How do i back up my computer to an external hard drive?

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

Apples Time Machine for backups.
For a bootable clone of your OSX either SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner.
http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/Clones.html
Stefan

Similar Messages

  • How do i back up my iphone to an external hard drive and not my computer

    How do I back up my iphone to an external hard drive attached to my pc and not my pc?  My disk on my pc is almost full and even though I selected the external hard drive it still seems to try to back it up to my computer, then says I don't have sufficient storage.  I cahnged my folder under preferences to the External Drive folder.

    This is where iTunes stores backups for different operating systems: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946
    I do not use a Windows machine, have a Windows Vista Dell I rarely startup now.  But, from what I remember with Win boxes is, you will have to create on the external hard drive a file system like that one iTunes normally uses, and then in the iTunes preferences or control panel edit the location for the storage to specify the name of the external hard drive, or its letter code, with the name of that file system you created on the exernal drive.
    I would also move all of the files from the internal file system to the external since you have now told iTunes that is where they are...before deleting from the internal drive, test iTunes to see that it goes where you want it to go.

  • Hi, ive been backing up my computer to an external hard drive (with time machine). When i buy a new macbook will that hard drive put all my info on to the new computer?

    hi, ive been backing up my computer to an external hard drive (with time machine). When i buy a new macbook will that hard drive put all my info on to the new computer?

    When you boot the new machine for the first time, you'll be prompted to import your data from a Time Machine backup.

  • I am backing up my computer to an external hard drive using Time Machine.  It has been at 288.91 "used" for a while... should I just let it ride?  It's been going for about 7 hours now.

    I am backing up my computer to an external hard drive using Time Machine.  It has been at 288.91 "used" for a while... should I just let it ride?  It's been going for about 7 hours now

    It does not immediately delete the files that are missing.. it merely tries to backup the new files it has discovered on the external drive. Since you moved the files there, the backup at least for a while will contain both copies.. and that is why it doesn't have enough space to backup.
    Fixing the problem.. hmm pondini is the expert.. you should be able to delete the backup of the photos in existing backup.. there are instructions to do it.. but it is a very poor way to do things.
    Much better. .archive off the existing backup.. this is long and slow but worth it. you need a usb drive of the same size as the TC drive. Then erase the TC and start a fresh set of backups.
    The alternative is to use the USB drive as a new target.. but it is much slower than the TC internal drive.
    http://pondini.org/TM/12.html

  • How do i back up my purchases to my external hard drive?

    how do i back up my purchases to my external hard drive?

    Hi,
    Why not use time machine to back up the contents of your library!
    Jim

  • IMac 10.5.8 is stuck on Apple logo loading screen , how can I back up my files with an external hard drive ?

    so my iMac (10.5.8 its pretty old ) got stuck on the apple logo loading screen (as I call it lol) and it will not go beyond that .I've already made and appointment for the genius bar but now would I back up my files with an external hard drive ? No unfortunately I don't have any other laptop or computer just the external hard drive. how would I back it up? Does it have something to do with "target disc mode"?

    Hi,
    Thank you for great advice re SuperDuper.
    You wasnt to know we didnt live in  USA.  We will try to get the full retail version of Leopard off the net.  We will also phone round the apple resellers.
    In the meantime, we are happy running Tiger with the knowledge that SuperDuper has cloned our hard drive in case of a disaster.
    SuperDuper recommended backing up the hard drive with a new user account if we were using filevault on the master account.  We backed up our hard drive without creating a new user with filevault as we could not read the pdf `Instuctions as preview was not responding.
    Is this copy safe to use as a bootable drive or should we copy our entire HD again using a new user account without filevault?
    Keith & Shem  

  • How to use carbon copy cloner to back up two computer in one external hard drive

    Hello,
    I have only one external hard drive which is already used for backing up my old macbook.  Recently, i bought a macbook air.  Is it possible to use carbon copy cloner to backup my data from macbook air to same external hard drive?  If yes, is there anything I should be caucious?  If not, could you suggest any other software of other method to backup my macbook air?  Thanks!!

    Yes, provided you  have the space. You will need to create another partition on the drive to use as the backup volume for the new computer.
    To resize the drive do the following:
    1. 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.
    After the main menu appears select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button. Select the hard drive's main entry then click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    2. You should see the graphical sizing window showing the existing partitions. A portion may appear as a blue rectangle representing the used space on a partition.
    3. In the lower right corner of the sizing rectangle for each partition is a resizing gadget. Select it with the mouse and move the bottom of the rectangle upwards until you have reduced the existing partition enough to create the desired new volume's size. The space below the resized partition will appear gray. Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.  (Note: You can only make a partition smaller in order to create new free space.)
    4. Click on the [+] button below the sizing window to add a new partition in the gray space you freed up. Give the new volume a name, if you wish, then click on the Apply button. Wait until the process has completed.
    You should now have a new volume on the drive.
    It would be wise to have a backup of your current system as resizing is not necessarily free of risk for data loss.  Your drive must have sufficient contiguous free space for this process to work.

  • When i run Time Machine to back up my computer onto an external hard drive, i have no way of knowing when the back up process has been completed. I don't know when it is safe to disconnect the external hard drive - which is store in a separate location.

