Is iCloud as good to back up files when an iMac 2007 model does not have an external hard drive is this enough to find files and apps at another time

I have given my iMac 2007 model running mountain lion OSX 10.8.3 to a friend and she doesn't have an external hard drive to back up would using iCloud be as good to back up files pictures etc and can I find them again if lost please.

These are the iCloud storage options: http://www.apple.com/icloud/includes/lightbox-storage.html
Also bear in mind that:
1. restoring data over icloud takes time
2. iCloud is not designed as a replacement to Time Machine.

Similar Messages

  • I run an itune 10.4 and would like to back up my entire library to a DVD, because I do not have an external hard drive to back it up to (as the "help" topic is sugesting). Is it possible and if so, can someone help me please.

    I run an itune 10.4 and would like to back up my entire library to a DVD, because I do not have an external hard drive to back it up to (as the "help" topic is suggesting). Is it possible?...and if so, can someone help me please.

    This is no longer done via iTunes.
    Use whatever CD/DVD burner software is installed on your computer.
    Add the iTunes media folder to the list of files/folders to burn to disc.

  • I have an external hard drive that was formatted by a PC and has files and directories etc. I want to format it and use it on my IMAC for backup but I can't seem to write to it nor can I delete current content. How do I initialize it for use with the MAC?

    I have an external hard drive that was formatted by a PC and has files and directories copied to it etc. I want to use it on my IMAC for backup. I see it on my my IMAC . I can open files etc.  But I can't seem to write to it nor can I delete current content. I don't care if I lose current content. How do I initialize it for use with the MAC?

    You can't write to it because it's formatted as NTFS which OS X will read but not write to. If you want to continue using the drive with both a PC and OS X you will need to download and install NTFS-3G so you can then write to it from your Mac. You can get NTFS-3G at:
    http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24481/ntfs-3g
    If you want to use the drive exclusively with your Mac then move the data off it and reformat it in Disk Utility (Applications - Utilities - Disk Utilities) as Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)

  • I have an external hard drive, from Iomega. However, I cannot copy or save any file to it. On my PC it says that is possible to read and write in it, but in my Mac, it says I can only read. can somebody help me?

    I have an external hard drive, from Iomega. that I can open and see my files. However, I cannot copy or save any file to it. On my PC I have it says that is possible to read and write in it, but in my Mac, it says I can only read. can somebody help me?
    Also, Im a photographer, so I like to name a lot of files at the same time (used to do in on PC and it was very usefull.) cannot find out how to do it on my Mac. Really appretiate if some one can give me a solution! Thanx

    Your drive is formatted with the NTFS file system.  OS X can read but not write to the NTFS file system.  There are third party drivers available that claim to add the ability to OS X to write to an NTFS partition.  I have not tried them and don't know if they work.
    The only file system that OS X and Windows can both write to natively is the FAT32 file system.

  • Re Time Machine I have an external  hard drive with files I backed up manually over the past 2 years 1TB of memory. I am finally taking the leap to use Time machine to back everything.   will I have to reformat that drive, thus wiping my previous bac

    Re Time Machine
    I have an external  hard drive with files I backed up manually over the past 2 years 1TB of memory.
    I am finally taking the leap to use Time machine to back everything.
    will I have to reformat that drive, thus wiping my previous back ups?
    can I split it the drive in two partitions?
    Also
    as I have two separate Macbook Pro's- one older than the other.
    OSX 10.68
    the other is
    OSX 10.75
    can I back them up separately?
    or even synch and merge files and folders etc? between the two?

    You CAN use a drive with files already on it to store Time Machine backups. But long term, that is not recommended. You do not need to reformat or re-partition the drive to do this. Once Time Machine Backups are established, you could remove the old files.
    But do not delete Time Machines files with the Finder -- that can cause it to lose its place and lose everything.
    With the cost of backup drives under US$100, it might be a better idea in the long run to get another drive. Best results from Time Machine is a drive about 3 times larger than the drive(s) you are backing up.

  • I keep getting "error occurred while attempting to import file *******. The disc your are attempting to use is full." I have an external hard drive that I moved files over to, but apparently they're also still on my hard drive? HELP!

    I keep getting "error occurred while attempting to import file *******. The disc your are attempting to use is full." I have an external hard drive that I moved files over to, but apparently they're also still on my hard drive? HELP!

