How to Back up a Hard Drive With Mac OS X Leopard's Time Machine

Leopard is the newest operating system for Macs. One new feature is the ability to back up all of the information on your computer using the "Time Machine." Since one never knows when a virus will infiltrate a hard drive or a storm will fry a computer, it is vital that you back up the data on your hard drive.

Things You'll Need

• External hard drive

Instructions

1. 

   Select the "Time Machine" from the dock.

2. Identify an external storage device when prompted. As the "Time Machine" app opens, you will follow a series of prompts to set up your storage location. Click the "Set Up Time machine" button.

3. 

   Plug your external hard drive into your computer. A prompt will ask you to choose a backup disc. When your external drive is connected, click the "Use for Backup" button. Your computer will begin backing up your files. How long this process takes depends on the size of data you are storing. For an estimate, 37 GB takes approximately 3 hours to completely back up.

4. Look for a message that will alert you when the process is finalized. At this point, your data is safe in the external drive. Disconnect this drive and store someplace safe. You can then choose how often you want to backup your computer.