Software:Carbon Copy Cloner

Short description: Backup software

Carbon Copy Cloner

Carbon Copy Cloner 6 running on macOS
Developer(s)	Bombich
Initial release	January 18, 2002 (2002-01-18)
Operating system	macOS
Available in	English, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Dutch
Type	Backup software
License	Proprietary software Donationware until version 3.5, then shareware
Website	bombich.com

Carbon Copy Cloner is a backup and disk cloning utility for macOS made by Bombich.

History

Carbon Copy Cloner version 1 was released on January 18, 2002. It was released as donationware until 2012, when it became shareware starting with version 3.5.

Features

CCC's main window lets users select a source disk and a destination disk, and optionally deselect source files or folders from being copied. It supports backup scheduling.

In 2021, its creator, Mike Bombich, discovered that Apple silicon Macs cannot boot if the internal storage failed, even if booting from an external drive. A minimal version of the Mac OS, residing on the internal storage device, has to verify the integrity of the operating system carried on the backup device before recovery can take place.

Reception

Carbon Copy Cloner has been extensively covered in Apple-related publications, and received positive reviews.({{{1}}}, {{{2}}}) The Verge's Chris Welch called it "an essential utility" for advanced users, but also said that Apple's simpler Time Machine was sufficient for most users.

See also

• Disk cloning
• Apple File System

References

Sources

Books

• Granneman, Scott (October 21, 2010). Andres, Clay. ed (in en). Mac OS X Snow Leopard for Power Users. Apress (Springer). ISBN 978-1-4302-3030-4. 

News outlets

• Foresman, Chris (March 25, 2008). "Carbon Copy Cloner 3.1: Now with more cloning power!" (in en-us). Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2008/03/carbon-copy-cloner-3-1-now-with-more-cloning-power/. 
• Welch, Chris (July 24, 2012). "Carbon Copy Cloner OS X backup app updated for Mountain Lion, now carries a $39.95 price tag" (in en-US). The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2012/7/24/3181153/carbon-copy-cloner-updated-mountain-now-paid-app. 
• Perry, Haley (November 17, 2021). "Back Up and Secure Your Digital Life" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/lists/back-up-and-secure-your-digital-life/. 

Magazines

• Kissell, Joe (August 5, 2014). "Drive-cloning utilities: The best Mac apps for making a bootable backup" (in en). https://www.macworld.com/article/223899/drive-cloning-utilities-the-best-mac-apps-for-making-a-bootable-backup.html. 
• Griffiths, Rob (November 5, 2014). "Carbon Copy Cloner 4 brings increased usability to trusted utility" (in en). https://www.macworld.com/article/224477/carbon-copy-cloner-4-brings-increased-usability-to-trusted-utility.html. 
• Hemphill, Kenny (March 15, 2022). "Protect your Mac with these Mac backup software options" (in en). https://www.macworld.com/article/668696/protect-your-mac-with-these-mac-backup-software-options.html. 

Independent sources

• Oakley, Howard (April 12, 2021a). "Should you back up to APFS or HFS+?" (in en). https://eclecticlight.co/2021/04/12/should-you-back-up-to-apfs-or-hfs/. 

Sources connected to Bombich

• Bombich, Mike (August 18, 2017). "Happy 15th Birthday CCC!". https://bombich.com/blog/2017/08/18/happy-15th-birthday-ccc. 
• Bombich, Mike (May 19, 2021). "Beyond Bootable Backups: Adapting recovery strategies for an evolving platform". https://bombich.com/blog/2021/05/19/beyond-bootable-backups-adapting-recovery-strategies-evolving-platform. 
• Bombich, Mike (April 13, 2023). "CCC 6 Documentation". https://bombich.scdn1.secure.raxcdn.com/sites/default/files/bulk_pdf/ccc6-documentation-en.pdf. 

Further reading

• Oakley, H. (May 28, 2021b). "Why cloning Big Sur isn't as useful for an M1 Mac" (in en). https://eclecticlight.co/2021/05/28/why-cloning-big-sur-isnt-as-useful-for-an-m1-mac/.