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Backing up an iMac.
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MCSE+I-Turncoat
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Join Date: Feb 2007
 
2007-07-22, 17:22

Backing up an iMac.

OK I am a firm believer in having a full OS backup scheme. Not just backing up the user’s files.

So here is the plan I am considering.

My hard disk is 232.5 GB with the OS taking up 16.6 GB.

1. Using the boot camp software to make a 100 GB NTFS partition than quit the boot camp setup.

2. Use the Mac Disk Utility to erase and format the 100 GB partition Mac OS Extended (journald).

3. Do the backups manually with Super Duper.
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDup...scription.html

It’s been 12 years. When is Microsoft going to make a browser that works?

Last edited by MCSE+I-Turncoat : 2007-07-23 at 07:54.
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2007-07-22, 17:27

I don't get it. What is the point of having that 100 MB partition?
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AsLan^
Not a tame lion...
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Narnia
 
2007-07-22, 17:31

Also, backing up to the same drive isn't really backing up.
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Fahrenheit
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2007-07-22, 17:38

Quote:
Originally Posted by AsLan^ View Post
Also, backing up to the same drive isn't really backing up.
Yes, I too spotted this minor flaw.
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PKIDelirium
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
 
2007-07-22, 17:53



Backing up to the same drive is pointless. Just get an external.
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MCSE+I-Turncoat
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Join Date: Feb 2007
 
2007-07-22, 18:27

The point of having a 100 MB partition is to have a place to backup to, and have enough room for say 5 backups. 1 original base install, 1 monthly, 1 weekly, and two running for day to day backups.

I am not worried about losing the hard drive due to a hard drive crash. For that I will do user data backups to a DVD. I always do a full system backup before installing ANY PROGRAM whatsoever. Over on my windows box I just upgraded to a 475 GB HD. I can back up my Windows 2000 OS which is 2.8 GB in about 10 minutes so it’s not a big effort to do it daily. That 10 minutes includes a verify the backup and the two reboots needed to get back to W2K.

It’s been 12 years. When is Microsoft going to make a browser that works?
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Ryan
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Promise Land of Trustafarians
 
2007-07-22, 18:42

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCSE+I-Turncoat View Post
The point of having a 100 MB partition is to have a place to backup to, and have enough room for say 5 backups. 1 original base install, 1 monthly, 1 weekly, and two running for day to day backups.

I am not worried about losing the hard drive due to a hard drive crash. For that I will do user data backups to a DVD. I always do a full system backup before installing ANY PROGRAM whatsoever. Over on my windows box I just upgraded to a 475 GB HD. I can back up my Windows 2000 OS which is 2.8 GB in about 10 minutes so it’s not a big effort to do it daily. That 10 minutes includes a verify the backup and the two reboots needed to get back to W2K.
A few things:

a) Do you mean 100 GB, not MB? As in gigabyte?

b) Why do a full system backup of a system that only has the base install? If you need that, you have the system restore CD already.

c) I still don't understand why you don't just buy an external hard drive and simplify the whole process.
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Boomerangmacuser
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
 
2007-07-22, 18:50

Windows users are the ones who constantly need to reistall their OSes and with it, all their apps. I suspect you've learned to back up before instaling an app because of the risk of the new app messing up your existing ones. This usually happens on MS machines because of the registry and shared DLL's. The Mac has neither.

On Mac OS you can just archive and install to fix the OS. The user accounts are easy enough to back up to DVD etc. like you plan to.

It's all the applications that are a PITA to reinstall after a drive crash because it takes so long. THAT'S why you want a copy of your OS and all your apps on a separate drive. Drives fail. Be ready.
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torifile
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2007-07-22, 19:56

No need to do a full system backup before installing a program. That's just crazy talk. Or ex-Windows-user talk.

oh, and get an external drive for your backups. They're cheap and much easier to keep safe.
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MCSE+I-Turncoat
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2007-07-22, 20:51

Still weighting for an answer!

Will my plan work or not?
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Windowsrookie
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2007-07-22, 20:54

Why are you backing up to the same drive? It makes absolutely no sense.

I have never backed up ANYTHING on any of my Macs and I have never lost ANYTHING.


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torifile
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2007-07-22, 21:29

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCSE+I-Turncoat View Post
Still weighting for an answer!