    When i run Time Machine to back up my computer on to an external hard drive, i have no way of knowing when the back up process has been completed.  This is necessary to know because i don't leave my external hard drive connected to the computer.  I routinely disconnect it after backing up the hard drive, and then i store the external hard drive in a different location from the computer.  So, knowing when the back up process has been completed would be a very helpful thing to have the computer specify. 

    Just enable Time Machine's menu extra (System Preferences -> Time Machine -> Show Time Machine in menu bar.
    This will add a little Time Machine icon to your menubar. When Time Machine is actively backing up your data, the icon will spin as a visual indicator. You can also click the menu icon to see the backup status, including how much data is left to back up.

  • How do I back up my itunes to an external hard drive and restore from same if necessary

    How do I back up my entire itunes to an external hard drive and restore from same if necessary.
    Thanks

    This is where iTunes stores backups for different operating systems: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946
    I do not use a Windows machine, have a Windows Vista Dell I rarely startup now.  But, from what I remember with Win boxes is, you will have to create on the external hard drive a file system like that one iTunes normally uses, and then in the iTunes preferences or control panel edit the location for the storage to specify the name of the external hard drive, or its letter code, with the name of that file system you created on the exernal drive.
    I would also move all of the files from the internal file system to the external since you have now told iTunes that is where they are...before deleting from the internal drive, test iTunes to see that it goes where you want it to go.

  • How can you back up your ipod onto your external hard drive that you're using in time machine?

    I just bought an external hard drive and want to put my ipod music on it but can't figure out how.  My ipod has music that my itunes library on my computer doesn't have.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

    I would also suggest you get a 2nd, much larger hard drive, partition it if desired, move your data to it, and start a 2nd Time Machine backup on it. You can set Time Machine to alternate between the 2 drives by adding the new drive to System Preferences/Time Machine. If you want to make a copy of your current backup on the new drive, you can do that using the Disk Utility Restore tab. If you chose to do that, make the copy first since using the Restore tab erases all data on the drive or the partition.

  • Can Airport Extreme be used to back up my computer without an external hard drive?

    I was recently told that I could back up my computer on an Airport Extreme with out an external hard drive.  Is this true?  My iMac is currently connected to an Airport Extreme that is also connected to an external hard drive.  It has been my understanding that an Airport Extreme is used to connect to WI-FI and to periferals such as a printer etc.  Am I confusing Airport Extreme, Airport Time Capsule and Time Machine?  Need help!

    Am I confusing Airport Extreme, Airport Time Capsule and Time Machine?  Need help!
    Just a bit. Both the AirPort Extreme and the Time Capsule are wireless routers provided by Apple. The main difference between them is that the Time Capsule has a built-in hard drive. Both routers also support attached USB hard drives.
    Time Machine, on the other hand, is a software product that provides for a means to back up Mac computers. It can back up to hard drives attached to the Mac or located on the network. Time Machine can also back up to USB hard drives attached to the 6th generation AirPort Extreme and any generation of the Time Capsule. Finally, Time Machine can back up to the internal hard drive in a Time Capsule. Actually that is the primary reason for the Time Capsule ... although it can also use its internal drive for general storage as well.
    Hopefully that help demystify things a bit.

  • How do I back up old "Events" to an external hard drive?

    When I import new photos to iPhoto, I'm getting a message saying my iPhoto disk is almost full.  I'd like to transfer some older "events" to an external hard drive and then simply delete those photos but I can't seem to figure out how to do that. HELP!

    If you have less than 10 GB of free space on your boot drive you will have reduced performance and at damage your iPhoto library or your entire system
    Drag your iPhoto library to an external hard drive that is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) and test it. This will move your entire library to the external drive. Once it is fully tested you can delete photos from your main drive. In the future you may want to purchase iPhoto Library Manager to move future photos to the EHD. Also verify that your backup is backing up the rxternal drive as well as your main drive
    LN

  • How do i back up my files with an external hard drive

    i just bought an external hard drive and im not sure how to use it. It seems as though i have to copy and paste files, is there an easier way to do this?

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427 

  • How do i back up my files to an external hard drive

    I need to reboot my whole computer but i want to save my music, photos, documents etc... I have an external harddrive but am having issues getting my things into it. I've tried selecting and dragging but it's not working. Help?

    How is the external disk formatted?
    Allan

  • I just did an "erase and install" on my computer, and when i drug everything back to my computer from the external hard drive. however, now i cant open microsoft word. i have an exam on tuesday that I need it for and i dont want to pay for it, HELP!

    i cant seem to get it to open. it just says "microsoft word cannot open because of a problem"
    ive tried dragging it from the harddrive to my applications folder, but its not working.
    any suggestions?

    If you purchased your version of Office online, you can redownload it from Microsoft using your product key (I don't know why the link says "office2010"... but the link is for Office for Mac 2011):
    https://www2.downloadoffice2010.microsoft.com/macdl/registerkey.aspx?ref=macdl&c ulture=en-US
    They used to have a free 30 trial, but I don't seem to see that anywhere.

Maybe you are looking for