[SOLVED] I need an app to back up only the main data folders in OS X?

[Rodion15]

Hi,
Sometimes I need to back up the main data in a hard drive, such as documents, videos, emails, etc so I can reinstall OS X then restore the data. I'd use this app once only, so I don't need this app to back up regularly. I wonder if there's some (preferably free) app that lets you choose which folders to back up.
I found Migration Assistant, Time Machine and Disk utility-restore aren't very good for this.

 

[glamdringfh]

Hi rodion,

Carbon Copy Cloner is one of the best apps on Mac for this. It isn't free, but you can specifically setup what files/ folders you want backed up to your other drive. It also DOES have a regular backup option if you ever want to set up backups that are a bit more specific than time machine.

CCC is a quality piece of software that hasn't ever produced a bad backup for me, and I've run 100's of TB through the backup process.

Link to CCC: https://bombich.com/

 

[McHenryB]

Time Machine is excellent - what is your problem with it?

 

[glamdringfh]

Time Machine is excellent, but not a great choice if you want to back up ONLY a few specific files and folders. Of course, it is also free, so it's certainly hard to argue it wins the performance/ dollar backup category.

 

[Rodion15]

Time Machine is excellent - what is your problem with it?

Thanks, I used carbon copy cloner today. I chose folder to folder restore to restore from the Users folder I had backed up from a fatally damaged drive but it worked fine.

 

[Rodion15]

Time Machine is excellent - what is your problem with it?

I guess Time Machine backup is good to backup the whole volume then restore the folders you choose. But I think you cannot backup only choice folders.

 

[glamdringfh]

Glad CCC worked out for you! And yes, Time Machine has to back up an entire drive, it cannot target individual files and folders.

Cheers

 

[jsmithepa]

Can one move the data folders out of the boot drive and into a separate partition EASILY then have OSX from now on writes its data to the new location?

I know in Windows /user can be relocated.

 

[McHenryB]

Time Machine is excellent - what is your problem with it?

I guess Time Machine backup is good to backup the whole volume then restore the folders you choose. But I think you cannot backup only choice folders.

You can specify which folders/files you don't want to backup with Time Machine so it's easy to, for example, just back up users' home folders. It's also good because you can go back to any particular point in time that you wish to (hence the name).

 

[McHenryB]

Can one move the data folders out of the boot drive and into a separate partition EASILY then have OSX from now on writes its data to the new location?

I know in Windows /user can be relocated.

Yes, that's easy to do in OS X if the problem is a lack of space on the boot drive.