Archive and install error lost files

My Powerbook G4 wouldn't boot up, when restarted it got stuck on the apple screen. I didn't have my install disks, however had an old install disk that came with an ibook G4. I inserted the disk, and the requirements read an apple computer with a G3 G4 or G5 processor. I ran the archive and install. A message came up at the end of the installation saying there was an error, however the computer started up on reboot. The problem is that the computer looks to be wiped out, the only thing on the desktop is the hard drive icon. When I went to get info on the hard drive the drive is almost full, so the information is still there. My applications are still in the application folder, however none of them will boot. My documents and music are all in the previous system folder. When a document was opened from the previous system folder it launched, and now word will launch from the dock. I tried to mount an external hard drive to back up all the files in order to run a erase and install, however the hard drive wouldn't mount. Any ideas?

Back up your personal files from the Previous System Folder. You will need to erase the drive and reinstall OS X. However, you cannot use an installer disc for a different Mac model as these original installer discs are machine dependent. You need either a retail OS X installer for a version that will boot the computer or the original discs that came with the computer.
I suggest doing the following before installing OS X:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.

Similar Messages

Archive and Install- Are Desktop Files saved?

I am considering doing an "Archive and Install" after a recent kernel panic but have a lot of important files on my desktop. Will all of the files on the desktop be saved? I have already ready this artice http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120. I am just looking for a specific answer about the desktop folder within the /users folder.
Thanks for any help.

Thanks everyone, I actually used this method to fix the problem and everything is working great now...
http://www.macfixitforums.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=tiger&Number=828648&page=0 &view=&sb=&o=&fpart=1&vc=1&PHPSESSID=

Archive and install: pb to find my old files

Hi,
I had a bad bug in my os x tiger, so I had to "archive and install" to fix the bug.
When I open my "user" file, I find a file name : "Paul.sparseimage" image file 16Go(Paul was the name of the user I want to find the files), where there is all my files in. The problem is that I can't open it...
Please help me...
Paul

Sounds like before you used Archive and Install
you had File Vault enabled on your user account.
If you remember your former password double click the image file
and it should ask you for a password, when the correct password
is entered it should open up like a disk image.
Roam through it and copy your personal documents to a shared folder or
a new users/current users Documents folder.
I do not know if it is possible to restore everything from the file vault image
and replace what is there right now.
As far a preferences are concerned you may have to re-set the preferences for your personal applications all over again.
If anybody else has other opinions, theory's, idea's, and/or suggestions feel free to post them.

Hard drive error - Corrupt files - Archive and Install?

Hi
I have been using Onyx for a while and last week it asked me to reinstall the Snow Leopard disc. I verified this in Disk Utility first and that also advised I had corrupt files. I installed the disc and all seemed fine when i checked again in Disk Utility. But now a week later I have the same problem and not sure whether it is a problem with 0SX or my hard drive. My mac pro is still under Applecare and they advised tonight that I should do another archive and install and if does not fix then to take the machine into my local Apple store.
Red part of Error message is - Invalid volume file count - it should be 362310 instead of 362313 and Invalid volume directory count - it should be 99776 instead of 99773.
The volume Macintosh HD was found corrupt and needs to be repaired. - Error: This disk needs to be repaired etc.
Has anyone else experienced the same problem. I use Aperture 3 & Final Cut Express and until recently had problems getting the two to work together until Applecare helped.
Many thanks
Matt

Other people have certainly experienced a corrupt HFS volume header, which is what you have, or did have. It should be a very rare occurrence. If it happens frequently, then your drive is probably failing and should be replaced.

Failed Archive and Install - Have I lost all my user files?

In another thread I have reported printing problems while running OS 10.4.11 on a Cube http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1401894&tstart=0. Tonight I decided to do an Archive and Install to try to fix the problems. I got a message saying that the installation had failed and that I should try to reinstall. When I did so I was given the option to Archive and Install but the check box for Save Users and Network Settings could not be checked. Rather than trying to reinstall I quit the installer and specified an OS 9 system folder for booting. After booting into OS 9 I examined the Users folder and found no folders corresponding to my two user accounts, only a shared folder. The OS X Applications folder appears to contain all my applications.
It seems that the failed installation erased my user accounts. Is that correct? If so, how can I recover them?
Of course I did a backup of my user files before installing, right? NO!!!! My last backup was eight days ago.
John Link

