Other benefits of Time Machine include its tight integration with macOS. Having a versioned backup is a benefit because not only does it protect you if something goes wrong with your Mac, it also protects you from user error (saving over a document for example).ĬhronoSync ($49.99/£36.00 at Econ Technologies) can also make versioned backups too.

As a result, you can recover an earlier version of a document if you need to.

Time Machine won’t just back up your Mac, it creates a versioned backup, which means it will keep hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for each month. We have a complete guide to using Time Machine to back up your Mac. All you need to do is plug in an external storage device, hard drive or SSD, and start backing up with Time Machine. It’s an exceptionally easy-to-use solution.

Some things, like photos, are impossible to replace or recreate so make sure they are stored safely.Īpple includes its own backup software, Time Machine as part of the macOS.

It means you could access your data using another Mac if you have the backup available.

If you get a new Mac you can easily recover all your data onto it and carry on as if it was the same Mac.

It makes it really easy to set up a new Mac.

You might think that there is nothing on your Mac that needs to be backed up – perhaps you sync everything in iCloud – but we guarantee there is something you will miss if you wipe your Mac and expect to get everything back to the way it was.

You will be able to access old documents and versions of documents that predate edits.

You should back up your Mac before installing a major update to macOS in case something stops working and so you can revert to the old version of the OS.

Mac malware is rare, but if you get hit a backup will enable you to recover your data from before the infection.

Because you could lose your Mac or someone might steal your Mac.

Because your drive could fail and it can be particularly challenging to recover data from SSDs.

Because you (or someone else) might spill a drink on your MacBook.

(We hope you don't need a new new computer, but life comes at you fast sometimes.) Rather than worrying about losing photos, videos, and important files, you can focus on what matters: acing that test, nailing that presentation, and keeping your digital life safe.We’re probably preaching to the converted here, but we’ll quickly run through the reasons why you really ought to be backing up your Mac, in no particular order: Should something happen-you spill coffee, you drop your computer, you lose it-file recovery is a cinch. It will continue to back up new or changed files and folders, keeping the most up-to-date version of your computer in the cloud. (Again, on a new computer, this will likely be everything in your backup.) Voila, new computer, same folders and files in the same place.Īnd Backup acts as an automated safety net going forward, too. Install the Dropbox desktop app on your new computer, log in, confirm you want to put your backup files on the computer, then choose the files to back up. How do you get your files back into your new computer? That's simple and fast, too. Let Dropbox back up your device, and continue doing so automatically going forward, while you go about your life. Step 3: Under Add a backup, select the computer you’d like to back up, and follow the prompts.

Open Preferences, click on the Backups tab, and click Set up. Step 2: In your menu bar, click the Dropbox icon, and then click on your avatar. Step 1: Open the Dropbox desktop app (or install it if you haven’t already), and make sure you're connected to the internet. And if you haven’t already done it, just follow these simple steps: First things first: Before you can move files onto your new computer, be sure your old computer is already backed up to the cloud with Dropbox Backup.

Set up dropbox on mac