This allows a service like TimeMachine to keep a decently long record of the changed files. CCC requires an HFS+ drive for bootable images, but can write backups to any format OS X can read.Ī backup drive should be double (or more) the size of the drive you are backing up. TimeMachine requires an HFS+ drive (with a couple exceptions, but those are outside the scope of this guide). It can create a bootable image of your Mac and back up external drives.Īny external drive can be a backup drive, as long as it's formatted in a format that OS X can understand. It also excludes external drives by default, but you can change that in the settings for TimeMachine.ĬarbonCop圜loner (CCC) doesn't automatically backup every hour (though it could be configured to), but it is far more robust than TimeMachine. The main catch with TimeMachine is that it can't create a bootable image of your Mac. It will simply back up the changes found on your computer every hour when the TimeMachine drive is connected. TimeMachine is part of OS X (Leopard/10.5 and later) and is pretty effective. There are many out there, but I will focus on two: TimeMachine and CarbonCop圜loner. Having data in one place means you are guaranteed to lose it someday. Thus, having data in two places means you are all but guaranteed to not lose that data (barring physical dangers, more one that later). The chances of three failing at the same time is astronomically slim. If you have data on a hard drive, eventually you will lose that data SSDs are not exempt from this, as they also get worn out, despite not having moving parts.Īll HDDs/SSDs will fail, but the chances of two failing at the same time is extremely slim, nigh impossible. In fact, about one in four hard drives fails fresh off the assembly line. It has moving parts at incredibly tight tolerances. You need a backup because your hard drive will fail. Bootable Image: A backup of your computer you can boot directly from.Moving data to an external hard drive and deleting it from your machine is NOT backing it up. Backed up: Data is "backed up" if it exists in two locations simultaneously.A new form of storage with no moving parts and blazing fast speed. A traditional storage drive with spinning magnetic platters that store data. I haven't seen a lot of information here regarding backups, and I think there needs to be some. I'm writing this up as a general advice/information post.