Best Disk Clone Utility For Mac
Mac Drive ToolBox is a alternative Disk Utility that has 15 disk management utilities to clean, partition, defrag, wipe, clone and repair Mac hard drives. Disk Utility can clone your Mac's drives, including the startup drive. Find out how to use the restore function to create clones.
With OS X El Capitan and later versions of the Mac OS, Apple changed the process for using Disk Utility to clone a Mac’s drive. While it's still possible to create an exact copy (a clone) of any drive connected directly to your Mac, the changes made to Disk Utility means there are extra steps involved if you wish to use Disk Utility’s Restore function to clone your startup drive.
But don't let the idea of extra steps get in the way, the process is still pretty simple and the added steps actually help ensure a more accurate clone of the startup drive.
Disk Utility’s Copy Function
Disk Utility has always been able to create clones, although the app refers to the process as Restore, as in restoring data from a source drive to a target drive. To be clear, the restore function isn't limited to drives; it will actually work with just about any storage device that can be mounted by your Mac, including disk images, hard drives, SSDs, and USB flash drives.
How Restore Works
The Restore function in Disk Utility makes use of a block copy function that can speed up the copy process. It also makes an almost exact copy of the source device. When we say 'almost exact,' we don't mean to imply that useful data may get left behind, because that's not the case. What it means is that a block copy copies everything in a data block from one device to the other. The results are almost an exact copy of the original. A file copy, on the other hand, copies data file by file, and while the file data remains the same, the location of the file on the source and destination devices will likely be very different.
Using a block copy is faster, but it does have some limits that affect when it can be used, the most important being that copying block by block requires that both the source and destination devices be first unmounted from your Mac. This ensures that block data doesn't change during the copy process. Don’t worry, though; you don’t have to do the unmounting. Disk Utility’s Restore function takes care of that for you. But it does mean that neither the source nor the destination can be in use when you use the Restore capabilities.
The practical limitation is that you can’t use the Restore function on the current startup drive, or any drive that has files in use. If you need to clone your startup drive, you can make use of either your Mac's Recovery HD volume or any drive that has a bootable copy of OS X installed. We'll provide information about how to use the Recovery HD Volume to clone your startup drive, but first, we'll look at the steps in cloning a non-startup drive attached to your Mac.
Restore a Non-Startup Volume
Launch Disk Utility, located at /Applications/Utilities.
The Disk Utility app will open, displaying a single window divided into three spaces: a toolbar, a sidebar showing currently mounted drives and volumes, and an info pane, showing information about the currently selected device in the sidebar. If the Disk Utility app looks different from this description, you may be using an older version of the Mac OS. You can find instructions cloning a drive using an earlier version of Disk Utility in the guide: Back Up Your Startup Disk Using Disk Utility.
In the sidebar, select the volume to which you want to copy/clone data. The volume you select will be the destination drive for the Restore operation.
Select Restore from Disk Utility’s Edit menu.
A sheet will drop down, asking you to select from a drop-down menu the source device to use for the Restore process. The sheet will also warn you that the volume you selected as the destination will be erased, and its data will be replaced with data from the source volume.
Use the drop-down menu next to the 'Restore from' text to select a source volume, and then click the Restore button.
The Restore process will begin. A new drop-down sheet will display a status bar indicating how far along in the Restore process you are. You can also see detailed information by clicking the Show Details disclosure triangle.
Once the Restore process is complete, the drop-down sheet’s Done button will become available. Click Done to close the Restore sheet.
Restore Using a Startup Drive
When you use the Restore function, both the destination and the source must be able to be unmounted. This means you can’t be booted to your normal startup drive. Instead, you can start your Mac from another volume that contains a bootable version of the Mac OS. This can be any volume attached to your Mac, including a USB flash drive, an external, or in the example we will use, the Recovery HD volume.
A complete step-by-step guide is available in Use the Recovery HD Volume to Reinstall OS X or Troubleshoot Mac Problems.
Once you've booted from the Recovery Volume and used the step-by-step guide to launch Disk Utility, return here and use the Restore a Non-Startup Volume guide, above, starting at step two.
Why Use Disk Utility’s Restore Function?
You may have noticed over the years that I've recommended cloning apps, such as Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper, for creating bootable clones as part of a backup system.
So if cloning apps are better, why use Disk Utility instead? The reasons can be many, not the least of which are the simple facts that Disk Utility is free, and included with every copy of the Mac OS. And while the various cloning apps have a lot more features, if you don’t have access to the third-party apps, using Disk Utility will create a perfectly usable clone, although it may require a few more steps and lacks some nice features, such as automation and scheduling.
