Manual Backup for MacBook Pro

I'm a little confused. I've been reading all the comments that suggest one should leave the Time Machine on automatic backup all the time, and that manual backup defeats the purpose. But what if I have to carry my MacBook around all day, and only manually back it up on the desktop hard drive in the evening when I get home? What do people normally do with their portable MacBook?

If you are a +mobile me+ member, you get backup, which lets you choose exactly what to back up (normally that'd be your ilife, including precious itunes library etc) and when and how often.
MobileMe only gives you 20 GB, and you have to share that between e-mail and your iDisk (which is where the backups are stored). For people with large media libraries, this is not enough backup space and backups are too slow. However, if your data fits in that volume, this would give you the ability to back up from anywhere... though, Backup is not remotely a background process that you can almost forget about, like Time Machine is. It's intrusive.
And you need a separate (or separately partitioned) drive for it.
Honestly, if you're not doing online backups, this is the way you should be backing up. You should have a dedicated backup drive that is used for nothing else. Actually, you should have a minimum of two if that's your only backup. Using a hard drive is probably the cheapest per-byte storage and lets you store a lot of data in one place.
Of course, TM is very useful but if you do "good housekeeping" \[...], then your Mac should give you years of joy.
If you're implying that backups are not necessary if you take good care of your machine, that is very poor advice indeed! You never know when something unexpected might happen - like a hardware failure of your hard drive. Unless you don't care about your data, you must back up. If you don't, it's only a matter of time before you do lose data.
For more information about backups, see my [Mac Backup Guide|http://www.reedcorner.net/thomas/guides/backups>

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Seagate backup for macbook pro is messed up! (please read & help!)

So my computer was full because I had basically all of my space full of picutres. I bought a 1TB external Seagate hard drive and backed up my whole computer to the external hard drive. (took about 6 hours) I went to double check the hard drive and make sure that everything backed up properly, and it doesn't look like anything backed up at all. It says that I have 858.88 GB available of space... so it doesn't appear to have anything BUT when i click on my iPhoto on my actual computer, it says "The iPhoto Library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library. Relaunch iPhoto with <option> key held down to choose another library." There are no other libraries to choose from and all of my pictures have disappeared (at least it looks that way).... I have no idea what to do. Please Help!
**edit**
when I unplug my external hard drive I can open iPhoto normally? How can I drag and drop to make sure that everything transfers?

of course. but when i open the little explorer deal icon, its not even reading that i have an mp3 player connected. but it is connected to my USB port

Trying to backup my MacBook Pro onto my External Harddrive, error

I am trying to backup my Macbook Pro onto my External harddrive (the same one I always do), and for some reason all of the sudden I get the error message that says that the backup disk is not available. When I click on the time machine icon at the top it just says that the latest back up is just delayed. What should I do?

Your query strongly suggests that you are using thiis particular HHD for Time Machine backups. It seems that your MBP simply is not recognizing the HDD.
When connected it should appear on you desktop.
If it does not, I would connect another HDD to determine if there is an issue with the Time Machine drive. If another drive is recognized then use the same USB cord with the Time Machine drive. If still no success, make an appointment with the Apple Store Genius bar and bring the drive along with your MBP.
Ciao.

How do I use iCloud to backup my Macbook Pro?

How do I use iCloud to backup my Macbook Pro?

Hi Rob
It sounds like my problem is the same as yours..... Sorry, but I'm a bit of an iPad dummy so am writing for some more clarification...
My problem is..... I am away from home and only travelling with my iPad, however we have sold our house and my bigpond email address on my iPad is getting clogged with all the solicitors stuff etc, so I really need these emails for my files...
I want to be able to backup these up (so that I can retrieve them later to print out and file) and delete them from my iPad...
I've just created an iCloud email account (I think) is this what you did? So should I forward all my emails to this iCloud email account? And will I be able to retrieve them later?
I hope you login here to see my question.....
Thanks Janet

How can I backup my MacBook Pro to an external hard drive

How can I backup my MacBook Pro to an external hard drive?

