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PSA: macOS Sequoia 15.2 Breaks SuperDuper Bootable Backups
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The MacOS bug aside, this brings attention to a key difference between CCC and Super Duper: CCC stopped officially supporting bootable backups when MacOS put the system on a separate SSV (Signed System Volume), which made bootable backups problematic for CCC (it can still do them, but it's a bit of a kludge).
By contrast, Super Duper continues to officially support bootable backups. I've not used Super Duper. Can anyone say how well its bootable backups work? Are Super Duper's bootable backups as robust and seamless as CCC's non-bootable backups?
By contrast, Super Duper continues to officially support bootable backups. I've not used Super Duper. Can anyone say how well its bootable backups work? Are Super Duper's bootable backups as robust and seamless as CCC's non-bootable backups?
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There are blank, third-party NAND flash modules based on Apple’s own designs (they’re actually improved, in fact) for the Mac Studio and Mac Mini currently in the works… and they’re not that hard to swap.
As for laptops, yes, there are also some modular replacement interfaces/modules being developed, but they do require ball-grid-array soldering work, which can only be done in a specialized shop with some pretty expensive machinery.
While less affordable and much more cumbersome than upgrading/fixing a regular PC or an old, pre-2016 Intel-based Mac, it won’t be impossible to revive Apple Silicon models with busted SSDs, it seems.
I've just moved my parents over to this methodology on their (slightly older) Mac mini since the internal HD can't be upgraded and their photo library has become massive and continues to grow on each vacation or visit with the grand-kids. Now their entire home folder resides on an external SSD connected via USB-C. They report the system is actually more responsive this way.
This has been my experience as well. If the boot drive fails I'll do a new, fresh OS install then use Migration Assistant to copy over all my applications, data and settings. Like others noted a few years ago CCC stopped supporting boot-able clones due to Apple's changes (recovery partition) so I just accepted the new world order. With SSD drives / USB 4 (Thunderbolt) and high speed internet connections the wait time for a complete rebuild isn't too bad. And thankfully I no longer live in a production environment where having a boot-able backup is mission critical. However in my previous life I would have found this situation completely unacceptable.
Again, that was referring to Time Machine and not MacOS, which you referred to. If you have a reply to the other poster you should probably reply to them and not me.
Dodge as much as you like. We both know what he/she meant.
Yes from my bug submission of CCC hardware error against all betas including the public release of 15.2 and 15.3 beta.
IMHO this is Apple just trying to lock out booting from external SSDs for security reasons. Now both CCC and now Superdupper examples with hardware error will fail after replicated all 4 APFS volumes correctly and it goes to remount the completed APFS snapshot. Just use a normal backup instead of a bootable backup for this time until Apple fixes their self created issue.
Want to add that this is just a progression of Apple interfering with external SSD's volumes bootable with M1 Macs via USB-C in my example. (Samsung T7-SSD)
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Is this on an Apple Silicon Mini? If so, I'm surprised an external would be more responsive, since the connection speed is slower--unless their internal was slowing down because it was nearly full.
And how do they do their backups? Do they have an additional external with two partitions, one for their primary external, and one for the non-SSV stuff on their internal?
Yes, Mike told us years ago that bootable backups were deprecated, and a "legacy" feature in CCC.
Note if you had a PCIe connected NVMe SSD that still works but that is the exception. Example SSDs added to Mac Pro 2019 cards. Apple is purposely trying to disable booting from external storage on AS Mac’s since first 15.2 beta.
I’ve just wrote a request to Mr Bombich as it’s not clear that this restriction affects Intel Macs too. In my case, I have a « test drive » Sequoia install on an NVMe Thunderbolt enclosure, not being sure yet that I’ll switch my internal SSD to the newer OS. Still on Ventura on the internal.
As it’s only, for the moment, a « test drive », I disabled Time Machine and didn’t tried a legacy bootable backup on an external USB-C 10 gbps WD SSD…
Obviously, the CCC bootable backup still works with Ventura, on this same WD external SSD.
I am currently setting up my new M4 mini, and with a slow internet connection and no quick way to do a restore, it feels like I'm working in what is for me uncharted territory with no safety net!
Do you not have a local backup as a safety net - that is a very basic safeguard
As long as you use a backup program (time machine, superduper, CCC) with an external SSD on a regular basis, that ASR volume backups your data disk with everything needed by a wiped/DFU restore conducted at an Apple Store via Migration Assistant after that.