Backup before upgrading OS

Hi -
I recently purchased an eMac off ebay that came loaded with an OS with no disks supplied. I'd like to make an entire (bootable) backup of the device before using it, just in case I somehow corrupt the machine. I have a CD-RW drive. Can anyone suggest any cheap (free) utility like Ghost (for PC) that I can use? Thanks in advance, Lee

Yes it will work for a USB drive, but you cannot boot your computer from a USB drive, only Firewire.
I apologize for the incorrect instructions, but I did not note you are using OS X 10.1.x. The Restore option was not introduced until the release of Panther.
I'm not sure how you can clone using 10.1.x. You could try Carbon Copy Cloner, but you will need to use the older version 2.3 (CCC 2.3.) Not sure if it will work as it requires at least 10.2.
Here are some other backup alternatives you can check. Not sure which will work with 10.1.
Basic Backup
You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Retrospect Desktop (Commercial - not yet universal binary)
2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
3. Synk (Backup, Standard, or Pro)
4. Deja Vu (Shareware)
5. PsynchX 2.1.1 and RsyncX 2.1 (Freeware)
6. Carbon Copy Cloner (Freeware - 3.0 is a Universal Binary)
7. SuperDuper! (Commercial)
The following utilities can also be used for backup, but cannot create bootable clones:
1. Backup (requires a .Mac account with Apple both to get the software and to use it.)
2. Toast
3. Impression
4. arRSync
Apple's Backup is a full backup tool capable of also backing up across multiple media such as CD/DVD. However, it cannot create bootable backups. It is primarily an "archiving" utility as are the other two.
Impression and Toast are disk image based backups, only. Particularly useful if you need to backup to CD/DVD across multiple media.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.

Similar Messages

  • 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

  • Iphone 3gs backup before upgrade

    Hey guys, hope you well
    I just recently turned on my iphone 3gs since 2010 & It shows me the usb and itunes screen. Most likely it needs an upgrade on the IOS software
    The problem is that I have over 2000 pictures, contacts and my text messages. If I upgrade the software , this will all be deleted
    Can anyone advise me if there is a way in which I can retrieve the lost data before upgrading the IOS software?
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    Too late.   The iTunes with USB graphic indicates your phone is in recovery mode, and would need to be fully restored to be usable again.
    Whatever was on the device is lost forever.

  • Backup before upgrading to Aperture 3.3!

    Just a gentle reminder: Back up your Aperture or iPhoto Libraries before upgrading them to the new Aperture 3.3 format. Otherwise it will be impossible to go back to the earlier Aperture or iPhoto Version, if their should be any problems! 
    Or experiment with a small test library before committing your major libraries terminally to Aperture 3.3. or iPhoto 9.3!
    Regards
    Léonie

    I think the point is that any Library, if all the Originals (heh) are Managed, will be larger than the same Library with some of the Originals Referenced.
    I run mixed Libraries, but with 80% or more of the Images having Referenced Originals.  I made a separate "slice in time" back-ups of my Aperture Libraries prior to converting them to the 3.3 format.  I could do that on a single (large) drive -- about five times smaller than the aggregate sum of all the Libraries + Referenced Originals.
    --Kirby.

  • What's the best way to backup before upgrading to Leopard?

    I'm preparing to move to Leopard from 10.4.11 and need a little help backing up. I want to do a clean install, so I want as good a backup as I can get to my external firewire disk. The external drive is about the same size as my internal drive, and I am about half full.
    My first thought was to use an rsync like solution and create a bootable backup. How cool is that? But it appears there are some issues with rsync, and those issues appear to have changed over time. My current version of rsync is 2.6.3, and it comes from samba.org. My guess is that is the default for 10.4.11, at least I don't remember changing it.
    So now I look at rsyncX version 2.1. It wants to replace my existing rsync and the documentation I found didn't reference a version of rsync as current as mine. In addition, rsyncX does not exist in the Apple support world. That bothers me a bit. I just as soon stay away from the SuperDuper, Carbon Copy Cloner, etc., because they are way more than I need.
    All this gets me to thinking that I might be better off just backing up user files. Currently my backup procedure is to occasionally back up user home folders. This is strictly a manual process, no scheduling required. KISS method usually works best for me.
    It appears to me that when I copy home folders to the external drive, they are then available to any user connected to the drive. The current user becomes the owner of all files on the external drive with full read write privileges. Is this true?
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    Although certainly not the only option available the safest way to clone is to use the Restore option of Disk Utility. However, alternatives include the current versions of several backup utilities that provide cloning alternatives:
    Recommended Backup Software
    My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
    1. Retrospect Desktop (Commercial - not yet universal binary)
    2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
    3. Synk (Backup, Standard, or Pro)
    4. Deja Vu (Shareware)
    5. Carbon Copy Cloner (Freeware - 3.1 is a Universal Binary)
    6. SuperDuper! (Commercial)
    7. Data Backup (Commercial)
    Before cloning do the following:
    Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
    Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now shutdown the computer for a couple of minutes and then restart normally.
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    Message was edited by: Kappy

