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carbon copy cloner question

curtisinoc said:
Thank you: "iisforiphone", "simsaladimbamba" and "theSeb" for your responses.

I will definitely start CCC as a secondary backup (in addition to TM).

Last question . . for now :D:

After I create a CCC backup onto an external HD, can any mac read the files (documents, pictures, music files etc...) from this HD (via Finder), or does that mac need CCC software installed to view the files?
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yup, its not much different than just having a external hard drive that had everything copy and pasted using finder, its just better in the sense it can make the external bootable and its keeps it a exact match so if you delete a file on your internal it will remove it on the next "clone" from the backup
 
curtisinoc said:
When you say "backed up twice", do you mean that you have 2 separate external HD's with a CCC backup on them?
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I have one HDD (500 GB) for my photos (digital and analog (scanned)), then I have one HDD with my personal video footage (500 GB).
Those two HDDs get backed up to one 1 TB HDD via CCC.
That 1 TB HDD also gets backed up to another 1 TB HDD.
I just plan for the worst case scenario.
Some even put one of their backups at another location (in case of hazardous events or break ins), but I haven't done that.
 
In my opinion, TM is really a convenience backup - a good one at that, but not something you'd want to completely rely on.

There are lots of threads on the topic, but any backup plan worth its salt would include a combination of local (attached drive(s) ) and off-site backups.

I settled on CrashPlan for the off-site backup - have been very happy with the service (I find its a very reasonable cost for the service, and is very easy to administer).
 
simsaladimbamba said:
I have one HDD (500 GB) for my photos (digital and analog (scanned)), then I have one HDD with my personal video footage (500 GB).
Those two HDDs get backed up to one 1 TB HDD via CCC.
That 1 TB HDD also gets backed up to another 1 TB HDD.
I just plan for the worst case scenario.
Some even put one of their backups at another location (in case of hazardous events or break ins), but I haven't done that.
Click to expand...

Before I go out and buy an external HD . . . I've read that you can't boot from a CCC external USB hard drive . . that it has to be a firewire connected HD. Is this correct? I can't use CCC with a simple usb WD or Seagate external HD without firewire connection?
 
curtisinoc said:
Before I go out and buy an external HD . . . I've read that you can't boot from a CCC external USB hard drive . . that it has to be a firewire connected HD. Is this correct?
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That only applies to PowerPC Macs. You can boot Intel-based Macs from a USB external drive, although Firewire is much faster.
 
I've read too many posts about TM backups becoming corrupt and unusable and issues where TM just stops backing up. I am very happy with using ccc on all my machines
 
Another question . . hope u don't mind:

Scenario:

I'll create a "clone" of my iMac onto an external HD using CCC. Can I now take this HD (that has a "clone" of my iMac), plug it into my Macbook Pro and boot the laptop from it ? . . . using all of my iMac files/programs from the laptop?
 
curtisinoc said:
I'll create a "clone" of my iMac onto an external HD using CCC. Can I now take this HD (that has a "clone" of my iMac), plug it into my Macbook Pro and boot the laptop from it ? . . . using all of my iMac files/programs from the laptop?
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Files, yes. Apps, no.
 
iisforiphone said:
Apps NO?

is this because he is changing the hardware from where the clone was made?
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No, perhaps he meant something else. The way I read his post, he wants to boot from the clone which resides on the external drive, but use the apps that reside on the internal. That won't work. If by "plug it into my Macbook Pro" he meant "install it in my MBP" rather than plugging in the external drive (via USB or Firewire), then yes, it would work fine.
 
GGJstudios said:
No, perhaps he meant something else. The way I read his post, he wants to boot from the clone which resides on the external drive, but use the apps that reside on the internal. That won't work. If by "plug it into my Macbook Pro" he meant "install it in my MBP" rather than plugging in the external drive (via USB or Firewire), then yes, it would work fine.
Click to expand...

What I meant was this:

I connect my external HD (that has a clone of my iMac) via usb to my Macbook Pro and boot the Macbook from the clone/external HD. Lets say that my iMac has "Microsoft Word" program on it and my Macbook does not. Can I use "Microsoft Word" from my Macbook since it was booted from the external HD? Or does "Microsoft Word" have to be physically "installed" onto the Macbook for it to work?

Hope that makes sense.
 
curtisinoc said:
What I meant was this:

I connect my external HD (that has a clone of my iMac) via usb to my Macbook Pro and boot the Macbook from the clone/external HD. Lets say that my iMac has "Microsoft Word" program on it and my Macbook does not. Can I use "Microsoft Word" from my Macbook since it was booted from the external HD?

Hope that makes sense.
Click to expand...
No, it's not recommended to use a clone from a different model, as essential drivers may not be installed. Only boot from a clone of the same computer. You can use files from the clone of another model, but not boot from it or run apps from it.
 
GGJstudios said:
No, perhaps he meant something else. The way I read his post, he wants to boot from the clone which resides on the external drive, but use the apps that reside on the internal. That won't work. If by "plug it into my Macbook Pro" he meant "install it in my MBP" rather than plugging in the external drive (via USB or Firewire), then yes, it would work fine.
Click to expand...

thanks
 
theSeb said:
I've read too many posts about TM backups becoming corrupt and unusable and issues where TM just stops backing up. I am very happy with using ccc on all my machines
Click to expand...

I'm planning on using CCC with 2 of my machines (iMac and MacBook Pro), making "clones" of the 2 computers onto one external HD. Do I need to partition the external HD (2 partitions)? One partition for each computer that will be "cloned"?
 
curtisinoc said:
I'm planning on using CCC with 2 of my machines (iMac and MacBook Pro), making "clones" of the 2 computers onto one external HD. Do I need to partition the external HD (2 partitions)? One partition for each computer that will be "cloned"?
Click to expand...

Yes, you do, otherwise you will overwrite one backup with the other and have a little mess.
 
Now that I have 2 "complete" back-ups of my iMac:

1. Time Machine
2. Carbon Copy Cloner

When I get myself a brand new Mac, which of the 2 (TM or CCC) would you recommend using to set up/restore the new computer? . . . or does it really matter which I use?
 
curtisinoc said:
Now that I have 2 "complete" back-ups of my iMac:

1. Time Machine
2. Carbon Copy Cloner

When I get myself a brand new Mac, which of the 2 (TM or CCC) would you recommend using to set up/restore the new computer? . . . or does it really matter which I use?
Click to expand...
You can boot from your CCC backup, but you can't from your TM backup. The CCC option is simpler.
 
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