Carbon Copy Cloner - Bootable Drive

I would like to create an exact copy of the hard drive on my iMac and transfer it to a second (and empty) hard drive on my Mac Pro (via ethernet); I presume it will allow me to boot up.
I did try this but it only moved the files and folders over but not the system itself. I did select the 'Macintosh HD default' from the drop-down menu but the system files were not selected, and they were greyed out so couldn't click on them.
I do remember a message saying that the destination hard drive needs to be formatted to HFS+ (I can't quite remember the actual message, sorry). I had wiped it overnight using the 7 times option, and had selected the Mac OS Extended (Journaled), as I have done over the years.
Am I right in remembering the HFS format, and if so (or not, as the case may be!), how would I format the drive so a bootable copy is made?
Thanks in advance for your help.

Thank you for your reply. CCC automatically selects what it is going to copy across but doesn't allow my to select the system files and folders; that's why I posted the original question above. Using Target Disk Mode would no doubt be the same?; it's not the connection of Firewire or Thunderbolt but CCC that is the issue. I'm not ready to search through a load of boxes for a firewire cable, get under the desk to connect the two computers, and then find out that TDM doesn't confirm a bootable clone (kaz-k, please confirm it does that, and if it does offer choices on-screen then I will pursue this avenue). Originally, I left CCC copying files over a 24 hour period, and all I got was a hard drive that housed files and folders, and not a disk I could start up on its own and login etc.
I also read the link you sent me regarding Target Disk Mode but I'm not overly convinced that dragging files to the disk will do what I want. I was expecting software to do that task for me by asking/confirming 'do you want a bootable clone?', but so far CCC and SuperDuper don't say that so are not making it easy for me.
So, I followed your suggestion of using SuperDuper but it won't get passed password authentication because I failed to authenticate ownership; to unlock this I need to pay $27, a small amount to pay, but if the software doesn't do what I want I'm not willing to pay for it. So much for their trial period
I was hoping for a bit of software to ask me to select the source, the destination, and then to confirm what I'd like, but neither of the above actually say Bootable or Clone drive etc.
Perhaps I'm missing something but CCC greys out the system files and SuperDuper wants cash before the trial period is up.
I'm scratching my head. Is there another way around this?
Many thanks.

Similar Messages

Using Carbon Copy Cloner which is quicker firewire 800 Macbook Pro to external hard drive or Macbook Pro to same via Airport Extreme?

Using Carbon Copy Cloner which is quicker firewire 800 Macbook Pro to external hard drive or Macbook Pro to same via Airport Extreme?

Firewire 800 is the fastest and most reliable. Also it's bootable if you hold the option key down on a wired or built in keyboard. Not bootable via Airport obviously or if Filevault is used.
It's only your first clone that's usually takes the longest, it's shorter when it updates as you only do the changes which you can control to keep a pure clone if you wish.
Most commonly used backup methods

Carbon Copy Cloner: do you have to wipe the target drive

From reading the instructions that come with the download of CCC, it seems that when you clone your Applications drive to another drive (as backup), you are essentially reformatting that 2nd drive to be a copy of the first, right?
So when you use CCC, you must have a drive dedicated to becoming the clone? You would lose all data on the target drive? Correct?
If so, it seems to make sense to get a modest hard drive just to hold a clone of the cleanly reinstalled system.
I still am not clear on how to create a bootable clone on a drive, and how to restore that clone. Do you have to reinstall the operating system (and the various application files that also are installed at that time) and then somehow transfer the clone back to the original drive. Or somehow does the clone make it unnecessary to reinstall the operating system before moving the cloned copy of the os back to the Apps drive.
Whew, that's a tangled up understanding so if anyone can unravel this mess itd be great.
Also, is CCC better than making disk images with Disk Utility?

