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Author Topic: Backup my data  (Read 8113 times)

AndyFlick

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Backup my data
« on: October 06, 2017, 03:32 AM »
Hello everyone.
Thank you admin for introducing a new segment for us(MAC users). I am about to sell my Mac air in next couple of days. It carries of about 150+ gb of pictures, videos and other data. any idea of safely moving it to some other system ?? External harddisk is a rather slow process. please do suggest better ways
Thanks in advance.
Please reply the earliest.

Curt

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Re: Backup my data
« Reply #1 on: October 06, 2017, 03:41 AM »
If "external harddisk is a rather slow process", then I suggest you keep the Mac.


tomos

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Re: Backup my data
« Reply #2 on: October 06, 2017, 06:01 AM »
Hello everyone.
Thank you admin for introducing a new segment for us(MAC users). I am about to sell my Mac air in next couple of days. It carries of about 150+ gb of pictures, videos and other data. any idea of safely moving it to some other system ?? External harddisk is a rather slow process. please do suggest better ways
Thanks in advance.
Please reply the earliest.

Do you have no backup of them already?
If not, go for it: copy them to the external HDD. That *will* take a long time - just leave it run for a day, or overnight.
Tom

Ath

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Re: Backup my data
« Reply #3 on: October 06, 2017, 06:36 AM »
Assuming you have another system already (Mac or Windows?) you should network them together (avoid using WiFi on any end, wired is the most reliable and fastest way) and copy/move the files across. It will take time though, that's quite inevitable.

techidave

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Re: Backup my data
« Reply #4 on: October 09, 2017, 05:16 AM »
Pretty certain MB Airs don't have ethernet ports.  Apple starting killing them a few years ago.  If he has Time Machine setup, then no backup should be necessary.  That is if it was setup to backup to an external drive of some kind.  It is making backups all the time.  Time Machine can be used to restore the files on a new/different MB.


but if he is changing to a PC, then it will be a slow process to copy those files.

Shades

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Re: Backup my data
« Reply #5 on: October 10, 2017, 12:03 AM »
Is it still possible to remove the hard disk from the MacBook?

If so, put that disk in an USB 3.0 hard disk cradle (or lightning/thunderbolt/however these hardware ports are called on Mac nowadays) and transfer the files to the new system/hard disk. That eliminates one copy step from the external disk scenario (old computer -> external disk -> new computer).

Better yet, if the new Mac system has the capacity to support 2 or more hard disks at the same time, take the hard disk from the old system and install it for the time being in the new system. Now the internal hard disk controller of the new system can pump the data from the old hard disk to the new hard disk. That is the fastest way to transfer a boatload of data to a new system. When finished, you can put the old hard disk back into the old system and all will be well again. On both systems.

Are you transferring between two Mac computers or do you also change from one OS to another?

If so, there are drivers for the new OS that enable read-only access to the file system that Mac uses. Those drivers enable you to access the content safely. You still need to take the old HD out of the Mac and put it into a hard disk cradle or directly into the new computer.

But what to do when it isn't possible to remove the hard disk from the old system? Then the external hard disk scenario is the simplest and likely the fastest one. transferring boatloads of files through WiFi is always slower and more prone to errors than through a wired connection between computers.

For example: in my own setup I have 2 Windows computers, each has a 1GBit/sec network card and both are connected to a 16 port switch, each port capable of the same 1GBit/sec speeds. A very standard or common setup. Transferring files from one system to another goes with a speed of about 70 to 80 MByte/sec continuously. On average. That should give you a way to calculate how long the transfer could take with a wired connection between systems, given the specified amount of data.

You can expect similar speeds or even a bit faster when both hard disks are connected directly into the same computer. Expect half those speeds when using a cradle.  Connecting both systems using WiFi and you will be happy when transfer speeds reach cradle speeds, depending on connection quality.

Remember: WiFi is made for comfort, not speed. No matter what salespeople say, WiFi is made for comfort, not speed. Enterprise level WiFi equipment might get you to (somewhat) higher speeds, but that kind of equipment comes at cost and will always be capped by the max capacity of the WiFi hardware inside the old and new system.

An external hard disk is really much simpler in setting up and still remain reasonably fast at very acceptable cost.

External hard disks that use 2.5inch spinning disks do not require a separate power supply, but sacrifice speed as a result. There are also external hard disks that do require an extra power supply and these usually contain a 3.5inch hard disk inside, which are noticeably faster. You are still capped by the maximum capacity of the hardware port you are using to connect the external hard disk to the computers.

techidave

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Re: Backup my data
« Reply #6 on: October 10, 2017, 05:58 AM »
Is it still possible to remove the hard disk from the MacBook?

Yes, it is possible to remove the HD.  Instructions are Here

There are USB/thunderbolt/lightning ethernet adaptors.  Thunderbolt/lightning is faster than USB.  so a transfer via ethernet is possible. More on these ethernet adaptors  Here

The original post said he was selling his MB Air in a couple of days.  Which was on Oct 6th.  Its now been 4 days so he may have found a way to transfer his files.



I'm not sure why my weblinks aren't working like they should.  Any advice would be appreciated.
« Last Edit: October 10, 2017, 01:55 PM by Deozaan, Reason: fixed formatting »

tomos

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Re: Backup my data
« Reply #7 on: October 10, 2017, 06:40 AM »
I'm not sure why my weblinks aren't working like they should.  Any advice would be appreciated.

Screenshot - 2017-10-10 , 13_38_57.pngBackup my data

closing bracket missing there
EDIT// also your comments are in Shades quote, but I didnt look closely there
Tom