To Symlink Or Not Symlink & Other External SSD Ponderings

[Fishrrman]

The guy disparaging cloned backups in this thread simply doesn't understand what a clone is.

A clone is an EXACT COPY of the source drive -- you can boot and run from the clone instantly (as long as it takes for a reboot), and continue running the Mac exactly as you did before.

Some will say that it's not a problem to restore from a TM backup. But first you're going to have to
- Find a way to boot the Mac (what if the internal drive has failed, taking out the recovery partition, too?)
- Restore the entire drive (could take hours)
- And... hopefully... the TM backup remains accessible (there have been MANY reports on this forum from folks who reached for their TM backup, tried to restore from it, and.... couldn't)

You can create a clone for ZERO cost.
CCC is FREE to download and it's FREE to use for 30 days.
SuperDuper doesn't require registration to create a "full clone", ever (it does require registration to do incremental backups).

Another situation in which a clone is all-but irreplaceable is for doing a big system software upgrade (say, from Mavericks to Yosemite).
Without a bootable clone, one is going to have a VERY trying time attempting to "get back to where you once belonged" if the upgrade goes awry.

To anyone that hasn't tried a clone, download either CCC or SD and try it once on a spare drive.
It will cost you nothing, and reveal much...

 

[Stocks]

The guy disparaging cloned backups in this thread...

I never disparaged cloned backups, I even said "I'm not bashing your method nor do I think it is bad in any way."

Never did I say that there is anything wrong with it, my point is simple that it's not necessary for everyone.

But you are so far up there in the fanboyism that you find anything said about something you like to be a "disparaging" remark. That's truly a shame, and it's also a shame that you based your entire post off of your lie about me.

simply doesn't understand what a clone is.

I know exactly what a clone is.

A clone is an EXACT COPY of the source drive -- you can boot and run from the clone instantly (as long as it takes for a reboot), and continue running the Mac exactly as you did before.

Some will say that it's not a problem to restore from a TM backup. But first you're going to have to
- Find a way to boot the Mac (what if the internal drive has failed, taking out the recovery partition, too?)
- Restore the entire drive (could take hours)
- And... hopefully... the TM backup remains accessible (there have been MANY reports on this forum from folks who reached for their TM backup, tried to restore from it, and.... couldn't)

You can create a clone for ZERO cost.
CCC is FREE to download and it's FREE to use for 30 days.
SuperDuper doesn't require registration to create a "full clone", ever (it does require registration to do incremental backups).

Another situation in which a clone is all-but irreplaceable is for doing a big system software upgrade (say, from Mavericks to Yosemite).
Without a bootable clone, one is going to have a VERY trying time attempting to "get back to where you once belonged" if the upgrade goes awry.

To anyone that hasn't tried a clone, download either CCC or SD and try it once on a spare drive.
It will cost you nothing, and reveal much...

We all know this, everything you just said.

I clearly laid out scenarios in earlier posts disproving this huge advantage to the average user that you made up in your head.