macOS 15.2 breaks the ability to copy the OS to another drive

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

What broke in macOS 15.2 and why it matters

  • SuperDuper (and similar tools) relied on Apple’s asr restore --source “replicator” to clone the sealed macOS system volume and create bootable external drives.
  • In 15.2, asr now fails with “resource busy”, breaking third‑party bootable backup tools that call it. This appears to be a bug rather than a deliberate deprecation, but Apple hasn’t clearly communicated.
  • Workarounds suggested: use SuperDuper’s “Backup – all files” without copying the OS, rely on Time Machine, or in theory do block‑level dd cloning (with trade‑offs: size inflexibility, speed, and unknown Apple Silicon trust/signed-volume implications).

Bootable backups vs data-only backups

  • Many users consider bootable clones essential: fast recovery, ability to boot any similar Mac from an external drive, use of Target Disk Mode, and reduced downtime during repairs.
  • Others argue system-level backups are overrated: they reinstall a fresh OS, keep important data in a single directory or cloud, and only back up user files and configs.
  • Some raise the edge case where a system-level bug could damage both live and cloned systems; advocates counter that older clones let you roll back to pre-bug states.

Time Machine and backup reliability

  • Time Machine is described as everything from “pretty solid” to “dogshit”.
  • Reported problems: slow restores (many hours to days), fragile backups, confusing behavior when backups exceed target disk size, and cases where OS reinstall from TM is extremely painful.
  • One detailed story: Time Machine pulled in 800GB of OneDrive NAS data despite exclusions, making the backup larger than the Mac’s SSD and blocking straightforward restore.

Lock‑down, security model, and user control

  • Apple previously removed third‑party control over the OS volume in favor of a signed, unmodifiable system partition; defenders cite strong malware resistance and reliable factory-restore flows.
  • Critics see growing iOS‑style lock‑down: sealed system volume, T2/Apple Silicon boot restrictions, Gatekeeper and notarization friction, unsigned apps increasingly hard to run, and removal/obscuring of “open anyway” UI paths in recent macOS versions.
  • Broader concern: users “don’t really own” devices if they cannot fully back up, clone, or run arbitrary software.

Software quality and release cadence

  • Multiple comments describe macOS 15.x as bug‑ridden: kernel panics with HDMI, debugger breaking local networking, and a general pattern of regressions each .0–.2 release.
  • Some delay upgrades until late point releases; others compare unfavorably with older macOS eras, arguing that yearly feature pushes leave insufficient time for regression testing.

Alternatives and ecosystem trade‑offs

  • A sizable subthread contrasts macOS, Windows, and Linux:
    • macOS praised for hardware, performance (especially Apple Silicon, battery life, local LLMs), and integration; criticized for opacity and lock‑in.
    • Linux praised for user control, rollbacks, and fixability; criticized for hardware quirks, weaker commercial apps, and rough edges in UX.
    • Windows criticized for intrusive updates, weaker built‑in backup, Bluetooth/driver issues, but noted to have structured rollback for some OS updates.
  • Some Mac users say this is pushing them toward Linux (including Asahi on Apple Silicon), while others feel macOS still wins overall for “it just works” day‑to‑day use despite frustrations.