SuperDuper or Carbon Copy

[harleymhs]

I know they do about the same but can someone yell me which is the better choice?? Thanks!!

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by harleymhs

I know they do about the same but can someone yell me which is the better choice?? Thanks!!

If you're on Lion or Mountain Lion, you should know that CCC clones the recovery partition, where SD does not. CCC (free) also provides for saving earlier versions of files, which SD charges for.

You can use version 3.5.1 ($40) or 3.4.7 (free, and works well on OS X 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8).

[maflynn]

I'm partial to Carbon Copy Cloner, so I recommend that.

[MisterKeeks]

Originally Posted by maflynn

I'm partial to Carbon Copy Cloner, so I recommend that.

As am I.

[marc11]

CCC has never let me down. Works flawlessly.

[harleymhs]

Originally Posted by GGJstudios

If you're on Lion or Mountain Lion, you should know that CCC clones the recovery partition, where SD does not. CCC (free) also provides for saving earlier versions of files, which SD charges for.

You can use version 3.5.1 ($40) or 3.4.7 (free, and works well on OS X 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8).

Thanks.. But I'm a little confused about the recovery partition .. Super duper is bootable so why would u need another recovery partition on CC ? If both are bootable ..

[2012Tony2012]

Originally Posted by harleymhs

Thanks.. But I'm a little confused about the recovery partition .. Super duper is bootable so why would u need another recovery partition on CC ? If both are bootable ..

I am using Snow Leopard, don't have a recovery part so I am not bothered with that, however, I was using SD but it seemed that the general consensus amongst the experienced Mac users on this forum recommended CCC, so I went to CCC and I love CCC, using the free version, does everything I want, very happy.

[harleymhs]

Originally Posted by 2012Tony2012

I am using Snow Leopard, don't have a recovery part so I am not bothered with that, however, I was using SD but it seemed that the general consensus amongst the experienced Mac users on this forum recommended CCC, so I went to CCC and I love CCC, using the free version, does everything I want, very happy.

Does the free version of CCC let u do incremental back ups?

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by harleymhs

Does the free version of CCC let u do incremental back ups?

Yes.

Originally Posted by harleymhs

Thanks.. But I'm a little confused about the recovery partition .. Super duper is bootable so why would u need another recovery partition on CC ? If both are bootable ..

If something happens to your internal drive, you'll want to restore all of it, including the recovery partition. The recovery partition is not a replacement for a bootable backup, and serves other purposes you may find useful.

[2012Tony2012]

Originally Posted by harleymhs

Does the free version of CCC let u do incremental back ups?

Sure does my friend

[2012Tony2012]

Originally Posted by GGJstudios

Yes.

If something happens to your internal drive, you'll want to restore all of it, including the recovery partition. The recovery partition is not a replacement for a bootable backup, and serves other purposes you may find useful.

Why didn't Snow Leapord etc have it if it's useful?

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by 2012Tony2012

Why didn't Snow Leapord etc have it if it's useful?

It wasn't introduced until Lion, since Snow Leopard and earlier releases were distributed on DVD. Lion and Mountain Lion are not offered on disc, hence the need for a recovery partition, to perform functions that were previously done with the install DVD.

OS X: About OS X Recovery

[harleymhs]

Originally Posted by GGJstudios

It wasn't introduced until Lion, since Snow Leopard and earlier releases were distributed on DVD. Lion and Mountain Lion are not offered on disc, hence the need for a recovery partition, to perform functions that were previously done with the install DVD.

OS X: About OS X Recovery

Im Still confused... Im running ML and using SD and being that SD doesnt have the recovery would I still be able to restore the complete system if need be with SD with out the recovery partititon? It does make itself bootable.. Thats where im confused.. I tried the FREE version of CCC and it comes up with an error with ML ? But still seems to run after you close the error out? Is anyone useing the FREE version of CCC with ML ?? Thanks for everyones replies!!!

[Mike in Kansas]

Originally Posted by harleymhs

Im Still confused... Im running ML and using SD and being that SD doesnt have the recovery would I still be able to restore the complete system if need be with SD with out the recovery partititon? It does make itself bootable.. Thats where im confused.. I tried the FREE version of CCC and it comes up with an error with ML ? But still seems to run after you close the error out? Is anyone useing the FREE version of CCC with ML ?? Thanks for everyones replies!!!

I ran the free version with ML for months until upgrading to the paid version. It works fine.

Again, the recovery partition is there so you can boot up into it and perform disk maintenance, trouble shoot, reinstall ML, etc. Apple includes this as these functions used to be accessed by booting off the install disks, which you no longer get. Since not everyone has a bootable clone nor a USB recovery key, they included a way to do these things without install disks.

