Source Volume Is Read-write and Cannot Be Unmounted, So It Can't Be Block Copied.
Deejay Utility, in all of its incarnations, has always had a restore function, a way to copy a disk volume or image file to another volume, creating an exact copy. We oftentimes recall of this as cloning a drive, and then yous have an verbal copy for backup or archiving purposes.
The advantages of cloning are many, just the 1 that is repeatedly mentioned in troubleshooting guides, also as guides to installing new versions of the Mac OS, is the clone's ability to exist used as a Mac'south startup drive. Provided the source for the clone was a bootable startup drive, and so the destination will by and large also be useable every bit a bootable startup drive, which is pretty darned user-friendly.
Deejay Utility Restore
The restore function isn't express to creating clones of the startup drive. It can create a copy of whatever image or volume that tin can be mounted on your Mac. That makes the restore function extremely versatile, even if it's largely overlooked in Disk Utility.
Two Versions of Disk Utility
Disk Utility was at version 16.0 at the fourth dimension of this writing, so there have certainly been more than two versions. Merely when information technology comes to the restore feature, Deejay Utility hasn't undergone many changes; the biggest was the redesign of the Deejay Utility interface that came almost with the release of Bone X El Capitan.
Considering of that major change, we're going to provide two sets of instructions for using Disk Utility's Restore feature; one for OS Ten Yosemite and before, and one for Bone Ten El Capitan and later on.
What You Need
Restore will re-create the source volume or image file to the destination book, so y'all'll need a deejay that contains a book large enough to hold the data from the source volume.
Both the source and destination volumes need to exist mounted on your Mac. Restore volition piece of work with internal or external volumes.
If you're planning on restoring from an prototype file you demand to have the boosted step of scanning the paradigm file before the restore procedure. You'll notice instructions for preparing an image file virtually the cease of this commodity.
Creating a Startup Clone
Using Disk Utility'south restore capabilities to brand a clone of your startup bulldoze has a limitation. Deejay Utility uses a block copy method that provides for a faster copy, but information technology also needs to unmount all of the volumes involved in the restore procedure. Since the startup drive can't exist unmounted, you can't make a clone of the startup drive directly.
Instead, you need to either boot your Mac to another drive that contains the Mac Bone, or utilise the Recovery Hd volume to offset up and run Deejay Utility from. This may seem like an inconvenience, but it provides for both a fast re-create and a safe ane; since the source drive can be unmounted, no process can make changes to any files resident on the drive.
Let's outset the pace-past-step instructions with the current version of Disk Utility.
Using Restore With OS Ten El Capitan and Subsequently
Go ahead and launch Disk Utility; yous'll find it at /Applications/Utilities/, or if you booted from the Recovery HD volume, Deejay Utility will be ane of the choices in the Utilities window.
In Deejay Utility's sidebar, select the destination volume you wish to have data copied to.
With the destination volume selected, click the Restore button in Deejay Utility's toolbar, or select Restore from the Edit menu.
A canvas will drop downward, request you to select the source volume. Utilise the dropdown bill of fare adjacent to the "Restore from:" text to select the source device, or use the Prototype button to select a disk image file.
Alarm : The selected destination volume volition be erased past the side by side step. If you lot demand whatsoever of the data on the destination drive, brand sure y'all have a fill-in before proceeding.
Click the Restore button in the dropdown sail.
The restore process will begin; if y'all wish, you lot can view the process by clicking the disclosure triangle adjacent to the "Show Details" text.
When the copy process is complete, click the Done button.
Copying using the restore function will also copy the volume title from the source to the destination, so you'll now have ii volumes with identical names. Yous may want to change the name of i of the volumes, to make information technology easier to tell them apart.
Using Restore With OS X Yosemite and Earlier
The before version of Deejay Utility uses a slightly unlike user interface. Instead of selecting the destination start, as nosotros did with the version in Bone X El Capitan and afterward, we're going to select the source volume get-go.
Launch Disk Utility, located in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder. If you're booting from the Recovery Hd volume, Disk Utility is listed in the OS X Utilities window, which opens automatically.
In the Deejay Utility sidebar, select the volume you wish to utilise every bit the source. Yous can change this afterward if y'all select the wrong book.
Click the Restore tab.
The volume you selected should be listed in the Source field. If you lot wish to change to a different source volume, select the desired source in the Disk Utility sidebar, or employ the Epitome push to select a disk image file.
To select a destination, elevate the desired volume from the sidebar to the Destination field. Yous can also drag a volume mounted on your Desktop to the Destination field.
Warning : The next pace volition completely erase the contents of the selected destination book.
Click the Restore push button.
A sheet will drop down, request if you really want to completely erase the destination drive and replace its contents with the contents from the source drive. Click the Erase push to keep the restore process.
If requested, provide your administrator password, and so click OK.
The erase and restore process volition begin; a condition bulletin and progress bar will announced near the bottom of the Disk Utility window.
When the restore is consummate, the volumes will be remounted on your Desktop, and Deejay Utility will remove the selected volume from the Destination field, leaving it empty.
The restore procedure also copies the source book's title to the destination volume; you may want to rename i or the other.
Restoring From an Image File (Whatsoever Version of Disk Utility)
Prototype files, those compressed .dmg files often used for distributing apps and data, can also be the source for the restore function. The procedure isn't very different, except the image file needs to be prepared earlier it's selected every bit the restore source.
The process scans the paradigm file, calculates the checksum, and reorders the files inside the prototype.
In Disk Utility, select Images, Browse Image for Restore.
Scan to where the epitome is stored, then select the image file and click the Open button.
Provide an administrator password, if asked, and so click the OK push.
When the scan is complete, click the Washed push button.
At this indicate, the image file can exist used equally the source in Disk Utility's restore process.
Image File Limitations
Scanning an image file has a few limitations that can forestall some .dmg files from beingness properly scanned. By and large, if the image file uses the compressed format it should sail through the browse process. Read/write formats and hybrid images tend to crusade errors. If you demand to, you can convert the paradigm file format using the Convert command in the Disk Utility Image card.
For more handy tricks and guides including the new macOS Mojave, exist sure to check out the Rocket Yard Tech Tips section.
Source: https://eshop.macsales.com/blog/39422-how-to-use-the-restore-feature-of-disk-utility-to-clone-a-drive/