View Full Version : Why is SD! taking so long?
I had disconnected my "main" SD! backup drive while I was attempting to resolve the problem I was having with my smaller SD! "secondary" backup drive. The last scheduled backup to that "main" SD! drive was 2 days ago.
I reconnected the "main" drive, and manually initiated an SD! backup, and it is still running after many hours, instead of the typical 20 minutes or less it usually takes. Looking at the progress window, it appears that SD! is going through every file and backing each up as if all had changed since the last time it backed up to that drive.
Is it normal for SD! to do this, even though only a small handful of files have actually changed since the last backup?
dnanian
07-16-2010, 10:38 AM
That depends on what really changed, what happened to the drive, etc. We're only going to recopy files that are really different.
That depends on what really changed, what happened to the drive, etc. We're only going to recopy files that are really different.
Maybe I'm misinterpreting ...currently it says:
"1,994,882 of 2,497,470 files evaluated, 1,991, 268 files copied."
and
"344.82 GB evaluated, 0.00 MB already up to date, 339.83 GB copied."
dnanian
07-16-2010, 10:58 AM
That certainly looks like everything was copied. But, again, I have no way to know what's really going on here - just that it's copying because something is different. Perhaps your drives fell off? Is the space on your internal drive going down?
That certainly looks like everything was copied. But, again, I have no way to know what's really going on here - just that it's copying because something is different. Perhaps your drives fell off? Is the space on your internal drive going down?
Don't know what you mean by "fell off."
It's a 1 TB drive, with 430 GB available. My internal is 1 TB with (you guessed it) 430 GB available.
Don't know what you mean by "fell off."
It's a 1 TB drive, with 430 GB available. My internal is 1 TB with (you guessed it) 430 GB available.
Oh s**t!! I'm an idiot...I manually backed up to my 2 TB TM drive!
dnanian
07-16-2010, 11:10 AM
I mean "fell off the bus". Ah, backing up the wrong thing would certainly do it.
Oh s**t!! I'm an idiot...I manually backed up to my 2 TB TM drive!
Should I quit now, or let it finish and then run a TM backup followed by an SD! backup to the correct drives?
dnanian
07-16-2010, 11:24 AM
Probably should stop it, if you don't want the backup there.
Probably should stop it, if you don't want the backup there.
I don't recall: What happens if TM kicks in and begins to create a backup to a drive with files on it (i.e., to the drive which has been overwritten with my SD! backup)? There's enough room for all of the files, but would it create a problem later on? (IOW, should I reinitiallize this particular drive to get rid of the SD! backup, and then start TM backups anew?)
dnanian
07-16-2010, 12:25 PM
If you're using Smart Update, SD! won't touch the TM backups. It'll put the SD! backup side by side with it.
If you're using Smart Update, SD! won't touch the TM backups. It'll put the SD! backup side by side with it.
Ah! So TM and SD! can live side-by-side on the same drive, right?
OK. What happens when TM needs more space? Will it delete only the older TM files, and leave the SD! copy alone? (And what if it were reversed: If SD! needed more space, would it wipe existing TM files? It's not an issue here in the near term, inasmuch as the drive has a capacity of 2 TB, and my internal's capacity is 1 TB...just a general question.)
dnanian
07-16-2010, 02:29 PM
Yes, see the FAQ about this (Help > Frequently Asked Questions). TM will grow and grow until it fills the drive - you're better off with a partition...
Yes, see the FAQ about this (Help > Frequently Asked Questions). TM will grow and grow until it fills the drive - you're better off with a partition...
My plan is to do the SD! backup to the correct drive, then erase the one just completed to the TM drive, bringing the TM drive back to its original state.
Question: Can I delete the SD! backup by deleting the folders it created on the TM drive, and do so via the Finder?
dnanian
07-16-2010, 02:39 PM
To delete the SD! backup, I'd create an empty source image, then use "Backup - all files" with "Smart Update" to copy from that image's volume (disk) to the Time Machine drive. That'll leave the TM backups alone, and remove everything else.
To delete the SD! backup, I'd create an empty source image, then use "Backup - all files" with "Smart Update" to copy from that image's volume (disk) to the Time Machine drive. That'll leave the TM backups alone, and remove everything else.
"create an empty source image"? Huh?
dnanian
07-16-2010, 02:44 PM
Use disk utility to create an empty image. That'll mount as a "disk". Use that as the source.
Use disk utility to create an empty image. That'll mount as a "disk". Use that as the source.
SD! currently is backing up to the "correct" drive. After it finishes, I'll be able to copy the an "empty" disk image to the TM drive.
My only question: The minimum size image I can create is 10.5 MB. I assume that's "empty enough," correct?
dnanian
07-16-2010, 03:06 PM
Any size is fine, as long as it's empty. Of course, once copied you can eject and delete the image file.
Any size is fine, as long as it's empty. Of course, once copied you can eject and delete the image file.
What do you mean? After I have SD! copy it to the drive, doesn't "it" reside there, and then don't I have to delete it via the Finder?
dnanian
07-16-2010, 03:51 PM
The image file? No. That's the blank source you created. Once you've used it as a source (the whole point is that it's empty), you can delete and delete the image file you created.
The image file? No. That's the blank source you created. Once you've used it as a source (the whole point is that it's empty), you can delete and delete the image file you created.
So, I tell SD! to "back it up" to the drive via a Smart Update. SD! looks into the image file, and doesn't "see" any actual files. So, it replaces everything it had previously backed up to the drive with "no files," returning the drive to its original state, as if SD! never touched it to begin with.
The size of the actual image file itself is a non-issue—it's analogous to the size of an actual source HD that I am copying files from. And SD! doesn't care if this "new" source drive is different from the original one it used to create the previous backup.
Do I have it right?
dnanian
07-16-2010, 04:47 PM
Exactly. You're backing up "nothing", so Smart Update removes what's there, except for what it says it won't: Time Machine stuff.
Exactly. You're backing up "nothing", so Smart Update removes what's there, except for what it says it won't: Time Machine stuff.
I began to initiate it, and the SD! dialog seems to say as much.
I haven't yet initiated it though...TM is doing its thing, but, for some reason, it's near the end and "hanging." It was at 7.9 out of 8.0 GB for a while, but when it reached 8 GB, it then indicated it was at 8 GB out of 8.01 GB. It then became 8.02 GB out of 8.02 GB, and it's been there for a while.
(BTW: Once I get it going, how long should it take? IOW, since I'm backing up "nothing," does it finish very, very quickly? Or does it take a while for it to go through a routine to check every SD! file on the target drive?)
The image file? No. That's the blank source you created. Once you've used it as a source (the whole point is that it's empty), you can delete and delete the image file you created.
OK...it's done. :D
You said I can delete the image file (that's now obvious to me). But you said it this way:
"you can delete and delete the image file"
1. Was that "delete and delete" just a typo, or is there something else (for example, some sort of "hidden" file) I need to delete?
and
2. Is the drive in the exact same state it was before I mistakenly created the SD! backup on it, or are there some remnants of the original SD! backup still on the drive? (For example, the SD! dialog—which didn't show any "progress" while it was backing up "nothing"—says it "restored Spotlight state" on the drive. Does that "restoration" involve anything that SD! leaves behind?)
dnanian
07-16-2010, 06:42 PM
I meant 'eject and delete'. Sorry: was replying on a phone.
Yes, it should be in the same state it was in.
I meant 'eject and delete'. Sorry: was replying on a phone.
Yes, it should be in the same state it was in.
Thanks a lot, Dave. You really are a life saver. (Now, if only you had all the answers ;), then maybe I could get that other (750 GB) external drive working again!)
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