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Why Trust Us?
My name is Adrian Try, and I’ve been using external drives since before USB existed. I’ve been diligently backing up my computers for decades and have tried a wide variety of backup strategies, software, and media. I currently use Time Machine to back up my 1 TB internal iMac drive to a 2 TB HP SimpleSave 3.5-inch external USB drive.
But that’s not my only external drive. I use a Seagate Expansion Drive on my Mac Mini media computer to hold a large iTunes library and have several Western Digital My Passport portable drives in my desk drawer. All of these drives have been working flawlessly for many years. I’m currently considering upgrading my iMac’s backup drive to a larger-capacity portable drive to free up a powerpoint in my office.
How to Backup Files on a Mac. This strategy is comprised of two parts. Frequent readers of our website and subscribers to our YouTube channel will already know this but it is so crucial, I simply. Jan 25, 2017 A sound backup strategy is crucial for any computer user. There are countless bad surprises that can make your important data suddenly inaccessible. Stay ahead of the game by implementing a solid backup strategy to save your data before you need it. Backup Strategy: The 3-2-1 Method.
I’ve also helped a number of businesses and companies set up backup systems. I remember some years ago going shopping for an external drive with Daniel, a client who is an accountant. When he saw the LaCie Porsche Design desktop drive he couldn’t believe his eyes. It was gorgeous, and as far as I know, he’s still using it today. If you’re like Daniel, we’ve included a number of attractive drives in our roundup.
Every Mac User Needs a Backup Drive
Who needs an external hard drive? You do.
Every Mac user should own a good external hard drive or two. They’re an essential part of a good backup strategy, and they’re handy for storing files you don’t have room for on your internal drive. After all, my current MacBook’s SSD has far less capacity than the spinning hard drive I was using a decade ago.
You don’t have one? Well, before you go shopping, let us help you narrow down your choices.
How We Tested
Positive Consumer Reviews
I find consumer reviews helpful, so use them to add to my own experience using external drives. They’re from real users about their good and bad experiences with drives they bought with their own money and use every day. We’ve only considered hard drives with a consumer rating of four stars and above that were reviewed by hundreds of users or more.
Capacity
How large a drive do you need? For backup purposes, you need one large enough to hold all of the files on your internal drive, plus different versions of the files you have changed. You may also want some additional room to store files that you don’t need (or don’t fit) on your internal drive.
For most users, a good starting point would be 2 TB, though I believe a minimum of 4TB will give you a better experience with room to grow in the future. In this review, we cover capacities of 2-8 TB. Some users, for example, videographers, could do with even more storage.
Speed
Most hard drives today spin at 5400 rpm, which is fine for backup purposes. You normally perform a full backup or clone backup when you’re away from your computer, possibly overnight, so a bit of extra speed won’t make a difference. And after your initial backup, Time Machine can easily keep up with those files you change during the day.
Faster drives are available but cost more. We’ve included one 7200 rpm drive in our review—the Fantom Drives G-Force 3 Professional. It’s 33% faster, but costs 100% more than the Seagate Backup Plus Hub for Mac.
For applications where high speed is crucial, you may prefer to choose an external Solid State Drive (SSD). Read our review of the best SSD for Mac here.
Apple Compatible
You need a drive that’s compatible with Apple’s HFS+ and ATFS file systems and USB 3.0/3.1, Thunderbolt and USB-C ports. We’ve chosen drives specifically designed for Apple devices, or that explicitly state that they work with Macs. Most external hard drives use a USB 3.0/3.1 port. These should work with any Mac, though you may have to purchase a cable or adaptor if your Mac has Thunderbolt or USB-C ports. If you prefer a drive to work specifically with your computer, some products we list provide options for each type of port.
Desktop, Portable or Rugged
Hard drives come in two sizes: 3.5-inch desktop drives that require to be plugged into a power source and 2.5-inch portable drives that run from bus power, and don’t need an additional power cable. Some companies also offer ruggedized portable drives that are less susceptible to damage from shock, dust or water.
If you use a desktop computer, you may prefer to choose a 3.5-inch drive. These are worth considering because larger capacities are available and they may cost less money. You won’t have to carry the drive around, so you won’t mind the larger size, and you’re likely to have a spare powerpoint in your office. We cover four of these in our review:
Backup Strategy For Mac Download
- WD My Book,
- Seagate Backup Plus Hub for Mac,
- LaCie Porsche Design Desktop Drive,
- Fantom Drives G-Force 3 Professional.
