http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html . You can also use or the Restore function of Disk Utility included in OS X.
    When you backup, boot into Safe Mode (depress the Shift key at startup) and the backup will be safer and faster.
     Cheers, Tom

  • How can i back up my itunes library onto an external hard drive?

    I can seem to figure out how to back up my Itunes library onto my external hard drive. Any advise?

    A quick search provides the answer, see the following:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751 for backing up to an external drive.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1382 for backing up to optical media.

  • How do I put all my music and pictures from my macbook air to an external hard drive ?

    My macbook air is already full - I transfered everything from my desktop as soon as I got home with my new laptop.  As it is already full, I would like to put all my pictures and all my music on a external hard drive.  I am unsure how to do that.  I've 'slide' the file to the external hard drive, but now, my computer is bizarre.  If I'm in iphoto, I can see photos, but they then dissapear, etc.  It's just bizarre and I feel this is not normal.

    To transfer your music to an external drive see this knowledgebase article from Apple. For iPhoto, see this article. This is doable but the downsides are (1) you can only use iTunes or iPhoto when you are connected to your external drive. If you forget and launch the program without the drive connected you'll see nothing. Even worse, if you aren't careful (2) you might forget and download photos or music while the external drive isn't connected and then you have a mess.

  • Need help exporting from lightroom 4 on my Macbook Air with an external hard drive.

    After importing photos to my new Macbook Air (2014) from external drive, it made me reformat my external drive.  After reformatting, I tried to export edited images back to my external drive and it says "photos missing or offline", even when external drive is connected.  How do I get my edited images back onto my reformatted external drive?

    Ok, so at least you haven't lost the images.
    The catalog knows "about" the images but not where they currently are. You cannot import them again because they have already been cataloged.
    If the images are on the external drive in the location you want, the the procedure to re-connect is as follows.
    Select one of the thumbnails. It should have an "!" or "?" on it (upper right). Click whichever it is and you will be asked to Locate the file. Navigate to the file to re locate it and make sure the check box "Find nearby images" is checked.
    Lightroom will now relink all the images.
    Note:
    I usually just import from my external hard drive and then export them back to the external hard drive when I finish editing them.
    this is not a "correct" workflow when working with catalogs. The files remain on the external drive. The act of importing is only necessary once to catalog where the files are and to allow quick access to them via the Library. Editing them either in or outside of Lightroom via Photoshop does not require you to move the file.

  • New macbook air recognizes my external hard drive, but cannot read it

    I recently bought a new Macbook Air about 3 weeks ago and I'm trying to access files that I have on my external hard drive. The macbook recognizes that there is an external drive, but when I click on it, the finder window is empty and it shows that there are no files on the drive. When I plug it back into my old Macbook pro (purchased in 2007, running Lion 10.7.5 ) I can access all of my files just fine. Also, a little while ago, while the drive was connected to the new laptop it ejected itself and gave me the prompt saying that the disk had been ejected incorectly. I'm wondering if there is something wrong with the disk because I did have to run disk repair on it once since it bricked. Or is it not compatible with this new macbook? I don't really want to shell out more money to buy a new disk, are there any programs I can install or new USB cables I can try? the disk is a Seagate 500GB portable expansion drive.

    Hi Beth!
    1) You need to plug the phone in with your USB cable. If for some reason it doesn't sync automatically, try clicking on the name of your phone in your lefthand menu of iTunes, and it'll bring you to a homepage of sorts for your phone.
    2) From there, you should be able to click on "sync" at the bottom right of the page. Or you may have to go to the individual parts of your phone (where it says "music," "apps," etc. at the top of the page), and enable those to sync on each individual page.
    3) That should do it, but you can always go back to that homepage from step 1 and click "sync" or "apply" once more to be sure everything syncs over.
    If you've done this already, can you explain where you're seeing a red circle on your iPhone? Usually those red circles let you delete something if you click on them. For instance, if you want to delete an app, you hold your finger down on it for a moment and then the red circle appears so you can click again to delete.
    Hope this helps you!

  • HT1449 After moving music and movies from my MacBook Air to an external hard drive, do I create a new iTunes music and media folder on my computer then add more music and movies, then will I be able to move the computer music/media to the hard drive musci

    I need to move the music and movies from my MacBook Air (original) to an external hard drive, after I do this, do I create a new music folder and media folder on my computer to load music/movies in via the dedicatd external drive and then would I be able to move the newly imported to the external drive which would be my main site of storage?

