Carbon Copy Cloner backups are better than ordinary backups.Suppose the unthinkable happens while you’re under deadline to finish a project: your Mac is unresponsive and all you hear is an ominous, repetitive clicking noise coming from its hard drive. I’d like to take this opportunity to say I’ve been extremely happy with Carbon Copy Cloner and Bombich Software over the four years I’ve been a customer. CCC is a truly outstanding piece of crafted software with top-notch support (I love the integrated help and support features) offered by a reliable and professionally-run company. 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). Carbon Copy Cloner 5.1.23. Bombich Software. We posted CCC 5.1.23 yesterday which includes support for making bootable backups on Intel Macs running Big Sur. CCC runs natively on & is fully compatible with Apple Silicon Macs, but we’re still tracking some macOS issues here.
Some Big Sur startup volumes don't appear in the Startup Disk Preference Pane
In the past, the Startup Disk Preference Pane would list all available startup volumes, including volumes cloned by CCC (whether CCC used ASR or its own file copier). Some Big Sur cloned volumes do not appear in the Startup Disk Preference Pane, despite being perfectly bootable.
We have reported this issue to Apple (FB8889774) and we are currently awaiting a response.
Workaround: To boot from the cloned volume, restart your Mac while holding down the Option key, then select the cloned volume in the Startup Manager. When your Mac has completed booting, you can optionally choose to set the startup disk to the current startup volume (i.e. if you want the Mac to always boot from the cloned volume).
CCC will not update the System volume on a Big Sur bootable backup
Starting in macOS Big Sur, the system now resides on a cryptographically sealed 'Signed System Volume'. That volume can only be copied using Apple's proprietary APFS replication utility ('ASR'). Right now, ASR will only copy whole volume groups (System and Data), we can't choose to clone just the System volume. As a result, every time an OS update is applied to the source, we would have to erase the whole destination volume (including any existing snapshots on that volume) just to update the system on the destination.
To avoid deleting your snapshots and the rest of your backup, CCC will not update the System volume on the destination when System updates are applied to the source.
We made a feature request to Apple in September 2019 (FB7328230) to allow ASR to clone just the System volume. Apple's APFS team acknowledged the request in June 2020 and clarified the requirements, and now we're waiting on the implementation.
Our recommendation: We recommend erasing the destination only for the purpose of establishing the initial bootable backup. CCC can then use its own file copier to maintain the backup of your user data, applications, and system settings. If you would like to update the OS on the backup volume, you can boot your Mac from the backup and apply any updates via the Software Update preference pane in the System Preferences application. This is not something that we anticipate you would need to do frequently, nor even proactively. You could apply updates before attempting to restore from the backup, for example, if that need ever arises.
Apple Software Restore doesn't yet support the storage in Apple Silicon Macs
In the current shipping version of macOS Big Sur (11.2.3), Apple's ASR utility cannot replicate the startup disk in an M1-based Mac. Attempting to do so results in an error:
'Apple System Restore Tool': Source volume format not yet supported in this version of macOS
Apple is aware of the problem and is working towards resolving it for a future update to macOS. CCC 5.1.23+ will automatically perform Data Volume backups on M1 Macs and avoid any attempts to copy a System volume on those Macs — that's a complete backup of your data, applications, and system settings. If you would like to make your Apple Silicon Mac backup bootable, you can install Big Sur onto the CCC Data Volume backup. Please keep in mind, however, that your CCC backup does not have to be bootable for you to be able to restore data from it.
When Apple posts an update to macOS that resolves the ASR problem, we'll post an update to CCC that adds back support for copying the System volume on these Macs.
