Got my backup drive & Leopard disc-Now what do I do?

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Three week old iMac. Knowing Leopard was coming, I have avoided adding any external apps, (except an amazon mp3 installer). Also aside from copying my mp3's to iTunes, have not put a whole lot onto the hard drive.

Being far from a computer expert and a Mac novice, I am usure about a few things, and some of the things I have read confused me further.

I have a few specific questions.

1. Do I install the external drive first? Then after formatting back up everything? Or if I put the Leopard disc in first, will it guide me through and make a back-up before I install Leopard?
 
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First, back up your drive before installing Leopard. Test the backup drive that it is bootable. (Recommend using Carbon Copy Cloner for this) Then, Install Leopard.

Three week old iMac. Knowing Leopard was coming, I have avoided adding any external apps, (except an amazon mp3 installer). Also aside from copying my mp3's to iTunes, have not put a whole lot onto the hard drive.

Being far from a computer expert and a Mac novice, I am usure about a few things, and some of the things I have read confused me further.

I have a few specific questions.

1. Do I install the external drive first? Then after formatting back up everything? Or if I put the Leopard disc in first, will it guide me through and make a back-up before I install Leopard?
 
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Thanks for the feedback.
A couple more things for clarification. I I use the carbon copy cloner, do I not use time machine? If I do use time machine, can I use the same external drive that I made the original CC backup on? Are they separated?

Sorry if these questions are silly. Never really did backup on my old PC, and paid for it. Don't want that to happen again.

One last dumb question. Does the backup in time machine (or CCC), automatically back up user data and documents for all users, by default or do I have to enable that in some fashion. I know my wife and daughter are less aware of backup issues than I am.

Thanks again to all for any assistance.
 
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Time Machine is Leopards built in back-up program. But since you are still using Tiger, you will have to download either CCC or SuperDuper (the one I use) to make a full bootable back up on your external drive.

After everything is backed up, you can go through the leopard install process. After Leopard is installed I recommend waiting a week or two to make sure everything is working smoothly.

You can then attach your external drive again and load time machine and use time machine with leopard to manage all your future backups.
 
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Aubie, are you suggesting that I do not enable time machine to start with?
I should use the external drive to make the back up, wait a week then attach the drive again and start time machine?
 
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If your external drive is FireWire, create a bootable backup using SuperDuper!. (If it's not FireWire, you can't make a bootable backup.)

When you've made your backup, disconnect the external drive and any other peripherals other than keyboard and mouse.

Insert your Leopard DVD and perform a simple upgrade.

Time Machine is part of Leopard. You cannot use it until Leopard is installed. Leopard requires an external USB drive, and so you cannot create a bootable backup using Time Machine.

I have an external USB drive for Leopard, and an external FireWire drive to which I used SuperDuper! to back up once a week. When the Leopard-compatible version of SuperDuper! is released, I'll also begin doing this on top of my Time Machine backups.
 
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Martin, the HD is USB. Although the instructions on the mfr. website seem to indicate that it is bootable.
"Make sure you have copied any needed files to another location.

Select Applications → Utilities → Disk Utility

In the left hand column, click on the drive icon for the Iomega Hard Drive. Make sure you click on the high level icon, not the second level volume icon.

Select the Partition tab.

Select the format type from the Format drop-down menu.

Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) (recommended) or Mac OS Extended.

Click on the Options button.

Select the type of partition you want to use:

GUID Partition Table for bootability on Intel-based Macs

Apple Partition Map for bootability on PowerPC-based Macs

Master Boot Record if you will use the drive on a PC as well as your Mac (PC-DOS formatted)

Click OK.

Click the Partition button"

I am not that worried about bootability, as I would have no clue how to boot from the backup drive anyway.:)

What I do want to clarify is:

1) Since I am using a USB drive, do I not need to use CCC or Super Duper?
2) Do I hook up the HD in Tiger, and simply use the iMac backup? Then install Leopard?
3) After Leopard is installed and running smoothly, I connect the backup drive to enable time machine? And what happens to the info already on the HD? Is that overwritten by time machine?

Sorry for the many questions, as I said earlier backups have always been confusing.
 
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If your external drive is FireWire, create a bootable backup using SuperDuper!. (If it's not FireWire, you can't make a bootable backup.)

Intel Macs can create bootable backups to USB hard drives.

