Now is a great time to upgrade your Time Machine drive to an SSD
How old is your backup drive? If you've had it for many years, it's probably time to consider upgrading to a new model, especially if you are still using one of the older, unreliable mechanical hard drives that have been common until recently.
Solid-state drives have been dropping in price in recent years, to the point where if you haven't made the switch to this faster, more reliable technology, now is a good time to consider it.
Solid State Drives vs Hard Drives
A hard drive (HDD) is what we have been using in computers for decades to store data. They work like a record player with a spinning disc, but instead of a diamond needle, it has a small magnet that reads and modifies 1s and 0s. In addition to being slow, a small imperfection or bump can sometimes cause the head to literally “crash” into the disk.
A solid-state drive (SSD) has no moving parts. They are simply chips that your computer can access instantly. Apple started moving Macs from hard drives to SSDs around 2010, and made the full switch in 2020. To give you an idea of how much more reliable they are, before Apple switched, I had about 2 to 4 customers a month with crashed hard drives. Since Mac switched to SSD, I can only recall three customers ever having them fail.
Not to mention, SSDs are faster. A typical backup hard drive runs around 80 megabytes per second. A typical SSD runs around 1,000 megabytes per second.
But I already have iCloud, why do I need a Time Machine backup?
iCloud syncs changes (including deletions). If you delete a file on your Mac, it’s deleted on iCloud and your other devices.
Not everything lives in iCloud. It depends on what you have turned on, and many apps and settings are not fully covered.
Time Machine is a true backup. It keeps a history of your entire Mac so you can restore older versions, recover deleted files, migrate to a new Mac, or even revert your system software after a failed upgrade.
How do I know if I already have an SSD?
If you've purchased a new backup drive on my recommendation in the past 4 to 5 years, it is likely already an SSD. Apart from looking for markings that say Hard Drive, Hard Disk, or HDD there are a few tell-tale signs that it's a hard drive:
How big is it? Most hard drives are larger than a pack of playing cards. Most SSDs are smaller.
Does it vibrate if you hold it in your hand? Hard drives spin when in use, and the spinning disc inside creates a gyroscope effect. SSDs have no moving parts.
Is it a Samsung T7/T8 or a SanDisk Extreme? Those are very common models of SSD.
The most sure way to find out, though a little more advanced, is to consult Disk Utility. While your drive is connected, open the Disk Utility app from Applications > Utilities. Click your backup drive on the left column, then click the “Info” button on the button bar. In the panel that opens up, scroll down to look for the entry “Solid state”.
Not sure? Email a photo of your drive to me.
What to buy
Get a drive that is double the capacity of your computer storage. I have an article with my current recommendation.
How to set up a new Time Machine backup drive
Plug in the new SSD. Ignore any apps on the disk; you don't need them.
On your Mac, open System Settings.
Go to General > Time Machine.
Remove any backup disks you will no longer be using by clicking each one to highlight, then clicking the "-" minus button below.
Click Add Backup Disk, then select your new SSD. If your Mac asks to erase the drive so it can be used for Time Machine, choose Erase as long as the SSD is new, or you do not need anything on it.
Turn on Encrypt Backup. I suggest entering the same password you use for your computer, and saying so in the hint box. If you lose this password, you cannot access your backup, and the backup drive will need to be erased.
Leave your Mac on and connected to power for several hours to complete the first backup
Next time you plug in your backup drive, check the box to "Remember Password" when entering your password.
Connect your backup drive periodically. At least once a month, but the more often the better. If you work at a desk, you can leave it connected all the time.
Because your new backup drive will only have files that are currently on your computer, I recommend keeping your old backup drive for a few weeks. This way, if you discover that a file was missing or changed and you didn't know until now, you can get back to your old Time Machine history.
Want me to set it up for you?
If you would rather not deal with formatting, encryption passwords, or making sure Time Machine is actually working, I can help quickly and remotely.
Book an appointment at jimmytechsf.com/book
