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Apple’s Time Machine: Backups Made Easy
As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing more important for Mac users than having a backup of your data and applications. Apple made backups quite easy to set up with Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard”, as it requires just two quick steps:
- Connect an external hard disk drive to your Mac
- Click OK when prompted by Leopard if you want to use the hard disk drive for Time Machine backups
After this point, Time Machine does a full backup of your computer. Once it’s done with that, Time Machine checks your Mac every hour to see if any changes have been made. If they have, it logs those changes, installations, or deletions. Once a day Time Machine looks at the differences between the current time and the previous day, and then it performs a similar function once a week. You don’t need to do a thing — Time Machine does it all for you.
If you accidentally delete information and need it at some future point, all you need to do is click the Time Machine icon in the Dock, search back in time for the information, and then click Restore to bring it back to life. It’s that easy!
Surprisingly enough, many Raven Solutions customers still aren’t performing backups on a regular basis. I like to say that I have two types of clients: those who have lost data, and those who will lose data! Starting to make constant backups is as simple as making sure your computer is running Mac OS X 10.5 (AKA Leopard) and having an external disk drive to plug into the Mac.
To check what version of Mac OS X you’re currently running, go to your Apple menu at the top left of the screen and select About This Mac. The OS version appears just below where it says “Mac OS X” (see screenshot at right). If it’s not Version 10.5 or later, you’ll need an OS X update in order to run Time Machine. Contact Raven Solutions using one of the phone numbers at left, or click “Contact Us” in the site menu bar for an estimate. We can update your Mac in a few hours.
For hard disk drives, you have a couple of options. If you need a new Wi-Fi router and want to share the backup drive with others in your office or home, you might want to consider Apple’s Time Capsule
If you have a MacBook you’d like to back up, consider a portable hard drive like the Western Digital My Passport Essential 320GB Portable Hard Drive
Finally, if you just need a drive for home backups and don’t need the Time Capsule, consider a hard drive like the Western Digital My Book 1 TB External Hard Drive
In any case, if you have any questions about how to use Time Machine or what hard disk drive to purchase, feel free to contact Raven Solutions.
Welcome to our new website
Since Raven Solutions was founded 4 years ago, we’ve had a very awkward web address — www.ravensolutionscolorado.com. We’re making it a bit easier for you to pull up our website. All you need to do is type in im4macs.com and you’re ready to roll.
Where did that name come from? Founder and president Steve Sande got vanity plates for his Honda C-RV last year and wanted to have plates that described his love for Macs. The result? That plate you see below!
So we’re starting a whole new chapter in the life of Raven Solutions with this new website. Not only are we going to continue our work in the Denver area, but we’ll be branching out nationally as well through our remote support work.
From time to time we’ll post tips and hints about the Mac here, so visit the website often.
We resell these fine products:
BRU Backup Software
Kerio Mail Server
