Back Up Strategy Advice Sought

Hello!
I'd appreciate some advice on how best to set up a back up regime, please.
I've just bought a Western Digital My Passport external drive for backing up purposes. At first I thought I'd simply back up my home folder to it on a regular basis and - I presume - all my documents, photos, music would be backed up 'en masse.'
Having read up a bit on it (partly on these forums), I note that some do a 'clone' of their entire hard drive.
Is there any mileage in doing a clone of the drive since I'm aware this is very useful to get up and running swiftly in the event of, say, the internal hard drive failing? My external drive is USB only, and I gather it isn't possible to boot from it (Firewire required?)
If it is still worth having a clone of my system, should I partition the external so the clone goes on one partition and other 'often changing' files go on the other? (e.g. bookmarks/iTunes store-purchased music).
If it is suggested I go the 'clone route' do I require something like Carbon Copy Cloner or Superduper! (I think I read that cloning can be done via Disk Utility?)
Space-wise I'm fine: my new external drive is 160GB and my mini has an 80GB hard drive with, to date, 35GB used.
I hope I'm making some sense here - your thoughts and advice would be much appreciated.

retrieve 'other stuff'...
Address Book and iCal have a Backup function in their File menu. I usually save the files regularly to a USB stick and sync them to .Mac (now MobileMe) too.
Safari, from the File menu >Export Bookmarks"
The folder "Mail" in yourusername/Library.
Software Update has a function in its "Update" menu bar item - "Install and keep Package".
The trick here is remembering the correct order to install the updates. Some are obvious, others less so and Installer does not always give a reason that is easily understood, when can't run an update. It might just say "The software cannot be installed" or "Error (number)".
It would be nice if it would say "You need to install version xx, before you can install version xy", but I think we might have to wait a long time for that.
Also consider that many individual updates will require a restart before proceeding further. By the time you have worked through manual updates from your archive, Software Update would probably have done the job faster anyway.

Similar Messages

Upgrade strategy advice sought for Leopard/BootCamp/Parallels

Hello. I have dragged my feel long enough with respect to upgrading from 10.4.11 to Leopard (I bought OS 10.5 when it was first released, but upgrade anxiety prevented me from impulsive early adopter installation).
I would appreciate advice from those with more experience than I about the best method of upgrading, keeping the following goals in mind.
First, my existing configuration is:
(1) Mac OS X 10.4.11 on internal GUID partitioned 500GB drive, with identical drive as clone via SuperDuper (160GB used)
(2) Parallels Desktop 2.5 Build 3214.0 (Windows XP SP2) is installed with an expanding drive option; the image, is winxp.hdd, located in ~/Library/Parallels/winxp/winxp.hdd. Currently 12GB.
(3) never used Boot Camp before, and don't have a partition for it
(4) separate 500GB drive for audio/music
(5) separate 500GB drive for video/movies
Goals:
(1) Upgrade to Leopard, with ability to keep my settings, apps, tweaks, prefs, network config, bookmarks, etc. as best as possible without compromising the integrity of the new install
(2) Create a Boot Camp partition on the main drive (about 120GB or so should be enough)
(3) Upgrade from Parallels 2.5 to Parallels 3.0 (I will buy the software)
(4) Migrate my existing Parallels 2.5 Windows XP drive image to the Boot Camp partition, so I can access it either from Boot Camp (natively) or from Parallels (virtual machine)
(5) Configure clone backups for Mac using SuperDuper (for which I already have a license - for years) and for Windows using Winclone (never tried it) on my current backup 500GB drive
(6) Configure Time Machine to an external FW800 drive for my Mac partition
I imagine this can be done, but I don't want to screw up on the order of the steps. Advice from anyone having experience with a similar upgrade would be graciously appreciated.
Thanks,
Stu

Thanks again for your input.
The reason I want Boot Camp is in case I want to boot natively into Windows to take advantage of the performance boost. I would use Parallels when I want to use Windows for some quick operations while running OS X. From what I understand, using both Boot Camp and Windows on the same machine doesn't require any additional disk space. I think Parallels can run from an existing Boot Camp partition. That way, for example, you can use Windows from Boot Camp, create a document, and at another time, use Parallels, which will "see" the document created under Boot Camp, and vice versa.
The order in which I upgrade is probably important. For example, I have read that one can partition a disk on the fly under Leopard, but not under TIger. So, I guess I would upgrade from Tiger to Leopard (probably use Archive and Install), then partition my drive to create a Boot Camp partition, then upgrade Parallels from 2.5 to 3, and then somehow move my Parallels data to the Boot Camp partition.
Assuming I get this far, I would then set up backups using SuperDuper for the Mac OS X partition and Winclone for the PC/Boot Camp partition.
This seems like the logical order for these steps, but I imagine it will require more research on my part before taking these steps. I was hoping to get some insights from someone who has already ventured down this path.
Thank you.
Stu

