How to Backup a Mac With SuperDuper

A Guide to Cloning, Bootable Backups and Restoring the System

Sep 27, 2009

SuperDuper is a Mac cloning program used to backup all or part of the system. It's useful by itself or in conjunction with Time Machine.

SuperDuper can create a clone, or exact copy of a hard drive. It's a viable alternative for users of older systems that don’t support Time Machine and provides functionality that works very well in conjunction with Time Machine, providing a complete backup plan. While Time Machine is excellent for providing version control and can be used to restore a complete system, there are advantages to using SuperDuper to restore a complete hard drive.

Using a Bootable Backup

The main advantage of SuperDuper is the ability to create a bootable backup. That backup can then be used to run the computer in the event of a hard drive failure. The advantage of this over using Time Machine is that if it’s important to continue working immediately, SuperDuper can have the Mac running in minutes instead of hours.

The same bootable clone, when stored on an external hard drive, can also be used on another Mac. This can be very useful to migrate to a new system, or when using a temporary computer. The drive must be formatted using the Mac OS Extended file system, NTFS or FAT32 won't work, and it’s important to note that PowerPC Macs can only boot from a Firewire drive, Intel Macs can boot from a USB or Firewire drive.

To boot or startup a Mac using the cloned backup, press the Option key while the computer is powering on. This will display an option to select the bootable clone as the startup disk. A final point to keep in mind when using a bootable clone is that the operating system files, the OS X files themselves, are not universal. This means that a PowerPC clone cannot be used to migrate or boot an Intel Mac.

Selecting a Location and Scheduling Backups

Unless they are performed regularly, backups are not useful. Fortunately SuperDuper has a scheduling feature. Backups can be scheduled as needed, at any day or time, and can even be performed multiple times a day. It isn’t necessary to calculate how long a backup will take when scheduling more than one per day; the program is intelligent enough to wait until one backup is finished before starting another.

To save time after the initial backup, the Smart Update feature only copies files that have changed since the last backup. If SuperDuper is scheduled to run when the computer is not in use, it’s important to ensure the Mac is not asleep. To wake the Mac at a certain time, open the System Preferences from the Apple menu or Dock and go to the Energy Saver section. The Schedule option can be used to wake the computer at a specific time.

An external drive, while ideal for a bootable clone, is not the only option available. The program can just as easily backup to a second internal drive or a network drive. In order to backup to a network drive, the backup must be created as a “Sparse” image. A sparse image is a virtual disk stored within a file and can be stored on a local or network drive.

After the initial backup, the program will automatically mount and unmount both the network drive and the sparse image, which supports the Smart Update feature to save time. When backing up to a network drive it’s important that it not be formatted using FAT32 since that file system doesn’t support files larger than 4 GB, a system like ext3, Mac OS Extended or NTFS should be used instead, otherwise the backup won't work.

Restoring the System From a Bootable Backup or a Sparse Image

Restoring all or part of a backup is not difficult. The files are not stored in a proprietary format, which means that individual files and folders can be dragged from the backup location to restore them. There are two options available to restore the entire drive. If a bootable backup is used, after starting the system, SuperDuper can clone the backup to the system drive, copying the files onto a new or replaced hard drive.

If the backup is not bootable, or is stored on a sparse image, then an OS X installation disk is required. After starting the Mac using an OS X installation disk, select Disk Utility from the Applications menu. For sparse images, first select the File -> Open Image option. Then select the drive that is being restored and switch to the Restore tab to finish the process.

SuperDuper is a reliable and easy to use backup solution. It provides a friendly interface for beginners, while providing advanced features like scripting, file exclusion and sandboxes for advanced users. Whether it’s used alone, or in conjunction with Time Machine, SuperDuper makes a good addition to any backup plan.

Cloning Software for Windows Users

The copyright of the article How to Backup a Mac With SuperDuper in Mac Software/OS is owned by Marco Villar. Permission to republish How to Backup a Mac With SuperDuper in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.