Mounting Catch 22

[gatorron]

Sorry if this problem seems lame to you experts, but I'm confused.

I'm trying to backup all files to my Lacie external HD from my internal iMac G5 160 GB HD. It gets about 17 seconds into the operation, then errors out. The log says it can't unmount the Lacie disk.

But when I go to Disk Utility and unmount the disk, then SD doesn't see it anymore. Frankly, I don't understand what the purpose of mounting and unmounting is, but now I guess I'm going to learn.

All I want is a complete backup. It's worked before, I didn't change anything -- except I updated to 10.3.9.

I'm getting Tiger when it's released. I hope they've done something to make this whole process easier.

[dnanian]

No such thing as a 'lame' problem, gatorron!

This seems a bit strange. A few things I'd suggest to start with:

- If you're running Norton AntiVirus, please turn off Auto Protect
- Check LaCie's site and make sure you've got the most recent firmware installed for the drive
- Once all that's done, restart the machine with the FireWire drive disconnected, then connect it once you're restarted
- Give the backup another shot

If that doesn't work, please send the SuperDuper!.log to support (it's off your Home folder, in Library/Logs -- just attach it to the email), and I'll take a look and see if there are any hints. A System Profiler report would be helpful, too: to generate, run System Profiler, choose File | Save and save to the default (XML) format. Then, attach that to the mail, too. (If you use the Finder to archive the two files, the attachment will be a lot smaller.)

Thanks!

[gatorron]

Well, I do not run Norton, and I couldn't find anything about latest firmware, but a re-start seemed to be the medicine needed, so thanks for the tip.

I really enjoy the way Mac people help each other. It's really cool.

[dnanian]

Glad to be of service!