I’d like to clarify something here.
Suppose I have an M series MBP and the disk dies. I have a “bootable” backup from SD. From what you’ve said above, I can’t boot from this backup to my dead disk MBP. Will it boot a brand new MBP (which I’d need to buy)?
I ask because from the discussion yesterday about restores, I’d need to be booted from something other than the internal drive to perform a restore. How do you recover to a new machine?
You proceed to set up the new machine as usual and then when it asks if you want to migrate, you select migrate from disk. Then you hook up your clone disk, select it, and let the installer do its thing. The result should be a brand new MBP that is in the same state as the old MBP (before the disk crashed), assuming, of course, the clone was recent.
The clone itself will not directly boot any arbitrary MBP. See details as to why below. Short version: the only bootable external disks are those that have previously been designated to be such directly on the internal flash. If the internal flash is toast, that “blessing” is gone and what used to be a bootable clone de facto becomes just a clone.
I realise this can be done, but it’s relying on the MacOS migration utility — which has failed miserably for me a couple of times. Doing so entirely bypasses SD’s restore tools so significantly limits the worth of a “bootable” backup, or the restore function.
Yes, but complete SSD failure is a very rare thing. More common “failures” are soft, where the SSD is physically still working, and can be fixed via software:
Unless you have a Pro or Studio. They have flash storage on removable modules. Apple can replace them with new ones. And there have been successes in the hacker community as well. And once they are replaced and the pre-boot code reinstalled, you will be able to boot or restore from your backup.
If the internal SSD has truly failed, yes, you’ll need to get Apple involved. Replace the motherboard or the computer. If it is still working, but its content got trashed somehow, then you can recover, although you may have to jump through a few hoops, depending on what exactly got trashed.
Will your external drive boot a new Mac? Yes, but you’ll have to go through log-in (including 2FA) for iCloud and your Apple account.
Otherwise, you can use Migration Assistant to migrate your stuff from that backup to the new computer.
Down in the comments for that article, someone asks this question and Howard writes:
I guess I am out of luck with a discount 
. I’ve had mine for about 23 years. It probably the best software purchase I ever made. And Dave N seems to be a great guy. CCC was very confusing in it’s inception. But they eventually made it user friendly
Apologies for over-generalizing; yes, even a mini can have its SSD replaced. But for a “regular” user, they’re not going to be cracking open their Mac, replacing hardware, etc… of course, you’re not a “regular” user, and I’m sure the challenge would be enjoyable.
And, yes, I have successfully booted a copy on multiple Macs, as Howard indicates. It’s not Ye Olden Days When it Was “Easy”, but it can work.
Well, for anything other than a Pro or Studio, you’d need to have microsoldering skils. But for those two, the modules are in sockets, so all you need is to buy a replacement module from someone on-line who can make them. Then use Configurator from another Mac to pair it with your motherboard.
But you’re right, this is a job for a hacker or hobbyist. Anyone else would need to go to Apple, who would probably just replace the entire motherboard.
Dave’s “work around” has ALWAYS worked for me. I have been using SD for so many years, and it has always made bootable backups. I test them every so often, and they work fine. When I upgraded on Monday to SD V4.01 on my M4 Mac Mini and did the “Erase external backup “partition”/portion, then copy everything from the Mini to the external Samsung SSD, I then tested booting from the backup. As expected, worked flawlessly.
Yes, that is the way to do the Restore from an SD Bootable Backup. Just boot up your Mac from the bootable backup, and proceed from there. I’ve only needed to do it a few times, but it works.
Looking forward to “playing” with SD V4.x some more. But David has ALWAYS been supportive! I’ve had numerous queries/discussions with him, and he has always been responsive and of course helpful. Thanks David!
Plus one on how responsive Dave Nanian is. When I tried SD long ago and had a question (that I don’t recall), he answered promptly—and I hadn’t even bought the product.
I still keep at least one bootable backup, and test it often. I create it with Carbon Copy Cloner (to which I contributed when it was under original development in 2003), and quite often creating the bootable clone requires reinstalling the OS on it. The main reason I want to have a bootable backup is that my Mac configuration is customized to extremes, and I like having a way to compare configurations if I find that a configuration option I’ve just implemented on my Mac is really beneficial or (more often) really detrimental. I wonder if anyone else uses bootable backups for that.
SuperDuper! has ALWAYS been able to create bootable clones, no matter which Mac OS one uses. That’s the primary difference.
I’ve never had an issue with Migration Assistant. It has always worked for me, obtaining all nececcsry files, folders, settings, etc. from a recently completed SuperDuper! backup. Again, works like a charm!
As is the case with CCC. The fact that it warns you (correctly) that the result may be unreliable, is not a problem. It’s publicly pointing out the fact that the underlying tool (which SD also uses) can not guarantee a bootable result under all circumstances.
Install macOS on the new machine and restore the Data partition. With M hardware…a bootable backup does zero good if the internal drive is toast anyway. Going to the signed, read only boot partition pretty much wiped out the actual need for a bootable backup.
Well, no, it didn’t for many use cases…when people have immediate need to bring their working state back ASAP, being able to do so is a lifesaver. This is especially true in many of the creative endeavors, when out on a shoot, etc.
In fact, the same cases where it was important before…immediate “recovery” vs a few hours.
Even before the SSV it was possible to install the OS and migrate; it was also possible to install the OS over an existing install. The SSV didn’t change any of that…at all.
I just tested mine a few days ago. A bit slow as it is a USB3 and not TB connection but it works fine.
We can agree to disagree on that one…but I’m actually pleased that you are participating in this thread and defending your product…not too many devs are willing to do that so that’s for doing so. As I said earlier…I own SD but for me the ability to do folder backups is a lot easier with CCC so that’s what I use.
Thanks, Neil. Have you looked at what’s possible in SD4? You can drag a folder into the sidebar, select it, and then back it up anywhere…including to another folder. Just drop it in. Pretty easy!
SD4 has a lot more capabilities than the previous version did…and they’re quite easy to access.