Backup Drives For Mac
External drive connected to your Mac. Time Machine can back up to an external drive connected to. To see the size of a specific file or folder, click it once and then press Command-I. To see storage information about your Mac, click the Apple menu in the top-left of your screen. Choose About This Mac and click the Storage tab. For Time Machine backups, it's good to use a drive that has at least twice the storage capacity of your Mac. Get Backup Pro's main attraction is its flexibility. It can back up your entire hard drive or only the folders you specify. You use it to create bootable clones of your Mac's startup drive, and to.
You can use Time Machine, the built-in backup feature of your Mac, to automatically back up all of your files, including apps, music, photos, email, documents, and system files. When you have a backup, you can restore files from your backup if the original files are ever deleted from your Mac, or the hard disk (or SSD) in your Mac is erased or replaced.
Create a Time Machine backup
To create backups with Time Machine, all you need is an external storage device. After you connect the device and select it as your backup disk, Time Machine automatically makes hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months. The oldest backups are deleted when your backup disk is full.
Connect an external storage device
Connect one of the following external storage devices, sold separately. Learn more about backup disks that you can use with Time Machine.
- External drive connected to your Mac, such as a USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire drive
- External drive connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station (802.11ac model) or AirPort Time Capsule
- AirPort Time Capsule
- Mac shared as a Time Machine backup destination
- Network-attached storage (NAS) device that supports Time Machine over SMB
Select your storage device as the backup disk
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 password. Learn more about keeping your backup disk secure.
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.
Enjoy the convenience of automatic backups
After you select a backup disk, Time Machine immediately begins making periodic backups—automatically and without further action by you. The first backup may take a long time, 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.
Learn more
- 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. Press and hold Option as your Mac starts up. When you see the Startup Manager screen, choose “EFI Boot” as the startup disk.
If your computer doesn't recognize your connected device, you might see an unknown error or a '0xE' error. If you do, follow these steps and try to connect your device again after each step:
- Make sure that your iOS or iPadOS device is unlocked and on the Home screen.
- Check that you have the latest software on your Mac or Windows PC. If you're using iTunes, make sure you have the latest version.
- Make sure that your device is turned on.
- If you see a Trust this Computer alert, unlock your device and tap Trust.
- Unplug all USB accessories from your computer except for your device. Try each USB port to see if one works. Then try a different Apple USB cable.*
- Restart your computer.
- Restart your device:
- Try connecting your device to another computer. If you have the same issue on another computer, contact Apple Support.
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For more help, follow the steps below for your Mac or Windows PC.
* Learn how to connect iPad Pro (11-inch) or iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation) to your computer.
If you use a Mac
- Connect your iOS or iPadOS device and make sure that it's unlocked and on the Home screen.
- On your Mac, hold down the Option key, click the Apple menu, and choose System Information or System Report.
- From the list on the left, select USB.
- If you see your iPhone, iPad, or iPod under USB Device Tree, get the latest macOS or install the latest updates. If you don't see your device or still need help, contact Apple Support.
If you use a Windows PC
The steps differ depending on if you downloaded iTunes from the Microsoft Store or from Apple.
If you downloaded iTunes from the Microsoft Store
Follow these steps to reinstall the Apple Mobile Device USB driver:
- Disconnect your device from your computer.
- Unlock your iOS or iPadOS device and go to the Home screen. Then reconnect your device. If iTunes opens, close it.
- Click and hold (or right-click) the Start button, then choose Device Manager.
- Locate and expand the Portable Devices section.
- Look for your connected device (such as Apple iPhone), then right-click on the device name and choose Update driver.
- Select 'Search automatically for updated driver software.'
- After the software installs, go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and verify that no other updates are available.
- Open iTunes.
If you downloaded iTunes from Apple
Follow these steps to reinstall the Apple Mobile Device USB driver:
- Disconnect your device from your computer.
- Unlock your iOS or iPadOS device and go to the Home screen. Then reconnect your device. If iTunes opens, close it.
- Press the Windows and R key on your keyboard to open the Run command.
- In the Run window, enter:
%ProgramFiles%Common FilesAppleMobile Device SupportDrivers
- Click OK.
- Right-click on the
usbaapl64.inf
orusbaapl.inf
file and choose Install.
You might see other files that start withusbaapl64
orusbaapl
. Make sure to install the file that ends in .inf. If you’re not sure which file to install, right-click a blank area in the File Explorer Window, click View, then click Details to find the correct file type. You want to install the Setup Information file. - Disconnect your device from your computer, then restart your computer.
- Reconnect your device and open iTunes.
If your device still isn't recognized
Check Device Manager to see if the Apple Mobile Device USB driver is installed. Follow these steps to open Device Manager:
- Press the Windows and R key on your keyboard to open the Run command.
- In the Run window, enter
devmgmt.msc
, then click OK. Device Manager should open. - Locate and expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers section.
- Look for the Apple Mobile Device USB driver.
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If you don't see the Apple Mobile Device USB Driver or you see Unknown Device:
- Connect your device to your computer with a different USB cable.
- Connect your device to a different computer. If you have the same issue on another computer, contact Apple Support.
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If you see the Apple Mobile Device USB driver with an error symbol:
If you see , , or next to the Apple Mobile Device USB driver, follow these steps:
Backup Disk Mac
- Restart the Apple Mobile Device Service.
- Check for and resolve issues with third-party security software, then restart your computer.
- Try to install the
usbaapl64.inf
orusbaapl.inf
file again.