.:: Archive and Install saves my Data? ::.

Hello everyone,
During the installation of the Mac OS 10.9 update (Mine was at 10.3) there was a power cut in my area and when I tried to start of the mac, it wouldn't boot. It was stuck at the grey screen with the apple logo and the spinning gear. After booting into many modes, I found out that my system files were corrupt. I searched for my original installation disks, and found my Mac OS 10.1 discs that came with my mac. When I tried to install it, however, it said that there was a newer version on my hard drive and that it could not downgrade! I proceeded to buy the 4 CD edition of Tiger (arriving soon), and
+*THE QUESTION:*+
+*I as wondering whether if I install Tiger, will my user data and personal files be deleted? Could I use this "Archive and Install" Feature to keep all of my files?*+
Thank you so much for any help given,
Dexter

Hi Dexter!
Before you do anything else, I suggest that attempt to backup the existing system.
If you still cannot startup correctly, and you have access to another Firewire enabled Mac, you could try using Firewire Target Disk Mode to retrieve your data.
"During the installation of the Mac OS 10.9..."
Do you mean the 10.3.9 Combo Update?
"...found my Mac OS 10.1 discs that came with my mac."
Why are you not using the Full Retail Version, of the Panther Install CDs, that you would have had to have used, to install Panther 10.3.x?
...4 CD edition of Tiger..."
Are you sure that these discs, are a Full Retail Version, of the Tiger 10.4.x install discs?
May I inquire where you purchased them?
"Could I use this "Archive and Install" Feature to keep all of my files?"
If there is no functioning, uncorrupted system, presently installed, then this may not work exactly as expected, and you may, corrupt the system further.
At this point, there is no guarantee that your data is not also corrupt.
I really think you should first try to establish that your data is recoverable.
ali b

Similar Messages

Will archive and install save my music and photos?

I had to do all this because my iMac wasn't going past the grey screen with the Apple logo
after turning off my computer after installing an apple security update
which i've noticed a lot of people had problems with. I tried the disk repair thing and it showed no problems but still didn't work. Then I saw in a dis ussion that doing this would help.
Right now it's on the first disk of instalation and I am now wrried that this won't work and my stuff will be lost.

corin4, welcome to Apple Discussions.
Now that you have installed the base 10.4.x, update to the final Tiger version 10.4.11. Here's the link for the 10.4.11 combo update http://support.apple.com/kb/TA24901?viewlocale=en_US
Since you did an Archive & Install, all of your settings (internet, mail, etc) should also be retained.
 Cheers, Tom

"archive and install" button can't be clicked, already have Mac OS 10.4

i cannot start up my laptop and i see the apple logo and it doesn't go to my desktop and i would like to do a "archive and install" but the button isn't an option for me even though i have Mac OS 10.4 already installed when i bought it.
should i go through all of the disk utility and repair/verify everything and see if then i can archive and install?
and does anyone know if the archive and install saves iTunes/iPhoto files?
if anyone can help please do!!

How to Perform an Archive and Install
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
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, then quit DU and return to the installer.
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.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

Failed 'Archive and Install' - will CLI ditto or rsync save me?

I've done an 'Archive and Install' that ran properly, executed the restart, and then presented a message saying the installation can not be completed because of insufficient space on the target volume. To be clear, the computer restarts in the 'Installer' and displays the error message. I click 'OK' and it does a little loop and reappears. I can't properly quit the installer, force-quit, restart, anything. So I eventually power down.
More info :
I can boot from the install disk and in the system profiler I see 9.5 gigs free on the HD. The SMART status is verified. In fact the 'Hardware' section and 'Network' section seems okay, the 'Software' sections reveal the faults. Here I see no mounted applications, no extensions, no frameworks, etc. It's as if I can see where the install gave up. I have run disk utility and repaired the disk, the permissions, and it returns no errors and a nice green message. I ran DiskWarrior and it found nothing to repair. I was able to see my files in the preview, including my sparse image, but decided not to go ahead with a re-build, because I don't think that's going to save my system folder that's split in two. (From the failed A&I)
I am using FileVault and I am aware that these forums advise that I should have disabled it before trying the installation. Alas, the drive-space overhead was not to be found. I did, however, have room enough for the install, I thought. (And I do have my most critical data backed up, but not the whole system.) When I ran the install from the OS X DVD it indicated 15.6 gigs necessary for installation. I had in excess of 18. I know, I know, too close for comfort, and the FileVault image probably needed more overhead, and...
Chalk it up to knowledge and change.
So now I've got that external FW drive I should have had in the first place and I want to clone my whole HD over so I can start anew with an 'Erase and Install'. (Unless somebody thinks of something better. Bless the previous system?)
I'm not an idiot, but new to the command line (at least since the GUI has existed). I'm wanting to try this :
ditto source target
or
rsync -xrlptgoEv --progress --delete / /Volumes/target
Do I need to be in 'single user mode' (root - which I can access), or should I execute from the terminal via the install disk?
I just want to be sure I get this right, I'm confident that my data is there I just need to finesse it out.
Advance thanks to Kappy, your posts have saved me before...

