Carbon Copy Cloner alerts users about Big Sur compatibility

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Carbon Copy Cloner alerts its users about macOS Big Sur compatibility issues

…As macOS Big Sur is about to be released to the public, the developers behind Carbon Copy Cloner have now alerted their users about potential compatibility issues with the latest version of Apple’s operating system….

One of the main under the hood features introduced with macOS Big Sur is a new protection layer called “Signed System Volume” that seals and encrypts the volume in which macOS is installed. Third-party tools can still make backups of the Mac’s internal storage, but they’re not bootable and some things become inaccessible.

The system now resides on a “Signed System Volume”. This volume is cryptographically sealed, and that seal can only be applied by Apple; ordinary copies of the System volume are non-bootable without Apple’s seal. To create a functional copy of the macOS 11 System volume, we have to use an Apple tool to copy the system, or install macOS onto the backup.

The latest version available of Carbon Copy Cloner (5.1.22) works with macOS Big Sur, but it’s only capable of creating copies of the system volume that are not bootable. The developers responsible for the software have claimed that Apple is aware of this limitation and is currently working to resolve it….

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Nathan Parker

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Status of SuperDuper! and Big Sur

I haven’t said anything about Big Sur yet, and since the public beta has been out for a while, and I’m getting more questions about it, it’s time.

At present, it’s not possible to make bootable copies of Big Sur, even with asr, Apple’s own built-in replication utility. As such, we haven’t released a Beta, or even an internal Alpha, because it wouldn’t meet our own requirements.

So, for the moment, we’re holding back, hoping that Apple will fix the issues and allow 3rd party (or even 1st party, given asr) bootable backups. While asr was failing completely in previous builds, in the most recent one it isn’t able to back up because the system volume isn’t properly ‘sealed’ (which is ominous, since why wouldn’t a standard install be sealed, and if it’s not, why wouldn’t you be able to back it up anyway).

So, while progress is being made, we’re kind of stuck waiting for the king…

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Nathan Parker

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Thanks Alex.   Question please. I am a fairly new Mac user, aprox 2 years and besides Time Machine I have been looking at these 2 programs, am leaning more to Super Duper.

Do you know if it easier to use & understand,  any help would be appreciated.

I am still on Mojave until Big Sur has had 2 updates.

Thanks
Daniel

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I’ve used SuperDuper. It’s fantastic if you need a bootable backup of your Mac. I’ve paid once for the premium license (it also has a free version), and my license continues to work until this day. Super Duper has worked even when I’ve had issues with other backup apps.

Nathan Parker

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[James Bond 007]

The release version of MacOS Big Sur 11.0.1 fixes the problem with Apple’s own replication utility so now both Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper can proceed with Big Sur testing with their upcoming versions, but they are not yet ready with Big Sur :

https://bombich.com/kb/ccc5/frequently-asked-questions-about-ccc-and-macos-11
https://www.shirtpocket.com/blog/index.php/shadedgrey/comments/big_sur/

I think upgrading to Big Sur or any new OS version on or close to launch day is foolhardy unless you have an absolute need for it. The applications will have to be updated for the new OS and users will have problems if they upgrade and then find out their applications are incompatible.

For example, VMware Fusion 11.5.6 (the last version) is fully supported on MacOS Mojave and Catalina, but it is not compatible and not supported on MacOS Big Sur. Upgrading to Big Sur will require upgrading to VMware Fusion 12 to continue to use VMware Fusion. VMware has provided a free VMware Fusion Player 12 so you may not have to pay to upgrade or use VMware Fusion personally, but other paid applications may require a paid upgrade to use on Big Sur.

Personally I will stay with MacOS High Sierra and Mojave and not consider any OS upgrade at this point since High Sierra and Mojave work fine for me. I use SuperDuper myself.

Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by James Bond 007. Reason: Correction
• This reply was modified 4 years, 6 months ago by James Bond 007. Reason: Addition

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Nathan Parker, Alex5723

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MacOS, iOS, Windows 10 Application compatibility table

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Nathan Parker

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