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What is a "boot" folder created on external disks that only backs up data?
- Thread starter blackxacto
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A Big Sur install puts the Boot folder in place on the - Data volume.
It's a folder with a variety of files that are related to booting, but is just part of the system. The files appear to be the full set for all Mac-supported hardware and does not imply that the volume is, in fact, boot-able.
I think that for this discussion, you can assume that the "Boot" folder is just another collection of files that is part of a normal Big Sur install.
If you back up files on your -Data volume, the "Boot" folder would be part of that backup, particularly if you are doing some kind of manual backup.
Maybe someone else will chime in with a better perspective on that Boot folder.
It's a folder with a variety of files that are related to booting, but is just part of the system. The files appear to be the full set for all Mac-supported hardware and does not imply that the volume is, in fact, boot-able.
I think that for this discussion, you can assume that the "Boot" folder is just another collection of files that is part of a normal Big Sur install.
If you back up files on your -Data volume, the "Boot" folder would be part of that backup, particularly if you are doing some kind of manual backup.
Maybe someone else will chime in with a better perspective on that Boot folder.
You did mention that the backup appears to have created a RAID set (?)
Probably not technically correct. The volumes are virtual, not physical. That's how Big Sur does it now.
Apple is still moving forward with making system and drive maintenance less simple (to put it mildly)
(I think you can ask Alsoft (who makes Disk Warrior) about that... and, Bombich (who makes CCC) has a lot of info about big Sur on their web site, too. I think Apple continues to keep some of APFS file system info completely closed off.
Probably not technically correct. The volumes are virtual, not physical. That's how Big Sur does it now.
Apple is still moving forward with making system and drive maintenance less simple (to put it mildly)
(I think you can ask Alsoft (who makes Disk Warrior) about that... and, Bombich (who makes CCC) has a lot of info about big Sur on their web site, too. I think Apple continues to keep some of APFS file system info completely closed off.
No, the two backup drives are inside a RAID box, but they are configured as independent drives. Each is a backup of the main ssd, but made consecutively in time, not at same time.