Will my plan work or not?
Will your plan work? As far as it goes, yes. Will it be of any value at all if anything actually happens to your stuff? Not a bit.

Listen, your system will not become broken if you install a bad program. In the event that your OS dies, there are still multiple, very easy, ways to get to your data to pull it off safely. If your HD goes belly-up, your scheme would have been a complete waste of time. The latter possibility is much more likely, unfortunately.

Get an external HD and start a *real* backup regime.
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Ryan
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Join Date: May 2004
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2007-07-22, 21:46

Quote:
Originally Posted by Windowsrookie View Post
I have never backed up ANYTHING on any of my Macs and I have never lost ANYTHING.
Cue drive failure in 3, 2, 1...



(I kid because I've been there, and it sucks)
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BaRiMzI
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
 
2007-07-22, 21:55

Just my two cents.

I too have an iMac.
Never backed up anything and didn't really concern myself with a backup.
Well, one day my logicboard freaked out and I had to go to the Apple store.
The genius told me that they may need to just erase everything in the machine to fix my iMac.
The one time I ever felt like everything was lost.
Fortunately they didnt need to erase my hard drive but I took a lesson and made a back up... on an external hard drive.
a 500gb WD MyBook. Got it off of eBay for $130.
I agree with you in the sense that you should back things up but also agree with the rest of the posters that backing up your hard drive on your hard drive may not be the best thing to do.
My advice would be to look on eBay for external hard drives and go from there.
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AsLan^
Not a tame lion...
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Narnia
 
2007-07-22, 22:37

I gotta ask, are you really an MCSE?
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MCSE+I-Turncoat
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Join Date: Feb 2007
 
2007-07-23, 07:13

Yup. I am an MCSE and an MCSE+I.

Gee I was told that Mac’s were a quality product. So you all are telling me that the hard drives die all the time? I have never lost a hard drive yet on a PC. Of course I build my own PC’s and I always put a 3.5 in hard drive in a 5 +1/4 in slot so their is lots of room for air flow around the drive for cooling.

So let me ask how long does it take to back up an iMac to an external fire wire hard drive?

It’s been 12 years. When is Microsoft going to make a browser that works?
  quote
Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2007-07-23, 07:25

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCSE+I-Turncoat View Post
Gee I was told that Mac’s were a quality product.
Apple uses the same drives in its Macs as any other manufacturer puts in its PCs. The drives Apple uses are no more or less prone to failure than any other.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCSE+I-Turncoat View Post
So you all are telling me that the hard drives die all the time? I have never lost a hard drive yet on a PC.
No, they're telling you that its senseless to create a backup to a partition on the same drive because if the drive fails, you're going to lose your backup and this whole exercise would have been for naught.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCSE+I-Turncoat View Post
So let me ask how long does it take to back up an iMac to an external fire wire hard drive?
That depends on how much you want to backup and the speed of the drives. Firewire 800 has a theoretical peak speed of 800 Mbps.

The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
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beardedmacuser
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: eastmidlandshire
 
2007-07-23, 07:25

Damn... beaten by Brad...

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCSE+I-Turncoat View Post
So you all are telling me that the hard drives die all the time?
A hard drive is a hard drive. They're just as likely to fail running OS X than they are running any other OS.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCSE+I-Turncoat View Post
Of course I build my own PC’s and I always put a 3.5 in hard drive in a 5 +1/4 in slot so their is lots of room for air flow around the drive for cooling.
In that recent Google hard drive reliability study they failed to find as significant a dependence of drive reliability on temperature as common thinking would have us believe. Keeping your hard drive well ventilated is probably a good idea, but I wouldn't go around thinking it'll prevent your drive from failing.
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rasmits
rams it
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Seattle
 
2007-07-23, 07:41

Eek, you're an MCSE. You should know this:

When a drive fails, every partition on that drive fails too. You loose everything - every file, every partition, every thing.

If your backup is a partition on your main boot drive, and your boot drive fails, you loose your backup too. That would make your backup completely worthless.

