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# How to back up your Mac to an external drive with Time Machine
- URL: https://www.skimwire.com/how-to-back-up-mac-time-machine/
- Published: 2026-11-07T18:15:01.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-07T18:15:01.000Z
- Description: Set up a Time Machine drive on macOS Ventura or later, avoid erasing files you need, and check that the first backup finishes.
- Author: Sam Rivera
- Tags: How-To

**Quick answer:** Connect an external drive, then open Apple menu → System Settings → General → Time Machine. Click Add Backup Disk, select the drive and click Set Up Disk. Read any erase warning before continuing, then let the first backup finish.

## The skim

- **Scope:** These setup steps are for macOS Ventura 13 or later and a directly connected external drive, not a network backup.
- **Protect existing files:** Setup may ask to erase the backup drive. Choose a different disk if it contains files you still need.
- **Check completion:** The Time Machine menu shows backup progress or the latest backup's date and time. Selecting a disk is not the same as finishing a backup.

## Before you start

Time Machine makes recurring backups of personal files, including documents, photos and apps you added. Apple's Mac guide says it does not back up system files or apps installed as part of macOS installation. This is a file-backup guide, not a promise of a bootable copy of your entire drive.

Use an external USB or Thunderbolt storage device connected to a compatible port. [Apple recommends a backup device with at least twice your Mac's storage capacity](https://support.apple.com/en-us/104984?ref=skimwire.com): for a Mac with 1TB of storage, ideally use at least 2TB. Use the backup disk for Time Machine rather than mixing it with everyday file storage. Apple's advanced guidance allows separate APFS volumes, but creating those is outside this walkthrough.

**Do not erase a drive to follow this guide if it holds your only copy of something important.** Choose another disk or preserve those files elsewhere first. This warning is editorial advice about the erase prompt, not an action we have taken on your computer.

If you've recently moved to a new Mac after our [MacBook Pro coverage](https://www.skimwire.com/touchscreen-macbook-pro-proled-reviews-oled-touch/), setting up ongoing backups is a separate job from transferring files once.

## Set up your backup drive

1. Connect the external storage device to the appropriate port on your Mac.
2. Open the **Apple menu → System Settings**.
3. Click **General** in the sidebar, then **Time Machine** on the right.
4. Click **Add Backup Disk**, or the **Add** button if that's what appears.
5. Select the connected drive, then click **Set Up Disk**.
6. If asked to erase the device, stop and check its contents. Apple's alternatives are to erase it or select a different backup disk or volume. Use the latter if you're not ready to lose its existing contents.
7. If you turn on **Encrypt Backup**, create the backup password when prompted. Apple says you'll need that password to restore files from the encrypted backup; keep it somewhere you can retrieve later.

If setup asks to claim backups made on another computer, Apple says to claim them only if you want them to become part of this Mac's backups. This guide otherwise assumes you're starting a new backup destination.

## Finish the first backup and check its status

Apple says backups begin immediately after setup. The first one can take longer than later backups; you can keep using the Mac while it runs. There is no fixed completion time to promise.

1. If you want to start a backup manually, choose **Back Up Now** from the Time Machine menu in the menu bar.
2. Use that same menu to check progress. Its top section shows how much of the current backup is done, or the latest backup's date and time.
3. Before disconnecting the disk, eject it or shut down the Mac. Time Machine resumes its backup schedule when you reconnect it.

If the Time Machine menu isn't visible, Apple's setup page directs you to configure system settings to show its menu-bar status. You can still reach Time Machine settings through General; this guide doesn't guess a version-specific menu-bar customization path.

## What happens next?

Apple describes hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month and weekly backups for previous months. The oldest backups are deleted when the backup disk fills. To change backup frequency on macOS Ventura 13 or later, choose **Open Time Machine Settings** from the Time Machine menu, click **Options**, then choose from **Back up frequency**.

For moving data between computers, use our existing [Migration Assistant guide](https://www.skimwire.com/how-to-transfer-data-new-mac-migration-assistant/). It covers transfer; this guide covers creating and checking the recurring backup that you keep afterward. These instructions were verified against Apple's documentation, not hands-on tested by Skimwire.

*Sources:* [*Apple: Back up your Mac with Time Machine*](https://support.apple.com/en-us/104984?ref=skimwire.com)*;* [*Apple Mac User Guide: Back up your files*](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/back-up-files-with-time-machine-mh35860/mac?ref=skimwire.com)*;* [*Apple: Compatible backup disks*](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102423?ref=skimwire.com)*.*