Resolved Simple backup solution to restore OS, apps etc

[Giuanniello]

I am going to swap the OEM SSD in my 2015MBAir running MacOS 11.6 with an NVME + adapter and as such I would like to create a backup as not to have to reinstall the apps and go through some boring process with it.

I have an external hard drive with some free space to backup the Air, what should I use, TimeMachine or is there some other software which allows to backup and restore it all?

Grazie

 

[Hombre53]

Backups recently with anything other than Time Machine on Big Sur have been problematic. Normally, I'd recommend Carbon Copy Cloner, one of the best backup solutions for Macs. Apple changed security with APFS volumes in Big Sur and created a lot of headaches for backup software vendors who support macOS. Backups can be done, but aren't as "simple" as in the past. Since I like keeping things simple, I went back to Catalina so that I could continue to use Carbon Copy Cloner as I was used to. My advice, unless someone here can offer other solutions is to stick with Time Machine under Big Sur.

 

[Giuanniello]

I did it with CCC but a nightmare as all applications had different permits and I had to use sudo bla bla bla on the terminal to gain the rights to open the apps again...

Grazie

 

[Fishrrman]

CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper.

 

[TinyMito]

CCC was a nightmare for me, I almost messed up the main OS with all my files - the UI is confusing... it reset all my Apple ID and etc.