Using Computer while doing a Back-Up

Hello! You can....but experience says that while doing something as important as a complete backup of other processor and disk intensive action you are wise to go do something else. Read THIS to get a grasp of why it may not be a good idea. Tom

It depends on what program you use for backing up and what settings you have set in the backup program.

Using Carbon Copy Cloner I have no issues using my computer while backing up (i.e cloning).

But when I use Retrospect, at the end of the backup session it will report errors. The reason for this is that I have it verify the files were correctly copied (something that I think is important) so if the file was altered from when it was backed up to when it was verified Retrospect will report that there was an error and I have to evaluate whether I want to spend the time to re-backup that file or risk that it was actually copied correctly.

Hello! You can make a bootable "clone" of your boot drive which is basically a mirror image of it so that you can boot from it during times of crisis. The "clone" should reside on another internal or external drive but can be located on a separate "partition" or "volume" of one drive however the bootable clone won't do any good is a drive physically fails. You can use the Apple Disk Utility and Kappy's steps as follows:

Kappy's Steps to Produce a bootable clone
Prep external FW drive:
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled, if available) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
5. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the startup or source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
8. Select the destination drive on the Desktop and press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. At the bottom in the Ownership and Permissions section be sure the box labeled "Ignore Permissions on this Volume" is unchecked. Verify the settings for Ownership and Permissions as follows: Owner=system with read/write; Group=admin with read/write; Other with read-only. If they are not correct then reset them.

For added precaution you can boot into safe mode before doing the clone.

The steps are the same for an external drive or an internal one.

Many folks use CarbonCopyCloner which you'll find HERE and lots of others swear by SuperDuper which you'll find HERE. The main thing is having a bootable backup and plan of action for the time you boot your Mac and have unforseen problems which can be caused by many things including power outages or interrupted software updates.

The single best investment that you can make in your Mac is buying Diskwarrior found HERE. By far the most often cause of startup problems are disk directory related problems at which Diskwarrior is the undisputed best application to repair such problems.

Don't be intimidated by the computer but read, do your home work, and decide on the best plan of action for you and more importantly one that you'll use faithfully.

I recently decided to restart (which I only do every few weeks or months) and bam! it wouldn't boot. I got a weird screen so I booted from one of my clones (I usually have multiple clones) ran Diskwarrior and in a few minutes was back to normal.

There are no stupid or silly questions here only some such answers of which I'll confess to my share. The best and brightest minds of the elite Mac community (to which I cannot hold a candle) read and post here regularly so ask any question you are unsure of and you will find the answer. Tom

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Tom

Can I continue to use my computer while I am doing a
complete Back-up to another internal drive? Can I
browse the Internet or install additional programs
that do not require a re-boot?

It is not a good idea to have files changing while doing a backup. A large file might have changes being made while it it being copied. The copy would end up with part old and part new data. An application being installed has lots of files. Some may be installed in the part of the directory that has already been backed up, and others elsewhere. The result would be only part of the new application on the backup. Just browsing the internet could leave a corrupt history, bookmark, or cookie file on the backup. You should stop Mail during a backup. Its database and messages are stored separately, and if new mail arrives at just the wrong time, the backup could be bad, with a lost message or invalid database.
These are all individually unlikely, but the odds do add up.

Do this: get Disk Warrior. Run it before and after you do your backup. Whether you use SuperDuper, CCC or something else.

the only safe way is to not use your system, even better to boot from one another drive than the one you want to clone.

And never use your computer when installing OS updates, even if it is 'only' listening to iTunes. you can apply OS updates and patches while booted from another volume.

I do what you want, and it doesn't work. I also backup to one drive and then back that drive up to various external drives if I want to work while backup is going on. With a G4 it was almost impossible to work, open 60 web pages, be scanning AND do backups. Now that I can, I find I shouldn't ;-(

Umm...

Disk Warrior may damage a dying hard drive to the point it can't be recovered. It is best to backup before Disk Warrior is run, make sure the backup is in good condition, and then run Disk Warrior. Backup is the first step. If the backup is bad, you might need to use Prosoft Data Rescue to recover extra files. Finally, then you can run Disk Warrior.

It is really hard to tell when a disk is dying versus just having a bad directory issue.

Nonsense. I don't think you read what I wrote. not a bit. I use Disk Warrior before and after on the backup drive only in this case. The boot drive has been repaired previously.

And contrary to you, I have yet to see DW ever damage a drive. Read of a few people that maybe had a drive that had a directory that was too small and needed to use TechTool Pro in that instance.

I have yet to have or see a directory issue. Or a dying drive.

I've seen both. And they manifest each other in really bad ways. Using Disk Warrior before having any backup, is like pulling teeth before putting in Novocaine.

If something is wrong, you are doing something so basic to your hard drive directory that if it is at all out of whack, you are seriously jeapordizing your ability to recover from the drive.

Disk Warrior while much less harmful than Techtool or Norton, still is not perfect.

Backup first, worry about the directory later, if Disk Utility reports a problem with Repair Disk it can't resolve.

Running Disk Warrior on a drive that hasn't yet reported a directory problem is like taking aspirin without having any pain.