Cloning a TM backup drive fails

I have a 250G FW drive that I've been using for months to backup the Mini its connected to, and another which is on the home LAN. I want to replace this drive with a new 500G, also connected via FW on the same machine.
Looking at the 250G drive with finder shows three items:
1) Backups.backupdb folder
2) Desktop folder with No Entry sign on it
3) sparsebundle for the other Mini, also with No Entry sign on it.
I've closely followed the instructions I've found in the FAQ here and elsewhere on the web, to use Disk Utility to clone the 250 onto the 500. It fails every time with:
Restore Failure - Could not validate sizes - input/output error.
Any pointers as to what I can do about this would be appreciated. I have turned TM off, with backup drive: None, on both machines.
Something in the FAQ here seems to imply that, even if I the Restore step works, continuing my backups seamlessly may only be possible for the directly connected Mini, but even so that would be very useful.

ClothEars-2 wrote:
I've closely followed the instructions I've found in the FAQ here and elsewhere on the web, to use Disk Utility to clone the 250 onto the 500. It fails every time with:
Restore Failure - Could not validate sizes - input/output error.
That sounds like something is corrupted on the old drive. Do a +*Repair Disk+* (not permissions) on it.
If that doesn't help, repair the sparse bundle separately.
Something in the FAQ here seems to imply that, even if I the Restore step works, continuing my backups seamlessly may only be possible for the directly connected Mini, but even so that would be very useful.
No, you should be fine, as long as the drive is connected to the same Mini as the old one was. What #18 in the FAQ is talking about is, if you try to switch a Mac from directly-connected to wireless, you cannot continue the same set of backups.

Similar Messages

Time Machine backup drive failed. Now what?

I bought a new drive and need to get my Time Machine files off the old failed drive. I'm sure there are plenty of discussions about this but I can't find any. (I so dislike the new design for the support communities.)
The old drive sometimes lets me access TM so I want to take advantage of one of those times to get everything across. I know it is a very slow process if it can be done.
Any suggestions?
Thanx

Jane Garcia wrote:
I may try Data Rescue but I may have another solution if I can make this work. I managed to get the backup drive to mount on my desktop--it's amazing what shaking the thing can do!--and it has two folders: Backups.backupdb and lost+found. I tried to copy the first one onto my desktop but it has 37,000 files and there isn't enough room.
If you've been backing-up your entire system, it should have several hundred thousand files, minimum.
The very existence of the lost+found folder means there's trouble.
Is there a way for me to hook up the new external backup drive and the old one and drag those two folders from the one to the new without having to go via my own hard drive?
Doubtful it will work; if the backups are damaged, as they certainly appear to be, the copy will fail.
Also, if this works, doesn't that mean that any TM backups onto the new external drive will co-exist with the old folders as opposed to absorbing them into the new TM backups?
If the backup completes successfully (highly doubtful), you should be able to continue backing-up to the copied Backups.backupdb folder.
Your best bet is to simply put the old drive "on the shelf" and let TM start fresh on the new one. You can always view and restore from the old ones (at least from the un-corrupted parts of it), via the Browse... option, per Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #17.

Seagate 750GB Pushbutton Backup Drive Fails Badly with Airport Extreme

FYI Seagate 750GB Pushbutton Backup External Drive (Part 9BJ648-560) fails during file transfers from my MacBook to the Seagate drive connected to an Apple Airport Extreme wireless router. The failure is severe and locks up the Finder. There are some blogs referring to problems with Seagate drive wireless data transfers in general, but no specific solution. Seagate does NOT have a fix for this issue.

Unfortunately I don't have one of these drives to verify, but one of the first things that you need to determine is what it is formatted as. The AirPort's print server cannot handle drives formatted in either ExFAT or NTFS. What works best would be HFS+.
If you have already verified that the drive is formatted properly and it is still not recognized by the AirPort Utility, then its power requirements at the USB port may be too high and, possibly, by using a powered USB hub may resolve that.

