Whether or whether Time Machine backs up your Mac on a regular basis, creating a full duplicate (a clone or mirror) of its data before installing macOS updates or upgrades is a smart idea. It is possible to create a one-time clone or regular backups in addition to or instead of Time Machine using Carbon Copy Cloner 6 (£29.90, bombich.com). Previous versions of the software are compatible with Mojave and older versions of macOS.

When you restore from a clone, Catalina and Big Sur have an impact on how you do it. While it’s preferable to clone the copy back to your internal storage, it’s preferable to install macOS first and then migrate from it, which is the only option for M1 Macs. Because of this, you won’t have to clone the System disk, which will save you some space, but CCC may still do this function for you.

Hundreds of different choices are available via CCC. Using them to their full potential, such as omitting things that should be duplicated individually and creating snapshots for fast file recovery, are shown in this chapter. Whatever method you choose, make sure your clone is functional by restoring test items to the original.

How to properly clone your Mac computer.

1 Adjust the loudness of the source audio

Select Tasks from the sidebar of Carbon Copy Cloner and provide a name to the new, empty backup job. To use your Mac’s starting disk as the source for your clone, click on the Source icon and choose Macintosh HD from the drop-down menu.

Prepare the final location.

Record how much space has been used on your source volume, and ensure that the destination volume has enough free space to accommodate that amount of data. Then, using the Destination icon, choose a volume that has enough free space to accommodate the clone’s contents.

3 Decide whether or not to repeat the procedure.

If you wish this cloning to be repeated automatically, choose Automation from the drop-down menu and specify the scheduling basis.. When it comes to backups, it’s preferable to make a daily clone, or whenever the disk is remounted for MacBooks that are only sometimes connected.

Schedule your time accordingly. 4 Establish the specifics of your schedule.

Setting the run time for when your Mac isn’t in use is a smart idea if your Mac is going to be left running overnight. It is possible to have the backup job wake up the machine if it is going to be sleeping, or you may leave it till later. Also, weekends are not required.

Items that are not allowed are set as excluded. 5

Choose things you don’t want included in the clone by clicking Task Plan at the bottom of the main window. Think about making several copies of large files, such as Virtual Machines, that change often while in use.

Option 6: Configure advanced settings

Many additional features, such as the ability to execute scripts before and after copying, are available in CCC for those with more advanced skills. Changing the priority of its copying jobs is now possible if you want it to back up while you are using your Mac.

Do a dry run to double-check

Examine if copying will result in the results you anticipate before beginning the initial clone. When you use the Preview tool, CCC will do a dry run without transferring any real files, and it will predict the exact size of the final result. Now is the time to correct any mistakes..

source snapshots should be set up in step eight

Take frequent pictures of your surroundings. The starting data volume called Macintosh HD – Data or simply Data should be selected by selecting Volumes in the sidebar. Turn on CCC to create a snapshot of the volume with each duplicate of it.

9 Retention of digital photographs

Given the fact that older snapshots may take up a significant amount of disk space, most people should find CCC’s default snapshot retention strategy to be suitable. Please keep an eye on the amount of space being utilized and use the Customize option if you want to establish your own policy.

10 Make a clone of that volume.

When you’re finished, right-click the task in the sidebar and choose the Run Now option to create the first clone of the project. Once this is done, CCC displays its work on the clone and provides an accurate estimate of how long it will take to complete the replica.

Task activities should be double checked.

As soon as the cloning process is complete, go to Task History, pick the completed task, and then click on the Task Trends button to get a summary of the activities taken. Click on the Start button in the main window if the job will be repeated.

12 System clone as an option

Alternatively, if you want CCC to clone your System disk as well, configure the Destination to create a complete bootable backup before proceeding to step 7 by clicking on its icon and choosing the Legacy Bootable Backup Assistant option.

PERIOD WILL BE REQUIRED.

The time limit is ten minutes

YOU WILL GAIN KNOWLEDGE.

Creating backups of files in order to recover them.

It will be necessary for you to

Carbon Copy Cloner 6 requires macOS 10.15 or later, an external storage device with adequate free space, and a computer with Internet access.