Carbon Copy Cloner

Backup software

Carbon Copy Cloner

Carbon Copy Cloner 6 running on macOS
Developer(s)	Bombich Software
Initial release	January 18, 2002; 22 years ago (2002-01-18)^[1]
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^[2] until 2012, when it became shareware starting with version 3.5.^[3]

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.^[2]^[4]^[5]

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.^[6]

Reception

Carbon Copy Cloner has been extensively covered in Apple-related publications, and received positive reviews.^[7] 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.^[3]

References

Citations

^ Bombich 2017.
^ ^a ^b Granneman 2010, p. 270.
^ ^a ^b Welch 2012.
^ Bombich 2023.
^ Kissell 2014.
^ Bombich 2021.
^ Foresman 2008; Perry 2021; Oakley 2021a; Hemphill 2022; Griffiths 2014.

Sources

Books

Granneman, Scott (October 21, 2010). Andres, Clay; et al. (eds.). 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!". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
Welch, Chris (July 24, 2012). "Carbon Copy Cloner OS X backup app updated for Mountain Lion, now carries a $39.95 price tag". The Verge. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
Perry, Haley (November 17, 2021). "Back Up and Secure Your Digital Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 10, 2022.

Magazines

Kissell, Joe (August 5, 2014). "Drive-cloning utilities: The best Mac apps for making a bootable backup". Macworld. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
Griffiths, Rob (November 5, 2014). "Carbon Copy Cloner 4 brings increased usability to trusted utility". Macworld. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
Hemphill, Kenny (March 15, 2022). "Protect your Mac with these Mac backup software options". Macworld. Retrieved October 9, 2022.

Independent sources

Oakley, Howard (April 12, 2021a). "Should you back up to APFS or HFS+?". The Eclectic Light Company. Retrieved October 9, 2022.

Sources connected to Bombich

Bombich, Mike (August 18, 2017). "Happy 15th Birthday CCC!". Retrieved October 9, 2022.
Bombich, Mike (May 19, 2021). "Beyond Bootable Backups: Adapting recovery strategies for an evolving platform". Bombich. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
Bombich, Mike (April 13, 2023). "CCC 6 Documentation" (PDF). Bombich. Retrieved April 14, 2023.