Startup disk almost full! Help

[Lizzy]

Every so often I get a message from my Powerbook that says 'startup disk almost full'.
I've bought a 500GB MyBook and I've downloaded Super Duper. Now what I need to know is can I clone my HD onto the MyBook and then just take the laptop back to original factory settings so I can free up space on the HD? Would I be able to look at my photos and docs and stuff on the MyBook without having to restore it all to my HD? Could I continue to backup any new files I create to the MyBook using Super Duper without losing files from the original cloning? Does the HD have to be identical to the 'old' files that would be on the clone?

I am making a clone of my hard drive first while I'm at work, so I'll find out if it worked when I get home.

Any help would be appreciated! I'm hoping to get this done soon.

[dnanian]

Hi, Lizzy. I'm not entirely sure what you're trying to do here, regarding "original factory settings". Certainly, you could copy onto the MyBook, but from what's been said on this forum and elsewhere, the MyBook cannot be used as a startup drive for Power PC based Macs.

You wouldn't be able to "reset" your internal drive and then continue backing up to the same partition on the backup without (at the very least) overwriting your existing backup, unless you created a second partition for this use.

What it sounds like you need to do is to buy a larger replacement disk for your Powerbook!

[Lizzy]

Can you tell me in what post you found that info? I think my plan has a kink in it. I already own the My Book and i can't return it because I bought it in the US and I'm back in the UK now. Why can't I just add new files to an existing backup without completely overwriting it? Can I just use it as an external drive rather than a 'backup' drive then?

[dnanian]

The Western Digital support site has an article about the MyBook Pro units and bootability with Macs; I don't have a direct link, sorry.

You can add new files to an existing backup, using "Copy Newer" or "Copy Different", but if those files are in the same location as the old with the same name, they will overwrite the old files. On top of that, the backup will no longer be bootable...

[Lizzy]

Why would it no longer be bootable? I have the user guide from My Book, so I'll check that out and their discussion boards. Thanks

[dnanian]

Because you'd be combining old and new OS files, and not removing anything, which would eventually cause things to diverge from a working system.

[diegz]

The missing link:
http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1787&p_created=1203707437&p_sid=asbJEbdj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=287&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX 3Jvd19jbnQ9MzM4LDMzOCZwX3Byb2RzPTAmcF9jYXRzPTAmcF9 wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJja F9mbmwmcF9wYWdlPTEmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1tYWMgYm9vdA* *&p_li=&p_topview=1

And the text:

The following external hard drives are bootable on Intel-based Macintosh computers systems through USB:
My Book Essential Edition
My Book Essential Edition 2.0
My Book Home Edition
My Book Mirror Edition
My Book Office Edition
My Book Premium Edition
My Book Premium Edition II
My Book Premium ES Edition
My Book Pro Edition
My Book Pro Edition II
My Book Studio Edition
My Book Studio Edition II
My Passport Studio

The following external hard drives are bootable on Intel-based Macintosh computers systems through FireWire (1394a/b):
My Book Home Edition
My Book Mirror Edition
My Book Office Edition
My Book Premium Edition
My Book Premium Edition II
My Book Pro Edition
My Book Pro Edition II
My Book Studio Edition
My Book Studio Edition II
My Passport Studio

The following external hard drives are bootable on Power PC based Macintosh computers systems through FireWire (1394a/b):
WD My Book Premium Edition
WD My Book Pro Edition

The following external hard drives are not bootable on Power PC based Macintosh computers systems through USB/FireWire 1394(a/b):
My Book Essential Edition
My Book Essential Edition 2.0
My Book Home Edition
My Book Mirror Edition
My Book Office Edition
My Book Premium Edition II
My Book Pro Edition II
My Book Studio Edition
My Book Studio Edition II
My Passport Studio
My Passport Elite
My Passport Essential
WD Passport
WD Passport (Silver)

[dnanian]

Thanks for the link!