But if you’re a laptop user, or you’re running out of room on your desk, you may prefer a 2.5-inch external drive. These are bus-powered, so you won’t need to carry an extra power cord, and they’re significantly smaller. However, it’s difficult to find drives with more than 4 TB of space available. We cover four of these in our review:
- WD My Passport for Mac,
- Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive for Mac,
- LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive,
- G-Technology G-Drive Mobile.
If you regularly use your portable drive on the go—especially if you’re outside—you may like to spend a little more on a rugged hard drive. These are tested to be drop-resistant, dust-resistant and water-resistant—often with military-grade tests—offering additional peace of mind that your data will be safe. We cover four of these in our review:
- LaCie Rugged Mini,
- ADATA HD710 Pro,
- Silicon Power Armor A80,
- Transcend StoreJet 25M3.
Features
Some drives offer additional features that you may or may not find useful. These include a hub to plug your peripherals into, cases made of metal rather than plastic, a greater focus on design, and included cloud storage.
Price
Affordability is an important differentiator since the quality and functionality of each drive is similar. Each of these drives has been highly rated by hundreds or thousands of consumers, so value for money was a major consideration when choosing our winners.
Here are the cheapest street prices (at the time of writing) for the 2, 4, 6 and 8 TB options of each drive (if available). The cheapest price for each capacity in each category has been bolded and given a yellow background.
Here are the cheapest street prices (at the time of writing) for the 2, 4, 6 and 8 TB options of each drive (if available). The cheapest price for each capacity in each category has been bolded and given a yellow background.
Disclaimer: The pricing information shown in this table is subject to change, and reflects the cheapest street prices I could find at the time of writing.
The Winners
Best Backup Drive for Desktop Mac: Seagate Backup Plus Hub
Seagate’s Backup Plus Hub for Mac is designed for the Mac and compatible with Time Machine out of the box. Four and eight terabyte versions are available, more than enough for most people. Amazon’s price for the 8 TB version makes it a no-brainer—that’s less than most other companies’ 4 TB drives. But there’s more. This drive includes two integrated USB 3.0 ports that will charge your phone or connect your peripherals and USB sticks to your Mac.
At a glance:
- Capacity: 4, 8 TB,
- Speed: 5400 rpm,
- Max data transfer: 160 MB/s,
- Interface: USB 3.0,
- Case: white plastic,
- Features: two integrated USB 3.0 ports, comes with cloud storage.
Seagate drives have a reputation for reliability. The first hard drive I bought was a Seagate, way back in 1989. The Backup Plus Hub is designed for the Mac and is the most affordable 8 TB drive, followed by the WD My Book. The included hub will give you much easier access to USB ports, which is handy when connecting peripherals, copying files to a Flash drive, or just charging your phone.
Some limited free cloud storage is included with the drive. A 2-month complimentary membership to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan is included and must be redeemed by a specified deadline.
Finally, a few options. If you’d like to save some money, the 4 TB version of the WD My Book is significantly cheaper, as is the Seagate Expansion, which is also only $89.99 for 4 TB. Neither of these options includes a USB hub.
Best Portable Backup Drive for Mac: Seagate Backup Plus Portable
Backup Strategy For Mac Pro
The Seagate Backup Plus Portable is also a bargain. It’s the most affordable portable drive we cover in either the 2 TB or 4 TB capacities. The drive is mounted in a sturdy metal case, and the 4 TB case is a little thicker than the 2 TB version.
At a glance:
- Capacity: 2, 4 TB,
- Speed: 5400 rpm,
- Max data transfer: 120 MB/s,
- Interface: USB 3.0,
- Case: brushed aluminum.
This portable drive doesn’t include a hub like Seagate’s desktop drive, but it’s slim and housed in an attractive, sturdy metal case. If you prefer the slimmest drive, go for the 2 TB “Slim” option, which is a significant 8.25 mm thinner.
Since the switch to SSDs, many Mac laptops have significantly less internal storage than they used to, so portable hard drives are handier than ever. Most MacBook users should find that 2-4 TB is more than enough to back up their computer and also store additional files they don’t need permanently on their computers. For best practice, buy two drives, one for each function.
Unlike a desktop drive, portable drives don’t need an additional power source. And like the desktop version, a 2-month complimentary membership to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan is included and must be redeemed by a specified deadline.
Best Rugged Backup Drive for Mac: ADATA HD710 Pro
Of the four rugged external hard drives we cover, only two come in a 4 TB capacity. Of the two, the ADATA HD710 Pro is significantly more affordable. It’s even cheaper than some of the non-ruggedized portable drives we cover. How rugged is it? Extremely. It’s waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof and exceeds military-grade standards. It comes with a three-year warranty.
