I have a portable SSD with 5 bootable macOS partitions. I need to share this USB drive to a couple of my friends and don't want to do this manually with createinstallmedia command? I am looking for a disk clone app that clone all the partitions and keep the USB bootable.
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Clone a bootable USB drive with multiple partitions
- Thread starter Joeronzk
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Are those multiple partitions bootable to full systems, where you can keep files and your own apps?
Or, are they simply bootable macOS installers?
I am guessing that you have multiple installers? (that would be why you mentioned createinstallmedia...?)
reason I ask? I have about a dozen drives with multiple installer partitions, some have all installers from Leopard to Sonoma, all on the same drive (total of 15 bootable partitions for all that). When I make new drives, I do many with createinstallmedia (older installers don't use that command). I do this fairly often--ten times a month, more or less--and only 5 installers would probably take less than 30 minutes to partition the drive, and run the createinstallmedia setup for 5 bootable installers. You could use the terminal command dd to clone each partition to a partition on another drive.
Or, are they simply bootable macOS installers?
I am guessing that you have multiple installers? (that would be why you mentioned createinstallmedia...?)
reason I ask? I have about a dozen drives with multiple installer partitions, some have all installers from Leopard to Sonoma, all on the same drive (total of 15 bootable partitions for all that). When I make new drives, I do many with createinstallmedia (older installers don't use that command). I do this fairly often--ten times a month, more or less--and only 5 installers would probably take less than 30 minutes to partition the drive, and run the createinstallmedia setup for 5 bootable installers. You could use the terminal command dd to clone each partition to a partition on another drive.
maybe Applepibaker. Ive used that to backup pi images with multiple partitions. just note that the disk image will be a clone that includes the entire disk, including empty space. And the disk that its cloned to must be the same size or bigger that the original image. Also, not sure what OS you are cloning, but if restored to a larger disk, it may not show the additional space on the new disk if larger.
also i dont think it has an option to clone disk to disk. just disk to image and image back to disk
also i dont think it has an option to clone disk to disk. just disk to image and image back to disk
I don't have the answer you're looking for.
But if nothing else works you could do this:
a. Get a drive equal in size to your multi-partitioned drive
b. Use disk utility to partition it into 5 partitions
c. Then, use either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to clone each partition on the source drive to respective partitions on the target drive.
Yes, I realize this will require "5 passes".
But the individual partitions are small enough so that the cloning will go quickly.
Just "not all at once".
Sometimes one has to do, what one has to do, to achieve a certain end.
But if nothing else works you could do this:
a. Get a drive equal in size to your multi-partitioned drive
b. Use disk utility to partition it into 5 partitions
c. Then, use either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to clone each partition on the source drive to respective partitions on the target drive.
Yes, I realize this will require "5 passes".
But the individual partitions are small enough so that the cloning will go quickly.
Just "not all at once".
Sometimes one has to do, what one has to do, to achieve a certain end.