Waiting for SuperDuper! – Mac Disk Clone Backup

I’m still waiting for SuperDuper! to release a Leopard compatible update. While the current version can be used to clone a disk under Leopard and make the data available on the cloned disk, the metadata isn’t consistent and the cloned disk probably isn’t bootable.

I’ve been using the Time Machine for local backups and Mozy for my offsite backups. But my boot disk for fast recovery was running Tiger and had data that was getting older by the day. So I decided to use Disk Utility to clone my iMac disk and replace my last SuperDuper! clone of Tiger. This is a simple process although the disk clone will take some time, how long depends on your hardware. I ran the clone while I was at work today. To clone the disk:

1. Start Disk Utility. It’s in Applications/Utilities.

2. Select a drive then click the “Restore” button.

3. Drag the source partition from the list on the left to the Source box.

4. Drag the destination partition to the Destination box.

5. Click erase destination to make the disk bootable.

6. Click the “Restore” button in the lower right. The screenshot below shows my selections:

When I left for work the time estimate for my drive (258GB used) was 8 hours. I can’t say how long it took but when I returned 10 hours later it was done. Unlike Superduper! the next clone will take just as long and it can’t be scheduled so I probably won’t do it daily, but at least it’s got newer data and is Leopard.