Should i back up?

i bought my Mac Book Pro 17 inch (10.5.6) at around February and want to upgrade to Snow Leopard. i want to know if it is worthwhile to backup my MBP. i dont have many files and the only thing that i see as worth keeping are about 3,000 (which is about 19 GB) photos from various cameras of mine.
i dont have an external hard drive and have never used Time Machine before. how should i back it up if i should?

Echoing what an earlier poster said, the question is not if, but when, you will lose data by not backing up. There are many good guides to backing up, and many strategies. Having lost an unbacked up PC disk to catastrophic failure (head crash) a couple of years ago, I decided that the most important type of backup for me was one that would most easily guard against catastrophic loss - disk crash, loss of my machine to theft or fire, etc. So before I bought a MacBook and a MacBook Pro to replace my wife's and my shared iBook G3, I did a bit of scouring the internet for opinions, and it seemed that a lot of people like SuperDuper! (www.shirt-pocket.com/superDuper) or Carbon Copy Cloner (www.bombich.com). For whatever reason, I chose SuperDuper and have been happy with it, and I imagine I'd have been happy with Carbon Copy Cloner too.
One thing that I did to ensure that I would actually run backups was to get an external, bus-powered 2.5 inch hard drive for each machine (I got enclosures from macsales.com). Since I use my MacBook Pro almost exclusively in couch potato mode (i.e. in front of the TV, reclining in my comfy chair), it's just too much trouble to get off my lazy butt and set up an external 3.5 inch drive. I would need to get up, find and unpack the drive and cables, look for an extension cord to plug in an awkward power brick attached to a stiff cable, hope I hadn't already found anything critical to plug into that last open spot on the power strip, find a place to set the heavy drive, just to do a simple incremental backup... not to mention packing it all back up so my parrot doesn't eat the cords and my wife doesn't justifiably complain about the mess. With a bus-powered drive nearly small enough to put in a shirt pocket, I just plug it into the Firewire 800 slot of the MacBook Pro, open SuperDuper!, select "Copy Now", and in a few minutes (after the first time backup) I have an exact, bit-for-bit copy of my drive, that I can even boot from. If I were doing it right, I would have at least another external drive for each laptop, and keep them somewhere else, swapping them for the other drives every other time, plus an external drive always hooked up to a wireless-N router (i.e. Time Capsule) for Time Machine. But, that lazy butt thing...

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I just bought an external hard drive. What files should I back up?

I just bought a 60gig external hard drive and I wanted to know what files should I back up?

The easiest is to drag /Users/<yourhomefoldername> to the backup drive.
Only the files you've created can't be replaced. The rest is on CDs, DVDs, or can be purchased again if need be.
I don't bother with clones because there's always the possibility of trouble down the line if you have to restore from one. (Something could be wrong with the clone, or it could be altered if you have to boot from it.) Why take the chance, when the OS and apps are expendable? And, if you don't test that the clone is good (by restoring to a blank drive), you're just fooling yourself as to its viability.
If the internal drive dies, you take the time to install a new one, load up OS and applications, then copy your home folder back. So your computer will be unusable for a half-day---big deal. This doesn't happen every day.
The main thing is that you've backed up your home folder.

How do you get your information, that's on your icloud, something was taken off my notes that should be back-up in my icloud. Help

How do you get your information, that's on your icloud, something was taken off my notes that should be back-up in my icloud. Help

The syncing of Notes, isn't a back-up. All it does is to sync Notes to other devices. Whether being a Mac, another iOS device or icloud.com
This is the same with Contacts, Calendars and what not.
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Hi! How can I change the shipping address for the program of replacement of the 1 generation ipod nano? I've already received the empty box and now I should send back the old ipod but I'd like to receive the new one to another address. Thank you.

Hi! How can I change the shipping address for the program of replacement of the 1 generation ipod nano? I've already received the empty box and now I should send back the old ipod but I'd like to receive the new one to another address. Thank you.

I would contact Apple directly and have them work with to get the iPod shipped to a new/different address.
http://www.apple.com/contact/
B-rock

How should I back up? - Ethernet HD vs Time Machine

The rundown:
-I think it would be pointless to back up my whole computer since I just want certain files / folders to remain secured.
-I want to have access to these files remotely (do not want .mac account)
-Want the functionality of NAS drive to share media / files w/ others on my small home network.
With that said, I have so many options, but I have read nothing that leads me to get an NAS drive since Time Machine is hit or miss with it. Or I could use Carbon Copy Cloner (anyone used this?) w/ an NAS drive to back up the folders I want.
Any suggestions? I have reached an impasse in my research as to the best option. How should I back up my important files and folders?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1427

Do i need to backup my information before installation of Mac os x lion? I know I should always back up, but what i'm asking is will my information be there, or is it a totally clean install? Will my information have to be transfered?

Do i need to backup my information before installation of Mac os x lion? I know I should always back up, but what i'm asking is will my information be there, or is it a totally clean install? Will my information have to be transfered?

When I installed Lion all of my files were intact and where I left them, and I did not back up my Mac, however having seen some of the problems some people are coming across when installing Lion I would recommend backing up before you install (just to be on the safe side).
Hope this helps!