Jon:
Some of what I say will be repeating some of what has already been posted by way of giving a comprehensive response.
The two most popular and powerful utilities for backup/cloning are SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner. Both have their supporters. Both are effective and relatively easy to use. The latest version of CCC is more powerful, but, I think, SD is easier to use. One of these is the first element in making a clone.
SuperDuper will erase the Destination drive before cloning. CCC gives you an option. You really want it erased, unless you are doing cumulative (SmartUpdates in SD) updates, or you will end up with a jumble of stuff. Both will do cumulative updates. CCC allows you to drill down to a single folder. SD allows you to clone the entire HDD, or just the Users Folder. Both make bootable clones, diskimages, compressed read only disk images.
You need an external firewire Hard Disk Drive. Get the largest you can afford and partition it. Since PPC Macs will not boot from USB devices, firewire is important. There are a lot of HDDs out there, some are sexy looking, some have one touch backup etc. The most important feature in a firewire HDD is that it should have the more reliable Oxford 911+ chipset. This is the part that interfaces the Hard Disk Drive with the computer. When it goes, and it does go on many of these drives after the warranty has run out, the drive itself may still be functional but the computer can't see it. Here is a list of HDDs from OWC that have the Oxford 911+ chipset.
You need to format the new HDD Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and, if it is larger than you need for backup, partition it. Dr. Smoke's FAQ Backup and Recovery has excellent tips on backing up, and has a suggested scheme for partitioning your new external FW HDD. If you need step-by-step directions for partitioning and formatting, please post back and ask.
Finally, once you have chosen your partition scheme, adjusting or deleting partitions would destroy all data on the drive except you use third party software.
Cloning is an excellent way of backing up as it not only gives you a backup of your data and total installation, but it gives you an emergency boot drive as well as a drive from which you can boot to run diagnostics and repairs on your internal HDD.
Please do post back with further questions or comments.
Cheers
cornelius

I have an iMac 2013 running OSX 10.9.4. I want to use Carbon Copy Cloner to backup user files to an external hard drive. Then I want to remove iPhoto libraries from iMac. What will happen to the iPhoto libraries that I back up when I run backup in a

I have an iMac 2013 running OSX 10.9.4. I want to use Carbon Copy Cloner to backup user files to an external hard drive to free up space on my iMack Hard drive.
So, say I make the backup today, delete iphoto libraries from my iMac, and then backup my iMac in a week. What happens to the iphoto libraries that are on the external backup drive now that I am backing up the iMac where they no longer exist?
I will have them backed up to a separate second external drive as well.
I'm just very cautious about removing them from the hard drive.
Thanks for helping and understanding my crazy caution!

I'd like to store my Aperture /IMovie Libraries on an external hard drive.
That is fine and recommended.. use the fastest disk you can afford.. ie Thunderbolt>USB3>FW800>USB2.
In addition, I'd like to partition the external hard drive so that Time Machine can use it to both back up my IMac and the external library drives.
Let me be clear.. you want to partition the one disk.. use it for TM and move your files to the external disk.. and then backup to the same disk.. You can do it.. but that is not a backup.. that is an experiment in how long you can get away with running files and backups on the same disk before you lose everything.. like Russian Roulette.. pull the trigger enough times and laws of probability will do you in.
You must have backups on a different disk .. otherwise it is pointless.
Can I set up a RAID 5 format for redundancy?
No.. you can buy special USB and Thunderbolt external drives that support RAID..
BUT that is still not a backup.. let me show why.. you make a silly move and corrupt your file in aperture.. it is not that rare.
Raid will corrupt all copies of the files.. it is replicated across all disks.
Delete a photo it is deleted across all disks.. you have no recovery.
Alway, always consider RAID system one disk.. backup onto another disk.. and if the photos or movies are at all important to you.. ie your family .. make another copy and store in a relatives house.. There is no such thing as too much redundancy.

My mac mini does not boot, after backing the enire system onto an external drive with Carbon Copy Clone

My Mac Mini does not boot, after backing the enire system onto an external drive with Carbon Copy Clone. I had switched the start-up disk back to the original of course. Now all I see is the Apple logo. What should I do? Thanks in advance.

Try disconnecting any external devices, especially hard drives
and try rebooting.
If that doesn't help, then :
If you are running Lion, boot to the Recovery HD and run a
Repair Disk on the OSX partition.
If Snow Leopard, boot to the installl DVD and run Repair Disk.
Also, you may want to bookmark this:
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57345273-263/troubleshooting-the-boot-proce ss-for-intel-macs/?tag=txt;title
for future reference. It is a pretty good explanation of the
Mac boot process and how to identify where problems may be.

Best External Hard Drive for Carbon Copy Cloner?

