Backing up /etc /var etc....

hey folks...
i was wondering if it's possible (w/out 3rd party apps etc) to back-up /etc, /var et cetera using a burn folder.... what i did was make a new burn folder on my Desktop & named it BU_20070130, then in terminal i did:
cd ~/Desktop/BU_20070130/
ln -fs /etc .
ln -fs /var .
(for example)... clicking the Burn button -> burn doesn't work.... chokes on permissions. i guess i need sudo somewhere - makes some sense to me actually (even though i am logged in as the admin) ...
BTW i'm aware i can make tarballs of /etc & /var and back those up (that's what i usually do), but in this case i happen to like the option of having the file tree on the media itself... should i fuggeddaboutit?
cheers
MBP 17/2GB/7200/matte, dualG51.8, G4 450, TiBook, beige & B/W G3s, & a Quadra! Mac OS X (10.4.8)

OK. OK. I totally agree with you and I also feel like killing the person that installed our raid. I really hope someone here can help me with that.
The story goes like this. I didn't want to leave the mail database in the boot volume (its default location), so before turning the mail service on for the first time, I used Server Admin and setup the "Database Location" and "Mail store location" in another disk that is mirrored with another using softRAID ([here|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1172838&tstart=0] you can see that I'm pretty new to all of this).
This mirror was setup by another guy and it keeps all the office files. Every day it is backed up by [SecurStore|http://www.securstore.com] to a remote location. So there are tons of references to this disk and if I change its name (/Volumes/PK Data/) I'm afraid that everything is going to blow up
Is there a way to fix this without breaking everything?
What happens if I use Server Admin and change the database location back to the boot volume? Will I loose all the emails already received or will it copy everything automatically?
Thank you very much for your help,
Cassiano

Similar Messages

I was accidentally deleted pictures last week in my ipad mini. How can I restore them without any back up (icloud, itunes, etc)? Please help me.. Thank you

I was accidentally deleted pictures last week in my ipad mini. How can I restore them without any back up (icloud, itunes, etc)? Please help me.. Thank you

iPad Photo Recovery: How to Recover Deleted Photos
http://www.iskysoft.com/iphone-data-recovery-mac/ipad-photo-recovery.html
How to Restore Lost or Deleted Files from iPad
http://www.iphone-ipad-recovery.com/recover-ipad-mini-files.html
How to Recover Deleted Files from iPad
http://www.kvisoft.com/tutorials/recover-deleted-files-from-ipad.html
iSkysoft Free iPhone Data Recovery
http://www.iskysoft.com/iphone-data-recovery/
Recover iPhone/iPad/iPod touch lost data, Free.
Free recover iPhone/iPad/iPod touch lost contacts, photos, videos, notes, call logs and more
Recover data directly from iPhone or from iTunes backup
Preview and recover lost iOS data with original quality
Wondershare Dr.Fone for iOS
http://www.wondershare.net/data-recovery/iphone-data-recovery.html?gclid=CJT7i9e 6gb4CFcvm7AodbUEAJQ
Recover contacts, messages, photos, videos, notes, call history, calendars, voicemail, voice memos, reminders, bookmarks and other documents.
 Cheers, Tom

My location bar, tool bar (file, edit, tools, bookmarks, help) disappeared and cannot be restored. I have no back button, home button etc. the top of the screen is just an empty blue bar. Internet still works if I click on a hyperlink on the main page.

My location bar, tool bar (file, edit, tools, bookmarks, help) all disappeared and cannot be restored. I have no back button, home button etc. the top of the screen is just an empty blue bar. Internet still works if I click on a hyperlink on the main page.
The problem started when I turned on the computer this morning. I tried to install Mozilla 4 from your website and that installed but I still have nothing on the top.

It may be due to Firebug. Seeing as how you're a web developer, it's very possible you have this installed. The latest version, 1.7X a10, appears to cause everything you described. I downgraded to "a8" and that seems to have fixed everything.
I also recreated a profile from scratch before trying this out, so I can't guarantee it's definitely Firebug.
Similar issue: https://support.mozilla.com/en-US/questions/783078
edit: If you go to the Firebug forums, you'll see this is now a known problem. http://code.google.com/p/fbug/issues/detail?id=4012 for the issue tracker.

