The western digital external hard drive scored high marks in every category and is our top pick. Find out which hard drive can help increase your storage or safely. Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac. How to backup mac to an external hard drive 5 steps softwarehow. Gtechnology 1tb g drive mobile ssd rseries storage previous gallery image.
Solution to backup apple mail to external hard drive. Its a complete backup solution, but you can use other backup methods as well. How to backup an iphone to an external hard drive in 2020. Connection or damage issue about external hard drive. If you buy a new external hard drive, you may notice that working between mac and pc is an often difficult but it doesnt need to be. In addition, the app is created and recommended by apple. Apr 26, 2018 heres how to set up an automatic backup with time machine on your mac with an external hard drive. Transferring data from a mac to pc via an external hard drive. It helps to verify and repair a range of issues related to startup hd and external drive problems. Select your external drive from the list of available disks. As my imac only has a 512gb ssd, i use the external drive for storage, scratch disk, overflow. If you are able to fix the hard drive or ssd in your mac or an external drive using disk utility. Or choose apple menu system preferences, then click time machine.
Any attempt to extract files from the backup folder or using the wrong name of a hard drive may. When you plug your external hard drive in for the first time, this dialog box will appear. Find out which hard drive can help increase your storage or safely back up your mac. This reduced power draw helps preserve the battery life of the mac you plug the drive into. Its better to back up automatically, so you dont have to think about it at all. The backup drive does not need power to work, as it is powered with a usb. When i bought my 2014 imac 5k, i got an external lacie d2 3tb thunderbolt drive to work with the mac. Compare portable, usb and external hard drive models for office and home and shop online. A misaligned or malfunctioning cable may be the cause of the problem, especially if you also have errors when trying to read from. You can also use icloud and icloud drive to store files, such as your photos, documents, and music. Overall storage space will typically play the main role in the final price youll pay for an external hard drive. In this range, youll find quality external drives that hold 500gb to 1tb of storage for mac computers.
Youll need a drive that is at least the same size as your mac s internal drive. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. How to back up iphone to an external drive using itunes or. Here is how to backup your mac s most important data to an external hard. Now its time to backup iphone to usb drive, an external hard drive that wont affect your storage on mac. Apple enthusiasts love the sleek design and easy user interface of the companys devices. How to move your iphone or ipad backups to an external hard drive. Drive speed is measured in revolutions per minute rpm, based on how fast the drive can spin. While your mac is restarting, hold down the command.
You can offload your data from your macbooks ssd or your imacs fusion drive when it fills up, or keep one plugged in 247 as a store for. If you want to make use of your macs thunderbolt port, then this is the best external hard drive for macs. Its easy to use your backup plus portable drives interchangeably on pc and mac computers without needing to reformat. How to backup iphone to external hard drive on windows and mac. How to backup a mac to time machine with any hard drive. Time machine is definitely the easiest way to backup mac. Reading mac files on external hard drive via windows 10.
When you take into account price, ease of use, and portability, the seagate backup plus slim is the most reliable hard drive you can carry around with you at all times. To see storage information about your mac, click the apple menu in the topleft of your screen. How to back up your mac with time machine apple support. Mac files wont copy to external hard drive how to fix. Looking for a way to backup your mac without an external drive. Best for mainstream users seeking max backup space. Im looking to buy a portable hard drive for a family member and have noticed that a number of sites recommend i buy one meant for apple computers if i intend to use it with a mac.
When you connect an external drive directly to your mac, you might be asked if you want to use the drive to back up with time machine. Mac os x and windows can both read and write to disks in the fat or exfat format. We tried this on 2 different macs backing up 3 different devicesit worked every time to backup to external drive. I would now like to use icloud to back up the external hard drive just in case anything goes wrong with the drive. An external hard drive is, for many, the best solution. Go back to the finder window with your ios backups in it and select the device backup folder it will either be called backup or have a bunch of numbers and letters. Easily expand your storage capacity with a handy external drive for mac that allows you to quickly create a file backup solution or offload batches of files for simple transfer to another computer. Well show you everything you need to know about the.
So stay on the move and safely take along your documents. A misaligned or malfunctioning cable may be the cause of the problem, especially if you also have errors when trying to read from the external disk. How to back up your macs photo library to an external drive. This reduced power draw helps preserve the battery life of the. Whether you have an imac or a macbook pro, its always smart to have all your files and data backed up on a physical drive. Hard drives come in many different shapes and sizes but all have a cord that will connect the drive into your computer. If the disk you selected isnt formatted as required by time machine, youre prompted to erase the disk first. All backup plus drives are compatible with time machine and come with cool features, including seagate dashboard and windowsmac compatibility.
Backup mac to external hard drive macbook backup step by. Yet setting up a backup of your mac can be frustrating since most external hard drives must be formatted before being used. This hard drive is the perfect device to back up the information on your mac computer. Select encrypt backup disk recommended, then click. Yet setting up a backup of your mac can be frustrating since most external hard drives must be formatted before. The first step in creating a backup for your mac is choosing an external drive that. Because mac os x mountain lion does not natively support writing to an external ntfs drive, you must erase your hard disk and format it using a compatible file system.
Mac owners have good machines, with plenty of battery life and power. This external hd offers fast file transfers with strong usb 3. Large hard drive capacity is compatible with the mac backup software, works with time machine without any set up. Back up your drive automatically with time machine.