    No, do it all in one go and henceforth only use the library located on the external drive.
    iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
    Quick answer if you let iTunes manage your music:  Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive.  Start iTunes with the option (shift on Windows) key held down and guide it to the new location of the library.

  • Why cannot my macbook air read my external hard drive?

    First of all, I have an external hard drive (Western Digital - WD5000H1U-00). I went to their website, downloaded the WD driver installer, and then installed the drivers. I even had restarted my MBA but when i plug the usb cable of my external hard drive, MBA can't read it. Why is that so? In my other computers, the external hard drive could be read.

    It's probably formatted for Windows. Plug the hard drive into your MacBook Air. Open Disk Utility (User Name>Applications>Utilities). Go to the Partition tab. Select 1 under Volume Scheme and also click on options and choose GUID. Click Apply. That's it. But if you have any files on that drive, back it up because this option is going to erase your drive.

  • How can I back up an IPhoto library from one external hard drive to another?

    Hey Folks, WIth your help I have consolidated my IPhoto libraries using IPhoto Library Manager. I'm storing it on an external hard drive because I have run out of space on my Macbook Pro. Now I'd like to back it up. I have another large external hard drive that is set to perform Time Machine backups on my Macbook. Is there a way to ALSO use it to perform occasional backups of my IPhoto library which, as I mentioned, is not kept on the Macbook itself?  Thanks in advance, David

    I do not understand your question
    The basic answer is that TM backes up everything that is not excluded - it backsup to the TM backup - it can not backup any files that are on the TM backup volume - only those on other volumes
    To remove an item form the excluded list select the item and click the "-" button
    See te FAQs for many more details - http://pondini.org/TM/FAQ.html
    Se the Apple article for basic set up and details - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
    LN

  • Why can't my macbook pro / macbook air read FAT32 external hard-drive?

    I have a USB external hard drive that's formatted as FAT32. It worked fine under Windows and Ubuntu Linux.
    here is what it shows under ubuntu:
    Disk /dev/sdc: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
    255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
    Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
    Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
    I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
    Disk identifier: 0x3a39bfa1
       Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
    /dev/sdc1            2048   976773119   488385536    b  W95 FAT32
    As you can see its file system is FAT32, and as I understand FAT32 read/write is supported on all MACs.
    However when I plug it to either a Macbook pro or a Macbook air, it said:
    The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer.
    Why is this?

    I have a USB external hard drive that's formatted as FAT32. It worked fine under Windows and Ubuntu Linux.
    here is what it shows under ubuntu:
    Disk /dev/sdc: 500.1 GB, 500107862016 bytes
    255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60801 cylinders, total 976773168 sectors
    Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
    Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
    I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
    Disk identifier: 0x3a39bfa1
       Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
    /dev/sdc1            2048   976773119   488385536    b  W95 FAT32
    As you can see its file system is FAT32, and as I understand FAT32 read/write is supported on all MACs.
    However when I plug it to either a Macbook pro or a Macbook air, it said:
    The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer.
    Why is this?

Maybe you are looking for

  • ALE/ IDoc: Error while checking in and storing

    HI Gurus, i need to send Documents from one system to an other System. I use BDA5 Both system are using different File Systems and the DMS Archive is also different. I can send the DOCMAS without errors. When i Try to process the Documents i can not

  • Screen force touch doesn't work.

    I Purchased a  38mm  and 42mm watch for my girl friend and I.  Her's is the  38 mm size screen and her watches force touch doesent function at all.  We compared our watches right out of the box, so we know we are pressiing correctly.  The 42mm works,

  • New lines created in excel when displaying multi-line text item value

    Hi all, I put the value of a multi-line text-item into a csv file : DECLARE file_filter VARCHAR2(256) := 'Export Files (*.csv)/*.csv/All Files (*.*)/*.*/'; fExp VARCHAR2(256); in_file Text_IO.File_Type; linebuf VARCHAR2(4000); BEGIN fExp := get_file_

  • BI Statistics Query - RRI Issue

    Hi Experts, I have copied a BI Statistics querys and customized it. The RRI Options available for the original query are available for the copied query as well. However, I do not want to keep all of them. When i checked  the T.code RSBBS for the copi

  • HT3819 where is the home sharing import button for the new itunes

    where is the home sharing button on the new itunes