Hello and welcome to my User Tip
This is a step by step instruction how to make and boot a bootable clone of your OS X system.
It can be used for backup, moving to a larger drive, moving your users to a new Mac (using Migration Assistant), defragmenting and optimizing the system (with reverse clone), shifting data up on hard drives to make more room for BootCamp or another partition (reverse clone) or as a data recovery/undelete boot drive.
Made before disaster strikes, it's a real lifesaver!
See these other related User Tips.
Cloning is a bootable backup system, it doesn't fix issues in software
If you need to make a new/clean bootable system on a external drive to reverse clone with
How cloning/reverse cloning using CCC can defrag and optimize your boot hard drive (SSD's no effect)
Read this for the differences, advantages and disadvantages of TimeMacine and other backup systems.
Problems with not enough space for a BootCamp partition and how cloning/reverse cloning can resolve that
Getting the right external drive
Get a external hard drive equal to or larger than the drive you intend to replace the internal one with. (if so) So later it will be bootable backup (clone) of that new drive.
If you like the idea of saving the differences between the clone updates, then get a much larger drive. If maintaining a pure clone, then the same size or slightly larger than your primary boot drive will do.
Get a self powered and not a Mac port powered drive! Why? Because Mac's can cut off external hardware drawing too much power which can cause issues trying to boot from the clone.
If you have Filevault enabled on your boot drive, then this User Tip has no further use for you, sorry. To de-Filevault your drive will likley require 50% or more free space available to write all the unencrypted bits. Once the drive is de-Filevaulted it can be cloned.
Formatting
Connect the new drive to the Mac and open Disk Utility in the Utilities folder. (say 'no' to TimeMachine, use another drive for that). Click on the external drive on the left and click Erase, (10. 6 users Secure erase Zero all Data) or move the slider for a 0x-3x secure erase (SSD's not needed), OS X Journaled/GUID as the format and a name like 'Mac10.6Clone' (different than the internal drive) and click apply. Go watch a movie. Warning: Formatting a drive or partition erases all data.
If the scrubbing of the drive fails, try again and if it fails, the drive is bad and needs to be exchanged. All new drives have bad sectors, this scrubbing will remove most of them and make for a much more reliable backup. Highly recommended for all hard drives if it hasn't been done before, SSD's no need.
Once the scrubbing is finished check under Partition that Option: GUID and Format: OS X Extended Journaled or make it that. Quit Disk Utility.
Scrubbing is only for hard drives and not needed if it was done once before as the bad bits were previously mapped off. However if shock to the drive occurred or the 0x erase wasn't good enough, or there is unwanted data, then of course repeat scrubbing again. I've found 0x for defeating software recovery techniques, 3x seems to be adequate for mapping off the bad bits. 7x for defeating magnetic recovery techniques. Physically destroying the drive for the utmost sensitive files.
SSD's cannot be securely erased, however it might be possible to overwrite one's preious deleted files with new data with a method I've outlined here.
Cloning software
Mac Disk Utility Software
Download Carbon Copy Cloner, it's the best cloning software and the only one that also clones the most vital RecoveryHD partition for restoring OS X fresh from Apple. Later you will use it to update your clone once your on the new internal drive. (Optionally is SuperDuper, but it doesn't do the RecoveryHD.)
Use CCC to clone your present internal drive to the external. Do not use the same name as the internal drive on the external, or change it before you boot from the clone using the Finder.
You don't need to mess with CCC preferences for the first clone as it has to to everything. Later when updating the clone it will save the changes between updates and take up much more drive space. If you want to maintain a pure clone, then set that in CCC preferences before doing a update, this is what I advise as it maintains space for later less you need to install additional software or move files for data recovery etc. while booted from the clone drive if the internal drive fails to boot up.
Repair permissions afterwards
Once the clone is finished, use Disk Utility to repair permissions on both drives. Reboot the Mac and hold the option/alt keys down on the built-in or wired keyboard for OS X's 'Startup Manager' there you can select the clone to boot from. Check it out and be careful with your navigation as everything is duplicated, including the pathnames/shortcuts to your internal drive. (Ignore Disk Utility warnings that repeat, those are just changes Apple made)
Internal drive switch
If you have a internal drive switch or install at this time, now is the time to do this. If you run into problems you can option/alt key boot off the clone drive, use the computer like before and get online. TimeMachine doesn't have boot to use ability only boot to restore, which mandates your internal drive be immediately fixed and that's not always very convenient for many.
