restoring from a shared-users volume
 

I need to restore the operating system from a volume where it was backed up using the sandbox - shared users script; now I'm not sure how the symbolic links will be handled...

• will my Users directory (on the target volume) be left untouched?
• will its components be replaced by the links?
• or will its contents be replaced by the linked files, which are yet on another volume?

I don't understand: a Sandbox is not a backup at all... but if you follow the steps in the User's Guide to copy the Sandbox to the main drive its content is shared from, and follow those steps exactly, AND make a backup of that main drive first just-in-case-you-make-a-mistake, it will leave the shared items alone and copy the unshared items (everything but /Users, basically).

It's absolutely critical that you follow the steps in the User's Guide.

Normally, though, you'd 'restore' an OS by doing an archive-and-install with your OSX DVD.

I understand your point, but in a sense, the sandbox is a backup of the system components: and it's precisely what I should have used to experiment instead of my main drive!

now that I've corrupted my regular startup volume because of a bad JavaForMacOSX10.5Update7, this snapshot is all I need to go back to work with all my settings, upgraded additional c++ libraries and special python modules intact — whereas installing from a DVD will force me to put everything back manually: if only I remember every little things I added over the months...

sure: there's a detailed procedure on p. 38... is this what you're alluding to?

and yes, I do have backups of the Users directory from the damaged startup volume: would it be sensible to substitute the sandbox's symlinks for the actual data, then do a regular restore?

No, don't substitute symlinks. Just be very, very careful and follow the instructions... I'm assuming that your sandbox was made from this drive, and the symlinks do refer to the right things.

I should have explained the situation better: my startup drive is damaged - it's so full of bad blocks I'll have to replace it... in which case, the symlinks will certainly not point to the original nodes!

now, what's wrong with substituting symlinks for actual data?

I still don't understand what you're trying to do with symlinks here...

1. I don't have an actual backup of my boot volume
2. I do have separate backups of the system on one hand, and the users on the other
3. I'm attempting to recreate a full backup from those parts

or is this totally silly since there's a much simpler way to restore the boot volume data in one felt swoop?

OK. Does the volume you're restoring to have the (damaged) system on it, and the Users? Or are the Sandbox and Users "volumes" really backup source volumes that you're trying to integrate into a 3rd, empty volume?

for the time being, it's the first case... but there's nothing reliable I can do with this drive, so I'll have to zero it at least, prior to any serious manipulation; then it'll be the second case...

any way I look at it, I must face absolute reinstallation unless I can use the DVD to install on a drive that gathers system + users files — the installer program will only ask once, I'm afraid... unless maybe I can (1) integrate my system alterations at install time, then (2) use the migration assistant later to restore my users' data!

I don't know: the documentation doesn't go this far...

Maybe try a clean install of the OS to a drive and migrate? Might work...

sorry for asking a second time, but what's wrong with substituting symlinks for actual data?

You can try what you want to try, but without direct examination of the situation I'm reluctant to advocate complex approaches that might be wrong...