Recovery faq

Hi I have some recovery faq's
can u tell mi the solutions regarding following..
platform Linux oracle 9i
1>A database is running in ARCHIVELOG mode since last one month. A datafile is added to the database last week. Many objects are created in this datafile. After one week this datafile gets damaged before you can take any backup. Now can you recover this datafile when you don't have any backups? how?
2>Only some blocks are damaged in a datafile. Can you just recover these blocks if you are using RMAN? how?
3>You loss one datafile and DB is running in ARCHIVELOG mode. You have full database backup of 1 week old and partial backup of this datafile which is just 1 day old. From which backup should you restore this file? How?

1) With RMAN : RMAN recreates the missing datafile for you.
With a User Managed Backup :
You would use the ALTER DATABASE CREATE DATAFILE command
to create the 'empty' datafile that wasn't backedup.
2) Yes. See the RMAN command BLOCKRECOVER DATAFILE.
3) You can restore the most recent backup of the datafile (I presume that
"partial backup of this datafile" actually means "partial database backup, but
including the datafile", not "a piece of the datafile"). Recovery would require
the archivelogs from that (backup) point onwards.

Similar Messages

Data Recovery on External Drives

I have an external LaCie 200GB FireWire 400 drive, the F.A. Porsche one. While unmounting it before a trip I was in a hurry and unplugged the FireWire cable too soon and it came up with the customary message informing me as such. I paid it no mind as I was in a hurry and I'd done it once or twice before on accident and had suffered no wrath.
Anyway when I got home this evening I went to plug it in and found the drive unresponsive. I got a message saying I couldn't mount the volume but could initialise it in Disk Utility, so I did. The drive was showing but the volume with my data was gone, or rather it was showing up as "disk1s3" instead of "Rei" as it is named.
I tried the following steps to recover my data:
1. Disk Utility: I tried to repair the volume. I received an error saying it could not be done.
2. TechTool Pro: I did the drive test and it came back as having passed.
3. TechTool Pro: I tested the volume, found that the index was corrupted. Made sense.
4. DiskWarrior: I tried to recover it with DiskWarrior. During the recovering process the program became unresponsive and I got the beach ball of doom. After pressing AppleAltEsc I found the program was not responding and highlighted in red. I force-quit the application. I tried again and it proceeded to do the exact same thing. This time I noticed a message stating something along the lines of performance being slowed due to a drive malfunction. I was, once again, forced to force-quit the program.
5. DataRescue II: I attempted to use DataRescue II to see if I could at least view the files and transfer them off the drive and back them up to DVD so I could format the drive and reload all my data. Though it is visible to Disk Utility, DiskWarrior and TechTool Pro it is not, however, visible to DataRescue II.
6. TechTool Pro: I am now having TT P attempt to recover the data. I'm planning on letting it run into the night and hope in the morning it will be fine.
If anyone has any more recommendations on what I can do let me know. I can afford to buy another external to transfer all of my data onto that if I can access it long enough to pull it all off, but I need a program that can at least see the files to grab them.

Hi, Doug.
By not ejecting the drive before disconnecting it, the partition map was corrupted. Short of professional data recovery, you've covered everything and then some in my "Data Recovery" FAQ. If DR-II and TTP can't recover the data, then you're left with professional data recovery, per my FAQ.
I presume you don't have backups of the contents on the LaCie. After you recover from this incident, I suggest you implement a comprehensive Backup and Recovery solution addressing all of your drives. For advice on the backup and recovery solution I employ, see my "Backup and Recovery" FAQ.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

HELP Data Recovery

Hello everyone
Please just tell me i am not Screwed, My 14" ibook G4 was acting up and so I ran the cd that came with it and erased my entire drive INCLUDING my 2005 TAXES that I made with turbo-tax is there any way I can get it back?
If you can help me I will really appreciate it.

See my "Data Recovery" FAQ for comprehensive advice that may help you with this problem.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

Data recovery likely?