Oracle Inventory - qty backorder should move back qty to originating subinv

Hi experts,
We're currently on Oracle Application 12.1.2, RDBMS 10.2.0.4.0. Currently, we have an issue within inventory module, would like to see if there are other users experienced similar issue. If you could share how you resolve your business issue, appreciate all your help.
In our Inventory module, we have setup these subinventories FG, SIT FG, SIT 207 FG. In the setup, during pick release process - the quantities will be moved from these three reservation subinventories to the STAGE subinventory. When ship confirm transaction happened, if material quantity is missing - it will be backorder. Our business would like the flow to be such that when the material is backordered, the qty should move back to the originating subinventory ie. if the order picked inventory from SIT FG at the time of the pick confirm, it should move back the qty from STAGE to SIT FG when the user backorder the stage picked line and reservations removed.
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Hello,
Look at Backordered Items Still On Staging Inventory [ID 785902.1]
Regards,
Luko

Should I back up my EHD Time Machine before I install more internal RAM?

I am ready to install more RAM. I currently have my Time Machine on an EHD. Should I back up that before I do the installation?

You already have got a backup, so you do not need to make a backup of your backup drive.
Installing RAM on an iMac is very easy and it should not damage anything. See -> iMac: How to remove or install memory - Apple Support

I need to update my OS from 10.5.8 to snow leopard, should I back up my data beforehand or should it be okay to update straight away?

My laptop has recently stopped updating all of the software on it because it is too out of date, but I'm yet to try and update my laptop. I have the disc for Snow Leopard, but I don't have a harddrive to potentially back up all my data to protect it from getting lost when updating the OS. Should I back up my data before updating? Or just wing it and do the update anyways? Thanks!

Yes, you should definitely backup your data. And, before doing that you should repair your hard drive and permissions.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow 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.
After installing Snow Leopard download and install the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1 to update Snow Leopard to 10.6.8 and give you access to the App Store.
Then should you wish to go further:
Upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion or Mountain Lion
You can upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mountain Lion can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $19.99.
If you sign into the App Store and try to purchase Mountain Lion but the App Store says your computer is not compatible then you may still be able to upgrade to Lion per the following information.
A. Upgrading to Mountain Lion
To upgrade to Mountain Lion you must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 or Lion installed. Purchase and download Mountain Lion from the App Store. Sign in using your Apple ID. Mountain Lion is $19.99 plus tax. The file is quite large, over 4 GBs, so allow some time to download. It would be preferable to use Ethernet because it is nearly four times faster than wireless.
     OS X Mountain Lion - System Requirements
       Macs that can be upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion
         1. iMac (Mid 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 7,1 or later
         2. MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 5,1 or later
         3. MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         4. MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 2,1 or later
         5. Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         6. Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
         7. Xserve (Early 2009) - Model Identifier 3,1 or later
To find the model identifier open System Profiler in the Utilities folder. It's displayed in the panel on the right.
     Are my applications compatible?
         See App Compatibility Table - RoaringApps.
     For a complete How-To introduction from Apple see Upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion.
B. Upgrading to Lion
If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mountain Lion, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.
You can purchase Lion by contacting Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service - this includes international calling numbers. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.
     Lion System Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,
           or Xeon processor
       2. 2GB of memory
       3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
       4. 7GB of available space
       5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.

I'm ready for 10.5 - what should I back up for a clean install?

Hello
I'm ready to install my newly-purchased 10.5 DVD.
I want to do a clean install. What should I back up before I do so in order to insure that nothing is lost?
I have already copied my entire user folder (except for the items that were permissions locked) to an external 500GB firewire. What else should I copy and how?
Thanks,
-----------S

OK, your user folder is backed up. That's a good start.
Generally what I do is take the current hard drive out of the computer, and put in a blank one (preferably a bigger drive too!).
Leopard's kind of an iffy upgrade, so what I'd do is this:
1) Make a clean install of TIGER. Run the updates.
2) Install all applications using a new user called "Administrator"—I mean anything you can think of....MacTheRipper, VLC, etc. Everything. Update all the apps.
3a) Copy over your user folder into the Users folder in the root of the drive. Go to Accounts in the System Preferences, and click on the + sign beneath the Users, and add a user with the same name and type in the same name you used on your old build. Enter the same short name, password, etc. It will give you the option to restore that user account if it is seen there.
OR
3b) Create a new user account, and start up in that user account. Copy pictures, music, documents, and desktop from the old user to their respective folders in the new location. DO NOT START UP MAIL, ADDRESS BOOK, or iCAL BEFORE THIS! Go to your User account's library. Move Mail & Safari from the old user library to the new one. Go to Application Support, and move over the files for Address Book and iCal (Yahoo Messenger, Skype, and Firefox are other ones to move if you have them in there). Go back to the User Library, and move over com.apple plists (from Preferences) for Addressbook, iChat, iCal, Mail, Safari. Try each of those applications to make sure the data transferred.
4) Repair Permissions.
Now you have a clean build of TIGER. SuperDuper it so you have a bootable backup of your new system on an empty firewire drive.
5) Update from Tiger to Panther. Play with it for a while. See how you like it. If you like it, keep it and move on from there. If you don't, you have a clean build of Tiger to use. I'm reverting back to Tiger because Panther is kind of slow on my machine, and it offers few real advantages. It's worth sticking to Tiger for me until I get through my current work cycle and hope Apple has fixed a few issues by then.
Good luck.

