Automatically back up all your files with Time Machine, which is built in to your Mac, or choose another backup method. Make sure your MacBook Air is on the same Wi-Fi network as your external storage device, or connect the external storage device to your MacBook Air. Open System Preferences, click Time Machine, then select Back Up Automatically. Select the drive you want to use for backup, and you’re all set. The easiest way to backup locally-stored data in your MacBook Air is by using Apple's Time Machine feature. Now that you have everything backed up, you can start putting your machine into motion. Make sure that your MacBook Air is fully charged or connected to an electrical outlet so that your device will not shut itself off midway through. How to restore your Mac from a Time Machine backup. If you use Time Machine to back up your Mac, you can restore individual files, or restore your entire hard drive from a recent backup. Note: Because you have to enter Recovery mode on your Mac, I suggest printing out these instructions or switching to another device to read them. Restart your Mac. Automatically back up all your files with Time Machine, which is built in to your Mac, or choose another backup method.
Like most people, I’m lazy about backing up my data. If it’s remotely inconvenient, I won’t do it. Fortunately, there are now several things you can do to back up your data in 2021, all without having to lift a finger. Smart Wi-Fi 6 access points and cloud computing services have changed the backup playing field. I’m going to share with you a foolproof plan for automatically backing up your data so you can rest easy.
Best automated backups for macOS
When Apple released Time Machine, they introduced a dead-simple way to backup your Mac. Just plug in an external hard drive, and let it do the rest. While it’s a great solution, I still have to remember to get my hard drive out on a regular basis, hook it up, and let it do its thing. I’m too lazy for that, or at least too lazy to do it frequently enough.
My solution was to get a Synology DiskStation. It’s a network-attached storage (NAS) device that supports Bonjour and Time Machine backups. When used at home, it will backup your MacBook Pro and any other Mac computer, including the new Apple Silicon (M1 chip) Macs, on your local network without having to do a thing. Time Machine automatically detects when you’re on your home network and then determines when it’s time to backup your computer. All of it is done in the background. It’s beautiful!
Synology also supports dual disk redundancy. I use the Synology DS1520+ with five WD Red NAS SSDs. It operates silently, and if two hard drives fail, I won’t lose any data.
Best automated cloud computing backups
Unfortunately, relying on one backup is not the best backup plan. Especially if you lose your computer in a house fire, which happens to be the same location as your Synology DiskStation. For that reason (and others), I use a couple of cloud computing services for backups.
Just like Synology DiskStation with Time Machine, these services can be set up to run automatically in the background. The two cloud computing services I use are Backblaze and Dropbox.
Backblaze
I’ve tried several cloud computing backup services on macOS, including Mozy (now Carbonite), but Backblaze was the service that worked the best and was also the most unobtrusive. Like Time Machine, Backblaze automates the backup of your hard drive, or the folders you specify, and saves them securely in the cloud.
The price is incredibly cheap. It only cost $6/mo for unlimited storage. One of the things I like the most about Backblaze is that it allows me to specify the backup speed. I can either choose better network performance (slower backup speeds) or faster backups (full throttle backup speeds).
How To Back Up Macbook Air
Dropbox
Another cloud computing service I use is Dropbox. While Dropbox’s conventional use is storing documents in the cloud, it can also be used as an excellent automated backup system. The way I use Dropbox on my MacBook Air and iMac Pro is that I save all of my documents in my Dropbox folders.
I decided to mimic the default folders that appear in the Home folder on macOS, including Music, Photos, and Documents. I then made shortcuts to those folders, and I make sure I save everything in them. Dropbox then automatically syncs those documents in the cloud.
My documents are not only synced (backed up) in the cloud automatically, they’re also accessible via their iOS app. That means I can easily access all of my documents on my iPhone or iPad using Dropbox’s free iOS app. Just like Backblaze, their service is incredibly affordable. They have a free account that comes with 2GB, a $9.99/mo account that comes with 1TB (1,000 GB), and a $15/user/mo business account that comes with 1TB (1,000 GB).
Back up with Time Machine
Automatically back up all your files with Time Machine, which is built in to your Mac, or choose another backup method.
Create a backupStore files in iCloud
You can also use iCloud and iCloud Drive to store files, such as your photos, documents, and music.
Set up iCloud and iCloud DriveRestore your Mac from a backup
![Drive Drive](https://www.macworld.co.uk/cmsdata/features/3584440/time_machine_choose_disk.jpg)
![Back Back](https://support.apple.com/library/content/dam/edam/applecare/images/en_US/osx/osx-elcapitan-security-privacy-filevault.png)
When you have a backup, you can use it to restore your files at any time, including after the original files are deleted from your Mac.
Restore from a backupPrepare your Mac for service
Sparkle 2 0 6 download free. Making a backup is an important part of preparing your Mac for service, especially because some types of repair might require erasing or replacing your hard drive.
How To Backup A Macbook Pro
Get your Mac ready for serviceHow much space do I need for a backup?
To see the size of a specific file or folder, click it once and then press Command-I. To see storage information about your Mac, click the Apple menu in the top-left of your screen. Choose About This Mac and click the Storage tab. For Time Machine backups, it's good to use a drive that has at least twice the storage capacity of your Mac.
Free up storage on your Mac
macOS can save space by storing your content in the cloud. This isn't a backup, but it includes new tools to make it easier to find and remove large or unwanted files before you make a backup.
Use Optimized Storage in macOSErase or format a storage device
You can use Disk Utility if you need to erase or format a storage device.
Learn how to use Disk UtilityHave a question?
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