For those who chose a MacBook over an ordinary laptop must be short for some storage space, right? Well, upgrading storage space through apple is as costly as purchasing a new laptop. In this case, an external hard drive is less expensive and beneficial for storage requirements.
You can switch your external hard drive from a Mac to a pc which makes data transfer for two different OS easier. Furthermore, external hard disks are less likely to get corrupted and are portable in nature.
The release of new MacBooks and Mac Minis makes it a good time to review how to back up your Mac in the chance you want to wipe it clean and sell it in favor of a new model. You have two options. Steps to backup your hard drive or data with EaseUS Mac backup software. Launch EaseUS Mac backup software, click the first Backup tab Click + button at the left corner of the left pane to create a backup project - name the backup project and click OK. Set up the backup destination where you want to store Mac files as backups. For those who don’t want a technical setup to backup their Mac, Time Machine is a. The Backup Plus external hard drive for Mac and MacBook Pro by Seagate comes with a 2-year plan of around 200 GB online storage provided by the Microsoft OneDrive. As far as speed of the hard drive is concerned, the Backup Plus Hub by Seagate when connected with a USB 3.0 port, offers a writing speed of 181 MB per sec and a reading speed of 195.
Macbooks generally have SSDs which are capable of loading a program quickly but more likely to low on storage.
Best Backup Software for Mac in 2020 We’ve compiled a list of some of the best Mac backup software, and there’s a lot that had taken into consideration before we curated this list. The types of backups the software can create, the interface, ease of restoring the data, the types of media files or documents it can backup, and a lot more have.
Furthermore, SSDs are quite costly and upgrading an SSD on a Macbook is definitely costlier than you could even imagine. An external hard drive is best for storing data such as photos, videos, movies, rendered projects and more.
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10 Best External Hard Drives for MacBook in 2020
Although choosing an external hard drive is a complicated process but we have made a list of 10 best external hard drives for Mac that you should consider before your final decision.
1. Samsung Portable SSD T5
Starting off Samsung Portable SSD T5 which is an outstanding storage device, it can reach up to a speed of 550 MB per second for data transfer which is amazing. You can directly plug it into a USB-C port or USB-A port.
It contains no moving parts therefore chances of getting damaged due to mishandling are less. Even though SSD is costlier than a hard drive, the speed it offers is commendable. You will notice a significant boost in the overall performance while doing stuff that requires you to load large files and programs.
Overall, the SSD is fantastic but only if you can spare a few more bucks than your actual budget. You can get the SSD ranging from 250 GB to 2 TB from Amazon with some additional discounts.
2. Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive
Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive is the newest generation of external hard disks and is available in capacities from 1 TB to up to 4 TB. It offers cloud storage and 256-AES encryption alongside WD’s software for backups.
The data transfer speeds won’t disappoint you and the drive offers speed similar to what an SSD provides. If you are looking for a drive with good data transfer rate and maximum storage, consider Western Digital My Passport 4TB as a choice.
3. Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
If you are looking for a reliable, portable, and affordable hard disk, Seagate backup plus slim is the thing you should have a look at. It supports Windows and Mac both and perfect for storing your essential data right away.
With the Seagate dashboard backup system, you can schedule backups and never lose your important files anymore. Backup automation can be set for daily, monthly, weekly or your desired time-frequency.
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Alongside, Seagate also provides a two-month membership for adobe creative cloud photography plan and a one-year subscription to Mylio create to manage your photo library.
4. Western Digital My Book (8 TB)
This Hard disk is probably for creators and organizations that require a lot of storage for various purposes. Faster data transmission rate will let you transfer data in the meantime, all thanks to USB 3.0 support.
It also offers 256 AES encryption for securing your data and makes sure your personal data is secured in the storage device. Even though it meets the requirements of a regular user, the only thing where Western Digital My Book (8 TB) lacks is portability.
Therefore, if you are looking for a hard disk for work purposes and if portability is not an issue, Western Digital My Book (8 TB) is definitely the right choice.
5. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
Buffalo MiniStation thunderbolt offers data transmission at a speed of twice of what USB 3.0 offers. You can enjoy this feature if your device has a thunderbolt port. Another good thing about Buffalo MiniStation thunderbolt is its price. It is affordable and portable.
However, it is a hard drive, not a solid-state, therefore, the data transmission will definitely be high but the overall performance of your pc will remain unchanged. Lastly, if you don’t have a thunderbolt port in your pc, you can use the traditional USB 3.0 port.