Doesn't really sound like archive and install would be of much benefit to you, with as fubarred as everything sounds. However, you would at least have what you had before, just in case there's some unixy or other obscure thing that you did in the past that you need to reinstall because of the reversion to an OEM state. After 10.4.0 is reinstalled from DVD, then apply the OS 10.4.11 combo ppc update to get you up to the latest and greatest in one fell swoop. I believe that QT7.4 came out later than 10.4.11 release so that should be okay. Don't know about QT7.3, though.

HT1710 If I click archive and install and it says moves existing system files to a folder named previous system , will this save my photos tol

I have to restore my Mac mini and i want to click on archive and install and it says it will move existing files to a folder but I need to know wether my photos will be moved too because I have 5 years worth of photos on there. If my photos will not be moved could I take it too a store and they could put them onto a USB stick for me.

"Archive and install" is an option in early versions of OS X installers. It moves some parts of the previous system to a folder called "Previous System" and installs the new OS.
There is also an option to presever user data and settings. See this document. http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1710
If you have 5 years' worth of photos and you do not want to lose them, then you NEED to have a backup. Hard drives can fail. Suddenly. Particularly on aging hardware. Computers can get stolen, set on fire or have drinks spilt over them.
If you do not have a backup, you should EXPECT to lose your files.
You should not need a store to make a copy of your files. Get an external drive, or use DVDs and move the files in the Finder. If you're using Leopard already, then you have Time Machine.

Can I Archive and Install From Leopard Up-To-Date Disc?

I'm a Mac newbie, so I apologize if this is an obvious question.
I purchased my iMac this month, so I received a Leopard Up-To-Date disc for $10. The CD says Upgrade on it, and I can't find any options for what type of install I want to run. I've seen things like Erase And Install, Archive and Install, and Upgrade posted here on the forums, but the only options I have are whether or not to install things like Core Services, X11, etc. Can I not perform an Archive and Install with this disc, and if I can't, is there any chance I could request a full CD from Apple?
Message was edited by: AceDew

You should be able to -- when you get to the screen that asks you to choose your installation destination, highlight the drive, then you will see in the lower-left an options buttion. CLick it and you will find three choices: upgrade, archive/install and upgrade install. Choose the one you want and enjoy!
Keep in mind that when you put the disk in, the system will verify that the DVD is OK -- it takes a few minutes, but it is worth knowing that the disk is not corrupt before you start. Also, repairing permissions seems to take awhile -- just let it happen.

Video podcasts won't play after archive and install

I'm one of the folks having capture issues with FCP 4.5 and OS X 10.4.9. So I decided to archive and install to 10.4.8. Now it seems I'm having all kinds of video problems, including downloading and playing video podcasts in iTunes (7.2). When I download a podcast, say "Tiki Bar TV", the file downloads, but in the podcast screen, I get an error message which reads,
"There is a problem adding the video to iTunes. The file might be corrupted, or a file type that iTunes cannot play." For the record, I have never run into anything like this before. And it's the same way with every video podcast.
I had some similar wonkiness going on with QuickTime, too. But after I installed a divx plug-in, and flip for mac, everything seems to be okay with the QT. iTunes is still a mystery. Any ideas on what my next step should be would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Ben
PowerMac G5 Dual 2.5Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.8) 3GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, ATI9800XT

There are files that are not brought along with Archive and Install.
Some are invisible and not accessible without enabling "root" access and even then you have to know exactly which files have to be moved from the 'previous System' folder.
Archive and Install never works with Apple's Pro apps.
If Niel's suggestion doesn't work you'll have to erase your hard drive and reinstall everything making sure you first backup important data to another hard drive.
(don't forget to save your mail and addresses)

Where to find after "Archive and Install"

Hi everyone. I recently installed Leopard onto my Macbook. During the process, I used the archive and install feature to save all of my old data and files. Right now everything is located in the "Previous System" folder on my hard drive. I am trying to find my iCal information, but don't know where it's located. Does anyone know?
I didn't backup any of my calendars. I didn't think I would have to since all the information should already be saved.

