Super duper system recovery
Has anyone used the Super Duper system recovery software? Any pros and/or cons to report?
Is it considered a necessity to have a bootable backup?
I assume you mean SuperDuper! which is backup software not system recovery software. You can use Google to search for reviews of the software as well as search the forums.
Yes, a backup should be considered a necessity. A bootable backup is a very convenient type of backup.
Basic Backup
Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. 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)
8. Intego Personal Backup (Commercial)
9. Data Backup (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.
Although you can buy a complete FireWire drive system, you can also put one together if you are so inclined. It's relatively easy and only requires a Phillips head screwdriver (typically.) You can purchase hard drives separately. This gives you an opportunity to shop for the best prices on a hard drive of your choice. Reliable brands include Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. You can find reviews and benchmarks on many drives at Storage Review.
Enclosures for FireWire and USB are readily available. You can find only FireWire enclosures, only USB enclosures, and enclosures that feature multiple ports. I would stress getting enclosures that use the Oxford chipsets (911, 921, 922, for example.) You can find enclosures at places such as;
Cool Drives
OWC
WiebeTech
Firewire Direct
California Drives
NewEgg
All you need do is remove a case cover, mount the hard drive in the enclosure and connect the cables, then re-attach the case cover. Usually the only tool required is a small or medium Phillips screwdriver.
Similar Messages
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How to recover saved sessions after a system recovery with backup [DUPE: /questions/770295]
Computer kept crashing and wasn't able to log on, so I had to do a system recovery with backup. Was wondering if there was anyway to get back my saved sessions that I kept.
Probably not. A System Restore can replace the current file sessionstore.js with an older version and if that happens then you lose that session unless you have made a backup of sessionstore.js before doing the system restore.
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I have been using Super Duper successfully under Tiger with an external Seagate USB Drive. Now that I have Snow Leopard... I was wondering about Time Machine. I only want to use it if it does something substantially better than Super Duper- outperforms in some way shape or form- why mess with a good thing?
Message was edited by: Micah EavensonDitto what Mr. Boyd says, adding "every hour."
Time Machine gives you a *much, much* better chance of recovering something you changed or deleted in error (Save instead of Save As, for example), or somehow got corrupted.
Plus the ability to put your entire system back the way it was at the time of any prior backup.
It's no doubt more than you want, but here's a comparison:
There are three basic types of backup applications: Bootable Clone, Archive, and Time Machine.
This is a general explanation and comparison. Many variations exist, of course, and some combine features of others.
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_*BOOTABLE "CLONE"*_
These make a complete, "bootable" copy of your entire system on an external disk/partition, a second internal disk/partition, or a partition of your internal disk.
Advantages
When your internal HD fails, you can boot and run from the clone immediately. Your Mac may run a bit slower, but it will run, and contain everything that was on your internal HD at the time the clone was made or last updated.
You can test whether it will run, just by booting-up from it (but of course you can't be positive that everything is ok without actually running everything).
If it's on an external drive, you can easily take it off-site.
Disadvantages
Making an entire clone takes quite a while. Most of the cloning apps have an update feature, but even that takes quite a while, as they must examine everything on your system to see what's changed and needs to be backed-up. Since this takes lots of time and CPU, it's usually not practical to do this more than once or twice a day.
Normally, it only contains a copy of what was on your internal HD when the clone was made or last updated.
Some do have a feature that allows it to retain the previous copy of items that have been changed or deleted, in the fashion of an archive, but of course that has the same disadvantages as an archive.
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_*TRADITIONAL "ARCHIVE" BACKUPS*_
These copy specific files and folders, or your entire system. With many, the first backup is a full copy of everything; subsequently, they're "incremental," copying only what's changed.
Most of these will copy to an external disk or network locations; some to CDs/DVDs, or even tape.
Advantages
They're usually fairly simple and reliable. If the increments are on separate media, they can be taken off-site easily.
Disadvantages
Most have to examine everything to determine what's changed and needs to be backed-up. This takes considerable time and lots of CPU. If an entire system is being backed-up, it's usually not practical to do this more than once, or perhaps twice, a day.
Restoring an individual item means you have to find the media and/or file it's on. You may have to dig through many incremental backups to find what you're looking for.