Finder will not show, nor allow you to set custom icons on other Catalina and Big Sur startup disks
Finder will show and allow you to customize the volume icon for your current startup disk, but not for other Catalina- or Big Sur-bearing startup disks that your Mac is not currently booted from. This problem is not specific to CCC backups, but we see this frequently because CCC creates bootable backups. This problem is the result of a design flaw in the implementation of custom icons in an APFS volume group. Up to macOS Catalina, the custom volume icon is stored in a file at the root of the startup disk named '.VolumeIcon.icns'. To keep the System volume read-only, yet allow the apparent modification of this icon file, Apple chose to create a symbolic link at the root of the startup disk that points to System/Volumes/Data/.VolumeIcon.icns. For the current startup disk, this path resolves correctly because the Data member of the volume group is mounted at /System/Volumes/Data. That's not the case for external volumes, those Data volumes are mounted at /Volumes/CCC Backup - Data (for example). As a result, the symbolic link to .VolumeIcon.icns is unresolvable for any volume that is not the current startup disk.
We have reported this issue to Apple (FB7697349) and we are currently awaiting a response.
Other Catalina and Big Sur startup disks can't be renamed in the Finder
Finder will let you rename the current startup disk, but you won't be able to rename any other startup disks that have an installation of Catalina or Big Sur because the System volume is mounted read-only.
Solution: Unmount and remount the volume in Disk Utility, then right-click on the volume in Disk Utility's sidebar and choose the option to rename the volume.
We have reported this issue to Apple (FB8912480) and we are currently awaiting a response.
The System volume is not encrypted when FileVault is enabled on a Big Sur startup disk
This is not a bug, this appears to be a deliberate change on macOS Big Sur. When you enable FileVault on a Big Sur startup disk, the System volume member of the APFS volume group is not encrypted. Considering that this volume is identical on all Macs, encrypting its contents is not going to prevent someone from knowing what's on it, so the encryption does appear to be unnecessary. There is one undesirable effect of this change, however, regarding an encrypted, bootable backup disk. When you attach the device to your Mac, the System volume is mounted automatically, regardless of whether you unlock the associated Data volume. If you specifically choose to not unlock the Data volume, there are three results that range from confusing to annoying to alarming:
- The volume appears to be mounted in the Finder, despite not wanting to mount it
- None of the data on the volume is accessible because the Data volume isn't mounted, so you might be led to believe that your data has been lost
- There is no apparent way in the Finder to get the Data volume unlocked and mounted
You can unlock and mount the Data volume in Disk Utility to access the data. If you provided the volume's password to CCC, then you can simply run your CCC backup task and CCC will automatically unlock and mount the Data volume.
We have reported this issue to Apple (FB8918177) and we are currently awaiting a response.
Apple's SMB filesystem client causes system stalls on M1 Macs, leads to kernel panics
We have received several reports from M1 Mac users of kernel panics that occur while copying files to an SMB-mounted NAS volume. The kernel panic reports have confirmed that the SMB filesystem client (implemented via the smbfs.kext kernel extension) was stalled, which led to a 'watchdog' panic. These panic reports are automatically submitted to Apple, so we can presume that Apple is aware of the problem and working on a solution.
Workaround: Users have reported that using AFP rather than SMB consistently works around the panic (in cases where using AFP is an option):
- Eject the NAS volume if it's currently mounted
- Choose 'Connect to Server' from the Finder's Go menu
- Type in 'afp://{server address}' to connect to the NAS volume via AFP
- Open CCC and select the applicable backup task
- Drag the currently-mounted NAS volume (or folder or disk image on that volume) onto CCC's source or destination selector (whichever is applicable for your particular task)
I was watching the news last week during the awful California fires, and they interviewed a guy who only had time to grab his family and run out of their home before it was engulfed in flames. He told the reporter that he didn’t have time to get his laptop which had his children’s baby photos on it … and they weren’t backed up.
I’m sure if you’ve been listening here and to other tech podcasts for any length of time, you have backups. I hope you also have off-site backups just in case of fire, flood, hurricane, tornado or even burglary. In the old days, it was hard to do backups, but nowadays you really have no excuse. Between Time Machine, cloning apps like SuperDuper! and Carbon Copy Cloner, Backblaze for offsite backups. Syncing services like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and iCloud, which are not truly backups, do give you some level of protection from disaster.