My mother's iBook G4 died two weeks ago. From her description, it sounds like her hard drive froze or died while she was attempting to load images from her camera. She couldn't get the computer to respond and ended up unplugging the charger and removing the iBook's battery -- then apparently cracked something while trying to reinsert the battery and thereafter wasn't even able to get the computer to power on. She took it to the local PC shop in her small town. They were not able to help, but did remove the hard drive. I think the iBook has been recycled already (before I became involved).
I have put her hard drive in a USB-IDE enclosure with no success. Each time I connect the enclosure to my PowerBook, the hard drive makes a sound (like a tiny Harley revving or a small rotary phone being dialed) for about 1 minute, then nothing. Neither Disk Utility, System Profiler nor Prosoft Data Rescue 3 (demo) can see the hard drive. I've tried freezing, tapping and dropping the hard drive.
I guess my question at this point is whether there is any point in sending the HDD a place like Mac Medics for a data retrieval attempt, or are they just going to take my $99 and recommend a clean room firm? My mother has about 5 years of photo images (and no back-ups, ever) she would like to retreive.
Thanks! Scott

Hello, I'm the owner of MacMedics. I saw that we were mentioned in your forum post. The other poster is correct in suggesting that you try a FireWire enclosure. If your USB is not 2.0, it might not be powerful enough to "bus power" your USB drive sled without external power. Many cases have an extra USB to power connector that will allow you plug into a second USB port on your computer to give it enough juice to run. Some also have a small power brick, but most do not, and many offer that as an extra option you can pay for.
In terms of Tier 1 data recovery fee, we only charge the $99 if A. our Tier 1 data recovery is successful, or B. if our Tier 2 data recovery is unsuccessful. FYI: Tier 2 is $398 ($99 Tier 1 and $299 Tier 2).
If your drive is not spinning or has other issues that that make it a bad candidate for the type of recovery we do at MacMedics, then there is no charge except for return shipping.
Our process recovers a ton of data for our clients and I tell folks that we're a great data recovery test to see if you really do need clean room recovery.
Once your drive goes to "clean room" you're paying clean room prices even if your drive has a minor problem. You might pay less than if you drive was in a fire or under water, but clean room firms often quote a wide range in advance. Usually At least $1000 to $2000. Often lots more.
Our fees cap at $398 and that's only if we get all your data under our Tier 2. If we can grab data in Tier 1 then that's all you pay. We'll copy to your own hard drive, your computer, or a hard drive you can buy from us for $99.
If your data is worth $99, don't mess with it. send it to us or someone else who knows what they are doing. When a drive is "dying" every second you tinker with it, it dies more. The more life in the drive when we get it, the more time we can spend with it extracting data.
No data recovery case is the same as the one before, and it's really hard to give general advice that applies to everyone. If you want to see more info I have three places to send you:
General info on hard drives:
http://www.HardDrivesDie.com
Our data recovery page:
http://www.macmedics.com/recovery.htm
Our data recovery FAQ's as a PDF:
http://www.macmedics.com/dr.pdf
I hope that helps. Call us if you like. 1-866-MAC-MEDICS
Dana Stibolt
MacMedics

Free Recovery Software?

I was cleaning out my external drive, and I accidentally deleted a few image files that are important to me. I know not to save anything new on that drive, and I downloaded data rescue 2 and blew my "free" download on a file that was not the one I needed.
Is there any kind of app that will let me recover these files without emptying my wallet? These pics were important, but are not worth the $99 cost of data rescue II
Thanks,
Jon
Powerbook G4 1.25 Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Hi, Jon.
I know of no free recovery software. Data Rescue happens to be the best available short of professional data recovery services, as covered in my "Data Recovery" FAQ.
If you haven't emptied the Trash, the files are still in the Trash and can be moved from such to your desktop. If you've emptied the Trash, then you need data recovery software.
You can look for other solutions by searching MacUpdate or Version Tracker. Frankly, you should spend the money as Data Rescues is a good utility to have.
You should also consider implementing a comprehensive Backup and Recovery solution. If you had a backup, you'd be in better shape. For advice on the backup and recovery solution I employ, see my "Backup and Recovery" FAQ.
Computing without a comprehensive Backup and Recovery solution is like driving without auto insurance. If you don't have a Backup and Recovery solution that you're using regularly, you're essentially accepting the risk that at some point all of your data may be lost.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

Data Recovery Tools?

Just lost a very large Final Cut Pro project that was in process when a Firewire disk was improperly disconnected.
The entire project folder disappeared.
Any suggestions short of suicide will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

Hi, Harold.
Sorry to hear about the problem.
See my "Data Recovery" FAQ for comprehensive advice that may help you with this problem.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

Is Retrospect Necessary if have Backup 3?

