1. Carbon Copy Cloner Disk Space

Creating a backup of your important files can be a lifesaver. Whenever you encounter an error, file corruption, or any problem that prevents you from accessing your files, you can always rely on your backup to avoid data loss. Among the many backup tools available for Mac, Carbon Copy Cloner or CCC is one of the most reliable.

What Is Carbon Copy Cloner?

Carbon Copy Cloner uses a different approach for backups; it literally clones the contents of your internal disk onto an external hard drive. (Or you may split your external disk into multiple partitions, and clone to one of those, so you can use the other partition for general purpose file storage). The second is Carbon Copy Cloner from Bombich Software, which I use every night to clone my startup disk twice (I advocate redundancy). Carbon Copy Cloner costs $39.99 after a 30-day free trial. Connect the destination disk to your PC that is running Windows 10. If there is no extra bay for the target disk, you need a USB-to-SATA cable. Back up the destination disk before cloning if there are important files on it. Uninstall unnecessary applications on the source disk to decrease the time of the copy process (omissible).

Aside from being used to create file backups, Carbon Copy Cloner can also make complete images of your computer or clone your hard drives. This tool is quite flexible because you can either back up the whole disk or just a part of it to your external hard drive. It is capable of creating bootable backups and booting from your backup if a disaster strikes your hard disk.

Carbon Copy Cloner is a backup utility with a difference. While most backup applications make copies of selected files, Carbon Copy Cloner makes an exact duplicate of a disk. For many Mac users, Carbon Copy Cloner has prevented complete disaster, helping them rescue an entire hard drive right before it failed. Bombich Software has released Carbon Copy Cloner 5.1.22(CCC) to address an issue that prevented the app from accessing a new secret Apple data store in a folder named “searchparty” that Apple added in macOS 10.15.7 Catalina.

You have the option to choose what time you want the backup to be processed — hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and others.

CCC is equipped with a smart update function, which prevents you from copying all the files every time the backup is initiated. This means that the app will only update the newly added or modified files. You can also use Carbon Copy Cloner to create bootable backups. In case your hard disk fails or becomes inaccessible, you can boot from your bootable backup in no time.

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Tip: Avoid copying unnecessary files to your backup drive and save some storage space by regularly cleaning your computer using a Mac optimizer tool. It also prevents potential issues and keeps macOS performing at its best.

CCC 5 is the latest version of this software and it works with macOS version Yosemite (10.10) up to the latest Big Sur (11.0). CCC 4 only works up to High Sierra (10.13).

With the upcoming public release of macOS Big Sur, Bombich Software, the developers behind Carbon Copy Cloner warns of compatibility issues with macOS Big Sur. CCC has reported these issues to Apple and they are still waiting for an official response. Let’s look at some of the known issues and what you can do about them.

Compatibility Issues with Carbon Copy Cloner on Big Sur

There are three main issues that users have to be aware of when using CCC 5 on macOS Big Sur. Let’s discuss them one by one and the workarounds offered by CCC.

Issue #1: Big Sur startup disk can’t be cloned

With CCC, users are able to create advanced backups of your hard drive while keeping it functional and bootable. This ensures that you never lose your data if an accident ever occurs. But with Big Sur, the Apple Software Restore does not have the capability to close the Big Sur startup disk because of a broken seal. Apple’s Signed System Volume, which is very proprietary in nature, is preventing ordinary system calls and copy software from cloning the macOS System volume.

The Signed System Volume has been implemented starting macOS 10.15.5, but CCC was able to work around this restriction by using Apple’s APFS replication software. But with Big Sur, ASR no longer creates a bootable copy of the macOS System volume.

Fix: Apple has recently released the macOS 11.0.1 which resolves some of the issues with Apple Software Restore or ASR utility. However, CCC is still testing whether this patch has resolved all errors and if CCC is now able to create bootable backups.

If installing this update does not fix the problem for you, you can try the workaround suggested by CCC. Make your backup drive bootable by directly installing Big Sur onto the backup disk. You can also employ the help of Migration Assistant to restore all of your data and files to a clean installation, without having the need to install macOS on your backup drive.

Issue #2: Creating a bootable backup requires erasing the destination drive

With the release of macOS Big Sur, the system is now located on a cryptographically sealed “Signed System Volume”. And this seal is applied by Apple itself. This means that when you clone the System volume, they are not bootable copies because they do not have Apple’s seal. To create a bootable macOS 11 System volume, CCC uses the ASR tool mentioned above. Unfortunately, the ASR only copies entire volume groups, which includes System and Data, not just the System volume. Because of this, CCC has to erase the whole destination volume, including the existing snapshots on that volume, whenever a macOS update is released, in order to update the system on the destination.

Fix: CCC has reached out to Apple to request that the ASR be allowed to clone the System volume only. CCC is only waiting for the implementation from Apple. While the fix is not rolled out yet, CCC recommends erasing the destination only when you establish the initial backup, then use the built-in file copier to maintain your backup of user data, applications, and system settings. If you wish to update the macOS on the backup drive, boot your Mac from the backup drive and install any updates using Software Update in the System Preferences app.

Issue #3: Inconsistent display of ASR clones in the Startup Disk Preference pane

In the previous CCC versions, the Startup Disk Preference Pane shows all the available startup volumes, including those that were cloned by CCC, regardless of how they were copied ( via ASR or file copier). But in Big Sur, there are instances when the cloned volumes do not show in the Startup Disk Preference Pane, even though they are bootable.

Fix: If you want to boot from the cloned volume, reboot your Mac while pressing the Option key, then choose the cloned volume found in the Startup Manager. Then, you can set the startup disk to the current startup volume.