At a glance:
- Capacity: 1, 2, 4, 5 TB,
- Speed: 5400 rpm,
- Interface: USB 3.2,
- Case: extra-rugged triple-layered construction, various colors,
- Drop resistant: 1.5 meters,
- Water resistant: up to 2 meters for 60 minutes.
If you regularly use an external hard drive in extreme conditions, or if you’re just very clumsy, you’ll appreciate a ruggedized portable drive. The HD710 Pro is extremely rugged. It’s IP68 Waterproof, and has been tested being submerged in two meters of water for 60 minutes. It’s also IP68 military-grade shockproof and IP6X dustproof. And to demonstrate the company’s confidence in its own product, it comes with a three-year warranty.
For durability, the casing has three layers: silicone, a shock-absorbing buffer, and a plastic shell closest to the drive. A number of colors are available.
The Competition
Other Desktop Drives Worth Considering
I’ve owned a number of Western Digital My Books over the years and found them very good. They’re also very affordable and missed out on the win by a whisker. Seagate’s 8 TB drive is significantly cheaper, but if you’re after a 4 or 6 TB drive, a My Book is the way to go.
My Books are available in more capacities than the Seagate Backup Plus, which only comes in 4 and 8 TB models. So if you’re after some other capacity—large, small or in between—WD’s drives may also be a better choice for you. However, they don’t include a USB hub like the Backup Plus does.
At a glance:
- Capacity: 3, 4, 6, 8,10 TB,
- Speed: 5400 rpm,
- Interface: USB 3.0,
- Case: plastic.
If you’re willing to pay more for a luxurious metal enclosure that will match the good looks of your Mac, LaCie’s Porsche Design desktop drives fit the bill. When my fashion-conscious friend Daniel saw one it was love at first sight, and he had to buy it. The Amazon link below goes to the USB-C version of the drive, but the company also offers a version for USB 3.1 drives.
![Backup Backup](https://macosworld.ru/content/images/2019/11/my-backup-strategy-for-mac-1.png)
Since 2003, LaCie has been collaborating with design house Porsche Design to produce external hard drive enclosures that look like works of art. It’s a modern, minimalist design with rounded corners, high-polish beveled edges, and sandblasted finish. Apple approves and sells LaCie drives in their store.
Besides its good looks, LaCie’s desktop drive has a number of other features. First, an adaptor is included in the box, so you can use the USB 3.0 version in a USB-C port and vice-versa without additional cost. Second, like the Seagate drives, it includes a 2-month complimentary membership to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan. (This must be redeemed by a specified deadline.) Finally, it will charge your laptop while it’s plugged into the drive.
At a glance:
- Capacity: 4, 6, 8 TB,
- Speed: 5400 rpm,
- Interface: USB-C, USB 3.0 adaptor included. A USB 3.0 model is available separately.
- Case: aluminum enclosure by Porsche Design.
Finally, the most high-end drive we cover is the Fantom Drives G-Force 3 Professional. It’s the only high-speed 7200 rpm drive included in our review, features a sturdy black brushed-aluminum case that can be stored vertically to save some desk space, and comes in a wide range of capacities from 1-14 TB.
You’ll pay more for the G-Force than our winner, but it’s superior in every way. The high-speed drive is 33% faster than the other drives we review. That’s significant if you regularly save huge files, say video footage. The brushed black (or optional silver) aluminum casing looks good and is sturdier than the plastic cases of most of the competition. And the integrated stand allows you to store the drive vertically, which may save you some desk space.
There are also ten different storage capacities available, from 1 TB all the way up to 14 TB. While 2 or 4 TB will suit most users, if you need additional space the G-Force offers it in spades, but at a price. In summary, if you’re willing to pay for the best external hard drive out there, this is it.
At a glance:
- Capacity: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 TB,
- Speed: 7200 rpm,
- Interface: USB 3.0/3.1,
- Case: black aluminum (a silver version is available at a premium).
Other Portable Drives Worth Considering
I own a number of WD My Passport drives and love them. But they cost more than the Seagate Backup Plus Portable and have a plastic case rather than a metal one. Western Digital does offer a more expensive model with a metal case—the My Passport Ultra.
The My Passport for Mac is designed for the Mac and is Time Machine ready. A number of colors are available, and the cables match.
At a glance:
- Capacity: 1, 2, 3, 4 TB,
- Speed: 5400 rpm,
- Interface: USB 3.0,
- Case: plastic.
LaCie’s Porsche Design Mobile Drives look as good as their desktop counterparts, and are your best choice if you don’t mind paying more to make your external drive match your MacBook. While it doesn’t offer as much protection as a rugged drive, the case is made of 3 mm thick solid aluminum which certainly helps.
