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situgrrl

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Backup & Mac stuff(Semi OT)
« on: February 28, 2006, 10:04:51 am »

Help!

I'm rather aware that my photos are inadequately backed up (they aren't!)

Since I don't have a spare HD or a DVD writer, that leaves me with CD-Rs.  Can anyone recommend a program that can span multiple disks - I shoot 1gig flash cards so most folders are larger than a CD.  Apple Backup does but it requires .mac membership to work (or download).  Are there any free/cheap solutions?

I also need to format my startup disc as it's full and vv slow.  This wouldn't be a problem but I had ECT about 18 mths ago.  As a result, I don't know my administrators password.  Is there a way to reset it or do I need to borrow a hard disc, install on that, format my boot disc and then reinstall?

Thank you muchly

Charlee

mbridgers

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« Reply #1 on: February 28, 2006, 11:29:41 am »

I've used Archive Creator in the past, but not so much anymore.  It will span cd's or dvds.  It can be found at http://www.rawworkflow.com/products/archiv...ator/index.html

Michael had a brief review a couple of years ago:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/...e-creator.shtml
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francois

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« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2006, 01:03:45 pm »

Try to find something on MacUpdate or VersionTracker. Some friends rave about SuperDuper but I've no experience with it.  
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Francois

oldcsar

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« Reply #3 on: February 28, 2006, 01:30:11 pm »

Nero Burning ROM 7 has one feature called Nero Backitup... it burns archives that span multiple cds or dvds. It's a great program... you might be able to use the feature in the Trial, haven't checked that... and the full version costs 80 bucks . However, it's an outstanding burning program... and i've heard there are keygens floating around for it --- however, I won't condone that here.

http://ww2.nero.com/enu/index.html

DVD burners are really quite cheap now. Buying one would be a huge favor to yourself.
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Brendan Wiebe
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francois

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« Reply #4 on: February 28, 2006, 01:48:36 pm »

Quote
Nero Burning ROM 7 has one feature called Nero Backitup... it burns archives that span multiple cds or dvds. It's a great program... you might be able to use the feature in the Trial, haven't checked that... and the full version costs 80 bucks . However, it's an outstanding burning program... and i've heard there are keygens floating around for it --- however, I won't condone that here.

http://ww2.nero.com/enu/index.html

DVD burners are really quite cheap now. Buying one would be a huge favor to yourself.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=59221\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Charlee is using a Mac...
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Francois

situgrrl

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« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2006, 01:55:58 pm »

Thanks for your help everyone.  

I've just aquired IviewMedia Pro and think it might have a function that will do it.  It's been importing pictures for the last 3 hours and seems to have about another 6 to go, once it's done, I'll try it and failing that, Nero.  Archive Creator would be absolutely perfect if I had a PC, I'm not sure SuperDuper does optical storage but it looks nice enough!

I've actually got 2 DVD burners.  Neither of them will play with OS X though, lazy people not writing drivers grrrr.

Does anyone know about my admin password problem?  I need to keep this 'puter until the next gen MacBooks are released!

francois

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« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2006, 01:59:33 pm »

Quote
....Does anyone know about my admin password problem?  I need to keep this 'puter until the next gen MacBooks are released!...
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=59225\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Easy, restart your Mac with your original CD or DVD (the one that came with your Mac). Once it has started on the CD or DVD, somewhere in the menus, you can reset passwords (admin and/or users).
« Last Edit: February 28, 2006, 02:00:15 pm by francois »
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Francois

Gabe

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« Reply #7 on: February 28, 2006, 05:15:43 pm »

Quote
Thanks for your help everyone. 

I've just aquired IviewMedia Pro and think it might have a function that will do it.  It's been importing pictures for the last 3 hours and seems to have about another 6 to go, once it's done, I'll try it and failing that, Nero.  Archive Creator would be absolutely perfect if I had a PC, I'm not sure SuperDuper does optical storage but it looks nice enough!

