Backup without erasing?

[jefferis]

Originally Posted by dnanian

I don't think so, actually.

For one thing, the Safety Clone does not copy your user files. It links to them, on the original volume. As such, it's not a backup at all -- it's more of a checkpoint of your system.
I really don't think you should be doing this... you should partition if you're going to attempt more advanced things like the Safety Clone.

I guess I misunderstood what "any changes made to these files [User files] will automatically be reflected on the other, ensuring you can recover..." means. What happens now then if I use the Backup- User files but choose only different or Smart update? Since the user files I guess have not been copied yet...

I may do the partition thing next, but I'm just trying to make a protected backup before I risk a partition...