Unfortunately, you’re unable to manage this schedule yourself. Time Machine will begin creating a backup to the disk you’ve designated on a schedule. Choose the disk you want to use to store your backups.

Select “Automatic Backups” on the left side of the Time Machine window.

Note: These directions will show you how to use Time Machine to set up automatic backups.

Choose “System Preferences” from the drop-down menu.

Setting Time Machine up is really simple. But we’ll cover Time Machine to restore Mac computers, to back up your Mac, and how to use Time Machine to restore files as well. Because it typically runs in the background, the service isn’t something you need to access often to create backups. How to set up and use Time Machine on Macįor most of us, knowing how to use Time Machine means knowing how to activate it. Like most services Apple creates, Time Machine is in both your System Preferences menu and is available as an app for the Mac. Using Time Machine backups will make you feel like you picked up where you left off.

On startup, a new Mac asks if you want to start fresh, or boot from a backup. Most will use Time Machine when booting new Macs. When activated, it will periodically back your Mac up, keeping the last few versions in case you need to revert to a backup from a few weeks ago. Time Machine backups can also be used when you need to boot a new device, or refresh your Mac after returning it to factory settings.Īpple’s Time Machine is meant to run in the background, offering a simple, straightforward way to back your Mac up.

It creates a simple “image” or “snapshot” of your Mac, which simply means a compressed file containing everything on your Mac at the time of the backup that you can revert to when needed. Time Machine is a service from Apple to backup your Mac. Here, we’ll show you how to use Apple Time Machine, and showcase a few apps that you might prefer to Apple’s Time Machine. For some users, Time Machine doesn’t cut it, because it won’t allow creating bootable backups, it’s impossible to change the backup schedule, and the backups can occupy too much space. It’s reliable, fairly easy to use, and can keep your Mac backed up on a routine schedule. Time Machine is Apple’s method for backing your Mac up, and it’s a solid choice. Not only does it help create a backup of files and folders, backups provide a place you can reboot to if your Mac stops working, or you get a new Mac.

Restore your mac from a backup