Start up disk is full, and need new storage and back up strategy

I am maxed out on nothing my iMac and Mac book pro and recognise I need to introduce a new external hard drive into the equation.
I currently have an apple time capsule with 2gb drive, that backs up the 600g iMac and 250g mac book.
I would like to understand if I could point applications such as iTunes, iPhoto and iMovie towards an external drive ( as long as it is always connected to either the machine...or perhaps network so all machines have access to the external drive)....and hopefully I would also be able to access my iTunes library ( on the external drive) via an Apple TV...without any fuss.
I would also like to use my apple time capsule to back up from both the iMac and Mac book internal drives...as well as recognising the data on the external drives that points to the respective computers.....eg the iTunes library etc.
Is this at all possible???
If so, which external hard drive solutions should I use ( I have seen some mention synology...but looked at the website, and so many models and not sure what I would need)???
And how would I go about lifting and shifting data, redirecting applications to read and write to external drives, and getting time capsule to back up as above.....and possibly even have an additional back up strategy that allows me to take regular copies of all hard drives and keep content in an off site location for data security...possibly in a bootable format???
Welcome all help and advice please.

You should never, EVER let a conputer hard drive get completely full, EVER!
With Macs and OS X, you shouldn't let the hard drive get below 15 GBs or less of free data space.
If it does, it's time for some hard drive housecleaning.
Follow some of my tips for cleaning out, deleting and archiving data from your Mac's internal hard drive.
Have you emptied your iMac's Trash icon in the Dock?
If you use iPhoto, iPhoto has its own trash that needs to be emptied, also.
If you store images in other locations other than iPhoto, then you will have to weed through these to determine what to archive and what to delete.
If you use Apple Mail app, Apple Mail also has its own trash area that needs to be emptied, too!
Delete any old or no longer needed emails and/or archive to disc, flash drives or external hard drive, older emails you want to save.
Other things you can do to gain space.
Once you have around 15 GBs regained, do a search, download and install OmniDisk Sweeper.
This app will help you locate files that you can move/archive and/or delete from your system.
STAY AWAY FROM DELETING ANY FILES FROM OS X SYSTEM FOLDER!
Look through your Documents folder and delete any type of old useless type files like "Read Me" type files.
Again, archive to disc, flash drives, ext. hard drives or delete any old documents you no longer use or immediately need.
Look in your Applications folder, if you have applications you haven't used in a long time, if the app doesn't have a dedicated uninstaller, then you can simply drag it into the OS X Trash icon. IF the application has an uninstaller app, then use it to completely delete the app from your Mac.
Download an app called OnyX for your version of OS X.
When you install and launch it, let it do its initial automatic tests, then go to the cleaning and maintenance tabs and run the maintenance tabs that let OnyX clean out all web browser cache files, web browser histories, system cache files, delete old error log files.
Typically, iTunes and iPhoto libraries are the biggest users of HD space.
move these files/data off of your internal drive to the external hard drive and deleted off of the internal hard drive.
If you have any other large folders of personal data or projects, these should be archived or moved, also, to the optical discs, flash drives or external hard drive and then either archived to disc and/or deleted off your internal hard drive.
Good Luck!

"Best" Back Up Strategy

According to Apple, I have a corrupt Leopard install and I need to back up my Mac and clean install Leopard again. I had originally intended to use Time Machine for my back ups, but since I also have a Airport Extreme, I wanted to use a HD connected to this for my back ups. Unfortunately, this won't work; the HD must be connected directly to the APE.
So, I am looking for the best back up strategy that will -
1) Let me back up all my info to a external drive, so I will have everything I need to get my Mac back in the same shape it was after I reinstall Leopard, i.e. everything on it, including mail, itunes, photos, etc. I can connect directly to a drive for this part.
2) After this, I want to back up 2 Mac Book Pros regularly to the external drive connected to the Air Port Extreme. I would like to be able to access this back up in a native format, i.e., find a file and open it from the back up without having to restore it or any other gymnastics. I don't know if Time Machine is the best solution; looking for suggestions.
Is this possible?
Thanks for your help!

