Why Use Both Time Machine and SuperDuper?
Creating a backup system for your Mac is critically important. With a reliable backup in place, it’s easy to restore your data if the original files are ever deleted from your Mac or if the hard drive is erased, damaged, or replaced. While Time Machine is a fantastic tool, it’s not perfect. It doesn’t clone your entire drive, so if you have a disaster and need to get up and running fast, having another bootable backup option is a great idea. SuperDuper is an example of backup software that clones your entire hard drive. Using a tool like SuperDuper along with Time Machine delivers the best of both worlds, backing up files and creating a clone of your Mac. And if something goes awry with one of your backup methods, you still have the other to fall back on.
Getting Started With Time Machine
Apple introduced the Time Machine backup utility back in 2008. It’s a “set-it-and-forget-it” solution that backs up your entire Mac, including system files, apps, music, photos, emails, and documents. When you turn on Time Machine, it automatically backs up your Mac and performs hourly, daily, and weekly backups of your files. To create a backup system with Time Machine, you need an external storage device. This can be a NAS device, such as Apple’s own Time Capsule, or a simple external hard drive connected directly to your Mac, such as a USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire drive. The first step is to connect your storage device to your Mac. When you do this, you may receive a message that says, Do you want to use [Backup Disk] to back up with Time Machine? If so, check Encrypt Backup Disk and then select Use as Backup Disk.
Manually Back Up Your Mac With Time Machine
If Time Machine doesn’t automatically ask to use your drive, add it manually. Once you add your drive, Time Machine will automatically start making backups.
Exclude Files From Time Machine Backup
If you don’t want certain files or folders backed up, or if your external drive doesn’t have enough space, exclude files and folders from backup.
Clone Your Startup Drive With SuperDuper
Time Machine is a great backup solution, but you can greatly optimize your backups by using SuperDuper or another cloning-style backup system. SuperDuper (which costs $27.95) clones your Mac’s hard drive, so you always have a complete backup of all your data. It allows you to keep a bootable copy of your startup drive for emergencies or for when you’re taking care of routine maintenance on your normal startup drive. To use SuperDuper, you’ll need an external hard drive that’s at least as large as your current startup drive. SuperDuper has a lot of options and ways to customize your backup process, but for our purposes, we’ll look at the process of making an exact copy of your startup drive.
