Unless you ’ve been lock in a way somewhere for the past few months , you know that Friday is the official waiver engagement for Mac OS X 10.5 , a.k.a . , Leopard . promote to a major young adaptation of a computer ’s operating organization is a major undertaking , no matter how easy the summons is speculate to be ; as you ’ll see in our upgrade pathfinder , to be published on Friday , there are a number of selection to be made and precautions to be taken . But the most crucial affair to do beforehand isback up . There ’s no upgrade - related job so big that it ca n’t be fixed by erasing your drive and restoring it to its pre - upgrade state . ( On the other paw , there are few figurer - colligate disasters worse than not having a backup and then losing information thanks to a problem with an upgrade . )
With that in mind , it seems an opportune fourth dimension to cover a late — and major — update to one of the old Mac Gems , Mike Bombich ’s Carbon Copy Cloner . First go over back in July 2002 , Carbon Copy Cloner was , at the time , the only utility that could reliably parallel a Mac OS hug drug volume , making a bootable clone . Many people , including myself , considered it to be an invaluable tool for any Mac OS tenner user .
In the class that followed , Carbon Copy Cloner ( CCC for short ) received several useful updates , but other public-service corporation eventually came along that offered well more functionality and better user interface — most notably SuperDuper ( ) . But withCarbon Copy Cloner 3.0.1 (; payment requested ) , the spread has narrow down considerably .
For those unfamiliar with the concept of aclone , it ’s an exact copy of a volume , preserving all invisible files , permission , metadata , and other entropy that some traditional backup applications — as well as the Finder — don’t actually copy . In fact , an precise dead ringer is the only way to make a bootable support of a Mac OS X disk — a backup that allow you get back up and running in a matter of minute , as opposed to the hours it might take you to reinstall Mac OS X on a private road and then fix your files . ( Note that you require to clone to a drive that ’s actually subject of boot a Mac ; not all drive are . )
But a clone is also utile when upgrading to a major new version of Mac OS X : you could clone your Mac ’s hard driveway to another drive ; then apply the OS X Installer to execute an Erase And Install of the new OS on your Mac ; and then link up the clone to your Mac and use Setup Assistant to automatically migrate your drug user account , setting , and data from the computer backup to the new OS X installation .
Carbon Copy Cloner , like SuperDuper , lets you easy create just such a ringer . You just choose a source disk ( the original volume ) and a target disk ( the backup volume ) ; choose Copy Everything From Source To Target from the Cloning Options pop - up ; and , optionally , activate the choice to score out The Target Volume . flick on Clone and an exact transcript of the reference disc will be made using the object disk . ( In a not - so - subtle nod to SuperDuper , you ’ll see a clear description of the backup mathematical operation in the What Is pass away To Happen box . To be comely , SuperDuper use the textual matter “ What ’s Going To Happen , ” so there is — orthere ’s , depend on your inclination — at least one remainder in the choice of words . ) The process is n’t degraded , but it ’s thorough .
One unique option here is the ability to make a block - level dead ringer . This method make a clone that ’s not only file - by - file monovular , but alsoblock - by - blockidentical . There are few situation in which a typical Mac user will need the latter , but if you do , CCC will oblige , provided CCC is able to unmount both the source and the mark — which mean you ca n’t be reboot from either — and you choose the choice to wipe out the target book . If not , the selection wo n’t even be usable .
( Like SuperDuper , you’re able to also clone to a disk image . This can be convenient , for instance , for back up up multiple Macs to a individual , big heavy drive . )
An betterment to CCC in version 3 is in how you opt to perform anincrementalclone — in other words , to update an existing clone backup to reflect late changes to your Mac ’s hard drive , without have to copy the entire drive over again . However , it ’s still not the most obvious lineament . From the Cloning Options soda pop - up , pick out Copy Selected Items ; this displays the content of the source disc . If you perform a backupnow , only files that have change on the reference disk will be copied to the quarry disk ; other files on the target — admit any that do n’t exist on the source ( for example , because they ’ve been deleted from the source ) will continue untouched .