Hi,
1. Get the biggest external drive you can afford. You cant have enough storage space.
2. Use Carbon Copy Cloner from here...
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
That will clone the entire content of your computer on to the external.
3. Time Machine won't work in this scenario. As I understand it, Wireless back ups were removed from the list of goodies in Leopard at the last moment. It may become available in later releases of Leopard. It may not.
Regards
Ian

I was working on my notes on my iPhone4 and suddenly it disappeared! It's also gone from my iPad2. It contained detailed medical information I need. Nothing seems to work to get it back. Any advice really appreciated.

I was working on my notes on my iPhone4 and suddenly it disappeared! It's also gone from my iPad2. It contained detailed medical information I need. Nothing seems to work to get it back. Any advice really appreciated. Thanks!

I seem to have fixed it by putting <div class="clearfloat"></div> after the navigation bar?

Apps Backing up Strategy

We are currently in the process of developing a new back up strategy for Oracle Application .
What I understand currently is
- RMAN can be used to back up the dbf files.
- The application tier does not need to be backed up unless there is a patching or customization. The probability of this seems less in production. However we may need to back up the concurrent manager logs/output files.
In application tier, the strategy seems to be copy the relevant directories to a tape or a disk drive maybe on a daily basis. This is a hot back up and hence there might be a data loss. Is this correct ?
But there are some directories which cannot be copied hot. Which are those ? Is there any solution apart from going offline the least amount of time?
So what is a good strategy for backing up the application tier ?

Hi,
What I understand currently is
- RMAN can be used to back up the dbf files.
- The application tier does not need to be backed up unless there is a patching or customization. The probability of this seems less in production. However we may need to back up the concurrent manager logs/output files. Correct.
In application tier, the strategy seems to be copy the relevant directories to a tape or a disk drive maybe on a daily basis. This is a hot back up and hence there might be a data loss. Is this correct ?There will be no data loss at the application side as all the data are stored in the database. If you have no customization or patching on daily basis, then you need to backup log files and concurrent requests log/output files.
But there are some directories which cannot be copied hot. Which are those ? Is there any solution apart from going offline the least amount of time?What is the OS? If you are on Linux/Unix, you should be able to copy the files, but on Windows this is not possible.
So what is a good strategy for backing up the application tier ?I believe having a weekly offline backup should be enough. For the daily changes, consider taking a backup of the log/output files mentioned above.
Please search this forum for similar topic, and you will find many hits.
Regards,
Hussein

Need more advice on overall back up strategy

Based on my previous post, "Need advice on setting up a portable external hard drive", I set up a portable backup strategy for the iBook G4 consisting of a 250 GB hard drive in a firewire enclosure which contains two bootable clones. In a similar fashion, I set up a 320 GB drive in a firewire enclosure which also has two bootable clones and also an empty partition for the MBP.
Also, I have a 160 GB La Cie firewire desktop drive that was purchased in November of 2006 which has Time Machine and some other backups on it, some of which are unique.
Since I had to dig pretty deep into the piggy bank to buy the drives and enclosures, I really don't want to buy any more hardware for a while. I also didn't expect I would have to worry about archiving anything for a while since I thought I had lots of capacity, so I hadn't intended to post this question for a while. However, circumstances have changed rather suddenly.
After getting the logic board reballed and replacing the original 30 GB hard drive with the 120 GB drive, I decided to give the iBook to my rather cyberphobic Significant Other, along with a red iPod, a DynoScope, and the 250 GB backup drive as a first computer, little realizing what was about to happen. Even after 27 years of marriage, someone can still surprise you.
My SO started digitizing our music collection, and once all the CD's were put into iTunes, started in on the vinyl collection. The iPod is already full, and both cyberphobia and hard drive space are rapidly evaporating. The vinyl files seem to be much bigger than the CD files. The 120 GB internal drive and 250 GB external drive that seemed so huge is now beginning to look too small. The overall strategy is still fine, but I'm about 60 GB's away from having to archive some of the music collection to free up more hard drive space both on the internal drive and on the backup clones. On general principles, I would rather do the archive on a third drive, and this drive does not need to be portable.
I do have quite a bit of excess capacity on my MBP and MBP backup drive, and perhaps this could be utilized in the short term. I could use the La Cie, but the problem is that an archive would likely use up most of the free space remaining.
So what I probably need advice on is what to plan on setting up that will accommodate both computers. The iBook is running Tiger and has iLife 06 on it. The MBP has Leopard and is running iLife 08. I already know that if a photo is in iPhoto 08 it cannot be put into iPhoto 06. I don't know how it works with iTunes--both computers seem to have the same version of iTunes--v. 7.6.1. So I don't know if the iBook needs to have a separate drive or if it could use the same drive as the MBP.
Also, I am wondering if there is any way of finding out about impending failure of an external hard drive since S.M.A.R.T. status is not supported. I can verify the disk using Disk Utility, but was wondering if there was anything else to do other than pay attention to how old it is and how noisy it is. I imagine it is still true that over time, all hard drives will fail.
Would setting up a RAID be something to consider? Does that give some protection against the failure of individual hard drives? (I don't know much about RAIDS.)
I apologize for the length of this post. I wanted to try and include all the relevant information about my situation. There seem to be so many possible options that I am in a real quandary about just what to do, both for the short term and for the longer term. But I would like to have a sensible long term plan worked out in advance, so that when the time does come to buy more hardware, I will have a clear idea of what to get and how best to set it up. Any advice and help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

