Backing up on OS X

[kylera]

I remember back in the days of System 7 that you could literally copy and paste everything from one hard drive to another hard drive, and you could boot off the second hard drive.
Is backing up a la System 7 style still possible in OS X or should I try to figure out how to create a partition in my external 1TB HDD I have connected to my Windows 7 desktop?

 

[MacDawg]

If you want a bootable backup, use Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper

Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) = free

SuperDuper (SD) = not free

 

[robbieduncan]

SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cloner can create bootable clones of your harddrive.

 

[kylera]

Thanks for the quick replies. Though from the looks of it, I might have to get a separate external drive to make this work. I would suppose I need a FW case for it, too?

 

[MacDawg]

Doesn't have to be FW
Doesn't even have to be a separate drive

But your original statement was, "I remember back in the days of System 7 that you could literally copy and paste everything from one hard drive to another hard drive, and you could boot off the second hard drive."

But to answer the question, if it is backup... YES it should be separate drive
Otherwise it really defeats the purpose of a backup

 

[kylera]

Doesn't have to be FW
Doesn't even have to be a separate drive

But your original statement was, "I remember back in the days of System 7 that you could literally copy and paste everything from one hard drive to another hard drive, and you could boot off the second hard drive."

But to answer the question, if it is backup... YES it should be separate drive
Otherwise it really defeats the purpose of a backup

Exactly, if it's just the same hard drive, that does defeat the purpose of a backup.

I'm just annoyed that the seller of the G4 didn't have any of the installation discs on him when he gave this to me. Before anyone brands me an idiot for that, I'm in Korea where it's practically impossible to get a Mac like this model, so circumstances are somewhat against me

Going back to System 7, you could also just copy and paste applications between hard drives and most (not all) would run without any issues or with minor issues (in other words: need no separate installation). Does that apply to OS X as well?

 

[stridemat]

Going back to System 7, you could also just copy and paste applications between hard drives and most (not all) would run without any issues or with minor issues (in other words: need no separate installation). Does that apply to OS X as well?

It might work, but as the other posters have mentioned it simpler and easier to use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperUser. Even if you were to try doing this System 7 style you would need another hard drive.

 

[robbieduncan]

I'd recommend two external drives. Keep one onsite somewhere safe and one offsite, also somewhere safe. Swap them round at regular intervals. I take a backup clone every 2 weeks. I have one backup in a fireproof safe at home. The other locked in a desk drawer at work. I swap them every 2 weeks. I consider this reasonable for home-level data.

 

[Hal Itosis]

If you want a bootable backup, use Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper

Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) = free

SuperDuper (SD) = not free

Actually, Carbon Copy Cloner is donationware (not out-and-out "free"ware), while SuperDuper is "free" for basic cloning. The difference is that more advanced features such as incremental backups are not available in SuperDuper until the registration fee is paid (which then unlocks those extra capabilities), whereas Carbon Copy Cloner is totally uncrippled from the get-go.

So essentially, both can do simple clone jobs for free... as can Disk Utility, which comes with every Mac running OS X (jaguar? or higher).