aimili,
If you actually accomplished an Archive and Install, you should be able to open iCal and the previous calendar information will populate your upgraded iCal. What calendar information is displayed in iCal when you open the application?
If your old calendars are not displayed you should be able to find your previous information in folders named something like 4A1DC586-14EC-4D42-B659-BEBA31968385.calendar in the Users/yourusername/Library/Application Support/iCal/Sources Folder of your previous system folder. There will be as many of these folders as you had calendars on the previous system, but they will have different alpha numeric names on your computer than the example which I just gave you.
Open these oddly named folders and you will find the corestorage.ics files containing your former calendars.
Use iCal to import the corestorage files by using the iCal>File>Import... menu command to navigate to and import the appropriate corestorage.ics file for each of your calendars.
Did you ever use .Mac? If so, you may also have calendar information that can be retrieved from that service.
;~)

Quicken 07 remains after Archive and Install?

Will the Quicken 07 application AND all my accounts remain after doing Archive and Install? I mean, will they be up and ready to use or need to be located in a folder and re-installed?

On an "Archive and Install", you have the option to save user data and network settings. This will copy all your user data into the home directory on the new install, and make the install process as seamless as possible. Applications are copied over as well, I believe, but if they're not they are left in the "Previous System" folder and you can copy them over manually and test them out. I believe "Quicken" is one of those applications where you just drag it to the applications folder to install it. As such, it should migrate to the new system easily and be up and running without the need to reinstall it. Most apps that require reinstalls are those that put extensions and plug-ins into the system folder (Adobe CS3, for example). Some things to keep in mind:
Corrupt preference files can cause applications to run funny or not at all. If an app doesnt behave normally then remove the preference file for that application from your user library. Corrupt preference files can happen during an install, so its good to be aware of the possibility they might crop up.
In a similar manner as corrupt preference files, sometimes the install process can change the permissions on files and folders, which will result in the same funky behavior. Using Disk utility to fix permissions BEFORE and AFTER the install will greatly reduce the probability of this being an issue.

No User accounts after Archive and Install ?

Today I tried to salvage a 20" iMac G5 for a friend. He had done something that screwed up his hard drive. Disk Utility Disk Repair run of the startup partition always failed. Using an external FW disk, I was able to use Disk Utility Repair successfully, but drive would still not boot. Decided Archive and Install was the right way to go, did that and everything seemed OK but I found I could not log in to his account. Thought it was just a lost password, so tried using the OSX Tiger Install DVD to Reset Password. His *Macintosh HD* Startup drive shows only the "root" user available, neither of the two previous user account names appear.
I can think of nothing to do to recover except an Erase & Install (I have his User files saved). Is there an alternative?
I would assume performing another Archive & Install would yield the same result.

I continued work on this issue today. First, I checked and the three User account folders were present in the Users folder along with the one new account created as part of the Mac OSX Tiger A&I. For some reason, not one of these 4 was accessible from the Login screen; it acted exactly if there were no user accounts.
Purchased and installed DiskWarrior 4 on the FW drive and rebuilt the directory of the iMac's internal drive. Ran all other tests available w/ DW. Still no joy on logging in. I should NOT have had to see the Login screen at all if the new user had been created properly.
Punted. Copied everything I thought I would need to the external drive, then did an Erase & Install of OS X Tiger. Applied all updates, no problems logging in. Copied all the original User/username files and folders and restored a few apps.
Finally, after much wasted time, I have all but one App running and all data files, folders, pics, music restored.
Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 fails because I apparently failed to save a .plist file somewhere and now I learn too late that PE 3.0 will not install on a 10.4.x system. Sigh.

Can't open Virtual Machines after "Archive and Install" of Snow Leopard OS

Hi all,
Please bear with me while I provide a bit of background info for my issue:
I just installed a copy of Adobe Photoshop CS5, during which I was actually forced to archive and install my Snow Leopard because of an installation error. So, I inserted my Snow Leopard disc and let the OS X installer do its thing. I remember, somewhere along the way, an admonishment that this process may somehow corrupt any virtual machines that may be installed, but throwing caution to the wind, I went ahead anyway.
Well, turns out it did indeed corrupt my installation of Parallels 6 somehow, and now none of my VMs work. When I open Parallels, and select File -> Open, then select whichever VM I want, a screen flashes so quickly I can't see it (I assume it says something like "Opening XYZ Virtual Machine"), and then.......nothing.
Thus far, I have tried to uninstall and reinstall Parallels 6 (using the KB article that directs you to delete a bunch of files via Terminal after running the packaged uninstaller) and I deleted my VMs and restored backup copies of them from several months ago.
I'm now at a loss - any ideas what I can do to get Parallels to function again? I don't know if somehow permissions were modified, or if there are any other particulars that the reinstall of Snow Leopard may have made to cause parallels to be unable to open my VMs.
Appreciate any advice in advance!

