How to Back Up My iBook G4 to an External Hard Drive

by Jason Taetsch
Store you backup files on an external hard drive for safekeeping.

Store you backup files on an external hard drive for safekeeping.

Thomas Northcut/Photodisc/Getty Images

The Mac OS X operating system includes Time Machine, a built-in backup utility that helps users create a computer backup in case of an emergency. Use Time Machine to create a backup of your iBook G4's entire system on an external hard drive. After the backup is created you can go back at any point to restore files, documents and software programs from the backup in the event they are damaged or accidentally deleted.

Step 1

Click the "Time Machine" icon on your Mac's dock along the bottom of OS X or from the "Applications" folder in the "Finder" window.

Step 2

Connect the external hard drive to your iBook G4 using the USB cable that came with your external hard drive. Plug the end of the cable with the USB connector into an available port on the iBook G4 and plug the other end into the external hard drive. Alternatively, if your external hard drive uses FireWire, plug it into the FireWire port next to the USB port.

Step 3

Click the "Use as backup disk" button in the Time Machine prompt that opens when the hard drive is detected. The Time Machine application will immediately begin backing up the hard drive on your iBook G4. Do not disconnect the external hard drive or power off the iBook when the backup creation is in progress.

Tip

  • The first backup file for your iBook can take up to several hours to create depending on how much data is on your hard drive. Also, make sure the external hard drive being used to back up your iBook G4 is at least the size of the hard drive you are backing up.

About the Author

Jason Taetsch graduated from The College of New Jersey with a degree in English. Taetsch co-founded the on-campus literary magazine, "Paperclips." In 2006 he began writing professionally. He wrote news articles and independently authored op-ed columns for the on-campus newspaper, "The Signal" and had articles published in "Garden State Surf Magazine."

Photo Credits

  • Thomas Northcut/Photodisc/Getty Images