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Back It Up
Protect your data by backing it up. You can back up your data to your My Book Live using Apple Time Machine.
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To set up Time Machine and back up files to your drive:
- On your Mac computer, launch Time Machine.
- If a screen displays informing you that a storage location for Time Machine backups hasn't been selected, click Set Up Time Machine.
- Click Choose Backup Disk, and select your My Book Live.
- Click Use for Backup.
- At the prompt, select Guest, and then click Connect.
- Click the Time Machine toggle switch to On.
- Add a Time Machine dropdown icon to the menu bar by selecting the Show Time Machine Status in the Menu Bar checkbox.
Back It Up
What do you want to do?
Protect your data by backing it up. With your Windows 7 computer, you can back up your data two ways:
- Using WD SmartWare software
- Using Windows Backup - a feature available in Windows 7 (Professional and Ultimate editions)
Back up all or selected file categories with WD SmartWare
To use WD SmartWare to back up file categories (all or selected ones), do the following:
Action 1: Download and install WD SmartWare
- Download the WD SmartWare software.
- Run the .exe to start installation and follow the onscreen instructions.
Action 2: Back up file categories with WD SmartWare
- Launch WD SmartWare by doing the following:
- In the system tray, click the WD SmartWare icon.
- In the popup menu, select WD SmartWare.
- In the popup menu, select WD SmartWare.
- If you have more than one WD device connected to your network, select the one you want to use for backup.
- If your computer has more than one internal hard drive or drive partition, click the dropdown arrow below your computer icon and choose an item from the menu.
- Click the Backup tab.
- Make sure that WD SmartWare is set to Back up Categories.
Note:- If set correctly, the Ready to Perform Category Backup message appears in the upper-left corner.
- If the "Ready to perform file backup" appears, click Switch to Category Backup.
- Click Advanced View.
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In the Detailed View section, do one of the following:
- Select all file categories for backup.
- Specify categories for backup by selecting and deselecting category options. Note: A selected option means the category is selected.
- Click Apply Changes.
- Click Start Backup.
Back up all or selected files and folders with WD SmartWare
To use WD SmartWare to back up files and folders (all or selected ones), do the following:
Action 1: Download and install WD SmartWare
- Download the WD SmartWare software.
- Run the .exe to start installation and follow the onscreen instructions.
Action 2: Back up files and folders using WD SmartWare
- Launch WD SmartWare.
- In the system tray, click the WD SmartWare icon.
- From the popup menu, choose WD SmartWare.
- On the Home screen, do the following, as needed:
- If you have more than one WD device connected to your network, select the one you want to use for backup.
- If your computer has more than one internal hard drive or drive partition, click the dropdown arrow below your computer icon and choose an item from the menu.
- Click the Backup tab.
- Make sure that WD SmartWare is set to back up files
Note:- If set correctly, Ready to Perform File Backup appears in the upper-left corner.
- If set correctly, Ready to Perform File Backup appears in the upper-left corner. If it does not, click Switch to File Backup.
- Do one of the following:
- Select all files and folder by clicking the option for your computer's internal hard drive.
- Select individual files and folders in the following ways:
- In the left pane, navigate the folder tree to locate and select or deselect folders.
- In the right pane, select or deselect individual files.
- Click Apply Changes.
- Click Start Backup.
Back up data with Windows Backup on a PC running Windows 7
- On your PC, click Start > Control Panel.
- In the Control Panel, click Backup and Restore.
- Click Set Up Backup and then follow the steps in the wizard.
- When prompted to select where you want your backup saved, click Save On a Network.
- Click Browse; then select your My Book Live as the backup destination.
- Select the share where you want the backup created; then click OK.
- Enter the username and password assigned to your user name on your My Book Live drive.
- Verify that the backup destination is correct; then click Next.
Back It Up
What do you want to do?
Protect your valuable content by backing it up! Windows 8 lets you back up content easily in two ways
- Using WD SmartWare software
- Using File History — a new Windows 8 feature
Back up all or selected file categories using WD SmartWare
To use WD SmartWare to back up file categories - either all or just certain ones, do the following:
Action 1: Download and install WD SmartWare
- Download the WD SmartWare software.
- Run the .exe to start installation and follow the onscreen instructions.
Action 2: Back up file categories with WD SmartWare
- Launch WD SmartWare by doing the following:
- From the system tray, click the WD SmartWare icon.
- From the popup menu, select WD SmartWare.
- On the Home screen, do the following depending on your setup:
- If you have more than one WD device connected to your network, select the one you want to use for backup.
- If your computer has more than one internal hard drive or drive partition, click the arrow below your computer icon and select the desired item from the dropdown menu.
- Click the Backup tab.
- Make sure that WD SmartWare is set to back up categories.
Note:- If set to back up categories, "Ready to Perform Category Backup" appears in the upper-left corner.