I am finally getting serious about backing up and forming a consistent backup plan for my computer. I think I have Backup 3 setup right for my home folder to be backed up on iDisk but I haven't tested it to be sure yet.
My next plan is to back up my data to at least one external hard drive and or DVD's at least once a month. I also have a ton of media files that I will need to store seperetatly and backup as my powerbook does not have the room for all that media. Is backup 3 good enough to organize a plan for this or should I take a look at retrospect? thanks for your help.

Hi, 10smom
1. You wrote: "75 gb capacity on mac. 100 gb external hd. Plan on adding another external hardrive as 2nd backup. How large should i get if want to use part for media data storage as well? "That all depends on (a) just how much "media storage" capacity you want, and (b) what types of backups you'll be creating on the second hard drive.
If you read my previously-cited"Backup and Recovery" FAQ, there are some guidelines therein on sizing / setting up a FireWire drive for backup and additional uses.
You could also go on the assumption of 75 GB + whatever media storage space you think you will want. Drives in the 250 GB range are getting pretty cheap these days...I always recommend buying more than you think you need.
2. The other question you have to ask yourself is the following: what is your plan to backup the data on the space used as "media storage"? If all the "media" being stored is also on your Mac, then a full backup of your Mac's (presumably single) hard drive will back up the "media," by which I presume you mean things like photos, movies, and the like.
If you plan on archiving "media" from your Mac to the "media storage" space, i.e. moving — not copying — it from your Mac to the media storage space on the new FireWire drive, then you'll want to backup the media storage space or risk losing "the media" stored therein.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

How can I minimise data corruption?

Mac OS X is great, and one of the greatest things it has achieved is an environment so stable that it almost never crashes.
However, for me the next BIG problem with using computers is data corruption. Data corruption problems bug my life as much now as system freezes/crashes did 5 years ago.
For some reason, it often seems to be preferences files that become corrupt. I don't know why, or whether other files are becoming corrupt too and I've not discovered it yet. Sometimes I wonder whether it's just because of all the junk I install, or the length of time it's been since doing a clean format. However, with my recent purchase of a Macbook, and within a couple of months having all my preference files becoming corrupt, this goes against those theories. My macbook has minimal amounts of software installed, and is generally kept quite simple.
Obviously backing up is an important strategy, but that leads to a whole load of decisions like, how often to backup, do you keep incremental backups, do you restore absolutely everything when you discover 1 or 2 corrupt files (how do you know if others have become corrupt?).
Correct shutting down is something I always do - unless something prevents me from doing so, like power cuts. I've also often had a problem with the sccreen remaining blank after macbook has slept or had the screensaver on. On occasion I've had to hold down the power button to shut it down and get it going again.
I've looked into uninterruptible power supplies. Unfortunately, the ideal setup with additional battery to provide a few hours of power are very expensive. Also, should the macbook not be immune from problems caused by power fluctuations because of the battery? I certainly did get a system crash recently when there was a power cut - but at the time I just wondered if it was due to the wireless router going off.
.mac and idisk seem to cause their share of problems. Again, I'm not sure if these are the cause or a consequence of the problems. I have iDisk syncing switched on, and on a few occasions it's vanished and I've had to reboot to get things back to normal. Recently there have been warnings of clashes between .mac and the local idisk.
Filevault is another possible cause of problems. I've read people advising against it's use. However, if someone is willing to steal my macbook, I don't want that sort of person having access to anything, whether it's address book contacts, calendars, word documents or anything financial. OK, people suggest creating an encrypted disk image, but that doesn't solve the problem of preventing people accessing address book or ical.
What I'd really like to know is, what are the main causes of data corruption. If I can identify the causes I might be better prepared for trying to prevent it. For example, if 99% of data corruption is due to power fluctuation then I might accept that I need to spend the money on a UPS.
Once identifying the possible causes, what can be done to prevent them. Would a RAID 1 configuration protect against data corruption, or is it only good in cases of catastrophic drive failure? I've just purchased a 500GB external Firewire 800 drive, which raises the option of creating a RAID 1 with my 2 built in drives.
Sorry for so many questions, but I just really need to get this sorted. Since moving from OS 9 to OS X this has regularly been my biggest cause of troubles.

