I have been using SuperDuper for years to automatically backup my iMac to a backup drive. But I also backup to iCloud. I had a problem installing the latest version for Sequoia, after paying for it and so I asked for a refund. Before I try once again to buy the latest version, it is still a good idea to have this? If it is, what backup drives does anyone recommend as the one I have is several years old?

Joan

You paid for Sequoia?

Yes, Sequoia is worth the upgrade, and yes, SuperDuper is excellent.

--
Vincent Winterling
Vineland, NJ

开云体育

Joan Sax wrote:

开云体育

Same here.??M1 Max Mac Studio with Sequoia 15.1.1 and up to date SuperDuper. A OK.

开云体育

At 2:27 PM +0000 11/23/24, Vince Winterling via groups.io wrote:

You paid for Sequoia?

I think Joan meant that she paid for a new license for SuperDuper. I'm attaching a screenshot, a web post by Dave Nanian, re the option of running SD via Rosetta or natively.

MJ

On Nov 22, 2024, at 12:50 PM, Joan Sax via groups.io <jsax@...> wrote:

I have been using SuperDuper for years to automatically backup my iMac to a backup drive. But I also backup to iCloud. I had a problem installing the latest version for Sequoia, after paying for it and so I asked for a refund. Before I try once again to buy the latest version, it is still a good idea to have this?

SuperDuper is still wildly useful for making a clone backup.

The controversy is over whether you CAN make a BOOTABLE backup, and if if a bootable backup is even worth anything.

People using CCC as still reporting that they are having problems making bootable backups. Folks using SD are having much more success. Instructions here:


Part of the problem is that Apple Silicon Macs will ONLY BOOT FROM AN EXTERNAL THUNDERBOLT DRIVE (not a simple USB-C drive)!


You also have to set the security of your Mac so that it allows you to boot from the external drive:


A word about how useful a bootable drive is is you have an Apple Silicon Mac…
Lots of folks are going around saying that a bootable clone backup is worthless because if an Apple Silicon Mac’s internal hard drive fails, it won’t startup at all, even from an external bootable clone. And that’s true, but it’s not the entire story.

First, Apple has made the OS much more robust recently. So robust, that having an an internal SSD drive fail due to a corrupted directory just about never happens anymore. In fact, I, personally, have yet to hear of someone having their internal SSD fail in an Apple Silicon Mac! And I’m on half a dozen Mac discussion lists, comprising hundreds of thousands of Mac users.

Second, when SSD’s fail from, basically, old age (i.e. they become over-full), they don’t completely die. They just become read-only. That means that you can still start up your Mac, and you can still effectively boot up from an external bootable drive!


So while a bootable clone backup isn’t as useful as it once was, having one isn’t worthless either.

In any case, the one thing that hasn’t changed at all, is that having a backup of your data is still invaluable. A clone backup is a very useful format for a backup, even if it isn’t bootable. You can re-create your data, right down to its organization, on a new Mac, or on your old Mac if it comes back with a new SSD, easily using your non-bootable clone.


__________________________________________________

Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice

__________________________________________________

On Nov 24, 2024, at 8:05 AM, Bayswater via groups.io <Bayswater@...> wrote:

Randy, thanks for clarifying the current discussion on drive options with the new M4. Perhaps you could comment on another detail of the debate. We hear that although you can boot from an external TB drive, there are many applications that will only run if installed on the internal drive. I don’t know it that means these apps have to be installed on both drives, or that they will only run from the copy on the internal drive, or if this is simply not true. This becomes a consideration for those who want to avoid the Apple price for internal storage and are looking at much less expensive external options.

I don’t know if any of the included Apple apps have to be in the Applications folder on the boot drive. I haven’t tested this.

I HAVE run across ONE third party application that didn’t work if it was located outside the Applications folder on the boot drive. So, they exist, but I don’t know how common they are.

I haven’t heard anyone say that any application specifically has to be installed on the INTERNAL drive, even if its not the boot drive. Though I have repeatedly heard that Apple Intelligence will only work if it is on the internal drive. I can’t tell you if that is strictly true or not.

See:

Install Mac Apps on External Storage in macOS Sequoia


How To Install Apps On External Hard Drive Mac



_________________________________________________

Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice

__________________________________________________

开云体育

On Nov 24, 2024, at 9:29 AM, Vince Winterling via groups.io <vincentwinterling@...> wrote:

I also like to beta test the upcoming versions of Sequoia. I run the beta versions from an external 1TB Samsung T7 SSD.

What I have learned is that the machine will only boot (and install an operating system) when connected to the right most Thunderbolt / USB4 port.

I’ve heard mixed information about whether the (awesome) Samsung T7’s support Thunderbolt.

If you search Amazon for “Thunderbolt external SSD”, the Samsung T7 comes right up. But the listing doesn’t mention Thunderbolt. OTOH, some users report using the T7 as a boot drive with their Apple Silicon Macs.





__________________________________________________

Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Essential But Hard To Find Macintosh Software and Advice

__________________________________________________

开云体育

On Nov 24, 2024, at 08:05, Bayswater via groups.io <Bayswater@...> wrote:

there are many applications that will only run if installed on the internal drive.

Which macOS does this happen in, and can you name a few of the apps?

I only keep copies of installers on external drives, and have seldom tried to boot from a clone.

开云体育