Keep Your Mac Safe: Watch Your Time Machine Backups
Keeping an eye on your Time Machine backups helps you make sure your files are safe and your backups are running smoothly. It’s an easy way to catch problems early and know that if anything goes wrong, you can restore your Mac without stress.
- Click on Apple logo () in upper left hand corner of your screen.
- Select System Settings.
- Scroll down the settings list and select, or search for, Time Machine.
From here you can watch:
- Progress Bar – A visual indicator showing how much of the backup has completed and how much remains.
- Current File Being Backed Up – The name of the file or folder Time Machine is currently copying.
- Backup Size and Speed – Some versions show files and folders being transferred and the approximate speed.
- Estimated Time Remaining – How long the backup might take to finish.
- Status Messages – Notifications about completed tasks, skipped items, or errors encountered.
- Date/Time of Last Successful Backup – Helps you confirm when your most recent backup finished.