Time Machine USB Backup Drive fails to eject

Time Machine is freezing my iMac at logoff/shutdown. I noticed that in the log files for Time Machine backups that other folks posted that the the Time Machine target volume ejected and unmounted at the end of the backup. That isn't happening. I can turn Time Machine off and logoff, but if I leave it running everything freezes. Any ideas on how why Time Machine isn't ejecting the disk? I used the same disk with Snow Leopard (just upgraded lately) without issue. I've reformatted and re-set up the target volume with Lion so some kind of SL thing shouldn't be the issure.

with2ays wrote:
Yes, it is a portable drive. I've tried other cables and another Mac (on campus), but nothin' doin'. I bought it locally but I'd have to find the receipt. I installed a Scorpio Black 320GB HD on Saturday. Would that have anything to do with it?
It shouldn't, but the timing makes me wonder if it's not a coincidence.
Some things can go wrong with TM when you add/replace an internal, but if your Mac doesn't even see it, we can't begin to diagnose, much less fix it.
Still, if another Mac doesn't even see it, it's pretty likely dead. Might be fixable, but you need to take it back.

My 5 year old iMac's hard drive is at the point of failing. I'm trying to save al files on it, but it wont allow backup via Time Machine to an external hard drive. How can I keep from losing all the files and programs if the hard drive fails?

I'm concerned that my iMac, purchased 5 years ago, is about the crash and I can't back up my files and programs to an external hard drive via Time Machine because the computer freezes after only a couple hundred MB and gets nowhere near the required amount.
How can I save these files and programs if the computer hard drive fails or has to be replaced without the backup being able to be done? I need to do something quickly, but I'm not sure what I can or should be doing.

Get an external hard drive, some good ones that I like are the OWC, http://www.macsales.com Mercury Elite Pro drives...they are very good and reasonably priced.
Get the drive, connect via USB or FireWire, then use Disk Utility to format the new drive as Mac OS X Extended (Journaled), and then use Disk Utility to Restore the current drive to the new drive. Restore actually clones the drive so you will have a bootable backup on the external drive.
After you have formatted and named the external drive, click Restore in the main Disk Utility window, drag the name of the old hard drive to the Source box, and drag the name of the new external drive to the Destination box. DU will make an exact clone of the internal drive on the external drive.
That clone will be a complete backup of the operating system and all of your data.
You can test it by restarting the iMac and hold the Option key. That will give you a grey screen showing all bootable drives. Just click the external drive, then click the upward pointing arrow under it and the iMac will boot from that drive.

How do I repair a damaged time machine backup drive/remove pictures from library on locked/failing external drive

I have a WD 1TB external hard drive that I use as my time machine backup drive as well as to store a number of things including my iphoto library (due to its size of about 85 GB) as well as documents. I began using the WD 1TB external drive with my 2007 13" MacBook and when I purchased a brand new 13" MacBook Pro in 2013 I used the WD to transfer what I wanted to the new laptop. My new MacBook Pro is running OSX 10.8.4 (2.9 GHz Interl Core i7 with 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3) (not the retina display). The WD 1TB product # is WDBACX001... and it's only about one year old so I'm super bummed that it's failing and trying to take my life with it It has only ever been used with my two MacBooks, never with a PC.
The external WD was working fine until this week when I noticed that it wasn't appearing on my desktop. I rebooted, unplugged and replugged the WD drive in each USB portal, and still nothing. I ran Disk Utility to verify and repair the disk, which did force it to show up on the desktop again, though it made everything painfully slow. After running the repair function Disk Utility told me that the drive couldn't be repaired, and that I should backup whatever is on it and restore the WD drive. I managed to pull off most of the documents before it decided to freeze up my laptop (I had a couple of folders with a few documents each left), but I wasn't able to move the iphoto library over before the drive disappeared again. I got it back by running the repair option in disk utility, with the same message that the WD drive is failing and to back it up, and tried to move the iphoto library. It told me it would take 180+ days, and kept going up. I left it up anyway for about a day to see if it would change, and instead it gave an error message, and moved nothing. I can't open the library in iPhoto- it tells me it's on a locked disk. I checked the permissions and it's set to Read & write by me (the admin user) but then under that it says read only for "everyone." I can't get into the library to pull out my pictures, which I cannot afford to lose.
I would appreciate any help or advice on how to crack into my iphoto library on this failing drive to remove the pictures. I read a lot about DiskWarrior but I also read that it won't work on newer macs (anything after June of 2012 supposedly), so I'm wondering if that's true or not, and if not is that a good program to use?
I can't afford to take it to a professional right now, so any help or advice would be so greatly appreciated! Also if anyone then could suggest the best way to back up in two places (digitally and perhaps a better brand of external drive) it would be amazing.
If you need more info let me know!

