SuperDuper freezes at 3.30GB progress

[chris_kalan]

Hey there - I'm using the trial version of SuperDuper - and as far as I could tell, there were no limitations on how much I could backup with it, just that I don't get Sandbox or various other functionality. My problem is that the backup process freezes when it reaches the 5.37GB evaluated (3.30GB copied) stage. I'm backing up to a Seagate external Firewire 400 drive with more than 280GB available on it, so space is not the issue. I actually still have control over the program, but it seems like it is not doing anything. I cancelled it last time it did this, and now it is stopped in the same place once again.

HELP!!

[dnanian]

Are you backing up to an image, Chris?

If not, it's possible it's copying a large file (you won't get "mid-copy" feedback)... do you use FileVault?

[chris_kalan]

Actually, this is my first Mac and I simply set it up to back up my entire Macintosh HDD as a disk image. I don't know what FileVault is.

If I don't get "mid-copy" feedback, would I get "mid-copy" transfer rate? Because the rate is also stuck, at 8.07MB/second.

[chris_kalan]

And I forgot to mention, I also right-clicked on the disk I am using to store the image, and the available capacity has not changed at all - wouldn't that at least have mid-copy feedback?

[dnanian]

OK. How is your external drive formatted, Chris? (And, no -- nothing about file copying will update mid-file-copy.)

[chris_kalan]

It is formatted so that I can view the drive both from a Mac or PC - MS-DOS I think it is??

[chris_kalan]

More information I forgot to include: I tried to do the exact same backup to my internal hard drive, then realized that the drive is not nearly large enough, so I cancelled it. The thing is, however, that the backup to my internal got past 10GB and didn't freeze at all (until I stopped it myself).

[dnanian]

Right. That's the problem -- a FAT32 drive does not support files > 4GB, so you can't use that to store an image that'll get larger than that, Chris.

[chris_kalan]

Okay, so I have to reformat my external drive then everything should be hunky-dory (pardon the extremely corny use of hunky-dory)?

[dnanian]

First, let me suggest partitioning the drive into a "backup" and "data" partition, using Disk Utility. Make sure to use the APM partition format if you have a Power PC Mac, or (optionally) GUID for Intel.

Then, you can back up directly to the drive, which will give you a bootable backup.

[chris_kalan]

I've got a pretty complete system I use for my backups (a system of folders and root menus I designed myself) which I've used on my PC. I'm just going to use this drive the same way (don't worry, the PC backup drive is a different one altogether; I'm not trying to share the disk for both systems). I just have to reformat as Mac-OS Extended (Journaled) and everything should be okay?

[dnanian]

If that's what you'd like to do, Chris, feel free. But I suggest that you use a partition for a full, bootable backup, and then use the other partition for your system. Trust me: it's a lot more convenient that way, and works differently than a PC (because you can't just boot from a PC backup).

[chris_kalan]

My setup goes like this:
2x 320GB Seagate (1 for PC, 1 for Mac)
2x 100GB LaCie Notebook Externals (1 for PC, 1 for Mac)

If I ever need to boot from the image, I'll just use the LaCie Mobile - that would serve the same purpose, right?

[dnanian]

It would, as long as you're able to keep it conveniently up to date and you're writing directly to the drive. But, of course, additional redundancy (physical) is always good, so I'd encourage both. Again, though, your choice -- I'm only offering recommendations.

[chris_kalan]

Thanks a lot for all your help - it has been very, well, helpful.

I was pleasantly surprised to not see something like "Sorry - buy the full version if you want support" as the first reply to my post, so thanks again :)

[chris_kalan]

Oh, and yes, I will be buying the full version shortly.

[dnanian]

Glad I could help, Chris. And, yes -- we offer support to unregistered users, too.

[chris_kalan]

Glad to hear, because it just stopped at 3.30GB again. I reformatted the drive and checked its info, and it says "Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)"

[chris_kalan]

Okay nevermind, maybe it just got stuck at 3.30GB with a large file - that's kinda fluke that it would stop in the same place. Oh well, its working now - thanks so much!

[dnanian]

Yep -- that's what I would expect: it stopped (for good) before because at 3.30GB you then went over 4GB with a large file, but now it copies that large file and succeeds.

[chris_kalan]

Exactly, it jumped from 3.30GB to well over 5.5GB, so that must have been it.