Backup and storage before system wipe

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Level 1

42 points

Backup and storage before system wipe

At the suggestion of both an Apple phone support technician and an Apple Store Genius Bar employee I met with in person, I have reluctantly agreed to have a system wipe performed on my MacBook to resolve ongoing problems. I probably won't do this for a week or so because I want to explore multiple ways to back up my files. I'll be speaking with someone via phone support about how to save everything to my external backup drive (San Disk G-Drive Armor Lock); the appointment was made by the Genius Bar consultant who probably sensed I was uncomfortable doing this myself. I'm also considering saying a few key, large documents to iCloud Drive. I don't have enough storage for my entire system, and it's not practical to buy that much more, although I might invest in a moderate amount of additional storage. I'm also looking into using at least one more external drive that wouldn't be regularly connected to my laptop like the Armor Lock. It would mainly be an extra storage device for some of my most important files, periodically updated. I'm very nervous about the system wipe and want to take every step I can to protect my data and files. Any recommendations?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 15.6

Posted on Sep 18, 2025 08:10 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

MartinR

Level 7

23,565 points

Sep 18, 2025 08:55 AM in response to NJM55

First you need to identify & inventory all the data you want to preserve. Only you can do that. Most apps default to saving data somewhere in your user home folder (Documents, Desktop, etc.) but you may have saved things elsewhere on your drive(s).

Apps like iMovie, Photos, Music, TV, Final Cut, etc. - the default location for their libraries is in your user home folder but you may have moved them elsewhere. You should back up those libraries.
Email (Mail, Outlook, etc) data is normally IMAP, which means it is stored on the email server, not locally on your.Mac ... but if you use POP or have moved/copied any emails to "On my Mac" you may want to archive those emails/email folders to MBOX files and copy them to your backup drive.

Second, good practice is to have at least 2 backups of your data, on different drives, one of which is kept offsite.

Make sure you have a written record of your license/activation codes for any 3rd party apps you may have. You will need them after the system wipe when you reinstall those apps.

Also, don't rely on iCloud for backup ... it is not backup; it is a synchronization service.

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Answer 2

kaz-k

Level 9

51,012 points

Sep 18, 2025 08:54 AM in response to NJM55

Hi,

Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! could backup clone copy of your MacBook Pro internal drive on your external drive which is the easiest way to take back up whole internal drive, I guess.

I'm not sure your MacBook Pro internal drive size, though USB memory stick is also good back up tool to important data back up.

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Answer 3

Sep 18, 2025 03:17 PM in response to kaz-k

<< USB memory stick is also good back up tool to important data back up. >>

I strongly disagree.

USB sticks are good for temporary storage of items for which you already have another copy, and to move files between computers.

USB sticks are NOT good for long term storage at all. This is because their technology is not suitable for long term use. They forget everything if not used from time-to-time.

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