I've actually got 2 DVD burners.  Neither of them will play with OS X though, lazy people not writing drivers grrrr.

Does anyone know about my admin password problem?  I need to keep this 'puter until the next gen MacBooks are released!
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Charlee,

Yes, IVMP has an option called "Backup/CD-ROM" under the "Make" menu that will let you backup either all of the files in a catalogue, or just the currently visible images, and the feature works very nicely.

If you're looking for something that will run reliably on a schedule, and is easy enough to configure that even an untrained monkey could manage it, I highly recommend [a href=\"http://www.decimus.net/synk/]SYNK.[/url]

I've been using it for all of my backup needs for a few years now, never had a single bit of trouble from the software, and have rarely seen a more diligently supported piece of shareware in all my years of computing. Fabulous little app.


As for your DVD burners not getting along with OSX, have you tried looking to see if there are any tips in xlr8yourmac.com's drive compatibility database? I'm often surprised at what kinds of "unsupported" hardware people can get to run on the Mac..

http://forums.xlr8yourmac.com/drivedb/search.drivedb.lasso
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Pelao

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« Reply #8 on: February 28, 2006, 09:03:06 pm »

Quote
Help!

I'm rather aware that my photos are inadequately backed up (they aren't!)

Since I don't have a spare HD or a DVD writer, that leaves me with CD-Rs.  Can anyone recommend a program that can span multiple disks - I shoot 1gig flash cards so most folders are larger than a CD.  Apple Backup does but it requires .mac membership to work (or download).  Are there any free/cheap solutions?

I also need to format my startup disc as it's full and vv slow.  This wouldn't be a problem but I had ECT about 18 mths ago.  As a result, I don't know my administrators password.  Is there a way to reset it or do I need to borrow a hard disc, install on that, format my boot disc and then reinstall?

Thank you muchly

Charlee
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Hi

First, if you are relying on CDs or DVDs for backup remember that not all discs are made the same - you need to purchase some made with archiving in mind. I suggest having a look at Delkin:
[a href=\"http://www.delkin.com/delkin_products.html]Delkin[/url]

iView does offer a backup ability.

Another fine app (usually gets 4 or 5 stars in reviews) is Toast.


I strongly suggest you make 2 copies of each disc and keep one off site. Store carefully - vertically, in a cool, dark location.

It might be worthwhile looking at the external hard Drive option. Calculate the size of your backup now and into the future. While CDs and DVDs are certainly cheap, the archival quality ones are a bit more costly. Hard drives have come down enormously in price and they may offer you very good value.

I back up my original RAW / DNG images to CD, but I also have them on an external drive. My working (i.e. edited) images are also on an external drive, and it automatically copies to another external drive. It is not nearly as expensive as you think. Sure HDs can fail, but it is rare for the data to be totally lost through physical failure. This is not the case with Cds and DVDs - damage to the disc can mean everyhting is lost.
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61Dynamic

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« Reply #9 on: February 28, 2006, 11:38:11 pm »

Quote
I've actually got 2 DVD burners.  Neither of them will play with OS X though, lazy people not writing drivers grrrr.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
I've read that DVD burners should work if you put them in a FireWire enclosure even if there is no OS X driver support for it. I have a NEC burner that works jim-dandy in an ADS enclosure but I haven't researched into the issue enough to know if that is due to what I've read or just dumb luck.


As to backups:
If you do get a HD in the future for backups (recommended) then there is no need to buy backup software. OS X come with a Unix tool called "rsync" which can do incremental (only what has changed) backups and is very reliable. I've been using it in an AppleScript that launches automatically each night via iCal.

There is [a href=\"http://www.google.com/search?q=os%20x%20rsync%20backup]plenty of info[/url] out there for setting it up.