Hi, bilbo_baggins.
You wrote: "What I'd really like to know is, what are the main causes of data corruption..."You've already identified them, but you seem reluctant to implement the procedures needed to mitigate or avoid those causes that can be mitigated or avoided, in particular:• Power outages or power problems.
• Improper shutdowns.
• Hardware problems or failures, e.g. hard drive failures, bad sectors, bad RAM, etc.
• Bad programming.I can understand your position since:• Not everything one needs to run their computer comes in the box: additional money must be spent.
• The solutions often seem more complex to implement than they really are. One needs some guidance, which again it does not come in the box, and few books address preventing problems before they occur.Here's my advice:
1. Implementing a comprehensive Backup and Recovery Solution and using it regularly is essential to assure against data loss in the event of a hard drive failure or other problems. For advice on the backup and recovery solution I employ, see my "Backup and Recovery" FAQ. Using a personal computer without backup and recovery is like driving without auto insurance. Likewise, without a Backup and Recovery solution, you are accepting the risk of potentially losing all of your data at some point.
2. Perform the little bit of required, regular maintenance: see my "Maintaining Mac OS X" FAQ. It covers my advice on "regular maintenance" and dispels some common "maintenance myths."
3, If you use a desktop Mac, you need an Uninterruptible Power Supply: power outages and other power problems —surges, spikes, brownouts, etc. — can not only cause data corruption but damage your hardware. I have complete advice on selecting a UPS in the "Protecting Against Power Problems" chapter in my book. Don't simply walk into a store and by the first UPS recommended by a clerk: the UPS needs to be configured and sized to match your computer setup. You don't need hours of battery run time: 10-15 minutes is sufficient to save your work and perform a proper shutdown, or for a modern UPS to perform an automatic shutdown if your computer is running in your absence.
4. If you regularly "solve" problems by performing a hard restart (pressing and holding the power button or, on Macs so equipped, the restart button), then go back to work without first troubleshooting the cause of the problem, you risk letting a small problem compound into a larger problem. At a minimum, after a hard restart your should:• Run the the Procedure specified in my "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ.
• Then troubleshoot the cause of the problem that led to the hard restart.My book also has an entire chapter on methods for troubleshooting "Freezes and Hangs."
5. Likewise, hoping that by installing a Mac OS X Update will fix a problem, or simply reinstalling one, without first checking for other problems, can make a bad problem worse. Before installing software updates, you may wish to consider the advice in my "Installing Software Updates" FAQ. Taking the steps therein before installing an update often helps avert problems and gives you a fallback position in case trouble arises.
6. FileVault does not corrupt data, but it, like any hard drive or disk imge, doesn't respond well to the causes cited above. This is why it is essential to regularly backup your encrypted Home folder using a comprehensive Backup and Recovery solution. FileVault is an "all your eggs in one basket" solution: if bad sectors develop on the hard drive in the area occupied by your encrypted Home folder, you could lose all the data therein without a backup.
7. RAID: IMO, unless one is running a high-volume transaction server with a 99.999% ("Five Nines") availability requirement, RAID is overkill. For example, unless you're running a bank, a brokerage, or a major e-commerce site, you're probably spending sums of time and money with RAID that could be applied elsewhere.
RAID is high on the "geek chic" scale, low on the "average user" practicality scale, and high on the "complex to troubleshoot" scale when problems arise. The average user is better served by implementing a comprehensive Backup and Recovery solution and using it regularly.
8. I don't use .Mac — and hence, don't use an iDisk — so I can't advise you there. However, I suspect that if you're having problems with these, and the causes are unrelated to issues of Apple Server availability, then I'd suspect they are related to the other issues cited above.
9. You can't completely avoid problems caused by bad programming, but you can minimize the risk by not installing every bit of shareware, freeware, or beta code you read about just to "try it out." Stick to reliable, proven applications — shareware or freeware offerings that are highly rated on sites like MacUpdate and VersionTracker — as well as commercial software from major software houses. LIkewise, a Backup and Recovery solution can help here.
10. Personal computers today are not much more advanced than automobiles were in the 1920's and '30s: to drive back then, you had to be part mechanic as well as driver. Cars today still require regular maintenance. It's the same with personal computers today: you need to be prepared for troubleshooting them (mechanic) as well as using them (driver). Computer hardware can fail, just as autos can break down, usually at the worst possible moment.
People whose homes or offices have several Macs, a network, and the other peripherals normally associated with such setups — printers, scanners, etc. — are running their own data centers but don't know it. Educating yourself is helpful: my "Learning About Mac OS X" FAQ has a number of resources that you will find helpful including books, online training, and more. My book focuses exclusively on troubleshooting, with a heavy emphasis on preventing problems before they occur and being prepared for them should they arise.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

How can I initialize an external hard drive when disk utility won't work?

