Mac Backup

PDD

Hi Guys,

I have just bought a Mac Mini but before I get to play with my new toy I thought I would see which Mac backup application (prefferably freeware) people would recommend.

Im very familiar with the likes of Ghost/PartImage so I usually setup a machine and then use it. Any problems after that I just restore the image with all my apps installed and other customisations etc. What would be Mac equivalent of this?

Also under windows I use partitions for seperating data and to protect it but Im not sure if the same can be done for a Mac. Can you repartition your drive etc?

Lastly can people recommend good Mac centric sites and forums for me to visit and begin learning about stuff.

Dave

uncle_sam_ie

I use this for back-up(basic function is free) http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html. If you want to partition your drive just use the Disk Utilityapp that came with OS X. Here is a good site to search for software http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/

Have fun!:)

uncle_sam_ie

http://www.macobserver.com/
http://www.maccast.com/
http://www.macfixit.com/
http://www.macrumors.com/
http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa

These are all good Mac websites to bookmark.

Sad Professor

In addition to uncle_sam_ie's list I also frequent:

www.macnn.com
www.appleinsider.com
www.thinksecret.com

For backup I just Apple's Disk Utility to restore on to an external hd or disk image. I find it quicker than stupid back up programs that have to index everything.

jpfahy

I bought an 'Icy Box' external Firewire/USB2 case from Marx Computers for 56 euro. I popped in a large IDE drive and connected it to my Mac Mini via firewire. I used Disk Utility (Applications/Utilities) to partition the disk in two. With Super Duper I made two copies of the Minis hard disk, one in each partition. I will leave one of these alone. The other will serve two purposes:
1. I will overwrite it on a weekly basis with a new backup
2. I can set the Mini to boot from it (System Prefs/Startup Disk) and use it to test drive new software before I try same on the minis hard disk.

(by the way Macs will only boot from an external FIREWIRE disk, not USB )

uncle_sam_ie

jpfahy wrote:

(by the way Macs will only boot from an external FIREWIRE disk, not USB )

Ya, it won't on the Power PC based Mac's but it will on the newer intel's based Mac's.

440Hz

PDD wrote:

Im very familiar with the likes of Ghost/PartImage so I usually setup a machine and then use it. Any problems after that I just restore the image with all my apps installed and other customisations etc. What would be Mac equivalent of this?

The Disc Utility that comes on your system is handiest for partitioning, when you boot from the disc that is. You can also you use it make a disc image of your system. For example if you partition the drive first and then make a disc image of one partition and store it on the second, then all your backup is done locally and easily!

Enjoy and welcome to the brightside

PDD

Hi Guys,

Thanks a million for the fantastic feedback. I plan on getting a NewerTech V2 stack for the mac mini but at the same time Im also torn between spending money on this or a NAS drive as this is definatley a better back solution hardware wise than relying on one drive. In fact im shocked that Apple has failed to capitalise on a fantastic product like the Mac Mini with add on products such as a NAS but then traditionally they have always had a restricted line-up of hardware.

@jpfahy - From your description there I presume that one of the partitions is test setup and the other is a backup of your current setup of OS-X? Oh an BTW cheers for the heads up on the Mac Mini. I got an Intel Core Duo 1.66Mhz with 512Mb , an 80Gb HDD and a Superdrive for €500 as it was an ex-display model and missing the power brick.

As an aside issue does anyone know if buying the powerbrick seperately affects my warrenty?

Does SuperDuper or similar software use images to store the backup in a compressed format or does it simply do a direct bit copy?

Has anyone used Parallels or Cross Over on a Mac Mini/

Dave

440Hz

PDD wrote:

Has anyone used Parallels or Cross Over on a Mac Mini/

Dave

Ya I have, but Im not a big fan tbh, lots of apps have difficulty under this setup I have found. Id be more inclined to go for the bootcamp option. Dual boot is hassle I know but... its more stable, or at least thats what I find.

try out one of the parallels trial and see what you think!

uncle_sam_ie

PDD wrote:

Does SuperDuper or similar software use images to store the backup in a compressed format or does it simply do a direct bit copy?

Dave

It doesn't compress at all. It makes a bootable clone of your drive. I run the smart backup once a week it's so easy.
From their website:
SuperDuper is the most advanced, yet easy to use disk copying program available for OS X. It can, of course, make a full backup, or "clone" — in moments, you can completely duplicate your boot drive to another drive, partition, or image file. In even less time, you can update an existing clone with the latest data: use Smart Update and, minutes later, your backup is completely up to date!