Yes, an Archive and Install will not erase the disk or your files. If you use the option to preserve user accounts and preferences those will be transferred into the newly created system. However, your existing system is a failed installation so if you do another Archive and Install it cannot transfer your user account because it is not in the existing system. Plus you will need sufficient free space on the hard drive for yet another system - about 6-8 GBs.
Once you backup your personal data and your Home folder, I would suggest you just erase the hard drive, reinstall OS X from scratch, then copy your Home folder backup to the newly installed system. These articles, How to get files from a previous home directory after Archive and Install and Mac OS X- How to recover a home folder (directory), explain the process. Although written for an Archive and Install scenario it is essentially the same procedure you would have to follow.
How to Clone Using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled, if available) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
5. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the startup or source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.

Lost files after doing Archive and Install

After I did Archive and Install I went to the home screen and all my files were gone. Where are they save? I'm not talking about my applications, I'm talking about documents and iTunes music,etc.
Please help.

I assume you did not check the option to preserve users and network settings when you did the Archive and Install. You will find everything in the Previous System Folder.
See How to get files from a previous home directory after Archive and Install.

Files missing from library after archive and install

Hi forum folk
any help you could give would be much appreciated.
I can't seem to verify my permissions on HD. I have run disk utility both from finder and from my OSX startup disk and consistently get the error message "Disk Utility has lost its connection with the Disk Management Tool and cannot continue." I then reinstalled the operating system all together making sure to archive and install as well as archive previous network and preference settings. This means I am running 10.3.4 at the moment (and I can't verify any of the software updates at the moment). After reinstalling I still cannot verify my permissions, so now I am trying to back up all my files so that I can reinstall the OSX again, erase everything, and start from scratch. But I'm running into some very strange problems while doing this. select files are missing from ~/library. there is no Safari file, for example. I tried looking in HD/previous systems/library where my library files were saved before I reinstalled the operating system but there is no such folder in there either. this means all of my bookmarks are gone. additionally, under library/preferences (in both the old and new library folders) there is no file named com.apple.itunes.plst. so all of my itunes playlists are gone as well. these are the only missing files I have found thus far and i can't explain why they selectively would not have been saved after the archive and install. Everything else seems to be intact. Any ideas?
thanks
jb
powerbookG4 Mac OS X (10.3.9) running 10.3.4 at the moment - can't verify permissions on 10.3.9

jbeep:
my HD has a capacity of 8.85 GB available. When I reinstalled panther I had little more than 3 GB available (I deleted a bunch of unneeded things since then)
Thanks for this update. What is the total formatted capacity of your HDD? I ask because I suspected that you might be cutting it pretty close. The rule of thumb is that you should have 10-15% of your total capacity available as free space. My personal rule is 15%-20%. This allows for more efficient perfomrance of OS X.
I am in the process of backing up everything on my seagate combo USB 2.0/firewire 200 GB external (I am using the firewire cord)
Having an up-to-date backup is one of the primary rules, often observed more in the breach than not. Since you have an HDD that supports Firewire, I suggest that you make a bootable clone of your entire HDD using SuperDuper. You can then use this backup as an emergency boot drive. However, it must be Firewire, as PPC Macs don't boot from USB devices.
I also have heard that it is advisable to reinstall the OS "every now and again" and I hadn't done this for at least two years. was I ill-advised?
Most experienced Mac users never re-install, except under dire circumstances. Since installing my new HDD in this computer I have never re-installed. Re-installation is the utlimate intrusive measure, and it exposes one to all kinds of issues, from lost data, to flawed installaton, to installations that fail midstream. Re-installation is not an effective maintenace procedure. Here are some helpful links in terms of maintenance:
Mac OS X 10.3/10.4: System maintenance
Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
Maintaining OS X.
I'm going to restart now and try and verify my permissions again using the procedure on the above link. I'll let you know what happens.
Instead of verifying permissions, just go ahead and Repair Disk Permissions. Verifying permissions does nothing, and wastes your time, as it is difficult to tell whether you need to repair, and you have to repair anyway.
Do post back with an update of your progress and any further questions or comments.
Good luck.
cornelius
Message was edited by: cornelius

