Hands On: SuperDuper! 2.9.1 backup tool updated for macOS Sierra
AppleInsider continues its ongoing backup tool examination series, and examines long-standing utility SuperDuper! that promises to protect your data with speed and ease of use.
You've already got Time Machine. Having it isn't the same as using it but we're begging you here: use Time Machine - or something else like SuperDuper! 2.9.1. Apple's own app. and third-party ones like SuperDuper!, ChronoSync and CarbonCopyCloner are all devoted to protecting your work by making copies of it.
You know that hard disks and their replacement technology SSDs are critical. Yet every time Apple or any other such company changes their operating system, it's likely to affect how that OS works with these drives. So the chief update to SuperDuper! in September's version 2.9.1 version is a confirmed, official compatibility with macOS Sierra - and that is reason enough to upgrade. Plus, it's free for existing users.
The job that SuperDuper! does is the same as all other backup utilities but no two of these work the same way. SuperDuper! aims to make it quick to set up a backup copying of your data and to make certain that you know exactly what will happen when you click on the Copy Now button.
You may never go beyond that small main screen. From there you can say which drive you want copied to which other one. Choose these two drives and click. You'll be asked to enter your Mac's password before SuperDuper! will do anything, but once you have then it will back up your data.
It's hard to see how that could be made easier to understand and the app does repeatedly warn you before you choose an option that could lose you any data. If you're connecting an old drive and telling it to backup to that, SuperDuper! will by default erase that disk. However, it will make sure you understand that it's going to do that and you have the options to stop it.
The speed of setting up and getting going is important but it is in these options that SuperDuper! becomes crucial. It can't be controlled remotely nor can it email you when a backup is completed - or if there are problems. However, it can complete the backup and then eject the disk you're copying to.
It can shut down your Mac. So it's good for those end of day backups when you want to go home but the machine is still copying away. Set up a backup where SuperDuper! will do its job and then shut down your computer for you so you can get out of the office on time.
SuperDuper! is a rewarding app: it shows you what everyone needs but as you want more, it gives you extra. It's not as option-laden as ChronoSync but it is powerful and easy to use.
That said, we're talking about disk backup utilities here: they are never going to be child's play to use. Nor should they be when the very continued existence of your data is at stake.
SuperDuper! 2.9.1 costs $27.95 direct from the manufacturer's site where you can also find a free trial version. It requires macOS 10.8 or later.
You've already got Time Machine. Having it isn't the same as using it but we're begging you here: use Time Machine - or something else like SuperDuper! 2.9.1. Apple's own app. and third-party ones like SuperDuper!, ChronoSync and CarbonCopyCloner are all devoted to protecting your work by making copies of it.
You know that hard disks and their replacement technology SSDs are critical. Yet every time Apple or any other such company changes their operating system, it's likely to affect how that OS works with these drives. So the chief update to SuperDuper! in September's version 2.9.1 version is a confirmed, official compatibility with macOS Sierra - and that is reason enough to upgrade. Plus, it's free for existing users.
The job that SuperDuper! does is the same as all other backup utilities but no two of these work the same way. SuperDuper! aims to make it quick to set up a backup copying of your data and to make certain that you know exactly what will happen when you click on the Copy Now button.
You may never go beyond that small main screen. From there you can say which drive you want copied to which other one. Choose these two drives and click. You'll be asked to enter your Mac's password before SuperDuper! will do anything, but once you have then it will back up your data.
It's hard to see how that could be made easier to understand and the app does repeatedly warn you before you choose an option that could lose you any data. If you're connecting an old drive and telling it to backup to that, SuperDuper! will by default erase that disk. However, it will make sure you understand that it's going to do that and you have the options to stop it.
The speed of setting up and getting going is important but it is in these options that SuperDuper! becomes crucial. It can't be controlled remotely nor can it email you when a backup is completed - or if there are problems. However, it can complete the backup and then eject the disk you're copying to.
It can shut down your Mac. So it's good for those end of day backups when you want to go home but the machine is still copying away. Set up a backup where SuperDuper! will do its job and then shut down your computer for you so you can get out of the office on time.
SuperDuper! is a rewarding app: it shows you what everyone needs but as you want more, it gives you extra. It's not as option-laden as ChronoSync but it is powerful and easy to use.
That said, we're talking about disk backup utilities here: they are never going to be child's play to use. Nor should they be when the very continued existence of your data is at stake.
SuperDuper! 2.9.1 costs $27.95 direct from the manufacturer's site where you can also find a free trial version. It requires macOS 10.8 or later.
Comments
it great for making a perfect clone then transfering that clone to your new machine
now-a-days, I use Time Machine to back all my start-up drives. I also use it on my Macbook Pro music server, and its external music library. But I have a number of internal drives in my 2009 Mac Pro. These are all large drives, and the way they're organized, I have backups for each drive. Since I don't use what's in each drive on a regular basis, I don't use Time Machine for them. When I do use any of them, I do an incremental backup using SuperDuper. When time comes, every three years, to replace those internals with new ones, I clone a newer, faster, and large drive with SuperDuper, and put the backup drives as the primary drive in the machine.
that way, I continually replace drives with bigger ones over time, while ridding myself of older drives every three years. Three years is when most drives experience a rise in unreliability. I avoid that with regular replacements. The backups get little actual use, and while drives go stale on the shelf too, my experience is that this allows me to avoid most long term problems.
I bought a new Mac and used Migration assistant to move the files from the old internal drive (now in an enclosure). The serial numbers for Office and for my Adobe products did not come over. I can't find my originals. I got a tech at Microsoft to give me a license # (at the time I thought he found a way to pull mine), but it turned out it was for a student/home edition so Outlook didn't work. I called back and had to pay $40 to get a key for Outlook. 10 minutes later I found the original key.
But I haven't found the keys for CS6, although I have some older ones. I go to my Adobe online account and there isn't a single app listed, even though I found an old email thanking me for registering CS6 and I know I've updated my products through Adobe.
I figured if I boot one of the old drives, maybe I'd be able to copy over the Adobe apps and the serial #'s would come over. But you can't boot El Capitan on the new MBP. Which also means I can't bring over the full image to the new machine (I'm afraid I'd brick it). Is there a way to use SuperDuper to bring over just the apps with their serial #'s?
On my MBP running FileVaulted Sierra (early 2009 iMac running El Capitan), I encrypted my backup disk using the simple encryption capability (right-click after disk mounted) so my backup is also encrypted. Superduper won't do a scheduled backup unless I enter the password first. For obvious reasons, I don't save that password in my keychain.
One thing not mentioned in this article is that the free version of Superduper does not allow scheduled backups, you need to pay for the application.
Unlike other software, they did not constantly charge me for updates.
https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/36175/mac-product-key-finder
Does a good job of recovering my Adobe keys.
software, in a number of cases is designed to recognize its in a new compurer, cloned drive or not. If you need to authorize a machine, then you need to. And the number of machines is limited to two or three, usually. Adobe is very helpful with this. Call them.
You are incorrect on this point. According to the SuperDuper! Revision History, SuperDuper! v2.9.1, with Official macOS Sierra 10.12 compatibility, was released on 12Sep'16, 8 days prior to Sierra being released to the public, on 20Sep'16.
A publication that promotes, profiles or reports on a specific software title, is not always able to do so at the time of release. I was surprised that the article did not clarify that point.
ratbastard