  • Proper Backup Before Upgrade

    Gang,
    I will soon upgrade to 10.4. As I always do it will be a clean upgrade. This means a full backup is needed. Can I assume the only thing I need is a complete copy of my personal user directory or are there 'pointer' files elsewhere I need as well? My main concern here is iTunes, iPhoto and Mail.
    TIA,
    James

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    Short of this solution, backing up your Home folder is a second best solution. But you will have to re-install third party apps and reset some system prefs.
    If you choose this method, here is a list of where your important data is stored ("~" stands for "home"):
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    ~/library/application support/addressbook (copy the whole folder)
    ~/library/application support/iCal(copy the whole folder)
    Also in ~/library/application support (copy whatever else you need)
    ~ /library/keychains (copy the whole folder)
    ~/library/mail (copy the whole folder)
    ~/library/preferences/com.apple.mail.plist *This is a very important file which contains all email account settings and general mail preferences.
    ~ /library/itunes (copy the whole folder)
    ~ /library/safari (copy the whole folder)
    ~ /library/imovie (copy the whole folder)
    ~/pictures/iphoto library
    ~/music/itunes
    ~/movies/imovie
    If you want cookies:
    ~/library/cookies/cookies.plist
    ~/library/application support/webfoundation/HTTPcookies.plist
    For Entourage users:
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    Also in ~ /library/preferences/microsoft
    internet explorer favorites are in ~/library/preferences/explorer/favorites.html
    -mj
    [email protected]

  • Media backup  Before upgrading to system 5

    It takes forever to backup. Can I speed it up?

    I think the point is that any Library, if all the Originals (heh) are Managed, will be larger than the same Library with some of the Originals Referenced.
    I run mixed Libraries, but with 80% or more of the Images having Referenced Originals.  I made a separate "slice in time" back-ups of my Aperture Libraries prior to converting them to the 3.3 format.  I could do that on a single (large) drive -- about five times smaller than the aggregate sum of all the Libraries + Referenced Originals.
    --Kirby.

  • E51/E71: Config backup before firmware upgrade?

    Hi,
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    TIA.

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  • I get an error message -5000 when backing up my ipad before upgrading

    I get an error message (-5000) when tryoing to backup before upgrading to lastest software version

    Try this previously competed discussion:
    https://discussions.apple.com/message/17162527#17162527

  • Backup inbetween upgrades?

    I backed up my computer with an external hard drive before upgrading to Snow Leopard.  Now, I want to upgrade to Lion.  Do I need to perform another backup before upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion? 
    I have attached my G drive mini to my computer after the upgrade to Snow Leopard was complete and the Time Machine does not give updates as it did on the older Mac OS system.  In the new version of Time Machine on Snow Leopard, it appears the only option is to restore.   I am afraid this will restore my old OS system.  Do I need to restore? 
    Thanks,
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  • Automatic iphone backup location - upgrade to iOS 5

    I am looking for the iPhone automatic backup file created by iTunes while upgrading iPhone to iOS 5 via  iTunes 10.5.2.11 / Windows XP.  Itunes creates automatically a backup of iPhone before upgrading and will restore this backup after upgrade is completed.  I need to know where to find this backup file.
    I just upgraded iPhone to iOS 5 via iTunes on Windows XP.  I forgot to make my own iPhone backup before upgrading.  After upgrading and restoring iPhone (the automaitc backup), iTunes started a sync with Outlook even tough I had checked in iTunes "Prevent iPods, iPhones and iPads from syncing automatically".
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    Thank you.

    Agreed. Same thing here. Just bought a late model Alpine INE-S920Hd and it is all kinds of broken. I think this is happening because Apple shifted the music and video. Totally buggy. Bluetooth refuses to work properly, too. A2dp keeps stealing the audio from Pandora in the Alpine interface. The ipod controls dont work at all.

