How to Back Up Your Computer with Time Machine. Mac macOS (10.5 and above) has an excellent built-in backup tool called Time Machine. Once you plug in a hard drive and set up Time Machine, it will work automatically in the background, continuously saving copies of all your files, applications, and system files (i.e., most everything except for the stuff you likely don’t need to back up, such. External drive connected to your Mac. Time Machine can back up to an external drive connected to.
You can use Time Machine, the built-in backup feature of your Mac, to automatically back up all of your files, including apps, music, photos, email, documents, and system files. When you have a backup, you can restore files from your backup if the original files are ever deleted from your Mac, or the hard disk (or SSD) in your Mac is erased or replaced.
Create a Time Machine backup
To create backups with Time Machine, all you need is an external storage device. After you connect the device and select it as your backup disk, Time Machine automatically makes hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months. The oldest backups are deleted when your backup disk is full.
Connect an external storage device
Connect one of the following external storage devices, sold separately. Learn more about backup disks that you can use with Time Machine.
- External drive connected to your Mac, such as a USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire drive
- External drive connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station (802.11ac model) or AirPort Time Capsule
- AirPort Time Capsule
- Mac shared as a Time Machine backup destination
- Network-attached storage (NAS) device that supports Time Machine over SMB
Select your storage device as the backup disk
When you connect an external drive directly to your Mac, you might be asked if you want to use the drive to back up with Time Machine. Select Encrypt Backup Disk (recommended), then click Use as Backup Disk.
An encrypted backup is accessible only to users with the password. Learn more about keeping your backup disk secure.
If Time Machine doesn't ask to use your drive, follow these steps to add it manually:
- Open Time Machine preferences from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar. Or choose Apple () menu > System Preferences, then click Time Machine.
- Click Select Backup Disk (or Select Disk, or Add or Remove Backup Disk):
- Select your external drive from the list of available disks. Then select ”Encrypt backups” (recommended) and click Use Disk:
If the disk you selected isn't formatted as required by Time Machine, you're prompted to erase the disk first. Click Erase to proceed. This erases all information on the backup disk.
Enjoy the convenience of automatic backups
After you select a backup disk, Time Machine immediately begins making periodic backups—automatically and without further action by you. The first backup may take a long time, depending on how many files you have, but you can continue using your Mac while a backup is underway. Time Machine backs up only the files that changed since the previous backup, so future backups will be faster.
To start a backup manually, choose Back Up Now from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar. Use the same menu to check the status of a backup or skip a backup in progress.
Learn more
- If you back up to multiple disks, you can switch disks before entering Time Machine. Press and hold the Option key, then choose Browse Other Backup Disks from the Time Machine menu.
- To exclude items from your backup, open Time Machine preferences, click Options, then click the Add (+) button to add an item to be excluded. To stop excluding an item, such as an external hard drive, select the item and click the Remove (–) button.
- If using Time Machine to back up to a network disk, you can verify those backups to make sure they're in good condition. Press and hold Option, then choose Verify Backups from the Time Machine menu.
- In OS X Lion v10.7.3 or later, you can start up from your Time Machine disk, if necessary. Press and hold Option as your Mac starts up. When you see the Startup Manager screen, choose “EFI Boot” as the startup disk.
You can use the Time Machine menu to check the progress of your backup. When Time Machine backs up your data, the ”Backing Up” indicator appears and increments:
If you see an alert message in the Time Machine menu, or you can't back up at all, see If you can't back up or restore your Mac using Time Machine.
If your Time Machine backup is working but it takes longer than you expect, check these things:
Your first backup
The first time you back up your Mac with Time Machine, it might take a long time to complete. This is because Time Machine copies most or all of the data on your Mac to your first backup. You can keep using your Mac while Time Machine works in the background to back up your data.
After the first backup is complete, Time Machine works in the background to back up only files that have changed since your last backup. This means your next backup is usually faster.
If you want to pause a backup and finish it later, select Skip This Backup from the Time Machine menu. Time Machine automatically tries backing up again later. If you want to start a backup manually, choose Back Up Now from the menu.
Backing up large changes
Some backups might take longer than others if you've made changes to a lot of files, or changes to large files since the last time you backed up. You might see ”Preparing” in the Time Machine menu for a longer period of time when this happens. For example:
- When your backup disk isn't available (such as when you're traveling, or your backup disk is disconnected or powered off) Time Machine can't back up your files. If you use your Mac for several days without access to your backup drive, it might take longer the next time the drive is available.
- If you're using virtualization software on your computer, such as Parallels or VMWare, that software might create a large disk image or other file to store data related to other operating systems. Time Machine might try to back up the whole disk image, even if you've only changed a few files on it. For best results, make sure your software is up to date, then check the developer's support site for information on using Time Machine with these apps. If you want Time Machine to skip these files, you can also tell Time Machine to exclude them from your backup.
- If you recently installed new software or upgraded macOS, it might take longer to complete the next backup. After Time Machine finishes backing up your new software, backups should be faster.
- If you canceled or unexpectedly interrupted the previous backup, Time Machine might take longer the next time it backs up your files. This can also happen if you don't shut down your Mac properly, or if you don't eject a drive before disconnecting it.
Network speed
Time Machine For Mac Backup Software
If you're backing up over a Wi-Fi network, make sure your Wi-Fi access point or router is nearby. A Wi-Fi network connection can slow down if your Mac is too far away from your router. You can get a good idea of how strong your wireless network signal is by looking at the Wi-Fi menu. If necessary, check for Wi-Fi issues.
Antivirus software
If you use antivirus software on your Mac, make sure that software is up to date. If it appears to interfere with backing up your computer, you might want to exclude your backup drive from the virus scan. Check the documentation that came with your antivirus utility or contact the maker of the utility for more information.
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Check your drives
Your backup might be slower if there's an issue with one of the drives you're backing up, or with the drive where your backup is stored.
Delete Mac Time Machine Backup
If you're using an AirPort Time Capsule, you can make it verify its built-in disk drive:
- Disconnect your AirPort Time Capsule from AC power.
- Wait ten seconds, then reconnect your AirPort Time Capsule to power.
When the built-in drive on your Time Capsule is working, the indicator light on the Time Capsule turns green. If there's an issue, the light flashes amber. Open AirPort Utility and connect to your Time Capsule to learn more about the issue. If you can't resolve the issue, you might need to erase the drive using AirPort Utility, after creating an additional backup using Time Machine and another drive. If you can't erase the drive, your Time Capsule might need service.
Time Machine Backup Mac Os Catalina
For other drives, open Time Machine preferences and turn Time Machine off, then use Disk Utility to verify your startup disk, external backup drives, and any other drives that you're backing up. You can turn Time Machine back on after your drives are verified or repaired successfully.