Backup before formatting

Dear all,
For a couple of month, i have issues with my MacBook pro, which is blocking during the turn off procedure. Screen stays blue with the loading symbol.
I always have to force the stop.
I want to restore my MacBook completely. But i don't know how to make sure that i'll get back my files (itunes, mail, documents, calendar and contacts are on mobile me and i sync an ipad, an iphone and an ipod nano on this mac)
How can i make sure to be able to restore my datas after formatting ? is Time Machine enough ?
Thanks for your help
Cyril

Backing up the Home folder will contain everything. Be sure to make backups of your iDevices first to be sure the Home folder backup is current.
Get Carbon Copy Cloner 3.3.7 and use it to backup your Home folder to an external hard drive. If your backup drive has sufficient space you can simply clone the entire drive using Disk Utility:
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
Select the destination volume from the left side list.
Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
Check the box labeled Erase destination.
Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
I suggest that you simply reinstall all your third-party software after you erase the drive and reinstall OS X.

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I have to replace my hard drive as it is failing, I'm away and just bought a new external HD for backups,,only problem is it is fsiling to backup without a reason. Disk utility says ex HD is ok. I need to backup before i get it repaired. Any Advice?

Hi my hard drive is failing and I'm overseas in Thailand. I bought a Buffalo 1TB to back up my mac 13inch HD version 10.6.8, only problem is it wont back up. Disk Utility says ex HD is fine. I need to backup before I take it for repairs. What can I do? Thanks advice appreciated. NL

I think we both had our wires crossed a little.
Then just go ahead and clone your internal drive to your Buffalo. You are not going to use Time Machine, and you do not have to partition it. So ignore all that stuff I posted. Let me start from scratch.
First check that your Buffalo drive is partitioned GUID and formatted Mac OS Extended, Journaled. So open Disk Utility, select the topmost entry for the Buffalo drive. You should see something like this:
I have selected the entry of my CalDigit drive. Note that the Partition Map Scheme is GUID. Now, select the volume (mine is "System Backup."
Here you see it is a Format type of Mac OS Extended, Journaled. If that's what you see then you are good to go.
With Disk Utility still open:
Clone using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility in the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to
the Destination entry field.
5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
the Source entry field.
6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the Buffalo drive. Source means the internal startup drive.

I'm unable connect my I pad mini to my laptop(window 7,64 bit) after formatting,my iTunes didn't find my device,before format everything working properly but this time lot of problem plz help

I'm unable connect my I pad mini to my laptop(window 7,64 bit) after formatting,my iTunes didn't find my device,before format everything working properly but this time lot of problem plz help

You formatted your computer's hard drive? If so, it's like starting with a new computer unless you restored all of your content from a backup but it does;t sound like that's the case.
See wjosten's excellent how-to here: Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive

What should I do BEFORE formatting?

Hi,
I'm about to take the long road of formatting my PC soon (it´s starting to show different signs of unhappines).
I have an iPod Touch and iTunes with ~32GB of music, mostly ripped CD:s (my own, paid for, CD:s. I'm that old ) but also some music bought from iTunes store.
How do I, with the least amount of pain, trouble and effort, restore all of my music to the, after formatting, freshly installed system?
In other words, what do I do before formatting, and after, to make everything as easy as possible.
I've had a crash before and then had a loooong journey (no full back-up = ripping CD:s, downloading covers....etc) back to where I was before the crash.
I would like everything in my iTunes library/iPod to be EXACTLY as it is today (I've rearranged music, changed titles and covers and so on...)
I've tried reading on forums (and in the manuals), but I just get confused. I was about to make a back-up on DVD:s, but if I understand things correctly it's not necessary anymore (your device will work as a back-up nowadays?) Some forums seems to suggests only iTunes-bought media will be recovered, not ripped music.... und so weiter.
So folks, I'm trying to be proactive here and listen to your advice on how to do this in a proper way (if such a thing exists) before I make a mess of everything and have to spend days, possibly weeks, restoring my music after formatting.
Regards
/Mike

