Softpedia >News >Apple >Tips & Tricks
Softpedia Homepage   

Quick Tip - Making a Backup Copy of Mac OS X

Use this short guide to ensure you always have your favorite OS at hand

Jun 19, 2008 19:17 GMT  ·  By
  

Often are the times when even your original Mac OS X installation disc fails to do its bit. Discs get scratched, damaged, or lost. That's why, as a Mac user, it is always a wise choice to make a backup copy of Mac OS X.

This short guide details the steps to making a bootable copy of Mac OS X Tiger. You will go through two main steps - the first: creating the Mac OS X image; the second: burning the image on an empty, writable disc.

MAKING A COPY OF MAC OS X TIGER

Creating the Mac OS X Tiger Image

1- Grab that Mac OS X Tiger copy and feed it to your Mac

2- Fire up Disk Utility

3- In the left pane of Disk Utility, Mac OS X Install DVD will appear. Click it once.

4- On the Disk Utility toolbar, click new image.

5- A dialog box should appear prompting you to specify the name of the image, the image format, encryption and, of course, the place where you want it saved on your computer. Leave image format and encryption to "compressed" and "none" respectively. Assign a name to your image (I dubbed it Mac OS X Backup Copy for this "demo") and choose the location where you want your image saved.

6- Hit "save" and good ol' Disk Utility will start creating your image of Mac OS X Tiger (it's going to take a while depending on your system's abilities, so be patient if the process is slow).

Burning your backup copy of Mac OS X Tiger

1- Lock the Mac OS X Tiger Backup image - right click / ctrl click on the image, and tick / check "locked."

2- Mount the Mac OS X Tiger backup image.

3- Now you will need Disk Utility again so launch it once more.

4- With Disk Utility in front of you and a quality DVD-R in hand (re-writable works just as well, in case you want to test it out), browse your way to where you've saved the Tiger Image (the Mac OS X Backup Copy).

5- Click (once) on the Tiger image in the right pane in Disk Utility.

6- Hit "Burn" in the Disk Utility toolbar.

7- Insert the writable / re-writable DVD in your drive and give Disk Utility the go-ahead to burn.

That's it!

NOTE: This short guide is for personal use only. You should not proceed to making a backup copy of Mac OS X Tiger if you are not the owner of the original copy. Softpedia does not condone piracy or the unauthorized duplication of Mac OS X Tiger.