Disk Utility has always been able to create clones, though the app calls the process Restore, as in restoring data from a source disk to a destination disk. The restore feature isn’t just for disks. It works with virtually any storage device you can mount on your Mac, including disk images, hard drives, SSDs, and USB flash drives.

While it's still possible to make an exact copy (a clone) of a drive connected directly to your Mac, changes to Disk Utility have added additional steps when using Disk Utility's Repair feature to clone your startup disk.

But don't let the thought of extra steps fool you: the process is still quite simple, and the extra steps will actually ensure you get a more accurate clone of your startup disk.

The Restore feature in Disk Utility uses a block copy function that can speed up the copying process. It also makes a near-exact copy of the source device. What “nearly exact” means is that a block copy moves everything in a block of data from one device to the other. The results are nearly an exact copy of the original. A file copy copies the data file by file. Although the information remains the same, the location of the file on the source and destination devices will likely be different.