If you're very lucky, you might be able to salvage the drive mechanism, and the data, by removing it from the enclosure and installing it in another one, or in a drive dock.

My Fantom backup drive is failing. I want to copy the time machine contents to a new backup drive and continue on as if nothing has happened. Can I do this and if so how? I have intel iMac running Mountain Lion. Fantom Drive via Firewire 800.

My Fantom backup drive is failing and I have to send it in for warranty repair. Before I do that I want to copy the time machine contents to a new drive and then use it for the backup, continuing on as if nothing had gone wrong with the first drive. Can I do this? Is it as simple as duplicating the first drive and replacing it with the second? New drive arrives Tuesday PM and both drives have dual firewire 800 ports.

I have used the Disk Utility to verify the contents of the backup drive so I don't think I have any corrupt files. The drive just takes a minute or so to spin up to speed. If I turn it off and then back on, it beeps at me for a few seconds and then starts it's slow process of trying to spin. I think it's a power problem not a data problem. I have my fingers crossed that it holds on until Tuesday PM when the new drive arrives. I'm thinking that my two options are to duplicate the bad drive or partition the new drive and put the old backups on one partition and start afresh on the second partition. Any input?
And thanks to both of you for the valuable information so far!

Primary computer C-Drive failing, want to move Itunes software and backups to alternate drive how do i this so it runs off of alternate drive?

Primary Win-7 computer C-Drive failing, want to move Itunes software and backups to alternate drive how do i this so it runs off of alternate drive?

Hi there Sandduster2,
You may find the information in the article below helpful.
iTunes for Windows: Moving your iTunes Media folder
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1364
-Griff W.

Boot drive failed; external backup drive not being seen

I've had a Windows Server 2012 Essentials machine (6 drives + 1 external USB 3TB dedicated backup) running fine for over a year now. The system backup was configured through the Essentials Dashboard, the backup drive was found automatically by
Windows without any custom drivers, and was successfully backing up as scheduled. A few days ago, the server rebooted for an update, and started blue-screening early on during the boot. Using the install media, I went to the restore facility, but
the dedicated external USB backup drive isn't being found (the restore list is empty). I tried using other USB ports (they all work, as tested with the keyboard), but the backups on it still aren't showing. Moving the backup drive to a nearby Windows
8.1 machine, it shows up correctly in the Disk Manager (the name is correct; no drive letter assigned, as expected). From the system-recovery command-line on the server, wbadmin get drives show it, but as [not mounted].
What should my next steps be? Is it safe to mount it to a drive letter on the Windows 8.1 machine and share it out, or will that irreparably damage the backups? Is there something obvious I'm missing? Why isn't the Windows Server 2012 Essentials
install media's repair functionality finding it (this should be a no-brainer, right?)?
The drive in question is a Seagate model SRD00F2.
Thanks!

