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Some low-priced drives come with no software or with backup software that's short on features and flexibility. An external hard drive that runs without software installation, or performs a backup with the push of a button, is a good alternative. Just keep in mind that the handiest options-a thumb drive or optical disc-might require multiple discs or devices for a complete backup. A wired connection is 5 to 50 times faster than a typical wireless connection.Īre You Computer Savvy? Setting up a backup is relatively easy, but if you're not tech savvy, you might want to choose a simpler solution. If your computer is near the router, consider connecting it via Ethernet cable to improve speed. Installation takes a little more computer knowledge than using an external drive. If you have several computers running on a home network, consider a network drive, which you can share.
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A network or external drive is a reasonable alternative. An extra internal hard drive would be the fastest solution, but installation requires some technical know-how.
Computer backup drives for mac full#
After the first full backup, which could take two or more days to complete, things go faster, but if you create a lot of music, video, or image files each day, you should consider a faster solution. Online storage services sound great until you realize how slow they are.
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If you need to take your backup with you, you'll want a drive that's small enough to carry around. You'll save relatively little by buying less capacity than that so get as large a drive as you can afford-at least as much capacity as your computer's internal hard drive. You could spend $100 to $200 on a 2 terabyte drive, or closer to $300 for a 4TB model, but do you really need that much space? A 500GB to 750GB drive might accommodate your needs well into the future.
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