I'm about to do a clean install of Leopard on my *Mac Pro* but I want to back up/clone my current system (10.4.11) to an *external hard drive* first. Based on the recommendations of similar users (Logic Studio) -- a clean install is preferable to an upgrade from Tiger to Leopard. I plan to use *Carbon Copy Cloner* to clone my current system but am unclear as to whether I can use an *external USB drive* versus an external Firewire drive.
Some people claim that firewire is much faster and more reliable for transferring/backing up data, and more importantly, that it's the only type of external hard drive one can boot from -- but I'm not sure that's true for these Intel-based Macs.
Also, I currently use an *Apogee Ensemble* audio interface which does not like sharing the firewire bus with other peripherals. I've also heard references to a external hard drive chipset called 911+ as being important but I think this may only be in regard to firewire.
Bottom line, _can I use an external USB drive with Carbon Copy Cloner on an Intel-based Mac?_
I'm looking for something around 500 Gigs that can sit on my desk with a minimal footprint. I'd like to partition it into three volumes -- the first for the Tiger clone; the second for weekly Leopard back-up; and the third for sound library storage. I'll likely need to access the third volume in realtime from *Logic Pro 8* (audio application) so the HD should be pretty fast. Recommendations?

So Kappy & Hatter...
Allow me to spell this out in practical terms. I'm installing Logic Pro, an audio production application. The consensus is that best results are achieved by installing the application on the internal system drive in bay #1 on the Mac Pro.
Most professional users of Logic Pro recommend a second internal drive in bay #2 solely for audio recording even though the app runs on the drive in bay #1. The drive in bay #2 is often a Raptor because of the 10,000 rpm spin rate, beneficial for the recording process.
For sound libraries with large audio samples/loops, often streamed to the app -- a third drive is recommended to store the sound library. It can be internal or external. Many people use external drives for this function on a firewire 800 bus. The emphasis for this drive would be to read quickly and stream the samples quickly. I would assume that a 32MB buffer cache versus 16MB would be beneficial. I was looking for hi-speed if I went the external route -- hence my foray into the realm of eSATA buses, but perhaps I should just get an internal drive for this as I do have drive bays available in the Mac Pro.
Can you recommend drive spex for this task or a particular hard drive for this task of storing and streaming the sound library?

Mountain Lion is missing, after installing an external hard drive and Carbon Copy Clone.

I have a mid-2007 desktop iMac Model MA877LL, 2.4 ghz/1gb/320gb, with 4 GB memory, upgraded to Mountain Lion 9/7/2012 at an Apple store (now 10.8.5). I just installed a new external hard drive Fantom Drive 1T G-Force Mega Disk Firewire 800, then installed Carbon Copy Clone successfully. However, I could not get the clone to boot from the backup volume. Mountain Lion showed in both Macintosh HD and External Hard Drive at that point. After working through many steps with CCC, trying to get it to boot, the final suggestion was to try installing Mountain Lion onto the backup disk via the Mac App Store Installer. As my Mountain Lion was installed at an Apple store, there's no record of it on line and I can't find an installer, although I've been doing updates as they're issued. Per article, "OS X: Installing OS X on an external volume", I erased and reformatted the storage device. Now, checking my Macintosh HD, Mountain Lion is gone. How do I get it back?

Woodswalker wrote:
...Per article, "OS X: Installing OS X on an external volume", I erased and reformatted the storage device. Now, checking my Macintosh HD, Mountain Lion is gone. How do I get it back?
Are you saying that your internal HD doesn't have an operating system on it either, meaning you can't boot your iMac at all? Or that the external was also named "Macintosh HD" in which case, having been erased and reformatted (hopefully with a GUID partition table), you'll need to clone your internal to it once again.

How to use carbon copy cloner to back up two computer in one external hard drive

Hello,
I have only one external hard drive which is already used for backing up my old macbook. Recently, i bought a macbook air. Is it possible to use carbon copy cloner to backup my data from macbook air to same external hard drive? If yes, is there anything I should be caucious? If not, could you suggest any other software of other method to backup my macbook air? Thanks!!

