--- title: "Perform an Immediate Retrospect Backup - Step-by-Step Guide-Macintosh" slug: "perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup-step-by-step-guide" updated: 2026-11-11T17:49:02Z published: 2026-11-11T17:49:02Z canonical: "docs.retrospect.com/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup-step-by-step-guide" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.retrospect.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Perform an Immediate Retrospect Backup - Step-by-Step Guide-Macintosh ## **Performing an Immediate Backup in Retrospect for Mac** This document describes how to perform an immediate backup in Retrospect, including selecting source data, creating or choosing a media set, monitoring the backup progress, and reviewing backup history and logs. #### **Step 1: Open the Backup Customization Screen** Click the ****Backup**** button at the top of the Retrospect screen. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-zbawko7m.jpg) Then click ****Customize****. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-jcqyii5r.jpg) ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-ei92e21t.jpg) #### **Step 2: Choose What You Want to Back Up** Uncheck any items you do not want to include in the backup. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-puvoitz8.jpg) Then decide what you want to back up. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-o5utye99.jpg) You can select your entire hard drive, specific folders on a hard drive, or other computers on your network. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-admvi9o6.jpg) #### **Step 3: Select a Specific Folder as the Backup Source** To pick a specific folder, choose your hard drive and click the ****Browse**** button at the on the right. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-39x3v9gl.jpg) ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-9iz7fbum.jpg) Navigate to the folder you want to back up and select it. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-4nm74asa.jpg) Then click ****Add to Favorite Folders****. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-592l1soo.jpg) ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-pq5q8kpb.jpg) Click ****Done**** to confirm your folder selection. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-9lxs94f7.jpg) #### **Step 4: Confirm the Source and Proceed** Once your folder has been selected, click ****Continue****. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-6hjc8rbj.jpg) ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-cfayvuws.jpg) You can now choose an existing media set or create a new media set as your backup storage location. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-qw2eykyf.jpg) #### **Step 5: Create a New Media Set** Click the ****plus (+)**** button at the bottom to create a new media set. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-u6o6h6a4.jpg) Choose the media type: ****Disk****, ****Tape****, or ****Cloud****. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-vww3d8wr.jpg) In this example, select ****Disk****. Use the default media set name so Retrospect will save the catalog file in the default location. Choose whether to use encryption for this media set. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-h912sx83.jpg) In this example, do not enable encryption. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-80aae2e3.jpg) Click ****Add**** to create the media set. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-bjfsgdv6.jpg) ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-k0b7hl14.jpg) #### **Step 6: Select Backup Storage Location and Capacity** Select the location (disk) where you want your backup data to be stored. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-elibo9td.jpg) Choose your backup storage disk, then set the capacity to ****99%**** at the bottom so Retrospect can utilize nearly the entire disk for backup storage. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-fudq371g.jpg) Click ****Add**** to confirm the storage settings. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-ev4nzovr.jpg) Click ****Continue****, review your choices, and then click ****Start Now**** to begin the backup. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-eyw6s8oi.jpg) ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-v8i51xgc.jpg) #### **Step 7: Monitor the Running Backup** To view the running backup, go to ****Activities****. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-ys8tbqem.jpg) Then select ****Running**** to see the current backup status. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-ly106jey.jpg) Retrospect will first scan the disk, then copy the files. After copying, it will perform a byte‑by‑byte verification to ensure files were copied correctly. You can click the ****Log**** button to see detailed information about what Retrospect is currently doing for this backup operation. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-ztlswe8u.jpg) After the files are copied, Retrospect creates a snapshot, which is saved into your catalog file, and then continues the verification process. During the backup, you can see files remaining, files completed, performance, and total data copied. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-mxoxrnzv.jpg) #### **Step 8: Review Completed Backups and Logs** After the backup is done, go to the ****Past**** tab at the top of Retrospect under ****Activities**** to review completed backups. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-devvagzp.jpg) You can view the log for this specific backup or select previous backups from the list. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-3kpcnxpk.jpg) ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-rhcmvpsu.jpg) You can also go to ****Past Backups**** on the far left side of Retrospect to see a history of your backups. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-fnglac16.jpg) ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-0b579617.jpg) Use the ****Browse**** button to see which files were actually copied during a particular backup operation. ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-55e24bhc.jpg) ![](https://cdn.us.document360.io/6d1fe0c6-ccdb-4ee9-a621-0504cb91b4be/Images/Documentation/perform-an-immediate-retrospect-backup---step-by-step-guide-image-vmu3tx09.jpg)