    So you have backed up the content of the computer's hard drive, too?
    That usually is a great idea since it is possible to lose use of the system
    if parts of it have accidentally been removed or get over-written, or the
    main system files get corrupted, when the hard disk drive gets too full.
    If you have not trashed the originals of your created content, that remain
    after you made copies on an external hard drive or other device, then
    that is what you'd have to do to reclaim the capacity still in use by them.
    What are specifications of the hard disk drive? The unused capacity
    verses the used, in GB? If the hard drive has less than 15 to 20%
    free or unused capacity, you could run into trouble. Mine are 40-50%
    unused hard drive space, so ample room is available for automatic
    Virtual Memory to use that capacity as temporary swap file space.
    This is helpful when the computer could use more physical RAM
    memory capacity, but doesn't have it. Or if the RAM is maxxed out
    and you can't add any more. Virtual Memory is part of OS X and the
    system automatically can use as much as is available, but it is better
    to be sure there is plenty of resources available to include chip RAM
    as well as unused or free hard drive capacity for use as VM.
    If for some reason your files in Trash won't go away when you empty
    it, you may have to restart. Be sure you have not included any System
    files in the content in the Trash, or the Mac may not start up later on.
    You may have to boot the computer from the install-restore OS X DVD
    and run Repair Disk from its version of Disk Utility, to be sure it's OK.
    I'm guessing that by now you know enough about the vintage system
    in the older hardware to figure it out, so I won't write about it now.
    In any event... hopefully you can simply trash the files, but check them
    carefully, & you may need to remove (copy to archive first) even more.
    Good luck & happy computing!

  • I have an external hard drive and want to know how to transfer files to my new lap top Window 7

    I have an external hard drive and I want to transfer my i-tune files to my new laptop....Anyone done this? What must I do?Thanks

    These are two possible approaches that should work.
    Method 1
    Backup the library with this User Tip.
    Restore the backup to your new computer using the same tool used to back it up.
    Deauthorize the old computer if you no longer want to access protected content on it.
    Keep your backup up-to-date in future.
    Method 2
    Connect the two computers to the same network. Share your <User's Music> folder from the old computer and copy the entire iTunes library folder into the <User's Music> folder on the new one. Again, deauthorize the old computer if no longer required.
    I'd recommend method 1 since it establishes an ongoing backup for your library.
    tt2

  • Microsoft files not opening in external hard drive anymore

    Hi,
    I've been saving my files from my Documents to my external hard drive but for the last couple of days the Microsoft files won't open anymore. If I save a file from a USB to the External hard drive it works fine (although if I then move this file to a folder already created in my external hard drive, I get the same message preventing me from opening the doc: "Word cannot open this document. The document might be in use, might not be a valid Word document, or the file might contain invalid characters.") but if I transfer the file from my documents on my mac to the external hard drive, it won't open.
    Similarly, I've created a new Word document and tried to save it directly onto my external hard drive but this message came up: "word cannot save due to a naming or permissions error on the destination volume".
    I've tried linking up the external hard drive to a PC rather than my mac and Microsoft documents do open.
    My external hard drive format is MS-DOS (Fat32).
    I'm really not sure what the problem is and am starting to freak out as all my files are saved on the external hard drive.
    Many thanks for your help

    Open System Preferences > Time Machine
    You should see the last time it was backed up.
    Verify that you have the correct drive selected.
    You should see something like this:

  • HT201250 I have two external hard drives. One is my Time Machine backup drive.  The other I use for external storage of files (documents, photos, movies, etc).  Can I set Time Machine to backup BOTH my Mac hard drive and my other external hard drive?

    I have two external hard drives. One is my Time Machine backup drive.  The other I use for external storage of files (documents, photos, movies, etc).  Can I set Time Machine to backup BOTH my Mac hard drive and my other external hard drive?

    Yes you can make multiple backups on one hard drive, for example if you’ve 1TB hard drive installed in your PC and you’ve two Mac Machines with 500GB drive each then you just make two backup images with size of 500GB each.
    http://www.halfspot.com/use-your-pc-hard-drive-for-time-machine-backup/

  • I try to export my Imovie and I always get the error code"Unable to prepare project for publishing...File already open with write permission"  it even does it when I am just trying to export to my external hard drive to save the file

    I try to export my Imovie and I always get the error code"Unable to prepare project for publishing...File already open with write permission"  it even does it when I am just trying to export to my external hard drive to save the file

    Thanks!!! I had same error (with -49) and the mac had an external hard drive attached.. and it was doing a backup.  Stopped, disconnected and the project exported!

  • My drive collapsed. I have an external hard drive. How can I put all my files there, using disk utility?

    So my MacBook Pro collapsed one day, and it turns on but only "Restarts" and shuts itself down on the procesa. The only thing I have access to is that 'Command + R' thing. There I tried "Verifying" and "Reparing" the Diak but the message of "Cant repair disk backup as many files as possible, reformat the disk and restore" popped up. So I have am external hard drive with more than enough space to put all of my files in there. my question is: HOW DO I DO THAT? from disk utility. Can somone please help me? Please! Step by step cause ptherwise I will mess it up and I really dont want to lose all the memories I have in my computer.

