Help! Clone missing file icons, creator info
 

Just cloned my HD using SuperDuper. Most of the files have lost there custom icons showing what program they were created under, and if I click on them to open I get an error message "Cannot find the application that created this file". Opening them from withing the application seems to work OK though.

Also, a lot of the applications which require a password to make them work when installed have lost them and need them reloaded.

Any idea what I did wrong? i was hoping for an exact duplicate of my old HD that I could just boot up, and start using as if it was the old one. Am I asking too much?

No, that's what it's supposed to do. Custom icons should be maintained, as should your passwords, etc.

I'm not sure what's gone wrong here, because I don't have much information... but please try booting back to the original drive. Then, rename the destination volume to the same name as the source.

Repeat the copy with Smart Update and "Backup - all files", and let's see if that works better.

Can't do a Smart Update since I haven't paid/registered yet - the whole point of the exercise was to a few copies and see how they go, to find out if SD was going to be the cure to my backup probs.

I'll try doing it over and see what happens. Oh, if it makes any difference, the disk being copied was 10.2.8, but SD was working under 10.3.9

10.2.8 should be OK as long as you're running in 10.3.9 or later, assuming that nothing on the 10.3.9 system is interfering with the copy (AntiVirus, etc).

Tried it again, making sure everything I could turn off that might interfer was off, and that same thing happened. Don't have a clue what to try next.

Seems a serious problem - any more advice would be welcome.

The first thing I'd try is to rebuild your LaunchServices database using one of the various system tools (Onyx, Cocktail, etc). That should bring back the icons.

Passwords, though -- I need more information to help with that. Can you give an example of an application that's not working? Is it copy protected/activated?

Rebuilt the launch services with Cocktail, made no difference at all, still tons of generic icons for files that won't open since the creator can't be found.

Password turned out to be a problem with just one program, so easily fixed just by reentering it.

All very mysterious, since the program seems to work so well for everyone else, and I just can't see what i am doing that different.

What files are these, Kyle? Are they all associated with a single application?

I've never seen anything like this before, and since the creator information comes out of launch services (and the file's extension, for the most part), or the creator code resource (which is part of the file), they should be as expected on the copy.

No - various application. Oddly enough, I think they were not the same applications each time - once it lost all creator info on .pdfs, next try it was something else. I think - I did not remark on it until later, so I can't swear to the details.

The story has a happy ending, though - it turned out a buddy had a registered copy so I figured I'd borrow it and try the copy then smart backup method you mentioned earlier. I made a fresh, clean clone to start with, and it came out fine with no massaging necessary other than entering the one password/registration mentioned earlier. Reading the literature I can not see any reason the full version should do a better job, but it seems to.

I can't see why they would act any differently, Kyle -- if the drive is empty (which it will be after an erase), the same code will be doing the actual copy.

I'm just not sure what's going on here. Anyone else seeing anything remotely similar?