Local backup software for mac how to#

What kind of hard drive do I need?Ī dedicated external hard drive is best for Time Machine backups.

Local backup software for mac how to#

Follow the steps below or learn more from Apple about how to back up your Mac with Time Machine. Time Machine backups can be automatic or performed manually, allowing you several options for restoring your Mac. After a file is saved, it doesn’t get saved again until it’s modified, making subsequent backups quicker than the first. Once initially backed up, Time Machine will perform routine backups by saving any changes made since the last backup. Creating a Time Machine backup will copy every file on the Mac’s hard drive to the dedicated backup drive.

The best way to back up your Mac is by saving your files to an external hard drive as a Time Machine backup. Portable USB flash drives or other cloud storage services ( Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) also have convenient backup options. This method is useful for backing up specific files or creating archives but isn’t as complete as actually backing up your Mac.Īpple’s cloud storage solution is iCloud, a built-in macOS service that lets you back up photos, documents, and contacts from your Mac and other Apple devices. You can either back up each file individually or place them all in a single, contained folder ( and possibly zip it). Recover macOS from a Time Machine backupīacking up your Mac essentially means copying your files to another hard drive, thus creating a “backup.” The classic way to back up files is by copying them to an external hard drive or cloud storage service.