Restoring an entire system (or large folder) usually means you have to restore the most recent Full backup, then each of the increments, in the proper order. This can get very tedious and error-prone.
You have to manage the backups yourself. If they're on an external disk, sooner or later it will get full, and you have to do something, like figure out what to delete. If they're on removable media, you have to store them somewhere appropriate and keep track of them.
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_*TIME MACHINE*_
Advantages
Similar to an archive, TM keeps copies of everything currently on your system, plus changed/deleted items, on an external disk or Time Capsule.
Like many Archive apps, it first copies everything on your system, then does incremental backups of additions and changes. But TM's magic is, each backup appears to be a full one: a complete copy of everything on your system at the time of the backup.
It uses an internal OSX log of what's changed to quickly determine what to copy, so most users can let it do it's hourly incremental backups without much effect on system performance. This means you have a much better chance to recover an item that was changed or deleted in error, or corrupted.
Recovery of individual items is quite easy, via the TM interface. You don't have to find and mount media, or dig through many files to find what you're looking for.
You can also recover your entire system to the exact state it was in at the time of any backup, even it that's a previous version of OSX.
TM manages it's space for you, automatically. When your backup disk gets near full, TM will delete your oldest backup(s) to make room for new ones. But it will never delete it's copy of anything that's still on your internal HD, or was there at the time of any remaining backup. So all that's actually deleted are copies of items that were changed or deleted long ago.
Disadvantages
It's not bootable. If your internal HD fails, you can't boot directly from your TM backups. You must restore them, either to your repaired/replaced internal HD or an external disk. This is a fairly simple, but of course lengthy, procedure.
TM doesn't keep it's copies of changed/deleted items forever, and you're usually not notified when it deletes them.
It is fairly complex, and somewhat new, so may be a bit less reliable than some others.
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RECOMMENDATION
For most non-professional users, TM is simple, workable, and maintenance-free. But it does have it's disadvantages.
That's why many folks use both Time Machine and a bootable clone, to have two, independent backups, with the advantages of both. If one fails, the other remains. If there's room, these can be in separate partitions of the same external drive, but it's a bit safer to have them on separate drives.
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_*OFF-SITE BACKUPS*_
As great as external drives are, they may not protect you from fire, flood, theft, or direct lightning strike on your power lines. So it's an excellent idea to get something off-site, to your safe deposit box, workplace, relative's house, etc.
There are many ways to do that, depending on how much data you have, how often it changes, how valuable it is, and your level of paranoia.
One of the the best strategies is to follow the above recommendation, but with a pair of portable externals, each 4 or more times the size of your data. Each has one partition the same size as your internal HD for a "bootable clone" and another with the remainder for TM.
Use one drive for a week or so, then take it off-site and swap with the other. You do have to tell TM when you swap drives, via TM Preferences > Change Disk; and you shouldn't go more than about 10 days between swaps.
There are other options, instead of the dual drives, or in addition to them. Your off-site backups don't necessarily have to be full backups, but can be just copies of critical information.
If you have a MobileMe account, you can use Apple's Backup app to get relatively-small amounts of data (such as Address book, preferences, settings, etc.) off to iDisk daily. If not, you can use a 3rd-party service such as Mozy.
You can also copy data to CDs or DVDs and take them off-site. Re-copy them every year or two, as their longevity is questionable.
Backup strategies are not a "One Size Fits All" sort of thing. What's best varies by situation and preference.
Just as an example, I use TM plus a CarbonCopyCloner clone (updated daily, while I'm snoozing) locally, plus small daily Backups to iDisk, plus some other things to DVD/RWs in my safe deposit box. Probably overkill, but as many of us have learned over the years, backups are one area where +Paranoia is Prudent!+ -
This will be confusing but I will appreciate any advice. The apple genius was not sure he knew the answer so maybe someone here knows what I should do.
