How to Clone and Backup Your Hard Drive
When you need to clone your drive, or simply do a full backup, someone usually tells you to use Carbon Copy Cloner (Donation Recommended) or SuperDuper! ($27.95). Sure, both of these applications are great programs, but they aren't necessary. You can use Apple's own software that comes free with your Mac!
We're talking about Disk Utility ( User > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.app ) It’s free, easy-to-use, and it does the job right.
Here's how to use Disk Utility to clone and backup your hard drive:
- Start up from the Mac OS X disk that came with your Mac. To do this, insert the CD or DVD into your Mac, and hold down the C key while your Mac restarts.
- Go ahead select your language. Don’t worry: You're not installing Mac OS X again - this is just what you have to do to get to Disk Utility. When the menu bar appears, select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
- When Disk Utility opens, you'll want to select your source. This is the hard drive you want to clone and/or backup. After you have a source, select the Destination. This is the hard drive you want to save the backup image to.
- Click Restore and you'll end up with a perfect copy of your hard drive. Restart your computer and you're good to go!

Related Articles
- Back Up (Clone) Your Mac's Hard Drive with SuperDuper!
- How to Update a SuperDuper! Backup
- How to Schedule SuperDuper! Backups
- How to Test Your SuperDuper! Backup
- How to Restore from a SuperDuper! Backup
Meet Your Macinstructor
Stephen Korecky has been using Macs for as long as he can remember, and he currently supports Macs at a photography studio. He has extensive knowledge of the Mac OS X operating system and is always trying to learn something new and exciting. Stephen has been designing and building web sites for many years and is currently working towards a degree in graphic design.




