After reading my last blog entry about WHY you need a backup, here is the follow up on HOW to setup your backup. If you didn’t read the first blog article, or arrived here with uncertainty about needing a backup, I’ll provide a brief summary below, or click here to read that first article in full.
In quick review:
• The cloud backs up mobile devices only, not computers (the computer is too big).
• A few key folders can be sent to the cloud, but some folders are excluded.
• Retrieving data from an internal hard drive can be shockingly expensive.
• Backup drives costs between $75-150, and retrieving data from a backup is easy.
• Buy an external desktop drive for a desktop computer, and an external portable drive for a laptop.
OK, now that I’ve purchased my backup drive, how do I set it up?
(Instructions below for both Mac and Windows users)
Mac Users – Get the hard drive out of the box, plug it in to the computer (and to power if using desktop drive), and wait a few seconds for the Mac to recognize it. If you have no backup drive setup, the Mac knows this, and will display a pop-up window recognizing that you’ve plugged in an external drive. It will ask you if you’d like to establish the drive as a backup. Click the affirmative button, and you’re done. Your first backup will begin in the next minute or two. It really is that easy!
A couple fine print details now – All drives come formatted, either for Mac or Windows, which just refers to the file structuring system set for the drive. Apple’s backup software is called Time Machine, and it wants the drive formatted for Mac, so… when you plug in a drive formatted for Windows, the Mac knows, and asks you if it’s OK to reformat the drive into Mac format. This means erasing it, which I know can be scary, but the Mac is smart enough to not erase the hard drive that you are currently using for all your data, so don’t worry about that. Just read the message slowly and proceed with caution. If you are uncertain, then stop and get some help, but know that you MUST erase a drive formatted for Windows for use with your Mac. Because Mac users are the minority, most drives you buy will come formatted for Windows. That being said, you can certainly find Mac formatted drives if you include that in your online search, or ask a salesperson for it.
Your first backup will take some time since your computer’s hard drive is large, so it could potentially take a few hours. You can still use your computer for other tasks while the backup is occurring. If you want to monitor the backup progress, open System Preferences, and click Time Machine. Subsequent backups are much faster, because you are only backing up new or changed items, not the entire hard drive again. For desktop Macs, your backup drive stays plugged in 24/7 and will complete a backup every day. For laptops, plug in your backup drive on a schedule that fits your life, I recommend once a week, but many choose once a month. Just remember that if your computer crashes, you can only restore data as recent as your last backup. Once you plug in your backup drive, the backup should begin automatically. Give it an hour to complete the backup, and then don’t forget to eject the drive before unplugging it, or the Mac will tell you that it’s not happy with you. To eject a drive, click the blue happy face Finder icon, and look for the drive in the sidebar on the left side. Click the eject symbol, which looks like a triangle with a rectangular bar beneath it. Once the drive disappears from the sidebar, you are good to pull the plug. If you pull the plug before clicking eject, you risk corrupting the drive, and you may have to erase it again to reuse it, or you may have to replace it.
Windows Users – I am not a Windows expert, but I do have some information and some online instructions for you. Windows has more than one way to backup your computer. Briefly, Windows has backup features called File History, and another called Backup and Restore. File History does what is called ‘versioning,’ whereby documents are stored in different states as they change over time. In a plain English example, imagine you’ve been working on the same document for months, modifying it regularly, and you realize that you saved over your document and need to go back to last weeks’ version of it. File History lets you restore an individual document to a previous state. Backup and Restore is designed to create what you might think of as a more traditional backup; an archive of the hard drive that can be used to restore data on the occasion that you replace your computer. This is what allows you to pick up on the new computer where you left off on the old one. You can even setup both File History and Backup and Restore on the same backup drive if both options sound useful and are available.
So, when you’ve got your backup drive in hand and you’re ready to set it up, read these instructions from Microsofts’ website, plug your drive in to your computer and start the process. Windows has a nice setup wizard to walk you through the process.
Good luck!!