Apple's built-in Time Machine app makes it simple to back up Mac data. You can also view the files that were backed up on another computer by following these steps.

Great backup drives

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• Our favorite: G-Technology G-Drive 1TB ($70 at Amazon)
• Compact: SanDisk Extreme Portable External 250B, 500GB, 1TB, 2GB (starting at $73 at Amazon)
• Sleak choice: LaCie Porsche Design 1TB, 2TB, 4TB (starting at $90 at Amazon)

How it's done

Make sure you have the physical backup drive that was used with the other computer. From there:

1. Plug in your external backup device to your Mac and make sure it's powered on.
2. Go into Finder and click on the external backup device.

3. Select the folder called Backups.backupdb.

4. Double click on the folder with the name of the Mac.

5. You will see folders identified for the dates backups occurred. Drill down to find the documents you wish to review.

6. Copy and paste the files/folders you want to copy to your computer.

Please note: Make sure you don't 'Move' the files or rename them. If you alter any of them, you may have problems using the native Time Machine app with that backup instance. Instead, only copy and paste.

Our top equipment pick

There are countless hard drives available that support Apple's Time Machine app for backup purposes. These three are among the best on the market.

Ideal for most users

G-Technology G-Drive 1TB

Durable, colorful accessory

USB-C ready plus USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 3 compatible, this stylish drive from G-Technology is lightweight and Mac ready.

Also available with 2TB and 4TB, G-Technology's G-Drive is one of the easiest drives to use for backup. Just plug it in and you're halfway there! It's available in silver, space gray, and rose gold.

Other options

The following hard drives are also among our favorites for 2019.

SanDisk Extreme Portable External 250B, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB(starting at $73 at Amazon)

This product proves that even hard drives can be beautiful.

LaCie Porsche Design 1TB, 2TB, 4TB(starting at $90 at Amazon)

LaCie is well known for its backup devices; this is one of the most popular on the market.

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You can use Time Machine, the built-in backup feature of your Mac, to automatically back up all of your files, including apps, music, photos, email, documents, and system files. When you have a backup, you can restore files from your backup if the original files are ever deleted from your Mac, or the hard disk (or SSD) in your Mac is erased or replaced.

Create a Time Machine backup

To create backups with Time Machine, all you need is an external storage device. After you connect the device and select it as your backup disk, Time Machine automatically makes hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months. The oldest backups are deleted when your backup disk is full.

Connect an external storage device

Connect one of the following external storage devices, sold separately. Learn more about backup disks that you can use with Time Machine.

• External drive connected to your Mac, such as a USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire drive
• External drive connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station (802.11ac model) or AirPort Time Capsule
• AirPort Time Capsule
• Mac shared as a Time Machine backup destination
• Network-attached storage (NAS) device that supports Time Machine over SMB

Select your storage device as the backup disk

When you connect an external drive directly to your Mac, you might be asked if you want to use the drive to back up with Time Machine. Select Encrypt Backup Disk (recommended), then click Use as Backup Disk.

An encrypted backup is accessible only to users with the password. Learn more about keeping your backup disk secure.

If Time Machine doesn't ask to use your drive, follow these steps to add it manually:

1. Open Time Machine preferences from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar. Or choose Apple () menu > System Preferences, then click Time Machine.
2. Click Select Backup Disk (or Select Disk, or Add or Remove Backup Disk):
   
3. Select your external drive from the list of available disks. Then select ”Encrypt backups” (recommended) and click Use Disk:
   

If the disk you selected isn't formatted as required by Time Machine, you're prompted to erase the disk first. Click Erase to proceed. This erases all information on the backup disk.

Enjoy the convenience of automatic backups

After you select a backup disk, Time Machine immediately begins making periodic backups—automatically and without further action by you. The first backup may take a long time, depending on how many files you have, but you can continue using your Mac while a backup is underway. Time Machine backs up only the files that changed since the previous backup, so future backups will be faster.

To start a backup manually, choose Back Up Now from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar. Use the same menu to check the status of a backup or skip a backup in progress.

Time Machine Image Backup

Learn more

Time Machine Macos Debian Backup Software Windows 7

• If you back up to multiple disks, you can switch disks before entering Time Machine. Press and hold the Option key, then choose Browse Other Backup Disks from the Time Machine menu.
• To exclude items from your backup, open Time Machine preferences, click Options, then click the Add (+) button to add an item to be excluded. To stop excluding an item, such as an external hard drive, select the item and click the Remove (–) button.
• If using Time Machine to back up to a network disk, you can verify those backups to make sure they're in good condition. Press and hold Option, then choose Verify Backups from the Time Machine menu.
• In OS X Lion v10.7.3 or later, you can start up from your Time Machine disk, if necessary. Press and hold Option as your Mac starts up. When you see the Startup Manager screen, choose “EFI Boot” as the startup disk.