Have a Seagate 300 GB external firewire drive. Formatted it for Mac. Had worked great and then one day it would not mount, got message box with choices of "initialize", "ignore" and 'eject". Clicking initialize, disk utility comes up with only the "first aid" button showing active. When I click on it nothing happens. As far as I can tgell there are no other options
Any suggestions on how I can repair this drive or recover data would be much appreciated.
Thanks, Jim

OK, I suspect First Aid may be blank since Disk Utility "sees" the device but does not think there's anything on it.
1. How about if you select the drive and then click the Erase tab?
2. Also, what happens if you connect the drive, select Ignore, then open Disk Utility? Does the drive show up?
3. What's your objective here? Do you want to try to recover data from the drive, or simply erase it? If you're looking to recover data from the drive, see my "Data Recovery" FAQ.
4. Do you know what happened before the problem arose? For example, was there a power outage or was the cable or drive suddenly disconnected before the drive was Ejected? Any of these events can result in the drive's partition map being corrupted, leading to the kind of problems you're seeing.
5. Did you build this FireWire drive? That is, buy and enclosure, buy a drive, and install the latter in the former? If so, have you checked the connections?
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

Documents folder on Desktop and a question about trash

Hello all. My previous experience has been on Windows PCs, and as a result, I make assumptions and get frustrated on my new Macbook. I was trying to organize some of my files in the Documents folder, and at one point my errant clicking and dragging caused a folder to appear on the desktop for "Documents." Based on my previous experience with Windows, I assumed that folder was a shortcut folder, and because I like my desktop area to be uncluttered and free of icons, I moved it to the trash without thinking anything of it. I continue to organize files in "Documents" under finder as if nothing is amiss. Lo and behold, I go to empty my trash later, and I notice that it is taking some time and says "Deleting 214 of 6517 files" which clues me in to the fact that it is deleting a LOT of things, not just the one or two extraneous short cut icons I thought I had thrown in there. I hit "Stop Emptying Trash" and took a look at the damage. Many of my files in "Documents" got deleted. I moved the "Documents" folder out of the trash and on to the desktop. My questions for anyone kind enough to answer is this:
1. Is there ANY possible way for me to recover those files? Are they really REALLY gone? If it were Windows, I would know where to look, but because I am new to this OS . . .
2. What should I have done to remove this darn icon from my desktop? I know its always said that "everything is so intuitive on a mac" but I disagree. Especially when you have moved over from Windows. The contextual menu that comes up when I click on the icon does not allow me to "delete this shortcut." How can I delete this from the desktop but still retain the few files I have remaining?
Any and all help is appreciated. Have a great day. Thanks - b

Hi, werty. Welcome to the Discussions.
By the numbers:
1. See my "Data Recovery" FAQ for comprehensive advice that may help you with this problem.
2. Based on what you describe, it sounds like you dragged your Documents folder to the desktop. Generally, the files and folders that appear on one's desktop are actually files and folders within your Home > Desktop folder. By default, your Documents folder is also within your Home folder, at the top level like the Desktop folder, i.e. Home > Documents. You should have moved the Documents folder back to the top level of your Home folder.
Mac OS X aliases to objects — roughly equivalent to Windows shortcuts to files and folders — are created by dragging an object while holding both the Command and Option keys. See "Mac OS X 10.4 Help: Creating an alias." An alias to an object displays a curved arrow in its lower-left corner — a badge — to differentiate itself from the actual object.
If you merely drag an object from your Home folder to your desktop, it moves that object from its former folder to the desktop, i.e. the Home > Desktop folder: it does not create an alias to that object unless you also hold Command-Option while dragging.
Finally, you wrote: "My previous experience has been on Windows PCs, and as a result, I make assumptions and get frustrated on my new Macbook."While Macs are quite intuitive, there are some significant differences between Mac OS X and Windows and an associated learning curve. In some cases, the key to switching is, as Yoda said, that "you must unlearn what you have learned."
Since you are new to Mac, you will find my "Learning About Mac OS X" FAQ helpful. It lists a number of resources that you will find useful in your transition to Mac including books, online training, switching from Windows, and more.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

To backup or not to backup...that is the question

ok, of course we should all back up regularly, that's not really the question. I'm wondering specifically what the benefits are of backing up the OS if you have your original install discs.
My understanding is that if your system crashes, you want to be able to boot up your system from another copy of the OS. If you have the disc, no need to back up to an external right?
Of course I've backed up my user folder but I just want to make sure I'm not risking anything by not having another copy of my OS on the external as well.
Thanks in advance!

