The importance of regularly backing up your computer cannot be overstated. If you are like most Mac users, your system's storage device holds many important files and data that you would not want to lose. The consequences of catastrophic data loss can be severe, with ramifications that extend in many directions. While we must accept some risk to enjoy the benefits of a digital existence, we can mitigate it.

Backup methods are not mutually exclusive, so it makes sense to consider creating multiple backups if you want your data to be extra safe. Let's explore how to create backups on your Mac so that you can rest easy knowing your data is secure even in the face of unexpected loss.

Backup Mac computer

Part 1: Why Should You Backup Your Mac?

Creating regular backups is a best practice that's recognized around the world, and there are many good reasons why you should get into the habit of doing so to protect the important data on your Mac. Here are some of the most significant ones:

    • A backup provides protection and helps you recover from unexpected data loss. If your Mac is lost or your hard drive fails, a backup might be the only way to get your data back.
    • If you have a backup, you can restore your user data when you reinstall macOS or set up a new Mac.
    • Regular backups protect important files in case of a catastrophic failure of a solid-state drive or data loss.
    • Backups let you restore older versions of your data and documents.
    • Although Mac viruses are rare, having a backup can help you recover your data.
    • Before installing a major macOS update, back up your Mac in case something goes wrong.

Part 2: Three ways to back up your Mac

1. Back up your Mac with Todo Backup for Mac

The easiest way to backup data on a Mac is by using a third-party tool like Todo Backup for Mac. This smart tool backs up data from any Mac device to prevent loss. It creates file backups in full, incremental, or differential modes and uses templates to back up iTunes, emails, contacts, documents, and photos. Serving as an excellent complement to Time Machine, the software lets you archive files to hard drives, network volumes, CDs/DVDs, or externally mounted devices automatically.

Thus, if you don't know how to back up Mac data on your own, you can use this time-saving tool to assist you. There are many features to using the Todo Backup tool:

    • Easily back up important data to guard against potential risks from virus attacks, system crashes, hard drive failures, natural disasters, or user errors.
    • Schedule automatic backups and encrypt them in stealth mode for privacy protection.
    • Compress backups to save storage space and restore archives on any computer without affecting the original data.
    • Clone your Mac hard drive to an SSD.
    • Share and keep files updated across two different locations.
    • Create a disk image on your Mac.

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Use this tool to back up your Mac data by following these simple steps:

Step 1: Run and launch Todo Backup for Mac. Click on the first option "Backup" on the left, or directly hit the "+" button at the bottom left to create a backup task – name your backup task and then click "OK".

Backup Mac Data Without Time Machine

Step 2. Choose the backup destination to store your Mac files and set the frequency for automatic backups, then click OK.

How to Backup Mac Data Without Time Machine

Step 3. Add files and folders to the backup set.
Click on Add Files+, select the ones you want to include in the backup, then hit the blue Start button to back up your Mac to another drive or external device.

Use Time Machine to Back Up Mac Files and Data

2. Backing Up Your Mac with Time Machine

There are many reasons you might choose a Mac as your device for all computing needs, one of which is that its advanced features are easy to use even if you're not very computer literate. Your computer comes equipped with a variety of features designed to make using it easier and more efficient.

Apple developers know how important it is to provide users with a quick and easy way to create high-quality backups of their operating system and data. That's why they've included a superb backup app called Time Machine right in the Mac OS. We'll show you how to use it to protect your computer's data.

Step 1: Launch Time Machine.

Start Time Machine

Step 2: Connect the disk to your Mac. macOS Big Sur 11.0 uses the APFS format for Time Machine backups. You can also use a disk formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or Xsan.

Use Mac Disk

Step 3: When your drive is connected, Time Machine will ask if you want to use it for backups. It's a good idea to encrypt your backup. Select Use as Backup Disk. If Time Machine doesn't see your drive, you'll need to add it manually.

Use the backup disk

Step 4: Time Machine begins backing up your files. If this is a new disk, or a disk with a lot of data, this can take some time. Subsequent backups take as long as it takes to transfer the files that have changed since the last backup.

Time Machine backup

Back Up Your Mac to iCloud

Backing up data and documents from your Mac to iCloud is another solution to prevent data loss. First, make sure you:

Step 1: First, make sure your Mac is running the latest version of macOS. You can check at apple.com.

Step 2: Make sure your macOS is up to date. Click the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.

Step 3: If you're already signed in, just go to System Preferences and sign in once with your Apple ID.

Select Apple ID

Step 4: If you're not signed in, click the top right corner to sign in.

Step 5: Enter your Apple ID and password, then tap Next.

Step 6: The system will ask if you want to merge your iCloud contacts, calendars, and Safari. Choose “Merge” or “Don't Merge.”

Step 7: Here, you can see what apps you can add or remove from your iCloud account, and how much of your 5 GB of storage you've used. You can upgrade to more iCloud storage here, too.

Combine iCloud with your device

III. Frequently Asked Questions

How do I back up my Mac manually?

Click the Time Machine menu-bar icon to initiate a manual backup, or press and hold the Control key while clicking the backup disk icon. Your computer will back up in the background.

Can I backup Mac without Time Machine?

Without "Time Machine," you can back up your Mac to an external hard drive. Start by connecting the drive to your Mac. View them in Finder > Preferences > Devices. Create desktop shortcuts to these items.

Why can't my Mac back up to an external hard drive?

Make sure that the backup disk is inserted, turned on, and connected securely. If your backup disk is connected over a network, make sure that your Mac is also connected to the network. If the network connection is lost, the backup disk might not be available.

There are several ways to back up a Mac. Without one, you risk losing your data and all that comes with it. If you haven't backed up your Mac yet, do so now. You never know when a backup could save your data. If the methods mentioned here don't work for you, we also have an in-depth discussion on how to back up data quickly and securely with Todo Backup.

Bottom line

There are many ways to back up a Mac. Without a backup, you risk losing your data and all that comes with it. If you haven't backed up your Mac yet, start now. You never know when you might need a backup to save your data. If the methods mentioned in this article don't work for you, we've also discussed in detail how to backup data quickly and securely with the Todo Backup for Mac tool.