I'm not sure it matters how this happened but it started with a failing hard drive and superduper. It's a long story but I ended up with 152 gb of files (all user files, all photos) duplicated on my external drive. I didn't realize this for awhile but when I did, I put all all the duplicates in the trash. Even though .trash files are hidden, they take up space on my external drive plus on my back up drive. I am afraid to empty the trash because I don't understand where the files really are or where the trash is since the only place I see a trash can is in the dock, not on my external drives. I use super duper to clone my mac hd as well as my external drive. I discovered what had happened when I checked the activity monitor and saw that my drives had suddenly lost all that space. Since I can't easily undo emptying the trash and can't experiment with one file, I am really afraid that I can create havoc with the system. Super Duper told me it's a bad idea to keep a lot of files in the trash. I sense that I just don't know enough about this to decide what to do. any help much appreciated.
Thanks.you can see the hidden trash files. They began with a .Trash
slotless is an external flash drive.
/Volumes/Spotless/.Trash
The user Mac has a hidden trash folder in the home folder.
/Users/mac/.Trash
Macintosh-HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
#Show hidden files. All file icons come out dimmed.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder
#Back to normal. Icon are bright. Hidden files are hidden.
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
killall Finder -
Super duper or other clone app?
I want to add a clone app so that I can have an extra layer of backup peace of mind.
I've heard of Super Duper but want to know if there are others I should consider. I want ease of use, reliability, etc.
Suggestions?Possibly (semantics).....but (sorry) I must still disagree (using startup manager will still boot into the recovery partition because TM is not bootable):
it will boot the MBP to the 4 option menu
that is the recovery partition, therefore you are booting into the recovery partition. TM will be just one of the options listed in the Utilities screen..
Hopefully this will help:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201314
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204417
and this (scroll down to "restore complete contents....":
http://www.imore.com/how-set-and-restore-time-machine-backup
If you can find anything that confirms that Time Machine is bootable (on its own - without using recovery), I'll gladly add that to my "having learned something new today" list, but if it actually was, then the need for CCC or SuperDuper would dwindle rather quickly, wouldn't it. -
G4 MDD Cloning with Super Duper
G4 MDD Cloning with Super Duper
My G4: G4 MDD Single 1.25 Dual Boot. Running OS 10.3.9
I purchased a new hard drive to replace my old 80 GB drive. Also, purchased a second new drive to use as a scratch disk. After cloning to the first new drive that I'll use for the boot drive, I will be taking my 80 GB drive out and putting it in a firewire case that I purchased, for backups.
I never did this before and have some questions.
I'm going to leave my 80 GB drive in my G4 while doing the clone. Can I run Super Duper that is on my 80 GB drive? Or do I have to put Super Duper on a Boot CD or just a Data CD to run Super Duper?
To Clone my 80 GB to my new 640 GB for new boot drive, how do I do this? Do I use a Full Backup, is that the procedure?
Can you tell me how I go about doing this?
Another question I have about partitioning. I was told I could use Disk Utility that is on my 80 GB drive, that I don't have to use the boot CD to do this. Is that correct?
Was told I use Disk Utility to first Partition my 2 new drives, then Format them both Journeled. Is that the way to go for formatting and partitioning my new drives? Then I would do the cloning with Super Duper.
Another question: I run Photoshop CS2, Popcorn, Toast, and VisualHub. I will only wind up having 2 new Hard Drives in my G4. And will be taking the 80 GB drive out to use as a back up drive, after cloning.
What is the best way to partition my new boot drive and new second drive for a scratch drive?
I figured the boot drive would be first partition for my OS and second partition for my data/files.
On my second drive, I would use a first partition for CS2 Scratch and a second partition for Popcorn, Toast, etc. Because I know the scratch for CS2 is random and the scratch for the others are more sequential.
Would this be a good scenario for partitioning my 2 drives? Because I will only be using 2 hard drives in my computer.
Also, what partition Sizes should I make? My Boot drive will be a 640 GB drive and my Scratch drive is a 320 GB drive.
I'm new to this and would really appreciate some advise! thank You.hello,
I've just used super duper for the first time a week ago to back-up before formatting my G4 MDD.
It works perfect BUT I'd recommand you use the version for sale (not the free/trial one) as it allows you to access more options such as creating image disks.
It's around 25$ or someting like that...
I'd also recommand you to read the "read me first" pdf file that goes with it, it's very useful and clear.
