Backing up for AppleCare

[appleva]

Hey,

I am going to send in my MacBook Pro with retina display today due to a defective trackpad. They are going to replace the entire bottom, so I need to backup my SSD. I have been using Time Machine ever since I got my mac, but I believe Time Machine only keeps a copy of the files on your mac, not any programs I installed.

I want to keep my programs without having to having to redownload or repurchase old programs. Any suggestions?

I've heard of SuperDuper! I know it clones the SSD, but can I transfer my SuperDuper copy back to my SSD once i get my new mac.

Thanks in advance!

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Unless you EXCLUDED the Applications folder or any other folder on the Macintosh HD partition, almost everything gets backed up, including your applications. ( Time Machine FAQ )
But since restoring from a clone via CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper! is faster than restoring from a Time Machine backup, use an external HDD, properly formatted*, to clone the SSD onto and then to clone from the HDD to the SSD (since the HDD is now bootable) once the MacBook Pro with Retina Display has returned.

* How to format a new HDD to install Mac OS X onto (or make a bootable copy onto)​

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