Yes, provided you have the space. You will need to create another partition on the drive to use as the backup volume for the new computer.
To resize the drive do the following:
1. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
After the main menu appears select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button. Select the hard drive's main entry then click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
2. You should see the graphical sizing window showing the existing partitions. A portion may appear as a blue rectangle representing the used space on a partition.
3. In the lower right corner of the sizing rectangle for each partition is a resizing gadget. Select it with the mouse and move the bottom of the rectangle upwards until you have reduced the existing partition enough to create the desired new volume's size. The space below the resized partition will appear gray. Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed. (Note: You can only make a partition smaller in order to create new free space.)
4. Click on the [+] button below the sizing window to add a new partition in the gray space you freed up. Give the new volume a name, if you wish, then click on the Apply button. Wait until the process has completed.
You should now have a new volume on the drive.
It would be wise to have a backup of your current system as resizing is not necessarily free of risk for data loss. Your drive must have sufficient contiguous free space for this process to work.

External Hard Drive Unreadable After Carbon Copy Cloner Backup

I am using a Maxtor OneTouch III Media external drive. I had formatted it to be read/writeable from Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, and had been reading and writing files fine. Then I did a system backup to the external drive with Carbon Copy Cloner. Now when I plug the drive into the USB port, it says "the disk you inserted is not readable by this computer." I am guessing that Carbon Copy Cloner may have messed with the file system format. I had some pretty important files on there and would like to retrieve them, so I'd prefer not to reformat.
Disk Utility shows this information for the drive:
Name : Maxtor OneTouch III Media
Type : Disk
Disk Identifier : disk1
Media Name : Maxtor OneTouch III Media
Media Type : Generic
Connection Bus : USB
Connection Type : External
USB Serial Number : RA09E5XC
Writable : Yes
Ejectable : Yes
Mac OS 9 Drivers Installed : No
Location : External
Total Capacity : 149.1 GB (160,041,885,696 Bytes)
S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
Disk Number : 1
Partition Number : 0
Also, Partition Scheme : Unformatted
I know that the drive had a name (besides the generic "Maxtor OneTouch III Media) before I did anything with Carbon Copy Cloner. Is my data already gone?
Message was edited by: theleez

Hi , and a warm welcome to the forums!
I think the problem is more the One-touch, they can't boot PPC Macs even via Firewire.
I think you'll have to Reformat it again... did you maybe use GUID Partition Scheme the first time?
See this, except for the GUID part...
http://carlbach.blogspot.com/2008/02/maxtor-one-touch-iii-and-formatting-on.html

How much space no I need to make Carbon Copy Clone of my internal drive?

I am upgrading the RAM and HDD in my mid 2009 Macbook Pro. How much space on my external hard drive do I need if I want to make Carbon Copy Clone of my internal drive?
Current drive is 250 GB in capacity
I currently have limited space on in external HD

Hi Niel thanks for the quick reply,
My 250GB capacity drive is relatively full (at about 245GB). Given what you mentioned above, I assume I must need to have room for 20GB of surplus space for each backup I make?
And therefore, would I need 265GB (to backup the 245GB drive) for the first time I clone the drive?
Have I got that right?
Cheers

What exactly is a Carbon Copy Cloner and does it work on iMac Intel?

A friend of mine recommended to me that carbon copy cloner is the best way to back up data including applications and that it is a freeware downloadable via their website. Can anyone explain to me (using layman's language) what exactly it is and give me a step by step procedure on what I have to do to make it work? Also, does it work on iMac Intel and if so, would I have to set anything differently??
FYI, I do have a La Cie firewire drive.

Did you check out their website? It really has a lot of info, but here it is in a nutshell.
CCC is a cloning software tool. It will make an exact - and bootable - copy of every last bit and byte on your internal drive. You can then use that FireWire drive to boot up your Mac, or restore the data from it in case of an emergency, drive replacement or failure.
It is not universal yet, but it does run through Rosetta.
Download the program and there is a PDF file with all the step by step instructions, but it is really easy to use.
BTW, LaCie has a program that is very similar called SilverKeeper.