The toolbar which has the go back button, refresh button, etc. is gone. How do I get it back?

The tool bar which has the url of the page I am on, go back button, refresh button, etc. is gone. How do I get it back?
== This happened ==
Just once or twice
== a couple weeks ago.

The toolbar which has the view button is also missing.

[solved] changed owner of /usr /etc /var folders ..

Hello There !
I messed up, as being the root user,
did a
chown -R root /usr /var /etc
I'm using KDE 4.2, and I bet I messed up with the system.
How can I recover this ?
I cannot start up kde from KDM, just dont know how can I make it work. I reinstalled the whole kde packages..
Thanks in advance.
Quarkup
edit: solved it by installing and turning on the "consolekit" daemon: see this topic http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=62554
Last edited by quarkup (2009-04-01 18:09:52)

byte wrote:[byte@io -rwxr-sr-x 1 root -rwxr-sr-x 1 root -rwxr-sr-x 1 root -rwxr-sr-x 1 root -rwxr-sr-x 1 root -rwsr-xr-- 1 root -rwxr-sr-x 1 root -rwxr-sr-x 1 root -rwsr-xr-x 1 policykit root -rwsr-x--- 1 root -r--r--r-- 1 root -r--r--r-- 1 root That's interesting, 02:57 PM:/usr/lib/PolicyKit $ ll
total 204
-rwxr-sr-x 1 root -rwxr-xr-x 1 root -rwxr-sr-x 1 root -rwsr-xr-- 1 root -rwxr-sr-x 1 root -rwsr-xr-x 1 root -rwxr-sr-x 1 root -rwsr-xr-x -rwxr-xr-x 1 root If not, Last ~]$ find /usr/ ! -user root -o ! -group root | xargs ls -l
locate 30860 19. Jan 04:27 /usr/bin/locate
mail 78208 21. Mär 00:35 /usr/bin/mail
tty 8596 9. Mär 18:31 /usr/bin/write
policykit 13336 30. Nov 15:51 /usr/lib/PolicyKit/polkit-explicit-grant-helper
policykit 14680 30. Nov 15:51 /usr/lib/PolicyKit/polkit-grant-helper
policykit 7568 30. Nov 15:51 /usr/lib/PolicyKit/polkit-grant-helper-pam
policykit 9132 30. Nov 15:51 /usr/lib/PolicyKit/polkit-read-auth-helper
policykit 14968 30. Nov 15:51 /usr/lib/PolicyKit/polkit-revoke-helper
15036 30. Nov 15:51 /usr/lib/PolicyKit/polkit-set-default-helper
dbus 40004 8. Mär 13:58 /usr/lib/dbus-1.0/dbus-daemon-launch-helper
mail 947 21. Mär 00:35 /usr/share/misc/mail.help
mail 823 21. Mär 00:35 /usr/share/misc/mail.tildehelp
all my policykit files are owned either by root:root or root:<user>, with the exception of /usr/lib/Policykit/polkit-set-default-helper, which is policykit:root. So maybe changing either to what byte listed or to root:root or root:<user> for those files would work.
sero 17152 2008-11-30 09:43 polkit-explicit-grant-helper*
root 66864 2008-10-12 14:13 polkit-gnome-manager*
sero 17464 2008-11-30 09:43 polkit-grant-helper*
sero 9880 2008-11-30 09:43 polkit-grant-helper-pam*
sero 11360 2008-11-30 09:43 polkit-read-auth-helper*
root 8008 2008-11-30 09:43 polkit-resolve-exe-helper*
sero 19520 2008-11-30 09:43 polkit-revoke-helper*
1 policykit root 19544 2008-11-30 09:43 polkit-set-default-helper*
root 19888 2008-11-30 09:43 polkitd*
maybe reinstalling xorg-server would set the right permissions again.
edited by userlander (2009-03-22 19:09:31)

HT4972 It says iTunes will not back up games, apps, etc. Does that mean they will be lost? I have iPad 2, and would like to get iOS 6. Can I do that? Right now it is iOS 4. If I can get 6, do I have to go to 5 first?