TS1559 if i reset network settings will i lose everything on my phone , should i back up on my pc first ?

if i reset network settings to get back my wifi will i lose everything on my ph ? should i back up everything first on pc ?

No you won't lose anything, however you would need to re enter your password for known wifis.
You should already be backing up your phone on a regular basis.

Getting new HD; what should I back up?

Hi all,
My HD in my iBook is making some concerning sounds so I before death appears I am going to replace the HD. The question is in addition to the User directories, what else should I back up. I have the original installation CDs for Apps so I can install the apps from those.
Thanks so much for any help and advice.
Ed

You don't have to make a bootable "clone" copy of your hard drive. That's a convenient way to do it, but certainly not the only way. I'm assuming you can also connect to that Buffalo drive using USB.
Start up from your Mac OS X Installation CD. From the Installer menu, run Disk Utility. Select the internal drive on side bar. From the menu, select File > New > Disk Image from {name of internal drive}. Save the disk image file to the Buffalo drive which is connected by USB.
Once the process completes, restart normally. Find that disk image file and double-click on it to mount it on your Desktop. Inspect it to make sure it looks good, especially your user directory where your personal files are located. Now, you have a copy of everything. Even if you decide to reinstall the OS and apps, it's good to have everything.
If you want to restore from your backup... After you install the new drive, start up from the Mac OS X Installation Disk, and run Disk Utility. Select the new drive on the sidebar. First, go to the Partition tab to format it, selecting Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the format type. After formatting is completed, go to the Restore tab. At this point, connect the Buffalo drive by USB if not already connected. Find that disk image as the Source. Drag the new drive's one partition (under the drive) from the sidebar to the Destination field. Click Restore.

How should i back-up my PC to transfer my files to iMac and continue on iMac for back-up?

I'm upgrading to an iMac very soon. What/how should i back-up my PC, then migrate to my iMac, and then continue to use hard drive to continually back-up my iMac? I'm concerned about compatibility issues and formatting and so on...

Hi there BDempster,
You may find the information in the articles below helpful.
iOS: How to transfer or sync content to your computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1296
iTunes 11 for Windows: Sync contacts, calendars, and other info with iPod, iPhone, or iPad
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12317
You can use iTunes to sync the contacts, calendars, notes, Safari bookmarks, and email account information on your computer with your iPod, iPhone, or iPad. iTunes also syncs this information from your device to your computer—for example, if you add contacts on your iPad, syncing adds those contacts to Windows address book or Outlook Express on your computer.
-Griff W.

Am replacing airport extreme with Time Machine and want to upgrade from Tiger to Snow leopard. Am told I should manually back up into T Machine before OS update but set up utility won't allow anything with OS below 10.5 and I'm 10.4.11. What to do?

Am replacing airport extreme with Time Machine and want to upgrade from Tiger to Snow leopard. Am told I should manually back up into T Machine before OS update but set up utility won't allow anything with OS below 10.5 and I'm 10.4.11. What to do?

I think you mean you are replacing your Airport Extreme with a Time Capsule. Time Machine is software integrated into OS X 10.5 & 10.6 used to automatically backup a system to an external HD. Time Capsule is an Airport Extreme that has a hard disk integrated into it that can be used for storage or as a Time Machine backup drive.
Because you are currently on Tiger 10.4.x you can backup to a external HD using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner. Having a backup is very wise before doing any major system update. After you have created the backup and have successfully upgraded to Snow Leopard you can still use the external HD for many things. The strategy I'd recommend is to use the new Time Capsule as your Time Machine backup and then use the external HD as backup using SuperDuper or CCC. Redundant backups is wise because backups can (and do) fail too! In addition both SD and CCC are bootable clones, this is useful in that if your internal HD crashes you can boot from a cloned drive and continue working until the internal HD is replaced.
Below are some links to some articles from MacWorld, I would recommend reading them where you find a common theme, redundant backups. Backup Plan I, Backup Plan II & Backup Plan III.
Roger

What files should I back up?

I recently backed up most of my computer on my external drive. I only backed up what was on my desktop, music, movies, pictures, and documents. Is there anything else that I should have backed up? I am probably going to need to wipe my hard disk and re-install OSX because I am getting an invalid node error, but I am hesitant to wipe my hard disk incase I didn't back something important up.

I didn't use a back-up tool, so I was simply copying everything over to my external manually. If you read through my other post, you will learn that I can't start my computer up anymore, so I can't back anything else up. I'm hesitant to re-format my harddisk if I missed something. But if there isn't anything major that I can't simply re-download or re-install from CD's, then I might just go ahead and re-format my harddisk.

Should i back up?

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