Hello everybody!
In today’s video, I’m going to tell you about backups on a computer with MacOS, about
the Time Machine function, how to configure it and use it to restore important data.
Loss of
data has always been a serious issue.
Nobody can be feel secure about it, and losing data is something that can happen to anyone:
damaged media, a virus attack resulting in your data gone with the wind, or accidental
erasing.
In the end, you always face the question - how to restore the lost data?
There are just a few ways out of the situation, and one of the most reliable is to use backup
functions.
In case you ever lose important information, you can easily restore it from a backup copy.
MacOS operating system has got a built-in backup utility – Time Machine.
What you need to work with Time Machine To create backups with this function, you
need to have OS X 10.5 Leopard or higher and an external drive where the data will be backed
up.
Time Machine function will create a backup copy of all files so that you can restore
them if they are ever lost, or view their original condition.
I will show you how it’s done with the example of this particular system, MacOS High Sierra.
You’ll have to connect an external hard drive to the computer; otherwise, the operating
system won’t be able to copy data to the same drive where the system is installed - unless
you break it into several partitions.
Essentially, it makes no sense if the drive gets damaged.
Using a dedicated drive for backups is much better.
It can be an external hard drive connected to a USB, FireWire or Thunderbolt port, or
connected to a USB port of an AirPort Extreme base station.
You can also use a Time Capsule device or macOS Server.
Disk format for backup When connecting an external drive to a computer
running MacOS you’ll see a notification that Time Machine will use it for backup.
If the connected drive has a wrong format the utility will suggest formatting it properly.
The most widespread format for a backup disk in Time Machine is Mac OS Extended (journaled).
If there’s no important data on it, click Erase.
You have an option to encrypt the drive by checking this box, and then you’ll have
to set a password; after that, only the users knowing the password will be able to access
the drive.
Click “Use as Backup Disk.”
If you connected a drive to the computer, but the utility doesn’t offer selecting
it for backup...
Go to the System Preferences - Time Machine - and in the window that opens go for “Select
Backup Disk” or “Add or Remove Backup Disk.”
Choose the necessary disk from the list and click on “Use Disk.”
In the same way, you can add one more drive and improve the reliability of your backups.
Backup with Time Machine After all settings are done, the utility will
create a backup copy of the system drive automatically.
Time Machine will keep local snapshots, hourly backups for the last 24 hours, daily backups
for the last month and weekly backups for all the previous months, while erasing the
oldest backups when the drive runs out of free space.
To create a backup without waiting for the next automatic backup, right-click on the
drive and select “Back Up Now.”
The backup process will start at once.
To cancel creating backups on this disk, choose “Do Not Backup” or “Don’t Use Disk.”
You can disable automatic backup by unchecking the box next to “Back Up Automatically.”
To have the Time Machine icon in the menu bar, check this box.
To exclude items from your backup, open Time Machine preferences, then click the plus sign
and select the item to exclude.
To cancel a backup in progress, choose Skip This Backup by clicking on the Time Machine
icon in the menu.
To check the current backup status, have a look at the Time Machine icon.
When backing up is in progress, it looks like this , when it’s idle - like this and here’s
how it looks when the utility is unable to complete the backup .
Your first backup may take a long time, depending on how many files you have.
You can continue using your Mac while a backup is underway.
Some Mac computers make backups even when asleep.
Later, Time Machine will back up only the files that have been changed since the previous
backup, so future backups will take less time.
Restoring particular files from a Time Machine backup
To restore a specific file, go to the folder where it used to be; for example, to restore
data accidentally deleted from the Pictures folder, go to that folder, click on the Time
Machine icon and select “Enter Time Machine” option.
After that, you’ll see many windows of this folder and the arrows to go to the previous
or following copy of that folder, and a timeline; by clicking on the arrow you’ll get to the
folder of the last backup or an earlier backup, and using the timeline can help you move to
a certain date quicker, for example, to yesterday.
Select an item and press Space Bar to preview it, or control-click on the item to view options,
check the ones you need, and click Restore to restore the selected item, which will make
it appear in the folder.
Restore everything from a Time Machine backup To restore all data at once, use the “Restore
from Time Machine Backup” utility.
To run it, hold down the keys Command and R right after you press the power button or
immediately after the computer restarts and before the Apple logo appears.
When booting is over, you’ll see a window with utilities.
Select “Restore from Time Machine Backup” and click to continue.
The disk which you are restoring is erased before receiving the macOS and other contents
of your Time Machine backup.
Migration Assistant To copy just your files, system settings,
or user accounts, use Migration Assistant.
You can find it by going to the Go menu - Utilities - Migration Assistant, “Continue,” and
then you’ll have to enter the password to the user account.
Select “From a Mac, Time Machine Backup or startup disk,” then choose the source,
“Continue,” choose the last backup, “Continue,” check the boxes next to what you want to restore,
“Continue,” and the information from the backup will be transferred.
When the transfer is over, you’ll see a message saying that your data has been transferred
and is ready to use, so click to finish.
After that you can sign in to your account and continue your work - all data will be
restored.
That is all for now.
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Thank you for watching.
Good luck.