Restoring from Sandbox?

[Eric_J]

Hi

Months ago, I:
1) Backed up PowerBook running 10.3 to FireWire drive, ("Backup")
2) Partitioned the PB drive to "HD" + "Sandbox"
3) Restored "HD" from "Backup"
4) Copied "HD" to "Sandbox", sharing users and applications
5) Installed 10.4 on "Sandbox", plus updates.
6) Booted regularly from "Sandbox"

Everything worked great for months!

However, "Sandbox" is runing out of space (3GB free), due to new applications being installed there, so I decided to copy "Sandbox" back over to "HD" before it really ran out of space, and to continue using "HD".

1) Backed up "HD" to "Backup" (Good Thing)
2) Followed the Advanced Users instructions carefully. (I'm not an advanced user, but I assume the procedure is the same regardless?)
3) It appears that the applications and system software copied as expected, and all my user stuff is still there, but "HD" now has problems. Massive permissions issues (mostly fixed, I think) can't shut down, it appears that mdimport processes are running for users not logged in, etc. So I'm back to "Sandbox", and don't wan't to make things worse....

Question:

What would you advise?

A) Restore "HD" from "Backup" (erasing it first), reinstall 10.4 on HD and transfer applications manually back from "Sandbox"?
B) Try to reinstall 10.4 from the install disks back onto "HD" directly? Installing an earlier OS over a later one usually doesn't work, no?
C) Try to repeat my earlier effort that didn't work?
D) Something else?

Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

Eric_J

[dnanian]

That's certainly bizarre and unexpected. You used "Smart Update" and "Backup - all files" to copy back to HD?

[Eric_J]

To the best of my knowledge, yes.

The only other thing I can think of was that I may have messed with groups, ownerships and permissions for the various users on HD, and that somehow it didn't like that.

No serious damage yet, but I'd like to get back to a stable HD.

Also - I did change the name of the Sandbox volume, but I'm not sure whether that was before or after the update. I just read that is not advised. Should I change it back?

Originally Posted by dnanian

That's certainly bizarre and unexpected. You used "Smart Update" and "Backup - all files" to copy back to HD?

[dnanian]

You should definitely change that back, yes. It sounds to me like you're not going to be able to copy back, though. I'd definitely boot from and restore your backup... you can then try again, making sure that your source and sandbox have the SAME name they had when you originally did it.

But if you've significantly changed your "user" environment, you might have trouble...

[Eric_J]

Originally Posted by dnanian

...I'd definitely boot from and restore your backup... you can then try again, making sure that your source and sandbox have the SAME name they had when you originally did it....

OK, HD is restored and I can shut down and reboot, etc. Thank you, that went smoothly!

Now....Following the directions exactly... With "Backup - all files" and "Smart Update" chosen.....When I get ready to hit Copy Now, the text above says, "The result will mimic "Erase HD, then copy files from Sandbox, but will typically take a fraction of the time."

After I hit Copy Now, I get a dialog that says the same thing and asks for confirmation. BUT the User's Guide says, "And, whatever you do, do not choose Erase, then copy. "

So which is right? Will the result be the same as Erase and Copy, only it will be faster? Or are the manual and dialog boxes in need of some clarification? (I'm inclined to think it's the manual and dialog boxes, but...)

Thanks in advance...


Eric_J

[dnanian]

This "Mimics" erase, then copy, Eric. It's not the same, so that's what to do.