From: Allen Barnella <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>While I am mightily heartened to see someone who takes backing up their important data so seriously, I respectfully suggest that you are overthinking the problem.
I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do about backing up my new iMac. In researching different software and hardware I've come up with a few questions that I hope some of the folks here can answer.
After years of working with various solutions, I believe that the answer for TODAY'S large hard drives and complex OS's is actually a simple one, and very inexpensive over the life of the machine:
An external FW hard drive of similar or greater capacity than the internal drive, and a copy of Carbon Copy Cloner.
Is my user directory ALL that I need to backup?
If you haven't added any third-party fonts or other such items that sit outside the User folder, and you're willing to restore all your Applications from the original CDs (in the event of a total hard drive failure), then probably so.
If I backup ONLY my user directory will it have all my system/software preferences as well as my documents, music, etc.?
Yes, it has all that sort of stuff (your music, your pictures, your documents (unless you store them elsewhere), and your preferences.
This is where I think the hard drive approach really shines. Let's say you do a daily backup of changed files. One day, you come in to work and the hard drive won't start up. It might be something easy to fix, but you don't have time, you're on deadline. Simply make the machine boot up from the other drive (cmd-shift-opt-delete) and you are RIGHT BACK WHERE YOU WERE. No hours of "restoring." Little or nothing lost, and you can put the problem out of the way for a while until you have time to work on it.Will the user directory backup along with software restore/install discs get me back to normal in the event of a problem/emergency? Would a complete backup of the hard drive be better?
Retrospect (and RE) were great products in their day, I suppose, but over the years I got fed up with the constant "breaking" every time Apple so much as sneezed a minor system update, and the sometimes long delays in getting a "patched" version out. For users with very light backup needs and no .Mac account, Retrospect or Retrospect Express might still be the best "bang for the buck." But with hard drive prices now in the ludicrous stage, I can't see the value much anymore. I can buy a 120GB external FW hard drive for what it would cost me to buy a copy of Retrospect Express.Checking out Dantz's website last night I see that "Retrospect" is now compatible with the SuperDrive in my Flat Panel iMac. I've used "Retrospect Express" with my Bondi Blue iMac and a "Sony Spressa" USB CD-RW drive so I understand how it works and how to use it in this context. Is anyone here using "Retrospect" with the Sony DW-U10A SuperDirve and CD-RWs? How about DVD-RWs? How is it?
Another option I'm considering is an "OWC Mercury Elite" USB/FireWire hard drive used with either "Carbon Copy Cloner" or "Retrospect Express" (it comes with "Retrospect Express") to clone my internal to the external.
The problem with Retro Express now is that the restoration takes forever. With a clone backup, there IS no restore operation -- you just boot it and go.
At present I've only used 6.68 GB of my 80 GB hard drive.
Clearly you have not discovered the pleasures of internet music, video or porn! :)
Does the external need to be equal to or larger than my internal for this to work?
For future-proofing, yes.
Will an external that is smaller than my internal work (assuming my internal isn't full)?
Yes.
If I have other data on the external will "Carbon Copy Cloner" or "Retrospect Express" replace it with the clone?
CCC leaves that option up to you.
Or will the clone just be added to what's already there?
Again, CCC offers that option (and it saves a lot of time over doing a complete clone each time!).
If I get an external that is larger than the internal, can I partition the external and use say one partition for the clone and another for temp space, etc.?
Yes.
I'm sure that in time OS X and all of this will seem old hat to me , but right now not being able to draw on my past Mac experience with this is making me feel a bit overwhelmed by the above possibilities and how they might work.
I don't intend to sound patronising, but it's really much simpler under OS X than you think! I'd suggest you just go the "clone then synch" route that CCC offers (Retrospect may offer this too, I've given up on it so I don't know about the latest versions). Once a week or fortnight I do a complete clone of my main drive, then I do a daily synch. It takes very little time and the benefits (which I've already spelled out) keep me productive.
_Chas_
The CPU speed wars are over. We won. http://www.apple.com/powermac/
-- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and...
Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! |
Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html>
iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/>
---------------------------------------------------------------
The Think Different Store
http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