1. What updates has been installed. See info in WindowsUpdate.log.
2. Hope you has not installed optional drivers. It this is true try to return back or reinstall drivers from server vendor support page (perhaps support for USB 3)
3. What do Event lods and Device Manager say?
Rgds
Milos
The reboot was overnight (about 4am) on Sunday, 2014-04-13. It was for the latest updates from Microsoft at that time (so the prior Tuesday's batch; see below for the details from WindowsUpdate.log).
No optional drivers installed, other than the motherboard ones at initial system load. They've been running great for a year or so now. They weren't part of the update.
Not possible to check. Trying to boot into safe mode also blue screens fairly early on during boot (about 15-20 seconds; same error). Boot logging never generates a log because it doesn't get far enough to dump to disk.
From WindowsUpdate.log:
Updates to install = 2
2014-04-13 03:06:45:513 492 f30 Agent * Title = Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer 10 for Windows Server 2012 (KB2936068)
2014-04-13 03:06:45:513 492 f30 Agent * UpdateId = {783D8F98-1563-4735-B1A3-3E3BB2D86532}.200
2014-04-13 03:06:45:513 492 f30 Agent * Bundles 1 updates:
2014-04-13 03:06:45:513 492 f30 Agent * {1BBB8E66-7F5E-4CA2-9EB2-80117D4D84D9}.200
2014-04-13 03:06:45:513 492 f30 Agent * Title = Update for Windows Server 2012 (KB2928678)
2014-04-13 03:06:45:513 492 f30 Agent * UpdateId = {8F7E4DBD-BE3F-463B-BB5A-55B33039A023}.201
2014-04-13 03:06:45:513 492 f30 Agent * Bundles 1 updates:
2014-04-13 03:06:45:513 492 f30 Agent * {8D7948A9-3FD9-4430-B790-0511A7CB4502}.201
2014-04-13 03:06:46:093 492 f30 Report *********** Report: Initializing static reporting data ***********
2014-04-13 03:06:46:093 492 f30 Report * OS Version = 6.2.9200.0.0.131377
2014-04-13 03:06:46:093 492 f30 Report * OS Product Type = 0x00000032
2014-04-13 03:06:46:109 492 f30 Report * Computer Brand = System manufacturer
2014-04-13 03:06:46:109 492 f30 Report * Computer Model = System Product Name
2014-04-13 03:06:46:109 492 f30 Report * Platform Role = 1
2014-04-13 03:06:46:109 492 f30 Report * AlwaysOn/AlwaysConnected (AOAC) = 0
2014-04-13 03:06:46:125 492 f30 Report * Bios Revision = 0211
2014-04-13 03:06:46:125 492 f30 Report * Bios Name = BIOS Date: 07/02/12 16:24:26 Ver: 04.06.05
2014-04-13 03:06:46:125 492 f30 Report * Bios Release Date = 2012-07-02T00:00:00
2014-04-13 03:06:46:125 492 f30 Report * Bios Sku Number = SKU
2014-04-13 03:06:46:125 492 f30 Report * Bios Vendor = American Megatrends Inc.
2014-04-13 03:06:46:125 492 f30 Report * Bios Family = To be filled by O.E.M.
2014-04-13 03:06:46:125 492 f30 Report * Bios Major Release = 4
2014-04-13 03:06:46:125 492 f30 Report * Bios Minor Release = 6
2014-04-13 03:06:46:125 492 f30 Report * Locale ID = 1033
2014-04-13 03:06:46:702 492 f30 DnldMgr Adding revision ID 200 for update 1BBB8E66-7F5E-4CA2-9EB2-80117D4D84D9 to the lock revision cache.
2014-04-13 03:06:46:702 492 f30 DnldMgr Preparing update for install, updateId = {1BBB8E66-7F5E-4CA2-9EB2-80117D4D84D9}.200.
Other pieces of interest after that:
2014-04-13 03:20:12:900 8984 30e0 Handler FATAL: CBS called Error with 0x80071a30,
...and...
2014-04-13 03:20:21:047
492 26dc
Report REPORT EVENT: {E979933C-EE46-4395-8C2C-8E09543CAABE}
2014-04-13 03:20:15:665-0700 1
195 [AU_SCHEDULED_INSTALL_FAILED] 101
{783D8F98-1563-4735-B1A3-3E3BB2D86532}
200 80071a30
AutomaticUpdates Failure
Content Install Installation Failure: Windows failed to install the following update with error 0x80071a30: Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer 10 for Windows Server 2012 (KB2936068).
2014-04-13 03:20:21:172
492 26dc
Report CWERReporter::HandleEvents - WER report upload completed with status 0x8
2014-04-13 03:20:21:172
492 26dc
Report WER Report sent: 7.8.9200.16731 0x80071a30(0x80071a30) 783D8F98-1563-4735-B1A3-3E3BB2D86532 Install 101 Unmanaged
2014-04-13 03:20:21:172
492 26dc
Report CWERReporter finishing event handling. (00000000)
2014-04-13 03:30:34:845
8984 1084
Handler Requesting post-reboot reporting for package Package_for_KB2928678~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.2.1.1.
2014-04-13 03:30:34:845
8984 1084
Handler Completed install of CBS update with type=3, requiresReboot=1, installerError=0, hr=0x0
...and...
2014-04-13 03:31:09:364
492 33a8
AU # WARNING: Install call completed, reboot required = Yes, error = 0x00000000
...and...
2014-04-13 03:31:09:364
492 1f9c
AU Install complete for all calls, reboot needed
2014-04-13 03:31:09:364
492 1f9c
AU CAUInstaller::OnAllCallsComplete | result of install HRESULT hr = 0x80071A30
...and...
2014-04-13 03:41:11:933
492 1f9c
Misc WARNING: SUS Client is rebooting system.
After that, there's just some shutting down client and such notices for the reboot.

