SD hangs

[FHEinstein]

I'm trying to create a simple script which will back up all files in my Home folder excluding the Pictures folder. (I don't want the other user directories backed up.) But when I try to create a script to do this I always get a spining beachball which lasts for a long time (10 minutes? more?).

Before I can get to the question about writing the script, I have to solve then program hanging problem. I usually end up doing a Force Quit and starting again--but SD still hangs.

Related question: How do I delete a script that I wrote, but which is not correct?

I am running OSX 10.5.8 on an intel Mac Pro and ver. 2.6.2 of SuperDuper.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[dnanian]

What happens if you power off your Mac and hold down Shift from power on all the way to the desktop?

Scripts can be removed from Library/Application Support/SuperDuper!/Copy Scripts with Finder.

[FHEinstein]

Strange behavior: When I started up with the Shift key down, the Mac took a LONG time to boot up--4 minutes? (I'm guessing). When it did boot up, it booted from a backup drive (a clone), not from my usual startup drive.

I think there was a brief question mark on the screen before the Apple logo appeared on the grey screen. (I'm not 100% sure about this because it was very brief.) Is that an indication that it couldn't find the right startup drive?or that there is a problem with the startup drive?

I'm going to try to start up again, with the Shift key held down (Safe Boot) and see what happens.

[dnanian]

There may be a problem with the startup drive. Certainly the ? means it couldn't find the drive to start from...

[FHEinstein]

This time it took 3 minutes from starting up to get to the login screen (safe boot), but it started from the correct drive. (This makes me think the last time it took considerably longer than 4 minutes from startup to login screen.)

I deleted the scripts I had written from the SD folder in the Application Support folder, as you said. I then tried to modify a script, but I'm getting the same spinning beachball which never stops.

Any thoughts?

[dnanian]

It's quite possible that it's loading the various files. Perhaps you can wait a bit longer? (Do you have a large number of attached devices, or network drives?)

[FHEinstein]

For safety's sake I'm trying to update my clone with SD. But I'm still getting the spinning beachball when i try to use SD for a backup. It eventually stops spinning, but I wonder if it's safe to use.

Also, I just ran Disk Utility on my startup drive, but it didn't find any problems. I ran Disk Warrior about a week ago, and DW found some errors which it corrected. Any suggestions on what to do with my startup drive?

[dnanian]

Where are you getting the beachball now? When editing the script, or when backing up?

[FHEinstein]

Originally Posted by dnanian

It's quite possible that it's loading the various files. Perhaps you can wait a bit longer? (Do you have a large number of attached devices, or network drives?)

Missed your last reply (above)--

I have 4 internal drives and 3 FW drives on my system. When you say it may be loading the various files, are you talking about the SD problem or the possible problem with my startup drive?

[FHEinstein]

Originally Posted by dnanian

Where are you getting the beachball now? When editing the script, or when backing up?

I'm getting the beachball when I try to back up.

[dnanian]

It could be any one of the drives causing problems. Power off, simplify to only the one drive you need, power back up and try again.

[FHEinstein]

I disconnected all the FW drives, and the Mac started up much more quickly--about a minute to the login screen. I'm going to try to clone my startup drive to one of the internal drives and see what happens. I will let you know.

[FHEinstein]

The cloning operation seems to have worked without any problem. I will try modifying a script tomorrow and will let you know if the program still hangs.

Thanks for your help!