You're welcome.
I forgot to describe how you can test the backup...
Click the icon to start iTunes and immediately press and hold down the shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library. Click choose, then browse to and open <External>\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl. iTunes should open normally and be able to sync your devices as if nothing had changed, but will be referencing the media on the external drive instead of the internal.
tt2

***** .nfc Content Copier backup file format incom...

The PC Suite 6.70.22 Content Copier’s Restore function (running on Windows XP SP2) cannot restore the Contacts to a 6680 mobile from a .nfc file on a USB flash memory stick created earlier on another computer by PC Suite 5.8 Content Copier’s “transfer data from the phone to the PC” function (running on Windows 98SE) which copied the contacts from a 7250i mobile.
Wishing to copy my contacts from my old 7250i mobile to my new 6680 without the expense of purchasing a DKU-5 USB cable for the 7250i (the 6680 has a DKU-2 USB cable in the box), I first copied the 7250i’s contacts using the infra red link to an old laptop running Windows 98SE by executing PC Suite 5.8 Content Copier’s “transfer data from the phone to the PC” function which created a file named “C:\Windows\Profiles\my name\My Documents\Backup files\Nokia 7250i contacts 15-12-2005.nfc”.
I then copied this file to a USB flash memory stick and subsequently plugged the flash memory stick into a USB port on a desktop machine running Windows XP SP2. I also connected the 6680 to another USB port using the DKU-2 cable. After starting PC Suite 6.70.22, I clicked on the Get Connected! Button to get connected to my 6680. I then clicked on the Backup icon to load the Content Copier Program and clicked on the Restore button. On the next screen headed “Select back up file to be retored” I browsed to the folder on the flash memory stick containing the file “Nokia 7250i contacts 15-12-2005.nfc”, clicked on the checkbox labelled “Restore contacts, calendar etc” and clicked on the OK button.
The following warning message was displayed :-
You are about to restore contents from another phone model than the connected phone.
Some content might not be restored.
and I clicked on the OK button.
Then the following warning message was displayed :-
This backup file has been made from a phone that uses a different language than the target
phone.
To make sure that your phone and Nokia PC Suite applications function properly, it is
recommended that you restore the backup files only in phones that use the same language as
the source phone.
and I clicked on the Cancel button which caused the initial Content Copier screen to be displayed.
I think it is totally unacceptable that PC Suite 6.70.22 Content Copier cannot correctly process the files created by PC Suite 5.8 Content Copier.
Please reply if you agree with me.
Has anybody successfully transferred contacts between mobiles using the same or similar procedure as I have described above ?
If so, what did you do that was different ?
Does anybody know whether Content Copier’s .nfb backup file format is compatible between PC Suite 5.8 Content Copier and PC Suite 6.70.22 Content Copier ?
Before I report this problem to Nokia, has anybody reported this problem to Nokia previously ?

Yes, I am aware I can connect my 7250i to pc suite 6.7 to transfer all the data from the old phone to the new one.
But I think you missed the point.
I was attempting to use the resources I had without any further expenditure on hardware.
The 7250i has an infra red and USB connection but I do not posses a DKU-5 USB cable for it.
I was quoted around £29 for a new DKU-5 cable, although I have recently discovered that they sell for much cheaper on eBay.
The only computer I have with an infra red link is an old Sony laptop running Windows 98SE. Sony are probably the worst computer manufacturer for not providing the latest versions of Windows with the required Sony device drivers and the Sony utility programs for their old machines. Hence if I install Windows XP SP2 on the laptop from a retail CD, I lose some Sony functions/capabilities. So I am stuck with Windows 98SE, which means I have to use pc suite 5.8 as pc suite 6.7 cannot be installed on this laptop becuse it only runs under Windows XP SP2 ns Windows 2000.
As the 6680 mobile requires pc suite 6.7, I did this on a desktop machine running Windows XP SP2, but this machine does not have an infra red port. Hence my attempt to tranfer the .nfc file from the laptop to the desktop machine on the assumption that Nokia software developers would NOT be stupid enough to not provide backward compatibility.
I have been a computer programmer since 1966 and know that you must always provide backward compatibity even if this means providing another program to convert a file in an old format to a file in a new format.
I intend to lobby Nokia to do something about this and was hoping for support from others who have attempted something similar.