You have to install super duper on your computer and run it from there to back-up on the remote HD. You can either create a bootable version (if your external HD is a firewire one, and if it is HFS formated) or a disk image (I used this option since you have to erase the whole external disk to create a bootable back-up and I didn't want to do that).
Concerning partitioning, check it, but I think you have to run disk utility from the bootable apple CD to create a partition (disk utility won't partition the disk on which the system is running).
good luck -
Time Machine or External Using Super Duper
Apple is going to change the HD on my computer. I know little about Time Machine but I have been backing up my HD using Super Duper and a LaCie external HD. I think it's working out so far. That's what I have done before replacing the HD. So, when the new HD is installed, I can start up using the external and transfer files, i.e., mail, iTunes, Safari, Firefox etc. from the Application file on the external to the Application file on the computer with the new HD without any change in content. Any advantage using Time Machine over the way I intend to do it which should work. Any preferences or none?
I have already posted in a different Topic but on this sight regarding another aspect of this operation.I generally can get Time Machine to work for a while. It takes way more effort to get it working and to keep it working than you'd expect for a Mac.
The most recent event was when I mounted my new 500 GB Hitachi drive in a new Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini, connected with Firewire 800 to my Mac Mini Server. I formatted the drive, using the 7-pass erase in Disk Utility, with no errors. I used disk utility to verify the file system on the drive before I started using it with Time Machine.
I configure Time Machine to use that new drive, and it starts up, but pukes fairly quickly. I Googled the error messages, and found lots of other people running into the same error.
First off, the disk would not unmount. Had to force unmount it.
Used Disk Utility to Repair the file system. It encountered no errors. So, then I used Disk Warrior to rebuild the directory structure on the disk. It found some things that it corrected. Since then, Time Machine has been working on that disk without further errors (overnight).
How many Apple customers are going to want to deal with force unmounts, running disk utility and disk warrior to tickle Time Machine back into working?
These are my log entries from the most recent Time Machine errors:
Dec 30 09:42:13 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Starting standard backup
Dec 30 09:42:13 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Backups/Backups.backupdbDec 30 09:42:13 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Detected system migration from:
/Volumes/Christopher-J-Shakers-Mac.localDec 30 09:42:17 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Backup content size: 406.7 GB excluded items size: 34.0 GB for volume MacMini
Dec 30 09:42:17 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: No pre-backup thinning needed: 447.22 GB requested (including padding), 465.02 GB availableDec 30 09:42:17 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Waiting for index to be ready (
101)Dec 30 09:42:17 MacMini mds[42]: (Normal) DiskStore: Creating index for /Volumes
/Backups/Backups.backupdbDec 30 09:42:30 MacMini ntpd[33]: time reset -0.559108 sDec 30 09:42:54 MacMini JollysFastVNC[898]: (00599870.0592)-[NetworkConnection disconnect] could not shut down writehandleDec 30 09:43:01 MacMini login[1339]: DEAD_PROCESS: 1339 ttys001
Dec 30 09:58:09 MacMini ntpd[33]: time reset -0.483469 s
Dec 30 10:00:34 MacMini kernel[0]: Dec 30 10:00:45: --- last message repeated 3 times ---Dec 30 10:00:45 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Error: (-36) SrcErr:NO Copying /Developer/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DTMessageQueueing.framework/Versions/A/DTM essageQueueing to /Volumes/Backups/Backups.backupdb/SNOWSERVER/2010-12-30-094033.
