Configuring Data Backup in macOS / OS X

Students, staff, and faculty can back up their data in macOS / OS X. Backing up personal data is essential to preventing the loss of important documents. Time Machine is the built-in backup application for Macs that works with an external hard drive. The application automatically backs up the entire Mac, including items such as system files, applications, accounts, preferences, emails, pictures, videos, and documents. If you keep your external drive connected at all times, Time Machine will back up every hour for 24 hours per day until the drive is full.

Viewing the Amount of Data Saved on Your Mac Prior to Backup

1. Open Finder.

2. Within Finder, open Macintosh HD.

3. In Macintosh HD, find the Users folder.

4. Right-click on the Users folder.

5. Select Get Info. From the Get Info page, you will be able to identify the number of user files that are present and require backup.

Types of Data and Its Location on Your Mac

User Profile Location:

/Macintosh HD/Users/Username/

Datatypes, Extensions, and Locations

Data Backup Methods for Your Mac

Time Machine backs up the entire Mac automatically. This includes system files, applications, accounts, preferences, music, photos, movies, and documents. Time Machine is available on all Macs running Leopard (10.5) and newer.

Setting up Time Machine with an External Drive 

1. Connect an external hard drive to the Mac via USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire.

2. Time Machine will automatically ask if you want to use the drive for backups. Select Use as Backup Disk. 

   1. A countdown will be displayed on the Time Machine window. Once the countdown is complete, the backup will begin.

   2. A progress bar will appear in a new window, showing you how much data has been backed up and the remaining time.

3. If you decide at any point during the backup that you do not want to continue or that you do not want to use Time Machine to back up your data, hit the X in the gray circle next to the progress bar. Time Machine will now back up the Mac either every hour or every time the disk is connected.

Selecting Items to Exclude From Time Machine on Your Mac

1. Open System Preferences.

2. Click on Time Machine.

3. Select Options. 

4. Click the + icon to add items to exclude. Finder will open so you can select files that you do not want to back up. For example, Dropbox and Google Drive are already backed up through cloud storage.
   Note: If you want to include these items in the backup, select the item listed and click the - button. This will include these items in the backup.

5. Click Save.  

6. Click Done.

Manually Backing up Data on Your Mac

1. Connect an external drive to your computer. 

2. Open Finder.

3. In Finder, open Macintosh HD.

4. In Macintosh HD, find the Users folder.

5. Right-click on the Users folder.

6. Click Get Info. The backup size will be listed in the upper right of the window. 

7. Open a new Finder window.

8. Navigate to your external device. 

9. Drag your user folder to the External Device window. 

Finding Files Using Finder on Your Mac

1. Open Finder. 

2. The search box is in the top right-hand corner. Type in a filename or keyword. Finder will search the entire computer and connected devices for files containing those characters.

Finding Files Using Spotlight Search on Your Mac

1. Open Spotlight Search by pressing the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of the Menu Bar or by pressing the Command + Space keys simultaneously.

2. Enter a filename or keyword. Spotlight Search will search the entire drive and display Applications, Documents, and more. Spotlight Search will also show information from Siri and from the web.

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