I think I would look at if you have the latest Parallels;
clone and backup your system and files before doing anything;
boot off 2nd hard drive and run Apple First Aid + (Disk Warrior or DG3 or TechTool Pro 5).
Always be prepared to be able to restore your system to prior point, that could even mean keeping 10.6.4 around for a month until you know 10.6.5 and 3rd party software and drivers all play nice together.
Bottom line: invest in two backup sets and methods; a copy of SuperDuper or CCC; and Disk Warrior.
I've used VBox, Fusion but not Parallels, plus Windows XP Mode, VHDs and VMs under Windows Vista/7.
I'd go back to ERASE and INSTALL and then do all your updates, then start on 3rd party with main packages first (CS5 and others). Off load, save, backup everything and anything you might need first of course.
Last but actually #1: a small 30GB OS X 10.6.5 drive volume (can take the 30GB from one of your backup drive is fine) so you can run the latest DU plus other system maintenance (DVDs get old, out of date, slow to boot, can't use Finder and other programs).

I did and Archive and Install on MBP with 10.4.11...now what?

I recently performed an "Archive and Install" on my MBP that was having odd random shutdowns (not battery related). Just prior to this I used DiskWarrior 4.0 to fix errors to try to possibly cut down on the shutoffs. All it did was f**k up my machine so bad that as soon as the grey screen and apple logo came up, it was like this grey curtain went down and an "on/off" icon came up saying I had to restart. I was never able to boot my machine off my hard drive again until i did the archive and install. Everything seems fine now.
My question is, I want to get the "old system" folder off my HD since it's taking up a lot of room. how do I know what files are critical and what ones aren't? I copied over my printers folder but all my other data seems to either be where it was before or it got moved over during the archive and install.
Any help on what i HAVE to save before i trash the old system?
Thanks!

Cool, that was my first guess as to what to do. But now the old lockup issue has returned. I had put my MBP to sleep for an hour or so. When I came back up from sleep mode, I got the black box in the middle of the screen with the "on/off" button and the message that I had to restart or shut down. On restart when I clicked "report", the following came up in the box:
panic(cpu 1 caller 0x001A49CB): Unresolved kernel trap (CPU 1, Type 14=page fault), registers:
CR0: 0x80010033, CR2: 0x017b6900, CR3: 0x00e1a000, CR4: 0x000006e0
EAX: 0x01610000, EBX: 0x017b6900, ECX: 0x00000420, EDX: 0x00000000
CR2: 0x017b6900, EBP: 0x25153c38, ESI: 0x00001000, EDI: 0x00000000
EFL: 0x00010202, EIP: 0x0017eaa9, CS: 0x00000008, DS: 0x03860010
Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x25153a18 : 0x128d0d (0x3cc65c 0x25153a3c 0x131f95 0x0)
0x25153a58 : 0x1a49cb (0x3d2a94 0x1 0xe 0x3d22b8)
0x25153b68 : 0x19b3a4 (0x25153b80 0x18c296c 0x0 0x0)
0x25153c38 : 0x15df65 (0x423d220 0x1000 0x0 0x14185d)
0x25153c88 : 0x16214b (0x3f953e8 0x1801000 0x0 0x25153df4)
0x25153d28 : 0x16e29d (0x3f953e8 0x25153df4 0x3f909f8 0x1801000)
0x25153e78 : 0x37558d (0x1803000 0x0 0x3 0x0)
0x25153eb8 : 0x3481e9 (0x1801600 0x0 0xb88 0x0)
0x25153f58 : 0x37b300 (0x3fb67d0 0x48469a0 0x48469e4 0x0)
0x25153fc8 : 0x19b77e (0x483eea0 0x0 0x19e0b5 0x4133348) No mapping exists for frame pointer
Backtrace terminated-invalid frame pointer 0xb0080be8
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.11.1: Wed Oct 10 18:23:28 PDT 2007; root:xnu-792.25.20~1/RELEASE_I386
Model: MacBookPro2,2, BootROM MBP22.00A5.B07, 2 processors, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.16 GHz, 2 GB
Graphics: ATI Radeon X1600, ATY,RadeonX1600, PCIe, 128 MB
Memory Module: BANK 0/DIMM0, 1 GB, DDR2 SDRAM, 667 MHz
Memory Module: BANK 1/DIMM1, 1 GB, DDR2 SDRAM, 667 MHz
AirPort: spairportwireless_card_type_airportextreme (0x168C, 0x87), 1.2.2
Bluetooth: Version 1.9.5f4, 2 service, 1 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: AirPort, AirPort, en1
Serial ATA Device: FUJITSU MHW2120BH, 111.79 GB
Parallel ATA Device: MATSHITADVD-R UJ-857D
USB Device: Built-in iSight, Micron, Up to 480 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller, Apple, Inc., Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: IR Receiver, Apple Computer, Inc., Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad, Apple Computer, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Hub in Apple Pro Keyboard, Mitsumi Electric, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA
USB Device: Apple Optical USB Mouse, Primax Electronics, Up to 1.5 Mb/sec, 100 mA
USB Device: Apple Pro Keyboard, Mitsumi Electric, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 250 mA
Any ideas on what's causing the error, or is this the same one that i see posted all over this site with no resolution either from Apple or anyone else?

