I'm supposed to back up my computer. Can someone help?

[IBrakeforPastry]

Okay, got it. Off to Best Buy. And thank you!!

[IBrakeforPastry]

My computer engineer brother prefers Western Digital brand. (You can set up your own cloud on it), though I think you can do that with most if you know what you are doing. I got one, but haven't taken it out of the box, yet. Had some trouble with the Seagrave brand drive I'm currently using. (Or maybe it's Seagate?).

And stay away from Mac--overpriced. Plus, yes, their permissions are a pain.

Thanks for the tip about Superduper, Oak. Good to know. I may ask again later when I set up my new drive. (Looking forward to not having Mac in the future. Too proprietary. Ugh).

The last part, that I bolded, what do you mean? I got my Mac 5 or 6 years ago. I like it because it was simple to use, once I took a few classes. I'm getting annoyed at all the upgrades that seem to change to way things work, and that I have to break old habits and learn new things. I have a math and science background, but never really got into computers other than to use them for "fun". Obviously, I'm here, but I use it for my photos and travel planning, and goofing off on message boards (although I've learned a lot, too). I've considered going back to a PC, but I remember having to deal with constant updates and anti-virus programs. Do you think I should look into it again?

[BikeDutchess]

Keep in mind that the first time you back up with Time Machine, it may take a few hours depending on the amount of data/files you have on your Mac. Don't try to back it up the first time right before you run off to your appointment at the shop!

[IBrakeforPastry]

It's the morning after. I set it up to run overnight and now what? Do I leave the drive plugged in?

[OakLeaf]

It's the morning after. I set it up to run overnight and now what? Do I leave the drive plugged in?

First, confirm that it's finished. It should be, but if you had a lot of data to back up and/or a lower-speed bus, it might not be. It might also be working on an update if it finished your initial backup. If you're using Time Machine, by default it places an icon on the menu bar in the shape of an analog clock face with an arrow encircling it. If it's in the process of backing up, there will be two arrowheads, or if that's too hard to see, you can click on the icon and the pull-down menu will either display the date of your latest backup, or "Backing Up" with a progress indicator.

If the drive isn't chewing on anything, then you can decide whether to leave it plugged in. If you leave it plugged in, it will automatically update itself on a regular schedule, so that's best if you don't have any reason to unplug it (like if you need to move your computer, or you need the port for another device).

If you do decide to unplug it, eject it from your system first. Go to Finder, then there are two ways you can eject an external drive: In a Finder window, on the left bar, below the list of your Favorites, the next category is Devices, and any connected drives are displayed. Select your backup drive and press Command-E, or choose Eject from the pull-down menu under File. Alternately, an icon of the drive should appear on your Desktop, and you can drag that to the Trash. It will grey out first; wait until it completely disappears before physically unplugging it. Then, best practice is to plug it back in when you can, so it can resume regular backups.

[IBrakeforPastry]

Thanks so much for all the help. It's finished - it was waiting for me this morning. Putting the Time Machine icon in the menu bar was actually an option. I checked the box, and now I can't find it
I'll leave it plugged in for now, and again, thank you all very much.

[OakLeaf]

You can also access it from System Preferences, fourth row of the main window.