Superduper

[me399]

Hey,

I just used superduper for the first time. I had to change the format of my external hdd to macjournaled then I did the whole disk image backup. Now how do I go back to this image if my mac gets screwed up or I have to replace my hdd. I dont really understand how the program works.

 

[cwa107]

Hey,

I just used superduper for the first time. I had to change the format of my external hdd to macjournaled then I did the whole disk image backup. Now how do I go back to this image if my mac gets screwed up or I have to replace my hdd. I dont really understand how the program works.

You boot your machine from the backup drive (hold down the option key when you turn the computer on) and then backup the backup drive to your normal drive and reboot.

 

[me399]

Two more Questions:

Does it matter what kind of external HDD I use, USB 2.0 or FireWire?

Does it matter if I use the journaled format or not. (I Did). When I restore the drive with the backup do I then use the journaled formate or not? (I am a little confused too)

 

[cwa107]

Two more Questions:

Does it matter what kind of external HDD I use, USB 2.0 or FireWire?

No, although I've found Firewire to be significantly faster, even in FW400 guise.

Does it matter if I use the journaled format or not. (I Did). When I restore the drive with the backup do I then use the journaled formate or not? (I am a little confused too)

Journaled is the correct FS to use.

 

[London Luke]

I am useless... but have done a "Superduper" twice and it is great....so easy and quick.

 

[buzzyhaha]

Also a newbie, but new question

Hi,

I am also a newbie to superduper, and I have another question concerning the usage of superduper as well:

I did a backup of my internal harddrive ( including all the application files and everything) to an external harddrive, and then plan to get a new computer and boot using the image harddrive to achieve all information in my previous computer. However, would the applications still work on the new computer if I use the application files copied using superduper? I actually don't have the installation discs with me and would rely on the image file of superduper to get all my applications running in my new computer. ( of course I would un-install the software on my old computer). Would the image file allow me to get all the applications running, or would it still require the installtion discs to re-install all programs? Please let me know as I really need the new faster computers to work on my projects, but I need to have all my applications on the new computer as well under the circumstance that I don't have the installation discs with me ( they're all the way back in my other home).

please help!! any idea is appreciated!

 

[bobtomay]

edit: see MHC's post below, and thanks, see I still have some to learn about that end of Mac's.

Note - To all students (and anyone else living in a 2nd home half the year):
Part of packing your computer is to take all of your install disks with you.
Do not leave your disks behind. This includes the OS and all other software you have purchased and will need at any time while your are at school. Leaving these disks at home can result in several days of not having your computer in case of a hard drive failure instead of a few hours. It also saves your parents from having to find them (if possible in your room) and getting them off in the mail to you.

And for everyone: if you are not in the habit of keeping all your install disks safe and in a single location - start now. Can't tell you how many people have brought their computers to me over the years where the only real fix was to do a fresh install (as in they had it so messed up it could take days to repair everything vs. 4 hours to do a fresh install, reload drivers and apps) and they didn't even have a clue where their OS disks were much less the other few hundred dollars worth of apps they had on the machine.

 

[MacHeadCase]

Much easier if you were to transfer your files using the Migration Assistant with all new Macs. the Migration Assistant will prompt you in setting up the Macs in Target Disk Mode: you'll be walked though the process and you can select the files you want on your new Mac instead of importing the whole data.

 

[buzzyhaha]

I am also thinking of using the migration assistant to move all my applications and uninstall the applications on the old computer. However, I am just curious whether I would need the installation discs if I use the migration assistant to migrate final cut studio, and whether it would work on the new computer. Anyone tried migrating applications using migration assistant? Would it normally work if I migrate apple applications?

 

[MacHeadCase]

I've never tried using Migration Assistant for Final Cut Studio. But the worse case scenario is that it doesn't work and you grab your disk to install it on the new Mac.

 

[sukh18]

can i use the bootable disk image i made of my internal if i use it from an external that is not formatted in HFS?

 

[supergper]

Much easier if you were to transfer your files using the Migration Assistant with all new Macs. the Migration Assistant will prompt you in setting up the Macs in Target Disk Mode: you'll be walked though the process and you can select the files you want on your new Mac instead of importing the whole data.

The problem with using migration assistant (especially currently) is that most users upgrading will be going from a PPC machine to an intel machine. If you transfer those apps from the PPC machine to the intel machine some will not run and those that do run will be running with Rosetta. It makes for a VERY slow machine. SuperDuper would do the same.

Some apps require you to re-enter your serial if you use the migration assistant, some do not. If you use SuperDuper you will not have to re-enter anything. It's an exact copy of your hard drive, migration assistant is quite a bit quicker though.

I've setup hundreds of machines and transferred info from one machine to another almost just as many times and these are my experiences. Personally I use SuperDuper for what it's intended to do, as a backup for disaster recovery, not as a migration tool. I use Migration Assistant to transfer users if they are going from PPC -> PPC or intel -> intel but never PPC -> intel. Migration Assistant does as excellent job at what it does. I usually just reload (or load) the machine from scratch and reload all the programs with the original disks, it tends to be a much nicer install and usually results in a ton less problems down the road.

 

[Aptmunich]

can i use the bootable disk image i made of my internal if i use it from an external that is not formatted in HFS?

Yeah, but you would need the install discs to restore the image.

Basically you boot from the install disc, launch disk utility, find your image and mount it.

Then you restore your internal harddrive from the image.

 

[sukh18]

thanks