Finder crashes when backing up time machine or carbon copy cloner

I'm trying to create backups of my system, i did have time machine running to a secondary drive internally, but that stopped working at some point and i assumed it was a bad partition.
Everytime i try to create a backup through timemachine it would crash the finder (though it would never create a crash report, just hang) i'd have to hard crash my machine to get it running again.
I verified and repaired any permissions, dumped pref files but still no joy.
I've now bought 2 new drives for clone / backups, thinking the drive is perhaps corrupt.
My plan was to use carbon copy cloner and clone the main hdd as a safety,( incase it was a time machine issue) but its doing the same with CCC-
when i hit clone the finder window pops up asking for my admin password, but beachballs and wont let me type anything. i can select anything with the keyboard (i.e. Jump between programs, or force shutdown running apps) i can shutdown using the file menu but i can close any open windows.
I can copy files manually, but i want a bootable backup of the main hdd (i'm a video editor and reinstalling an entire suite is not good when on a job)
Can anyone suggest a workaround to cloning the main hdd (even if it does have a bug in it, i'd rather have something safe before i do a fresh install)
Cheers

That should read 'CAN'T select anything with the keyboard or finder'

HELP! Has Carbon Copy Cloner Killed This G5?

I've got myself into a right old pickle, and wondered if any of the Mac faithful would be able to share any bright ideas on how to proceed.
Essentially, here's how I spent my Bank Holiday;
Mission - To completely clone the 150GB System and 230GB 'Projects&Sounds' internal drives on a Dual 2GHz G5 - both drives over 99% full. OS=10.3.5
Began by downloading SuperDuper only to find Sys Reqs not met. (10.3.9 required).
Used Carbon Copy Cloner to duplicate 230GB Internal to 240GB partition of 400GB Ext FW800 drive - all good.
Used CCC to move 56GB of files from 150GB Ext FW400 drive to 130GB partition of 400GB Ext FW800 drive - all good.
Used CCC to clone internal 150GB System drive to 150GB Ext FW 400 drive. 'Bootable clone' selected.
At end of cloning process, with roughly 1GB left to go, CCC hung up.
Force quit CCC yielded no result.
After 2 hours, whole system was frozen, including menu-bar clock & dock. Hard restart from power button.
Stalled at grey screen - Apple & spinning cursor
Disk utility verified all clones OK - backups intact. Initial side by side check reveals all files seem to be present.
Mission now to get G5 going again.
Hooked up 1st G5 by firewire Target Disk Mode to 2nd G5.
Ran Disk Utility on 1st G5's System drive from 2nd G5. Error reported; "The underlying task reported failure on exit (-9972)" Also reported "Keys out of place" Failed to verify/repair.
Installed Disk Warrior 3.02 on 2nd G5 & ran on 1st G5's System drive. Reported major differences between original and rebuilt directory in preview, chiefly in HD Library (App Support) & System Folder.
Made note of differences and rebuilt directory of 1st G5's System drive with Disk Warrior.
Rechecked with Disk Utility, 1st G5's System drive appeared fine this time.
Attempted to boot - stalled at grey screen - Apple & spinning cursor
Booted 1st G5 into Single User mode; fans screaming; reported
"Can't open Library: / System / Library / Frameworks / CoreFoundation.Framework / Versions / A / CoreFoundation (No such file or directory, Errno = 2)"
Ran fsck, all good.
Exited Single User mode, Finder failed to launch.
Relaunched Target Disk Mode, copied missing file from clone back to original.
Attempted to boot - stalled at grey screen - Apple & spinning cursor
Booted into Single User mode; reported huge screen of gobbledygook (see pic!)
Attempted to reinstall System 10.3.4 (Archive & Install) from Install disk - got first kernel panic
Would not boot from install disks
Ran Apple Hardware test - test would not run
Error - "Invalid Memory Access at %SRR0: 00000000.00000000 %SRR1: 10000000.00083030"
Apple PowerMac7,3.5.1.8f2
BootROM built on 05/21/04 @ 10:56:59"
Reinstalled system 10.3.4 over firewire Target Disk Mode from 2nd G5 using Install disks.
Attempted to boot - Kernel panic.
Ran Apple Hardware test again - test still would not run.
Error - "Invalid Memory Access at %SRR0: 00000000.00000000 %SRR1: 10000000.00083030"
Apple PowerMac7,3.5.1.8f2
BootROM built on 05/21/04 @ 10:56:59"
Unplugged all FW & USB peripherals
Removed all but 2 of RAM chips (8 x 1GB DIMMS installed in machine altogether)
Attempted to boot - Kernel panic.
Swapped RAM around in pairs
Attempted to boot - Kernel panic.
Ran Apple Hardware test again - test still would not run.
Error - "Invalid Memory Access at %SRR0: 00000000.00000000 %SRR1: 10000000.00083030"
Ran out of ideas, patience and hair to pull out. Went home to sob on the wife's shoulder and hug the cat.
Now what?
I have to get this computer working again fast!
cheers, and sorry for the long post
Dave
G5 2GHz Mac OS X (10.3.5)
G5 2GHz

