Mac: Create a backup and let it finish safely

A manual backup gives you a separate recovery copy of your Safe’s contents. On a Mac, SimpleumSafe requires an empty destination folder and shows the backup’s progress. The backup is complete only after the progress window reports Backup done! without an error. Keep older known-good backups until you have also checked the new one.

Before you start

Make sure that:

  • the Safe is open and unlocked,
  • the destination drive is connected and writable,
  • the destination has enough free space, and
  • you can select a new, empty folder for this backup.

Do not modify the contents that SimpleumSafe creates inside the backup folder. The folder structure is required for a later restore.

Create the backup

  1. In SimpleumSafe, open the Safe you want to back up.
  2. From the menu, choose Safe > Backup ….
  3. In the folder picker, create or select an empty destination folder.
  4. Start the backup. Leave the destination drive connected and keep SimpleumSafe open while the progress window is active.
  5. Wait until the status reads Backup done!.
  6. Close the progress window only after that clean completion message appears.
Illustration of the workflow: the current Safe leads through a backup folder to a restored Safe.
The backup contains the saved state of the current Safe. During restoration, SimpleumSafe creates a new, separate .Safe file from it.

Expected result

The backup progress reaches 100% and SimpleumSafe reports Backup done!. A message such as Backup done with Error!, Backup Stopped, or another error means that the backup must not be used as your only recovery copy.

Help make sure your backup works when you need it

A backup is most dependable when you also consider the condition of the data being backed up and how you will regain access later. To see how these copies fit into a resilient overall strategy, read Backup basics and the 3-2-1 rule.

  • Check integrity regularly. The Integrity Checker helps you identify problems in the current Safe early. Create regular, up-to-date backups from a Safe that has passed this check.
  • Keep track of the applicable password. To restore the backup, you need the password that was valid when the backup was created. This remains true even if you changed the Safe password later. Keep a traceable record of when backups and password changes were made, without storing the password unprotected with the backup.
  • Use an additional backup system. A Safe appears in Finder as a .Safe file, but internally it consists of many individual files. This structure works well with file-based incremental backup systems. Regularly include the complete .Safe in Time Machine or another backup system.
  • Test restoration occasionally. Restore an important backup as a separate .Safe file without overwriting the original Safe. For detailed instructions, see Restore a backup and export selected documents.

Help with problems

The safest option is to create a new manual backup rather than rely on the incomplete destination folder:

  1. If you use SimpleumSafe 3.7.13 or 3.8.0, update to version 3.8.2 or later before continuing. The update fixes one known cause of an existing destination file stopping a resumed backup, but it does not make an incomplete backup complete.
  2. Leave the incomplete backup folder unchanged. Do not delete the original Safe or an older known-good backup.
  3. Reopen the Safe. If SimpleumSafe asks whether to resume or cancel an open transaction, check the displayed counters.
  4. If Backup is the only counter greater than 0, choose Cancel. If a counter for Import, Export, Restore, or Copy is also greater than 0, stop and contact Simpleum Support before continuing.
  5. Choose Safe > Backup ... again and use a different, empty folder.
  6. Keep the app open and the destination available until Backup done! appears. Keep the previous working backup until you have checked the new one.

After restarting the app, do not choose Resume for an interrupted automatic backup. Instead, create a new manual backup in a new, empty folder.

Check that the destination is still connected and writable and that it has enough free space. Then create a new, empty folder and try exactly one new manual backup. Do not reuse a folder from a failed or interrupted attempt.

If the new attempt also reports an error, contact Simpleum Support. Include your SimpleumSafe version, your macOS version, the exact message, and whether the backup was manual or automatic. Never send your Safe password.