I Lost Parallels After Archive and Install

I posted this on the Parallels Forum, and although it was viewed 59 times, there were no replies. So I'm posting it here hoping that someone can/will answer my question. Here's what I posted:
My OS X (10.4.11) became a little quirky after three years so I did an Archive and Install. Now I can't get Parallels to start up my Windows XP virtual machine. I get the error message "Parallels Desktop is unable to operate properly since it cannot communicate with one of its drivers ... re-install Parallels Desktop." I have my original Parallels 3.0 installation CD so I suppose I can figure out how to do this. (My iMac was purchased with Parallels pre-installed.) Do I need to uninstall before I re-install? I have on my desktop the Parallels alias labeled "Microsoft Windows XP.pvs" plus I have in Applications an alias labeled "Parallels Desktop". If I need to uninstall, can I just drag these two to the trash? I am not adept at this sort of thing, so I need some guidance. Thanks.

Hmmm...good question, I'm not sure. I believe all you would have to do is be able to at least bring up the Parallels Window and have at least "Paralells" recognize still that there is a virtual machine there, not necessarily be able to get into it. Can you at least pull up the parallels window and/or box that you would normally pull up to list your virtual machines? If you cannot do at least this, then you're probably stuck re-installing Parallels. But please remember to back up your virtual machine file in another area like an external hard drive before you do the re-install. Installing and un-installing parallels is NOT SUPPOSE to mess with your virtual machines, but I wouldn't bank on it. If you can at least bring up that Window/Box, then you could use the are listed on the box to re-install the Tools. Hope it works out for ya.

After Archive and Install, music and photos lost

Hello, I installed Leopard yesterday on my Imac desktop and it went fine, but then somehow it locked me out of the hard drive, and then...the blue screen. I put the orginal Tiger disk back in and re-installed the previous software, opting for 'archive and install'. It worked but my question is this;
Within the previous system folder, my music and photos are still missing. All I see is the iphoto icon which opens to a completely empty program. (Yet the info on this Icon says it is a 1 gb in there). Are my photos lost, really? And if not, how may I retrieve them? Thanks in advance.

You may find it in the Previous System Folder created during an Archive and Install that contains your old system. Assuming you have no need for its contents you can delete the PSF and recover the disk space.
Of course if the hard drive is corrupted then you may have performed an Archive and Install on a corrupted drive which will result in a corrupted installation. Consider doing the following:
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now shutdown the computer for a couple of minutes and then restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

"Lost" library following Archive and Install

After various Leopard crashing issues, it was necessary for me to re-install Leopard on my G5 Imac. I used the “Archive and Install” option but, for reasons I don’t understand, I wasn’t able to use the “Preserve Users and Network Settings”.
After re-installing iLife 08, I’ve now lost my iPhoto and iTunes libraries. Whilst I did back-up both libraries to an external hard drive, the last back up was back in November so I would like to recover the newer photos. I have searched through the “Previous System” folder and have found an “iPhoto Library” file. This is 8Gb big so, presumably, it contains all my photos. I don’t know how to restore the library back into iPhoto, however.
The thing I don’t understand is that this “iPhoto Library” seems to be a single file rather than a folder that you can drill down into and locate all the photos (as it is on my external drive following my manual back-up). Please tell me it’s possible to restore the library (and all albums, events etc) from this single file!
All help gladly received.

Pilgrim Tim
With iPhoto 7 (iLife 08) the old iPhoto Library Folder is now a Unix Style Package File. The change was made to the format of the iPhoto library because many users were inadvertently corrupting their library by browsing through it with other software or making changes in it themselves.
I have searched through the “Previous System” folder and have found an “iPhoto Library” file.
Drag it to your PICTURES folder and launch iPhoto. That should find everything.
Please tell me it’s possible to restore the library (and all albums, events etc) from this single file!
You cannot return to the old iPhoto Library Folder system. Period. There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
For 10.5 users: You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Apple-Click for selecting multiple pics.
To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. If you're using Gmail you can use THIS
If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
Or, if you want to access the files with iPhoto not running, then create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use THIS
Other options include:
1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
Regards
TD

Recovery of lost printers after Archive and Install

Hi,
I just finished an Archive and Install of Leopard, and I discovered that one of the side-effects of doing this is that my printers are all gone. I sort of expected this, and I have a full system backup of the system I rebuilt, so if all else fails, I can boot off the backup, and print or take notes on the printer settings, and then go back to my active installation of Leopard and re-enter them all. But I'm wondering if there's an easier way. Would anyone know if all of the printer info might be contained in a few discrete sections of the "Previous System" folder that I could just drag into the current system folder to get all of my printers back? I do consulting work at a number of companies, so I have about ten printers that I routinely print to, so it's a bit of a bother to rebuild the list by hand.
Thanks,
Ken

