Bootable Mac backups: macOS 15.2 causes (even more) problems
Bootable backups have long been part of good practice, but they have not worked reliably for a long time. It seems to be completely broken in the latest macOS.
(Image: Mac & i)
Cloning the startup drive apparently fails with macOS 15.2 Sequoia: A bug in the Apple tool required for this prevents the completion of a data backup, warns the developer of the veteran backup tool SuperDuper. The software can no longer create a bootable backup of Macs running on the current operating system version. There is currently no workaround.
Backup apps must use Apple's ASR for cloning
Apple has not allowed third-party providers to copy the operating system for some time now. Instead, there is the "APFS Replicator", also known as Apple Software Restore (ASR), which now apparently has the error. With this restriction for backup software from other providers, Apple has taken responsibility itself and is now solely responsible for eliminating the error, according to the developer. Apple has "broken the Replicator", the matter is "frankly shitty". He advises his customers to make a backup of all files instead – without the operating system. Although you can no longer boot from this, you can restore a freshly installed system with your own data.
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Other tools such as CarbonCopyCloner (CCC) only offer the creation of bootable backups as a "legacy" function and actively advise their users not to do so. The developer told Mac & i that he suspects that CCC is also affected by the bug when cloning the boot drive. Other tools such as Chronosync could also be affected if an attempt is made to create a bootable backup. It remains unclear when Apple will fix the bug. The bug can still be observed in the first beta of macOS 15.3, according to the SuperDuper developer.
Cloned boot drives unreliable
Since macOS 11, the operating system has been cryptographically sealed and a bootable copy can only be created with Apple's Replicator. Although this works in theory, it is often unreliable in practice. According to earlier Mac & i tests, copies made via USB were not bootable, for example. If a Thunderbolt drive was used as the target medium, it at least worked. A bootable backup seems to make less and less sense overall: Macs with Apple's M-Chip cannot be booted from a cloned external drive anyway if the internal memory is defective.
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