Hello. I keep my IPhoto library (about 90GB) on an external HD and am trying to back it up to another external drive. Both are formatted Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled). Recently, backup has failed from the start due to error 36. Howtoresolve?

Hello. I keep my iPhoto library (about 90GB) on an external HD and am trying to back it up to another external drive. Both are formatted Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled) and both check out when scanned with Disk Utility. Recently, backup has failed from the start due to error 36. Any ideas how to resolve? Also, what's the maximum recommended size for an iPhoto library file? Thx!

Since you can't drag the library to the other EHD for the backup see if you can duplicate it (if you have enough room on the drive) by selecting it and typing Command+d (duplicate).
If you do rebuild the library without a backup and it goes awry you won't lose your photos but you may lose your orgnaizational efforts. So try the following:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library in the location of your choosing based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
NOTE: Fix 2 above might be the method you might want to try first with iPLM creating the new library on your second EHD. If it works that would get your backup copy on the second EHD at the same time as repairing it. If it does'nt work then go back to Fix 1.
OT

I had my hard drive replaced and since my Time Machine backups say failed

I had my hard drive replace and since my Time Capsule backups are failing. The exact message is:
The backup was not performed because an error occurred while copying files to the backup disk.
The problem may be temporary. Try again later to back up. If the problem persists, use disk utility to repair your backup disk.

No, replacing your hard drive has nothing to do with it. There is a problem with your backup drive. As far as Time Machine is concerned replacing a drive is no different than buying a new computer. Time Machine will need to make a brand new backup from scratch.
If you have a large enough backup drive this may not be a problem. Otherwise, you may not have sufficient space to maintain a new backup and keep the old one. So, I would suggest under the circumstances that you erase your backup drive, then start a new Time Machine backup from scratch.
Drive Erase
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After Disk Utility loads select the volume you wish to format from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the Disk Utility main window.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
For additional help with Time Machine: Visit Pondini's Time Machine FAQ for help with all things Time Machine.

Main System Drives keep failing in PPC G5 2.5 after installing backup drive

Hello,
Two system drives have failed in my PPC G5 2.5 in the past eight months. One was a Seagate (original drive) and I can't remember the brand of the other one. At least the AHT says that they failed. Each time, this happened a month or so after I installed a backup drive in the remaining drive bay.
I'm wondering if the is just a coincidence or if maybe it's related to a power supply issue (or something else). Has anyone else experienced this problem?
Also to note is that the serial number on my G5 doesn't fall within the range of those covered by the extended repair program for bad power supplies.
Thanks,
David

Hi Dennis,
When you formatted did you Zero the Partition?
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the Erase tab.
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
6. Highlight the drive, select Partition Tab, then Format type... MacOS Extended Journalled, select the Security Options button, choose Zero Out Data, Erase... after completion hopefully you'll be able to install.
after highlighting the drive, click on the Partition tab, Options button will be down below...
Boot off your Install Disk while holding down the *d key*, (not c key), then run the extended Apple Hardware Test. Some disks require you to use the Option key at bootup to select AHT. Some models have a separate AHT CD.