I would like to upgrade my iPad to iOS 6. It is currently iOS 4.3.5. Can I do that? The article from apple says iTunes will not back up games, apps, etc. Does that mean I will lose them? Some of them I paid for and don't want to lose.

Yes you can upgrade from 4.3.3 to 6.0.
Your media - apps, games, music, photos, and so are not included in the backup. Your app data, settings, and many other things are included in the backup. After you update the iPad, you should sync with iTunes in order to put all of that content back into the iPad. This is what I recommend doing - I do it myself every time I update my iPads, or iPod Touch.
What you should do anytime that you update the device is to transfer purchases from the iPad into iTunes - File>Transfer Purchases - and you should backup the iPad as well. When you update the update the device, if something goes wrong, you can restore from the backup.
If you have any other important files, you may want to transfer them to your computer as well, prior to the update.
Transfer purchases.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848
How to backup and restore from a backup
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766

I attached my iphone 3 to my computer to download my pics and it said it was backing up my photos, etc.... then it said something stopped the backing up and a pic of the itunes symbol and pic of the adapter plug came on my phone and hasnt left.

I went to upload he newest itunes and to download my pics to my computer by backing them up. So I hooked my 3G phone up to my computer and it said it was backing up my photos,etc....It then said something like it was unable to successfully backup my photos. Then something came up saying thephone needed to be restored but I didn't push on that button because it would said I would lose all of my data (i have my pics of my little guy who has been suffering from cancer...too priceless to lose). So I didn't push on that button and now all that is on my phone screen is the itunes symbol and a pic of the usb adapter showing an arrow pointing to the itunes symbol.

The terms of service of the Apple Support Communities prevent us from helping anyone with a jailbroken phone.
You're on your own. Good luck.

Invisible files (etc, var, tmp) become visible after Disc Utility Restore

After cloning my hard disc to an external drive using the Disc Utility Restore function the three files var, etc, tmp have become 'visible' as aliases. How do I restore them to their 'invisible' status and how do I prevent this happening again?
The 'restored' external drive works fine as a startup disc with all other files as they should be.

Personally I think the easiest solution is to just do what all versions of OS X did up to Tiger: create the .hidden file and list the files. While Tiger no longer creates the file, the Finder will still read one if it is present. What I did was open TextEdit, set format to plain text, listed:
var
etc
tmp
Saved as hidden to the root level of the drive, then opened Terminal, did cd to /, then
mv hidden .hidden
Relaunch Finder and files are now hidden from view, without any monkeying with the files themselves. The Apple recommendation for the problem makes me feel faint.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

HT201210 Both my iphone and ipad are saying could not backup etc, delete etc, will not let me upgrade to 6.0 any ideas please?

Tried to upgrade both devices but a message comes back saying backup corrupt etc, any ideas please?

Select a device in iTunes and click the tabs across top to sync what you want.
Do the same for the other device.

Adding sound to rollovers,buttons.. etc..etc.. ok.. i'm new ( forgive me)

Greetings..
I'm helping the community develop a webpage to promote .. well.. the community.. and have been put in chagre of sounds...
Is there an easy way, using java, to add rollover, button down, etc..etc sounds to a webage???
I guess all sounds would have to be pre-loaded and in an ..um.. *.au format??...
Please help as i am a complete novice, and i would be very very very thankful for any help...
even if its a push in the.. get out of our forum way...
Thankyou fot your time..
FasH

The java.awt.Applet class has a method called getAudioClip(URL) and
getAudioClip(URL, String) wich allows you to load a .au audio clip.
Once loaded you can play the clip using the play() or loop() method and
you can stop the clip with the stop() method.
Example :
import java.applet.*;
public class AudioApplet extends Applet {
private AudioClip clip;
public void init() {
clip = getAudioClip(getCodeBase(), "myclip.au");
public void start() {
clip.play();

System Imager back to showing var, tmp, and etc

Anyone notice that after the 10.4.8 update, that var, tmp, and etc are showing up on Netinstall images? This used to be a problem up to 10.4.3, but it appears to be back.
Anyone else having this problem?

