Carbon Copy Cloner first time

[sierrablue]

I am using CCC for the first time. I have been using Time Machine with an external 8TB hard drive with 1TB dedicated to TM. If I stop using TM can I delete the backups in 1TB Volume and use that for CCC? I am new to Mac and don't want to screw anything up. Thanks.

 

[velocityg4]

Yes, but if you don't have any other backups. You'll be risking your data until the CCC clone is completed.

 

[sierrablue]

Yes, but if you don't have any other backups. You'll be risking your data until the CCC clone is completed.

Thanks, I do have a 4TB that I back up.

 

[velocityg4]

Then you should be good to format the 1TB drive and use it for CCC. Reformat or repartition it to get rid of the old Time Machine backup. Trying to delete the backup will take a long time and bother you with all sorts of prompts.

 

[sierrablue]

Then you should be good to format the 1TB drive and use it for CCC. Reformat or repartition it to get rid of the old Time Machine backup. Trying to delete the backup will take a long time and bother you with all sorts of prompts.

Thanks again, Just to clarify, I can erase and reformat the 1TB Volume dedicated to Time Machine on my 8TB external drive and if all goes well the other 7TB of data will not be touched?

 

[velocityg4]

Thanks again, Just to clarify, I can erase and reformat the 1TB Volume dedicated to Time Machine on my 8TB external drive and if all goes well the other 7TB of data will not be touched?

If you just format the 1 tb partition. Not the entire drive.

 

[sierrablue]

If you just format the 1 tb partition. Not the entire drive.

It is a Volume not partition. Coming from Windows, I do not know the difference.

 

[Fishrrman]

OK sierra, we're gonna get you straightened out.

But first, we need some information:
Which Mac do you have?
Model and year?
How large is the internal drive?
If I assume 1tb, is that correct?

With a CCC cloned backup, your backup drive doesn't need to be any larger than your source drive. It won't "keep growing" and needing more space, like tm backups do.

So... if you have a 1tb internal drive, then a 1tb EXTERNAL drive will be "all you need" as your cloned backup.

I suggest that you DO NOT create a CCC backup on a drive that already has other data. It can be done, but I suggest that you use (or buy) a 1tb drive to serve as the CCC cloned backup. Things will go better this way.

I would also recommend that you use an SSD for the cloned backup, particularly if it's a new Mac running a late-model version of the OS. You can use a platter-based hard drive if you must, but things will go much better with an SSD as your cloned backup.

If you're using one of the new "m-series" Macs, then CCC can still create a "cloned backup", but some special considerations fall into play:

You'll need to have a recently-released version of CCC.
You'll need to go into the options and choose "legacy backup".
You'll need to erase your target volume to APFS using disk utility before running CCC.
I think there's an option in there to permit CCC to rename the target drive that must be set.
With all this done, I believe CCC can create a bootable backup, reproducing the "sealed system volume" and all.
Disclaimer: I haven't tried this myself yet, have only had my new MBP 14" for 2 days. But from reading the posts of others, the above requirements need to be satisfied.

Good luck.

 

[sierrablue]

Hello FishMan,

I have a 2020 M1 MacBook Air with 256G HDD. I also have a WD 4TB external and a Seagate 8TB external both have all my Information from the old Windows laptop.

 

[Rich B22]

I am using CCC for the first time. I have been using Time Machine with an external 8TB hard drive with 1TB dedicated to TM. If I stop using TM can I delete the backups in 1TB Volume and use that for CCC? I am new to Mac and don't want to screw anything up. Thanks.

I have used CCC for years along with Time Machine.
The difference between the 2 is that CCC has a complete clone(backup) of your drive at the time that you ran it, nothing after that. If it contains macOS you can boot from it if your main drive fails, leaving little to no downtime. While it does have the Safety Net, basically, it overwrites most changes since that last backup.
TM has snapshots of your files at hourly intervals for recent files and daily for older ones. Many times, I have used TM to restore a file that I deleted and then wanted back, or one which I had made changes to, saved and then needed to revert those changes. To my knowledge, CCC cannot do that. I currently have snapshots going back to August of 2021 and have 400GB free on a 4TB HD, so feel pretty comfortable regarding recovery needs.
IMO, you don't need an SSD to use CCC. If you're concerned about speed of cloning, you can schedule them to run overnight. Yes, if you have to boot from the CCC clone, it will be slower than an SSD, but I assume that would be temporary, until your main internal drive is replaced.
I have a 2017 imac with 2 x 1TB internal SSD's and CCC to 3 separate 2TB external HD's, so I have 3 complete clones. TM is on the aforementioned 4TB HD.
Bottom line, don't put all your eggs (data) in one basket (HD).

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

For a 2021 m1 MacBook with a 256gb internal drive, all you need to keep it backed up with CCC is a 256gb EXTERNAL USB3 drive.

Reallly, you don't need anything larger.

You could buy something like a Samsung t5 drive, but the smallest size they seem to come in is 512gb.

My recommendation:
Buy a 256gb 2.5" SATA SSD, something like this:

Amazon.com: 2.5" Sata Ssd 256gb

Amazon.com: 2.5" sata ssd 256gb

www.amazon.com

You can get one for under $30.
Then, buy a 2.5" USB3 external enclosure, like this:

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)

SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)

www.amazon.com

The drive just snaps into the enclosure.
Then, use disk utility to erase it to APFS.

Then, use CCC to create a backup of your internal drive.
SEE POST ABOVE FOR CORRECT STEPS TO DO THIS.

It's not very hard.
If I can do it... YOU can do it.

You also wrote:
"I also have a WD 4TB external and a Seagate 8TB external both have all my Information from the old Windows laptop."

CCC cannot backup windows drives.
It is a Mac app for Mac drives.

IF the external drives you have are in Mac format (HFS+ or APFS), then CCC -can- clone their contents to OTHER backup drives.

But I don't believe you can use CCC to backup Windows-formatted disks, such as EXFat, etc.

 

[sierrablue]

Thank you for your help! I just ordered the SSD and enclosure from Amazon.

I bought the 8TB just to keep media and doc files on. I formatted it APFS and transferred all my pics, vids, docs from Windows. I then formatted the WD 4TB to APSF and backed up again from the 8TB. I do not need to run my Window PC at this point.

 

[ignatius345]

OP:

For a 2021 m1 MacBook with a 256gb internal drive, all you need to keep it backed up with CCC is a 256gb EXTERNAL USB3 drive.

Reallly, you don't need anything larger.

Technically true, but the _CCC SafetyNet folder is a great thing to have if you ever want to retrieve an older version of a file you've changed or accidentally deleted. Given how much drive prices have come down, it's very easy to simply use a larger drive and give yourself a margin of error.