More advice here:
Reverse cloning, etc
To reverse clone, follow the same procedure as above. First formatting the new or erasing (secure zero or 3x overwrite) the corrupted drive (if so) in Disk Utility first and then using CCC (all while option/alt key booted from the external clone of course), to reverse clone. CCC should ask to restore the RecoveryHD (for 10.7+) in this first clone process, so check that it will/does.
Bootable clones make ideal data recovery drives, just boot from it and grab the latest copy of files (or install Data Rescue for deleted files/corrupted drives) on the primary boot drive and secure erase and reverse clone perfection back on.
It's advised to maintain several time dated clones each on separate hardware, this way one can revert to a earlier OS X version or use older versions of software and to protect against accidents and other unseen acts. Provides maximum software and hardware protection.
Do NOT reverse clone onto a new or different model of Mac as there are hardware driver differences so OS X is ever so slightly different. (But in some cases it's possible, not going there). Instead to be sure, use Migration Assistant in the Utilities folder and target the clone drive as the source of User Accounts and programs you want to transfer to the other Mac.
Corrupted cache rebuilding (optional)
See and perform the #12 OnyX cache cleaning routine here, it's optional but if your reverse cloning it's best to also rebuild the cache files so they are free of corruption and maximize the full performance benefit of the reverse clone proceedure.
Remember 10.8+ users may have to right or option/alt click to 'open' software downloaded from the Internet.
Best Mac Disk Utility Software
Disk Repair Utility For Mac
SSD advice, TRIM
If you cloned to a third party SSD, you need to enable TRIM support on it and after each OS X update/upgrade using third party software. Check MacTracker.com for the two versions and update it. Apple doesn't reenable TRIM for third party SSD's only their own.
Remember 10.8+ users may have to right or option/alt click to 'open' software downloaded from the Internet.
TRIM is wear leveling software so that data is written to the least used areas of a SSD because they have limited write capability. Thus SSD's don't have scrubbing ability to securely delete data off of them. Software and forensic equipment is widely available to read all data on a SSD, included deleted data.
SSD's are on many portable tech electronic devices and becoming widespread on computers now. The NSA approved method for data destruction on non-magnetic media (including thumb drives) is to grind them into a fine powder. Since a lot of Apple hardware is coming sealed up, Fusion drives (hard drive + flash memory), and non-user accessible, the entire device will have to be destroyed in order to remove unwanted data from it.
For privacy when reselling without vital data, it might be possible to fill the SSD near completely two times with a LOT of tiny small files to overwrite all areas, but that's no guaranty nor a legal/military/government approved method.
Update your clone
Update your clone occasionally and before a major internal boot drive change using CCC, it will take less time than a full clone each time like Disk Utility unfortunately does. CCC also has scheduling ability to perform the updates automatically.
Do not clone a TimeMachine drive.
Clone to another internal partition
Yes you can clone your boot partition to another partition on the same boot drive. Clone to a external drive first and test for backup as you NEED hardware protection also in case the internal drive or Mac dies or is lost/stolen.
Create another partition in Disk Utility equal to your MacintoshHD partition, format OS X Extended Journaled and use CCC to clone MacintoshHD to MacintoshHD 2. Then Disk Utility >Repair Permissions on both. (ignore warnings that repeat, those are just changes Apple made) Set CCC to maintain a pure clone for this partition as not to fill it up.
If you can't create another same sized partition, you likely need to reduce files and (if a hard drive, SSD's no need) perform a reverse clone while booted from the external clone to shift all OS X data up further on the drive to make room at the bottom for the new partition.
Usefulness in this clone on another partition thing is CCC can update it in the background on a schedule all by itself. You have a resource to recover accidentally deleted files and if your primary OS X MacintoshHD partition is not booting due to software reasons or other software issue, you can immediately option/alt key boot from the cloned partition. A excellent choice for laptop owners away from a fast/reliable Internet connection to fix OS X by redownloading it over itself or carrying a external clone or TM drive around with you. It only takes seconds to boot from the cloned partition.
It's obviously taking half your boot drive space, however it only takes Disk Utility a few seconds to rename/quick reformat (no secure erasing) to make it available for emergency storage needs and later one can use CCC to clone it again in the background. Also on hard drives the second 50% of the drive is slower than the first 50%, so you may realize this while booted from the second partition.
Best app for deleting apps on mac.
Enjoy peace and software stability. 🙂