I suppose it could serve as a backup, if all I want to preserve are the files I store there and that everything else on my internal drive can be thrown away. TM can be booted, but only to instal the OS on a drive and to restore the files from it to that new drive.ĭropbox is not, IMHO, a true backup. I also have a cloned backup using Carbon Copy Cloner that is there both as a second backup and for the occasion where the internal drive fails and I want to run my computer while I wait for the replacement drive to arrive. Personally, I have a TM backup for the historical aspects so that if a document gets changed and I want to know what it was before the change, I can go back in history and find it (thus the name TIME MACHINE-you can go back in time). Once a drive is assigned, TM will backup everything the first time it is run and at each subsequent run will backup only what is changed, but keep the older files, changed and unchanged, in case of a disaster.ĭo you need TM? That's up to you to decide. And yes, when you assign a new drive as the backup drive, TM wants to format it for TM use. These three are among the best on the market.Click to expand.TM backs up everything on the source drive, unless the user excludes some of it. There are countless hard drives available that support Apple's Time Machine app for backup purposes. If you alter any of them, you may have problems using the native Time Machine app with that backup instance. Please note: Make sure you don't 'Move' the files or rename them. Copy and paste the files/folders you want to copy to your computer.Drill down to find the documents you wish to review. You will see folders identified for the dates backups occurred. Double click on the folder with the name of the Mac.Select the folder called Backups.backupdb. Go into Finder and click on the external backup device.Plug in your external backup device to your Mac and make sure it's powered on.Make sure you have the physical backup drive that was used with the other computer.

Sleak choice: LaCie Porsche Design 1TB, 2TB, 4TB (starting at $90 at Amazon).

Compact: SanDisk Extreme Portable External 250B, 500GB, 1TB, 2GB (starting at $73 at Amazon).

Our favorite: G-Technology G-Drive 1TB ($70 at Amazon).

You can also view the files that were backed up on another computer by following these steps.

Apple's built-in Time Machine app makes it simple to back up Mac data.

Get time machine for mac