Best Backup For Macbook Air Refurbished6. G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
With the new products, Apple is on its way to completely shift to USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports but there are still some people who are using old hardware and for them, G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB) is going to work like a charm.
The body of the HDD is made up of metal which makes it durable and strong against accidents such as dropping off the drive on the floor or whatnot. It runs at a speed of 7200 RPM and can transfer data at a rate of 195 MB/s which is efficient for transferring music, videos and software.
7. Adata SD700 External SSD
Adata SD700 is an affordable External SSD which is IP68 rated which certainly makes it a water-resistant storage device. The overall performance of this SSD is commendable and as per our research, Adata SD700 External SSD is the only SSD with an IP68 rating.
Best Backup Drive For Macbook Air
You can expect faster transfer rates and better booting speed if you are planning to install an OS on the SSD. Don’t worry about the storage space as it is available in 1 TB capacity also. The maximum read and write speed is up to 440 MB/S, all thanks to the USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface.
8. LaCie Rugged USB-C
Lacie rugged USB-C hard disk can be distinguished easily because of its unique rubber casing that makes sure your hard drive doesn’t get damaged when it drops from up to 1.3 m height. It can withstand rain, dust and can even survive 1-ton pressure. This is certainly the best choice for content creators.
Alongside hard disk, you will also get access to a one-month subscription to Adobe creative cloud all apps plan. The company also provides 3 years of warranty for the device and will also help you to restore the data if lost.
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In terms of speed, Lacie rugged USB-C hard disk is not very fast as it provides only 120 MB/s which is comparatively lesser than the HDDs mentioned in this listicle. However, there are various variants available for this hard disk on Amazon.
9. Samsung X5 (1TB)
Samsung never disappoints with its amazing hardware capabilities. With Samsung X5, you can transfer data at a rate of 2,300 MB/s which is the fastest speed an SSD can provide you. The build quality is super amazing as it is made up of metal, making it stronger than storage disks that are made up of plastic bodies.
The shock-resistant capability can save up your drive from a fall of 2 meters. Alongside this, it comes with Thunderbolt 3 technology that is ideal for faster data transfer of up to 40 GB per second which is unbelievable. You can take full advantage of this SSD on your MacBook or Macbook pro without having to format anything.
10. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
In terms of flexibility, Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive is really good as it supports both Mac and windows out of the box. The disk doesn’t get damaged due to dust and water which is again a positive point.
It encrypts the user data at 256 bit AES security which additionally makes everything on the drive, secure. Overall, it is a great drive for Mac owners as well as windows owners too.
What things to consider while buying External Hard Drive For Mac?
So those were some of the best external hard disk drive solutions for Mac. However, you must be confused about which external HDD to choose. But not to worry, let me just point some of the key factors that you need to consider while buying an external hard drive:
1. Storage
One of the first and the most important thing that you need to consider is the storage space of your external HDD. As you already know that Macbook does not come with a huge space. Hence, you better choose something which offers you enough space to store all your files.
For many users, 1 TB of space should be good enough. But if you need to store a huge number of files and save them for a longer period of time, then getting 2TB of HDD would be an ideal choice.
Apart from 1TB and 2TB of storage options, you can also consider getting huge storage options like 4TB. But for a day to day work, 4TB of HDD does not help much. Also, they are quite expensive.
2. Transfer speed
After the storing capacity, transfer speed is the second most important thing that you have to consider. You don’t want to get an external hard disk drive for Mac, which takes too long to copy files. Instead, you need something that can get the job done as quickly as possible.
So the first thing that you must do is avoid USB 2.0 powered external HDD. As they are outdated and not fast enough. Instead, you should get an external HDD with USB 3.0, 3.1 Gen 1 or USB 3.2 Gen 1. All of these are capable of offering an exceptional transfer speed. On the other hand, I would like to recoomend you to buy the best external SSD for Mac that offers good transfer speed.
3. Compatibility
The next thing you need to check its compatibility. External HDD formatted for Windows 10 may have connectivity issues with Mac OS and vise versa. So since you are using a Mac powered machine, I would recommend you to get an external HDD with Mac OS compatibility.
Although there is no need to focus on the compatibility part way too much. Since you can always format your external HDD using a Windows Computer with exFat Format. So you can easily use the HDD with your Macbook. But yes, if you get a pre compatible external hard disk drive then it saves you from extra work and headaches that you have to face.
4. Security
If you are someone who takes security really seriously, then you must look for security features. Most of the manufacturers do ship security software and backup software. So you can easily encrypt your drive or take a backup of it. Even, if you don’t consider encryption feature, backup feature is something that you must and should consider.
