Apple’s Time Machine is the most powerful feature built into the OS X operating system. You can buy almost any hard drive, plug it in, and Time Machine practically configures itself. It’s pretty much set it and forget it. While that is true for the most part, you do need to keep an eye on it.
Ensure Time Machine is running. If there is an issue, or if it’s running slowly, that could be a precursor to an issue with your Mac’s hard drive, your Time Machine hard drive, or perhaps BOTH!
Hard drives don’t last forever, and your Time Machine hard drive is no exception! When you buy a new Time Machine hard drive or a Time Capsule, you should write the purchase date on a piece of masking tape and stick it to the front of the hard drive. After 3 years of loyal use (in most cases), then it’s time to retire that backup and add a new one. Hey, this is your chance to EXPAND your backup plan by reusing that aging hard drive as an off-site back up!
When a hard drive starts to fail, it can make both your main hard drive and your backup hard drive work harder to keep up. If you leave a situation like this going for too long, you can end up with more than one sick hard drive and put your valuable data at risk.
Step 1: Get Time Machine Working, Step 2: Monitor Time Machine Backup, Step 3: Replace After 3-Years Of Use http://t.co/jKwoAOqilR
— MacMedics (@macmedics) May 20, 2014
