With versioned backups, you can restore a lost or damaged file to its most recent state, or to a previous state. It will create versioned backups every hour, which contain multiple copies of each file as it changes over time. Set it and forget it.Īpple has been making backups easier since 2007 by including the Time Machine backup software with their Mac system software. It’s the fastest, easiest, and most versatile. I always recommend Time Machine as your primary backup.

It’s also wise to keep your files in multiple physical locations. And sometimes you don’t find out that the backup has a problem until you try restoring from it. If they didn’t then we would use that technology for our original files.

Why at least two backups? Backups fail, too. They also save the day if your drive crashes, if an important file develops corruption, and even when you make a mistake and delete essential data from a file without realizing until Undo can no longer help. Time.īackups protect your data and help you get back to work more quickly if your Mac is lost, stolen, dropped on the floor, caught in a fire, soaked by a broken pipe, or compromised by malicious hackers. But there is a really good chance that it will save my life or reduce an injury at some point so I do it.

I’ve been on probably 50,000 to 100,000 car rides in my life and never needed a seatbelt. It’s like wearing a seatbelt: you are probably fine statistically each time you get in the car if you don’t wear one. If I had to take a guess based on my experience, about one half of hard drives fail before your computer is obsolete. Seriously, full backups of your entire Mac are not optional. As much as I hate to admit it, when it comes to losing data, the question is not “if,” but “when.” If you rely on your Mac for your job, or if your Mac contains valuable information-and whose Mac doesn’t have at least irreplaceable photos?-you must back up regularly or risk data loss.

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