Time Machine and Carbon Copy Clone issue compatibility?

Better is to have two drives, one for time machine and one for CCC. That way you have two different backups on two different devices. I usually have TM running all the time and only use CCC on a schedule. TM is best for when I screw up and delete or overwrite something and need to get the previous copy. CCC is for major hardware failures like a drive going bad.

 

Agree on the two drives, but I don't understand why CCC is any better than TM for restoring after a drive failure. I've used TM several times to restore my data to either a new drive or a new computer. Time Machine works extremely well for either individual files or an entire drive. What is CCC's attraction?

 

Carbon Copy Cloner can create a bootable copy which can be used immediately in case of drive failure. Not everyone needs that, but if you do that is the attraction.

A.

 

K. Thanks!

 

In my case my Macbook Pro can die a horrible death (burn up or such). I can take my CCC drive, plug it into my wife's iMac and boot off the USB clone. I'm dogged slow but I have immediate access to everything including all the apps I use that she doesn't. I can then shop for a new Mac at my leisure.

 

Carbon Copy Cloner is not free? , i been using it for 2 months now without paying , i got the download from there website

 

Carbon Copy Cloner was donation-ware up until V3.4.7. If you got that version or earlier from them you can continue using it but it is not updated for compatibility with Mountain Lion or later. From V3.4.8 and newer it is commercial software so after the one month free trial you need to pay $39.95 if you want to keep using it.

 

Excellent use for it. Thanks!! I keep an external drive updated with the current system as an alternate boot point, but have other (older) computers to use in an emergency, so didn't think of your use. Really good idea! The thought of my MBP dying a horrible death is an ugly picture, tho.

 

[[ What is CCC's attraction? ]]

1. It's bootable
2. It's already an exact copy of your source drive -- no "restoration" necessary (just boot and use). All your stuff is IMMEDIATELY visible, accessible, usable. You don't have to "restore" first.
3. No need to fool with the recovery partition -- if you want to restore the internal (source) drive, just boot from your CCC backup and "re-clone" to the internal
4. Did I mention that CCC creates a fully-bootable copy of your internal drive?

Try booting from a recovery partition and using your files directly from TM (WITHOUT having to do some "recovery" first...)

 

1. Great.
2. It's only as up-to-date as you take the effort to make it up-to-date. CCC doesn't do automatic incremental updates like Time Machine does, or does it? edit - it does!!!
3. OK, but I haven't had to "fool" with the recovery partition.
4. Yes, I'm pretty sure you did. But it's only as up-to-date as of the last time you cloned the entire beast, right? edit - Wrong. Sorry. It does do incremental updates.

No need to try that. If my internal is dead, I replace it, put a system on it & restore from Time Machine which is updated hourly, automatically, & I'm back in business.

If you have a need for the things that CCC does that Time Machine doesn't (bootable copy), then CCC is what you need. So far, I don't, but thanks to this thread, I'll sure keep it in mind. Thanks!!!

 

[[ If you have a need for the things that CCC does that Time Machine doesn't (bootable copy), then CCC is what you need. So far, I don't... ]]

Prediction:
At some point in the future, you are going to have an "I can't boot!" moment.

THIS is when a CCC backup becomes worth its weight in gold to you.

You will discover why, when it happens to YOU.