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EDITOR NOTES
Carbon Copy Cloner is uncrippled 'donationware', the developer suggests a $10 (USD) contribution.
DESCRIPTION
Carbon Copy Cloner... Clone, synchronize, backup. Schedule and forget it. Try it 'til you trust it.
In its simplest form, CCC will clone one hard drive to another, copying every single block or file to create an exact replica of your source hard drive. This is very useful if, for example, your laptop is damaged and you must send it in for repair.
CCC can also be used to perform regular backups of your data. When you select a source disk in CCC, you are presented with the contents of that disk (hidden items too). Simply uncheck the items that you do not want to backup, and CCC will provide ample indication what will and will not be copied. Select a target disk to which you would like to backup, then press the clone button.
The key to a successful backup plan is to actually do the backups regularly. When left to a human, the task often gets tacked on to the end of a very long list of other things to do. When you eventually have a catastrophe, the data is simply gone. You know that feeling -- you just lost six years of family photos. Your kids being born, their first birthdays, their first everything. The answer to this is consistent and regular backups, placed on a schedule and handled automatically by your computer. CCC includes that functionality, and takes it even further.
WHAT'S NEW
Version 3.3:
- Added support for HFS+ filesystem compression that was introduced in Snow Leopard.
- To correspond with how the Finder and Disk Utility report these values on Snow Leopard, CCC will now use base 10 for reporting MB and GB on Snow Leopard. CCC will continue to use base 2 to report these values when booted from Leopard or Tiger.
- Improved the performance of backing up a large number of files with extended attributes.
- It is no longer a requirement that CCC be installed on media that supports the setuid bit.
- Added a bootability notification that will notify users when a target volume's underlying disk is partitioned with the MBR partitioning scheme (rather than the Apple-recommended GUID or APM partition scheme).
- Increased the increment value of the disk image segment size stepper from 1 to 25. Now it takes mere seconds to get from 650MB to 4.6GB.
- Addressed an issue in which the source and target menus would not be properly updated if a disk disappears unexpectedly in the middle of a backup task.
- CCC now properly excludes the Time Machine database when backing up a hard drive using the "Backup everything" cloning method in file-level mode.
- Much like the Snow Leopard update, this release includes hundreds of tweaks and adjustments to improve performance and reliability.
REQUIREMENTS
Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later.
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| Carbon Copy Cloner User Reviews (129 posts) | Write A Review |
 | Oct 13 2009 |
DONPERREAULT I've been using Mac's since 1989 and over the years I have lost irreplaceable data on multiple occasions. So, I have learned to backup on a regular basis, maybe to the point of over doing it. Besides using my DroboPro I have 2 external drives that I switch out to back up my complete System & data. Been using SuperDuper for years w/o a hitch until a couple of weeks ago I got an error and wasn't in the mood to track it down. So I download Carbon Copy Cloner (it's free) and that worked, well it appeared to work. Dave from Shirt Pocket contacted me and we worked out the problem. Long story short I switched back to SuperDuper and I have never been happier about my backups. However one of my backup drives was still backed up with CCC and here is were the problem started. I installed some beta software that I can't talk about because of a non disclosure agreement and it messed up my main System drive. I tried reverting my startup drive using the latest backup from CCC and when I reinstalled much of my data was missing. I spent several hours picking files from the DroboPro that CCC had deleted or replaced with older versions. I was totally frustrated, never mind chewing up most of my day. SuperDuper Rules and don't let anyone tell you different. Folks, SuperDuper are crackerjack developers who know what they are doing. Stick with SuperDuper you won't be disappointed. My apologies to Bombich but his software is not reliable in my situation. I'd rather pay $27.00 for software that is going to come through for me when I need it.
(Version 3.3) | |
| [ 2 Replies - Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Oct 14 2009 |
DONPERREAULT I made a grave error this morning and blamed Carbon Copy Cloner for a problem related to the HFS+ filesystem. I should have contacted the developer before writing my comment. I then went on to promote SuperDuper as a great backup utility, which it is and went on to dismiss Carbon Copy Cloner as not being as reliable as SuperDuper. However, after the developer spent a good amount of time explaining to me what the problem was I have to retract my comment of Carbon Copy Cloner, it was all wrong. So in retrospect I really screwed up. I think both Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper work as advertised. You the user can decide which you like best. Personally I like the incremental backup of Carbon Copy Cloner and I think it is faster but will continue to use both as part of my backup ritual.
