I made no secret of my dislike for Apple's Backup application when it was first released. Backup versions 1 and 2 did not even qualify as backup software in my estimation, since they offered neither archiving nor duplicating capabilities.
But in late September 2005, Apple released an entirely new, rewritten-from-scratch Backup version 3. I'm delighted to be able to say it's no longer terrible! In fact, it has some downright useful features and a comprehensible user interface. Most importantly, it now creates additive incremental archives, thus qualifying it as a "real" backup application.

However (and you knew there would be a "however"), despite these significant improvements, I have a few reservations about Backup 3.
First, it still can't create duplicates. This is not a deal-breakeryou can use any of dozens of other applications to do that, and some of them are even freebut you'll have to set up and maintain two different backup applications.
Second, it only backs up files belonging to the currently logged-in user. If you're the only person using a machine, that's no big deal. But if two or more users share a Mac, each one must log in and run Backup separately to back up that user's files. Virtually all other backup programs can handle data for multiple users at once, correctly maintaining ownership and permissions for each user.
Finally, although Backup 3 can handle optical media just fine (and ably spans your data across multiple discs when necessary), it cannot write to a given disc in more than one session. So if, during a certain backup run, Backup needed a new DVD for just the last megabyte of data, all the rest of the empty space on that DVD would go to waste. You could not write anything more to it during your next backup run; you'd have to provide a new, blank disc. This limitation can greatly increase your media costs.
I'm happy to recommend Backup as an archiving tool to .Mac members who have just one user account, and who are backing up to hard disks (avoiding the optical media problem just mentioned). For everyone else, though, stick with one of the more mature third-party products such as Retrospect, Data Backup, or Tri-Backup.
BRU LE is a fairly robust application, but it's designed primarily for use with tape libraries. Performing backups to a hard disk or optical media with BRU LE is less than ideal.
NTI Shadow has a unique capability: the option to archive a copy of selected files every time you save them. In this way, it functions as a cross between a backup utility and a version-control application.
With the exception of Apple Backup, which has a snapshot capability, all the applications in this list make the restoration of an arbitrary day's worth of files unnecessarily complicated. Unlike earlier versions, Apple Backup 3 now offers very respectable capabilities and a reasonable interface. If you're a .Mac member, and if you're backing up to hard drives, and if you're the only user on your machine, Backup 3 makes a fine choice, and you can get it without any additional expense. (See the sidebar on the opposite page for more information.) However, if you don't meet those criteria, you can get a better solution for less money.
In other words: most people are better off sticking with one of the applications discussed earlier that can handle both duplicates and archivesin particular, Retrospect, Data Backup, or Tri-Backup.

Set Up Your Backup System

You've laid out a backup strategy, procured the necessary hardware and software, and now have a stack of boxes, cables, and discs on your desk. Now what? Time to set everything up, run your first backups, and verify that they work the way you were expecting. Because I don't know which hardware and software you've selected, I can't give you detailed instructions for installation and setup. However, I want to outline some procedures you should always follow

Test Hardware First

If you've purchased hard drives or other external devices, connect them and make sure your computer can write to and read from them before installing your backup software. Although I've seen a few cases in which a backup application can communicate with a device that does not otherwise appear visible to the computer, you are unlikely to encounter such a situation with hard drives and optical drives. If you connect a device after installing your backup software and it does not work, it will be harder to determine whether the device or the software is at fault.

Partitioning without Reformatting?

Four new utilities promise the capability of partitioning your hard disk without having to reformat it first, preserving all your data. I haven't tested them thoroughly, so I strongly recommend that you not attempt to repartition a drive without backing it up first.
Drive Genius: This $99 application from Prosoft Engineering includes disk testing, repair, and optimization features. You can also use it to add, delete, or resize partitions without reformatting a drivethough the current version cannot merge two partitions while keeping the data from both intact (www.prosofteng.com).
VolumeWorks: The $60 VolumeWorks from SubRosaSoft is basically the partitioning portion of Drive Genius packaged as a stand-alone product (www.subrosasoft.com).
DiskStudio: Micromat's DiskStudio is a $50 application that provides only partitioning tools, not testing or repair. Like Drive Genius, it can add partitions without erasing data or delete partitions while leaving the rest of the disk intact. However, it currently offers no mechanism for resizing partitions (www.micromat.com).
iPartition: From Coriolis Systems, the $45 iPartition, like DiskStudio, is strictly a partitioning tool. Unlike DiskStudio, it has the capability of resizing partitions without erasing your data. The only significant limitation is that it does not include its own bootable CDto use it on your startup disk, you must boot from another volume or create your own bootable CD that includes iPartition (www.coriolis-systems.com).
Your hard disk is now partitioned into multiple volumes, each of which will show up in the Finder as an independent disk.