Will an archive and install solve account problems?

I want to remove old accounts and create a new one. Currently, I have to authenticate whenever I want to save any of my files. Somehow I fouled up the user library. Will an archive and install of the OS (10.5.8) correct this on my iMac PPC?

Backup all of your data before starting anything.
If you go with Niel's solution, be sure to get a copy of all your data.
There are several way of proceding:
1) fix permissions on your account.
2) You could copy all your files to a flash drive. Delete on the hd. Copy files back to hd. This will adjust the permissions.
3) create a new account. copy old data to flash drive. Copy data to new account.
I'd create a new account.
Download BatChmod 1.51. Will allow you to change your permissions.
Works on 10.5 and 10.6
I am using 1.51 on Mac OS 10.4.11
Download BatChmod 1.37
(for previous system versions as 1.5 has not been tested on any other system, though may work.)
http://www.macchampion.com/arbysoft/BatchMod/Download.html
Create new Account
blue apple > system preferences
clicks on accounts icon
click on lock icon if locked.
enter logon password
click on + icon ( left side of screen just above the lock icon )
after creating new account, you need to logout of your current account.
blue apple > log out ... current count name ...
log on to new account. see if problem goes away.
if it has gone away, some preference file got messed up on your account. Rename the appropriate Preference file. You will have to figure out the name. They are .plist files. Look for these files in Preferences folder which is in your Library folder [ more formally ~/Library/Preferences ]. ... reboot.
Post back for more help.
More tips on creating a new account
http://pondini.org/OSX/Transfer.html

Performed Archive and Install now Previous System User File is Empty

Performed Archive and install yesterday -selected the save users and networks option. When it was complete - the machine worked - but when I went into the previous system folders the user folder is empty. I have almost no space left on my drive - so i think my stuff is still out there somewhere - is it?
Help!
I do have backups of most things - but there is no room on my hard drive to restore from my backup.

How much space DO you have?
If you can boot from another fdrive for now, that;d be good.
How much free space is on the HD, where has all the space gone?
OmniDiskSweeper is now free, and likely the best/easiest...
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnidisksweeper/
Perhaps they are there but invisible!?
If you want to try to recover them, you should quit using the computer asap. Possibility exists of losing everything. Backup if at all possible.
Unfortunately DU can't fix all that much, your best bet is DiskWarrior, you need the CD though.
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
If DW can't fix it, you might try Data Rescue II...
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
(Has a Free Demo to see if it could or not, but you'll need another drive to recover to).
Or FileSalvage...
http://www.subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?%20mainpage=product_info&productsid=1
to recover what you can.

FCP won't launch after Archive and Install

After the fiasco of the 1.1 update for the Alu-iMac's I had to do an archive and install on my system to return it to 1.0.
Everything is now working fine but FCP6 won't launch. It bounces in the dock once and then nothing. LiveType and DVD Studio 4 will open but Color, Motion and FCP won't.
I have trashed preferences and repaired permissions with no luck.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.

There are files that are not brought along with Archive and Install.
Some are invisible and not accessible without enabling "root" access and even then you have to know exactly which files have to be moved from the 'previous System' folder.
Archive and Install never works with Apple's Pro apps.
If Niel's suggestion doesn't work you'll have to erase your hard drive and reinstall everything making sure you first backup important data to another hard drive.
(don't forget to save your mail and addresses)

.:: Archive and Install saves my Data? ::.

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