Thanks for responding!
You are right about the AIFF format. I will have to burn the DVD's on my MBP since the iBook can only burn CD's, but I don't see any problem about doing this except for a question about DVD's.
I have read several times about CD's degrading over time so that the data is lost and the CD's just turn into little gold frisbees. I think this is mostly true of the super cheap store brands, and I don't know if it's also true of DVD's.
So I am wondering about the projected life span of whatever DVD's I choose to burn onto, and also, how best to store them. I have a stack of Verbatim DVD's which are supposed to be a good brand, and I have a much smaller stack of Archival Gold (by Delkin) which are supposed to be good for 100 years. 100 years is probably in excess of what we really need, but I would like to think in 10 or 20 or 30 years, the DVD's would still be good. If not, then I just need to know how often to reburn them.
I tend to worry about the longevity of digital media. I had burned the iPhoto library onto inexpensive CD's, and used these to put it on the iBook. On every disc, there were unreadable files. The iBook can't read one of our purchased CD's, even though we have played it many times elsewhere. We'll try it on the MBP and another external CD drive that we have to see if we can digitize it.
I think the DVD's for the large vinyl files are a great idea and I will plan to start doing this at some point soon. I will also burn either CD's or a DVD of anything which is an only copy. Right now there aren't many of those, but of course that could change and probably will.
I can see we need to sort a few things out, but I think the road ahead is much more clear now. I addition to the original CD's and DVD's that I plan to burn, I will probably still keep redundant copies the entire iTunes library on a couple of different hard drives, since I have a lot of capacity open on the MBP. The music itself will be well backed up with discs, but since it has taken so many hours so far to put music into the library and will take many hours more, I also want to be sure in a way to back up those many hours of effort.
Thank you very much for all your help. I want to keep this topic open a bit longer in case my SO has any further questions, but I think my concerns are pretty well answered.
Many thanks again!

Seek strategy advice after acquired OCA

Dear all,
I'm seeking advice from whom is willing to share strategy on how to get a job after OCA is acquired. The situation is this, I was in networking industry with 4 years experience but was cut short because of the changing trend in the economy and decided to focus career on Oracle related job. I just completed my first 1Z0-051 exam and preparing my next exam to get OCA.
My concern is that I wasn't that young (I'm 36) and don't have any experience in database world whatsoever even though I have background in computer and electrical engineering. What is the best strategy to start my career in the industry as soon as the certification is acquired?
best regards,
Val

