A great piece by Riccardo Mori on the walls slowly closing in on bootable backups on macOS.

When I started using Linux full-time for my personal computing last year, one of the things I’ve missed most was the ability to easily backup my system. Time Machine is such an incredible feature and there really isn’t anything like it on other operating systems.

But just as important to me as Time Machine is access to software for making bootable backups — another part of my backup toolkit that really shines on macOS.

Although the ability to create bootable backups isn’t something built-in to macOS, SuperDuper! and Carbon Copy Cloner have been mainstays for me since I started using macOS in 2006. These types of backups are just so versatile. They can help you upgrade to a new boot drive, allow you to very quickly recover in case of a massive hardware failure, and more.

But with Apple making bootable backups less and less useable, this backup solution — which felt like a super power exclusive to macOS — just isn’t what it used to be. And my expectation is that Apple will only make these types of backups harder to perform until they are eventually impossible on new hardware.

➝ Source: morrick.me

Dave Nanian, writing in Shirt Pocket Watch:

As such, we can finally release a Beta that works as expected on both Intel Macs (now) and M1 Macs (assuming you have installed 11.4 Beta 1 or later).

To be clear, this is only possible because Apple made it possible in macOS 11.4. I’m certain it required changes to the M1’s startup process and to asr to finally make it happen. Without those changes, we couldn’t have done this in a supported way.

I’m really happy the teams involved made the effort.

I can start thinking about upgrading to Big Sur once 11.4 and this version of SuperDuper! officially ships.

➝ Source: shirtpocket.com

Dave Nanian, writing about SuperDuper! on Big Sur:

At present, it’s not possible to make bootable copies of Big Sur, even with asr, Apple’s own built-in replication utility. As such, we haven’t released a Beta, or even an internal Alpha, because it wouldn’t meet our own requirements.

So, for the moment, we’re holding back, hoping that Apple will fix the issues and allow 3rd party (or even 1st party, given asr) bootable backups. While asr was failing completely in previous builds, in the most recent one it isn’t able to back up because the system volume isn’t properly ‘sealed’ (which is ominous, since why wouldn’t a standard install be sealed, and if it’s not, why wouldn’t you be able to back it up anyway).

So, while progress is being made, we’re kind of stuck waiting for the king.

This is from about a month ago at this point, but I haven’t seen any new information that shows bootable backups are possible with newer betas.

Over the past few years I’ve been much more hesitant to upgrade macOS immediately after major version are released. My machine is far too essential to risk breaking anything. So I’ve been waiting several months before I upgrade.

Even if that wasn’t the case, though, this news about the inability to create bootable backups would give me pause. Although, Time Machine and Backblaze are my primary, everyday backup systems, SuperDuper! is essential to me. When I travel or send in my machine for repair, albeit rare, I always do a SuperDuper! backup so I can get up and running quickly if anything happens.

If I upgrade to Big Sur and bootable backups aren’t even possible, I’d always have a little bit of worry in the back of my mind that I would want or need to create one and wouldn’t be able to.

➝ Source: shirtpocket.com

Dave Nanian, developer at Shirt Pocket:

This means that, for those using El Capitan, we can’t hint obliquely that we’re compatible, as we have in the past, where our current version worked even though we couldn’t declare that compatibility until the final build. This time, the current version of SuperDuper is dead in the water on El Capitan. It just won’t work.

But don’t dismay: we’ve worked to change that. I’m happy to say, to those of you who are on the Beta (and those who are going to join the public beta today), we’ve developed and tested a Beta version of SuperDuper that makes bootable copies of El Capitan.

It’s a clever workaround that only requires the user to reinstall the OS from the App Store after booting from a backup. This means you’ll have an extra step before becoming fully functional, but without that additional step you’re vulnerable to certain types of malware (although, I’m not aware of this kind of malware existing in the wild). And as an added benefit, the OS reinstall builds certain caches which will speed up boot time.

Chaitanya Adgaonkar’s recommendations for preparing your Mac for a Lion upgrade. This is his most important recommendation:

For those who want to take extra precaution, we recommend that you use SuperDuper. SuperDuper will basically clone your hard disk as it is to an external hard disk. The SuperDuper backup is also fully bootable.

I suggest that everyone takes the “extra precaution.” A fully bootable backup is much better than a Time Machine backup. Getting back up and running quickly is invaluable when your upgrading your OS.

SuperDuper! really is a fantastic application and my favorite way to do bootable backups.

Snow Leopard will be available tomorrow and there are a few things you should do before upgrading.

It’s always a smart idea to clean up your Mac before doing an OS upgrade. I’d start by removing applications that you don’t need or want anymore. AppCleaner was developed to do just that. AppCleaner not only deletes the application itself but any Library folders associated with it as well. It can even help you remove any widgets, preference panes, or application plugins that you no longer need.

Once you’ve removed all the unnecessary applications you should update all of the remaining applications to the most recent version. AppFresh is an application designed specifically to keep all of your apps up to date. Simply open the app and let it scan for updates. You’re one click away from installing all available updates.

Let’s move on to cleaning up your boot process. In the “Accounts” system preference pane there is a “Login Items” tab, this will list the applications that open when you log in. Remove all the apps that you don’t need when you boot your Mac, not only will this make boot time faster but will also help the upgrade process go smoother.

After your Mac’s thorough cleaning, verify and repair disk permissions and the disk itself. You won’t need any extra software to do so, simply open up Disk Utility (found in the Utilities folder), select your hard drive, and choose Verify Disk/Disk Permissions or Repair Disk/Disk Permissions. This process can take some time but is well worth the time right before a major OS upgrade.

The last step before upgrading to Snow Leopard is to backup your hard drive. You might already be doing this with Time Machine but you should also have a bootable backup so you can get up and running quickly if anything goes wrong. Using a second hard drive SuperDuper! will make a bootable backup of your Mac, including all of your preferences and applications. Depending on your amount of disk usage this could take several hours.

You’re now ready to upgrade to Snow Leopard.

Previously:
8/24/09: Snow Leopard Officially Coming August 28
8/16/09: Snow Leopard Disc and Retail Packaging
8/2/09: Pre-Order Snow Leopard From Amazon

Update 8/27/09: In Walt Mossberg’s review of Snow Leopard he does confirm that the $29 upgrade disc can also upgrade machines running Tiger.

here’s a tip: Apple concedes that the $29 Snow Leopard upgrade will work properly on these Tiger-equipped Macs, so you can save the extra $140.

Upgrade 8/27/09: Along with Walt Mossberg’s review several other web sites have published their reviews of Snow Leopard. Here’s a list of the notable ones:

• Joshua Topolsky for Engadget
• Jason Snell for Macworld
• Jim Dalrymple for CNET
• David Pogue for The New York Times
• Andy Ihnatko for the Chicago Sun-Times

Update 8/31/09: Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Compatibility List

Update 9/6/09: Snow Leopard