Using Time Machine to backup when upgrading OSX

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Using Time Machine to backup when upgrading OSX

Hello

I have a 13-inch, Mid 2012 MacBook Pro with OS X El Capitan 10.11.6. I would like to upgrade the OS but feel I should backup the current installation first.

I have read that my MBP is compatible with OSX 10.15 Catalina (but no higher/newer), but that it would be best to upgrade to 10.13 High Sierra first, THEN up to Catalina.

Researching various back-up options via online search, near the top of my search was this article “Top 6 Best Free Backup Tools For Mac” at https://www.cleverfiles.com/howto/top-free-backup-software.html. Top of their list is “Disk Drill”, second is Apple’s own Time Machine, both of which they seem to like.

However, further down the page they have a table of what they call “theoretical situations where each software would come in handy” and they say the following about Time Machine:

“Use it if…” “You’re not currently or soon upgrading to High Sierra (HFS/HFS+ Time Machine backups don’t work on APFS drives).”. This is not mentioned in the main section for Time Machine and, to be honest, I don’t know what this means. This article is described as “Updated on April 20, 2022”.

This seems quite a big deal to me and I don’t know why they didn’t mention it in the main Time Machine section. Obviously I DO want to upgrade to 10.15 Catalina via an intermediate upgrade to 10.13 High Sierra, but this states that that will not work.

I find this very odd. Does it mean I cannot use Time Machine to make safe backups when I upgrade from my current OSX 10.11.6 ElCapitan to 10.13 High Sierra, then from High Sierra to 10.15 Catalina? That is what they appear to be saying, that I cannot use Time Machine for these upgrades.

MacBook Pro 13″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Jun 17, 2022 3:08 PM

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Answer 1

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a brody

Level 10

83,929 points

Jun 18, 2022 5:36 PM in response to Otterysteve

There are several hurdles from 10.11 to 10.15.

First 32 bit applications are no longer compatible. This is a big deal. Most of your programs may need paid upgrades to remain functional. Check the compatibility https://roaringapps.com/apps?platform=osx and on third party websites and printer and scanner drivers.

Secondly, solid state drives format a new scheme, APFS, over the old HFS Extended Journaled which is not visible under any operating system older than 10.13.

Time Machine migration can get sticky going between the two formats. Only Shirt Pocket Superduper has been known to clone Time Machine backups to other drives. So you may want to make a clone separately of your 10.11 machine before doing the final upgrade.

If you are certain you need 10.15 compatibility, and have the space, then be sure everything else gets upgraded at once, or keep a separate older partition for old applications that need compatibility.

See the space requirements on this tip:

Catalina - an upgrade guide - Apple Community

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Answer 2

a brody

Level 10

83,929 points

Jul 4, 2022 10:06 AM in response to Otterysteve

IF you aren't buying any new machines, then backing up with Disk Drill is straight forward.

it offers a clone option.

Cloning basically means the original content of the source drive is replicated in its entirety on the destination.

When you clone a boot volume, the external clone volume can be attached to the Mac and booted externally.

Keep in mind once you delete a file from the original, the next clone done will not have that file either.

Keeping a separate archive volume for files not intended to be replicated in the clone each time is wise.

Time Machine offers some archival features, but cloning is not one of them. It is great for a set it and forget it backup option. It only becomes complicated when you find the archives fill up your backup drive too much. At that point indiscriminate deletion of the archives takes place. I like my Time Machine backup drive to be at least twice as big as my source drive. And then to temporarily turn off the Time Machine in Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Time Machine, and also put it in the menubar. From there I can turn on my Time Machine backup when I'm not using my computer. When off, you can use the Finder to copy archives to other drives.

As for the differences of High Sierra, Mojave etc:

High Sierra and Mojave are most like your existing El Capitan in terms of compatiblity. Your 2021 Mac does not have the same compatibility, and never will be able to have that because it was made after Apple shifted to 64 bit applications and drivers. Some programs will need to be upgraded to be able to use certain documents on the 2021 Mac.

The following links explain how to upgrade to each one from El Capitan:

10.13 High Sierra, 10.14 Mojave, 10.15 Catalina, 11.0 Big Sur, 12.0 Monterey

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Answer 3

a brody

Level 10

83,929 points

Jun 22, 2022 4:45 PM in response to Otterysteve

Unfortunately I have seen Mojave and higher deny even wanting to use HFS Extended Journaled. High Sierra is more flexible.

So it is something to be very careful.

Time Machine is useful in maintaining multiple archives to a point of being able to recover anything you know was not wiped.

It is recoverable through Migration/Setup Assistant.

The downside:

It is horrible at trying to migrate over older incompatible drivers.
Only one utility allows you to copy the folders intact to a larger hard drive in Shirt-Pocket Superduper. The Finder and Disk Utility can do it too, but the process is long and convoluted, and takes much longer.
If the time machine drive gets full, the intermediate archives get erased in order of oldest backup to newest. Meaning

if any of those backups contained a version of a file you did not maintain in the hope of recovering it from backup later, you may not have any control over if it will retain that old information.