inProgress/02385079-1749-4E5A-BC4F-93367E30B581/MacMini/Developer/Library/Privat
eFrameworks/DTMessageQueueing.framework/Versions/ADec 30 10:00:45 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Stopping backup.Dec 30 10:00:45 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Error: (-8062) SrcErr:NO Copying /Developer/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DTMessageQueueing.framework/Versions/A/DTM essageQueueing to /Volumes/Backups/Backups.backupdb/SNOWSERVER/2010-12-30-09403
3.inProgress/02385079-1749-4E5A-BC4F-93367E30B581/MacMini/Developer/Library/Priv ateFrameworks/DTMessageQueueing.framework/Versions/A
Dec 30 10:00:45 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Copied 13388 files (10.5 GB) fr
om volume MacMini.Dec 30 10:00:45 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Copy stage failed with error:11Dec 30 10:00:46 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Error: (22) setxattr for key:co
m.apple.backupd.ModelID path:/Volumes/Backups/Backups.backupdb/SNOWSERVER size:1
0Dec 30 10:00:51 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Backup failed with error: 11Dec 30 10:06:19 MacMini mds[42]: (/Volumes/Backups/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A3D115A8-4546-4A3B-B36E-59440 4EEA098)(Error) IndexCI in ci_ftruncate:ftruncat
e(34 /Volumes/Backups/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A3D115A8-4546-4A3B-B36E-594404 EEA098/live.0.indexDirectory, 16448) error:22Dec 30 10:06:19 MacMini mds[42]: (/Volumes/Backups/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stor
es/A3D115A8-4546-4A3B-B36E-594404EEA098)(Error) IndexCI in expandMap:ftruncate err: 22
Here is another one:
Dec 30 10:06:20 MacMini mds[42]: (Normal) DiskStore: Creating index for /Volumes/Backups/Backups.backupdb
Dec 30 10:14:12 MacMini ntpd[33]: time reset -0.496024 s
Dec 30 10:29:48 MacMini ntpd[33]: time reset -0.481983 s
Dec 30 10:42:31 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Starting standard backup
Dec 30 10:42:31 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Backing up to: /Volumes/Backups/Backups.backupdb
Dec 30 10:42:35 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Error: (22) setxattr for key:com.apple.backupd.ModelID path:/Volumes/Backups/Backups.backupdb/SNOWSERVER size:10
Dec 30 10:42:35 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Detected system migration from: /Volumes/Christopher-J-Shakers-Mac.local
Dec 30 10:42:37 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Failed to create progress log file at path:/Volumes/Backups/Backups.backupdb/SNOWSERVER/2010-12-30-094033.inProgress/ .Backup.315427357.871281.log.
Dec 30 10:42:37 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Error: (-50) Creating directory 61478D74-6407-4DBA-A98D-8A20EC6F2140
Dec 30 10:42:37 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Failed to make snapshot.
Dec 30 10:42:37 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Error: (22) setxattr for key:com.apple.backupd.ModelID path:/Volumes/Backups/Backups.backupdb/SNOWSERVER size:1
0Dec 30 10:42:42 MacMini com.apple.backupd[2388]: Backup failed with error: 2
So far, it has been running ok on that disk since I force unmounted it and used disk warrior to rebuild its directory structure.
While I was visiting my sister-in-law over Christmas, I had to resurrect Time Machine on my old PowerMac dual G5 I gave her. It's backing up to an internal SATA drive that I previously tested quite extensively. I had to use Disk Warrior to rebuild the directory structure on that disk as well to get Time Machine working again.
It seems to me that time machine, or the device drivers it relies on, needs some work.
Chris Shaker -
Would Super Duper!/Time Machine function w/ Littlle disk - MacBook 2.0
RE: Would Super Duper!/Time Machine function w/ Littlle disk - MacBook 2.0
Thanks to all who read on...
The situation at hand is this...
I have 2 Lacie Little Disk Drives 120 & 250 GB, that I once used to make FW clones from iBook G4 to backup my information , applications etc.
1.0_How would I translate such operations with a substituted Macbook 2.0 Aluminum?
1.1_It seems the Macbook doesnt have any FW ports, nor is their any reliable source stating a T-100-to-Firewire adapter would work with OS 10.5.6...?
THAT being said, the USB ports do recognize the built in Lacie Hi-Speed 2.0 extractable USB Connector. (See Topic: Little disk on a hub with Macbook?)
I have given Super duper a try to make a Leopard (10.5.6) over this Hi-speed USB 2.0 and it seems to have made the backup, although I haven't as of yet actually used this clone -yet.
2.0_How can I take advantage of Leopards Time Machine instead of Super Duper!?