PowerPC's can't....but he has an intel mac according to his specs.
 
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What I do want to clarify is:

1) Since I am using a USB drive, do I not need to use CCC or Super Duper?
2) Do I hook up the HD in Tiger, and simply use the iMac backup? Then install Leopard?
3) After Leopard is installed and running smoothly, I connect the backup drive to enable time machine? And what happens to the info already on the HD? Is that overwritten by time machine?

Sorry for the many questions, as I said earlier backups have always been confusing.

1. Yes...still use the free version of SuperDuper. Hook your external hard drive to your iMac while still using Tiger. Install SuperDuper and run it. (the free version will work just fine). Click the options that allow you to completely clone your system to a bootable back up.

2. Yes, hook up your HD to your iMac in Tiger and clone everything using the free version of SuperDuper.

3. Now that you have all of your information backed up, install Leopard. Once Leopard is installed, and you are satisfied that it is running smoothly. Hook up your HD and enable Time Machine (a leopard only feature). Time Machine will erase your HD and your bootable copy of Tiger and back up all future information to it.

The reason I say to wait a week or so is to ensure that Leopard had no glitches on the install or anything before you erase all of your Tiger information.
 
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Being a fairly new user myself, and having had these same questions, perhaps I can explain.

Note that the default install for Leopard is Upgrade. To select Archive and Install or Erase and Install, click on the Options Button early in the Install. Make sure that you don't start Time Machine during the Install, it will slow things down.

What you want to do first is create a backup prior to installation in case something goes wrong.

Since SuperDuper is not yet Leopard Compatible, and costs around $27, get Carbon Copy Cloner for now as its shareware with a $10 Donation. You can get it here. http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html

IN CCC all you have to do is select your Macintosh HD as the Source and your Backup Drive as the Target and it will go ahead and Clone your Macintosh HD. You can test that it has worked well by setting your Startup Disk in System Preferences to the Backup Drive and restart. To get back to Startup from your main drive, set it again as the Startup in System preferences and restart.

If you have done an Archive and Install or an Erase and Install, use Migration Assistant which is found in Applications/Utilities to help you migrate applications and data from your backup. Once you are satisfied that everything you need is there and working well, then you can make a decision how to structure your backups. For most people, just having a CCC or SuperDuper backup on an external is fine. If you want more granular backlup, you can use Time Machine as well. What I do is I have 2 partitions on my Backup Drive, one for Cloned Backup with CCC and the other using Time Machine. You create these partitions using Disk Utility which is again found in Applications/Utilities.

I schedule my CCC backup for once a week, and Time Machine does it every hour.

You can also set scheduled backups with CCC. A note. CCC will not backup if the computer is asleep, so go to System Preferences and Energy Saver and set it to wake a minute before your scheduled backups.

Don't worry about Time Machine for now, your CCC backup will be fine at first.

Hope this helps.
 
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thanks to all for the feedback. I think I have a better grasp now.
Just a couple clarifications.
Naftalim suggested I could partition the drive. Do I split the 500gb in half? Do I also do that in the initial set-up, when cloning the drive before installing Leopard? By partitioning, does that eliminate the complete erasing of the backup, when I enable Leopard.
Or should I just skip time machine altogether, if I use CCC?
 
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Partition Size: This depends on how you intend to use your computer. Note that Time Machine has to be as big or bigger than the drive you back up to it.

If you are doing lots of revisions to files or many versions of files, where going back in time might be important, that Time Machine would be the focus. If you are concerned about Mac Drive Failure, then the cloned backup would take precedence.

Initial Set Up. No, there is no need to partition the drive for the initial clone prior to set up. If you have more than one internal drive, or already have your internal drive partitioned, then yes, you would partition the external as well according to the number of partitions on the internals and then clone each one separately. Some people have the OS on one internal drive and media on another.

Yes, partitioning a drive effectively erases the drive.

Hope this helps.

thanks to all for the feedback. I think I have a better grasp now.
Just a couple clarifications.
Naftalim suggested I could partition the drive. Do I split the 500gb in half? Do I also do that in the initial set-up, when cloning the drive before installing Leopard? By partitioning, does that eliminate the complete erasing of the backup, when I enable Leopard.
Or should I just skip time machine altogether, if I use CCC?
 
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naftalim, thank you for all your help. Is CCC Leopard compatible? Super duper site, says it is not yet, but working on it. CCC has no mention of Leopard.

