Backing Up

This document explains how to routinely back up files on your Apple Macintosh for protection against data loss, in preparation for repairs and upgrades, or in preparation for moving to another Apple Macintosh.  For information on the automated backup solution, CrashPlan, please click here.

If you use custom Dreamweaver or Photoshop settings, custom Office dictionaries, Crystal Reports, a hand-held device (Palm Pilot, iPhone, Blackberry, etc.), Eudora, FileMaker, or any other specialized software, please contact the Help Desk at x3333 for assistance.

Apple includes a built-in application called Time Machine for automatically backing up your entire system, including files, settings, and preferences. Directions for backing up your computer using Time Machine are below.

When to Back Up

To protect yourself against accidental data loss, you should back up your files according to a  regular schedule (e.g., every Friday afternoon). Be careful not to save older files over newer ones when doing a complete backup.

  • Before your computer is repaired or upgraded.
  • Before you get a new computer. If you are moving to a different computer, you must back up any files that need to be transferred to your new machine. All files left on the hard drive of your old computer will be lost.

How to Back Up

Backing Up Manually

  • To begin, choose a location to back up your files to. LTS recommends the use of flash drives and external hard drives over CDs and DVDs to expedite the backup process. If you are a faculty or staff member, LTS can lend you an external hard drive for you to use - files can be saved on it for up to a week. If you have access to a network drive, you can also use this process to backup to that network location. Check the documentation on connecting to a network drive here . Call x3333 if you have any questions about backing up.
  • Open the Finder and choose your computer's hard drive, then navigate to the Users folder and find your personal folder.
  • Select your personal folder and press Command-C to copy it.
  • Open your external hard drive or flash drive and press Command-V to paste your copied home folder into that drive.
  • Continue dragging folders onto your back-up disk until you have copied all the folders containing your documents. Make sure to copy any individual files or folders stored on your desktop.  Copy only folders and documents you have created ; do not copy program files or shortcuts.

After you have finished copying files,  verify your backup  by inserting your flash drive or external hard drive into another computer. Check to make sure that everything you copied was transferred correctly.

Backing Up Safari Bookmarks

  1. Insert a flash drive or external hard drive into the USB port.
  2. Export your bookmarks by going to File > Export Bookmarks...
  3. In the new window, navigate to where you want to save the bookmarks, and save it as bookmarks.html. Make sure that it is saved as an html file.
  4. Click Save.

Backing Up Firefox Bookmarks

  1. Insert a flash drive or external hard drive into the USB port.
  2. Open up the Bookmarks Manager window by going to Bookmarks > Organize Bookmarks.
  3. Click the Star icon  and then click Export Html...
  4. In the new window, navigate to where you want to save the bookmarks, and save it as bookmarks.html. Make sure that it is saved as an html file.
  5. Click Save.

Backing Up Using Time Machine

Setting up Time Machine for backups

Setting up Time Machine is as easy as connecting an external hard drive to your Mac via FireWire or USB. You can also use a secondary internal disk if your desktop Mac has one (that is, a disk that you don't start up from).

 If you haven't specified a backup disk yet, the first time you connect a hard drive Time Machine asks if you would like to use it as a backup drive.

"Do you want to use... to back up with Time Machine?"
Click "Use as a Backup Disk" to confirm you want to use the disk for Time Machine backups.  Time Machine preferences will then open with this disk selected as your backup.

That's all you have to do for Time Machine to automatically back up your Mac. Time Machine keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups until your backup drive is full.

About the First Backup

The first backup may take a while. You may want to set up Time Machine in the evening so that the initial backup can be done overnight. You should not interrupt the initial backup. You can continue to use your Mac while Time Machine backs up. 

Once the initial backup is completed, Time Machine performs subsequent hourly backups of only the files that have changed on your Mac since the last backup (as long as your Mac is awake and the backup disk is connected).

Changing Your Backup Disk

You can manually select a backup disk in Time Machine System Preferences if you want to.

  • Choose From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
  • From the View menu, choose Time Machine.
  • Click "Select Backup Disk".
  • Choose a disk where backups will be stored, then click “Use for Backup.”

Note: Every available disk that can be used to store backups is listed. If you’ve partitioned a disk, the available partitions are listed. Time Machine can’t back up to an external disk that's connected to an AirPort Extreme, or to an iPod, iDisk, or a disk formatted for Microsoft Windows (NTFS or FAT format).  If you select an NTFS or FAT-formatted disk, Time Machine prompts you to reformat the disk. Choose a different disk or reformat the disk in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format. Because reformatting erases any files on the disk, only do this if you no longer need the files or if you have copies of them on a different disk.

Transferring Files to a PC

  • Disks used on a Macintosh computer and then opened on a Windows computer may have an addition file called .Trashes,.VirexSpeedscan,.DS_Store, Virex Speedscan, Thumbs.db, or duplicate files/folders with a period and underscore before the file name, such as ._Assignment.Since these files will be re-created every single time you switch from a Mac to a Windows computer, it is best to ignore them.
  • Not all programs that run in Windows have a comparable version for Macs and vice versa. In addition, formatting may vary between the Macintosh version and Windows version of a particular piece of software. When switching from the Macintosh to Windows platform, it is important to test your files on the new operating system and software to ensure compatibility.
  • Sometimes files created on a Macintosh computer will not have a file extension at the end of the filename. If you save files on a Mac and then transport them to a Windows machine, bear in mind that Windows requires the three-letter file extension such as .doc, .xls, .ppt, etc. in order for the file to be opened. You can append the appropriate extension if it is missing by control-clicking on the file and choosing Rename.

 

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