Apple is so well known for excellent quality, and new Mac owners will delay their backup plans. We also hear about this happening because of the lack of virus issues on the Macintosh as well, and therefore people are less likely to plan for problems.
You need to make your backup system automatic or use a program like Apple’s Time Machine. That’s the first step. Nobody can keep up with a “manual” drag-n-drop backup! To boot, quite a bit of the data loss we see here happens when someone copies over essential data during a drag-n-drop Finder copy. Sometimes, folks think they have the data copied, but something goes wrong, and they end up with just an alias of the original file, then they go and delete the original data because they think they just copied it somewhere.
The second step is to test (set a Siri reminder) your backup drive to ensure your files are in fact protected and you’re able to grab them anytime you need them. There’s no such thing as a “Set-It-And-Forget-It” back up system. Even with Apple’s Time Machine, you should keep a close eye on it to ensure it IS backing you up and that the hard drive that Time Machine is using is healthy! If your backup drive is more than 3-4 years old, it’s an excellent idea to semi-retire it. You can still use it as an off-site backup.
If you need help getting your back up set up, our advice is free, and we have external portable and desktop hard drives in stock!
If you have data you care about it needs to be backed up! Just because your computer is new or you just replaced the hard drive offers you very little protection. Hard drives can die at any time, and in fact, there’s an increased risk of that occurring in the first 30 to 60 days of a hard drives’ life.
See our website http://www.HardDrivesDie.com for more info on “retiring” older drives and ensuring you have a safe back up.
Also, an Off-Site back up is an excellent way to double your chances for data recovery. Plus, if something terrible happens like a theft, fire, or flood, your data is still safe. See this post for more info on that.
Also, as an added tip: Don’t have iPhoto or Photos delete your pictures off your camera. Leave them in two places, in iPhoto or Photos, AND on your camera until you have them BACKED UP. You ALWAYS want to have your valuable data in TWO PLACES at all times. You can manually delete them off your camera once you have them backed up on your computer.
Be sure to read “The Nine Things We Wish We Did Before Our House Burned Down“. We have the list line by line and a link to the original post, which is a “MUST READ” for anyone that has a house OR a computer
https://macmedics.com/2012/07/01/our-take-on-the-list-9-things-we-wish-we-did-before-our-house-burned-down/
