How to Back Up Your MacBook Pro to an External Hard Drive [2024 Complete Guide]

Do you know how to back up MacBook Pro to an external hard drive? Most people probably use Time Machine to back up MacBook Pro regularly. But can Time Machine back up everything on MacBook Pro? You'll find the answer in this article, along with other methods to back up Mac to an external hard drive without Time Machine.

Does Time Machine back up everything on my MacBook Pro to the external hard drive?

Time Machine is a built-in Mac tool that keeps backups of all your files. So, you can easily restore any files, emails, or media you might have accidentally deleted. However, it has its limitations.

• Can't back up to iCloud. • Can't back up iOS devices. • Can't back up non-native iCloud Drive files. • Can't back up certain system files or apps. • Doesn't do incremental backups of files in a disk image.

With the limitations of Time Machine in mind, we should also know how to use Time Machine for backup or how to backup Mac without Time Machine. Let's continue reading.

How to Back Up Your MacBook Pro to an External Hard Drive

There are several ways to back up a MacBook Pro: automated backups, manual file copying, and third-party software. You can use Time Machine for backups, but you can also back up without it. This guide outlines four main methods. Let's take a look.

1. Tool Todo Backup for Mac

This backup software is designed specifically for MacBook Pro and is compatible with all Mac OS. As an ideal supplement to Time Machine, it helps you archive your files to hard drives, network volumes, CDs/DVDs, or automatically-mounted external devices.

2. The Time Machine

"Time Machine" is a built-in backup feature on Mac, so you don't need to download anything extra. It backs up your MacBook data hourly for the last 24 hours, daily for the last month, and weekly for all previous months. This way, you can restore any deleted or inaccessible files later on.

3. Disk Utility

Disk Utility is another built-in tool on the MacBook Pro. Unlike Time Machine, Disk Utility is primarily used for managing disks. You can use it to clone a disk to an external drive, which can help you recover data if something happens to the original drive.

4. Backup your files manually

This is the most traditional way, but also the most time-consuming, mainly manually dragging or copying important files to an external hard drive. This method is not recommended if you have a lot of content to back up.

How to Back Up Your MacBook Pro with Todo Backup to an External Hard Drive

The tool Todo for Mac can create file backups using templates from iTunes, Mail, Contacts, Documents, and Photos. You can also learn how to make a disk image on your Mac with Todo Backup. Syncing files and folders from one Mac to another is quick and easy. Here's how.

Step 1: Launch and run Todo Backup for Mac. Click on the first Backup tab, or directly click on the '+' button at the bottom left to create a backup task – name your backup task and then click OK.

Step 2. Choose the backup destination, where to save your Mac files, how often to back up automatically, etc., then click OK.

Step 3: Add files and folders to your backup set.
Click File +, select the files and folders you want to back up, then click the blue Start button to begin backing up your Mac to another drive or external device.

Aside from backing up important data, Todo Backup for Mac has other features that can boost efficiency and save space.

• Clone Mac Hard Drive to SSD
• Automated backups, daily or weekly
• Backup Outlook Emails on Mac
• Encrypted backups for privacy protection
• Full, incremental, and differential backups
• Clone disk volumes for a bootable disk

How to Back Up Your MacBook Pro with Time Machine to an External Hard Drive

Time Machine creates a single backup of all your files, or you can schedule automatic updates. It backs up your applications, music, photos, email, and documents. And it's easy to use. Follow the steps below to learn how.

Step 1: Connect an external hard drive to your MacBook Pro.

Step 2. Click the Apple icon, then choose “System Preferences,” and locate Time Machine.

Step 3: Click on "Select Backup Disk".

Step 4: Select the disk that you want to use, and click "Use Disk".

5. If Time Machine doesn't format the disk, click Erase.

Step 6: Click the Time Machine icon and then click Back Up Now.

How to Back Up Your MacBook Pro with Disk Utility Using the UTF-8 Encoding Format

You can use Disk Utility to create a disk image, repair a disk, or clone a disk. This way, you'll have an exact copy of your entire hard drive. If something goes wrong with the disk, you can restore it. Here are the steps to back up your MacBook Pro to an external hard drive using Disk Utility:

Step 1: Connect the external hard drive to your MacBook Pro.

Step 2: Open the Finder and locate Disk Utility.

Step 3: Select the target drive, click “First Aid,” and run it to check the drive.

Step 4: In Disk Utility, select File and click New Image.

Step 5: Verify the name, format, and encryption.

Step 6: Click Save. The backup will begin.

How to Manually Backup Your MacBook Pro to an External Hard Drive

When you have a small number of files, you can manually copy each one to an external drive to safeguard against data loss. This includes documents, images, music, and more. Here's a simple step-by-step guide: 1. Connect the external drive: Plug in your USB flash drive, external hard drive, or another type of external storage device to your computer. 2. Gather the files to back up: Identify all the files and folders you want to save. This might include documents, photos, music, videos, etc. 3. Open File Explorer: On Windows, click the bottom-left "Start" button, then choose "File Explorer." On a Mac, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen, then select "Finder." 4. Navigate to the file location: In File Explorer or Finder, find the folder where your desired files are stored. 5. Select the files: Click and drag your mouse to select consecutive files, or press and hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac) while clicking to select non-contiguous files. 6. Copy the files: Right-click and choose "Copy" (Windows and Mac). Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+C (Windows) or Command+C (Mac). 7. Open the target location: In File Explorer or Finder, navigate to your external drive. 8. Paste the files: Right-click and choose "Paste" (Windows and Mac). Or use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+V (Windows) or Command+V (Mac). 9. Wait for the copying process to finish: Depending on the size of your files, this may take some time. Make sure not to disconnect the external drive during the copy process. 10. Verify the backup: After copying is complete, open the external drive to check if your files were successfully saved. 11. Safely eject the drive: Disconnect the external drive from your computer safely. On Windows, use the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the taskbar notification area. On a Mac, choose "Eject" from the Finder. Now, your files are securely saved on the external drive. You can copy them back to your computer whenever needed.

Step 1: Connect the external hard drive to your MacBook Pro and make sure it's working properly.

Select the file, and then press Command+C.

Step 3: Open the external hard drive and paste the files by pressing Command-V.

4. When the backup is complete, safely eject the external drive.

Conclusions

This article introduces four backup methods. Time Machine can easily back up files from your MacBook Pro to an external hard drive, but it has some limitations. You can also use Todo Backup for a more comprehensive backup.

Frequently Asked Questions on How to Backup MacBook Pro to External Hard Drive (UTF-8)

This guide will walk you through four methods to back up your MacBook Pro to an external hard drive, along with some common issues.

**1. What are the best ways to back up a MacBook Pro?**

You can use Time Machine to back up your MacBook Pro. It's versatile and user-friendly. Alternatively, you can opt for third-party software like Todo Backup.

**2. How can I back up my MacBook Pro to an external hard drive without using Time Machine?**

If your Time Machine isn't working, you can back up manually or use Disk Utility. But Todo Backup is the best alternative to Time Machine. You'll need to download it, and then you're good to go.

3. How to Back Up a Mac Without an External Hard Drive?

You can back up your Mac without an external hard drive by following these steps.

1. Open Finder.

Step 2: Tap the “iCloud Drive” folder.

Step 3: Choose which desktop files and photos you want to store in iCloud.