Backup solutions for Mac

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Hello!

I am new to Mac (finally crossed over) and loving it! Once you go Mac, you'll never go back! :)

My question is about backing up.

Currently, I am using Time Machine and loving it so far.

My situation:

1 TB External Drive:

I have about 620GB of music, photo, video, and doc files that I consider "long-term storage." What I mean by this is that I only access the data as needed and do not have them on my Mac. Occassionally, I will add additional files as I collect them and store them.

Time Machine:

I have about 150GB on my Macbook Pro (320GB drive) of files that I use regularly or have not yet transferred to my 1TB external "long-term" drive. This data is currently being backed up to Time Machine on a 500GB external drive that I have.​

Question:

My external 1TB drive does NOT have a backup. If that drive does belly up, I will lose precious photos, docs, etc. that are irreplaceable. There is not enough space on my MacBook Pro to store them all, so I need to find another source as a secondary backup. Recently, I have purchased another 1TB external drive to use as a secondary backup. What are some good options? Can I use Time Machine to backup my backup? Do I need to partition a drive or both? What I am considering is partitioning one or more of the drives to backup my MacBook Pro using Time Machine, but I also would like to be able to connect BOTH external drives together to backup my backup (long-term files).

I considered purchasing a 1TB SATA drive my for MacBook Pro so that I can have enough space to backup ALL of my files together, but decided against that.

I am not a computer wizard, but an avid user. My external drive is clicking, so I feel it is on its way out right now.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Dave
 
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Carbon copy cloner

is what you need
 
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Wow!

Problem solved. Amazingly simple program that creates a clone/backup with ease! Works great!

Thanks for the simple, yet effective advice.

Dave
 
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Thanks for the link to the thread.

"You'll find many on the forum that use a combination of TM and SD! or CCC."

At this point, I think this is going to be my strategy moving forward.

I am thinking of taking a portion of one or both of the external hard drives I have and partitioning them to create a separate backup (using TM) for all of my Mac's system files and personal files that I currently am using (about 160GB). Then, using the rest of the space on the drives for archiving precious photos, videos, docs, etc. that I just simply want to keep.

Any downfall with that idea or sound like a good plan?

Dave
 
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That sounds like a plan. One thing though is personally for me, i would be using TM for a complete backup then use one of the others to pick and choose what you want to backup if thats what you want to go for. I like to have a bootable clone of my HD.

I use TM as a Backup of my complete system and then use SuperDuper to create a complete clone of my drive. I usually use TM to retrieve whatever I'm looking for then SD a a bootable copy, so if my HD I'm my MBP fails i can still boot from SD if need be.


With a 1TB Ext you could have the room to consider it. Its good to have a Bootable clone on hand just in case.

Cheers
 
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Personally SuperDuper registered version is the go for me. Once a clone made to backup drive, simply a weekly update using the Smart Backup feature. Updates any and all changes in about 3 minutes transfer rate well over 100MB/ps.
 
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Personally SuperDuper registered version is the go for me. Once a clone made to backup drive, simply a weekly update using the Smart Backup feature. Updates any and all changes in about 3 minutes transfer rate well over 100MB/ps.

Have the registered version too Harry and do as you do. Its simple, seamless and i have never once didn't have a file clone properly, with the added benefit of it being bootable.
 

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