SuperDuper! vs Growly Backup

[ThisIs🐵]

Hello,
Is there any difference between SuperDuper! vs Growly Backup ?

Since Growly Backup is free, I would prefer it if there’s no difference.

 

[Fishrrman]

There is a big, BIG difference:
SuperDuper can create BOOTABLE cloned backups.

It looks like Growly cannot.

 

[Apple_Robert]

If you have an M Series Mac, having a bootable backup of the SSD is a moot point. If you have an older Intel Mac and want to have that option, SuperDuper is the better choice.

 

[ThisIs🐵]

Thank you for replies @Fishrrman @Apple_Robert

I have M2 MBP and don’t really need bootable cloned backups. I want to use this software for creating the second backup if Time Machine backup fails.

Does Growly offer a similar feature to SuperDuper!’s Smart Update?

Is Growly reliable?

 

[Apple_Robert]

Thank you for replies @Fishrrman @Apple_Robert

I have M2 MBP and don’t really need bootable cloned backups. I want to use this software for creating the second backup if Time Machine backup fails.

Does Growly offer a similar feature to SuperDuper!’s Smart Update?

Is Growly reliable?

I have never used Growly. I use Carbon Copy Cloner as a backup option to Time Machine.

 

[kitKAC]

Never heard of Growly, SuperDuper! has been around for many years. (I brought my licence in 2006!)

 

[ThisIs🐵]

I backup with Time Machine my Macintosh HD + one external SSD, can I do the same with SuperDuper?

 

[Fishrrman]

Robert writes:
"If you have an M Series Mac, having a bootable backup of the SSD is a moot point."

Why is it "moot"?
I have an external bootable backup SSD of my 2021 MacBook Pro (m1pro cpu) -- it works.

Again, what does "moot" mean?

 

[gilby101]

Is there any difference between SuperDuper! vs Growly Backup

Different scope.

SuperDuper!, CCC, and Time Machine can create backups of your whole system. In the event of a disaster you can recover the whole system from the backup.

Growly backs up specific folders you have chosen. You might want to try Growly as a second level backup for your documents and photos, but not for full system recovery.

Personally I prefer my second level of backup be to a cloud service using, for example, Arq Backup. But that is different again.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Robert writes:
"If you have an M Series Mac, having a bootable backup of the SSD is a moot point."

Why is it "moot"?
I have an external bootable backup SSD of my 2021 MacBook Pro (m1pro cpu) -- it works.

Again, what does "moot" mean?

If the SSD in the M Series goes bad, the Mac will not boot. As such, having a bootable drive will be of no use. It makes more sense to have important personal files backed multiple times in case of app failure or, drive failure etc. That way, you should always have a working and secure backup.

 

[gilby101]

Again, what does "moot" mean?

Moot (adj): open to question. Synonym: debatable.

In this instance, it is debatable that a bootable backup is better for disaster recovery than a non-bootable backup.

I have an external bootable backup SSD of my 2021 MacBook Pro (m1pro cpu) -- it works.

But not if your internal disk fails.

 

[MacBH928]

The correct answer is use Carbon Copy Cloner. Growly is I believe written by 1 guy. I appreciate his efforts but not when it comes to my sensitive data.

SuperDuper has been around for a long time but CCC is the more professional and serious choice but I hear people have been using SuperDuper for a long time no issues.

There is a big, BIG difference:
SuperDuper can create BOOTABLE cloned backups.

It looks like Growly cannot.

Something about the new APFS file format does not allow for bootable copies any more. I do not understand it but here is a link from CCC.

Creating legacy bootable copies of macOS (Big Sur and later) | Bombich Software

bombich.com

idk if there any further updates or details on the matter

 

[BigMcGuire]

Yep, Growly is an old school backup app that will back up folders to other locations. The others are a full system backup with a lot more options to them. That's why Growly is free.

I am a huge fan of Growly products and recommend them especially for people who can't afford applications that cost $. But in this case, there's a pretty big difference between the two backup softwares. If you just need to backup folders to another location (such as an external drive), Growly Backup is great and doesn't hit your wallet.

 

[rumorguy]

I have SuperDuper for Ventura OS, on a 24 inch iMac--it does a bootable backup on a an external HD and uses APSF file format.

 

[HDFan]

The case for a fully bootable backup disk is becoming less clear. It makes sense if you want to be able to boot from it and have a working system. It is less clear of its utility if you want to do a restore. Since the OS for the latest MacOS versions is sealed there it no reason to back it up. You just restore the OS with a new install or Internet Recovery.

 

[ignatius345]

The case for a fully bootable backup disk is becoming less clear. It makes sense if you want to be able to boot from it and have a working system. It is less clear of its utility if you want to do a restore. Since the OS for the latest MacOS versions is sealed there it no reason to back it up. You just restore the OS with a new install or Internet Recovery.

Agreed. I honestly don't think it's at all worth the trouble, where it's even possible.

 

[MacBH928]

The case for a fully bootable backup disk is becoming less clear. It makes sense if you want to be able to boot from it and have a working system. It is less clear of its utility if you want to do a restore. Since the OS for the latest MacOS versions is sealed there it no reason to back it up. You just restore the OS with a new install or Internet Recovery.

can you explain more? what you mean its "sealed" so no reason to back it up?

THere is also the advantage of boot another "system" , you do not necessarily want to load it on your main computer but want to launch it like virtual Machine I think

 

[gilby101]

what you mean its "sealed" so no reason to back it up?

"sealed" cryptographically, known as Signed System Volume (SSV) - see https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/mac-help/mchl0f9af76f/mac. It is identical on all Macs so no value in backup - just download again from Apple and restore everything else from backup.

THere is also the advantage of boot another "system" , you do not necessarily want to load it on your main computer but want to launch it like virtual Machine I think

The exception is where you can't afford the down time to recover your system, you may be able to continue working from a bootable backup. But at some point you will need to clone back to main system (some down time), and anyway booting external will not work with Apple silicon Macs if the internal disk is not working.