Is there ANY way to create a BOOTABLE Backup of MacOS Monterey
Even with Carbon Copy Cloner, or SuperDuper have had a nightmare while trying to create and keep a bootable backup on an external drive.
Even with Carbon Copy Cloner, or SuperDuper have had a nightmare while trying to create and keep a bootable backup on an external drive.
I have given up making the Old School Bootable Clones even the " Legacy Clones "
Instead, use CCC as an adjunct to TM Backup
From the developer of CCC
https://bombich.com/kb/ccc6/macos-monterey-known-issues
Excerpt for above link
CCC will not update the System volume on a Legacy bootable copy of the startup disk (Big Sur and later)
Starting in macOS Big Sur, the system now resides on a cryptographically sealed "Signed System Volume"(link is external)
. That volume can only be copied using Apple's proprietary APFS replication utility ("ASR"). Right now, ASR will only copy whole volume groups (System and Data); we can't choose to copy just the System volume. As a result, every time an OS update is applied to the source, you would have to erase the whole destination volume (including any existing snapshots on that volume) just to update the system on the destination. We made a feature request to Apple in September 2019 (FB7328230) to allow ASR to clone just the System volume. We do not anticipate that Apple will implement our requested functionality.
To avoid deleting your snapshots and the rest of your backup, CCC will not update the System volume on the destination when System updates are applied to the source.
Our recommendation: We recommend erasing the destination only when you have an immediate need for a bootable copy of the system (e.g. if you're migrating to a different disk, or creating a copy of the system for testing purposes). A Standard Backup is simpler and more appropriate for establishing a robust, long-term backup strategy.
Workaround: Any time you want to make the OS on the destination identical to the source, simply click on the Destination selector and choose Legacy Bootable Backup Assistant... to configure CCC to re-erase and reclone the entire volume.
concierlo wrote:
I'm a new Mac user and want to do the same.
I have Catlina on Intel and want to create a bootable external drive to test Ventura.
Is there a walk thru somewhere with CCC?
I'm stressed in going to not be able to tell which drive is which in startup and do something dumb....or nuke the internal drive......
Thanks for any leads!!!
Before you do anything, make sure you have a good backup of the computer so if a mistake is made or something goes wrong, then you can recover your data. You should always have frequent and regular backups since there are a lot of new ways to permanently lose access to your data on the new Apple hardware and newer versions of macOS.
Apple provides the Time Machine backup software for free with macOS so this makes the easiest & most convenient option for most people.
FYI, bootable clones for macOS is not going to be an option much longer, especially with the Apple Silicon Macs, so you may want to consider options which will work in the future if you ever plan to upgrade to an Apple Silicon Mac. It is easier to start now, then becoming used to an option which will not be available in the future. Bootable macOS clones are still working for Intel Macs.
If you want to test Ventura on an external drive, then why not just install macOS Ventura to the external drive, then use Setup Assistant during Ventura's initial configuration to migrate everything from your internal drive? This is what you will be doing anyway when you later upgrade your hardware to an Apple Silicon Mac so why not get familiar with the process now? This is the recommend method of bootable "clones" going forward anyway, except you could also use CCC to transfer the data instead of migration assistant.
Most likely your current macOS boot volume is "Macintosh HD" which is the default unless you have changed it. When you erase the external drive, give it a different name such as "Macintosh SSD", or maybe "Ventura".
Regarding the use of CCC, have you reviewed any of the developer's documentation? He has written lots of articles and FAQs regarding the use of CCC including sample scenarios & Troubleshooting Tips. There is a lot of good & useful information on this page.
Here is one article mentioning the issues of bootable clones since macOS 11.x+ which you should read since making a bootable clone of macOS 11.x even on an Intel Mac requires a special step of selecting "Legacy" mode, plus the best way to maintain a bootable external drive as closely matched to the main boot drive.
https://bombich.com/kb/ccc6/cloning-macos-system-volumes-apple-software-restore
Edit: Here are a couple Apple articles about migrating from an old system to a new one. The first article mentions Setup Assistant which is available the first time you boot into a new clean OS while the second article mentions using Migration Assistant if you have already gone through Setup Assistant & already created a macOS user account.
Set up your MacBook Pro for current Mac users - Apple Support
Transfer your information to Mac from another computer or device - Apple Support
Not exactly an elegant way to do it, but once you have made your backup, run the Monterey installer from Apple on it. Granted it will be whatever the current release of Monterey is from Apple. However, you can download earlier installers with the terminal, i.e.
softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 12.6.4
if that's what you are already running. That way, you can run and install the installer directly on your backup to ensure it is fully bootable.
If you want to run the most recent release of an operating system you can download the installer from here:
But you can only use these if your computer is running a system older than the download.
Internet recovery lets you get the oldest system that came with your Mac.
As long as your backup is the same upgrade release, you can just run the installer on it, and have a bootable backup.
