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-   -   SuperDuper: restore from Time Machine? (https://www.shirt-pocket.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4205)

kingvald 06-18-2008 12:22 PM

SuperDuper: restore from Time Machine?
 
Hi, I hope someone can clarify something for me:

I made a bootable copy of my system using SuperDuper on an external HD. This backup is now 2 months old. I've also been using TimeMachine for daily backup on a second external HD.

My question is: if my HD dies tomorrow will I be able to boot from the SuperDuper backup, restore the system (2 months old) and use the TimeMachine backup to restore the system up to date?

Hope someone can clarify....

If this is possible, then it should be sufficent to do a Super Duper backup every 3 months or so... right?

Thanx
kingvald

dnanian 06-18-2008 12:36 PM

While it should work, kingvald, I strongly encourage you to make a SD! backup more often than that.

Brad 06-26-2008 09:08 PM

So TC can restore to a "future drive" ? :-)
 
Hi Dave,

So let's say I backup using SD! to a bootable external FW hard drive once a week or so, but have Time Capsule running continuously.

Then my main HD dies. I boot from my SD! backup, use SD! to copy/clone back over to my (now new working) main HD (now I'm back to a week or two ago, whenever I last SD!'ed to my external drive)...

Now I can restore from TC, up to current (last hour or so, whenever it last ran)? It "knows" that I somehow have lost everything back to a week or two ago (including the 'partial amount' I lost between the time I did the "last TC snapshot, say every hour on the hour, so say 2:00pm 10 days ago," and the "time I did the last SD! backup which was at, say, 2:18pm 10 days ago")...

How does it know to go back to the 2pm (not the 3pm) and update everything from then--won't it think the editing work I did from 2 to 2:18pm might not be included in the 3pm, then eventually all the way forward to today, restores? Because to TC it doesn't have to rebuild back from the "beginning of time", but somehow from this 'magical' (to it) point that caused me to appear to have regressed back 10 days...

I guess I should ask this on the TC support forum, not here, eh? It *is* related to using a clone/copy product like SD! in conjunction *with* TC, so I don't feel too bad asking you this question...

Side (bonus) question: Can SD! be set up to run upon 'awakening' to do a SmartUpdate across a wireless network whenever say, 24 hours have passed since the last backup, and one is back on one's "home network"? If so, I might just pass on getting a TC at all. (What kind of hardware would be required to get this to work? If it can work, can I do this with two machines on the same network--both with their own separate bootable drives? Obviously for performance reasons I'd hook up the drives directly for the first backup, then only do SmartUpdates wirelessly. I might even just set them to run every two hours if I could, rather than every 24 hrs.)

Thanks.

:-)s,
Brad

dnanian 06-26-2008 11:13 PM

There's no way to tell Time Machine to "restore the files that were changed since xxx" without either doing a full restore (using your Leopard DVD) or by locating and restoring every single file that was changed. It's just not how it works. But you can certainly go to the folder where you work and restore the files you were recently working on.

As far as "back up on wake if 24 hours have passed", no -- SD! can't be set to do that kind of backup, no. Sorry.

Brad 07-08-2008 11:16 PM

Ah, I see... at least I'm pretty sure I do--let me confirm:

So I'm back to a week or 10 days ago (by booting off my SD! external FW drive clone--which I SD! copy back over to a new internal drive when I have it installed), then those--a week or 10 days--old files I now need in order to continue working can be restored to the state of the latest restore that I've done from TCapsule-TMachine (presumably to a state w/in about an hour of when I lost my main internal HD)... for those files that I *notice* I need to get the latest of, when I get back to work.

Then I keep working on my ('new', meaning TC-TM restored) files from then on. If I discover any others that are 'old' I just restore their latest from TC as I discover them (even months later)--which brings them back up to the state they were in (w/in an hour or so of) when my original main internal HD crashed.

So weekly I continue to backup this "new" drive to SD! and if it happens again (my main HD crashes), again I boot from my SD! external drive, restore the files I need from TC and continue working.

It still makes sense to make regular SD! backups whenever one's connected to the FW external drive... but let TC make wireless backups hourly in the meanwhile.

And TC never gets confused, and neither does SD! ... is that correct? And (unlike if I just owned TC-TM alone) I never have to worry about work interruption or time loss due to a down HD, I just boot up from the external SD! FW drive and keep working (and get my crashed internal drive replaced asap of course and re-SD!'ed back over). And I keep all of my hourly file snapshot histories (pre-crashes and post-) on my TC, right?

Works whether you do SD! backups nightly or weekly...

Thanks for listening to me clarify my understanding. (And please correct me if I'm wrong on any of this.)

Cheers,
Brad

PS Main reason I really want TC-TM is because it's hard to get hold of my wife's Macbook long enough to do a "proper" SD! backup more than once a week or so, but she's on our wireless network at home lots throughout the week! :-)

On that note--you have any opinion on the much discussed TC vs. Airport Extreme with an external USB HD connected to it debate (iow, can Time Machine work fine on the latter, rather than paying for the pricey HD in TC)? From what I've read, it seems it's not safe to use the AE + ext. HD, however TC is safe(r). Has that changed and it's now safe to use AE+HD?

dnanian 07-09-2008 08:09 AM

That's right: it should just allow you to restore things, but beacuse of the way TM works, you can't say "give me the things that changed since last week" that I've seen. You have to know what you want to restore.


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