1. Kevin wrote: "What's the difference between a Backup Set and duplicating a volume in a folder?"The differences between Duplicates and Backup Sets are discussed in my "Backup and Recovery" FAQ.
Basically:
- Backup Sets save all the files one has backed up in a single file, similar to a disk image, but without all the time required to create a disk image. A Catalog file of the contents of the Backup Set is also created. One accesses the contents of a Backup Set through the Restore function of Retrospect. So, the files in the Backup Set aren't "in the clear" i.e. you can't simply copy them from the Backup Set in Finder. Backup Sets can also be compressed and encrypted. Duplicates cannot.
- As noted in my prior post, a Duplicate to a folder permits you to to access the files you've backed up via Finder. The volume you've Duplicated to the folder is copied to the folder, just as if it was copied to another volume, but isn't bootable (assuming the volume you duplicated was bootable) since you can't boot from a folder.
2. You wrote: "In SuperDuper! you can create a disk image with Disk Utility and clone to that disk image and, I think you can boot from the disk image as well. A partition is better but the disk image is good in a pinch."Yes, with SD you can duplicate to a sparse image, but you can't boot from that image. It will work in a pinch, but not every basic backup app supports this function.
It's also unclear (not addressed specifically in the SD documentation) if you can Smart Update a backup to a Sparse Image: I suspect not. Sparse images are tricky. For example, deleting files from them does not recover the space the files occupied: one has to use hdiutil compact to recover the space occupied by deleted files in a sparse image. The compact operation is what FileVault is doing when it periodically prompts users to recover space from their encrypted Home folders.
Backup Sets can be updated incrementally: new or changed files can be added to the Backup Set. Each incremental backup to a Backup Set is known as a session. This can be a useful feature since it does not replace the originals from previous backups. This has some nice attributes:
- If you regularly backup to a Backup Set and want to get an earlier version of a file you've been working on that has been regularly backed up to a Backup Set, you can restore a prior version of that file from the Backup Set. If you Smart Update a duplicate in SD, no old versions are saved.
- Likewise, if you trash a file, empty the trash, and use SD Smart Update to backup the volume on which that file resided, the file is gone from the backup and your hard drive. If you've regularly backed up that volume to a Retrospect Backup Set, you can restore that file — in the state it was in at any prior time it was backed up to that Backup Set — from the Backup Set.
The Restore function of Retrospect lets you access the individual sessions (incremental backups) saved in a Backup Set. You can restore one or more files or folders — or an entire disk — to any point in time within the time span of the sessions in the Backup Set. This is very useful in project-based work, where one may have many versions of documents and need a copy of an earlier version of some project file that was either updated (without first saving a copy) or trashed.
So, SD's sparse image capability is good in a pinch, but not as flexible or versatile as Retrospect's Backup Sets.
I'm a big fan of Backup Sets.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

How to backup a small network?

I've got two, possibly three Macs that are all connected wirelessly to a router. It's quite important that there is some way to backup folders and Entourage identities on all machines, possibly onto an external hard drive, but I don't know where to start.
Is there some way that backups can be performed so that networked computers can backup on the same hard drive?

You wrote: "Is there some way that backups can be performed so that networked computers can backup on the same hard drive?"Yes.
Retrospect Desktop Edition comes with Clients that enable you to backup up to three computers over a network: the Mac running Retrospect Desktop and two running the clients. One can buy additional clients. You can back up all three computers to a single drive, assuming it is sufficiently large, such as a FireWire drive connected to the Mac running Retrospect.
For some details on how I use Retrospect, see my "Backup and Recovery" FAQ.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

Scheduling SecureErase of Free Space

I would like to schedule an automatic (daily) run of Disk Utility's Secure Erase Free Space. How do I do this?
I did find this command:
sudo diskutil secureErase freespace 1 <diskname>
Thanks.

Hi, HGG. Welcome to the Discussions.
A word of caution concerning Secure Erase Free Disk Space. I would not use that function without first:
1. Assuring the disk in question was free of directory corruption via Disk Utility > Verify Disk. If the directory is corrupted, space considered "free" could actually be occupied by files.
2. Having a full backup of the disk in question. This is a worthwhile prophylactic step that should be relatively straightforward if you've implemented a comprehensive Backup and Recovery solution. For advice on my backup and recovery solution, see my "Backup and Recovery" FAQ.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

Disk Utility: Backup to partition on external drive?

