Mac users??? How much back up?

[GreenEyedLady]

Hi.
Just wondering what you Mac users need for back up on your external HD.
I have a 250 and it seems that I have maxed that out.
Thanks
GEL

[ron4sc]

I have an iMac with a 500gb internal matched to a 1 TB external connected via firewire and using time machine.

[rooeey]

250 plus 320...

[Damo77]

I don't think the question needs to be Mac-specific, and I don't think anybody else can answer this question for you.

You need a storage strategy that ensures that in the event of a mishap (computer failure etc) or a catastrophe (fire/burglary/etc) your important files are safe. The nature and extent of this strategy are unique to you. It might involve internal and external drives, DVDs, online storage.

[GreenEyedLady]

I am having a problem with Time Machine. MY HD crashed and I got a new one, now TM tells me I don't have enough room, but the numbers don't add up to 250.
Hmm, it is most likely a Mac issue.
I was just wondering if I need to get another External HD because my pictures are bigger now.
Thanks

[René Damkot]

Right now I have 2x 320Gb, one 500Gb.
Probably the second 500Gb in half a year.

Just buy an additional drive.
Also, remember all HDD's fail. It's a matter of "when", not "if". So backup your images.

[tbisaacs]

Well, it depends - backup and storage are two different things. I personally have a 500GB drive for backup, but another 750 (spread across multiple drives) for permanent storage.

As far as time machine goes, adding more space only gets you more revisions of your system.

[crn3371]

It is recommended that your time machine drive be larger than your internal drive. If your external drive starts to run out of room, time machine will just start deleting older backups. External drives are cheap. I'd get a drive that is at least twice the size as your internal drive. And frankly, I'd get two external drives. I'd use one for every day time machine use and use the second one to backup any critical files, photos, etc, and keep it somewhere off site. Having on site backup is great in the case of equipment failure, but does nothing to protect you from things like theft or fire. That's why I always recommend keeping some form of backup off site.

[Halliday]

On my iMac (photo machine) 500Gb internal using TM to backup to a 500Gb MyBook via usb.

On the house XP machine, 500Gb internal using IdleBackup to write my wife's files to a 20Gb internal every 15 min.

[rooeey]

I don't think the question needs to be Mac-specific, and I don't think anybody else can answer this question for you.

You need a storage strategy that ensures that in the event of a mishap (computer failure etc) or a catastrophe (fire/burglary/etc) your important files are safe. The nature and extent of this strategy are unique to you. It might involve internal and external drives, DVDs, online storage.


hi Damo..

What brand of Ext hard drive do you recommend...

[GreenEyedLady]

Sounds like I for sure need another backup. 250G just does not seem like enough.

[Damo77]

hi Damo..

What brand of Ext hard drive do you recommend...
Sorry mate, I've got no broad experience. I've only used Maxtor, and I've found them very good, but my advice is DON'T USE THE SOFTWARE! Chuck out the disk that comes with the drive, and find a better solution. I'm on XP, and use Synctoy, I find it very good for my purposes.

Other folk will have recommendations for other brands.

[Damo77]

Sounds like I for sure need another backup. 250G just does not seem like enough.
Again, I really don't understand your question. It's like asking other people "what size clothes do you wear?". Their answers are not going to be relevant to your needs.

If your 250GB is full, then yes, you need more. But whatever you do, remember to always have your important files in at least two places all the time.

[crn3371]

Sounds like I for sure need another backup. 250G just does not seem like enough.

Well, if you have 300G of data, then 250G isn't enough. The bottom line is that you need enough backup space to handle the amount of data you want to backup.

[GreenEyedLady]

Well, if you have 300G of data, then 250G isn't enough. The bottom line is that you need enough backup space to handle the amount of data you want to backup.

I think it is a Time Machine issue. There seems to be a bug in the latest Apple update that has effect TM.
I am going to wait to see if I can't fix this before going out to get another EHD.

Thanks guys!
:p

[Tony-S]

Can you tell us what the Time Machine error is? I have a 750 gb boot drive at around 75% capacity, and my TM volume is 1 TB (internal).

[GreenEyedLady]

Can you tell us what the Time Machine error is? I have a 750 gb boot drive at around 75% capacity, and my TM volume is 1 TB (internal).


I don't get it. It says that I only have 70G of room on a 250G hard drive.
I need to call Apple Care in the morning.

[Tony-S]

In your System Preferences, Time Machine pane, try turning TM off, then back on again to see if that resolves the problem.

[sf1]

Time machine does not work with Apeture, no sure about i-Photo. You actually have to go in an tell time machine not to back up Aperture. If you do not, then time machine detects that your Aperture library has changed and instead of writting just the changed files, it re-writes the entire library.

[Tony-S]

Time machine does not work with Apeture...

This was corrected (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1878) some months ago with 10.5.3 updater. TM and Aperture now play nice together (I use them with no problems).

[GreenEyedLady]

I found out that after having my internal HD replaced, you have to reformat your external hard drive before using TM again. So, I ended up erasing my EHD and restarting TM.
Works great now.

[xhack]

I'm a hold-out - still on 10.4. So no TM for me. But I do have an EHD to back up my G5 desk top and another for my PB G4. I do this weekly, religiously. Sometimes at the time of download if the files are particularly important.

Empirically, I've discovered you should decide how much extra HD space you need. Then double it.