Backing up to local or network storage

1. Open Acronis True Image.

2. Perform one of the following:

   • If this is your first backup, skip this step.

   • If you already have a backup and you want to create a new one, click Add Backup at the bottom of the backup list.

     To delete a backup, right-click it, and then click Delete. The backup will be removed from the list and the backup files and the files of the backup replica will be permanently deleted from the backup storage. These files cannot be ever recovered.

3. Click the backup source icon, and then select what you want to back up:

   • Entire Mac

     When you select this option, Acronis True Image backs up all your internal hard drives in disk mode. The backup contains the operating system, installed programs, system settings, and all your personal data including your photos, music, and documents.

   • Disks

   • Files and folders

     To back up data that is synced to the cloud by a third-party cloud service provider, the actual data must be stored locally. If the files or folders are stored in the cloud, you will see only their local placeholders. Placeholders often have a cloud icon and are also considerably smaller in size. When you select source files for backup, you must select the local files, and not the placeholders. If the cloud service does not store your data locally, it cannot be backed up and recovered.

   • Mobile device

     See Backing up mobile devices for details.

   • Files to notarize

     See Notarized backup for details.

   • NAS (if any connected)

     

4. Click the backup destination icon, select where you want to save the backup file to, and then click OK. If the location is not listed, click Browse, and then select a location.

   If you have an NAS device, it will be automatically detected and listed along with other locations.

5. [Optional step] Configure additional settings. You can:

   • Configure the backup schedule at Settings → Schedule. See Scheduling for details.
   • Set the backup retention rules at Settings → Cleanup. See Cleaning up backups, backup versions, and replicas for details.
   • Protect your backup with a password and encryption at Settings → Encryption. See Backup encryption for details.
   • Exclude files and folders manually at Settings → Exclusions. See Excluding items from backups for details.
   • Configure the backups attempts at Settings → Error Handling.
6. After you have configured all settings and you are ready to start a backup, click Back Up.

To recover your Mac from a Acronis True Image backup, you must have Acronis bootable media. If you do not have one, create it. See Creating Acronis bootable media for details.