Linux on a Mac - restoring via rsync produces an unbootable laptop

[CS DBA]

Hi all;

Recently I installed Fedora 21 on a macbook pro, it worked pretty well.  
I take regular backups via an rsync of the entire system to an external 
drive.  After an update I had an issue I could not easily resolve so I 
restored the last rsync of the system. On other laptops this simply 
returns the system to what it was like at the time of the backup, 
however on the macbook it rendered it un-bootable, it simply booted to a 
mac error screen

Anyone know what I did wrong? Is there a different approach I need to 
take for backups?

Thanks in advance