Cloning from Desktop to Laptop and the reverse

[bill from maine]

Hi,

I know it's possible to clone one Mac to another by starting the clone Mac with the T key held down (target disk mode), connecting a firewire cable, and then running SuperDuper from the other machine.

Question: if I clone a desktop Mac to a laptop, take the laptop away, use it for a while, then return and do the reverse (clone laptop drive to the desktop), will the smart update feature work with reasonable speed?
In other words, will the backup be fast or does it have to backup from scratch?

[dnanian]

Yes, you can do that -- if both Macs can run the same exact version of the OS.

[bill from maine]

Thanks Dave!

To insure that the backup drive has the exact same OS, the first backup could simply use the erase first method, then the rest would go smoothly I would think...

Subsequent backups could use the smart backup method, correct?

What would happen when a minor OS change occurs, do you have to then revert to doing the erase first backup?

[dnanian]

No, that's not the problem: you need to make sure the two Macs are supported by the OS you're using. Not every Mac can run under every OS version.

[t3rockhall]

Why not just get an external Firewire drive and do it the easy way?

I do this all the time, but not in target mode. I know, this is buried on this site in a previous post of mine, but here goes.
I have 2 G5 iMacs, in 2 houses. I also have an external FW drive.
I spend most of my time in house A, and back up the computer using SD smart update.

When I go to house B, I take the external with me and boot from the external drive (holding down the Option key), and run Smart Update into Computer B. Then I reboot from Computer B and unmount and shut down the external.
At this point, both computers and the external are identical. CLONES, so to speak

Now I'm in house B, and I work on Computer B for a week or two, or however long I'm there, and when I'm ready to go back to house A, I run SD smart update from computer B into the external. Now computer B and the external are identical.

When I get back to house A, I again boot from the external, run SD smart update from the external into the computer, all three drives are identical, and the cycle is complete.

All updates to software, OS, email, whatever... are moved between the 2 Macs via the external drive. And yes, of course, both computers can run the same OS, and neither is an Intel Mac.

[bill from maine]

t3rockhall,

I like your method for minimizing weight.
However, your method requires two smart updates per cycle whereas mine requires only one.
And I asked the question for a client of mine who has both a laptop and an desktop and needs to travel on a regular basis and really wants his desktop at work.
One smart update now gets him on his way and one smart update (reversed) does the same when he gets back to office.

I think an even BETTER solution is to run one computer (a laptop) with an external monitor at the office, but he didn't like that idea....

[t3rockhall]

t3rockhall,

I like your method for minimizing weight.
However, your method requires two smart updates per cycle whereas mine requires only one.
And I asked the question for a client of mine who has both a laptop and an desktop and needs to travel on a regular basis and really wants his desktop at work.
One smart update now gets him on his way and one smart update (reversed) does the same when he gets back to office.

I think an even BETTER solution is to run one computer (a laptop) with an external monitor at the office, but he didn't like that idea....

Well, a Smart Update takes me about 8 minutes. Not a very big deal, plus I have the advantage of having all those backups.

The customer is always right, though.:)