How to Do Manual Backups on a Macintosh

In the latest release of Apple's Mac OS X operating system, also known as Leopard, users can continuously backup their files and settings through a utility called Time Machine. Time Machine stores the data on an external hard drive, and then users can restore any files by choosing a backup from a certain date. However, since Time Machine's backups can take up a large amount of space on hard drives, users may want to control the number of backups that are run.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mac running OS X 10.5 or later

1. Open System Preferences by clicking on the icon in the dock.

2. Go to the "Time Machine" control panel under the "System" category.

3. Check the box next to "Show Time Machine status in the menu bar."

4. Slide the Time Machine bar on the left side of the control panel window to the "Off" position. Automatic backups are now disabled.

5. Click on the Time Machine icon in the top menu bar and choose "Backup Now."