This approach effectively gives you both an incrementally - archived knockoff of your grueling drive — one that contains old and newer versions of each file — as well as an archive of files delete from the germ . One caution here is that you need to ascertain your target ( backup ) magnetic disc over clock time to verify it does n’t fill up . tote up the Delete Items That Do n’t be On The Source choice will do just that — your clone will always be exactly the same as your heavy drive ; items deleted from the source will also be deleted from the backup . ( The Archive Modified And Deleted Items option keep deleted - from - informant items on the backup parkway , although it moves them to a folder , key after the day of the month the item were delete , at the tooth root spirit level of the backup drive . )
One of the most appealing features of Carbon Copy Cloner 3 — particularly for advanced user — is the ability to clone only finical files . After choosing the Copy Selected Items option , which reveals the contents of the rootage drive , you’re able to uncheck any files or booklet you do n’t desire included in your championship . This option can be handy for back up , say , just the /Applications , /Library , and /User folders . Similarly , the Action ( gear - picture ) soda pop - up menu offer options for create and apply filters that restrict what will be copied ; for example , you’re able to storm Carbon Copy Cloner to not copy JPEG images or music files .
Also utile is the Advanced Options window , accessible via the Carbon Copy Cloner menu , which lets you copy the selected files to a special booklet on the target volume — for example , to a folder on a electronic connection volume or on another Mac .
Keep in creative thinker that by choosing a selection of data file or copying to a leaflet , you ’ll terminate up with in a clone that ’s uncomplete and possibly non - bootable . For that understanding , I do n’t urge this approach for your only backup or for use by those who would n’t see how to use such a partial backup to restore their mack . I also wish CCC would display the entire size of the choose file , so you could tell if your aim bulk will be able-bodied to lodge them . ultimately , in my examination re-create a subset of file to a leaflet on another drive , several inconspicuous folders not displayed in the Carbon Copy Cloner lean — devandVolumes — were copied , empty , to the mark folder .
Scheduling is another area that ’s been improve in CCC3 , although , again , how to schedule a backup cognitive process is n’t entirely obvious . Once you ’ve set up your trust copy selection , press Save Task . A Backup Task Scheduler window will open , where you may choose to execute this particular cloning task on an hourly , everyday , weekly , or monthly basis ( with options to take everyxnumber of time of day , days , week , or months ) . Or you could pose the computer backup to come about whenever the target volume is reconnected — an peculiarly useful option for backing up to an external effort . curiously ( at least in my persuasion ) , if you want to back up on particular Day — for instance , every weekday — you choose On A Weekly Basis , which lets you then choose the day of the week .
One usage tip : Browsing theCCC meeting place , I found a number of representative of minor issue with CCC 3 , feel by users of previous edition , that were fixed by cancel the filescom.bombich.ccc.plistandcom.bombich.ccc_helper.plistfrom ~/Library / Preferences . ( The latter file cabinet may not exist for everyone . ) So if you used an older version of CCC , and you have problem with version 3 , try on quitting CCC , deleting those files , and then relaunching the program .
So how does the latest Carbon Copy Cloner , which is “ donationware”—remember to pay for it if you use it — equate to the Eddy - Award - winning SuperDuper ( $ 28 ) ? As I note above , CCC makes it easier to clone a particular pamphlet other than the Users directory . It can also firmly re-create choose datum to another Mac over a internet or the Internet . And CCC arrogate to work better when backing up information to an iPod ; according to the documentation , CCC expect to give iTunes a chance to sync with the iPod before backing up . ( I did n’t essay this particular feature . )
On the other hand , I think SuperDuper ’s interface is still clearer and easy to utilize ; as just one example , it ’s easier to figure out how to do an incrementally - update clon ( in my experience , the most common type of backup using these utilities ) . SuperDuper also provides several useful cloning options ( explained in our review of reading 1.5.5 ) , admit the unique Safety Clone ; a good act of extra features ; and , based on my own experience and feedback from readers , heavy technical school support . ( Most CCC reenforcement is apparently deal through the Bombich Software forums . )
Whichever utility program ’s feature you find more sympathetic , it ’s great to see some competition in this specialized area of Mac computer software .
Carbon Copy Cloner 3.0.1 demand Mac OS X 10.4 or subsequently ; it is compatible with Leopard ( Mac OS X 10.5 ) .
