Booting up from back-up created by sudo ditto command

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Booting up from back-up created by sudo ditto command

My PowerBook G4 hard drive went belly up a few days ago. My backup copy is of the whole computer, a sudo ditto command ( I don’t recall the rest of the string)that I picked up from Mac Addict magazine years ago. The source of the backup is the entire hard drive and the target is a folder on my fire wire external hard drive.

Is there any way I can boot up my PB from that backup copy since it’s the entire hard drive? Do the files that comprise the entire backup have to be positioned in a certain way so when I press Command – Option at the PB boot-up chime, my PB will see that backup and offer it as an option to boot from?

My goal is to run a few programs so I can export data that can be imported into newer mail and data applications in my new Mini running 10.8. Thank you for any advice.

PowerBook, 12" G4 1.33mhz

Posted on Dec 4, 2013 10:39 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 4, 2013 10:43 AM in response to nathanschwam

A clone to a folder is not bootable, no. Sorry - to be bootable, you would have had to clone the drive to a partition on the external drive, not a folder within a partition.

But why can't you just mount that drive as an regular external volume and migrate what data you need from there? You should not have to boot from it just to move over mail folders and such.

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Answer 2

Kappy

Level 10

361,731 points

Dec 4, 2013 10:45 AM in response to nathanschwam

Well, since the backup is to a folder on your backup drive, the answer is, no. What you needed was a clone of your boot drive to the backup drive. This erases the backup drive first then makes an exact duplicate of your startup drive.

Unfortunately, your startup drive has failed, so that option is no longer available. What you can do is boot from your installer DVD, partition and erase a newly installed drive, then install OS X to it. From there you can restore your files from the folder backup you made on the external drive.

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Answer 3

nathanschwam Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 4, 2013 11:04 AM in response to nathanschwam

Michael - What I don't know is if I would first have to export the data from my 1996 OS 9 version of my contact manager, Now Contact, in order to then import it into a new contact manager of some sort. The same issue with my e-mail program, Entourage v.X.

Kappy - I've thought of that - is there a procedure to follow when restoring the backup files to the clean install of 10.4.11 so that the programs will run? Is it just a matter of overwriting the newly installed folders with the matching ones I should have on my backup? A new internal drive is cheap and I think I can handle the 32 screws or so that involve the replacing of the drive (though OWC doesn't post the process because it is considered too difficult).

thank you all.

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Answer 4

Kappy

Level 10

361,731 points

Dec 4, 2013 11:23 AM in response to nathanschwam

All you would restore from the backup would be your data in the Home folder - Documents, Downloads, Music, etc. Restoring third-party applications can be tricky because it depends on how much stuff they store on the hard drive in Applications Support, Preferences, and other locations that can confound things. Some will do fine if you just copy the application package, others can be more difficult. Reinstalling them from scratch, however, is the best solution.

See if ifixit.com doesn't post the process. There also used to be a website devoted to the old PBs. I'm sorry but I don't remember its name.

EDIT: www.powerbookmedic.com.

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Answer 5

nathanschwam Author

Level 1

9 points

Feb 14, 2014 6:56 AM in response to Kappy

My PB G4 is now up and running with a new hard drive and 10.4.11 installed. Thank you iFixit for the instructions! What I think I want to do is reinstall Entourage v.X, recover the e-mail/database from my last backup of the old HD in august 2013, so I can then migrate that somehow into Apple Mail or equivalent.

If I reinstall Entourage from the original Install disk, is it easy to update the program if needed, then "bring over" my setup/e-mail/configuration from my last backup? Any instructions posted anywhere? Thank you!!

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