IMovie -Problem restoring events after external hard drive failed.

iMovie 09 – The external hard drive failed where I stored my 2012 events. I do not have a backup copy of these events. I bought a new external drive and named it exactly the same as the old drive. Then I uploaded archived original video clips to it recreating the events. I used the exact same event names. However when I view the projects I made from the original events, I get “this clip’s media file is not currently available”. The file path I created should be the same as the old, so why does the project not recognize the recreated events? Any suggestions what I could try?
If I were able to retrieve and copy the old events from the failed drive to the new drive, would that work?
Has anyone successfully dealt with this problem?

That's a very interesting scenario that you've described. I've been concerned about a potential situation arising where I may need to restore Events from a backup drive. However, your situation is somewhat different in that you've had to re-import the Events to a new drive from an archive.
My main video drive is a Maxtor One Touch III Turbo comprising two 500GB drives set up as a RAID 0. So, effectively it appears as one drive totalling 1TB, with data being written to both drives simultaneously (but not mirrored). However, if one drive fails, the other becomes ineffective as it contains only partial data about imported clips (the remaining data being on the failed drive).
I backup the Maxtor to a portable 1TB drive by cloning it using SuperDuper. My thinking has been that, if the Maxtor fails then a simple rename of the backup drive to the same name as the Maxtor is all that will be required for iMovie to retain the linkages between Events and Projects. I hope this is the case!
I hope you get a solution to your predicament - sorry I can't offer any useful advice!
John

Restore from Time Machine backup is failing

The internal drive on my daughter's iMac has failed for the second time in less than two years. I'm not able to restore from the Time Machine backup. The Time Machine restore process failed last time as well. Not surprisingly I'm now questioning whether Time Machine is an appropriate backup solution.
First question: *Is Time Machine a reliable backup and restore solution?*
- I get no errors whatsoever during backup from Time Machine
- Have yet to successfully be able to restore system (TM is 0 for 2 for us)
Second question: *Is it an issue with my setup?*
Based on the Macs and other items I already had, the setup that the local Apple store recommended to me for backup is what I followed. Here's a summary:
- 4 Macs on a network with Airport Extreme for router/wireless access
- Mac mini with 10TB of external storage has one 2 TB drive setup as a centralized Time Machine drive, which all the Macs on the network connect to
Backups all work with no error messages. Restoring individual files here and there through Time Machine has worked fine. Never really needed, but I tested it a few times from each Mac just to ensure everything was working fine.
Unfortunately, when my daughter's iMac internal drive failed I discovered that the restore not work. First issue was that restoring the system during OS X install was not an option because I was not able to get it to use the network drive. I was told to go ahead and install OS-X and then use the migration assistant, which unfortunately didn't work. Summary of what happened:
- My account on the iMac was successfully restored
- The main account with all the critical data (my daughter's) was created, but none of her data (iTunes music, school work, photos, etc) were restored
- No error message at the end of the restore
I know the Time Machine backup for her account was working as I had specifically checked to make sure that her iTunes music and photos were included in the backup just a week ago. Since the backup was being done to a drive connected to another Mac on the network, her iMac's backup was stored as a sparsebundle. In speaking with Apple support this morning, they had me try to mount the backup by double-clicking on the sparsebundle, which results in an error message indicating that it is corrupt. ARG!
After two failed restores, I'm convinced I need to change the setup either moving to drives directly connected to each Mac (seems like a waste) using Time Machine or switch to another backup tool.
What are your recommendations?