- If the message "Ready to perform file backup " appears, change the backup mode by clicking Switch to Category Backup.
- Click Advanced View.
-
In the Detailed View section, do one of the following:
- Select all file categories for backup.
- Click next to specific categories to back up only those categories. Note: A checkmark indicates a category selected for backup.
- Click Apply Changes.
- Click Start Backup.
Back up all or selected files and folders with WD SmartWare
To use WD SmartWare to back up files and folders (all or selected ones), do the following:
Action 1: Download and install WD SmartWare
- Download the WD SmartWare software.
- Run the .exe to start installation and follow the onscreen instructions.
Action 2: Back up files and folders with WD SmartWare
- Launch WD SmartWare by doing the following:
- In the taskbar, click the WD SmartWare icon.
- In the popup menu, select WD SmartWare.
- On the Home screen, do the following, as needed:
- If you have more than one WD device connected to your network, select the one you want to use for backup.
- If your computer has more than one internal hard drive or drive partition, click the dropdown arrow below your computer icon and select an item in the dropdown menu.
- Click the Backup tab.
- Ensure that SmartWare is set to back up categories.
Please note:- If set correctly, the following displays in the upper left corner: Ready to perform file backup.
- You need to change the backup mode if it says "Ready to perform category backup." To do so, click Switch to File Backup.
- Do one of the following:
- Select all files and folder by selecting the checkbox for your computer's internal hard drive.
- Select individual files and folders by doing the following:
- In the left pane, navigate through the folder tree view to select or deselect folders.
- Select or deselect individual files in the right pane.
- Click Apply Changes.
- Click Start Backup.
Back up data with File History on a PC running Windows 8
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Open the Control Panel.
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Here is one way of doing that:
- From the Start menu, click Desktop.
- In the taskbar, click the File Explorer icon.
- Make sure that the ribbon at the top of the File Explorer window is expanded so icons for performing certain tasks, for example, Copy, Paste, Select All, and so forth). If necessary, click the down arrow next to the Help icon.
- In the ribbon, select Open Control Panel.
- Under System and Security, select Save Backup Copies of Your Files with File History.
- In the File History window, click Turn On.
- In the left pane, click Select Drive.
- On the Select a File History Drive page, click Add Network Location.
- In the Select Folder dialog box, navigate to a folder; then click Select Folder.
- Click OK.
File History starts copying files to the target folder.
Back It Up
What do you want to do?
Protect your data by backing it up. With your Windows Vista computer, you can back up your data two ways:
- Using WD SmartWare software
- Using Windows Backup - a feature available in Windows Vista (Business, Utimate, Home Premium, and Enterprise editions)
Back up all or selected file categories with WD SmartWare
To use WD SmartWare to back up file categories (all or selected ones), do the following:
Action 1: Download and install WD SmartWare
- Download the WD SmartWare software.
- Run the .exe to start installation and follow the onscreen instructions.
Action 2: Back up file categories with WD SmartWare
- Launch WD SmartWare by doing the following:
- In the system tray, click the WD SmartWare icon.
- From the popup menu, choose WD SmartWare.
- On the Home screen, do the following, as needed:
- If you have more than one WD device connected to your network, select the one you want use for backup.
- If your computer has more than one internal hard drive or drive partition, click the dropdown arrow below your computer icon and choose an item from the menu.
- Make sure that WD SmartWare is set to back up categories.
Note:- If set correctly, the following displays in the upper left corner: Ready to perform category backup
- You need to change the backup mode if it says "Ready to perform file backup." To do so, click Switch to Category Backup.
- Click Advanced View.
-
In the Detailed View section, do one of the following:
- Select all file categories for backup.
- Specify certain categories for backup by selecting and deselecting ones as desired. Note: A checkmark means a category is selected.
- Click Apply Changes.
- Click Start Backup.
Back up all or selected files and folders with WD SmartWare
To use WD SmartWare to back up files and folders (all or selected ones), do the following:
Action 1: Download and install WD SmartWare
- Download the WD SmartWare software.
- Run the .exe to start installation and follow the onscreen instructions.
Action 2: Back up files and folders with WD SmartWare
- Launch WD SmartWare by doing the following:
- In the system tray, click the WD SmartWare icon.
- In the popup menu, select WD SmartWare.
- On the Home screen, do the following, as needed:
- If you have more than one WD device connected to your network, select the one you want to use for backup.
- If your computer has more than one internal hard drive or drive partition, click the dropdown arrow below your computer icon and select an item in the dropdown menu.
- Click the Backup tab.
- Ensure that SmartWare is set to back up categories.
Please note:- If set correctly, the following displays in the upper left corner: Ready to perform file backup
- You need to change the backup mode if it says "Ready to perform category backup." To do so, click Switch to File Backup.