2.1_Whilst still possibly incorporating the usb/firewire Lacie Little disks? (As once sod on THIS very site)I'll agree with the previous two posts. With TimeMachine, you always have your most current and previous versions of data backed up. With SuperDuper (or CarbonCopyCloner), your data is only as current as the last time you ran a backup. The major benefit of SuperDuper (or CCC) is that you can create a bootable backup. If you need to restore your system from a TimeMachine backup, you'll need to start your system from your install DVD which will allow you to restore your system from your TimeMachine backup. I think the biggest benefit to having an external clone is in case your internal drive fails. Since you can't boot from a TimeMachine backup, if you have a hard drive failure, you're out of luck until you get that drive replaced. If you have an external clone, you can simply boot up from that which will allow you to continue working until you can get your internal drive replaced. As has been mentioned, both have their benefits and using both to compliment each other is your best option. Since TimeMachine is part of OS X and both SuperDuper and CarbonCopyCloner are free for full clones (actually, CCC is completely free for all functionality now), there's really no reason not to use both.
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Cloning with Super Duper Question
My existing startup disk is a 1TB hard drive and I would like to clone it to a 2 TB hard drive using Super Duper. I need more storage space on my startup drive for my growing photo files. Once I clone the old drive to a new 2 TB hard drive, can I just begin using that as my startup disk? Is it that simple?
Will work just fine, just choose the new disk in System Preferences->Start Up disk and select the new 2TB. Might want to consider putting photo files on a separate disk and keep O/S and Apps on start up disk only, less risk and better performance if using A DAM such as AP3
Matt -
Super Duper and USB 2 external HD !!!!
hi guys
I intend to buy an external Firewire HD soon... but we just had another baby and have to save some money...
My question is:
Can I use Super Duper to clone OSX to my USB 2 HD? Even knowing it won't be a bootable driver!
But I believe it's better than nothing to have a copy of my OS in case I have any minor problem and want to go back to a previous configuration... in case an update makes my OS slower or I change my mind about an installed App. I can use the OS copy kept in my USB2 HD.
I know that if a have a major problem I won't be able to boot from my external HD but as I said I just want to make sure I can use it kind of like Windows' System Restore...
Cheers!Nando:
I'm a little confused. I have two external USB 2.0/Firewire HDs and I use Superduper to clone my Macintosh HD in my iMac to both drives and I CAN boot from either of them. I bought Superduper specifically for cloning my internal drive because right after I got my iMac, the 250GB internal drive died and Apple had to replace it.
Booting from an external HD is great because it has already saved my bacon when Sherlock went nuts and I booted from an External HD and I used Superduper to revert Sherlock back to the last backup, which fixed the problem.
Whenever Apple comes out with an update, I back up my internal HD and then install it. If there is a problem, then I can reboot from an external drive and revert the internal to the last backup. Finally, and best of all, I can boot from an external drive and use Apple's Disk Utility to repair the internal HD without any hassles or version issues.
I purchased a Western Digital 160GB HD and I built another one (if you can call sticking a 300GB HD in a USB 2.0/Firewire external case and screwing it back together building my own) and they both work fine.
As far as price, I bought my external cases at CompUSA for around $60 and I just bought another Maxtor 300GB HD from Amazon for around $139. Drives are very cheap so if you want to build your own, you can save some money that way. Just be careful that if you decide to build your own that you make sure that the ATA I/F is the same on each unit. A case with an PATA I/F won't work with a SATA drive.
Good Luck,
Gerry -
Last week I lost my phone. My passwords were all pw-protected, but yesterday I observed some odd changes on my computer, so I changed my password. I had a typo in what was written down, so I had to use the OS X install disc this morning, and reset it.
When I opened Mail, it said my index was bad. I did a Safe Boot, and that appeared to fix the problem, but now I see that past emails are missing from my various mailboxes.
I use Super Duper, so theoretically I have a good version of everything from a couple of days ago, but when I launcehd, it did not show the dates of recent backups. I think that I only need to restore Mail, but at the moment I am apprehensive about doing anything.
Can anyone offer suggestions?
Thanks,
NickyHi Nicky,
have you done the usual checks? Do you know applejack ? (applejack.sourceforge.net) this is a nice command-line routine which makes all standard checks in single-user modus. You can start your comp in single-user by pressing cmd+S when booting. After this your're prompted and solicited to do the fsck (file system check) and after a successful fsck to remount your disk in write modus.