Now once I make this clone of my tiger system with CCC, and assuming Leopard installs with no glitches. At some point I will need to make a backup clone of the new Leopard system. Is that correct? Would that be when I would partition the drive. One section for time machine backup, and the other for the boootable clone?
 
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Yes, CCC is Leopard compatible.

Cloning: Yes, after you have installed Leopard but only after you are sure that all your apps and files have migrated successfully should you clone again. First you will use Disk Utility to partition the drive and then go ahead and do the Clone Backup. Don't forget to also set the scheduled backups as well as the wake-up of the system with Energy Saver one minute prior to the scheduled backups.

naftalim, thank you for all your help. Is CCC Leopard compatible? Super duper site, says it is not yet, but working on it. CCC has no mention of Leopard.

Now once I make this clone of my tiger system with CCC, and assuming Leopard installs with no glitches. At some point I will need to make a backup clone of the new Leopard system. Is that correct? Would that be when I would partition the drive. One section for time machine backup, and the other for the boootable clone?
 
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Let me summarize and make sure I have everything correct.

1. Create a backup clon of my current Tiger system using my external HD and CCC. I do not need to partition the external HD at this point.

2. Install Leopard on the iMac. Assuming all is well and working as it should. I would then create a new backup clone of the Leopard system. This would be the point when I would partition the HD, erasing all that is on it. I would then create a partition for Time machine, and one for the bootable HD clone (with CCC).

If all that is correct, then my last question would be how to set up the partition. I have 250gb on the iMac. The external drive is 500gb. Do I split evenly, or leave more for the time machine backup. If so how much more?

Thanks again...and hopefully I am done bothering you. :D
 
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Correct on the process you described.
Though your drive is supposedly 250GB, its actually a bit less. The same goes for the external drive. So, the best at the moment is to split the external in half. Make sure to name both partitions, say Backup for one and Time Machine for the other.

Good luck

Let me summarize and make sure I have everything correct.

1. Create a backup clon of my current Tiger system using my external HD and CCC. I do not need to partition the external HD at this point.

2. Install Leopard on the iMac. Assuming all is well and working as it should. I would then create a new backup clone of the Leopard system. This would be the point when I would partition the HD, erasing all that is on it. I would then create a partition for Time machine, and one for the bootable HD clone (with CCC).

If all that is correct, then my last question would be how to set up the partition. I have 250gb on the iMac. The external drive is 500gb. Do I split evenly, or leave more for the time machine backup. If so how much more?

Thanks again...and hopefully I am done bothering you. :D
 
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Thank you. I now think I have got it.
 
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getting ready to do the install over the weekend. I just downloaded Carbon Copy Cloner. I can't figure out how to install the program. After download, a window opens, asking you to copy CCC to your hard drive. I drag it to the app folder, but it says 1 of 2 items. I only see one item to drag. If I click on the dmg folder on the desktop, same thing pops up. Do I literally drag it to the mac HD icon? Do I take it to the app folder and the HD is that what it means by two items. There is no real explanation on the download page of the installation process. I am still used to windows where the install just begins when you click on it.
 
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Typically on the Mac you have two types of Installation procedures. One comes with its own Installer, and you just follow the prompts. The other comes as a package with ReadMe files, etc. All you need to do is drag the program icon file from within that Finder Window to your Applications folder and it installs.

This download and install procedure creates two items. A .dmg which is like an .exe in Windows, and a Disk Image, which typically looks like a Hard Drive on your desktop. Once the downloaded program has installed, you can get rid of both of those. Many people keep the .dmg in a folder for that purpose in case you need to re-install. The Disk Image can and needs to be ejected. (Drag it down to the Trash which changes to an Eject Symbol.)

So, you should just be taking the CCC App Icon to your Applications Folder

getting ready to do the install over the weekend. I just downloaded Carbon Copy Cloner. I can't figure out how to install the program. After download, a window opens, asking you to copy CCC to your hard drive. I drag it to the app folder, but it says 1 of 2 items. I only see one item to drag. If I click on the dmg folder on the desktop, same thing pops up. Do I literally drag it to the mac HD icon? Do I take it to the app folder and the HD is that what it means by two items. There is no real explanation on the download page of the installation process. I am still used to windows where the install just begins when you click on it.
 

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