    After you restart so you have access to Disk Utility, with the external drive connected, choose the external drive from the left sidebar of the DU window.  If the drive has not been formatted for the Mac, choose Partition from the buttons top center of the main window.  Give the drive a name, you can leave it as one partition if you like, make sure the format is set as Mac OS X Extended (Journaled), and the partition table is GUID.  Then Apply and acknowledge that you know this will erase the disk.
    Then go to the button that says Restore.  Drag and drop the internal drive, Macintosh HD is most common, to the Source box, and drag and drop the external drive to Destination box.  Then Restore.
    That will create a clone of the internal and that will be a bootable clone.

  • I have an external hard drive 1 TB - it says that 559GB has been used , but I can't see any files at all.   Is there a way to recover those files. I have a lot of photos on it. I have an IMac and running MAC OSX versuib 10.7.5   I am new to Mac.

    I have an external hard drive 1 TB - it says that 559GB has been used , but I can't see any files at all.
    Is there a way to recover those files. I have a lot of photos on it. I have an IMac and running MAC OSX versuib 10.7.5   I am new to Mac, so I hope somebody can give me some advice.
    Cheers

    if it's ntfs microsofts filesystem then you need a windows machine to recover them

  • I have an external hard drive with numerous WMA files that I would like to download to iTunes. How do I do this on my MAC?

    I have an external hard drive with numerous WMA files that I would like to download to iTunes. How do I do  this on my MAC?

    You can't write to it because it's formatted as NTFS which OS X will read but not write to. If you want to continue using the drive with both a PC and OS X you will need to download and install NTFS-3G so you can then write to it from your Mac. You can get NTFS-3G at:
    http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24481/ntfs-3g
    If you want to use the drive exclusively with your Mac then move the data off it and reformat it in Disk Utility (Applications - Utilities - Disk Utilities) as Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)

  • If i backup all of my itunes information on an external hard drive is this where all of my text are backed up to also?

    I need help. I caught my spose cheating on me and I need to find out what the 800 plus text read that they were sending back and forth. I have an external hard drive that the itunes is backed up to. I understand that itunes backsup these text when the phone is synced. Are these text stored on the external hard drive? If so how do i retrieve them?

    Hi Mac329,
    Thanks for visiting Apple Support Communities.
    See this article for the steps to download past purchases from iTunes:
    Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2519
    All the best,
    Jeremy

  • I dont have an external hard drive. How do I back up my computer before installing the Snow Leopard?

    I am upgrading my computer from leopard to snow leopard. Is it necessary that I back up? I'm afraid I will lose all my data. I dont have an external hard drive. Is there another way to backup? I dont even know how to use Time Machine...
    AGH!! PLEASE HELP!

    Go out and buy one. You should have a backup.
    To upgrade you don't need a backup, but if the upgrade goes awry then what? You've got nothing but a ocmputer that doesn't work. Now you must erase the drive and restore everything from scratch. And, all your data are gone. Is that all worth the risk?
    If you choose not to make a backup then at least do this before installing Snow Leopard:
    Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
    Boot from your Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
    If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
    Now, boot from the Snow Leopard DVD and install it.

Maybe you are looking for

  • Reg starting local chains

    Hi, What is the difference technically , in choosing " Direct scheduling " and " start using metachain or API " in the start process of Local Chains. I know both of them start the concerned local chains but I need the scenario for their use. Thanks

  • Itunes won't sync photos to ipod

    For some reason in iTunes I can't sync my photos in photo albums within iPhoto to my iPod anymore. It just won't do it; I say I want it to sync selected albums from within iPhotos, it says syncing ipod for about five seconds and then 'complete', but

  • Query Exception Expert Opinion Needed

    HI WE have this particular case we are yet to find a problem on, your assistance with this would be awesome. SO the problem is as follows: - we have two Key figure (K1 & K2) - Many conditions based on the two key figures should be shows in different

  • Changing SQL Certificates and/or Symmetric Keys

    Re: Changing SQL Certificates and/or Symmetric Keys We need to encrypt some sensitive data and are looking at SQL Column Level encryption, using symetric keys. For example, we are following this example http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/2431/sql-

  • To update iOS 6 my iPad  said it is no longer connected Internet even thought it is connected.

    I tried to update my ipa2 with new iOS 6. Every time I tried it says mine is no longer connected to Internet even thought I could get on Internet. Help me.