- Do one of the following:
- Select all files and folder by selecting the checkbox for your computer's internal hard drive.
- Select individual files and folders by doing the following:
- In the left pane, navigate through the folder tree view to select or deselect folders.
- Select or deselect individual files in the right pane.
- Click Apply Changes.
- Click Start Backup.
Back up data with Windows Backup on a PC running Windows Vista
- On your PC, click Start > Control Panel.
Note:If a Found New Hardware screen displays, click Cancel. - Click Control Panel > System Maintenance > Backup Your Computer, and then follow the steps in the wizard.
- When prompted to select where you want to save your backup, click Save On a Network.
- Click Browse, and then select your My Book Live as the backup destination.
- Select the share where you want the backup to be created, and then click OK.
- Enter the username and password assigned to your user name on your My Book Live. If no user name has been assigned, enter
everyone
as the username and any password (for, example1234
). - Click OK.
- Follow the remaining instructions in the wizard.
Back It Up
What do you want to do?
Protect your data by backing it up. With your Windows XP computer, you can back up your data with the WD SmartWare software.
Back up all or selected file categories
To use WD SmartWare to back up file categories (all or selected ones), do the following:
Action 1: Download and install WD SmartWare
- Download the WD SmartWare software.
- Run the .exe to start installation and follow the onscreen instructions.
Action 2: Back up file categories with WD SmartWare
- Launch WD SmartWare by doing the following:
- In the system tray, click the WD SmartWare icon.
- From the popup menu, choose WD SmartWare.
- On the Home screen, do the following, as needed:
- If you have more than one WD device connected to your network, select the one you want use for backup.
- If your computer has more than one internal hard drive or drive partition, click the dropdown arrow below your computer icon and choose an item from the menu.
- Make sure that WD SmartWare is set to back up categories.
Note:- If set correctly, the following displays in the upper left corner: Ready to perform category backup
- You need to change the backup mode if it says "Ready to perform file backup." To do so, click Switch to Category Backup.
- Click Advanced View.
-
In the Detailed View section, do one of the following:
- Select all file categories for backup.
- Specify certain categories for backup by selecting and deselecting ones as desired. Note: A checkmark means a category is selected.
- Click Apply Changes.
- Click Start Backup.
Back up all or selected files and folders
To use WD SmartWare to back up files and folders (all or selected ones), do the following:
Action 1: Download and install WD SmartWare
- Download the WD SmartWare software.
- Run the .exe to start installation and follow the onscreen instructions.
Action 2: Back up files and folders with WD SmartWare
- Launch WD SmartWare by doing the following:
- In the system tray, click the WD SmartWare icon.
- In the popup menu, select WD SmartWare.
- On the Home screen, do the following, as needed:
- If you have more than one WD device connected to your network, select the one you want to use for backup.
- If your computer has more than one internal hard drive or drive partition, click the dropdown arrow below your computer icon and select an item in the dropdown menu.
- Click the Backup tab.
- Ensure that SmartWare is set to back up categories.
Please note:- If set correctly, the following displays in the upper left corner: Ready to perform file backup
- You need to change the backup mode if it says "Ready to perform category backup." To do so, click Switch to File Backup.
- Do one of the following:
- Select all files and folder by selecting the checkbox for your computer's internal hard drive.
- Select individual files and folders by doing the following:
- In the left pane, navigate through the folder tree view to select or deselect folders.
- Select or deselect individual files in the right pane.
- Click Apply Changes.
- Click Start Backup.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Apple Time Machine?
It's a built-in feature on Mac OS X Mountain Lion, Lion, Snow Leopard, and Leopard computers that lets you back up everything on your computer: music, photos, documents, applications, emails, and system files. Your My Book Live drive can store these backups, so that if your hard drive or operating system should crash, or you lose a file, you can easily restore it to your computer.
What is WD SmartWare and how does it work?
WD SmartWare automatically and continuously backs up your data files from your computer to the My Book Live drive. Initially, SmartWare categorizes the different file types on the drive where the original files reside. You can elect to back up all the different file types, or you can choose specific files, folders, or categories to back up. After performing a backup, WD SmartWare protects your files by backing up:
- New files that are created on or copied to your computer's hard drive.
- Existing files that are changed in any way.
I have another WD device connected to my network but it isn't available for selection on the WD SmartWare screen. Why?
Not all WD storage devices are compatible with the WD SmartWare software. Only SmartWare-aware devices within your network are available for selection in the software.
What is Windows Backup?
It's a feature available in Windows 7 and Vista that enables you to back up media files, documents, email, and other files to your My Book Live drive. If you lose files or your system crashes, you can easily restore the files to your PC. Refer to Microsoft documentation if you need more information about Windows Backup.
What is File History?
File History is a feature in Windows 8 that automatically backs up files on your desktop and in your libraries, contacts, favorites, and Microsoft SkyDrive(r).
