Bootable clone for older MacBook Pro

the method I've always used would probably be considered a major PITA by many users. but in the ever increasing "walled garden" of macOS, I feel it's now the best way. I always have used macOS Recovery to install macOS onto an external drive, and then manually move any of my desired data onto the external drive.

please see Start up your Intel-based Mac in macOS Recovery for a couple of options of which version of macOS that are available to be installed by you.

I actually have a multi-prong approach to backups. I still use both CCC & TM. I wrote a short user tip article that pretty much sums up my backup strategy which you are completely free to use as you see fit ... or not at all.

Here it is: macOS Backup Strategy - Apple Community

Basically, what you have read, is true. With the latest versions of macOS, currently Monterey, you can no longer create a "bootable clone" like you could with earlier versions. That is because, macOS is installed in two volumes within a single APFS container (what used to be called a partition,) with one of them (that contains the majority of the operating system) being "sealed." CCC has currently (I know since I been using CCC for years) still has not worked this out with Apple to overcome this limitation.

... so the "best" you can do is clone the other volume (Macintosh HD - Data) to an external drive, which you can restore. Which leaves you with having to use Recovery Mode to re-install macOS, and then, restore the Data volume from the CCC clone (or a Time Machine backup.)

I still use CCC for making clones ... just not bootable ones. I maintain that multiple backup methods are still the best approach. Should CCC work it out with Apple, I would certainly look forward to making bootable ones again as CCC is far easier than the Disk Utility for this purpose.

I continue to keep TM in my backup "toolkit" because of convenience ... but I could also use CCC for incremental backups as well. The only concerns I have with TM is that is has become a more complicated process "behind the scenes" when Apple introduced APFS file formatting. There are a number of excellent articles on this subject at The Eclectic Light Company that you may want to take a look at.

It is still possible to make a bootable clone of macOS using CCC even with Monterey, but only on Intel Macs. It seems bootable clones are no longer possible on Apple Silicon Macs after one of macOS 12.x Monterey's updates. There is always a chance another Monterey update could prevent bootable macOS clones even on Intel Macs. So it is best to prepare for this possibility.

As for making a bootable clone of an Intel Mac running macOS 11.x or 12.x, you need to modify the older method of using CCC. You must now erase the destination and right-clicking on the destination icon within CCC and selecting "Legacy" option. If you do both of these things, then the clone should be bootable (only for Intel Macs). See this article from the CCC developer:

https://bombich.com/kb/ccc6/cloning-macos-system-volumes-apple-software-restore

Thanks HWTech ... I learned something new today! Always appreciate your insight.