Shirt Pocket Discussions

Shirt Pocket Discussions (https://www.shirt-pocket.com/forums/index.php)
-   General (https://www.shirt-pocket.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6)
-   -   Easy (I think) Newbie Question: B/U 2 Vols? (https://www.shirt-pocket.com/forums/showthread.php?t=636)

villageidiot 08-26-2005 03:55 PM

Easy (I think) Newbie Question: B/U 2 Vols?
 
I have tempted fate for some time, and just now got a B/U drive to protect my files. A member of another forum suggested SuperDuper!, so I downloaded it and did a B/U of my system. I have a question, though.

First, you should know:
I have a PB G4 with an 80 GB drive.
I have a ProTools rig with a LaCie 200 GB drive.
I just bought a LaCie 300 GB drive to use solely as my B/U volume.

So, I did a "Back Up - All files" of my PB internal drive, which erased (the still-empty, new) disk and backed up successfully. Then, to do the 200 GB Lacie's B/U, I chose the option of NOT erasing, then only copying different files. The transfer went smoothly. Now then, my question.

Is there a better way to do this? On the new 300 GB Lacie, I now have my files backed up, but they're all together in one big list. Should I partition the new disk into, say, 90 GB and 210 GB parts and then do things over, each to their respective partitions? I've never partitioned a disk in my life, and I really just want to have a worst-case scenario backup of my songs and software should the unthinkable happen. Looking at the current layout of my backup volume, it seems restoring things after an emergency would be as much fun as getting chewing gum out of my hair.

I looked through the manual and did a brief search before posting this, but the posts were by folks a lot smarter than me, and they left me still unsure. Help, if you can. And talk to me like I'm a nincompoop. I am.

Thanks a pantload,

V.I.

dnanian 08-26-2005 04:25 PM

OK! Don't let any of the more technical discussions here in the forum fool you: this stuff is easy to do. So, relax. Really!

In general, I strongly recommend that you isolate each volume's backup in its own volume, by partitioning your backup drive appropriately. That will make it MUCH easier to restore, and -- on top of that -- you won't accidentally make a mistake during your backups and erase data you wanted to keep, or overwrite files, or whatever. (Combining volumes is just not a good idea. Too easy to make mistakes, and harder to restore from, too.)

Partitioning is easy, and can be done with Disk Utility. Just start it, choose the backup drive, and then choose "2 partitions" -- or the number of partitions you want. More than likely, you'll want three: one for the PB backup (the 80GB drive), one for the ProTools rig (200GB), and the remainder for regular storage.

The sizes of the partitions should be the maximum size you anticipate taking up on the drive. So, if you don't think you'll ever get to 80GB, use the maximum you think you'll need. Remember, though, drive space is cheap, and we all fill our drives, so it might be best to make an 80GB, a 200GB and a 20GB partition.

Once that's done, target your backups appropriately to the right partition, and you're all set.

Make sense?

villageidiot 08-26-2005 06:02 PM

Makes a load of sense. I'll do what you said and see what happens.

Thanks a lot for the help.

V.I. :eek:

dnanian 08-26-2005 06:38 PM

No problem. Stop by again and let us know how it works out.


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:17 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.