In the Original Context in below Apple Silicon Machines - Not possible
As for Intel Computer probably
As Apple has completed the Circle and ALL New Apple Computers are now ARMS Apple Silicon Machines - it is reasonable the believe the day of Booting a Legacy Clone from a failed Internal Drive are numbered
Jun 24, 2023 5:50 AM in response to dialabrain
CCC can
SD I can not speak to that, do not use
This is all predicated on the Internal Drive ( Apple Silicon ) not going Puff ( failing )
In which case the Bootable Legacy Clone is useless aside for a means to Restore much like TM
I have made several bootable external drives using CCC and no issue. Be sure you select Legacy when making the clone. When starting up the first time from the external it will ask to authorize user. After that it should work correctly. I have that for both M1 and Intel macs. However, be warned that on M1 Macs if the internal drive fails your external drive will not boot.
Both our Monterey Macs have bootable external drives created by SuperDuper!. Has worked perfectly for over a year now.
Th process is quite simple actually: format a drive and start the process. If you buy the app, you can schedule automatic updates. How hard is any of that?
I should be more specific. I was able to create a bootable backup in at least one case (using SuperDuper), but after update/smart update backup, it was no longer bootable.
In the case of CCC, could not find anywhere the option to use "legacy" . And my dup backup wouldn't even appear in Startup disk (not a good sign).
I should say that I was using a trial copy if that matters.
Alexandra Cohn wrote:
In the case of CCC, could not find anywhere the option to use "legacy" . And my dup backup wouldn't even appear in Startup disk (not a good sign).
You must Right-click or Control-click on the destination within CCC and select "Legacy" option on the pop-up context menu. With an Apple Silicon Mac, I've seen mixed success being reported ever since an update to Monterey a year ago.
I should say that I was using a trial copy if that matters.
Doesn't matter. AFAIK, the trial period has full functionality. If you don't select the "Legacy" option as mentioned above, then the clone will only transfer the user data.
Personally I would not rely on bootable clones working reliably anymore so you should definitely investigate other options before you find out one day that your bootable cloning process is no longer supported at all. It is fine to keep using bootable clones while the process still works, but be prepared for the day when it won't. From what I've read on these forums, it seems people may be having an easier time making bootable clones on Apple Silicon Macs using SuperDuper instead of CCC even though both apps must use the macOS built-in "asr" utility to perform the actual clone of the system volume. I haven't tried to clone an Apple Silicon Mac yet with CCC (nor have I tried CCC with a bootable clone of Ventura on an Intel Mac). I've never used SuperDuper.
tbirdvet wrote:
I have a clone of Ventura that I use on my 27" iMac made using CCC and it boots fine.
Thanks for confirming....I was assuming that would work at least for Intel Macs since I hadn't really seen any posts here to the contrary. Glad to know my instincts are correct.
The Apple Silicon Macs seem to be where most cloning issues seem to occur with CCC especially after one of the Monterey updates, but details are definitely sparse regarding CCC and Apple Silicon Macs.
Like I stated earlier I also use CCC on my Mac Studio which has Monterey and I also use a bootable SSD with Ventura for testing. It works fine but a little slower to boot than my Intel but otherwise no issues.
I'm a new Mac user and want to do the same.
I have Catlina on Intel and want to create a bootable external drive to test Ventura.
Is there a walk thru somewhere with CCC?
I'm stressed in going to not be able to tell which drive is which in startup and do something dumb....or nuke the internal drive......
Thanks for any leads!!!
> I was able to create a bootable backup in at least one case (using SuperDuper), but after update/smart update backup, it was no longer bootable
In the past I have experienced that, too. I.e. make a "legacy" bootable clone with CCC (Intel Mac mini 2018). Then after doing a point update to the source macOS, and doing a regular data-only backup, the external clone then fails to boot.
CCC author suspected that some files on the data volume are needed for booting. And after such macOS point update, the data & system volumes are not paired or something like that.
I have fixed that by updating the clone at the same time as the source, and after that doing data-only backup. Or, if the clone is rendered unbootable, just apply the current macOS update on top of it. Then it boots again.
But it is a long time since I have noticed that issue. Lately my clone had an early version of Ventura and the source was updated to 13.6 but anyway the clone booted OK (with some nags iCloud needing a fresh log-in which I ignored then).
That said, I do not really need a bootable clone. But I have several clones for testing when I do not want to pollute the internal disk with various 3rd party software etc.
Read the CCC links that HWTech has referenced to make a clone. Like I stated no issues making the bootable clone. I did one the other day with Sonoma for testing and no issues both on an Intel and on a Silicon Mac.
Thank you for your detailed answer.
I have reviewed a few of the articles you linked.
I'm just a little concerned regarding T2 security, the file vaulting.
I'm not sure how to reboot into different modes if there is some failure...
I'm a little nervous that I would be updating/working on the internal drive still thinking it was the external (I guess the external would show up in finder as my "ccc backup" ?)
I want to do this to test a number of different programs using the newer OS.
They have plug-ins that may or may not play nice with the new OS.
The programs themselves might Ok but their add-ons..... that's the point of the testing ɓefore upgrade.
So it's really a test environment Instead of a "new install".
I would certainly do a new install on new hardware.
Like CCC mentioned do not do this to your "production environment".
I do have TM running, and a backblaze backup so I'm confident there, though I don't fully understand how TM restores.
I will read those articles thoroughly.
Thank you so much for the guidance.
When you make a clone you name it anything you want different from your Internal Macintosh-HS (or other name) so you will not mix them up. I do this all the time and never had any issues (or made any mistakes).
Is there ANY way to create a BOOTABLE Backup of MacOS Monterey