LaCie drives are designed for the Mac. They’re available in space gray, gold and rose gold, and come set up to work well with Time Machine. But they’ll work with Windows too. Like other options, drives with 4 TB and greater are significantly thicker.
At a glance:
- Capacity: 1, 2, 4, 5 TB,
- Speed: 5400 rpm,
- Interface: USB-C, USB 3.0 adaptor included,
- Case: aluminum enclosure by Porsche Design.
Like the LaCie Portable and Slim, the G-Technology G-Drive Mobile is mounted in an aluminum case that comes in three Apple colors. It costs about the same but comes in USB 3.0, USB-C and Thunderbolt versions. And like LaCie drives, Apple likes the look of them and sells them in their store.
At a glance:
- Capacity: 1, 2, 4 TB,
- Speed: 5400 rpm,
- Transfer speed: 130 MB/s,
- Interface: USB-C (USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt versions available),
- Case: aluminum,
- Colors: silver, space gray, rose gold.
Best Backup For Macs
Other Rugged Drives Worth Considering
The LaCie Rugged Mini is designed for all-terrain use. It’s shock-resistant (for drops of up to four feet), and dust and water-resistant. It’s available in USB 3.0, USB-C, and Thunderbolt versions. It’s the most expensive rugged drive we cover in this Mac backup drive review.
The aluminum case is protected by a rubber sleeve for extra protection. The drive inside is from Seagate, and it comes formatted for Windows, so it will have to be reformatted to work with your Mac. A zip-up case is included and features an interior strap to secure your drive in place.
At a glance:
- Capacity: 1, 2, 4 TB,
- Speed: 5400 rpm,
- Transfer speed: 130 MB/s (510 MB/s for Thunderbolt),
- Interface: USB 3.0 (USB-C and Thunderbolt versions available),
- Case: aluminum,
- Drop Resistant: 4 feet (1.2m), dust and water resistant.
With “armor” in the name, the Silicon Power Armor A80 is waterproof and military-grade shockproof. It’s not available in a 4 TB capacity, but the 2 TB drive is the least expensive we include in this review.
A layer of shock-resistant gel is placed inside the housing to add an extra bumper for full shock protection. The drive passed the US military MIL-STD-810F transit drop test and functioned perfectly after surviving falls from three meters.
At a glance:
- Capacity: 1, 2 TB,
- Speed: 5400 rpm,
- Interface: USB 3.1,
- Case: shock-resistant silica gel,
- Drop resistant: 3 meters,
- Water resistant: up to 1m for 30 minutes.
Another drive with a maximum capacity of 2TB, the Transcend StoreJet 25M3, is affordable, has excellent anti-shock protection, and is available in two colors.
The drive features a three-stage shock protection system that includes a silicone rubber case, an internal shock-absorbing suspension damper, and a reinforced hard casing. It meets the US military drop-test standards to protect your data.
At a glance:
- Capacity: 1, 2 TB,
- Speed: 5400 rpm,
- Interface: USB 3.1,
- Case: silicone rubber case, internal shock-absorbing suspension damper, reinforced hard casing,
- Drop resistant: US military drop-test standards.
I thought since I’ve been asked a few times about my backup strategy that I would share it here. Let’s start with a diagram and then we’ll walk through it.
My Device
My daily driver is a 2018 Mac mini and I am all-in on the Mac ecosystem. My backup solution is tailored to macOS from a home with a high-speed internet connection.
First Level Backup - Drive Imaging
What I wanted to solve here is a way to get back up and running if my internal disk suddenly fails even if all the data isn’t completely up-to-date. To solve this, I turn to a bootable disk image.
To accomplish this, I need two things. 1) An externally attached disk and 2) the software to mirror my internal drive and make the copy bootable.
The drive that I’m using for imaging is a Samsung T5 Portable SSD - 500GB. You need a drive that is the same in size to your internal storage and nothing larger. There is no value in buying a larger size drive. So, don’t bother spending the extra money. I decided to go with an SSD rather than a spinning disk for the mirroring for speed and because SSD’s have greatly dropped in price.
I am not sure when I first turned to SuperDuper, but it has to have been over a decade. I needed a way to image a drive for an earlier version of macOS. I did a Google search and found Shirt Pocket and their software; it worked flawlessly for my needs. Eventually, I moved beyond the free version which opened up a scheduler, Smart Update, few other extra features that I haven’t yet used. The scheduler is needed to set up automatic nightly updates and the software’s Smart Update feature allows the daily updates to run without reimaging the entire disk each time greatly speeding up the processing time.
Now that I have the drive and the software to create the bootable disk image copy, the only thing left is to set up the scheduler. I run nightly at 4:00 AM. Within 2-3 hours, it is complete and have a bootable copy. Of course, 4:00 AM may not be the best time for you. Choose an overnight time when you will not likely be around as the software does slow when backing up.
