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Q: Cloning my hard drive questions

I am about to upgrade my OS to Mavericks and not Yosemite (yet) because of potential compatibility problems with proprietary software that I use, but before doing so, it was suggested that I clone my hard drive.  I think this was an excellent suggestion.  My research has narrowed to possibly using Carbon Copy Cloner, however, I understand that Mac OS, (in my case, OSX 10.6.8 Snow Leopard) has a cloning capability in Disk Utility.  Is there a reason that I should use CCC instead of the Mac Disk Utility?

 

Also, I just purchase a 2 TB USB 3 powered hard drive for this cloning procedure.  In reading this Apple article Make a bootable clone of your boot drive, it says that the hard drive should be self powered, "Why? Because Mac's can cut off external hardware drawing too much power which can cause issues trying to boot from the clone."   Is that true?  Did I just make a mistake and buy a hard drive that I can't return at this point?  I have never had a problem powering my other USB powered hard drives with my Mac Pro.


Thanks ~

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8), 10 GB RAM

Posted on Feb 3, 2015 5:19 PM

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Q: Cloning my hard drive questions

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  • by tbirdvet,Helpful

    tbirdvet tbirdvet Feb 3, 2015 6:28 PM in response to rainair
    Level 4 (3,003 points)
    Feb 3, 2015 6:28 PM in response to rainair

    You can use disk utility but I find CCC to be easier and more intuitive to use.  If your drive is seen by your Mac using the USB as a power source then it should work as a bootable disk.  Go ahead and make a clone and then test it as a boot drive.  You can always get a self powered drive enclosure if there is any issue on powering the drive.  I have used both.

  • by Drew Reece,Solvedanswer

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Feb 3, 2015 6:51 PM in response to rainair
    Level 5 (7,480 points)
    Notebooks
    Feb 3, 2015 6:51 PM in response to rainair

    Carbon Copy Cloner is good for repeating jobs & scheduling etc.

    Disk Utility is fine if you have time to drag & drop for every backup.

    Use both if you want some extra certainty that multiple backups are sound.

     

    Any computer that powers external devices will cut the supply if the device tries to draw too much current. I suspect your disk may be OK if it has worked up to now, but many USB disks ship with 'double ended' USB cables for this reason.

    21JW1BBS8YL.jpg

     

    One USB connector is data+power, the other is just power. It allows the device to draw from 2 ports.

    A good quality powered hub may help if you have trouble.

    Switch the USB ports if it has issues - some ports may provide less current, keyboards are normally low power, so avoid trying to connect it via them.

  • by BobHarris,

    BobHarris BobHarris Feb 3, 2015 8:37 PM in response to rainair
    Level 6 (19,272 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 3, 2015 8:37 PM in response to rainair

    SuperSuper will also make a bootable clone, and also a very reliable cloning utility.  SuperDuper is free for full clones.  You only pay for incremental updates, scheduling features, etc...

     

    Carbon Copy Cloner has a 1 month free demo period with all features enabled.  You pay to use it after the 1st month.

     

    Disk Utility -> Restore will clone a disk as well.

     

    Most people feel SD and CCC are faster.  But if you prefer DU, go for it.

  • by babowa,Helpful

    babowa babowa Feb 3, 2015 9:05 PM in response to rainair
    Level 7 (31,893 points)
    iPad
    Feb 3, 2015 9:05 PM in response to rainair

    Don't forget to format your drive if you haven't already - Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and GUID partition scheme.

     

    FWIW, I use CCC as it will also recreate a recovery partition.