Backing Up Your Computer

© MMIX V.1.0.3

Is your computer backed up? Here's what I do. I have not lost even one file in 30 years of computing. I have always used Apple computers. I have been using Macintosh computers since 1985. Today, I have a 24" iMac with 2.66 GHz Intel Core2 Dual processor and a 4 GB memory.

The mainstay of my back up system today is Carbon Copy Cloner©. You can get yours here: http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html

Carbon Copy Cloner© is donation ware. You can use it for free but you are urged to donate if you find it useful.

Carbon Copy Cloner© (CCC) will Save Your Bacon. Please donate.

CCC will make a complete, identical, clone of your hard drive that will be bootable. Set it up and forget it. Mine makes an incremental clone every night while I sleep. It takes about 20 minutes to incrementally back up over two million files on my hard drive (everything: preferences, settings, documents, applications). I have used it many times to replace my entire drive which has occasionally been neccessary. It is perfect. I can't recommend Mike Bombich and his elves highly enough. They helped me!

CCC took an hour to back up 23 GB the night after I installed Snow Leopard. Upgrading from Leopard changed many files!

I use both Time Machine® and Carbon Copy Cloner©. Each resides on its own LaCie external hard drive. Each is essential. They do different things in different ways. I also use iDisk to back up documents onto The Cloud: in case my office is wiped out, my documents will survive on a remote server, somewhere. I'll be able to find them if I survive.

I have another external LaCie drive for TechTool's eDrive which keeps everything running in tiptop condition.

I am backed up. Are you?