AUGUST 2021 MACWORLD 21SET UP A TIME MACHINE
BACKUP
The Mac operating system (macOS) has a
built-in feature for making backups of your
data. It’s called Time Machine, and it’s really
easy to set up and use. Though it rarely
happens, if you use your computer enough,
there will come a time when a file you’re
working on goes bad, or you lose it, or you
want to revert to a previously saved version.
Time Machine can help you recover that file.
You need an external hard drive in order
to use Time Machine. Connect the drive to
your iMac and then go to the Apple menu
and open System Preferences. Click on
Time Machine and you can set it up. You
can have Time Machine perform backups
automatically as
long as the drive is
connected to the
iMac.CONFIGURE
iCLOUD DRIVE
iCloud is Apple’s
online service that
provides a way to
sync your data
between your
Macs, iPhones, and
iPads. It also has
email, Find My (fave.
co/3uLYiF0), and
other services.
When you set up a new iMac, you’ll be
asked to set up an iCloud account or log
into one if you already have it. But once
your Mac is up and running, you should go
a step further and configure iCloud Drive,
the online storage that iCloud provides.
In System Preferences, click on your
Apple ID at the top to get to the iCloud
settings. Then click on iCloud in the left
column, and in the box to the right labeled
“Apps on this Mac using iCloud,” check the
iCloud Drive if you want to use it. Then
click on the Options button, and a window
will pop up showing the apps that will
store data on iCloud Drive.
If you check Desktop and Documents,
this will allow you to access any files savedIt takes just a few minutes to set up Time Machine—time well spent,
especially when you need to recover a file.