Mac or Windows, backing up your data is essential as data loss events don’t come with a warning sign. Back up everything because Macs, similar to other devices, are vulnerable to risks. It can happen to anyone, and believe it, just one small threat is all it takes to delete your hard drive data.
You would never want to lose those irreplaceable family photos worth cherishing for a lifetime or the details of the business meeting that you will have next Monday. Different ways are available to help you back up your Mac data to prevent the nightmare; some of these methods include backing up to iCloud, One Drive, or Dropbox.
How to Back up Mac Using Time Machine and Cloud Storage
Back up Using Time Machine
Time Machine, being a part of the Apple ecosystem, is easy to use and the preferred backup option. Just plug in an external storage media, solid-state drive (SSD), or a hard disk drive (HDD), and you are set to go.
Time Machine stores everything you have on your Mac as it creates hourly backups for the last 24 hours, daily backup for the previous month, and weekly backups for each month by creating snapshots locally on the Mac. It allows you to recover the most recent version of a document.
Time Machine doesn’t alter the file settings, so you can restore and find your data as it is on your new Mac. To set up Time Machine on Mac, you will require connecting an external hard drive to your system. Since most external drives are formatted to NTFS, you need to format NTFS drives on mac using Disk Utility, as macOS can read NTFS but can’t write to it.
Launch Spotlight from the top-right section of the Mac screen and type in Disk to open the Disk Utility window. Insert NTFS drive; select the disk name in the white textbox provided on the left side of the window. Click on Erase Tab. Under the Format option, choose MS-DOS FAT, assign a new name to the storage media (optional), and click on Erase to continue.
A significant benefit of Time Machine is that it doesn’t capture the entire Mac every time it runs a backup event, so it doesn’t consume a whole lot of space on backup storage media. Time Machine is unquestionably the best option if you wish to restore data from your old system to the new one.
Back up With iCloud
Apple provides 5GB of free storage on iCloud to all Apple IDs; however, you can always buy extended storage space by selecting a storage plan that suits your needs, which is very convenient for such professionals as video editors or graphic designers. The inevitable benefit of storing data to iCloud is that you can access it from anywhere, anytime.
Go to System Preferences on Mac and select iCloud from the Internet and Wireless section. First-time iCloud users will require signing in using their Apple ID and Password credentials.
Next, select the type of files that you wish to backup to iCloud. You can store data from Photos, Mail, Calendars, Safari, Notes, Contacts, Reminders, etc. You can change your selection later to add or remove folders for backup.
Alternatively, you can manage iCloud space by clicking the Manage button available in the bottom-right corner of the iCloud window. The option will help you devise how different apps will be consuming your iCloud drive space and allows you to delete files from the iCloud drive.
Back up Using Dropbox
Dropbox is a solid option if you wish to back up a few files from your Mac system. It’s a low-cost off-site backup option that allows you to access your data from anywhere. If you save data to Dropbox via the Dropbox website, make sure that the file you select doesn’t exceed 20GB.
You can move large volume files to Dropbox using its desktop or mobile app.
To get started, go to the Dropbox website and sign up for an account, then download and install the software. Once installed, open Dropbox, and you will see the web interface where you can drop your files. Click Upload Files or Upload Folder, locate the file or folder, and click Choose.
When you install Dropbox, macOS creates a tab called Dropbox under Favorites in the Finder window. You can open Finder to drag and drop files or folders to Dropbox. You can access the files you store in Dropbox from other iOS devices by installing Dropbox.
Now when you have a good backup plan, you must keep your backup device handy. In addition, make sure to note down the ID and password details of your backup media, as you will need them to restore data if anything worse happens.
In addition, keep your Mac operating system and application versions updated to avoid malware attacks, enjoy the latest features, and benefit from overall performance improvements.