Quote
I also need to format my startup disc as it's full and vv slow.
You should not need to reformat. First off, if you are not allowing about 15-20% of free space on the drive, that can hamper performance quite a bit since the OS has to fight for space to operate and there is not enough room for OS X's automatic de-fragmentation to take place. Freeing up space on the drive could bring back The Snappy.™

In addition, OS X is designed to run maintenance tasks each night (or morning depending on your point of view) at 3AM. If you've been shutting the mac down each night that may be adding to the sluggishness. You can manually run the maintenance tasks via command line or software.
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francois

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« Reply #10 on: March 01, 2006, 03:17:34 am »

Quote
....You should not need to reformat. First off, if you are not allowing about 15-20% of free space on the drive, that can hamper performance quite a bit since the OS has to fight for space to operate and there is not enough room for OS X's automatic de-fragmentation to take place. Freeing up space on the drive could bring back The Snappy.™...
Right,
I never format hard drives unless there's a serious problem. Mac OS X defragments your start-up drive and keeps a list of "hot files" and moves them to the fastest location.
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Francois

situgrrl

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« Reply #11 on: March 01, 2006, 07:03:42 am »

61 Dynamic, one of the drives is an NEC ND-1300A and it won't play when installed straight to the tower....I guess what I need is a FW enclosure.....

RE Hard discs.....yes - but if I reformat, I can put Tiger on and run Lightroom! (slowly!)  I'm using Panther at the moment.  It's quite clear that I need another disc though, and I know they're cheap - but everything is relative when you don't have a job!

My second disc is a 200 gig one but I can only use 120 gigs of it and I don't understand why - if I could access the rest of it, it would at least partially solve the problem....I assume that this is something to do with antequated hardware, would I be able to get around it by partitioning and is it possible to partition without wiping the drive?

FYI Nero demos can't be downloaded at the moment....wonder if it is keygen related?!

Thanks everyone

61Dynamic

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« Reply #12 on: March 01, 2006, 12:37:34 pm »

Quote
RE Hard discs.....yes - but if I reformat, I can put Tiger on and run Lightroom! (slowly!)  I'm using Panther at the moment.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=59283\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Ah, OS upgrades. Definitely reformat then.

Quote
My second disc is a 200 gig one but I can only use 120 gigs of it and I don't understand why
You can never access the full amount on a disk simply due to the way the disk is formated. However, slack space should not be that bad for a 200GB; you should only be loosing about 20GB and not 80GB.

There is no way I know of to re-partition without formating (there are some solutions to do that on Windows platform but I don't know if any are available on Mac). Go into Disk Utiltiy and see what the total capacity is for the second drive (not the partition). You may be able to recover some space by re-formating the disk. That's all I can think of.

Maybe someone with more OS X/Linux knowledge can shed some light on this... It might be beneficial to post a question on the Apple support forums too.
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Pelao

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« Reply #13 on: March 01, 2006, 12:50:33 pm »

Hi

In order to reformat without erasing yor drive in OS X, you would need to have a 3rd party utility. There are a couple - the one that springs to mind is Volumeworks

I have not used it, but apparently it works fine.
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Gabe

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« Reply #14 on: March 03, 2006, 06:22:55 pm »

Quote
My second disc is a 200 gig one but I can only use 120 gigs of it and I don't understand why[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


If you take a look at the drive using Disk Utility (per 61D's advice) and discover there is an unformatted region of the drive (ie: your mysteriously missing 60-80GB), you could always format that space and install Tiger to this new, smaller partition -- the advantage being that your old "computer" will still be safely sitting on your original 120GB partition waiting for you to move your important data over to Tiger.

Once you've done that, simply use Disk Utility to wipe the original partition clean, and get to work filling it up with photos!

Quote
FYI Nero demos can't be downloaded at the moment....wonder if it is keygen related?!

.. not sure it's worth much effort to get the Nero demo if you're on a Mac, as it's Windows only to the best of my knowledge.

Give [a href=\"http://www.roxio.com/en/products/toast/index.jhtml]Roxio Toast[/url] a try if you're looking for a dedicated burning app. It's a great piece of software - basically the 'Nero' of the Mac world..
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