Usually, when no additional printer software had been installed into the Mac
(assuming the printers are among the many supported printers already in it)
all you'd have to do in order to use one of those attached or available printers
would be to have them turned on and attached to the computer or the network
they'd normally be accessed through. Unless they require newer driver software.
At times, the choices of available printers would appear in the print setup in an
open application; at others, you may have to go into the setup utility to see if
the printers could be added to the list - pulling drivers from the installed OS X
and putting them into a position to be used, if compatible with the printers there.
The system's installer and updated files available to it include many drivers,
and these are not all turned on by default.
So, if there is no chance of the printers being recognized by the OS X version
you have (assuming archive & install and update) even after being given any
new drivers available through Software Update, you may have to seek out the
latest drivers from the printer manufacturers web site downloads pages.
There may be some other way to make the printers work through the OS; if
they otherwise should appear and be available. Some of the printer setups
& CUPS printing options or settings should be explored if they haven't been.
Although I don't have OS X 10.5.x running in my computers now, I have tried
it and decided to stay awhile longer in 10.4.11; some of the same kinds of
issues can occur, between these slightly different systems. You may be able
to re-use the printer drivers from the Previous System, unless their installer
had an instruction set to put various parts for the printer software in different
locations, in which case, the drag-n-drop may not be suitable to reinstall them.
Hopefully someone with more restore experience (short of manually reinstalling
drivers, if these are not already a part of the OSX and its 10.5 install/updates)
will contribute a bit more and direct you as per the specific demands of Leopard.
PS:
When you get your system back in order, you may wish to consider making a
full computer drive clone on an externally enclosed FireWire drive unit capable
of booting Mac OS X and running your PPC-based Mac (and also Intel-based)
so that unit may be something in the way of a FW400/800 + USB2.0 drive with
its own AC power adapter. OWC sells a mercury drive enclosure with HDD in it.
That may be a way to avoid doing Archive & Installs + updates; just restore from
a full drive clone and be on your way. And do other backups if needed, too.
Good luck & happy computing!
{ edited 2x }

Lost MPEG-2 after archive and install

I bought and used the MPEG-2 playback component but MPEG Streamclip no longer believes it is installed after a recent archive and install of Leopard.
I still have my confirmation email of purchase, but there's no indication as to how to reinstall or repair MPEG-2.
What do I need to do to restore Quicktime and especially MPEG-2?

I'd recommend saving your (paid-for) QuickTimeMPEG2.dmg file on your local disk. This would go for any software you pay for and then download online, especially if it can be accidentally wiped out by an OS upgrade.

'Transport Monitor' error after archive and install....?

The application "Transport Monitor" could not be launched because of a shared library error: "8<Transport Monitor><Transport Monitor><HotSyncLib.PPC>"
Thats the error reading I get after I performed an archive and install of 10.4.6.
Any ideas?

Hello!
A quick search of the KB came up with this article, hopefully it'll help you out!
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25578
Name a Mac, and I've used it. I Promise. Mac OS X (10.4.6)

.mov files won't playback in quicktime 7.2 after archive and install

I just did an archive and install, because I was having a few problems with the Safari beta.
However since doing so it has been a complete nightmare. So many things stopped working. I'm guessing I had them installed on the system and not on my user.
So now after getting most thing back up and running, .mov files won't play in quicktime 7.2 an annoying 3ivx pop up appears which leads to a dead link.
So I checked the .mov format and they are 3ivx, but how do I install and from where do I get the codec??

Perian
http://perian.org/#detail
It's free and most people use this to play off the wall codecs...3ivx.
Please read the information on the web page on how to install and use. In the download there a help page.

Where is the "Archive" file from "Archive and install"?

I did an Archive and install when I upgraded to 10.5. I also made a bootable clone (external HD) of my Tiger.
Now, I'd like to know where the Archive file is? And is it ok to delete?
Need to free space on my internal HD.
Thanks

Open the folder Previous Systems on your hard disk, go through the highest numbered or most recent folder for items you want to keep; once done, throw it away and empty the Trash.
(25395)

Archive and install error lost files

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