Time Machine

How to get the most from OS X’s built-in backup facilities. We show you how to avoid data loss

he importance of backing up your data has always been beyond doubt, but in the past it could be a hassle, involving third-party apps or Apple’s (now-discontinued) Backup application. Time Machine was introduced with OS X 10.5 Leopard and provided a new, pain-free way to securely and automatically back up all your stuff. Integrated at system level, it’s evolved into a powerful tool with some hidden, handy features. We’ll focus on OS X 10.9 Mavericks here, but much of what we show you works in earlier versions of OS X, too.

This feature is all about Time Machine – since it’s an easy-to-use good first step that’s built into any Mac running at least 10.5 – but for added security you should consider keeping bootable backups using tools such as SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner, and even keeping offsite backups in the cloud through services such as BackBlaze or CrashPlan too. Backup is about reducing the risk of data loss, and although no system’s foolproof, the more backups you have the safer you’ll be. Hardware failures, theft, damage and simple user errors like accidentally deleting a file can happen to the most experienced Mac user.

Getting started with Time Machine is as simple as connecting a hard drive, but there’s more you can do. For example, in OS X 10.8 and later you can use multiple drives to keep copies of the same Mac’s contents, and also back up wirelessly to a Time Capsule, NAS device or other wireless drive. We’ll show you how to restore files, manage your backups and even solve problems that can arise. There’s no excuse not to secure your stuff, and if anything goes wrong you’ll be very glad that you did!