Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Time Machine MacBook Air
- Thread starter drdudj
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
A 2 TB SSD. compared to a 2 TB AirPort Time Capsule for my 2013 Mac Pro. The only gotcha with the TB SSD is remembering to unmount it when I use my MBA as a laptop.
Not sure what “OP” means in this context but my rule has always been 2x the size of drive being backup.
2x is a bare minimum, but your Time Machine disk can be MUCH larger if you want it to last a while. I use a 8TB disk for Time Machine to back up about 2.5TB of data.
do you have recommendation on what make of external drive you use, and Thunderbolt 4 over USB4?
Just fyi, a lot of people use OP to refer to the "original poster" on a thread.
Thunderbolt 4 is overkill for a Time Machine backup IMO. I'd just get whatever USB drive you can get from a reputable manufacturer (Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba, Samsung, etc)* and make sure it's minimum 2x the size of your internal drive so you can save more revisions of files.
* but don't buy this SanDisk: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/202...e-worthless-multiple-lawsuits-against-wd-say/
wasn't sure about the OP, thanxz for clearing that up for me. ok, USB it is, 2x my 250GB. thanxz for the information, much appreciated.
Not specific to Airs, but I have a 1TB external SSD connected to my 256GB Mac.
And specific to use of an Air, I have an 'old' 2017 Air (complete with all the ports, as was the fashion back then) that I use for work / travel and have a 256GB SD card inserted for its Time Machine. Works just fine. As does the Air.
I'm not really convinced that the average user needs to go as far back in time as a large external drive will allow. I think for most its going back - what - maybe a month when something goes squiffy and you need to recall something. But hey, whatever you can justify.
And specific to use of an Air, I have an 'old' 2017 Air (complete with all the ports, as was the fashion back then) that I use for work / travel and have a 256GB SD card inserted for its Time Machine. Works just fine. As does the Air.
I'm not really convinced that the average user needs to go as far back in time as a large external drive will allow. I think for most its going back - what - maybe a month when something goes squiffy and you need to recall something. But hey, whatever you can justify.
I’ll also toss in - I don’t back up my MacBook Pro. Documents, Desktop, Photos, Messages, Calendar, notes, Reminders, etc sync to iCloud and email syncs to Gmail.
Then from those services everything syncs to my Mac mini, which is set to “download and keep originals.” The Mac mini is backed up to Time Machine and to a 2nd total backup using 3rd party software.
The difficulty with backing up a portable computer is (a) remembering to plug the drive in regularly and (b) the backup being there when you need it - not in your lost laptop bag along with the computer. So if you don’t HAVE a desktop Mac to set up like my mini, I’d strongly suggest a cloud backup service (which means not iCloud - iCloud does not “back up” your Mac; it just syncs it).
Then from those services everything syncs to my Mac mini, which is set to “download and keep originals.” The Mac mini is backed up to Time Machine and to a 2nd total backup using 3rd party software.
The difficulty with backing up a portable computer is (a) remembering to plug the drive in regularly and (b) the backup being there when you need it - not in your lost laptop bag along with the computer. So if you don’t HAVE a desktop Mac to set up like my mini, I’d strongly suggest a cloud backup service (which means not iCloud - iCloud does not “back up” your Mac; it just syncs it).