OS X Mountain Lion: Time Machine preferences
You can set up Time Machine to automatically back up all your important files, including your documents, music, photos, applications, and any other items you keep on your hard disk.
Use Time Machine preferences to select a backup disk, turn Time Machine on or off, and set options.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| On and Off switch |
Time Machine backs up your files to your backup disk every hour. To stop automatic backups, slide the switch to Off. Automatic backups resume when you turn Time Machine back on. |
| Select Disk List of backup disks |
Click Select Disk to select an external disk, Time Capsule, network drive, or other location for your backups. To set up multiple backup disks, select one and set its options, and then repeat the steps for the next disk. If you’ve already set up Time Machine, an icon for your backup disk is shown with information about available disk space and the timing for the next backup. If you have multiple backup disks, they are all listed. To add or remove backup disks, click “Add or Remove Backup Disk” at the bottom of the list. |
| Options |
To exclude items from being backed up, click Options. |
| Show Time Machine in menu bar |
To add a Time Machine menu to the menu bar along the top of your screen, select this checkbox. The Time Machine menu shows when your last backup was performed, and lets you begin a backup immediately or use Time Machine to restore files. |