SD Vs CCC

[Andrew]

I have a power mac running tiger and want to back up to an external firewire HD. Thoughts on SD vs. CCC? Why one or the other? Thanks

[dnanian]

They're both good programs, Andrew, so it's hard for me to do much other than plug my own solution. Perhaps others will chip in with their thoughts.

[Andrew]

Dave, thanks for being so honest. I didn't mean to look for a plug for your competition. I guess I just want reassurance that SD is idiot proof and an easy solution for a low tech guy who wants to make sure his family pics/videos/documents and system don't disappear one day. I only had heard of CCC from friends and have no experience with either.

[dnanian]

Well, again -- obviously I'd think it was, otherwise I wouldn't be here.

You can download the product, install it, review the documentation, all without purchase. You can even use it (although not all features) without registering, forever, including getting support.

I try to put my money where my mouth is, Andrew. I encourage you to try it to see if it meets your needs.

Note that you do need a drive to copy to. In general, you don't want anything else on that drive. Please don't ignore the extensive warnings about erasing the destination drive!

[rlfsoso]

Hi,

in my personal experience SD has been very easy to use, and has saved my (digital) life several times. Smart copy (for which you would have to buy it) makes cloning for repeated backups, where only changed items/files need to be copied, very fast and convenient.

CCC basically can do what SD can, its usability has improved but in my personal opinion, setting it up is still a bit more complicated than SD.

Rolf

[Andrew]

IF I am copying my primary system HD to an external HD, can you make an exact copy of the entire contents (active programs and operating system included) from the drive you are running SD from? I had been told that copying programs like SD or CCC cannot copy the active programs and OS while they are used. I was told one has to boot up from a third drive to copy drive one (the primary system HD) to a second drive. So you really have to use a method of using 3 drives where A would have the operating system, and you would be copying drive B to drive C. I am confused.