At this point, I have a bootable disk image updated daily. I could just stop here and have a pretty good backup solution.
But I didn’t…
Second Level Backup - Hourly Incremental
In addition to the daily bootable backup with SuperDuper, I run Time Machine backups. Time Machine is Apple’s built-in archive solution that keeps not only a complete disk backup but incremental hourly updates. It even goes a bit further by keeping multiple versions of archived files. The versioning, though, is merely a bonus. Kubota g1800 hst diesel manual. If you accidentally saved some changes to a Pages document and then realized you wanted the version from 12 hours ago, you’ve got that option. This versioning is not something to depend on like svn or git, however. As backup disk space runs out, older versions and backends are automatically truncated to keep the full backup in place.
The backups work as such: hourly for the past 24 hours, then daily for the past month, then weekly thereafter. The amount of older data Time Machine keeps is based on the Time Machine volume size. Here is where you want 3x or more storage for the drive and not equal size to your disk. Since, again
Why did I go with Time Machine when there are many other choices out there? What am I trying to achieve with the second level backup?
- Easy to implement
- Not expensive $$
- Hourly updates
- Good level of backups (hour, daily, weekly, monthly)
- Locally stored
- Under my control
Time Machine comes free and out of the box with MacOS. Its default configuration provides hourly, daily, weekly and monthly backups. It is a few clicks to set up. The data never leaves my desk.
There are a couple of choices on what type of drive to use or how to connect. I went with a Toshiba HDTB330XK3CB Canvio Basics 3TB USB drive that I had lying around and connected it to the 2018 Mac mini directly. If you have more machines to backup, a larger disk on the local network might the better choice, but since I had the drive sitting around, it worked for me.
Now, what about off-site backups?
Third Level Backup - Cloud Backup
Online Backup For Mac
The one thing I don’t have at this point is an offsite backup. What I wanted here was an easy tool to backup my most important files to the cloud.
The first question I had to answer was what files do I want to upload to a cloud hosting service? Since cloud storage has a monthly storage cost attached to it and my ISP’s upload speed is not nearly as good as my download speed (For those of you wondering, I get about 400/25), I want to be picky about what gets backed up remotely.
I chose the following folders to backup:
I’d recommend adding any other folders of user-created content that can’t be retrieved if your house burns down. This doesn’t mean your Applications folder since you can restore that from Apple’s Mac App Store or from downloading again from the publisher’s website.
The next question is where do I put all this important stuff? I chose Amazon Glacier. It is cheap long term storage in Amazon’s cloud with high durability. It is completely under my control and I can decide if I wish to encrypt the data with my keys before uploading or not. As for price, I think I pay somewhere between $5-6 per month for multiple TBs of data. For full pricing, take a look at Amazon’s pricing page.
The final question I asked was what tool do I use to get this important to stuff to Amazon Glacier? I found Cloudberry Backup for Mac to solve this problem. Why did I choose Cloudberry Labs?
To use Steve Gibson’s phrase of TNO: Trust No One approach to security, this software package ticks off the boxes.
- The software leaves me in control of what I am backing up and to where that data is going.
- I choose the compression
- I choose the encryption at rest
- and it allows for HTTPS/TLS encryption during transit
- I choose the final cloud destination be it S3/Glacier, Google Cloud or Azure.
Beyond that, the software is a breeze to configure but if you run into issues, Cloudberry’s support pages or contacts will solve your unique issues.
Notes
I didn’t include a HOW-TO with pretty screenshots to implement these backup options but just described the strategy here. If anyone wants a step-by-step, let me know in the comments and I’ll work on it. There are already many good references for each of these applications out there and I don’t think I could improve upon them.
Warning
Please, test your backups with restores.
- Boot from the SuperDuper drive. Does it boot correctly with all the data seemingly in place?
- Open up and dive into Time Machine. Look at some file history. Grab a file. Can you open and read it?
- Login to S3 and verify the files exist in Glacier. Pull a file back? Can you open and read it?
Taking backups is fantastic but if you can’t get the data back because of corruption, backups are pointless.
I would suggest testing at least every six months to confirm all is healthy.
Backup My Mac
Conclusion
This three tiered backup implementation might be overkill for most, but it gives me the peace of mind I need and provides an optimal solution to get back up and running quickly in the event of various types of data loss.
You may decide to just go with the bootable disk image, just time machine, or just an online solution like Carbonite or Blackblaze. You may pick two of the three. You may be paranoid like me and do all three. Start with one and increase based on your needs.
Happy Backups!