  • HT1766 I want to restore my iPhone to the backup I did just before upgrading to iOS6. Today's sync/backup erased most of my contacts and almost all of my phone numbers within the remaining contacts.  No iCloud backup because of other issues still to resol

    I want to restore my iPhone to the backup that I did just before upgrading to iOS6.  When I try to pull up old backups, I only see one from this morning and an old one from May 2012 when I still had my iPhone 3GS.  I have not been using iCloud since it was set up improperly when I first switched to the 4S, the contacts weren't being synced AT ALL.  visited the genius bar, they said I need a whole other appointment to visit them and solve that, I haven't had a chance to do that yet.  Thus, I am backing up to iTunes.
    This morning's sync/backup resulted in me losing most of my contacts, and for the contacts that remain, 99% of the phone numbers are gone.  I can recover my calendar entries from this past week, but I don't know how I can recover all of them from my May 2012 backup.
    Since I had a backup just last week, I'd like to just go back to it.  But how?  Or, is there another way to get my contacts restored?  And why did they disappear?  And what else may be gone that I just don't know about yet?

    I want to restore my iPhone to the backup that I did just before upgrading to iOS6.  When I try to pull up old backups, I only see one from this morning and an old one from May 2012 when I still had my iPhone 3GS.  I have not been using iCloud since it was set up improperly when I first switched to the 4S, the contacts weren't being synced AT ALL.  visited the genius bar, they said I need a whole other appointment to visit them and solve that, I haven't had a chance to do that yet.  Thus, I am backing up to iTunes.
    This morning's sync/backup resulted in me losing most of my contacts, and for the contacts that remain, 99% of the phone numbers are gone.  I can recover my calendar entries from this past week, but I don't know how I can recover all of them from my May 2012 backup.
    Since I had a backup just last week, I'd like to just go back to it.  But how?  Or, is there another way to get my contacts restored?  And why did they disappear?  And what else may be gone that I just don't know about yet?

  • Before upgrading my system from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion I had taken a backup of iPhoto in my external drive. But now when I try to open that package, I'm directed to app store to buy new iPhoto. How can I retrieve my photos without buying iPhoto?

    Before upgrading my system from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion I had taken a backup of iPhoto library in my external drive. But now when I try to open that package, I'm directed to app store to buy new iPhoto. Why would apple install iPhoto by default with Snow Leapord and make us import all our photos in it at the first place, and now ask for money if we want to retrieve our photos back on mountain lion? What if they make contacts a paid app with the next OS upgrade, and then bully us to pay money if we want our contacts? This is something very dissappointing on Apple's part. I need answers here.

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    Does your iPhoto icon in the Applications folder look like this?
    Then your iPhoto version is incompatible and cannot run with Mt. Lion. If it is iPhoto '11, with a versionnumber starting with 9.x.x., you can upgrade it by downloading a newer version from the Apple downloads site  http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1650.
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    Regards
    Léonie

  • I want to backup my phone before upgrading to ios5 but I get an error message itunes could not back up the iphone because a session could not be started with the iphone. Please help me..

    I want to backup my phone before upgrading to ios5 but I get an error message: itunes could not back up the iphone because a session could not be started with the iphone. I want to go to ios5, but I do not want to lose everything. I've gone to my device under preferences and I have no backup currently.
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    Hi Judy,
    Im using windows 7 and im not a computer wizard, i've tried the method by using the instruction for Win7 but it does not work, same problem still exist.
    Could uninstall itunes and reinstall it back on my pc fix my problem, please advise...... Many Thanks!
    VBR,
    ray

  • Backup Mail account settings before upgrade

    I want to backup my account settings before I do a complete fresh install of the OS, to save having to setup all my e-mail accounts again.
    I see you can Archive mail boxes, but to me this sounds like an archive of the actuall mail, and not the actuall POP settings.
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    Why do you need to reinstall the entire OS from scratch; what's wrong with it?
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    I do have Carbon Copy Clones and Super Duper copies of the boot drive, but these problems have been going on since those backups have been created. I did not plan much of a backup strategy for the OS, as I had been lead to believe that the OS was so good/stable failures like I am experiencing do not occur. I should be able to do a Time machine restore of the OS boot drive anyway. So if my thinking is correct I could probably do away with the bootable backup. But I still have the CCC and SD copies just in case. I would also like to have a clean fully running install before upgrading to Snow Leopard next month.
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    OK, great the plist file...should have guessed that really
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