Time Machine Explanation

j.mizzi11j.mizzi11
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Hi, I just bought my first MAC and was utterly impressed.



I am particularly interested in Time Machine. I browsed over some websites but could not find some concrete data.



Can one of the experts in Time Machine explain how this works ? Where it saves the backup ? Is the backup smaller than the size of the original data ? Are all the apps that were installed backed up ? Could the apps be reinstalled ?



Also I deleted a couple of installed apps. Does Command + Backspace permanently delete the apps or do some files/folders spider my MAC somewhere ?



Thanks all to who look/reply ! (MAC Newbie)

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by j.mizzi11 View Post


    Hi, I just bought my first MAC and was utterly impressed.



    I am particularly interested in Time Machine. I browsed over some websites but could not find some concrete data.



    Can one of the experts in Time Machine explain how this works ? Where it saves the backup ? Is the backup smaller than the size of the original data ? Are all the apps that were installed backed up ? Could the apps be reinstalled ?




    TM backs up to a second hard disk drive(HDD). You'll need to get an external HDD if you have an iMac, mini, MB or MBP.



    Once you plug it in, go to TM preferences and pick the HDD for TM to use for back ups. TM backs up your data, apps and preferences. It also keeps copies of deleted files so you can restore them if needed.



    See this video. TM is pretty slick. The only downside is that TM backups are not bootable. You'll need Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper to make a bootable clone of your HDD. Both have free versions to do so.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    j.mizzi11j.mizzi11 Posts: 6member
    Thanks i just watched it.



    This means everything is backed up. Just one downside, if you have a load of crap you're backing a load of crap :S



    Could I choose what to backup ? And adjust the future backups just to backup /user ?



    Thanks for looking
  • Reply 3 of 5
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by j.mizzi11 View Post


    Thanks i just watched it.



    This means everything is backed up. Just one downside, if you have a load of crap you're backing a load of crap :S



    Could I choose what to backup ? And adjust the future backups just to backup /user ?



    Thanks for looking



    No it backs up everything. If you want to choose what to backup then get Retrospcect or something similar.



    The advantage of TM is that once you set it up you'll never fool with it unless you need it. I would get an external HDD twice the size of your Macs HDD and just let TM work the way its intended. It does a good job and a trustworthy backup is quite valuable.
  • Reply 4 of 5
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,180member
    TM allows you to exclude chosen folders and files from the back-up process if you so desire.



    (After the initial backup, it only backs up things that have changed... it doesn't back up a full 320GB HDD every time it runs.)
  • Reply 5 of 5
    j.mizzi11j.mizzi11 Posts: 6member
    Thank you. I'm looking into it
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