Watch a video of this tutorial on YouTube
Because CCC backups are non-proprietary copies of your original volume, you can navigate the contents of your CCC backup volume in the Finder and find your files exactly where you would find them on the original source volume. If you need to restore a single file, you can copy it directly from your backup volume in the Finder. CCC is not required to gain access to your data. If you have a larger restore need, though, CCC is ready to help make the restore process as easy as it was to back up in the first place.
Restoring non-system files
The restore process is virtually identical to the backup process. The notable differences are that you will probably be restoring a smaller subset of files than what you backed up, and that you may want to indicate that files newer on the original volume shouldn't be overwritten by potentially older versions on your backup.
- Launch CCC and create a new task
- Select Choose a folder... from the Source selector and select a folder on your backup volume as the source
- Select Choose a folder... from the Destination selector and choose a folder on your original source volume as the destination
- Click the Clone button
Note: If you choose your startup disk as the destination volume directly (rather than choosing a folder on that volume), CCC will impose a protective filter on system files and folders. It wouldn't be a good idea to overwrite or delete system files on the OS that you're booted from, so this isn't something that CCC will allow. If you need to restore system items or items in the Applications folder, we recommend that you boot from the backup volume before attempting to restore.