Greeting, I want to reformat my external hard drive using Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted ) but before formatting it, I want to make sure that if I loose the hard drive or the hard drive get stolen, no one will be able to retrieve or recover the in

Greeting,
I want to reformat my external hard drive using Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted ) but before formatting it, I want to make sure that if I loose the hard drive or the hard drive get stolen, no one will be able to retrieve or recover the information on it so could you tell me what kind of encryption will be used or is there any way to recover the information?
Thanks!

I think FileVault is used to encryp internal hard drive but I wanna encrypt an external hard drive with Mac OS Extended Journaled Encrypted which is completely different!

How can I restore my old history & bookmarks if I didn't run backup before re-installing a new clean OS? I've been using Firefox for 7 years as default, help me

Hello,
I believe that what I'm asking is simple & clear. Do you or do you not store user data backups on your servers? I've been using Firefox, as the default browser, for over 7 years. Naturally, I had to upgrade my
pc's & operating systems several times through this period. Every time I use a new device & of course a
new OS, I normally lose my old data (History & Bookmarks).
If you keep records or backups of old users' data, there will be no problem & I could restore all my old data
following your instructions. If not, which is probably the case, I'd like to suggest you consider developing or
at least put more stress on running backup before uninstalling & re-installing a new OS for the users to pay more attention to this issue.
That's all, thanks.
Regards,
Aly Hamed

hello aly, mozilla doesn't keep any of your history or bookmarks on its severs without your expressed consent (would be a horrible privacy policy otherwise) - there's the [[Use Sync to share your Firefox bookmarks, passwords and more with Firefox for mobile|firefox sync feature]] which will store parts of your private data encrypted in the cloud, in case you've used that in the past you'd need 3 components to restore this data: your username, password & the recovery key...
otherwise i don't know of any way to get to your old data if you haven't kept any other backup of some sorts - unfortunately most of us are reminded to the importance of backups when it's already too late :-/
in regard to your suggestion: during the firefox uninstall procedure your personal data isn't removed per default, so it would still be there after a reinstall of the application - you'd have to explicitly check the option to clear this kind of data in the uninstaller. some general information on where to look if you want to backup your firefox data in the future is available here: [[Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles]]

On another PC I want to backup my bookmarks but my Firefox browser is not working how can I do the backup before I reinstall Firefox

On another PC I want to backup my bookmarks but my Firefox browser is not working how can I do the backup before I reinstall Firefox.
Firefox can't renew it's last tabs and now won't run and let me do a backup

It is possible that there is a problem with the files sessionstore.js and sessionstore.bak in the Firefox Profile Folder.
Delete the sessionstore.js file and possible sessionstore-##.js files with a number and sessionstore.bak in the Firefox Profile Folder.
*Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Directory: Open Containing Folder
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
Deleting sessionstore.js will cause App Tabs and Tab Groups and open and closed (undo) tabs to get lost, so you will have to create them again (make a note or bookmark them).
See also:
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Session_Restore
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/sessionstore.js
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Multiple_profile_files_created

Is it necessary to do a backup before installing the new ios7 and then do a restore? We have 4th

I am not sure if I need to do a backup before installing the new upgrade of iOS7 and then do restore all files. I have heard of someone losing all their contacts! Any ideas please?

I would back up anything you don't want to lose. Chances are, you wont' lose a thing.....but backups are always nice to have.

HT4859 My Apple ID is my AOL email address. Since I set up iCloud & another email address, I only have an Inbox. I kept getting a IMAP error. How do I restore to a previous iCloud backup before this happened?

My Apple ID is my AOL email address. Since I set up iCloud & another email address, I only have an Inbox. I kept getting a IMAP error. How do I restore to a previous iCloud backup before this happened?