jgarry wrote:
As one who has seen network admins thrown into DBA work and fail miserably, I'd say your best option might be a smaller company that requires a spread of skills among a few people. That way you can impress them with your previous skills while developing your current ones. My impression is there are a lot of companies that have a few people in IT and those inevitably don't have a DBA but need the work done, and may not even know it. The problem with DBA work from a business perspective is that it is overhead. The problem from a skills perspective is that it requires quite a different view of solving problems (as well as being able to have multiple views of problems) and the real issues vary quite a bit from what is taught in OCA. So if you are good at switching hats on a moments notice, you might make the transition successfully. Some of the best DBA's I've run across came from math or EE backgrounds, and I think that is because they are taught to transform complex problems into solvable problems. Certification (especially network certs) emphasizes memorizing tasks, simply the wrong approach for solving complex problems. And that's why OCA has such a bad rap. Junior operational DBA's usually have boring repetitive tasks, but there is a lot more to DBA work than that.
How to find such companies? That's a toughie. But keep at it, dealing with massive rejection is a marketing skill, which also helps in DBA work (in which by its nature, most success is invisible), and with a crashed improving economy full of companies that have lost good people, eventually you get something. If you are a mid-30's female, you have an advantage, believe it or don't (can't tell from Valerie, of course). I personally dislike linkedin, but it sure seems to be on a roll.would you be kind enough to publish the name of such guys who worked as marketing before and worked as a DBA just having only OCA ? !--! My dear friends word without an evidence has no value. !--! These days I found only OCA guys are not recruited to reputed companies !--! I found DBAs are not eligible for BPO also !-_-! as they are not certified for BPO. I assure OP that vendors will shipped some job links after completion of your OCA along with your success kits -- few days back i get call for such !-_-! As a 500 --internal server error or network connection failure error or some database may be down or having some performance issue for storage also so DBA must know everything pl/sql is related to sql tuning which is a major part of PT and disk array concept is required also. so after knowing everything you can be a DBA. !-_-! . So my opinion is very simple first grab a job then learn by day by day,certification is useless unless it is supported by practical experience. And think 100 times to switch your domain always.Even after grabbing experiences you may found that certification has become more useless.As a DBA your friend will be alertlog and google and oracle docs will be your teacher.
kind regards

Advice sought for a new PC build

Hello,
I could use a little advice about an "as silent as silent can be" system that I am trying to put together right now. I plan to build it myself. I have installed / replaced components in PC systems before but it will be the first time I build a PC from scratch.
Purpose of PC
To blitz anything that CS6 can throw at it right now and still be putting up a respectable fight when CS11 is eventually released. In order of importance, the system needs to excel at:
Video editing and effects using Premiere and AfterEffects
3D animation using Autodesk 3DS Max etc
Multimedia content authoring    (Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, Dreamweaver)
Music production     (Propellerhead Reason, REAPER)
Internet browsing, emails, iTunes and all other 21st century time-wasting activities.
Before I place any orders, I would appreciate it if you would let me know if you can see anything that I might have forgotten, any potential incompatibility issues or just any terrible decisions that I really need to rethink.
Components
Windows Professional 64bit OS
Do I need Ultimate?
Corsair Obsidian Series 550D Quiet Mid-Tower Case
Is this case cool and quiet. Are there better options than this that don’t look like either a teenage warrior’s wet dream or a hotel minibar?
Corsair Professional Series AX 760 Watt ATX/EPS Fully Modular 80 PLUS Platinum PSU
Honestly I have no idea. I picked it because it is highly rated for efficiency and should go with the case. Are there better options at a similar price point, especially in terms of heat / noise / known reliability issues?
Intel Core i7-3930K 6-Core Processor
I am definitely going with this CPU. I think.
Corsair 120mm Hydro Series H80i Digital High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
I chose this rather than the 100i because it can exhaust out the back of the case. I think this will be a better configuration for the case I have chosen and the location where the PC will live.
Asus P9X79 PRO Motherboard (Socket 2011, Intel X79 chipset)
It has all the features I want except on-board firewire which is not a deal breaker and has had good reviews. Can anyone recommend something better at a similar price point? Is it worth spending more to get a higher specified / workstation grade motherboard?
Asus Nvidia GeForce 2GB GTX 670 DirectCU II Graphics Card
Supposedly one of the quietest GTX670 cards on the market and ought to be fully compatible with the motherboard.
Pioneer BDR-208DBK 15X SATA Blu-ray writer
Storage Components
Corsair Vengeance Vengeance Performance 32GB DDR3 1866MHz CL10 (4 x 8GB) RAM
I am also considering getting 64GB and using 32 – 40GB as a RAM disk. Good idea? No?
Corsair Force Series 3 GT 180GB SSD
Windows OS, Programs and Pagefile(s).
Corsair Force Series 3 GT 180GB SSD
Caches, Previews, Temporary files for all CS6 programs
4 x WD Caviar Black 1TB in RAID 10 configuration
Media files, project files, exported / rendered files, sample library. Is it worth getting a dedicated RAID controller or should the motherboard be able to handle this without hurting performance elsewhere?
1 x WD Caviar Black 1TB
Everything else.
My budget is reasonably flexible but I do not want to waste money on components that offer only minimal performance benefits. Also, I have no plans at present to get into overclocking etc. Far too scary for a newbie.
If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read this and any advice at all would be very much appreciated.
Regards
Michael