I’ve been using SuperDuper! for my local clone backups for ages. I don’t remember how long ago I bought it it’s been so long! You can download SuperDuper! from shirt-pocket.com/… and use it for free to do a full clone backup. The developer, Dave Nanian, allows you to do that and entices you to buy the product by offering extra features.
With the licensed version you can schedule your backups, which I think is essential to make sure they actually happen. You can also do incremental backups, so you don’t have to wait for the entire disk to be cloned every time when only a few things have changed. You can exclude items as well. Maybe you don’t want to back up Dropbox because it’s already in the cloud; you could exclude it with your licensed version of SuperDuper!.
As Bart would say, “SuperDuper! does what it says on the tin”, but it’s not an elegant, pretty application. It’s more what I would call utilitarian. The website is worse than utilitarian, it’s ancient. The menu bar looks like the old aqua interface from 2000. That’s 19 years ago folks. The text on the menubar is also is fuzzy and hard to read.
Not to pour gasoline on the fire, but the second tab on the shirt-pocket website is for a product called netTunes, and there’s a banner saying that it’s not yet Leopard compatible. Seriously. While the website was pretty accessible on VoiceOver, there were a few crucially unlabeled buttons in the app, like the one you need to press to start the clone.
Catalina Time
When it came time to upgrade to macOS Catalina, I repurposed the mind map I created for my clean installs to keep track of which apps were ready to go. I track apps in three categories: mission-critical, important, and less important. With the dumpster fire that has been Apple’s recent OS releases, I wasn’t in any hurry to migrate my production Mac anyway so I took my time.
I had one irritant in not going to macOS Catalina right away and that was the Reminders app. While Apple gave a HUGE warning on iOS that if you allowed Reminders to upgrade to their brand new database you would lose your Reminders on all of your other non-upgraded devices, I didn’t heed the warning and upgraded. Apple then did exactly what they said would happen, and erased all of my Reminders on my Mojave Mac. I use Reminders quite a bit and it was annoying as heck that I wasn’t getting reminded of things and couldn’t create new reminders on my Mac.
Finally, I got to the point where all of my mission-critical apps and most of my important apps were painted green in iThoughts, designating them as Catalina ready. Except for one, SuperDuper!. When I researched the app on Shirt-Pocket, I learned that the app was still in beta 4 for macOS Catalina. I truly enjoy running beta software when it’s not mission-critical. The last thing I would beta test would be my backup software!
Carbon Copy Cloner
I tend to be loyal to the products and services I use, which is a bit of a curse. I can’t drop one brand and jump to another easily and it’s an instinct I have to actively fight, but it was time to look elsewhere for my clone backups. I decided to check out SuperDuper!’s main competitor, Carbon Copy Cloner from bombich.com/…. I’ve long heard great things about Carbon Copy Cloner and its founder, Mike Bombich.
The first thing I did was check for compatibility with macOS Catalina and I was delighted to learn that Carbon Copy Cloner version was working way back in August even in the betas of macOS Catalina. That’s kind of a miracle that it didn’t break during the anarchy that has been the Catalina development cycle!
Carbon Copy Cloner is $40, compared to the $28 of SuperDuper!, but having a current, modern app is well worth the difference in price to me. This might be a great example of “You get what you pay for.” When you think about what you’re protecting with a clone backups solution, does $40 sound like very much money? Your child’s first dance recital video? Your honeymoon photos? Your tax records? Yeah, I’d say $40 is a steal.
You don’t have to shell out any money to find out if Carbon Copy Cloner will work for you because they recommend that you download it and use it for 30 days first. I used it for about 24 hours and I was sold.
The interface of Carbon Copy Cloner is clean and modern with just a few buttons across the top, a left sidebar and a center pane that’s called the Task Plan. Carbon Copy Cloner allows you to save different clone operations as separate tasks. I can see maybe you want to make a copy of just your tax folder onto a thumb drive that you keep in a safe, but you have another task that’s your full clone backup that you take to your mom’s house every week.
