How to Clone an APFS SSD Disk on a macOS High Sierra

Requirements:

• A free cloning software utility - SuperDuper!


• A free EFI mounter - EFI Mounter v3


• An uninitialized disk of the same size (or greater) than the Mac's

Steps:

1. If you had an uninitialized target disk (to be used for the cloned image), then the first screen you would see after switch-on and log-in is a prompt to initialized it (see below).
   
   
   


2. Click on the 'Initialize...' button. A screen similar to the one below will appear. This is the same screen as the 'Disk Utility'.





3. Move the cursor (or pointer) to the disk you want to use for cloning (the target disk).





4. Click on the 'Erase' button and enter the information as follows:


1. Enter the name of the target disk. Note that the name is the same as the name of the source disk on the Mac or Hackintosh - you DO want to clone the disk!


2. Then click on the 'down arrow' of the 'Format' item and select 'APFS' from the drop-down list. There are other options for APFS - if needed, choose one.
   
   
   


3. Then click on the 'down arrow' of the 'Scheme' item and select 'GUID Partition Map' from the drop-down list. Do NOT select other items here.
   
   
   


4. The final screen will look like the one below:
   
   
   


5. Click on the 'Erase' button. After 'Disk Utility' has finished, the screen will look similar to that shown below. Close 'Disk Utility'.
   
   
   


6. Click on 'Finder', and then on Applications. Locate SuperDuper and double-click on it to launch the application (see below).
   
   
   


7. Note that SuperDuper will fill in the source disk on the LEFT-hand portion of the screen. Click on the RIGHT-hand down-arrow and select the target disk (which has the same name as the source!). The final screen will look similar to that shown below.
   
   
   


8. Make sure that the 'Backup - all files' is shown as in the previous figure, and click on the 'Copy Now' button. Enter your password and click the 'OK' button. You need to confirm your actions by clicking on the 'Copy' button (see below).
   
   
   


9. The screen will change as shown below - the copy process will start.
   
   
   


10. Wait for the process to finish. A successful copy will be indicated as shown below. Close SuperDuper!.







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NOTE: The are two SSD disks in the Mac - the source and the target disks. If you want to know which is which, all you need to do is click on the 'Apple' icon, then 'About This Mac'. The 'macOS High Sierra' window will open - then click on 'System Report...'. On the next window that appears, click on 'SATA/SATA Express' and the information will be displayed on the right.

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11. Click on 'Finder', and then on Applications. Locate 'EFI Mounter v3' and double click on it to launch the application. Then enter your password when prompted.



12. Click on the source disk and click on the 'OK' button (see below). If you don't know which disk is the source, just select any disk - the source disk will have the 'EFI' folder present on it. If you made a mistake in disk selection, remember to unmount that disk first.
    
    
    


13. Click on the 'Mount' button (see below) and you will see the contents of the EFI folder for the source disk on your desktop. Note that the source disk will have the 'EFI' folder present (see below).
    
    
    
    
    
    
    


14. Copy the EFI folder to your desktop by dragging it or by using the 'Copy "EFI"' command (see below).






15. Double click 'EFI Mounter v3' to launch the application again. Then enter your password when prompted. Click on the source disk and click on the 'OK' button. Click on the 'Unmount' button and you will see the EFI folder icon disappear from your desktop.


16. Double click on the 'EFI Mounter v3' to launch it again and enter your password when prompted. Click on the target disk and click on the 'OK' button. Click on the 'Mount' button. Note that the target disk do not have the 'EFI' folder present (see below).
    
    
    


17. Now drag the EFI folder from the desktop to the target disk. This will copy the folder to the target disk.


18. Delete the EFI folder from the desktop. Double click the 'EFI Mounter v3' again and enter your password when prompted. Click on the target disk and click on the 'OK' button. Click on the 'Unmount' button and you will see the EFI folder disappear from your desktop. Close all Finder window.


19. Shut down the Mac and remove the source (original) disk and install the target (cloned) disk in the Mac. Power up the Mac and you will see the result of your work - a perfect clone.

You may have to log-in to Dropbox if you use that application - you can safely this warning if you don't use Dropbox.