Are You Backing Your Data Up?

I am a big fan of the Time Machine back-up built into recent  Mac OS X software.

Here's how it works:

• You buy a big USB hard drive.
• You plug it into your Mac.
• Your Mac asks if you want to use it for Time Machine.
• You say "Yes" and begin ignoring the Time Machine.

Then you do something on your computer that causes massive problems or, something that seems minor like throw away the wrong document.  You open your Time Machine and go back to right before the bad thing happened and revert to it.

• Then you live happily ever after.

Actually had a chance to try it out on something major yesterday after the Lion Server session.  They wanted us to uninstall sever after class.  Not a problem for me.  I just restarted from my trusty Snow Leopard disc and went to my Time Machine.  Reverted to the last time I used my computer without Lion and less than 42 minutes later I was back to where I started from.

Pretty slick and pretty easy.  Makes you think that everyone should have this going.

The hardest part was buying the USB disc.

Really.