Hi Martin,
   I can't help a lot; my stupid Script Editor and AppleScript have also changed. AppleScript just seems to get flakier and it's more than I want deal with much. However, I'll tell you what I found out, even though it's the opposite of a solution.
   My Script Editor won't let me save a POSIX file reference either. I can tell you that you can change (file "MyHDName:private:var") to (folder "MyHDName:private:var") and you won't get the error. Of course that's not what you want since it's the symbolic link and not the directory to which it points whose visibility you want to change. I now also get the same error with the command that you posted but the following produces no error for me:
tell application "System Events" to set the visible of (POSIX file "/var" as alias) to false
Of course you can't save it but you can run it. However, you can save it as a shell script that uses the osascript command:
osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to set the visible of (Posix file "/var" as alias) to false'
   However, this is ultimately no help either because you don't have privileges as a regular user to change the properties of this symlink. Since it's not a "do shell script" command, you can't invoke administrator privileges as far as I know. You can't change the ownership or permissions of a symlink from the command line so the only thing of which I can think is to enable the root user and login as root and run the command. It seems that in order to make AppleScript secure, Apple has made it almost useless as an administrative tool. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable and less frustrated with AppleScript will know how to get administrator privileges.
Gary
~~~~
   If all the seas were ink,
   And all the reeds were pens,
   And all the skies were parchment,
   And all the men could write,
   These would not suffice
   To write down all the red tape
   Of this Government.

Clean Leopard Install - Can't get Photos back in Right (tripling, etc)

Hi. I did a clean Leopard install then loaded my iLife '06. I have my "iPhoto Library" on my external. This contains folders 'originals', 'modified', 'data', and other accoutremonts. In iPhoto, I selected "Import" and thought things were going well till I saw 1) triple copies of each photo 2) no import of my tags for each photo, albums, folders, etc. I see 2000, 2001, 2002, etc. but no 'Canada Vacation', etc.
So, knowing I still had them on my external, I deleted over 10,000 photos from iPhoto to start anew. Then I figured the triples were coming from 'originals', 'modified', 'data' so I tried just importing "originals". This put only 1 copy of the photo in iPhoto, but it's a jumbled mess with no tags, sections, etc.
I checked the help section but am still not 'getting it'. Could someone point me in the right direction or explain what I should do here to get my iPhoto back to where it was pristine/organized? I'm befuddled.

I fixed my problem by accident. I merely dragged my "iPhoto Library" from my external to "pictures" in my home directory.

FF 9.01 has bizzare behavior, sever not found, sites look wrong, left tab back, failed sign ons, etc.

'''Moderator edit: Locked, duplicate of [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/910533 910533]'''
'''Anyone else having problems with FF 9.0.1? I mean multiple, strange problems! Ever since I upgraded to this latest version of Firefox 9.0.1, I have frequent "server not found" on common web sites like www.google.com, www.amazon.com, www.tvguide.com, etc.
All these problem are frequent but inconsistent. Happens most, but not all of the time. Repeated attempts to execute a site url will, eventually (usually) get a good response.
Further, when pages are found, they open up looking wrong - unformatted text, no graphics, missing html commands, etc.
Also, on several sites, I am unable to sign on or exchange information/data. Logons are not accepted, fail or are repeated over and over, responses not recognized, etc. This seems to especially true for Yahoo and ATT web sights.
Lastly, just to add insult to injury, that damnable left side tab on my Google home page (igoogle) is BACK!!
Switching to Chrome and/or IE eliminates these problems, but I still prefer FF!
'''I have reviewed the articles here and tried several alterations on the config page, but nothing has helped.'''
I have flushed my cache, cookies, history with no benefit! I have also, as I am now, started FF in safe mode band EVEN in SAFE MODE, with EVERYTHING disabled, I still get the bizzare responses and the left tab is still back.
Is there a way to reload FF completely with every thing set as itv it was BEFORE the last upgrade or to go back to an earlier version? What is it about 9.0.1 that is causing all these problems?
BTW, incidently, aabout the same time as upgrading FF, I also switched from Comcast cable ISP to ATT DSL ISP at a even higher speed - 18.0 Mbps. Not sure if that matters; I think the behavior was evident BEFORE the switch over.
Any ideas or suggestions? Are the setting in my config under "useragent" correct? The Ivp6 settings?
Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Bob Woolf'''

'''Cor-el,
I think it's time to bring some of those kryptonian super powers of yours in to play! :)
Yes, I am still having problems. I tried to load in the online site for my bank, Navy Federal Credit Union. I got the old "server not found" BS. I did as you suggested and executed a SHIFTED Reload and that worked, at least in the since that I was able to get the opening page.
However, when I went to sign on, the trouble appeared. Similar to the failed logons and recycling sign ons that I had seen on Yahoo and a few other sites, WHEN I logged onto NFCU's page (they have an unusual three part logon), as soon as I sign on I am IMMEDIATELY told I have "timed out" on the session and am kicked off. Repeated attempts to access my account yields the same thing over and over. I tried to sign on using Internet Explorer and there was NO PROBLEM AT ALL, so the issue is specific to FF.
I then flushed the cache and retied; no luck. I tried SAFE MODE and again no luck. I then went in a flushed the cache, again, and deleted all associated cookies. Again no luck.
Then I flushed the cache, reset ALL the preferences and tried again, still no luck.
As it stands now, I have reset the USERAGENT entries, flushed the cache, reset the preferences and, removed the cookies and still, EVEN in SAFE mode, Firefox and NFCU can't get along. Neither can Yahoo.com!
So, after all that,I am at my wits end. Suggestions? Should I send you a refreshed copy of my troubleshooting dump?
Keep in mine that I have, up until 9.0.1 came out, been using FF to aces s all these sites without any problems. So I guess the question has to be: Exactly what was changed in 9.0.1 from the previous version that has made it act this way?
Ideas? Suggestions? Fixing this has become a full time job!
Bob W'''

After installing Firefox again, I wanted to get back my settings, bookmarks etc. by syncronising with Firefox Sync but accidentaly settings from a fresh browser

After formatting the partition and installing Firefox again, I wanted to get my settings, bookmarks etc. back by syncronising with Firefox Sync but accidentaly settings from a fresh browser was uploaded and now I cannot have the browser the way I used to have. Is there any way to reverse this changes?

Hi zoomy,
First check that you still have data in your sync account.
Firefox button > Options > Sync > Manage Account
It should tell you how much data is stored in the account. Is there any?
If there is still data in the sync account then you can follow the instructions in this article [[What is Firefox Sync?]]. Refer to the 'How much of my data is synced?' section. Change the option to 'Replace all data on this computer with my Sync data'.
I hope that works for you.
If there is no data in your sync account you will be able to get it back by syncing from another computer. Just make sure that the settings on that computer are not replaced by the blank account again. You can use the 'Replace all other devices with this computer's data' option to prevent this.
Please note that Firefox Sync is designed only to sync details between devices not as an online backup tool. If you are formatting a partition it is generally best to backup your profile folder along with any other data. See [[Managing profiles]] for more detail.
--Edward

Within the last hour, I noticed that my older MacBook Pro, while I was playing it in iTunes, lost contrast on the screen. I am sorry, but I did not take exact notes on this event. Around the same time, I did do a back up, uploaded software, etc.

Within the last hour, I noticed that my older MacBook Pro, while I was using iTunes, lost contrast on the screen. I am sorry, but I did not take exact notes on this event. Around the same time, I did do a back up, uploaded Apple software, etc.
I'm using two MacPros simultaniously, the old one for iTunes, and the new one for the other things. My new one has no problems, so am wondering if there is an easy way to correct the older MacPro's contrast problems. The computer is over three years old, and I'm wondering also if this failure is an aging sign. (I also have other problems, such as a noisy DVD drive, which is part of the reason I bought a new MacBook Pro.)

Is the older MBP a pre-Unibody model from early 2008? If so, it could be having this problem:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2377
If so, you would be entitled to a free repair.
The lost contrast could be considered distorted video.
Do you have an external monitor? If the external shows the same lost contrast, the graphics chip is likely the culprit. If the external is OK, then you probably have an issue with the built in display or possibly with its connections.
You may also want to check in Universal Access to see if the contrast bar is set in its normal position (all the way to the left).
Apple has a special test they can run to diagnose the NVIDIA issue, so if you have access to an Apple Store, make an appointment at the genius bar to have it run.
Good luck!

Backing up /etc /var etc....

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for