Cloning drive in order to reformat to APFS

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can help me with this. I'm a music producer and I use external SSD drives for storing and streaming audio, both of which are currently formatted to Mac OS Extended. I've realised that it would be much better for their performance if I convert them to APFS, but I'm unable to do so as there's no GUID partition scheme, so it looks like I'd need to reformat them in order to use APFS. So I have 2 main questions/problems here:


1 - These are both backed up via Time Machine, so ideally I would like the 'new' drives to be recognised as the old drives so that my Time Machine backups don't get bloated backing up large amounts of data that has already been backed up, ie I would like a perfect clone of the existing drives, with all the same data, just in the APFS format.

2 - Further to the above, I use a sample library management software called Audiofinder, where I've spend a fair bit of time cataloging and tagging sounds, and I fear losing all this work if the drives are not recognised by Audiofinder as the original drive, because I'll need to rescan and retag a huge sound library.


If anyone could let me know whether this is possible via either Disk Utility/Time Machine, or via a third party option like Carbon Cloner, it would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks!



MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 12.3

Posted on Sep 19, 2023 11:09 PM

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13 replies

Sep 20, 2023 5:00 AM in response to NapalmGeoff

Have used Carbon Copy Cloner for years


Have also used this Third Party Software to Clone 1 External Drive( Source Drive ) to another External Drive

( Destination Drive ) with great success


Just be sure that the New Drive ( Destination Drive ) is Already Formatted with the APFS / GUID Partition Map Before attempting to clone the HFS / GUID Drive to the new APFS / GUID Drive

Sep 20, 2023 5:39 AM in response to NapalmGeoff

NapalmGeoff wrote:

I've realised that it would be much better for their performance if I convert them to APFS

What is the basis of this realization?


To put it more plainly, you won't notice change in performance. If you ran some tests, you would most likely see a reduction in performance.


However, it is a good idea to ensure your data is secure now and in the future. You should purchase new SSD drives and do a test migration. Unfortunately, you didn't say anything about what kind of computer you have, which is absolutely critical. If you don't already have an M2 machine, that would be your first purchase. Some external SSD drives have problems with modern computers. It would be a good idea to ensure that isn't happening while you still have your current system up and running.


Essentially, you need to learn how to use Apple computers for business in the modern world. That means constant testing and migration. You should always have a new computer (i.e. less than 3 years old or currently being sold) running the latest version of the operating system. You should be constantly testing this computer with your current hardware and/or software. If you are heavily dependent on external hardware, then it would be ideal to have a redundant set of current external hardware to match. This way, you always have a system that is working. You also always have a system that will work in the future. When (not if) Apple breaks something critical, you will know about it and can avoid upgrading your primary system to that iteration. This will require duplicate purchases of hardware and software. Such is the cost of doing business.

Sep 20, 2023 3:03 PM in response to NapalmGeoff

NapalmGeoff wrote:
I've realised that it would be much better for their performance if I convert them to APFS ...

Not true. You are already getting SSD-level performance in their current format; changing them to APFS is unlikely to result in any meaningful change in performance.


I would like a perfect clone of the existing drives, with all the same data, just in APFS format


I suggest getting a new SSD, format it as APFS, then use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone all your data (folders & files) from your old SSD to the new one. When you are done, you can reuse the old SSD for another purpose.


BTW, regardless of how you do any of this, you are probably going to have to build an entirely new TM backup of the newly formatted drive.


Audiofinder, I've spend a fair bit of time cataloging and tagging sounds, and I fear losing all this work if the drives are not recognised by Audiofinder as the original drive

Check Audiofinder to verify that it has a "reconnect files" function that allows you to point your existing catalog to the same files in a new location (new disk).


Sep 20, 2023 6:18 PM in response to MartinR

Thanks for your reply! I had actually read that APFS was better for SSD performance, and I do have problems with drives sometimes being a bit sluggish to mount/un mount, so I presumed that changing the file system might help. Maybe the problem is something else instead…


in terms of Audiofinder, it’s a great program but its documentation is a bit lacking and I can’t see a function for relinking files. I’ve contacted their tech support so I’ll post here if they have a solution.

Sep 20, 2023 6:34 PM in response to etresoft

In general, internet searches generally suggest APFS is better for SSD’s and Extended is better for HDD’s, and I do have occasional issues with these drives not behaving well when mounting and unmounting, and also Finder being a bit slow to access them. So I thought maybe I was using the wrong file system.


I’m on a 2019 MacBook Pro (Intel) running Monterey. I would certainly love an M2, although I don’t think I can upgrade for another year or so…


I should definitely look into a better system of disk management and backup beyond Time Machine etc. I generally don’t try to stay super ‘up to date’ with OS, just because every time a new OS is released most audio software and plugins lose compatibility and it invariably takes a few months for developers to catch up.



Sep 20, 2023 11:21 PM in response to NapalmGeoff

> internet searches generally suggest APFS is better for SSD’s and Extended is better for HDD’s


APFS is very slow on HDD and should thus be avoided especially as a boot disk. ...it does work but it is slow. As a boot disk APFS is a must for Mojave and later (although a cloned Mojave does run also on MacOS Extended but its updater does not, but it does not matter anymore with 10.14.6).


I use MacOS extended on SSD only if I have to sneakernet files to an old pre-High Sierra Mac where APFS does not work.


In SSDs MacOS Extended is about as fast as APFS.


APFS has some neat features so I use it on SSDs. Volumes are much more flexible than old partitions. Copying large files is very fast inside an APFS volume. Repairing APFS is more difficult than MacOS Extended but luckily I have not needed to do that (if problems arise, I format and restore from a backup).

Cloning drive in order to reformat to APFS

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