Open time machine preferences from the time machine menu in the menu bar. Back up an external hard drive to icloud apple community. Mar 22, 2020 when i bought my 2014 imac 5k, i got an external lacie d2 3tb thunderbolt drive to work with the mac. Youll find desktop and portable external hard drives. Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 techradar. Oct 18, 2019 when you connect an external drive directly to your mac, you might be asked if you want to use the drive to back up with time machine. First, lets see how to format an external hard drive or usb drive in macos which works with both mac and pc platforms, first plugin your drive in. If you are able to fix the hard drive or ssd in your mac or an external drive using disk utility you will hopefully be able to recover your files. If you have ever synced your iphone, ipad, or other apple devices using your mac, you have backup folders stored on. Can you please tell me how i should go about doing this. This can be just about any usb external hard drive, and you can get them at most electronics stores.
How to backup mac to an external hard drive 5 steps. In this way, you can backup apple mail to hard drive without any problem. Click select backup disk or select disk, or add or remove backup disk. I have therefore bought an external hard drive and moved the photos from the mac to the external hard drive. Desktop external hard drives usually run at 7200 rpm to offer all the speed they can. Jan 08, 2020 how to backup macbook pro to external hard drive. Seagate backup plus 5tb external hard drive portable hdd light blue usb 3. Would using it with time machine erase everything that i have on my hard drive. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows.
Mar 31, 2020 connect your external hard drive to your mac if it isnt already connected. Jan 18, 2017 mac backup is designed in our computer with time machine but in some certain cases, we do need to backup mac computer files in external hard drive. Test it out and let us know if thats working for you or not. Likewise, if you need to use a backup hard drive to restore your data, it can save you hours of time, money and headaches. May 09, 2019 the best external hard drives for mac in 2020. This way, although not being able to edit or write, you can at least copy the files to. Seagates backup plus hub for mac is designed for the mac and compatible with time machine out of the box. Do i really need a macspecific external hard drive. Mac backup is designed in our computer with time machine but in some certain cases, we do need to backup mac computer files in external hard drive.
Now its time to backup iphone to usb drive, an external hard drive that wont affect your. Backing the hard drive up to an external hd is tricky, though, which is why weve put together this guide on how to backup a. Nov 14, 2019 it helps to verify and repair a range of issues related to startup hd and external drive problems. As my imac only has a 512gb ssd, i use the external drive for storage, scratch disk. Apr 01, 2020 whether you have an imac or a macbook pro, its always smart to have all your files and data backed up on a physical drive. Best mac external hard drive in 2020 mac external hard. How to backup a mac to an external hard drive in 2020. With storage quite cheap these days, aim to use a drive thats two to four times the size of the drive youre backing up. When you take into account price, ease of use, and. Here is how to backup your macs most important data to an. Backing up files manually is not the best solution, as you can never predict when your computer will break. As youll see, however, knowing how to back up a mac to an external hard drive doesnt have to be intimidating. Mar 07, 2020 external hard drives are not only useful for storing data but are an excellent way to transport files from one location to another. Guides to fix mac files wont copy to external hard drive.
The 10 best external hard drives of 2020 back up your songs, photos, and files with these external hard drives. Comes with dual usb connections to extend the computers connectivity. Buying an external hard drive for your mac is not all that different from buying one for your windows. Here are the best mac hard drives and external storage options in 2020. Heres what you need to know, along with our toprated apple friendly drives. The first step to backing up your macbook pro is to connect your computer to an external hard drive. If youre looking for a macfriendly external hard drive thats built for. Time machine is the builtin backup feature of your mac. When you plug your external hard drive in for the first time, this dialog box will. Insert your drive and use the disk utility app to format it. External hard drives are not only useful for storing data but are an excellent way to transport files from one location to another. Plug in your external hard drive via usb, firewire, or thunderbolt, depending on your drive. If youre looking for a macfriendly external hard drive thats built for durability, take a look.
Learn how to set up time machine on an external storage device to back up your mac. Oct 12, 2019 ln s volumesyour external drives namemobilesyncbackup libraryapplication\ supportmobilesync. Seagate backup plus hub for mac 8tb external hard drive desktop hdd usb 3. Once the conversion process is complete, you can copy apple mail to hard drive such as pen drive or hard disk directly. How to move your iphone or ipad backups to an external. For those who backup via itunesfinder, the journey isnt finished. Four and eight terabyte versions are available, more than enough for most people.
Making a backup is an important part of preparing your mac for service, especially because some types of repair might require erasing or replacing your hard drive. An encrypted backup is accessible only to users with the password. Discover the world of external hard drives for mac. Here is how to backup your macs most important data to an external hard drive for long term and safe storage. Then select encrypt backups recommended and click use disk. Seagate backup plus slim 2tb external hard drive portable hdd light blue usb 3. Select encrypt backup disk recommended, then click use as backup disk.
Lacie 2tb mobile drive external hard drive usbc usb 3. Heres how to set up an automatic backup with time machine on your mac with an external hard drive. Well, recently the lacie has been acting up and today i went to use my imac to find it in an off. How to backup an iphone to an external hard drive on mac. How to backup macbook pro to an external hard drive guide. The process for backing up an iphone to an external hard drive on mac is pretty similar for users with macos mojave or older operating. Want to back your mac up to icloud, dropbox, or another remote backup solution. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. A stepbystep guide to backing up mac to an external hard drive. The utility for how to save apple mail emails to hard drive on mac machine is a onestop solution.
1183 684 1025 1603 201 1310 1006 813 369 1080 47 264 345 286 1432 784 1282 976 248 78 281 860 210 962 673 167 1083 655 146 294