Hello
I finished my build at the weekend and installed the OS and so far the process has been much better than I could have hoped for. Thank you for all of your help.
The computer is much faster and quieter than any computer I have ever owned before and (touch wood) is a joy to use. The Windows Experience rating is 7.8.
I am still running through checks to make sure everything is OK before installing the rest of the software but I have come across one issue that I think I ought to double check before I get in too deep.
So far I have connected 4 drives to the Intel SATA controller of my ASUS P9X79 Deluxe motherboard set to RAID mode:
Samsung 840 Pro 128GB SSD    ---- Not in RAID
Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD    ---- Not in RAID
2 x WD Black 500GB SSD in RAID 0
Pioneer Bluray Re-Writer BDR-208DBK
I have a WD Black 2TB waiting to be added to the system for non performance-critical storage once I am certain that I don't have an issue with set up.
I have 32GB of RAM installed.
I have installed and run the Samsung Magician software and the performance benchmarks for the drives are:
Seq Read 128K
Seq Write 128K
Random Read 4K
Random Write 4K
Test Range
Samsung 840 Pro 128GB
533
226
88655
4788
1GB
Samsung 840 Pro 256GB
534
263
91169
4956
1GB
2 x WD Black RAID 0
241
265
2610
1462
100MB
The SSD read speeds look fine but write speeds seem to be very low to me, certainly much lower than the speeds quoted by Samsung and confirmed in multiple reviews.
Does this look OK to you and if not, do you have any ideas about how I could improve SSD write performance?
So far I have followed the steps in the following guide to SSD/HDD optimization for Windows 7 to no avail (checked for latest firmware and drivers, turned off indexing, disabled hibernation, checked that TRIM is enabled, shrank page file to 4GB on OS drive, changed power options so drives never sleep .... have I missed anything?):
http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdd s
Finally, does the RAID drive's performance look ok.
I am suspicious that the write performance of the SSDs seems to be pegged to the write performance of the RAID, although that might be just coincidence.
One last thing, and thanks for your patience.
I am tempted to switch back to AHCI mode in the BIOS and re-run the benchmarks to see if the SATA RAID mode is the problem. This won't be too much of a hassle as the system is empty at present.
But if / when I return to RAID mode, I shouldn't have to do any pre-installing because the RSTe drivers are now already installed and up to date, is this correct?
My apologies if these issues have been covered before in the forum. I have looked but I couldn't find anything specific.
Regards
Michael

Review back up strategy

Hi there
Been trying to work out the best backup strategy. I have been using a 1TB TC to back up an iMac and Macbook (about 300gb each) using Time Machine. Have come to the conclusion that it's not right for me as I don't need to access old versions of documents etc, and I'd like to back up folders to the TC, but also to be able to access them from another computer.
I bought Chronosync, but it doesn't seem able to put a bootable copy onto the TC. My investigations seem to indicate that putting bootable copies onto a TC aren't possible. A bootable backup would be good for all my settings and downloaded applications, however if possible I'd like to avoid buying an additional hard drive for this purpose.
My questions for the expert panel are
1. Is it right that it isn't possible to store a bootable backup on my TC?
2. If a horrible event occurred and I restored my computer from the original disk, is it possible to restore all the settings etc from a selection of folders copied to the TC?
3. If 2 is possible, what folders would I need to copy?
Hope that makes sense
Thanks

OK, wrong board. Will post in the right one.