If you have installed applejack, you can make this and more check routine (i.e. Permission repair, cache clearing, fix preferences). You have only to give this command line:
applejack AUTO restart
and applejack will check/repair the FS, fix permissions, clear caches, fix preferences, remove swap files.
If this is done and you have yet the problem, you must first save/backup your data for more action.
I hope this helps
Massimo -
Super Duper/ext drive formatting problem
I'm using OSX 10.4.3 silver mirrored G4 front
I'm trying to prepare my external Lacie 250Gb Firewire drive for backing up using Super Duper:
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
Super Duper won't back up because it says the drive needs formatting for Mac, but in disk utility when I go to partition it and format it only MS-DOS file system is available as a format in the erase option.
So, I'm confused to know what to do.
Any clues anyone?
thanks for reading, hope to hear from you, kind regards
AlexIt appears that DU is a bit hosed. Move the com.apple.DiskUtility.plist file from ~/Library/Preferences/ to the desktop. Launch DU and repair permissions, restart, launch DU, and try again. If that doesn't work, then reinstall the 10.4.3 combo update, repair permissions, restart, and try again. If still no luck, try using the partitionDisk option with the Terminal command diskutil. See the manpage: launch the Terminal.app in /Applications/Utilities, type this into the window that pops up, hit the return key, and use the space bar to page down. At the end, type in a q and quit the app:
man diskutil -
I bought a copy of Super Duper (the back up utility) and after I ran it(backed up to a La Cie HD) my iMac G5 (10.4) started giving me fits- everything was slow and locking up like crazy. I unhooked the external hard drive, trashed Super Duper and everything made nice again. What in the world is going on??
The original poster may want to consider checking the makers of his drives for driver updates.
Any SuperDuper questions should be addressed on their forums.
Just to clarify, a clone is a exact duplicate of a drive usually done on a timetable set by the user using software. It offers hardware and software corruption protection.
A mirror is a exact duplicate of a drive as well, but it done using either Disk Utility or other RAID software/hardware and any data is written to both drives instantly, offering only hardware protection. A mirror is good for vital one time data captures, like if ET called. It doesn't make a good method to backup a boot drive as you loose the benefit of time.
I don't particuarly like SuperDuper, the first version with it's registration traps and "phoning home" (taking my admin password?) didn't install a whole lot of confidence in me. I didn't like the interface either.
I switched to Deja Vu instead and found the System Preference Pane approach more to my liking. It runs so seemlessly in the background even over a network, auto-cloning and auto backups.
If your hard on the dollars, donationware Carbon Copy Cloner is a excellent "one trick pony" choice and their forums are most helpful.
Mods: I receive no compensation for any product or site mention. -
I'm interested in getting the Super Duper Back Up System. I've been having some problems with my ext drive and plan to get a better one when do the back up. I've heard some drives are not bootable with Super Duper. Do you know whicj ones are bootable besides LaCie? I'd like to get a Glyph which is very rugged and is good for audio and video which is what I need.
OSX has certain files that are essential to making the system bootable. These files are invisible and have other strange and wonderous properties (okay, maybe not) that mean they can't be copied simply by drag copying the system folder over to another drive the way you used to be able to do with OS9. You need a utility capable of cloning. SuperDuper is one of those, CarbonCopyCloner is another, and there are a few others. Some people prefer SD because if you pay for the full featured version it offers some nice additional features.
Note that the term cloning sometimes refers to just copying files. What you need to do with some utility or other is do a bootable backup clone which will include all those special files which make the operating system work. This usually involves having a target drive with free space as big as the files on your original drive you want to copy, and it will also erase the target the first time you use it, so make sure there's nothing on there you want to save. -
Super Duper error message on Mavericks
I have a 2011 macbook pro on 10.9.4 I am trying to back up my system with Super Duper but keep getting this error message at the end Error | SDCopy: Error copying /private/var/log/powermanagement/2014.07.19.asl to /Volumes/Untitled 1/private/var/log/powermanagement/2014.07.19.asl of type 8 due to error 5: Input/output error
Anybody know how to fix this.I suggest you exclude the log folder from your backups.
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