[drambuie]

I'm trying to confirm my understanding of the exact nature of the recovery partition. If the Macintosh HD partition is reformatted, booting to the recovery partition will enable Lion or ML to be reinstalled to the factory delivery state, and that the recovery partition is the equivalent of an OS install DVD, or USB drive. Is this correct? If so, is there a utility that would enable the recovery partition contents to be extracted to create an installation DVD or USB drive?

[Mike in Kansas]

Originally Posted by drambuie

I'm trying to confirm my understanding of the exact nature of the recovery partition. If the Macintosh HD partition is reformatted, booting to the recovery partition will enable Lion or ML to be reinstalled to the factory delivery state, and that the recovery partition is the equivalent of an OS install DVD, or USB drive. Is this correct? If so, is there a utility that would enable the recovery partition contents to be extracted to create an installation DVD or USB drive?

I don't think so, as the recover partition is ~1GB and the install key is ~4.7GB. I think it includes such things as terminal, disk utility, wifi connectivity & drivers. I believe that if you boot into the recovery partition, it will download ML from Apple servers. It doesn't have the OS embedded in it. However, I'm not 100% certain on this.

[Weaselboy]

Originally Posted by drambuie

I'm trying to confirm my understanding of the exact nature of the recovery partition. If the Macintosh HD partition is reformatted, booting to the recovery partition will enable Lion or ML to be reinstalled to the factory delivery state, and that the recovery partition is the equivalent of an OS install DVD, or USB drive. Is this correct? If so, is there a utility that would enable the recovery partition contents to be extracted to create an installation DVD or USB drive?

The full install is not on the Recovery HD partition (which is 650MB). It just contains a some utilities (like Disk Utility) and allows you to connect to Apple's servers to redownload the entire OS (4.7GB) if you need to.

The Recovery HD is also good to boot to for troubleshooting. Although you can run without it, it is good to have.

[Oldmanmac]

So, what recovers the apps/data on my internal if Apple is just doing the system stuff?

[maflynn]

Originally Posted by Oldmanmac

So, what recovers the apps/data on my internal if Apple is just doing the system stuff?

You need to be running Time Machine to back up your stuff to an external disk, or one of the listed apps in this thread, i.e., SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner.

[flynz4]

Originally Posted by maflynn

I'm partial to Carbon Copy Cloner, so I recommend that.

I am also partial to Carbon Copy Cloner. It is a great application.

Unlike others here... I would not recommend it as your primary backup. I prefer a primary backup that does a better job than CCC for versioning. You can set up CCC to create a directory structure which comprehends versions... but it is (IMHO) inadequate for anything more than recovery of a few files. I prefer Time Machine for versioning.

Having said that... nothing stops one from using CCC as a secondary backup. It has the advantage of creating bootable backups... which is valuable for some.

My priority in backup is:

1) TM: Primary local backup with excellent versioning
2) Crashplan+: Inexpensive and secure off-site automatic backup
3) CCC: 2nd local backup, easy to understand "plain file system", bootable

I would implement them in that order... but would always do at least the first two.

/Jim

[JoeRito]

Originally Posted by harleymhs

Is anyone useing the FREE version of CCC with ML ??

Yes it seems to work fine for me on ML. I just close out the warning message indicating that the product is not certified for ML and then do what I want to do.

[kapalua12]

For CCC, can anyone please explain the differences between the free version and the paid version?

[maflynn]

Originally Posted by kapalua12

For CCC, can anyone please explain the differences between the free version and the paid version?

The free version is older and generally not available - at least on the developer's site. The paid version is newer updated by the vendor and supports Mountain Lion's recovery partition

[Weaselboy]

Originally Posted by kapalua12

For CCC, can anyone please explain the differences between the free version and the paid version?

The older, free version has not been tested with Mountain Lion. There is a post here on this issue from the CCC developer.

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by maflynn

The free version is older and generally not available - at least on the developer's site. The paid version is newer updated by the vendor and supports Mountain Lion's recovery partition

The free version is available on the developer's site, and does support cloning the OS X recovery partition, which it has done since Lion. There is no meaningful difference, if any, in the functionality of the free and paid versions. Future development will be on the paid version, of course.

Here's the link to the developer's site to download the free 3.4.7 version: Carbon Copy Cloner - Download

Can I continue using the older version that is "donationware"?
Yes, absolutely. If you are currently using CCC and have not donated in the past, you are welcome to continue using any version up to and including 3.4.7 as long as you like without purchasing a license. Note, however, that previous versions of CCC are not qualified against Mountain Lion and we are no longer developing older versions of CCC.