Advice sought for formatting external HD

Hello all,
I'm finally in a position to replace my unsatisfactory backup system (a borrowed communal external HD formatted to FAT32) with my very own external HD. I'm looking for advice since I've never done these things before, and my reading around this forum and others has been very helpful, yet left me with some questions.
Situation:
I have a new WD 120GB USB 2.0 8MB cache Passport portable HD preformatted to FAT32 and I want to use it primarily to regularly clone my MacBook's 80GB HD using Super Duper to make a bootable backup; as well as to store other media files (which I'll back up seperately elsewhere); and it would also be convenient to be able to use it to share files between my Mac and various PCs as I travel.
Plan:
I presumed it would be best to create three partitions on the new external HD: one 80GB volume for the bootable clone; one 20-30GB volume for the media file storage; and one 10-20GB volume for the inter-system file-sharing. I would format the first two volumes HFS+ and the third FAT32.
Questions:
1. Does this sound like a wise way to proceed?
2. Can I safely make partitions formatted in different file systems as described (HFS+ and FAT32)?
3. Is there any degradation of files or other disadvantage to storing and moving files between HFS+ and FAT32 (ie in using FAT32 in general)?
4. Do I need to make the bootable clone volume a full 80GB, even if I plan never to fill the MB's HD to more than 65GB?
5. If I do this, would it be better to zero out the entire HD and format the third, FAT32 volume anew from Apple's Disk Utility, or (and would this even be possible?) simply skip the zeroing out of the first two HFS+ volumes--assuming one cannot zero out isolated volumes-- in order to leave the last, FAT32 volume formatted as it came from Western Digital?
Grateful for any experienced advice,
Rhys

Yes! Too much for me.
I've opened Disk Utility, selected the WD external drive (which has 111.8 GB)), selected the GUID partition scheme under "options", selected 3 partitions under "volume scheme", selected Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for the first two volumes and MS-DOS File System for the third, checked that each of the three volumes when selected still appears under "options" as GUID, sized the first volume at 70GB (the MB's drive that I will be cloning is 74.5), the second at 26.79 GB, and the third at 15 GB.
So it looks like GUID partitioning by DU will allow FAT32 (I assume that's what MS-DOS File System is). However, I still haven't pressed the "partition" button yet, so I don't yet know for sure. I'm busy all day today and need the MB to be ready for other things, so I'll try later on, tonight or tomorrow.
If I'm forgetting anything, please let me know, and if anyone already knows whether or not this will work please chime in before I go ahead.
Anyway, thanks for your help, everyone.
-Rhys

Deployment Issues - Advice sought

Our company is planning the first pilot of a mission-critical
International Freight Forwarding package that will be required to scale
up to about 300 on-line users nation-wide across South Africa. This is
our first development in Forte so the selection of appropriate
deployment architectures etc.. is completely new to us.
Our intended deployment technology profile includes Forte 3.0 and:
- Server Software :
* Windows NT 4.0
* MS SQLServer 6.0
* MS Exchange
* Crystal Reports
- Client Software:
* Windows 95
* Windows NT 4.0
* Office 97...some PCs only
Have any readers relevant experiences they would be prepared to share?
Any tips, considerations, pitfalls, advice etc. would be most welcome.
We are particularly interested in any issues/recommendations around:
1) Number of concurrent users, size of database and number of
transactions..
2) Hardware configurations - Server & Client
3) Network - both LAN & WAN? Bandwidth.
4) Back-up software/hardware.
5) What is a good "rule of thumb" guide on (or how to determine):
- Server memory per user?
- Minimum client config for 95?
- Recommended client config for 95?
- Minimum client config for NT 4.0?
- Recommended client config forNT4.0?
- Min. server config?
- Recommended server config?
6) Disaster Recovery?
7) Central or de-central database servers?
8) Experience of splitting the D/B and application servers to two or
more servers?
9) Recommended approach to MS SQLServer?
10) What are the operational requirements (staff, etc.) for the servers?
11) Have you experience of going live with similar scenario's?
12) Anything else that can be useful?
Many Thanks,
LES
Les Crickmay - MD Systems (PTY) Ltd
LOCAL INTERNATIONAL
Tel: 011 454 3760 +27 11 454 3760
Fax: 011 454 3780 +27 11 454 3780
Internet: [email protected]