Basic Backup
For some people Time Machine will be more than adequate. Time Machine is part of OS X. There are two components:
1. A Time Machine preferences panel as part of System Preferences;
2. A Time Machine application located in the Applications folder. It is
     used to manage backups and to restore backups. Time Machine
     requires a backup drive that is at least twice the capacity of the
     drive being backed up.
Alternatively, get an external drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Get Backup
3. Deja Vu
4. SuperDuper!
5. Synk Pro
6. Tri-Backup
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files. For help with using Time Machine visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine.
Although you can buy a complete external drive system, you can also put one together if you are so inclined. It's relatively easy and only requires a Phillips head screwdriver (typically.) You can purchase hard drives separately. This gives you an opportunity to shop for the best prices on a hard drive of your choice. Reliable brands include Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. You can find reviews and benchmarks on many drives at Storage Review.
Enclosures for FireWire and USB are readily available. You can find only FireWire enclosures, only USB enclosures, and enclosures that feature multiple ports. I would stress getting enclosures that use the Oxford chipsets especially for Firewire drives (911, 921, 922, for example.) You can find enclosures at places such as;
1. Cool Drives
2. OWC
3. WiebeTech
4. Firewire Direct
5. California Drives
6. NewEgg
All you need do is remove a case cover, mount the hard drive in the enclosure and connect the cables, then re-attach the case cover. Usually the only tool required is a small or medium Phillips screwdriver.

What is the best external hard drive to backup my MacBook Pro?

What is the best external hard drive to backup my MacBook Pro?

The best is a Hitachi. This is basically the ONLY thing the "HD gurus" agree on.
Toshiba is nearly neck and neck in 2.5" USB external HD to Hitachi.
Here are "best for the money"....at bottom is BEST external USB HD
best options for the price, and high quality HD:
Quality 1TB drives are $50 per TB on 3.5" or $65 per TB on 2.5"
Perfect 1TB for $68
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-Hard-Drive/dp/B005J7YA3W/ref=sr_1_ 1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379452568&sr=8-1&keywords=1tb+toshiba
Nice 500gig for $50. ultraslim and perfect
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B009F1CXI2/ref=s r_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1377642728&sr=1-1&keywords=toshiba+slim+500gb
2 Terabytes, 2.5" and only $129
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Basics-Portable-HDTB120XK3CA/dp/B00ARJD56K
updated "design" casing cousin $119
http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Canvio-Connect-Portable-HDTC720XK3C1/dp/B00CGUMS48 /ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379182740&sr=1-4&keywords=2tb+toshiba
*This one is the BEST external HD available that money can buy:
$75
HGST Touro Mobile 1TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive
http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Touro-Mobile-External-HTOLMX3NA10001ABB/dp/B0062FZ2WS /ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1379185002&sr=1-1&keywords=hitachi+extern a l+hard+drive
Most storage experts agree on the Hitachi 2.5"

What is the best way to backup my MacBook Pro?

I live in a nursing home and have very limited space. I am also on a fixed income so it can't cost very much. So, what would be the best and an inexpensive way to backup my MacBook Pro?

You will need an external HDD with a capacity that is at least the size of the internal MBP drive. A larger one will not hurt. Then employ Time Machine which is the backup application already on your MBP.
Peruse the Newegg website and Amazon for external HDDs that fit your budget.
Ciao.

2 user folders after time machine backup. Macbook Pro 13", Mac OS X 10.6.8

After a time machine backup my macbook pro runs fine, however the backup has created a 2nd user file. my new user file is now named like my old one, just with " 1" added. I have 2 user folders, can I delete the old one?
After a random check of the content in both user folders I found out that it's not identical. Some files that weren't backed up with the time machine before the re-setup are in the original folder, while the new uder folder obviously only backup what it could find on the time machine disc. (Time machine backed up my whole hdd about 2 days before the crash & re-setup)
Due to this situation my local HDD is almost full now. The original user folder has 205 GB, the new one user 1 has 210 GB, plus applications with a 500GB HDD, I now have only 44GB left.
Can I delete the old user folder?
Can I then re-name the new one (user 1) back to "user"?
Thanks
J.

I've never heard of a 'problem' as you're having - and I searched Pondoni's Time Machine Troubleshooting FAQs and couldn't fine anythig similar.
I would be wary of deleting anything manually from your TM backup - the sparsebundles are rather sensitive. If you like, however, you could always erase your TM backups and start anew... that's the only way I would know to 'fix' the problem.
Good luck,
Clinton

HT1176 Initial Time Capsule backup on MacBook Pro that doesn't have an Ethernet port

I just got a 3TB time capsule and am trying to backup my MacBook Pro. The initial process is very slow, but my MacBook doesn't have an Ethernet port. How can I connect the time capsule to the MacBook Pro to make the initial backup go more quickly?

A very good investment to make would be......
Apple USB Ethernet Adapter - Apple Store for Business (U.S.)
Why Apple chose to leave off the most important port in networking is a mystery.

Hello! Help please! Best external hard drive preferably 1TB for macbook pro 2011. thank you!!!

Hello! Help please! Best external hard drive preferably 1TB for macbook pro 2011. thank you!!!

