[OSX2009]

I'm looking for a good program to create a bootable image of my Mac OSX drive. I'd like to create a bootable image that can be burned to a DVD-R, so that I can restore my installation after upgrading my SSD.

Any suggestions or recommendations?

[emdc]

Super Duper & Carbon Copy Cloner both work well.

You could also use Time Machine to make a backup then use Disk Utility to restore the image to your SSD. There are discussions on how to do that somewhere on this forum.

No matter what method you end up using, you'll also need a USB drive or a CD with DellEFI to install those components to the hidden EFI partition that makes all of this possible in the 1st place.

[OSX2009]

Originally Posted by emdc

No matter what method you end up using, you'll also need a USB drive or a CD with DellEFI to install those components to the hidden EFI partition that makes all of this possible in the 1st place.

Is this still necessary if I am making a full disc image (not just cloning the partition but the entire disc)? I was under the impression that if I made a full disc image it would also copy all the data from the hidden EFI partition.

[MacG]

Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) is the best. Mike Bombich makes great software. And it's free.

Lee

[JustAMacUser]

Originally Posted by OSX2009

Is this still necessary if I am making a full disc image (not just cloning the partition but the entire disc)? I was under the impression that if I made a full disc image it would also copy all the data from the hidden EFI partition.

I use Parted Magic (http://partedmagic.com/) for this. I created a bootable Parted Magic USB key. Then I use the Terminal in there to run the dd (http://www.ss64.com/bash/dd.html) command and clone the entire drive (block-level).

I know this works because just yesterday I "upgraded" from the Type11 method to the DellEFI method and everything went bad for some reason. I used this to restore my previous installation in about 20-minutes.

[mechdrew]

I usually just do the Disk Utility route, but since you want to have it bootable after restore then I agree partially with JustAMacUser about dd. However, you can just use your Mac OS X install disk to run dd, since it is built-in the the OS.
Open Terminal and follow this pattern when you back it up:

dd if=/dev/disk0 of=/Volume/ExternalDrive/backup.img

and then to restore:

dd if=/Volumes/ExternalDrive/backup.img od=/dev/disk0

[JustAMacUser]

Originally Posted by mechdrew

However, you can just use your Mac OS X install disk to run dd, since it is built-in the the OS.

Very true. I neglected to mention that I only use Parted Magic because I wanted everything to fit onto a small USB key I had (so I could bring it with me when travelling and have an easy restore method). If one doesn't need that, the OS X disc would be a much easier solution

[mechdrew]

Originally Posted by JustAMacUser

Very true. I neglected to mention that I only use Parted Magic because I wanted everything to fit onto a small USB key I had (so I could bring it with me when travelling and have an easy restore method). If one doesn't need that, the OS X disc would be a much easier solution

Funny, I keep my 8 GB drives with me all the time, and one of them is setup with the Mac Installer. Then again, I also keep my 320 GB Maxtor in my backpack when I go to class, which has a backup install of my current setup. Yeah, I'm weird.

[ian]

I use SmartBackup on a day to day basis, but when I know I'm doing a copy for a specific restore (e.g. when I partitioned my SSD) then I just use Disk Utility.

[TALA]

Originally Posted by OSX2009

Is this still necessary if I am making a full disc image (not just cloning the partition but the entire disc)? I was under the impression that if I made a full disc image it would also copy all the data from the hidden EFI partition.

Does super duper or ccc copy the hidden files or do you have to run DelEFI to restore THE CLONED DRIVE. I have been trying disk utility but just can't clone the drive from the install USB/DVD.