In the left sidebar, you create these tasks and name them. The bottom left of the pane shows the volumes Carbon Copy Cloner has recognized from which you choose to copy from and to for your backups. Then in the center Task Plan area, you’ll see three big areas inviting you to select to choose a source, a destination and set a schedule.
The graphics are gorgeous (and more importantly intuitive) as you set these options. When selecting a destination for example, you’ll see nice icons for your internal and external volumes, but you can also choose a folder, a new disk image, an existing disk image or a remote Macintosh.
I’ve only ever backed up to a local drive before but the idea of backing up from one Mac to another is kind of intriguing. I’ve got a perfectly good Mac mini sitting across the hall from me as my PLEX server, connected via Ethernet, I could actually use some of its extra disk space to back up my files.
When I chose the remote Mac option, I was asked to authenticate. Carbon Copy Cloner then informed me that for future connections to this remote Mac it will use Public Key Authentication (PKA) and asked my permission to install my public key over on the remote Mac. Very secure, very modern and awesome. I chose a folder on my Mac, pointed to a folder on the remote Mac mini as a backup destination and boom, I had a backup from one Mac to another.
Carbon Copy Cloner has an option to send mail when a backup fails and I’d really like to use this option but it doesn’t work for me. I suspect this is not Carbon Copy Cloner’s fault. When Bart helped me set up what’s called a cron job in linux-land to download a backup from my website every day to one of my Macs, we tried to have it send mail and it wouldn’t work either. Bart says it’s my ISP blocking it and I never got around to figuring out if there was a way to fix that.
Ok, that was cool but what about the big clone job? I keep my backup drive plugged in (a 2TB Samsung T5 only $300 on Amazon right now and of course available in smaller sizes. ). I chose the T5 as my clone backup destination and my internal drive with “copy all files” selected in the pulldown. In the third pane, I chose a schedule to run at 11 am every day.
Carbon Copy Cloner includes an interesting feature called SafetyNet. They explain that when people buy giant drives for their backups, they often can’t resist the temptation to use some of that storage space for other things. If you’ve got a 512GB internal drive and a 3TB spinning backup drive, could you resist that temptation? With SafetyNet turned on, those items that aren’t part of the source destination can be preserved.
I’m just now learning about snapshots so I don’t entirely understand another function of SafetyNet. According to the documentation, if you back up to an APFS-formatted destination volume, Carbon Copy Cloner creates a SafetyNet Snapshot on the destination. I suspect this is why my clone is taking up 1.84GB, while my source disk is only 1.01TB. I’ll be poking around in here via the terminal to learn more but for now I’ll assume that’s why.
Carbon Copy Cloner Adopted SuperDuper! Backup
In the old days of backups, programs saved your data in arcane data structures inoperable by anything but themselves. You had little opportunity to verify your backups and you could never migrate a backup to a new tool. One of the great joys of modern-day clone backups is that they look just like the source data. With a clone, you should see a duplicate of your entire file structure.
When I ran Carbon Copy Cloner for the first time, I didn’t bother to reformat my backup drive, figuring Carbon Copy Cloner would give me a warning that it was about to erase my drive before beginning, but I didn’t get that warning. I thought that was kind of odd, but it went to town running a backup and in short order it claimed to be finished.
And that’s when I realized that it was able to simply pick up where SuperDuper! had left off. It recognized that the destination drive had most of what I had on my source drive and simply brought it up to date. At least I think that’s what it did! There’s a very nicely formatted Task History list that shows the task name, the source, the destination, the start time and elapsed time. It also shows how much data was copied and the status, either a green circle with a check mark or a red circle with an X.
I can see that my first backup with Carbon Copy Cloner took 29 minutes and copied 176GB, but my daily 11am backups are only averaging around 8 minutes and moving around 15GB. I’m not 100% certain why that first backup is big but not huge. I thought it might have something to do with this snapshot capability in Carbon Copy Cloner, but I checked my destination volume and it shows snapshot creation is off. I looked to see if it had created a SafetyNet folder because it thought some of this data was from some other source, but there’s nothing there. Curious.