Even to make sure your HDD stays safe, they use strong casing from physical damage. So you can consider getting such external hard disk drives that save you from every side.
External Hard Drive Vs SSD: Which one is good for MacBook Pro?
Whenever it comes to a primary storage solution for computers, HDD and SSD’s are the only solutions we have. However, in the last couple of years, the usage of HDD has dropped drastically, and people are not moving to SSD’s for better performance.
But there are quite a lot of users who are still unaware of the difference between a hard disk drive and a solid state drive or SSD.
However, not to worry, let me just draw a quick difference between both and help you to understand better.
1. Storage Capacity
HDD’s are a great option if you want something for storage. HDD’s are available in a wide range of storage capacities like from 500GB to 12 TB. Even, for enterprise uses, you will find a large capacity of HDDs.
SSDs are also available with large capacities. However, when it comes to the costing of an SSD and an HDD, SSDs are quite expensive. Hence, if your main goal is to store huge amount of data, HDD is an ideal choice.
2. Speed
Whenever it comes to speed, SSDs are a better option. Since a hard disk drive uses a round plate with a layer of magnetic material. And the data is stored on this magnetic layer only. So the disk spins and the magnetic head is used for reading and writing data.
Also, the speed that the disk spins is measured in RPM. And on an average, an HDD has about 5,400 RPM, and it will have a read/write speeds of around 100 MB/s.
However, when it comes to SSD’s, there are no moving parts. As a result, it offers you a much faster data transfer rate. On average, it offers you around 550 MB/s and 520 MB/s of data transfer rate.
3. Reliability & Durability
There are quite a lot of factors that determine the lifespan of drivers. However, you should know that an SSD can sustain a limited number of write cycles compared to HDD which has no read/write limits.
But you should know that SSD has a write cycle limit between 3000 and 10,000 which is a high number. So it would not be a problem for you.
Also, SSD’s are lesser affected by any sort of damages compared to HDD. Since there are no moving parts in SSD, they tend to survive more. While HDD’s might stop working if it encounters any physical damage.
3. Cost
Finally, let’s talk about pricing. Well, if you look at the cost of both HDD and SSD, you would happily pick up an HDD. Why? Because SSD’s are expensive. When you choose an HDD, you will get a large amount of capacity for a lesser price. But on the other hand, if you choose an SSD, it would cost you 3-5x of an HDD price.
In the end, the conclusion is HDD’s are a better option when it comes to storing data. Of course, SSD’s are faster and more reliable. But they do come with a high price. But on the other hand, if you take care of your HDD in a good manner, it will offer you great performance for years.
Wrapping it up:
So, these were the 10 best external hard drives for Macbook Air and Pro. Every disk mentioned in this article has its own pros and cons, we have tried our best to list out the good and bad in every product. For Mac users, external SSD can be really helpful for storing content and transferring it to a different place.
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Being a Mac user, we agree that it offers the most secure and seamless user experience. However, we must not forget it’s a machine end of the day. Some odd day, it might collapse or compromise the space of your data. Eventually, erasing everything in it and making you lose all of it if you didn’t opt for backup software for your Mac. In our today’s writeup, we’d be talking about – best backup softwares for Mac? Need to do a Backup? Which one’s better, backup or cloning? And How often should you backup your data on Mac? Let’s begin.
What is Data Backup, and Why It’s Important?
We use our Mac regularly to create, transfer, and receive ‘n’ number of files. While some of them are personal, some play a significant part in our professional life. By backing up your data, you can stay assured of not having any loss of your moments stored in Mac or your work-related files.
What is Cloning, and why it’s important?
Unlike backup, cloning creates a copy of the selected drive on the partition made at the target location. Having said this, you’ll have access to an exact copy comprising partition layout and split. However, in comparison to backing up, cloning requires larger space considering that it gets created immediately, and encryption or compressing the file isn’t feasible.
What is the Difference Between Backup and Cloning?
Backing up to a hard drive lets you create a backup for the entire content of a selected partition into the target source. This is also known to create an Image. Just if you are taking the backup of the entire system, an image file will be created of all the installed programs and settings. You also have the option to encrypt the backed up file for enhanced security.
How Often Should You Backup your Data on Mac?
Did you know, according to a report published, 24% of adult users never back up their data, 42% do it once a year or even less, and 34% do it once a month. It’s just 6% of users who back up their data daily. Strange it may sound, but in a world where our MacBook serves an invincible role in storing our data, we sideline the role of having Mac’s backup software.