You can pickup any 1TB USB powered drive for about $100 at just about any local office supply store.
It comes formatted FAT32 (MSDOS) for reading by OS X and Windows PC's.
However if your files sizes are going to be larger than 4GB in size (like video tends to be) then your going to need to select the drive in OS X's Disk utility (in the Applicaitons > Utilities folder) and format the drive exFAT instead.
exFAT is a drive format that 10.6.5 and later Mac's, Windows Vista and 7 machines can read just fine. XP machines need a free exFAT drive install from Microsoft.
Do backup the 1TB to another 1TB drive using Carbon Copy Cloner or another backkup utility because 1TB is a lot of data to lose on a $100 drive.
I don't advise the "port powered" USB drive as these tend to have power issues and with 1TB of data on it, very risky. Use a powered drive if you can all help it.

Im completely new to Mac. Im swapping my windows laptop for macbook pro and looking for network storage solution which the Time Capsule seems to do. Is it possible to use this as NAS for my desktop Windows PC - windows 7

Im completely new to Mac. Im swapping my windows laptop for macbook pro and looking for network storage solution which the Time Capsule seems to do. Is it possible to use this as NAS for my desktop Windows PC - windows 7

Broadly speaking I want some sort of network storage( wireless or through my existing wifi router) that I can access files for both my windows PC and Macbook and also to access files to my iPad/ iPhone. Some sort of backup and sychronisation so that I can access certain files remotely.
Buy a real NAS.. synology or QNAP are the standard... although companies like Netgear and Western Digital and Seagate make them as well.
There is no problem sharing between Mac and PC now.. you do not even need a NAS to do that.. you simply share the hard disk directly. Mac talk SMB.. everything talks SMB nowadays.. so it is easy.
ipad and iphone are not designed to use NAS.. they are designed to backup only to the cloud or itunes.. but you can load an app like file browser if you want.
http://www.stratospherix.com/products/filebrowser/
Remote access to the Apple TC is somewhere between difficult, to impossible from a PC.. Apple use BTMM and iCloud but the service is not offered to PC.
A real NAS will offer HTTPS or SFTP or several other methods.. that both Mac and PC can use.
You simply plug it into the current wireless router.. it is a network device and assessable over the network. It is not necessary to buy another router.. in fact that is a waste.

Turning USB HDD (Mac Pro) into Time Capsule for MacBook Pro

I have both a Mac Pro, and MacBook Pro, and have an external HDD connected to my Mac Pro, which is on all the time. I really don't want to keep re-connecting the HDD to my laptop and back to my Desktop computer when I backup my devices. Is there a way, without buying extra hardware, to make the USB HDD a wireless HDD from my Mac Pro, where I can backup my MacBook Pro? Thanks all for your help.

Hi, and welcome to the forums.
Yes.
See #22 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of this forum).

What is the minimun battery backup of macbook pro 13inch 2012

what is the minimun battery backup of macbook pro 13inch 2012

It will vary - you can download the free "Battery Health" from the App Store and it will give you approximate times of battery life for various tasks: Current Usage, Internet Browsing, Music, Movies, etc. Watching even YouTube videos can kill some battery life - to say nothing of actually watching a DVD, for example.
Download the app and see what type of results you get - you'll be better equipped to estimate your battery life after a few sessions.
Clinton

The normal value of battery capacity for macbook pro

Hi there,
I noticed my battery full charge capacity value is way below the technical specification from Apple.
For macbook pro 15" early 2011 version a 77.5W battery is built-in.
However, so far after 4 cycle, my full charge capacity is 6913mAh.
It seems that I missed something. Though I didn't really notice the initial value when it's brandnew.
Statistically what's the average value of the new battery will be ? around 75W or 7500mAh? Any idea?

Best battery info resource is here:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1764220?threadID=1764220

I bought the wrong version as I need it for macbook pro but somehow bought windows...help

I guess I will have to wait until normal office hours. I have no idea why it bought the window version as I did not realize that is what was selected. I hope I can get it exchanged for the photoshop elements 13 for macbook pro retina display. Anyone know if this is an easy switch and one they will do?

When buying HD versions of shows, only the HD copy will automatically download now (probably due to requests from people who don't need/want the SD version and complained about it being forced on them). The SD copy can be downloaded from your purchases area in iTunes, though. On the main iTunes Store page, go to Purchases under the Quick Links and then select TV shows. Click the "Not On This Computer" button. Uncheck the "Download HD when available" box and you should then see the SD copies of the shows and be able to download them.
Regards.

Manual Backup for MacBook Pro

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