Backup with the Mac Time Machine: The three best tips

With "Time Machine" you create a complete backup of your Mac or MacBook and thus back up files, settings and programs. We'll show you three options for data backup and recovery.

1. Automatic time machine backup on an external hard drive

To back up an image of your MacBook or Mac to an external hard drive, proceed as follows:

1. Connect an external hard drive to your Mac via USB or Thunderbolt.
2. After the computer recognizes the hard drive, "Time Machine" automatically asks if you want to use it as a backup drive. Confirm this with "Use as backup volume".
3. The settings for "Time Machine" open. Make sure that the slide switch on the left is "On" (see screenshot). "Time Machine" automatically makes an backup once an hour if the corresponding hard disk is connected.
4. The first backup can take a long time. It is therefore advisable to set up the backup if you can leave the Mac switched on for a long time.

2. Manual Mac backup with Time Machine on an external hard drive

If the interval between the individual backups is too small for you, you can deactivate the automatic backups after setting up the volume and back them up manually as required. Here's how it works:

1. Call up the spotlight search with the key combination "cmd" + "Spacebar" and type "System" in the input field. Press "Enter". Your Mac's "System Preferences" will open.
2. Select "Time Machine" under the heading "System".
3. Set the slide switch on the left to "Off". Also make sure that the checkmark in front of "Show Time Machine in the menu bar" is set. (see the screenshot)
4. To create a backup manually, click on the time machine icon in the menu bar at the top in the form of an arrow rotating to the left.
5. Select "Create backup now" from the drop-down menu.

3. Restore the entire Mac from a time machine backup

If you experience common problems on your MacBook or Mac, it's a good idea to reset your computer completely and restore the data from a backup. This is especially useful if your Mac had to be reset during a hardware repair. That's how it's done:

1. Connect the time machine volume to the Mac that is turned off.
2. Start your Mac and hold the key combination "cmd" + "R". After a short time, "Time Machine" opens.
3. Select the "Restore from Time Machine backup" option and confirm. After starting, you will see the computer with all settings and files that it had during the last backup.

Similarly, you can transfer the data from an old Mac to a new Mac. Simply connect the hard drive with the backup to the new Mac. The computer then automatically asks you at startup whether you want to take over the data from a backup. You only select the backup. Your Mac does everything else independently.

Exclusive CHIP special: create backups quickly and easily

We'll show you how to back up your computer easily and effortlessly so that you don't lose your digital treasures in an accident. Our CHIP Guide contains 39 pages of tips and tricks for the best backup strategy.

• The CHIP editorial team explains how you can make backup copies as quickly as possible and how you can ideally outsource them. Is the hard drive the ideal medium or are there better alternatives? We show where you can best archive your data.
• In the CHIP kiosk you can download the CHIP guide as a PDF

The instructions refer to a MacBook Air 13-inch, Mid 2012 with Mac OS X 10.8.3.