Carbon Copy Cloner is a donationware (uncrippled shareware) utility written by respected developer Mike Bombich.

Originally written with computer lab administrators in mind, it has evolved to become a standard tool for creating block-by-block bootable clones of systems for rapid deployment or re-imaging workstations when something has gone wrong. It can also be used for making scheduled backups of workstations, too.

With the impending release of Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' just around the corner, you can use this software to clone your current Mac installation to another hard drive just in case something goes wrong with the installation or doesn't work afterwards, so you can quickly go back to where you were before you started.

There is a wealth of information on backups and cloning and other software on Mike's website, plus a well established user forum.

Carbon Copy Cloner v3 is a Universal Binary, and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later. [ Also available is v2.3 for Mac OS X 10.2 and 10.3 installations. ]

Tags: Backups, Shareware, Utility