Almost everyone knows that backing up all of the files on your computer or any other device you have frequently is a good practice. You never know when your device, even if it’s reliable and secure (like a MacBook Pro), might fail, break, get lost or stolen. If any of these things happen it can be devastating but if you backup your data with an external hard drive, you at least have all of your files and other important information.
These days, backing up your MacBook Pro is easy to do and if you own one of these computers you should learn how to back it up and do it often. Combat arms. It can be as easy as a click of a button but we will take a look at all of the steps necessary to backup your Mac as well as some other information to consider during the process.
The hard drive's location within the mid-2012 MacBook Pro is circled in red within the next photo. Note, the photo shows the new SSD drive installed in place of the old 5400RPM traditional hard disk. It’s recommended that you keep at least 15-20% of your Mac’s memory free to keep it running smoothly. Optimizing storage is an efficient way to do this. But there are also several other steps you can take to free up space on MacBook Air, Pro, or any other macOS device. May 22, 2014 Also I installed newer ver of Netgear Genie. As for Finder telling me don't remember seeing anything.Yes I know how to manually change drive names but I didn't and would like to know what cause it so it doesn't happen again, I had to replace one hard drive last year hopefully this one isn't going ka-puts on me.
The reasons to backup your MacBook Pro to an external hard drive are pretty obvious but if you are unfamiliar with the reasons, or with backups in general, you should learn about them. Backing up your computer basically means that you are making copies of all the important information found on your computer. This could be all of your photos, music, videos, files, and any other piece of data found within your MacBook.
All of this data exists stored and saved within the hard drive built into your computer but making a backup of these is a good idea for a couple of reasons. Your MacBook Pro is an electronic device and these devices can break or fail due to accidents or because of manufacturer’s defects. Also, because of the popularity and cost of Apple products, your computer might be a target for theft. Because of these possibilities, it is important to back up your computer in case any of them happen to you.
An external hard drive makes it really easy to back up your computer so it’s a good idea to purchase one and learn the steps to back everything up. Hard drives can vary in cost and storage capacity but even though they are an added expense, they are more than worth it in the worst-case scenario of a broken or stolen MacBook.
The first step to backing up your MacBook Pro is to connect your computer to an external hard drive. Hard drives come in many different shapes and sizes but all have a cord that will connect the drive into your computer. Plug this cord into the corresponding input on your MacBook Pro to allow the backup process between the hard drive and your computer to begin. Depending on what model MacBook Pro you have and which hard drive, this cord could be USB, Thunderbolt, or Firewire.
When you plug the hard drive into your computer, a popup box should appear that will ask you if you’d like to backup your computer using Apple’s built-in backup program, Time Machine.
When you see this box above, go ahead and click on Encrypt Backup Disc and then the Use as Backup Disk button.
You can also open up the Time Machine settings manually if it doesn’t happen to appear automatically.
To do this go to the Apple menu in the top left corner of your screen then click on System Preferences and then on Time Machine.
Once in the Time Machine box, click on Select Backup Disc to choose your external hard drive as the device to store the backup.
Click on the Use Disk button once you locate your external hard drive and your MacBook Pro will begin to back up your files.
If you turn Time Machine on and keep your computer plugged into your external hard drives, it will complete backups at scheduled intervals so you don’t have to worry about going through this process that often. You can choose the frequency you’d like backups to take place but having it set to automatic is an easy way to make sure your most current data is backed up.
Time Machine can automatically back up files every hour for 24 hours, once a day for a week, and weekly for previous months of use. The first time you back up your MacBook Pro to an external hard drive, it can take a long time. After this initial backup, it shouldn’t take as long and if you have Time Machine set up to conduct automatic backups, you might not even realize the backups are occurring.
Backing up your files from your MacBook Pro to an external hard drive is important and you should really consider doing it. It is a simple step you can take to easily recover important information in case of something bad happening to your computer and it’s really easy to do. The automatic backup feature on Time Machine makes things even easier and once you follow the steps above, your computer will be consistently backed up.
There are many different options when it comes to choosing an external hard drive. The main thing to consider is how much storage space you need. I’d recommend getting at least a 1TB size hard drive and that should cover an average person’s files from their computer. If you want a smaller drive, 500GB might be enough but hard drives these days are pretty compact so getting one with a larger capacity is recommended.
Do you backup your MacBook Pro often? What size hard drive do you use?
It’s recommended that you keep at least 15-20% of your Mac’s memory free to keep it running smoothly. Optimizing storage is an efficient way to do this. But there are also several other steps you can take to free up space on MacBook Air, Pro, or any other macOS device. Doing these routinely will ensure you don’t face any storage issues and are able to make the most of your system. So let’s have a look.
Instead of deleting a hundred small files and images, first of all, let us go for the big fish.
Super seven slot. Related:How to Find iPhone Backup Location on Mac & Windows
You can delete Mac applications in various ways. You may follow the above steps, click on Applications, and remove the large ones.
Valentina studio pro 9 8 27. This comes down to what you are willing to keep and what you are happy to let go of. Nowadays everything is online in the cloud. Thus there is no point in storing too may videos, music, etc. on the local storage.
You may also right-click and sort by size to quickly locate and delete the biggest files first.
If you have many images and word files that you rarely use, but can not delete, then it is a handy idea to compress them. Here is how to zip and unzip files on Mac.
To empty Trash automatically:
Many times, GBs of files pile up and are stored in the Trash, thus occupying significant space. It is better to empty it regularly.
It is best to use iCloud to Store docs etc. on Mac if you have a paid iCloud plan that gives you more than 5 GB of online storage. Here is how to use iCloud to Store Documents.
You may also, enable iCloud Photos from System Preferences → Apple ID → iCloud → Photos or the Preferences of the Mac’s Photos app.
Following these steps, you can delete the attachments that have been saved locally on the Mac from the mail app. Depending on the number of emails you receive, this data can be huge.
Even if you delete from here, the attachments are still in your email that you can view or download anytime. Further, you may also choose to stop the Mac Mail app from downloading attachments.
Duplicate files are a big headache and unnecessarily occupy space. We have a list of some of the best mac cleaner apps that can help you delete duplicate files on your Mac.
Do you have data that you do not use much but can neither delete them nor store them in the cloud? Well, consider investing in an external drive and move infrequently used large files to it.
Signing off…
These were some of the easiest ways to free up space on your MacBook Air. It’s a good idea to do these steps every now and then to keep your system performing well. Are there any other Mac tips you’re looking for? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll help you out.
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The founder of iGeeksBlog, Dhvanesh, is an Apple aficionado, who cannot stand even a slight innuendo about Apple products. He dons the cap of editor-in-chief to make sure that articles match the quality standard before they are published.
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