So keep that in mind. Making a clone backup and selecting folders to recover from on the clone may be a safer bet.

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Answer 4

Otterysteve Author

Level 1

12 points

Jun 22, 2022 6:43 AM in response to a brody

Hello a brody and thank you very much for your reply.

I have heard of this 32 bit application non-compatibility before in a previous post. It is something I will clearly have to look into and your links to help me do this are much appreciated. I haven't looked into this yet because I need to get this other matter sorted out in my mind first.

Regarding hard drives and formats, I am looking to upgrade the OSX ONLY on my 13-inch, Mid 2012 MacBook Pro. I intend to stay with the hard drive that came with this MBP, which is NOT a solid state drive, it is a 1TB Serial ATA drive @ 5400 rpm.

So as I am not changing from that original Serial ATA drive, does this situation that I mentioned in my original post here matter? If the hard drive is remaining the same, then hopefully there should be no problems backing-up the old OSX I currently have running (10.11.6 El Capitan) with Time Machine in case the first intermediate upgrade to 10.13 High Sierra goes wrong? And then the same when I finally upgrade from 10.13 to 10.15 Catalina?

Is that right? Or am I misunderstanding something?

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Answer 5

Otterysteve Author

Level 1

12 points

Jun 27, 2022 12:48 PM in response to a brody

This is all very confusing to me and is putting me off doing anything. Unfortunately I may need some upgrade for some things to work properly now.

A couple of questions.

Would it be better to use something other than Time Machine? You suggest "Making a clone backup and selecting folders to recover from on the clone may be a safer bet." Would that be done with Disk Drill perhaps?

And/or would it be better to upgrade to 10.13 High Sierra only, and NOT then upgrade to 10.15 Catalina?

Sorry if these are stupid questions - as I say, I am now very confused by the whole thing.

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Answer 6

a brody

Level 10

83,929 points

Jun 30, 2022 7:39 PM in response to Otterysteve

Disk Drill is good as long as you use their licensed cloning software. It won't clone Time Machine backups.

You can upgrade to High Sierra only (10.13.6), if you do not buy any September 24, 2018 or later machines.

These machines can be upgraded to Mojave too (10.14.6) and gain some functionality without losing 32 bit compatibility. Mojave, if you choose to go that way, opens you to 2019 computers up to October 6th, 2019.

Keep in mind both High Sierra and Mojave may be invisible to Sierra or older machines when mounted through Target Disk mode for data transfer.

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Answer 7

Otterysteve Author

Level 1

12 points

Jul 3, 2022 4:06 AM in response to a brody

Thank you once again a Brody. I don't necessarily understand all you say but I certainly do appreciate you taking the time to try to help me.

Just to be clear, I want to be able to back-up my MBP so that if an OSX upgrade goes wrong, I can get back to the system I have now. I am open to what back-up system to use - Time Machine seems to make sense as it comes free with Apple, is an Apple system, and has good reviews. Disk Drill also had good reviews (although it may be that the review I read was written by the makers of Disk Drill) and may be a better choice for my requirements? I don't want to clone Time Machine back-ups with Disk Drill - or do I? I don't really understand what that is.

I am not intending to buy any MBP machine. The whole point of this backing-up and upgrading of OSX is to avoid the expense of buying a new machine. All of this applies ONLY to my current MBP (13-inch, Mid 2021) with its serial ATA drive with Journaled HFS+ file system. If I could afford to buy a new MBP I wouldn't be seeking all this help.

I don't really understand what the penultimate paragraph in your reply means, unless you simply mean that upgrading to 10.14.6 Mojave is as safe and straightforward as upgrading to 10.13.6 High Sierra?

The last paragraph, with mention of something called Target Disk mode, went straight over me head I'm afraid.

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Answer 8

Otterysteve Author

Level 1

12 points

Jul 5, 2022 3:56 AM in response to a brody

Thank you once again a brody. Your expertise and time is very much appreciated.

So a clone copy with Disk Drill sounds like the way to go for me.

If I'm upgrading from 10.11.6 El Capitan to 10.13 High Sierra, does the 32-bit issue still apply? I haven't got much in the way of applications other than those that came with the Mid-2012 13-inch MBP in April 2016 (I still wonder how it is that I received a 2012 MBP when I purchased it NEW from the Apple Store UK in April 2016.....). Logic Pro X being the only major one.

I do actually backup some files manually via Finder to an external hard drive. But that isn't really the issue here.

You refer to my 2021 Mac. Is this a typo? I ask because my Mac is 2012, not 2021.

By the way, the link for upgrading to 10.13 High Sierra, at the bottom of your reply, gives information for upgrading FROM 10.13 High Sierra, not TO High Sierra from 10.11.6 El Capitan.

Once again, many many thanks for all your help.

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Using Time Machine to backup when upgrading OSX

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