Backing up iMac to iCloud

[daitch]

Not sure if I have the right place for this so please tell me if it should be elsewhere.

I would like to back up my iMac and was hoping to use iCloud. Is this possible and if so how does one go about it?
Time machine does not list iCloud drive as one of the available disks.

My external backup drive is only 1TB so it is reporting as too small. I will be buying a 2TB drive in the very near future but was hoping to back up to the cloud in the meantime.

Seasons greetings to all from down under.

 

[chscag]

You can not back up all your data to iCloud, only desktop and document folders. Besides that, Apple only gives you 5GB for free. You can pay for additional space if you desire but you still won't be able to backup everything to iCloud.

How much data do you have to backup? If you're currently using Time Machine you can delete older Time Machine backups to make room on the external drive. If you decide to do that, be sure to only delete the older Time Machine backups from within Time Machine. Do not use the Finder as that will destroy your entire Time Machine backup integrity.

Keep in mind that iCloud backup is also for your iPhone and iPad if you have those.

 

[IWT]

@daitch

You could also do a cloned Backup (BU) of your entire Mac. The cost is that of an External Hard Drive (EHD) of around 2TB (given that your present Mac has only 1TB) and that is not expensive.

The advantage of cloned BUs is that they are not only an exact copy of your HD (hence "clone") but are bootable.

The two main contenders are Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) and SuperDuper! (SD!).

Download Carbon Copy Cloner | Carbon Copy Cloner | Bombich Software

bombich.com

SuperDuper!

There are free trial versions available.

Ian

 

[daitch]

You can not back up all your data to iCloud, only desktop and document folders. Besides that, Apple only gives you 5GB for free. You can pay for additional space if you desire but you still won't be able to backup everything to iCloud.

How much data do you have to backup? If you're currently using Time Machine you can delete older Time Machine backups to make room on the external drive. If you decide to do that, be sure to only delete the older Time Machine backups from within Time Machine. Do not use the Finder as that will destroy your entire Time Machine backup integrity.

Keep in mind that iCloud backup is also for your iPhone and iPad if you have those.

That is what I thought but I wasn't sure. I was trying not to have to buy another external Hard Drive but I guess that is what I will have to do so I can continue using Time Machine. Thank you for your response.

 

[daitch]

@daitch

You could also do a cloned Backup (BU) of your entire Mac. The cost is that of an External Hard Drive (EHD) of around 2TB (given that your present Mac has only 1TB) and that is not expensive.

The advantage of cloned BUs is that they are not only an exact copy of your HD (hence "clone") but are bootable.

The two main contenders are Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) and SuperDuper! (SD!).

Download Carbon Copy Cloner | Carbon Copy Cloner | Bombich Software

bombich.com

SuperDuper!

There are free trial versions available.

Ian

Hi Ian, thank you. I am now in the process of ordering a 2TB EDD so I can continue to use Time Machine. When it arrives I will set it up as the Backup drive and when that has happened successfully I will do a clone to the old 1TB drive. Once again thank you.

 

[Slydude]

There are online backup options available such as Drive. I haven't used these options, but the last time I looked into this, there were a couple of caveats to consider before using them:

1. At that time, some of the online backup options did not support backing up system files. Some did, though, so if this is important to you, make sure you check into that before buying a plan.
2. The initial backup can be quite slow, depending upon the amount of data involved and your internet connection speed. The initial backup could take several days because it occurs while the Mac is idle.
3. For an extra fee, some online backup providers will send you a blank drive to complete the initial backup. When you ship the drive back to them, your data is transferred to their servers, and future backups occur over the net.

IIRC correctly, when you need to do a full system restore, the hard drive can be shipped back to you. I don't remember if any of the services kept multiple backups in a way similar to Time machine.

 

[chscag]

I think you meant iDrive?

Generally, I don't recommend using an online backup service for the reasons you gave above. The biggest problem is the amount of time it takes to first do the backup. And then if for some reason you need to restore, you want your data now, not 2 days from now.

Some folks that use an online backup service get quickly disillusioned with it when they need to recover their data and have no other means of doing so.

 

[Slydude]

iDrive was what I had in mind. As you can tell, I'm not the best typist.

I've never tried using one of the online back-up services either. Like you, I can't imagine waiting several days for my data to wait more hours while I do a system restore. With a viable and current clone, I can be back up and running in the time it takes to reboot. The full restore, if needed, can wait till I have more time.

One other thing occurs to me about backup programs in general--online or otherwise. If the data is stored in a proprietary format, you can't restore individual files. You have to use something that can read the specialized format.

 

[daitch]

Hi all, thank you once again for your input and for sharing your knowledge.
I have decided that the easiest way is to purchase a larger external drive (2TB) and just do a Time Machine backup.
Once again thank you and I hope that 2021 is much better than 2020.