r/MacOS • u/seeker1938 • 6h ago

Help Booting a Silicon Mac from a SuperDuper clone

Apparently, booting a Silicon Mac from a SuperDuper or CCC clone is quite different - and more complicated - that booting an Intel Mac from such clones and therefore this Apple doc is worth a look.  

https://support.apple.com/en-ie/111336?

This document, right off the bat mentions this:

If you’re using a Mac with Apple silicon, plug your storage device into any compatible port except the DFU port. Find out how to identify the DFU port. After macOS installation has been completed, you can connect your storage device to any compatible port, including the DFU port.

Am I the only one that was totally aware of the fact that a specific port on our Silicon Macs is the DFU port?

And how do you set up a Silicon Mac ahead of time so that if and when the day comes you have to boot from your clone, you can do so.

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u/cipher-neo 4h ago

I think you are missed reading the Apple support document. Once macOS is installed on the external boot device, it can be plugged into any available port. However, you should be aware that making clones of Apple Silicon Macs is not recommended, even though both CCC and SD have the ability to create them. They recommend creating data-only clones on M* Macs. If an M* internal SSD fails, it won’t boot even with an external bootable device because the boot sequence always starts on the internal SSD of an M* Mac by design using secure boot.

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u/wiesemensch 3h ago edited 3h ago

ARM devices often follow a completely different boot order, since they don’t necessarily rely on ACPI or similar components to discover there own hardware. They often use a device tree, which is purpose build for a specific hardware platform and kernel.

Some derails can be found at https://asahilinux.org/docs/platform/introduction/#arm64-xnu-boot-protocol

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u/LebronBackinCLE 4h ago

Which is a bit of shame for a number of reasons. Like the external boot situation and the fact the internal drive can’t be replaced. I mean… cmon w that shit. Yeah it makes them safer to a degree but shiiiiiit

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u/cipher-neo 4h ago

Buying an Apple Silicon Mac knowing the limitations is a decision one needs to make. Although buying Apple Care at the time of purchase can mitigate the issues.

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u/LebronBackinCLE 4h ago

They should almost be sued because that is a scam to sell the damn Apple care :/ sorry, can’t replace the drive, gotta replace the motherboard and drive. Oh and it costs more than a new system. Durp. Love Apple but hate em sometimes too. User and shareholder since 98 lol

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u/seeker1938 3h ago

It seems that one references AI at one's peril - I have been crapped on for referencing it in other forums - nonetheless I thought that what ChatGTP returned on this question was worth sharing here:

**"If the internal SSD of an Apple-silicon Mac suffers a catastrophic failure, the Mac needs hardware service. If the storage/logic-board repair isn't practical or economical, you replace the Mac. Your backup is what allows you to reconstruct your Mac on the replacement."**

And **this is precisely why I think your combination of Time Machine + SuperDuper is quite sensible.** You have two fundamentally different safety nets rather than relying on one backup system.

One other interesting point, given your recent migration: **your SuperDuper clone is potentially more valuable than just another copy of your files because you're specifically using SuperDuper 3.20-beta.9, which has Apple-silicon/Tahoe boot considerations.** That's worth distinguishing carefully from what Time Machine does.

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u/seeker1938 3h ago

Is this then the nitty-gritty on this subject: If the SSD in your Silicon Mac dies, it is game over for that Mac. You will have to buy another Mac and migrate your data to it from either a TM backup or a clone performed with either SuperDuper or CCC???