Best back-up for Mac?

GLXMAN

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Hi Guys,
Gradually getting all the segments of the apple, got the iPhone, now, iPad and, hopefully an iMac mid year unless I drop over this "fiscal cliff" also ;)

Still running a MS laptop which is requiring "palliative care" at the moment,
I'm running 2 WD drives and alternate back-up, one of which, failed to do a back-up, will try again today

I've heard of "time machine" which I'm assuming only backs up to one drive? And Raid, which will mirror back-up on multiple drives?

My main data storage are images and, with editing, can be quite large files

I'm thinking Raid but do not know anything about it?

Which is the most "secure" way to go?

Regards,
Gary
 
chscag

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The latest version of Time Machine can backup to more than one drive. And since it comes pre-installed on a new Mac, that's what I would use. You can at your choice also use cloning software to do backups, but those are not free.
 
RavingMac

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GLXMAN

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chscag said:
The latest version of Time Machine can backup to more than one drive. And since it comes pre-installed on a new Mac, that's what I would use. You can at your choice also use cloning software to do backups, but those are not free.
Click to expand...

That is reassuring, and a great start,
Regards,
Gary
 
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GLXMAN

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RavingMac said:
Also a good place to start reading.
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/sw...official-backup-faq-start-backing-up-now.html

EDIT: I am sort of suspenders and belt when it comes to back up. Don't feel comfortable with TM as my only backup. I have multiple cloned drives as well as some portable externals I keep off site.
Click to expand...

Appreciate the link,
Reading your link, TM appears to have its own problems at times and the gist of the info appears to indicate another back-up option as well as some have had trouble recovering files from TM

Are "cloned drives" the same as "Raid"?
Regards,
Gary
 
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Not exactly unless I am misunderstanding RAID. A "clone" is an exact copy of a drive. If the clone is "bootable" the system files are also copied and you could beet from the backup if necessary,

The closest Windows thing I can think of is the disk imaging feature in programs such as Acronis True Image.
 
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A RAID is an array of 2 or more HDs setup to work together. The different RAID levels tell how they are configured.

RAID 1 is a common set up where you have drives mirroring each other, so in my 2 drive RAID 1 NAS if one HD fails I swap it out without losing any data.

But honestly it's almost as easy (and cheaper) to use two external HDs for backup and switch them out periodically.
 
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GLXMAN

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Tks for the heads-up Guys,
"food for thought"
Dont say I fully grasp the technology but starting to get a handle on some obvious choices,

I guess time machine will "back-up" to an external drive?
I'm getting the impression, that if I have 2 extenal drives available and just swap them with TM, all good!?

It appears that the TM back-up will not be a "bootable disc"? But cloned discs using RAID would be ?
Regards,
Gary
 
RavingMac

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GLXMAN said:
Tks for the heads-up Guys,
"food for thought"
Dont say I fully grasp the technology but starting to get a handle on some obvious choices,

I guess time machine will "back-up" to an external drive?
I'm getting the impression, that if I have 2 extenal drives available and just swap them with TM, all good!?

It appears that the TM back-up will not be a "bootable disc"? But cloned discs using RAID would be ?
Regards,
Gary
Click to expand...

Swapping the disks for TM is easy, but not automatic. You will have to select the alternate drive every time you swap. Not a big deal . . . it's what I do, just something to know.

And, yes, if you want bootable you need to clone, TM won't cut it which is why we generally recommend doing both. And, if you clone, I wouldn't RAID (not even sure you can clone to a RAID drive). Have to ask somebody else that question.
 
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The only way I can think of to create a "bootable" Time Machine backup would be to install a minimal copy of the OS onto the external drive that contains the Time Machine backup. Then let TM use the drive for backup. I have not tried it that way but it should work.
 
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GLXMAN

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Tks Guys,
Starting to look like best option for an inexperienced mac guy like me would be start with TM and swap out with 2 drives
Getting the picture that TM does not "back-up" the OS?
In the I guess, rare occasion one would have to re-boot a "new" Mac,
How would you do it?
Regards,
Gary
 
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It will back up the OS files but isn't directly bootable. There are several tools for this but the most widely used by forum members are probably Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper. Both programs make the process of "cloning" pretty straightforward.

What I have been doing for some time now is letting Time Machine back up my data and periodically "cloning" the system files. This way, i can restore system files, data, or both depending upon what has been ruined. This allowed me to continue working the last time time I hard drive fail. I booted from the clone and continued working until Apple could send a replacement drive. When it arrived I reversed the cloning procedure to put everything on the new drive.
 
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GLXMAN

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Slydude said:
It will back up the OS files but isn't directly bootable. There are several tools for this but the most widely used by forum members are probably Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper. Both programs make the process of "cloning" pretty straightforward.

What I have been doing for some time now is letting Time Machine back up my data and periodically "cloning" the system files. This way, i can restore system files, data, or both depending upon what has been ruined. This allowed me to continue working the last time time I hard drive fail. I booted from the clone and continued working until Apple could send a replacement drive. When it arrived I reversed the cloning procedure to put everything on the new drive.
Click to expand...
Much appreciated,
Great advice,
That is a direction I should be able to handle,
Regards,
Gary
 

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