Our company is planning the first pilot of a mission-critical
International Freight Forwarding package that will be required to scale
up to about 300 on-line users nation-wide across South Africa. This is
our first development in Forte so the selection of appropriate
deployment architectures etc.. is completely new to us.
Our intended deployment technology profile includes Forte 3.0 and:
- Server Software :
* Windows NT 4.0
* MS SQLServer 6.0
* MS Exchange
* Crystal Reports
- Client Software:
* Windows 95
* Windows NT 4.0
* Office 97...some PCs only
Have any readers relevant experiences they would be prepared to share?
Any tips, considerations, pitfalls, advice etc. would be most welcome.
We are particularly interested in any issues/recommendations around:
1) Number of concurrent users, size of database and number of
transactions..
2) Hardware configurations - Server & Client
3) Network - both LAN & WAN? Bandwidth.
4) Back-up software/hardware.
5) What is a good "rule of thumb" guide on (or how to determine):
- Server memory per user?
- Minimum client config for 95?
- Recommended client config for 95?
- Minimum client config for NT 4.0?
- Recommended client config forNT4.0?
- Min. server config?
- Recommended server config?
6) Disaster Recovery?
7) Central or de-central database servers?
8) Experience of splitting the D/B and application servers to two or
more servers?
9) Recommended approach to MS SQLServer?
10) What are the operational requirements (staff, etc.) for the servers?
11) Have you experience of going live with similar scenario's?
12) Anything else that can be useful?
Many Thanks,
LES
Les Crickmay - MD Systems (PTY) Ltd
LOCAL INTERNATIONAL
Tel: 011 454 3760 +27 11 454 3760
Fax: 011 454 3780 +27 11 454 3780
Internet: [email protected]

Back up strategy with Maxtor OneTouch II

I just bought Maxtor OneTouch II 300GB. I need help with the backup strategy with or without Retrospect. The external Maxtor should be used for storage and backup.
My questions, since the instructions and Help in Retrospect are confusing:
When I want to first backup the entire startup disk can I simply drag it to Maxtor on the Desktop or should I use Retrospect?
In Retrospect, should I use "Removable Disk" or "File"?
How long does it take with Maxtor FW 800 ? I've got 70GB startup disk to copy. Is it hours?
Can the copied volume on external disk be used as startup disk?
I would appreciate your experience.
Milan

I suggest you use Disk utility to partition the drive so you have a space large enough for your boot drive. Then use carbon copy cloner, which you can find from versiontracker.com to "clone" your boot drive to the partition. you need to use a program like this, because various files needed to create a "boot drive" are hidden.
please note, the best back-ups are completely disconnected from all computers and power sources. Just something to consider.

Advice sought for clean installation on dual boot iMac

I have an Intel iMac running Leopard and a 40GB dual-boot Vista installation. I am considering upgrading to Snow Leopard. After reading some of these forums, I am fairly certain that I should do a clean install of Snow Leopard.
Is there a FAQ or advice column I can read on how to best proceed?
Thanks in advance,
- Paul

paulfaber wrote:
I have an Intel iMac running Leopard and a 40GB dual-boot Vista installation. I am considering upgrading to Snow Leopard. After reading some of these forums, I am fairly certain that I should do a clean install of Snow Leopard.
why?
Is there a FAQ or advice column I can read on how to best proceed?
if you want to do a clean install it's pretty simple. first back up your data. the best is to make a bootable backup using CCCloner or Superduper. a Time machine backup is ok too.
then boot from the SL install DVD, start disk utility from utilities menu and erase your main hard drive. quit disk utility and proceed with the install.
that's all. of course, if you want some of your old data on the new install you'll have to get it back from the backup afterward. depending on how much of it you want back you can do it manually or import it using Setup Assistant that you get when you first boot up. you can also do it later using Migration Assistant located in /Applications/Utilities.
Thanks in advance,
- Paul

Advice sought re converting existing Bc site to a responsive design

Hi,
I read today that Google is shaking up its search rankings to favour mobile-friendly sites.
I have an existing e-commerce Bc site (fixed width) that I'd like to convert to a responsive design. At the moment I don't have the time to do it myself because I'm working on another business, while running the existing one, and wondered if anyone could offer any advice?
What I'd like is not a whole redesign (I'm happy with the look and feel) but simply to convert it to make it responsive (and to include an elegant solution for making the tables on the site responsive too).
I was thinking of using 99designs, or something similar, but maybe there's a better way?
Site: http://tinyurl.com/mtknz5b
Kind regards,
Frank.

Hi Frank
i see you are in Sheffield I'm just south of Glasgow
i can quote you on this if you're open to it
Would recommend foundation framework.
We are a partner with a lot of site development and do BC exclusively.
www.platonik.co.uk
regards
Fraser

Back Up Strategy Advice Sought

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