On your Mac, click Use As Backup Disk, then follow the instructions in Time Machine preferences. To open Time Machine preferences, choose Apple menu System Preferences, then click Time Machine. Important: Time Machine doesn’t backup system files or apps installed during macOS installation. Sep 07, 2020 Time Machine is Apple's built-in solution for backing up macOS. You can connect an external hard drive over USB or Thunderbolt (or FireWire, for older Macs) for a wired connection or over a network for a wireless connection. Time Machine backs up every hour, deleting older backups as the backup drive starts running out of space.
- Open Time Machine preferences from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar. Or choose Apple menu System Preferences, then click Time Machine. Deselect ”Back Up Automatically” or click the Off/On switch, depending on what you see in Time Machine preferences. Wait a few minutes to allow the local snapshots to be deleted.
- Time Capsule brings the simplicity of fully automated backup to your Wi-Fi network, without even plugging in a cable. With Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard, it’s easy and automatic to back up all the computers on your network to a single Time Capsule. The Time Capsule is also a fully featured AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n.
Your Time Machine backup disk might not always be available, so Time Machine also stores some of its backups on your Mac. These backups are called local snapshots.
How to use local snapshots
When your backup disk isn't available, Time Machine automatically uses local snapshots to help you restore files. Reconnect your backup disk to make even more backups available.
Mac Os Time Machine Manual Backup
Learn how to restore files from Time Machine.
How local snapshots use storage space
You don't need to think about how much storage space local snapshots are using, because they don't use space needed for tasks like downloading files, copying files, or installing new software.
Your Mac counts the space used by snapshots as available storage. Even so, Time Machine stores snapshots only on disks that have plenty of free space, and it automatically deletes snapshots as they age or as space is needed for other things.
If you want to delete local snapshots manually, turn off Time Machine temporarily:
- Open Time Machine preferences from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar. Or choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Time Machine.
- Deselect ”Back Up Automatically” or click the Off/On switch, depending on what you see in Time Machine preferences.
- Wait a few minutes to allow the local snapshots to be deleted. Then turn on Time Machine again. It remembers your backup disks.
Mac Time Machine Manual Backup
How often local snapshots are saved
Mac Time Machine Manual Start Backup
Time Machine saves one snapshot of your startup disk approximately every hour, and keeps it for 24 hours. It keeps an additional snapshot of your last successful Time Machine backup until space is needed. And in macOS High Sierra or later, another snapshot is saved before installing any macOS update.