Hi people. Would be glad of an answer and any comments on this.
I have 3 Macs at home, a new G5 dual core and 2 G4 imacs, networked wirelessly. At this point I only backup my G5 to a second internal HD, by using Disk Utility's 'Restore' function.
My preferred plan is to get an external Firewire 400 drive, make 3 partitions on it, and do the Disk Utility 'Restore' for the 3 respective Macs. That way it's not only a backup, but a bootable solution if one of the machines dies.
My second choice is to add one of those generic network hard drives to the router and try to back up to that(essentially as an FTP/Samba disk), but it would be slow and not bootable at all.
Question: Will disk utility allow a partition, either on a firewire drive or network drive, to be the destination for a 'restore'? Or will it only recognise whole volumes?

Hi, Daniel.
You wrote: "Question: Will disk utility allow a partition, either on a firewire drive or network drive, to be the destination for a 'restore'? Or will it only recognise whole volumes? "Disk Utility will recognize a volume (partition) on a FireWire drive as the destination for a Restore.
Using the Restore function for backup is quite time-consuming as it has to backup everything every time you perform a backup. You will get much faster results by using a proper Backup and Recovery solution that supports incremental backups, i.e. backing up just the changes from the source to the destination (backup) so that the two are synchronized. For advice on the backup and recovery solution I employ, see my "Backup and Recovery" FAQ.
People have had mixed results using NAS (Network-attached Storage) for backups. I frankly think that it's still a bit early to try that route. Using an external FireWire drive has always given be good results.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

How to back up data and applications?

Hi,
I have two issues, both relating to data backup. The first results becaus I have very little space left on my hard drive. I have deleted all languages that I don't use and cleaned out every file that I'm sure I can delete, so I'm fairly sure that my hard drive is about as clean as it can get. The actual amount of free space seems to fluctuate between about 1 gig to 100 megs, depending on what applications I have open. I have read that having very little hard drive space is not good for the drive and can put me at increased risk of hard drive failure (sounds like a medical condition ). Is this true? I've also read that in such situations, it is a good idea to backup the hard drive and do a clean install of the operating system. Why is this a useful step to take? Will it help protect me from hard drive failure? I keep my computer very organized, so I would basically be restoring everything that I would have to take off my hard drive. The only thing that could possible change, as far as I can tell, would be system files or other hidden files.
So, the second issue, regardless whether or not I should perform a clean install, is how to go about backing up my hard drive. I have a number of applications that I have downloaded, for which I have no install disks. I have also purchased program upgrades from the internet, and I would not want these upgrades to be lost. I use Unix and Tex quite a bit, so I have lots of files, settings, etc. hiding out in the dark and hidden corners of my hard disk, in places like /usr. My computer is running well, Tex and X11 are behaving nicely, but its taken me a long time to reach this state of stable equilibrium. I would like to preserve this current state of affairs in a backup, as well, which will presumably require backing up more than just my home directory. What is the best way to do this kind of complete backup? I was thinking of doing something like "mv /* external_hd" in Terminal. Will this work, and is it a bit excessive?
Any advice on any of these questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

Hi, Adrian.
1. There's no such thing as a "clean install" in Mac OS X. That's obsolete Mac OS 9 terminology. The closest concept to this in Mac OS X is an Archive & Install and you don't have enough free space to do that: it requires a minimum of 3-5 GB of free space, and I'd recommend having even more.
2. Reinstalling the OS via an Archive and Install won't free up disk space. In fact, it will take up more initially since it saves your previous system along with installing the new system. See my "General advice on performing an Archive and Install" FAQ for important tips on this process.
3. There may be more simple steps you can take to free up disk space: see my "Freeing Space on your Mac OS X startup disk" FAQ.
4. Hard drive failure isn't a risk of having a full or nearly-full hard drive, but there are other potential problems that can arise: see my "Problems from insufficient RAM and free hard disk space" FAQ.
5. For advice on the backup and recovery solution I employ, see my "Backup and Recovery" FAQ.
6. I really recommend that you invest in a FireWire drive for backup as having a bootable backup can really save your bacon, e.g. if your hard drive fails, since you cannot startup your PowerBook from a USB drive. I buy all my FireWire drives form Other World Computing (OWC).
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

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