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Level 1

16 points

Back up device won't unmount

I purchased (from Apple) a recommended external hard drive device for backing up my new desktop iMac (10.7.3).

It is a Porsche Design Mobile Drive P'9221. I went through the set-up instructions, however I notice it has a folder on the desktop, not the image of the drive. Anyway, maybe I have not set it up correctly, but I cannot get it to un-mount. I drag the folder icon to the trash and when I try to disconnect, I get a warning saying I have done it incorrectly and may lose information.

What should I do?

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.3)

Posted on May 8, 2012 12:04 PM

19 replies

V.A.P. Author

Level 1

16 points

May 9, 2012 8:03 AM in response to thomas_r.

Thomas: Thank you so much for walking me through this! I have performed the LaCie back-up from TM. Is it normal to have 381,000 items (11.55 GB) on the back-up? I have no idea, but it seems like a big number (I don't have much music on Mac, no pics,etc.)

On the TM pane (after the TM ran), I saw an est. size of full back-up was 14.28 GB, wondering if that (GB) discrepancy is notable?

Also, in your opinion, how often would I run the ext. drive back up?

Appreciate all of the time you have given me.

thomas_r.

Level 7

31,989 points

May 9, 2012 9:09 AM in response to V.A.P.

That number is not at all surprising. Your system alone is comprised of large numbers of files, many of which are hidden from view. According to Disk Utility, my own internal hard drive has more than 200,000 folders, and nearly 900,000 files.

I'm not sure whether the discrepancy you mention is a problem... I've never tried comparing. I would suspect that the estimate was simply inaccurate, but can't be sure.

As for how often to back up, that's kind of up to you. If this is on an iMac, just leave the drive connected at all times for the best results.

V.A.P. Author

Level 1

16 points

May 9, 2012 11:17 AM in response to thomas_r.

Thomas, Just to be clear, let me ask this. My TM icon on the menu bar shows an exclamation mark. Upon opening sys.prefs., it says DELAYED, and clicking the red exc. mark says: Back up disc is not avail. Last successful back-up: which was this morning when I had the ext. drive connected.

So, TM wont run until/unless I have the ext. drive connected? So if I leave it connected, are there any settings I need to know, or anything else to check?

Another thing, how do I know if I have the partition formatted correctly? I had read about moving the partition all the way to the left if only using on 1 Mac, which I did. But what about the formatting for Case Sensitive drives?

If the list says Macintosh HD (which says it's format is Mac OS Ext. Journaled), shouldn't the formatting for the ext. drive be for Case Sensitive (since listed as Macin...)? It is not currently shown as such.

Sorry to be a continued bother. I am so very grateful for your assistance!

X423424X

Level 6

14,265 points

May 9, 2012 12:46 PM in response to V.A.P.

V.A.P. wrote:

X423424X - Thanks for your reply. Re: the programs you mentioned, are they downloaded onto the Mac, then saved to a disc? Or some other way?

I have already purchased the ext. drive from Apple, he assured me it was what I needed to keep back-ups, so it is disappointing to hear that it may be inferior to the point of "getting in the way".

BTW, I am using new (1 month) desktop iMac, 10.7.3.

Yes, CCC is just another program you download.

I didn't say the disk would be getting in the way. I only said the Lacie software that came with that disk (if that earlier assumption was correct) would just get in the way. View the external enclosure as a dumb box whose only goal in life it to let to let you access the drive it contains.

Back up device won't unmount