Time Machine basics

Time Machine makes backups easy — here’s how to set it up on your Mac.

REQUIRES

External storage disk

YOU WILL LEARN

How to use Time Machine

IT WILL TAKE

30 minutes

Backing up your Mac is essential. We know it. You know it. Apple knows it too, which is why it created the Time Machine application to make it as easy as possible to back up your Mac.

Sadly, Time Machine’s hardware buddy Time Capsule is no longer with us. However, several NAS boxes do support Time Machine, albeit with varying degrees of success and difficulty in setting them up. The other option is to use a regular external hard drive – fine if you have a desktop Mac, not so convenient otherwise.

Time Machine backs up everything except folders you specifically exclude, then makes incremental backups at regular intervals, deleting old ones when it needs more space. Time Machine also stores a limited number of snapshots on your startup disk in case your external drive isn’t available when you need to restore data. It deletes them when you run short of space. KENNY HEMPHILL