Hi Pete. Breath into a paper bag and beg forbearance from SWMBO and your 9yo. :-D
The clone is there as a safety net. If something goes dramatically wrong (and there is no reason to believe it will) you can copy the clone back onto your MacBook -- no harm no fowl. Firstly I would take one step at a time and would *not* use this as an opportunity to upgrade the OS. Get your system tuned perfectly and Time Machine working again and then perform the upgrade if you choose. You will need to check the model of you MacBook in any case to see wheter it can be upgraded to 10.6 or not. If I understand correctly the machine currently is running 10.5.8 and you have a OS X disk with 10.5.4. That should not be a problem. 1) Run the install over the top of the current installation using the 10.5.4 disk. 2) Repair permission. 3) Get Time Machine functioning and allow it to finish backing up. 4) Download and and run any software updates from Apple Menu > Software Update... This should get you in a good position to do the OS upgrade if you choose. If you need help with the upgrade, feel free to start a new thread and we will help where we can. Regards, Carlo --- Carlo Margio Real World Computing mob: 0404 296 965 [email protected] www.realworldcomputing.com.au On 04/08/2012, at 13:52 , Peter Crisp <[email protected]> wrote: > Ok, thanks for all that Carlo. Cloning process is underway. > > In the mean time I went looking for system disc. The two black MacBooks were > a purchase of reformatted MBs loaded with 10.5.8 from my previous employer. > I've never needed the system instal discs before now too. > > So I have system OSX discs for 10.5.2, 10.5.4 and 10.6.1 (from SWMBOs white > MacBook). Do I take a leap and go 10.6.1 or end up backward from 10.5.8 where > it currently is? > > Having cloned 10.5.8, is the data restore process easy into a 10.6.x machine? > > I've NEVER done a system restore before so a little unsure and dreading the > consequences of destroying my 9yo's Minecraft creations!!! > > Regards > > Pete > > > On 04/08/2012, at 10:34 AM, "[email protected]" > <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi Pete, >> >> The best format is Mac OS Extended (Journaled) with a GUID Partition Table >> but ultimately you can, with extra work, get back to normal from anything >> that records all your data. You could also do a Time Machine backup rather >> than a clone. >> >> As for the size difference, you are quite right that you may be able to get >> by with the smaller drive. Here are some areas where you could save files. I >> have put them in approximate order that I would leave things out until I had >> enough space. For you it may be different. >> >> 1) Choose not to clone any directories that you would not miss if they where >> not there. In my case say a collection of iView downloads. You may also be >> able to get by without your Downloads directory. >> >> 2) You can leave out directories that you have copies of on other computers. >> >> 3) If you need some files in the Downloads folder, trim any .dmg files that >> you have already installed or that can be easily downloaded again. In my >> case, say a Mountain Lion image or the latest Libre Office .dmg files. >> >> 4) The software will make a few smart choices for you. It will likely not, >> for instance, copy the paging file if you happen to have one. >> >> 5) Clean our your caches and log files. >> >> 7) Least favourable choice but in a pinch. Remember that your operating >> system refresh is very likely to work with no data loss. So if there is a >> directory of files that you have been thinking about deleting in any case >> you can exclude it from the clone. Some old podcasts or videocasts that you >> never seem to get around to listening to my be candidates. >> >> Good luck, and keep us posted. :-) >> >> Regards, >> Carlo >> >> --- >> Carlo Margio >> Real World Computing >> >> mob: 0404 296 965 >> [email protected] >> www.realworldcomputing.com.au >> >> On 04/08/2012, at 8:47 , Peter Crisp <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Ok thanks for that Carlo, I understand what you're saying, I have a spare >>> 150GB external drive, what format does it need setting as to create the >>> clone? It is a 250GB Macbook with 180GB showing available in Finder, I >>> think the 150GB is big enough for this cloning process. I will do a browse >>> for the CCC 3.4.x version. >>> >>> Thanks heaps for help here. >>> >>> Stay tuned - ! >>> >>> Regards > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Settings & Unsubscribe - > <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> Settings & Unsubscribe - <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug>