It may be that the process you used to change the iCloud ID created these issues. What I would suggest you do is the following:
If you have any photo stream photos on your device that you want to keep, save them to your camera roll by opening your photo stream album, tapping Edit, tap the photos, tap Share, tap Save to Camera Roll.
Go to icloud.com on your computer, sign into your iCloud account and check to confirm that your data is all there.
Assuming your data is on icloud.com, go to Settings>iCloud on your device, tap Delete Account and choose Delete from My iDevice when prompted. This will only delete the account and your synced data from your device but not from iCloud. Your data will be synced back to your device when you sign back in.
Go to Settings>iCloud, sign back in with the correct iCloud ID and password and turn your iCloud data syncing preferences back on. This will sync your iCoud data back to your device and recreate your iCloud email account.
Try your Mail again and see if it works properly now.

HT1420 Does this procedure (deauthorizing iTunes) also effect the Mac app store, or do I need to also reauthorize it somehow before formatting my hard drive?

Does this procedure (deauthorizing iTunes) also effect the Mac app store, or do I need to also deauthorize it somehow before formatting my hard drive?

You only need do this in iTunes. See iTunes Store- About authorization and deauthorization.

Stopping a Vault backup before its done??

Anyone had to stop a vault backup before it is completed? External HD had to be disconnected.
On reconnect will it pick up where it left off or do I need to start the whole process over again?
I am creating a new vault on a new external for the first time. It is some 80GB and takes some time to create. Not sure if I just waste an hour and half or it will pick up where it left off?

From what I remember (not tried this in a long time), it will pause the update at the point it got to, and carry on from there next time you update. If you click 'Cancel' you should get a dialog box asking if you want to cancel and telling you exactly what will happen if you do.
Ian

Where are old backups before Maverick?

I have been using Time Machine from 6 month ago on Mountain Lion. Yesterday I installed Maverick and Time Machine seems working OK. But I reallized that all my backups before yesterday are lost or at least I can not see them when I run Time Machine. Where are those old backups? I lost some mail folders saved on my mac while migrating to Maverick and I need my old backups.

sskimpt
all my backups before yesterday (PRE MAVERICKS) are lost
Is it a Firewire or Thunderbolt external HD?
Very important question
FIrewire & Thunder bolt drives are having issues with Mavericks, avoid same until a fix is issued if you can.
many are reporting same, there is a firewire fault and TB HD on external HD from LaCie (Seagate) and from WD especially.
Technicians are looking into it.
Until there is resolution, consider setting up a USB ext. Time machine HD.
Until then consider confining Mavericks use with USB HD.
Ive tested a very long line of USB HD on Mavericks, all seem fine.

Is it required to deactivate an adobe after effect before formatting a computer??

Is it required to deactivate an adobe after effect before formatting a computer??
because my adobe after effect is licence version & the windows suddenly cress & i need to format pc ……so what i do…..in this case???

Well, there's also a Creative Suite forum. Personally I'm not familiar with After Effects at all.
In general however, if you are going to install the application on the very same computer and hard drive, you do not have to deactivate first.
However, if you end up with a different CPU or another hard drive, then yes, you should deactivate it.
Just keep in mind that you only get a limited number of re-activations, so don't waste them unnecessarily.
Contact Adobe customer service if in doubt as to the number of activations you have left.
Also note that I have no experience with Creative Suites on a subscription basis, so I'm talking from the point of view of my perpetual licenses to Adobe applications.

Hey ppl do i need to take any kind of backup before upgrading to 10.7.5 or mountain lion?

my question is that do i need to take backup before upgrading my OS?

If everything during the uograde works perfectly your data should not be touched.
Having said that, I don't know about you but I never trust my data to everything working perfectly. So I always back up. In fact I backup twice, once with Time Machine and the other is a clone done by SuperDuper.
You really should being backing up your data on a continuous basis.
Get an external disk and use either Time Machine or a cloning tool such as SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner.
Allan

Backup before formatting

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