If you are among the 6% of users who do it daily, Kudos to you!! If you are part of the remaining population, it’s time you should take data loss seriously.
What is the Best Mac Backup Software?
Keep scrolling to find some of the best free and paid available data backup software for your Mac. Let’s begin.
1. Time MachineBest Backup For Macbook Air 13.3
This is macOS’ built-in back software. Being designed primarily for Mac, it’s easy to use and copies everything on your Mac, including applications, accounts, email, messages, documents, photos, music, videos, system files, and preferences.
Setting up Time Machine doesn’t require more than a hard drive, which is twice the internal hard drive’s storage capacity. Once you connect it with your Mac, you’ll notice a box seeking confirmation on using it with Time Machine and whether or not you intend to encrypt the backup disk.
While the backing up process may take hours to finish, here’s how you can backup using Time Machine.
2. Super Duper
The software offers intuitive software and is extremely easy to use. You have to select your target and the destination drive and sit back to watch it happen in no time. The software will take a backup of your entire data. Once the initial backup is completed, you’ll have the option to select incremental backups. This will copy only the files that were created after your last backup was done. Isn’t that interesting?
It also has a feature named Smart Wake, which enables you to take the backup even when your Mac’s not awake.
3. Carbon Copy Cloner
The cloning tool offers you a straightforward interface to execute the process. It gives you the option to create a back of your internal drive at a bit level and create a bootable backup disk or a clone, which is ready to install. In their recent upgrade, they resolved concerns linked with “Copying of SystemKey” in macOS Catalina and an issue linked with the bootability of Yosemite and EI Captain backups.
![]() 4. Chrono Sync
The software dons an editor rating of 4 stars out of 5 and works seamlessly between different work stations. It helps sync data and takes backup from multiple devices. Though the user agreement may look lengthy to you, once it starts to work, you’d see the effortlessness with which it carries all tasks. With its trial version, the software allows you to backup/transfer data up to 500mb. Further, you’ll have to buy its licensed version.
5. Smart Backup
The lightweight backup application is created to serve devices with macOS X or higher. It uses a custom sync engine to improve performance and enhance features. It gives you entire liberty to select the volumes and folders you want to sync and create a bootable clone of your hard drive. It also comes with built-in automation that lets you schedule backup in just a few clicks.
6. Disk DrillBackup Macbook To External Drive
This one’s a powerful tool to scan your Mac or connected devices to find lost files. Though mostly it happens that some files can’t be recovered, this tool has successfully reconstructed such lost or deleted files in many cases. It has a preview feature that will share with you the list of recoverable files after scanning.
7. Carbonite Safe
It allows you to backup your Mac to remote servers and fetches files as and when you need them. We need to note that it only backups your files and folders and doesn’t include system files and applications. The software protects your files with 128-bit encryption. However, there’s no option of adding an access password to your protected files.
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Time Machine For Mac8. Acronis True Image 2020
This one’s widely used and recognized by Windows users in comparison to those using Mac. However, the truth is that it can be of great help in availing personal backup solutions and taking backup of data in a local disk, an attached network, or its cloud service. However, to leverage the cloud service, you’ll have to set up an account, which won’t take much time, though.
9. Get Backup Pro (V3)
One primary reason for the popularity of this software is the flexibility it offers. It gives you the option to either backup your entire drive or a particular folder. It can create boot-ready clones of Mac’s startup drive and sync folders and files to different drives. You can also schedule backups. These will happen in the background without hindering your work-in-progress. Once completed, the software will close automatically.
10. Backblaze
The software performs auto backups for you on Mac as per the schedule set. So just in case you forget doing it or have a busy schedule, this can be of great help. However, it keeps the backed up data stored for 30 days and then deletes it by self. Having said this, to be on the safer side, it’ll always be a good idea to create a schedule for daily EoD or weekly.
11. IDrive
The online backup service offers free accessibility up to 5GB capacity. After that, things get pretty expensive. However, there’s one thing that you might like about this software. It does not delete your backup, giving you the liberty to roll back to any date from the past. While the data is fully encrypted, the features like Rewind and Snapshot are indeed a charm.
Numerous softwares help you back up your data on Mac. Understanding its vitality, it’s crucial to have the best software on board to serve the purpose. Just in case there are any further details you want, please feel free to share it with me in the comment section.
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Backup Drive For Macbook Air
Mayank is a published author and a tech-blogger with over ten years of writing experience for various domains and industries. At iGeeks, he mostly writes about blogs that solve user-problems and guide them on unleashing the full potential of their Apple Device. He can often be found with his headphones on, typing to the rhythm of some country song.
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