Time Machine was a revolutionary approach to backup when it was first introduced. The revolutionary part wasn't the backup process or how creative the user interface was or even how well Time Machine pruned old backups.

All these things had been seen before in backup applications. What made Time Machine a winner was that it was so easy to set up and use that people actually used it. That's the revolution.

Mac users are actively backing up their computers without having to think about the backup process.

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. Select Encrypt Backup Disk (recommended), then click Use as Backup Disk. An encrypted backup is accessible only to users with the. Learn more about. If Time Machine doesn't ask to use your drive, follow these steps to add it manually:. Open Time Machine preferences from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar.

Or choose Apple () menu System Preferences, then click Time Machine. Click Select Backup Disk (or Select Disk, or Add or Remove Backup Disk):.

Select your external drive from the list of available disks. Then select ”Encrypt backups” (recommended) and click Use Disk: If the disk you selected isn't formatted as required by Time Machine, you're prompted to erase the disk first. Click Erase to proceed.

This erases all information on the backup disk. After you select a backup disk, Time Machine immediately begins making periodic backups—automatically and without further action by you. The first backup may, depending on how many files you have, but you can continue using your Mac while a backup is underway. Time Machine backs up only the files that changed since the previous backup, so future backups will be faster. To start a backup manually, choose Back Up Now from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar.

Use the same menu to check the status of a backup or skip a backup in progress. If you back up to multiple disks, you can switch disks before entering Time Machine. Press and hold the Option key, then choose Browse Other Backup Disks from the Time Machine menu.

To exclude items from your backup, open Time Machine preferences, click Options, then click the Add (+) button to add an item to be excluded. To stop excluding an item, such as an external hard drive, select the item and click the Remove (–) button. If using Time Machine to back up to a network disk, you can verify those backups to make sure they're in good condition. Press and hold Option, then choose Verify Backups from the Time Machine menu. In OS X Lion v10.7.3 or later, you can start up from your Time Machine disk, if necessary.

Machine For Machine Shop

Press and hold Option as your Mac starts up. When you see the screen, choose “EFI Boot” as the startup disk. Information about products not manufactured by Apple, or independent websites not controlled or tested by Apple, is provided without recommendation or endorsement. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of third-party websites or products. Apple makes no representations regarding third-party website accuracy or reliability. Risks are inherent in the use of the Internet. For additional information.

Machine For Vending Machine

Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.