How to Back up Safari Bookmarks & Passwords

You can back up your Safari data to MobileMe to prevent permanent data loss.

A hard drive crash can erase all of your computer's data, but your Safari bookmarks and passwords are recoverable as long as you backed up the information prior to the fatal error. MobileMe backs up your keychain information, which includes username and password data as well as your Safari bookmarks during the service's synchronization process. Once your data is synced back to your computer, it will appear just as it did prior to the data loss.

Instructions

Back Up Using MobileMe

1. Open the Apple menu and click "System Preferences."

2. Click "MobileMe" and sign in using your MobileMe account name and password. Click "Sync" in the MobileMe window.

3. Click the "Synchronize with MobileMe" checkbox, then click the pull-down menu. Click "Automatically" to choose automatic synchronization.

4. Click the blank checkbox next to "Keychain Access" and the checkbox next to "Bookmarks."

5. Click "Sync Now" to begin backing up your Safari bookmarks and keychain data to MobileMe.

Back Up Using Finder

1. Click "Finder" on the desktop dock, then click "Home" in the side menu. Double-click "Library," then double-click "Safari."

2. Click "Bookmarks.plist" and then click the File menu at the top of the screen. Click "Create Archive" and drag and drop the archived file to a new folder.

3. Click "Utilities" from the Go menu at the top of the screen, then double-click "Keychain Access."

4. Click "Keychain Access" at the top of the screen, then click "Keychain First Aid." Type your username and password and click "OK." Click "Verify" and then click "Start." Click "Repair" and then "Start" to repair any keychain issues.

5. Click "Finder" on the desktop dock, then click "Go" at the top of the screen. Click "Home" and then double-click "Library." Double-click "Keychains" and right-click the "login.keychain" file. Click "Duplicate" and drag and drop the duplicate file to a different folder.

References

• Apple: MobileMe -- Set Up MobileMe -- Mac
• Apple: Mac OS X v.10.5, v.10.6 -- How to Back Up and Restore Your Files
• Apple: Mac OS X 10.6 Help -- Solving Problems with Keychains