You had me at asl
.......
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MCSE+I-Turncoat
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
 
2007-07-23, 07:45

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad View Post
That depends on how much you want to backup and the speed of the drives. Firewire 800 has a theoretical peak speed of 800 Mbps.
Right. So how long does it take to back up 20 GB at 800 Mbps?
  quote
rasmits
rams it
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Seattle
 
2007-07-23, 07:54

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCSE+I-Turncoat View Post
Right. So how long does it take to back up 20 GB at 800 Mbps?
1 GB = 8 192 Mb
20 GB = 163 264 Mb

If FW 800 goes 800 Mb per second then 163 264 / 800 = 204.08 seconds.

So at BEST it would take 204.08 seconds, or a little under 3.5 minutes. Keep in mind though that rarely, if ever, do you get peak speeds.

You had me at asl
.......

Last edited by rasmits : 2007-07-23 at 08:16.
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MCSE+I-Turncoat
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
 
2007-07-23, 08:03

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryan View Post
A few things:

a) Do you mean 100 GB, not MB? As in gigabyte?

b) Why do a full system backup of a system that only has the base install? If you need that, you have the system restore CD already.

c) I still don't understand why you don't just buy an external hard drive and simplify the whole process.

A. I meant 100 GB.

B. Wen I got the iMac it had some issues. So I did the wipe and install thing from the CD’s. There were still some issues and I wanted to document the install so I did it again. So after 5 hours of work I have the procedure documented and everything is perfect. Now I want to preserve the base install so I can get it back later if I need it.

C. What is simpler about backing up to an external hard drive. It’s got to be slower. I am not concerned with backing up the user data. For that I will back up to a CD or DVD. I am concerned with backing up the OS. Preferably in something like 30 minutes so I can do it daily.

It’s been 12 years. When is Microsoft going to make a browser that works?
  quote
Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2007-07-23, 08:04

Quote:
Originally Posted by rasmits View Post
1 GB = 1 024 MB
20 GB = 20 408 MB

If FW 800 goes 800 MB per second then 20 408 / 800 = 25.6 seconds.

So at BEST it would take 25.6 seconds.
It's 800 megabit, rasmits, not megabyte. Multiply your times by 8.
  quote
rasmits
rams it
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Seattle
 
2007-07-23, 08:07

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad View Post
It's 800 megabit, rasmits, not megabyte. Multiply your times by 8.
oh.

FIXED
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2007-07-23, 08:07

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCSE+I-Turncoat View Post
I am not concerned with backing up the user data.
Why go to all the trouble of backing up just the OS when it's fairly simple to reinstall from the original discs? Your 5 hour turnaround time is abnormally very long for a typical reinstall.

The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
  quote
Bryson
Rocket Surgeon
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The Canadark
 
2007-07-23, 08:08

Quote:
Originally Posted by MCSE+I-Turncoat View Post
C. What is simpler about backing up to an external hard drive. It’s got to be slower. I am not concerned with backing up the user data. For that I will back up to a CD or DVD. I am concerned with backing up the OS. Preferably in something like 30 minutes so I can do it daily.
It is (a bit) slower, yes. But it actually achieves something, which backing up to a different partition on the same drive is unlikely to do.
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Bryson
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: The Canadark
 
2007-07-23, 08:10

You know, ideally, you should then remove the external, at least to a different room, even better to a different building, to insure against any kind of physical process that could kill your data (fire, flood, etc).
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beardedmacuser
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: eastmidlandshire
 
2007-07-23, 08:12

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryson View Post
You know, ideally, you should then remove the external, at least to a different room, even better to a different building, to insure against any kind of physical process that could kill your data (fire, flood, etc).
or theft. If someone steals your computer they'll surely grab an external drive sitting in the same room too.
  quote
rasmits
rams it
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Seattle
 
2007-07-23, 08:19

Still, I just want to know why you want to backup your system folder daily.

It basically doesn't change - and anything that does is unimportant or easily recovered through Apple's software updates.

You already have an up-to-date backup of your system folder: your software restore DVD.

You had me at asl
.......
  quote
Perfecting_Zero
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
 
2007-07-23, 08:22

Quote:
Originally Posted by beardedmacuser View Post
or theft. If someone steals your computer they'll surely grab an external drive sitting in the same room too.
Hmmmm, the one big flaw in my backup plan. Thanks for reminding me of it. Today, I resolve to physically relocate one of my two external HDDs.
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