Just an update on the situation;
First of all, many thanks you guys for all the replies and helpful suggestions - I was a few millimetres from the end of my tether when I first posted.
After I ran DiskWarrior on the System Drive, it appeared to be OK according to both DU and fsck, so I was able to do another backup copy of all the important stuff. I'd already used Target Disk Mode to create some space on it, prior to my Archive and Install of 10.3.4 over firewire. This still had no effect, however.
As luck would have it, yesterday morning a mate of ours who is an audio systems tech was in the building on another job, so he popped by to have a look. When I opened it up, it was like it had been found in the middle of an ancient pyramid, brown sandy dust all over the fans and the heatsink. We performed a PMU reset, swapped the ram around again, unplugged the HDs and attempted to boot from CD - still no joy. Quite a lot of swearing though.....
My techy mate confirmed my worst fears that it is most likely a blown processor or logic board. We're going to swap in another system drive today just to make sure, but it doesn't look good. Fortunately, he was able to loan my colleague another machine to use whilst the G5 goes away to sickbay for diagnosis and a no-doubt costly repair, but we still had to reinstall and reauthorize the mountain of plugins (over 250!), then copy over more than 100Gb of project and audio files from the backups, which took until 10pm last night to accomplish. We'll have to do the same thing again if and when the original machine comes back from repair.
I'm devastated, this is exactly the disaster I was trying to avoid in the first place. I didn't know you could clone from DU (thanks Tom) - if I did, I probably wouldn't be in this mess..... you live and learn, eh?
This morning though, everything seems to be running fine, the temporary G5 is performing well. Three days behind schedule, looking at a possible £1500 repair bill, but at least we can get some real work done now!
Thanks again to everyone
Dave
G5 2GHz

Reinstalling and Carbon Copy Cloner

I mistakenly posted my question to an 'answered' thread, so will re-post it here. Apologies for the duplication!
Hello Good people on this Mac Forum.
I need your help. Here's the situation:
I'm running OS 10.3.9 on my powerbook G4, which I divided into 5 partitions when I first set it up, a couple of years ago now.
The trouble is that as I grow and my computer grows with me, the partition where I store my hard drive files just isn't big enough to keep up (I have less than 1GB free on this drive and obviously keep getting 'full' messages).
I've already moved most of my applications out onto another partition (months ago now), which has caused various small problems (e.g. I can't open PhotoShop or Dreamweaver files without opening the application first), but the hard drive keeps exanding as I receive emails and blah blah and now it's to the point where I don't even have room on my hard drive partition to receive a podcast, or download a new album to iTunes.
I have plenty of room on other partitions, so my thought is to get rid of the partitions altogether and open my computer up into one large hard drive disc again.
The folks at AppleCare have told me I need to boot from my Software Install and Restore disc and erase the whole disc; then go through the re-installation process.
The problem is that installing from my 'Software Install and Restore' disc will take me back to where I was when I bought the computer (Jaguar), while I am currently running Panther with the benefit of all those years of software updates, etc. I would like to save myself the time and trouble of redoing all this work if at all possible.
I've backed up all my current files on an external drive, using Carbon Copy Cloner (which is partitioned to exactly mirror my computer). What I'd like to do is just get a clean slate on my computer and transfer everything from the external hard drive over onto it. In other words I want to have one drive on my computer, and keep everything exactly as I have it now (sans the partitions).
Has anyone done this before? The AppleCare folks can't help me with the transfer because they are officially unable to advise on anything involving third party software (in this case CCC). They suggested I come here with my question, where people are not constrained by the same rules.
I had originally imagined I could just go through the installation process with my 'install and restore' disc, and then drag and drop (or clone) my backed up files over the new install, replacing them, but they said there might be problems with that. Has anyone had experience with this?
Another solution might be to erase my computer's hard disc, and then boot up from my external drive and clone the backed up files directly onto the empty disc. Would that work? I'm not sure how to boot up from my external drive, or make sure that those files are bootable, however.
Unfortunately I can't find my Panther OS install disc (it's somewhere in a box in the basement that I haven't unpacked since moving), which I'm sure would make the whole thing easier.
Any thoughts or advice for would be very much appreciated.
Amy