Summary

Although Carbon Copy Cloner has released a version that works with macOS Big Sur, the developers are aware of the compatibility issues and limitations of the backup tool. It is working together with Apple to address these issues and hopefully iron everything out when Big Sur is finally released to the public. For now, we hope that the suggested workarounds above should help.

SuperDuper! 3.3.1 is not yet fully Big Sur compatible.

However, a workaround is now available: see the Shirt Pocket blog for information.

Have no fear. SuperDuper v3.3.1 is here, and it includes full Catalina support!

SuperDuper is the wildly acclaimed program that makes recovery painless, because it makes creating a fully bootable backup painless. Its incredibly clear, friendly interface is understandable, easy to use, and SuperDuper's built-in scheduler makes it trivial to back up automatically. It's the perfect complement to Time Machine, allowing you to store a bootable backup alongside your Time Machine volume—and it runs beautifully on your Mac!

Version 3.3.1 lets you ignore 'missing drive' errors during scheduled copies, and also improves Smart Wake, which ensures your backups happen whether your Mac is awake or asleep...and won't turn on your screen if your Mac is already awake.

This new version also improves Smart Delete, an awesome new capability that minimizes the possibility of disk full errors while maintaining safety with no speed penalty, native Notification Center support, a Finder extension to quickly run copies, and other improvements. SuperDuper can even create and copy from snapshots, which means with an APFS backup drive, you can restore today's Smart Update, yesterday's, etc! It's super cool.

SuperDuper's interface confirms all your actions in simple, clear language to ensure that the end result is exactly what you intended. Take a look, and click for additional screen shots!

· Main Window · Progress · Snapshots · Scheduling · General Options · Advanced Options ·

The SuperDuper! Main Window

We all know that using the Macintosh is usually a trouble-free experience.

Except when it's not. Like when:

• Your hard drive starts making that horrible clicking noise that signals an imminent meltdown
• A momentary lapse of coordination causes your MacBook Pro to take a dirt nap
• The system suddenly fails to boot
• Your most important day-to-day application isn't working with the system update you just applied
• The new driver you just updated is causing your Macintosh to crash
• That lousy software you just tried didn't come with an uninstaller, and scattered files all over your drive
• You need to restore a stable copy of your system, but don't want to lose what you've been working on
• You need to test new versions of the operating system with production data you can't afford to lose

It happens to all of us, eventually. And recovering can be a painful, error-prone, time-wasting experience, if it's even possible at all. Until now.

Carbon copies. And a whole lot more.

SuperDuper is the most advanced, yet easy to use disk copying program available for macOS. It can, of course, make a full backup, or 'clone' — in moments, you can completely duplicate your boot drive to another drive, partition, or image file. In even less time, you can update an existing clone with the latest data: use Smart Update and, minutes later, your backup is completely up to date!

Faster than a speeding bullet – and more accurate!

SuperDuper isn't just the most powerful cloner available: it's incredibly fast, too. Its Smart Update feature evaluates hundreds of thousands of files and directories in just minutes, automatically updating your clone to reflect any changes you've made on the original drive – including custom icons, HFS+ attributes, ownership changes... the works! It can even copy (and Smart Update) Time Machine backup volumes!

Expertise not required.

SuperDuper comes preconfigured, ready to perform all the most common copying and cloning tasks. We've pored over the Apple documentation so you don't have to. Every step of the process carefully follows all Apple recommended policies and procedures.

Whether you're making a full backup to a disk image, using Smart Update to update an existing backup, or making a complex clone to test a software update, the process couldn't be simpler: select the source drive, the destination and the appropriate script. Click Copy Now, and SuperDuper does the rest.

Doveryai no Proveryai.

Most companies would cherry-pick their feedback, and include selected quotes from happy customers. Sure, we could point you to our 4.55 star review from Macworld, ormanyotherraves. We could even point you to our back-to-back 2005 and 2006 Eddy Awards!

But we're not going to do that. Instead, we encourage you to ask some friends, and look for yourself! Here's a simple Google query for 'superduper macintosh review' to get you started.

(It means 'Trust but Verify'.)

Clones for experts.

Regular backups aren't always the best way to recover for the risk takers out there who jump on every software update. Unless you take specific steps, fully restoring a backup restores everything on the drive, overwriting both the system and user files. If that's what you want to do, great. But it usually isn't, because everything you've done since the backup would be lost!

With SuperDuper, though, you can easily 'checkpoint' your system with a Sandbox, preserving your computer's critical applications and files while you run on a working, bootable copy. If anything goes wrong, just reboot to the original. When you do, your current Documents, Music, Pictures — even iSync data — are available! You can get back to work immediately!

Clones for industry!

SuperDuper has enough features to satisfy the advanced user, too. Its simple-but-powerful Copy Script feature allows complete control of exactly which files get copied, ignored, even aliased ('soft linked' for the Unix inclined) from one drive to another!

SuperDuper is perfect for software developers, software 'seed' sites, QA testers, even system administrators:

• Developers and Seed Sites
  Need to keep up to date with the most recent weekly build of a new operating system? Use the provided 'Copy with Shared User Files and Applications' script, or create your own. A few clicks later and your clone is ready to upgrade, without unsafe downgrades, or unsupported 'intermediate build' upgrades!
• QA Testers
  Need to regress against a large number of operating system targets, or other types of fixed configurations? Simply save a series of images, and in minutes you can restore them and be ready to test.
• System Administrators
  Need complete control over building a standard image for one, one hundred or one thousand systems? SuperDuper's Copy Scripts make it easy!

Get cloned.

Give SuperDuper a workout on your own system. Clone to your heart's content—for free. See what else is possible. When you're convinced that SuperDuper is a terrific solution—and a great value at US$27.95—you can click buy now, have the registration entered with a single click, and start using its advanced features immediately!

Carbon Copy Cloner Disk Space

Download the free trial now!