It may be helpful for others for me to post the approach I've decided to take, which seems to be working well.
Background:
I've confirmed with an Apple genius and with support, that the likely issue with both of the failed TM restores is that the TM backup was corrupted by the drive failures. Files get corrupted and are backed up to the drive. That is why in both cases it is the specific account that was running (also the highest priority for restore) is the one that is corrupted.
In nearly 3 decades of computing, I've yet to ever need to restore a single file or folder that I accidentally deleted. It's just not a scenario I care about. TM seems to fit this requirement well and has a very cool user experience to do it. Unfortunately, it also seems to have a tendency (0 for 2 in my case) to fail at restoring after drive failure.
Decision: no TM in my back up approach.
My primary need is for backup in case of drive failure. I also have some files that are extremely important that I want redundant backup for.
Decision:
1. ChronoSync for bootable backup clone of drives scheduled monthly and done over the home network. Can easily be triggered manually if there is a big change (SL install, etc) that I want to make sure is included
2. ChronoSync based sync of just critical files to a shared network drive that syncs daily. This is actually a large amount of data and includes family photos (Lightroom catalog and all photos), iTunes libraries, PLEX media library and other user created files.
Pluses:
1. Allows me to keep drives centrally located, which is definitely preferable for me
2. Easy rotation of drives with critical files for offsite storage
3. Over the network sync is fully supported by ChronoSync
4. Easy yet highly configurable UI. Unlike with TM I'm finding I can get the software to do precisely what I want, when I want.
Cons:
1. $40 cost for ChronoSync
I also looked at SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner.
I tried implementing the above first with SuperDuper, but found the setup confusing and the overall execution and sync was not what I expected. For example, SuperDuper encountered some file errors and just halted the sync as a result.
I tried Carbon Copy Cloner next. The setup was more intuitive than SuperDuper; even though the UI is not as polished. I kept the offending files on the drive to see how CCC handled them. It did much better in that it identified the file issues, but completed the sync for the rest to the files on the system. Clear error message at the end with summary information and the ability to look at the details in the log.
Since I wasn't thrilled with either SD or CCC, I decided to check out ChronoSync. For me, it does a very good job of presenting a simple UI with the ability as need arrises to get in to adjust and fine tune the specifics (options, configuration, schedule, etc) to precisely what I want. Scheduling, including sequencing, is very well done. Performance was the best of the three. Full cloning and incremental sync/backups with ChronoSync were the fastest. Not really an issue for me, but still a plus. A big plus for ChronoSync was that it did by far the best job of maintaining file permissions. SuperDuper did the worst. For some reason after all three uses of SuperDuper with the backup approach above many of the original files had user and file permission changes. For example, user name was "Rachel" with Read/Write access. After sync/clone, user became "_unknown" with read/write access. CCC did a better job; though I did have a number of issues when using cloned drive to boot (these were resolved) and with restore some file permissions were not maintained.
I really think Apple (at least retail and genius employees) should be clearer about the limitations and issues with TM. After my first failed restore, I was told it was an unusual and very rare case. I was assured that the approach (including using a network drive was fine). With a second failed restore from TM, it became crystal clear in my opinion that this is not a very rare occurrence; and that there are fundamental aspects of TM that make it susceptible to backup corruption when a drive fails.
TM is a sexy solution for incremental file backup and restore when you accidentally delete a file or folder. If that's what you need, go for it. As part of a backup solution for drive failure? I just don't see the value UNLESS you want to have incremental hourly, daily, weekly, monthly backups that you can use for accidental deletions. The accumulation of all those snapshots ends up taking up a fair bit of space. I was surprised at my actual backup storage needs in my switch to the above approach.
Your needs are likely unique to you, so your mileage may vary. This is just my perspective after a fair bit of pain and a lot of discussion, reading and testing.

What Backup drive should I buy

I am looking to purchase a backup drive. The size 2GB, I am considering the Apple wireless drive but should I look at any other manufacturer?
I am also going to use this drive initially to restore the erased data from my second internal drive. This also leads me to ask what recovery software should I consider.
I would appreciate any feedback.
mel

Many people on these forums use OWC (www.macsales.com) Mercury Elite Pro series. IMHO that is all that I will buy, high quality and reasonable price. You can find them by clicking
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB
As for what software, you should buy 2 of these drives. The first drive should use Apple's Time Machine, it's already built into OS X. The reason for a second drive is when it comes to backing up redundancy is very smart because backups can fail too. For drive two use a cloning app such as SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner.

Cloning a TM backup drive fails

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