Restore image with disk utility?

[raziel]

Hi everyone... I just wanted to know if backups made with SuperDuper as a disk image is perfectly compatible with the Disk Utility I can run if I boot from my OS X 10.5.5 installation disc?

See, I can't use the Disk Utility to make a backup of a running OS X installation and it is a pain in the ass (and risks damaging the disc) if I have to boot from it every time I want to back up my drive, SuperDuper seems much less painful... But when it actually comes around to restoring my system, I probably won't even be able to boot into os x, and of course the installation disc which I can boot from doesn't have SuperDuper on it. So in this case, can I use the standard Disk Utility to restore my drive?

Are there any limitations I should be aware of, like, will it work with a read-only, highly compressed disk image?

Thanks everyone.
p.s. as a bonus question, does anyone know if restoring from a disk image will keep files in the hot-band still in the hot-band?

[dnanian]

Hotfiles will not be maintained, but the backup is certainly compatible with Disk Utility, as you'll find in the User's Guide. I'd generally suggest a read/write sparse image rather than a DMG.

(The hotfile cache rebuilds quite rapidly.)

[raziel]

Originally Posted by dnanian

(The hotfile cache rebuilds quite rapidly.)

Thanks for your reply, that is quite useful to know, a sparse image it is then .

Anyway, I was under the impression that when OS X gets installed it specifically places certain files into the hot-band of the HD for really fast access... I don't think it is something that can be rebuilt.

Apple for one discourages a defrag because you risk moving files from the hot band on the HD which can result in a slower OS. To quote Apple: "When you install Mac OS X, many files are placed in a special area ( "hot band") can be read quickly and defragmentation could move those files, which could slow down the boot."

They explicitly say when it gets installed it places those files in the special area... correct me if I'm wrong.
- Raz

[dnanian]

The hotfiles are selected over time and are moved in and out of the "hotband" automatically, well after OS installation.