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Does IDrive Portable drive support Mac OS X?
The IDrive Portable drive can be used with Mac OS X and time-machine.
When you connect the IDrive Portable drive via the USB, you may be prompted to reformat to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and choose a name for it. Reformatting may take a few minutes; as soon as it is done, the time-machine should kick in and ask if you want it as your backup drive. From this point, it should work with the time-machine application.
Note: To ensure that the portable drive can be used with Windows and Mac OS, you need to format it using MS-DOS(FAT). |
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How can I format IDrive Portable Drive to be used with Time Machine backup?
To format IDrive Portable Drive in order to make it compatible with the Time Machine Backup, follow the steps below:
- Open 'Disk Utility'. (From 'Finder', click 'Go' in the Menu Bar, then 'Utilities').
- Select the drive in the sidebar (it will show up as an orange icon with size details).
- On the 'Partition' tab, select '1 Partition' under 'Volume Scheme' and click the 'Options' button.
- Select 'GUID Partition Table'; click 'OK' and then 'Apply', followed by the 'Partition' button.
Once the IDrive Portable is repartitioned and reformatted it can be used with any backup application on Mac OS X including Time Machine.
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How do I connect the Y-cable to the Mac?
- Connect the USB DATA AND POWER cable to a USB port on your Mac.
- If your Mac does not recognize the portable drive, you may need to provide additional power by connecting the 'Additional USB Power' to a second USB port on your Mac.
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Will the IDrive Portable for Mac application work on any external drive?
Yes. While we recommend the use of the IDrive Portable drive, the IDrive Portable for Mac software is compatible with other external drives. |
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How do I install the IDrive Portable for Mac application?
The IDrive Portable software is pre-loaded when you purchase the IDrive Portable drive. In case you are using any other external drive, copy the IDrive Portable for Mac setup to the external drive and install it. |
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How do I upgrade to the latest version of the application?
Download the application at www.idrive.com/portable/download.htm and copy the setup to the IDrive Portable USB drive (purchased earlier). Double-click to run and install the updated setup on your Mac. |
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When I install the IDrive Portable application for the first time on my Mac, I see a screen with the 'Edit my Backup set' button. How is it useful?
By default, the IDrive Portable for Mac application pre-selects the 'Desktop', 'Documents', 'Downloads', 'Library', 'Movies', 'Music' and 'Pictures' folders for backup. You may modify the 'Default Backup set' by clicking the 'Edit my Backup set' button.
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How do I backup my data?
Using the Backup Now button
- Open the application.
- Select the files/folders from the left pane (My Files) using the check boxes.
- Click the 'Backup Now' button to start the backup.
Drag-n-drop
- Open the application.
- Drag files/folders from the left pane (My Files) or Finder and drop on the right pane (My Portable Drive).
Note: Files and pictures can be dragged-n-dropped for backup, even as you work on them.
Using IDrive Portable Monitor Status Item
- Click the IDrive Portable Monitor status item on the status menu bar.
- Select the 'Backup Now' option.
This starts an immediate backup for the content of your previously created Backup set.
Note: Ensure that you have installed the setup from the portable device and that the device is available at the time of backup. |
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Is it possible to backup from multiple Macs?
Yes. Install the IDrive Portable application on multiple Macs in the same way that you would for a single Mac.
- First Mac: Attach the external drive to your Mac via USB; install the setup that is pre-loaded/downloaded onto the drive, to the Mac. Execute backups.
- Second Mac: Same as 1.
The application is smart enough to separate the data from multiple Macs and organize them in specific folders, based on the name of the Mac, by default.
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What is the sync feature?
The sync feature brings data in the portable drive to be the same as your Mac, for the selected files and folders. This is useful in case you have removed data from your Mac and wish to do the same from the portable drive.
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Can I backup Mounted/USB/External drives?
Yes, you can backup Mounted/USB/External drives. The contents to be backed up must be a part of the Backup set and available at the time of backup. |
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How do I search and restore the data from my external drive? |
You can locate files backed up to your IDrive Portable drive and restore them to your Mac.
For this, follow the steps given below:
- Open the application.
- Enter the file or folder name in the search field on the top right hand side of the main screen and press 'Enter'.
The 'File Search' screen is displayed, as shown below:
- All the files matching the search criteria are displayed.
- From the search result, select the desired file and click 'Restore' to restore it to your Mac or 'Delete' to delete it from your IDrive Portable drive.
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How do I exclude my files from backup?
The Exclude Tab in the Preferences screen allows you to exclude data from backup.
By default, some files and folders including all hidden files and folders are excluded by the IDrive Portable for Mac application. To backup excluded items, clear the check boxes and perform the backup operation.
To exclude files/folders, click the 'plus' icon and select the files/folders that you wish to exclude.
You can exclude files/folders in the following ways:
Exclude files/folders based on full/partial name:
In the 'Exclude files/folders based on full/partial name' box, enter the full or partial name of the file(s)/folder(s) that you want to exclude from backup and click the 'Close' button.
The same exclude parameters are displayed in the list box.
You can exclude files and folders on the basis of wildcard characters.
'*' - Represents one or more character(s).
Example: To exclude a folder named 'JAMES', you can enter 'J*'. Here, the '*' replaces or represents the remaining characters of the folder 'JAMES'. During backup operation, the IDrive Portable for Mac application will search for the folders starting with letter 'J' and exclude them from being backed up.
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