(Version 3.3) | |
| Nov 30 2009 |
ANDREAS That second post is a credit to you. Andreas (bombich forums Moderator)
(Version 3.3) | |
| Sep 28 2009 |
MARKOH I did an incremental backup but I booted from the backed up OS X a lot of the preferences to my applications were gone, including registration info. What did I do wrong? tia
(Version 3.3) | |
| [ 2 Replies - Reply ] | |
Replies:
 | Sep 30 2009 |
ANDREAS What you did wrong is to post here. There is a forum designed to help you: Start by looking at the 'Stickies' at the top of the "CCC Support" forum and, if you still need help, post there. Andreas (bombich forums Moderator)
(Version 3.3) | |
 | Sep 30 2009 |
ANDREAS Sorry, I didn't realise that this site doesn't interpret links... http://forums.bombich.com MacUpdate ~ Why no "Preview" of posts? Why no "Edit"? Why no kind of encoding permitted? (or is it that I haven't tried the right kind?)
(Version 3.3) | |
 | Sep 24 2009 |
THMGHTD It's true... you only need to be burned once before you get serious -- real serious -- about backing up. I, too, use Time Machine as well as CCC. Carbon Copy Cloner has made switching, troubleshooting, and backing up disks infinitely easier. And I love the new icon. So great; so unexpected.
(Version 3.3) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Sep 24 2009 |
ARVIDTP Exactly - I use CCC to keep a bootable clone of my startup drive and up-to-date 2nd copies of my archive drives, then use Time Machine to backup all my active data drives as I work. The two softwares complement each other very nicely. CCC if fantastic software - and getting better all the time. It has saved my hide a few times - once the day before a big performance (I do live computer music). Donated (and it was easy to find the button to remove the banners - thanks for trusting me with it!)
(Version 3.3) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Sep 24 2009 |
KNOWHOWE @ CHAS_M Thanks for the advice. Wise words which I will act upon.
(Version 3.3) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Sep 23 2009 |
KNOWHOWE I apologise if ths seems a stupid question but why would I need to use this if I'm using Time Machine to backup my HD? I'd really like to know so my stuff is as secure as I can make it. Thanks.
(Version 3.3) | |
| [ 1 Reply - Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Sep 23 2009 |
CHAS_M With hard drive space so cheap these days, why not use both? TM is fabulous for retrieving individual items or even doing a full restore, but Carbon Copy Cloner (and its main rival SuperDuper!) take a different approach, allowing you to create a **bootable** clone of your hard drive. This can be GREAT for quickly troubleshooting a sudden issue, or getting up to speed FAST after a failure, and for other things. Like I said, I have a partitioned drive for TM backups AND a separate HD for clone backups. It's all set to be done automatically, and the peace of mind is very reassuring.
(Version 3.3) | |
| Sep 23 2009 |
MISHA Nice, new icon. And of course CCC is great as always.
(Version 3.3) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Sep 13 2009 |
ANDREAS To get rid of the ads... After donating, go to CCC's Help menu > "Donate" (don't worry - you won't be asked to donate again) > click "I paid". | |
| [ 2 Replies - Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Sep 13 2009 |
ANDREAS It won't take a genius to realise that you could click on "I paid" even if you haven't donated. Mike Bombich trusts users and leaves it up to their conscience. Mike gives you CCC completely uncrippled whether you donate or not. What he doesn't stress are the costs involved, e.g. the bandwidth for the flood of downloads every time a new version is released, and the maintenance of the forums. Happy cloning! Do make use of the CCC forum. At least read the 'Stickies' there, especially "BEFORE YOU POST a question..." and the links in it to details for preparing a target drive. | |
| Oct 3 2009 |
SCRIVENS And the really nice thing is that it has a little "Show banner" label so you can still see the ads if you want to after you've paid. Some good bargains in there at times. Definitely worth the $10.
(Version 3.3) | |
| Sep 13 2009 |
RKAMPER Congratulations to Bombich for being the first to clone Snow Leopard properly. Now my clone has the same size as the source (a litte bit less as expected). My Superduper clone was 3.5 GB larger than the source. Great job! I will donate as soon as possible.
(Version 3.3b5) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Sep 13 2009 |
HAMPST Just in case anyone is wondering, I have donated and the ads are still there. It's not really a big deal for me and I hesitate to complain too much about what is otherwise wonderful software.
(Version 3.3b5) | |
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