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quick, easy time machine question

post #1 of 6
3/16/10 at 6:07pm
Thread Starter 
hello all - my father's macbook air broke in two (can't see the screen but the computer itself is ok), and so he's trying to back up his information onto his external hard drive. he had time machine enabled, and was on its default setting.

after plugging in his external hard drive, is there any button he needs to press to initiate a backup?

thank you so much for reading,
thomas
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Switcher as of 3/19/2006
Owner of a 15", 2 GHz MacBook Pro
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Switcher as of 3/19/2006
Owner of a 15", 2 GHz MacBook Pro
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post #2 of 6
3/16/10 at 7:21pm
If Time Machine was on its default settings it has backed up an entire range of a full backup, and many, many incremental backups, right up to the last time the MBA was connected to the external hard disk, Thomas. No need to make a backup now. Even less to run enormous risks by doing it totally in the blind, without a screen.

If you have another, a recent, functional Mac you can 1) connect that external hard disk to it, 2) start up the 'new' Mac from the system install disk (hold C while starting up), and 3) run Time Machine from that system install disk to restore the backup from the external disk to the internal HD in the 'new' Mac.
It may take anything from 20 minutes to a couple hours, depending on the amount of data to be restored of course, so grab a cup of coffee or a brewski, but when it's done the 'new' Mac will be a virtual clone of the broken MBA. Ready to roll after a restart.
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post #3 of 6
3/16/10 at 7:24pm
Thread Starter 
Unfortunately my father is very untimely with plugging in in, he's done it twice before (and had the machine since it came out).
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Switcher as of 3/19/2006
Owner of a 15", 2 GHz MacBook Pro
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Switcher as of 3/19/2006
Owner of a 15", 2 GHz MacBook Pro
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post #4 of 6
3/16/10 at 7:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tdnc101 View Post

Unfortunately my father is very untimely with plugging in in, he's done it twice before (and had the machine since it came out).

"Plugging it in"? An MBA that wasn't on a WiFi TimeCapsule with auto logon?

That's the first thing you should get (installed) for your dad! Even before a new Mac. As recent history has proven!

But don't try to start up that MBA without a screen!!! Get it to your Apple techies and let them do it!

My now 81 year old mum has had a sequence of Macs and iMacs since 1991. I do weekly maintenance, update installs, Permissions repair, and an extra manual incremental backup for her. Just to be on the safe side. Had a few harddisk crashes over the years. But never lost one byte, and, since Time Machine, data restoration has been a breeze.
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post #5 of 6
3/16/10 at 8:07pm
What you can do is connect the broken MBA with a USB cable to another Mac, then start up the MBA holding the "T" key (in 'Target mode'). It should appear on the other Mac's desktop as an external hard disk. Then simply copy all the data your dad needs (not applications) from it to the new Mac by dragging & dropping (make sure there's enough space there).

Applications on the MBA will have to be re-installed, fresh, on the new Mac.
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post #6 of 6
3/28/10 at 1:03pm
IF (when) you have solved the problems with your dad's MBA you probably want to prevent similar problems happening to it again in the future. That means that your dad's MBA requires regular maintenance (installing updates, permissions repair, etc.) and trouble shooting. You can do that REMOTELY if you use FREE TeamViewer.

TeamViewer is a FREE cross-platform (from Windows to Macs and Linux, and v.v.) remote desktop management application through a safe (encrypted) VPN 'tunnel' (cannot be intercepted). You can see the other machine's desktop on your machine, and you can operate that other machine as if you sat in front of it. I.o.w. you won't have to jump in your car anymore and drive (hundreds? of) miles to help your dad out with his machine! And he won't have to wait anymore until you have the opportunity, and inclination, to do that. You will have become an instant, hands-on helpdesk!

TeamViewer can also be used to show full screen presentations on the other machine, and for transferring very large files or folders to that other machine (e.g. all your holiday photos in high resolution, or videos, etc.).
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