Install and Test Software

Installing backup software may be a simple matter of dragging a downloaded file to your Applications folder, or you may need to run a more complex installer. In any case, follow the developer's directions to install your backup software now.

Tip
If you have more than one startup volume (not counting duplicates), consider installing your backup software onto each of them. This will make things easier if your main disk is unavailable and you need to restore files.

Read, or at least thoroughly skim, the documentation that came with your backup software. Acquaint yourself with the terminology the program uses and how its features are organized. Backup programs are notorious for being unintuitive, so spending some time with the manual before you do any heavy-duty configuration will save you grief later.
Next, just to get your feet wet, try backing up one arbitrary file (or small folder) from one volume to anotherand then restoring it. This seemingly small step can go a long way toward helping you to understand how the software works.

Label Media and Files

Most backup programs ask you to give descriptive names to each recurring backup procedure"Daily Archive," "Weekly Duplicate," "Backup Set A," or whatnot. Some applications use these names to label archives, bookmarks, catalogs, or other files stored as part of the backup, while others simply use them as an internal reference. In any case, applications usually make a distinction between the name of a given backup and the name of the media on which it is stored. You may duplicate a volume named "Greg" onto a volume named "Marcia," and you may store your daily archive, which you've named "Backup Set Delta," onto a volume named "Cindy." If you aren't careful with these names, confusion can easily result.
I strongly recommend consistency and clarity in names. Here are some specific guidelines:

• If using hard disks, give each volume (disk or partition) a different name in the Finder. Although you can use sequential letters or numbers to label the volumes, longer and more meaningful names may be less confusing. For example, if you use two rotating disks, each partitioned into two volumes, the first drive might have a piece of tape on it with the name "Bart." Bart could be partitioned into a volume named "Bart Duplicate Disk" and another named "Bart Archive Disk"; another drive, labeled "Lisa," would have "Lisa Duplicate Disk" and "Lisa Archive Disk." Notice that I used the word "Disk" to differentiate the name of the volume from the name of the backup procedure.
• Resist the temptation to name the backup disks the same as the source disks! After all, you'll still be able to boot from "Greg" if duplicated onto "Homer Duplicate Disk."
• If your software asks you to label backup procedures, scripts, files, or backup sets, follow a similar pattern, but add the frequency. For example: "Bart Weekly Duplicate" or "Lisa Daily Archive." And be sure to store a given backup on media with the corresponding label! That way you can easily keep track of which backup is stored on which media, without getting the labels of the procedures confused with the labels of the volumes.
• Put physical labels on all media (which could be writing on a CD with a marker or sticking a piece of masking tape on a hard drive case). The label should indicate the names of the volume(s) on the media.
• For multi-CD or -DVD sets, be sure to label each disc separately, following the name and sequence number the software gives it.

Set Up Duplicates

With your hardware and software installed, it's time to configure your first serious backup: a duplicate of your startup volume. The exact procedure varies from one application to the next, but I walk you through the basics.

Tip

In your backup application, select the function for making a bootable backup. Some applications distinguish between commands that are performed immediately and commands that can be performed on a schedule. Given the choice, select the option that can be scheduled.
Some applications require that you select a checkbox or otherwise indicate whether Unix ownership and permissions should be preserved; for duplicates, they should. If the application includes an option to follow aliases and symbolic links, be sure to deselect it.
If requested, give your duplication procedure a descriptive name, and select a source and destination volume. Keep in mind that the destination volume, if a hard disk or partition, must be at least as large as the amount of data on the source volume. Also, check to see that the destination volume does not ignore ownership; if it does, your duplicate will not be bootable. To check this, select the destination volume's icon in the Finder and choose File > Get Info. In the Ownership & Permissions portion of the window, make sure the checkbox labeled Ignore Ownership On This Volume is deselected.
You may have an option to turn incremental duplication on or off. If so, be sure to turn it on! Otherwise, every time you perform the duplication, the application will copy every single file on your hard disk, even though most of them have not changed.
If your application offers compression and encryption, be sure to turn them off. On the other hand, if it offers verification (checking that files were written properly), turn it on. Without verification, errors in writing files may go unnoticed, and even a tiny error in a single file could prevent your duplicate from working properly.
Finally, start the backup. Often this is just a matter of clicking a "Backup" button.
Now wait. Even if you have a fast computer, a fast hard drive, and a fast interface, duplicates can take some time. In some cases, you'll be able to continue using your computer while the files are being copied, but remember that if you modify files during this process, the duplicate will no longer be an accurate copy of your entire hard disk as it existed at a single point in time. It may be worth noting how much, if at all, the operation of your computer slows down while a backup is in progress, because this could affect when you schedule backups to run.
After testing your duplicate (next paragraph), you can repeat this procedure to set up duplicates on additional hard disks or other media. If you are creating duplicates of more than one volume, set up those additional volumes at the same time.