With SuperDuper!, my clones never took less than a half hour on their daily schedule, even though it was only incremental backups and it was going between wicked-fast SSDs. Seeing that Carbon Copy Cloner does the backups in about 8 minutes every morning, I might let it do this more often. Maybe I’ll go crazy and back up twice a day!
Speaking of incremental backups, on SuperDuper! there was a specific pulldown to select to do incremental vs. a full backup each time. I hunted everywhere in Carbon Copy Cloner for how to make an incremental backup before I realized that it always uses incremental. I guess if you want a full backup, you’d have to erase the destination first. I might do that just to figure out why the backup is taking up so much space.
Before I forget, remember to test your clone backup when nothing is going wrong to make sure it looks just like your internal disk. If you’re running a T2 Mac, also don’t forget to go into the Startup Security Utility and check the box to allow booting from external media.
It’s turned off by default so you won’t be able to boot from your clone if you don’t change that first. Better now than when you’re in the middle of a critical task and your Mac drive goes belly up and you need to keep working. If you want to stick with Apple’s choice on this that’s fine, but make sure you understand the repercussions if you do!
Accessibility
Ccc Carbon Copy Cloner
For those of you who are VoiceOver users, I poked around a bit with VoiceOver on and I wasn’t able to find a menu or button that was unlabeled or didn’t function and I didn’t find any. Keep in mind I’m a novice VoiceOver user so that’s not a full seal of approval but usually, I stumble across problems pretty quickly if the developer hasn’t done their job properly.
DATA Volumes on macOS Catalina
In my article about the MacTech conference, I explained that with macOS Catalina we now have two volumes on our boot drives. You can see them in Disk Utility as your hard drive name followed by ” – Data” which is where your data lives, and a second one without the suffix which is your operating system. This design gives us further protection from malware.
I remind you about this because in Carbon Copy Cloner you can inspect your volumes as well. For my internal SSD, playfully named Hippo) I have Hippo – Data, and plain old Hippo. Likewise, I can see two volumes for my backup drive. The first of these in each pair is kind of terrifying at first. I inspected my backup drive and it said “Operating System: macOS not installed”. Wait, what? You’re supposed to be a bootable clone darn it! Then I calmed down and looked at the backup disk volume without ” – Data” after it and it said “Operating System: macOS Catalina (10.5.1)”. Whew.
I wanted to walk you through that so you don’t think Carbon Copy Cloner is doing something crazy here, it’s Apple who has made this new structure for us. By the way, it’s also in this inspector area that you can turn on and off CCC Snapshots. As I said, I need to learn more about snapshots before I make any recommendations here.
This week, Time Machine told Steve that his internal drive was nearly full even though Get Info said it should be only half full. Luckily I’m an avid listener of the Mac Geek Gab, and I’d learned that there was this whole concept of Time Machine snapshots and how sometimes they go rogue and fill up your internal drive. I did some searching and learned about thinning said snapshots and we recovered his lost space. I don’t understand what caused them to turn against Steve so I’m going to stay away from them in Carbon Copy Cloner until I learn more.
Licensing
The last thing I wanted to mention about Carbon Copy Cloner is the licensing. Like I said $40 to preserve what’s important to me is chump change, but I was wondering if I’d have to buy a separate license for Steve.
Luckily, the answer is no. In a support article on bombich.com/… it says, “The CCC License allows you to install and use Carbon Copy Cloner on any computer that you own or control for personal, noncommercial use.” He’s got other licensing for commercial or institutional use, including academic purchasing options.
Bottom Line
Ccc Copy Cloner
The bottom line is that I’m delighted that I’ve moved off of the ancient SuperDuper! and onto the more modern Carbon Copy Cloner. I probably should have done this ages ago and half of you are thinking, “What took you so long?” But hey, I got there in the end. If you’re not doing local clone backups and you need that little push to get started, I can really endorse Carbon Copy Cloner. There’s a free 30-day trial, what do you have to lose?