Hi Grant,
Thanks for replying!
I've done it several times. The only thing that I'm
not sure of is how you go from several partitions
back to one
This is what I need to do, yes. Are you saying you haven't actually done it? (I too have gone from one to several partitions, and also from several back to one -once- but I didn't need to replace files from an external back up that time.)
(your backup must be to several different
partitions, right?)
Yes, my back up is an exact mirror of my current set up, with the same partitions.
Before you do this, make sure that your backup on the
xternal drive:
1. Is on a firewire, not USB drive
Right - it is.
2. You marked "make bootable" on CCC
I did that, yes.
3. Make sure it actually boots
How would I check that? I don't know how to start up from the external hard drive.
All that said, there are advantages to doing a clean
install.
I'm not sure what you mean by this - do you mean just install through my 'install and Restore' CD?
Its not a bad idea, so long as you can back
up and restore just your files. Most of the updates
will happen automatically (except apps and 10.3.x),
But these are the updates I'm concerned about. There are a LOT of them - I am a web designer and regularly use a LOT of applications. I don't want to reload every one of these, and go through all the updates again. I have deadlines to meet and need to spend the shortest possible time on all this and be safe and smart about it.
and you know that its clean and uncorrupted.
Nothing is corupted now, that I know of. That isn't really the problem.
But you
can always do that later, after the clone, if you
have a problem with it.
I'm not sure what you're referring to here, but I do appreciate the support, especially since it sounds like you use CCC. Can you tell me know to check to see if my backed up systems partition (on the external hard drive) is bootable? Thanks so much.
Amy

Advice on Carbon Copy Cloner vs. Time Machine

I have been stuck with a crappy all in one router/modem from the cable company for the last year. Yesterday, I bought an Asus RT N56U. It works great and I get great range. I almost went with an Airport Extreme, but went $40 cheaper. Then, while I was there I decided to get a hard drive for backups since I really need to be better about this with all of the pictures we have of our young children. My wife and I also have Macbooks from 2006-2007 era. Mine's 1,1 with an upgraded memory to 2GB and a new 500GB HD. My wife also has a new HD and the same specs. Anyway, I was tired of hooking them up for time machine backups, so, I tried to format my new Toshiba 3TB hard drive with 3 partitions, all MacOS Extended. One Partition for each of us for time machine and one for random other storage. I wanted a box where I could access this stuff from my iphone if I wanted, just because I thought it was cool to use aicloud (asus).
Anyway, I backed up my computer and hers using time machine with a direct connection to each computer. Then, I tried to hook the hard drive up to the router and can't find it. Come to find out the router only supports FAT and NFTS and one or two other formats. It does not support Mac OS.
So, now I've tried to figure out a way around this. Carbon Copy Cloner says that it will support non Mac OS formats for the hard drive, but not for a bootable copy. So, I could theoretically use CCC to copy things to the HD through WiFi if it is formatted non MacOS, just I wouldn't get a bootable copy. Maybe, I could just copy things like pictures and what not and not all the crap that ends up on my computer after 6 years.
Or even could CrashPlan do a local back up through Wifi?
I basically want something similar to the functionality of Time Capsule with or without Time Machine, but kind of like saving a few bucks, getting 3TB, and a pretty solid router.
Seem reasonable to anyone?
Sometimes I think I should have just gotten a time capsul ... Need to double check Best Buy's Return policy.
Thanks!

Sometimes I think I should have just gotten a time capsul ...
So do I.
Time Machine supports two and only two backup devices: a locally connected volume (like your Toshiba HD) and Time Capsule. If you are fond of the pictures you have of your young children, then use a supported backup method.
You can exclude specific volumes or folders from Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner.
Why anyone would buy anything from Best Buy is one of the great mysteries of life. Good luck returning it.

Carbon Copy Cloner - Bootable Drive

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for