Test Your Duplicate

Even if your backup application reported no errors, you should test the duplicate to make sure it truly is bootable. If your duplicate was stored directly on another hard disk, testing it is easy. Follow these steps:

1. Open System Preferences and click the Startup Disk icon.

2. Select the volume where your duplicate is stored. (You did give it a unique name, right?)
Note
If you duplicated your hard disk to an external drive connected to a server, you must physically connect that drive directly to the Mac you want to start up. If it's on another machine, it will not appear in the Startup Disk preference pane. The only way to boot a Mac over a network is to use NetBoot to load a special disk image stored on a central machine running Mac OS X Server; an ordinary hard drive won't work, even if it contains a bootable copy of Mac OS X.

3. Click Restart.

4. After your computer restarts, verify that it used your duplicate as the startup volume. If your Finder preferences are set to display mounted hard disks on the Desktop, the one shown at the top is your startup volume. (To set this preference, choose Finder > Preferences, click the General icon, and make sure the Hard Disks checkbox is selected.)

If your computer did not start from the correct volume, restart it again, holding down the Option key until the screen displays icons for each of the valid startup volumes. Click the volume you wish to use and then click the right arrow button to complete the startup process.
Tip
If your computer refuses to boot from a FireWire drive even after holding down the Option key at restart, one possible cause is a conflict with other FireWire devices (such as an iSight camera). Disconnect all other FireWire devices from your system and try again with only your external hard drive attached.

5. Do a few spot checks to confirm that important files are where they should be, that you have network access (try viewing a Web page), and that a few applications launch. I recommend not checking your email, though, as doing so may download messages and delete the originals from the serveryou'll miss them when you return to your usual startup disk.

6. Return to System Preferences, click the Startup Disk icon, choose your usual startup disk, and click Restart.

You've just confirmed that your duplicate works correctly. If your computer does not restart from your duplicate volume, however, your backup software may have malfunctioned. Try performing the duplication again, consult your software's documentation, or contact the developer's technical support department for assistance.

Note
Using an External Drive as a Startup Volume. All modern Macs (those manufactured since approximately 2000) can boot from an external FireWire hard drive, assuming the drive was manufactured to the proper specifications; Intel-based Macs can also boot from USB 2.0 drives.
If you have trouble booting from an external drive, check Apple's Web site to confirm that your machine supports booting from the interface you're using. Also check the drive manufacturer's site to see whether any firmware updates are available for your drive.

Set Up Archives

Next, configure your archive backups. As with duplicates, the exact procedure varies from one application to the next, but again, I give you a basic overview.

Tip

In your backup application, select the function appropriate for making an archive.
Select your destination. If you are archiving files to a hard disk, choose that disk. You may wish to create a new folder on that disk to contain your backups, especially if the disk also holds other files.
If you're storing your archive on optical media or a disk image, some backup software requires that you first mount the volume in the Finder. To do this:

• For blank optical media, simply insert the disc into your drive; when prompted, give the disc a name and choose the (admittedly confusing) action Open Finder. (This is not required in Retrospect, which can write directly to optical media. When creating your backup set, choose "CD/DVD" as the backup set type.)
• For a disk image, launch Disk Utility (located in /Applications/Utilities) and choose Images > New > Blank Image. Specify a name and location for the image. Select Sparse Disk Image as the format, meaning that the image will automatically grow as necessary to accommodate more files, with its initial size being whatever you select from the Size pop-up menu. Optionally (but recommended) choose AES-128 from the Encryption pop-up menu. Click Create, and if you previously chose to encrypt the image, specify a passphrase when prompted. Disk Utility automatically mounts the new image in the Finder, ready to be used by your backup software.
  If your application offers compression and encryption and you have not already turned them on, consider doing so now. Compression will slow your backup but enable it to occupy much less spacenormally a good thing. If you select encryption, choose a secure passphraseand don't forget it! Also, if the software offers verification (checking to see that files were written properly), turn it on. Verification alerts you to errors in writing files that may otherwise go unnoticed and cause problems when you try to restore the files.