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Backing up
Topic Started: Jan 20 2011, 05:22 PM (354 Views)
Riley
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HOLY CARP!!!
I never back up files. I know I should but I never get around to it. A week or so ago, my Mac started freezing up, and eventually wouldn't start up. I shut it off for a week, and hoped for the best. Just turned it back on, and it seems to be working, but I want to back up ASAP.

The only thing I'm worried about is about $1000 worth of iTunes music, and thats probably all I'd need to back up.

What is the easiest, safest, and cheapest way for me to do this?
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George K
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Finally
Are you running Snow Leopard?
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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George K
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Finally
Here's a deal for a 500 gig external hard drive for $40.

http://dealmac.com/Western-Digital-500-GB-Portable-USB-Hard-Drive-for-40-free-shipping-padding/427717.html

Get a cheap external hard drive, and there are a number of easy and cheap solutions.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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KlavierBauer
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HOLY CARP!!!
~$80 for a TB.
"I realize you want him to touch you all over and give you babies, but his handling of the PR side really did screw the pooch." - Ivory Thumper
"He said sleepily: "Don't worry mom, my dick is like hot logs in the morning." - Apple

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Riley
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HOLY CARP!!!
George K
Jan 20 2011, 05:29 PM
Are you running Snow Leopard?
I'm pretty sure. 10.6.4?
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Riley
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HOLY CARP!!!
I definitely don't need a TB, 500GB should be more than enough. I think my hard drive is only 250GB.
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George K
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Finally
Get a cheap external drive (USB would be fine), plug it into your Mac, and fire up Time Machine - it's built into the OS.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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Riley
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HOLY CARP!!!
George K
Jan 20 2011, 05:31 PM
Here's a deal for a 500 gig external hard drive for $40.

http://dealmac.com/Western-Digital-500-GB-Portable-USB-Hard-Drive-for-40-free-shipping-padding/427717.html

Get a cheap external hard drive, and there are a number of easy and cheap solutions.
Thanks George, something like that would be perfect. Is it as easy as dragging and dropping the files I want to back up?
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George K
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Finally
That's one easy way, but a better solution would be time machine - it'll clone YOUR ENTIRE MAC. It will take a couple of hours, but it's worth it. Do it once a week or month, and you'll be fine. It's $40 to $50 well spent.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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Copper
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Shortstop
Even easier - just turn on Time Machine

GK just beat me

I just let Time Machine run all the time

I have the same thing on Windows 7 - I have (almost) identical WD 1TB USB drives - one for the Mac one for the PC
Edited by Copper, Jan 20 2011, 06:00 PM.
The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
Riley - is your Mac a laptop of a desktop?

For sure, leave Time Machine "ON" (in System Preferences) all the time.

If your Mac is a laptop, Time Machine will actually back things up only when the designated backup external hard drive is connected ("mounted"). Be careful to unplug ("unmount") the hard drive only when Time Machine is not actively backing up stuff. ("Unmount" by dragging the external drive to the "Trash" first, then disconnect after the disk stops spinning -- the external drive should have some sort of LED indicating whether it's still spinning, if not, go by your ear.)

If your Mac is a desktop, you can practically leave the external drive connected all the time, and Time Machine will back things up once every hour.

Unless you want to invest in a UPS (battery backup), get USB or FireWire "bus-powered" external drive ... that way you don't have to sorry about power going out in the middle of a backup, because the external drive will draw power from your Mac's USB or FireWire port.

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George K
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Finally
Ax makes good points. TM will back up every time you plug in the external. Obviously, the subsequent backups will take much (MUCH!) less time than the original. It's a wonderful solution that is, basically, without the need for any user intervention.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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Riley
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HOLY CARP!!!
It's a laptop, and thanks, I'll pick up a cheap external hard drive soon. Didn't realize they were so cheap.
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blondie
Bull-Carp
Will someone kindly outline the disadvantages of online backup , i.e. Mozy.com ?
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George K
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Finally
blondie
Jan 20 2011, 07:06 PM
Will someone kindly outline the disadvantages of online backup , i.e. Mozy.com ?
How fast is your internet connection?

How many gigs do you plan to back up?

Does Crapcast your internet provider limit you to the bandwidth you use (Comcast limits you to 250 gig a month)?

I back up my super-dooper critical files online (nightly) via my Me.Com account. It doesn't include my photos, music, etc., but does include my finances, letters and other docs.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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Copper
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Shortstop
blondie
Jan 20 2011, 07:06 PM
Will someone kindly outline the disadvantages of online backup , i.e. Mozy.com ?

My training/introduction to backups was underground vaults and tank traps dug around the buildings. This was 35 years ago.

I just don't feel right about online backup. I don't trust them.

I know it's all secure and everything. So was the State Department before Wiki Leaks got hold of it.
The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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Axtremus
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HOLY CARP!!!
After looking into Mozy and Carbonite and similar online backup services, I cannot get over the following shortcomings that most of them share:

  • Slow to back-up
  • Slow to restore
  • Default exclusion of files of certain types and sizes that cannot be undone easily

If you have to use online backup, I'd recommend SugarSync -- more expensive, but IMO has the fewest and least severe of objectionable limitations.

At the end of the day, I settled on external hard drives.
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Improviso
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HOLY CARP!!!
This is a very nice way to back-up...
Identifying narcissists isn't difficult. Just look for the person who is constantly fishing for compliments
and admiration while breaking down over even the slightest bit of criticism.

We have the freedom to choose our actions, but we do not get to choose our consequences.
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1hp
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Fulla-Carp

I read once, that a large number of accidents occur while driving in reverse, so I try to minimise backing up as much as possible. :sombrero:

In reality, I have dual drives in all my computers, set up in RAID1 configuration, so no real need to go through the back up scenario. As long as the house doesn't burn down, I'm safe!
There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those that understand binary and................
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