Roundhere
Level 1 (4 points)
Desktops

Q: Back up first for upgrade 10.6.8 to latest

I want to back up my OS and music to an external hardrive usb.

 

i asked a similar question a month or so ago but a few things have changed.

 

here are the specifics of what I'd like to accomplish and need advice please.

 

1. I have an external usb hardrive. I want to back up the OS (10.6.8) and music (iTunes) on the external hardrive.

i Only want to backup in case the update to el capitan does not run smoothly. I am trying to install on the very last minimally required iMac ....so this is risky but just meets apples requirements. Mid 2007 iMac with 4ghz ram.

 

2. Will time machine back up 10.6.8 and iTunes via time machine? I don't want to have to purchase cloning software at this time if time machine will back upnmy OS and iTunes music.

 

3. Should I wipe the iMac after backing up and before attempting to upgrade to el capIran? Or keep the OS as is and try to upgrade from 10.6.8 to el capitan.?

 

4. Can someone send me the exact Apple link to el capitan. The exact version I need when updating from 10.6.8 to el capitan

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jan 31, 2016 2:47 PM

by babowa,Solvedanswer
babowa babowa
Level 7 (32,009 points)
iPad
A:

No matter how far you update - whether that is to an incremental update or to a new OS, always do a backup first. You never know.....

 

The current version of El Capitan is 10.11.3 - check to see that you do not already have it > Apple > About this Mac > should show you the version you have installed.

 

FWIW, the app store is what you need to update anything and/or purchase/download new apps. It has taken the place of Software Update.

Posted on Feb 2, 2016 4:52 PM

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Roundhere

Q: Back up first for upgrade 10.6.8 to latest

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  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Feb 2, 2016 7:37 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 7 (32,009 points)
    iPad
    Feb 2, 2016 7:37 PM in response to Roundhere

    You don't need another drive if this one is large enough; Time Machine likes to have 3 x the size of your hard drive on its' disk. Why don't you take the time to read this:

     

    http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html

     

    It was put together by our Time Machine "guru".

     

    And, open up the TM Preference Pane in System Preferences. You can select your backup disk there - choose your partition #2.Screen Shot 2016-02-02 at 7.33.09 PM.png

     

    Then hit Options and see if you can add your Snow leopard partition there:

     

    Screen Shot 2016-02-02 at 7.33.21 PM.png

     

    As I said, I don't use it, but if you choose your partition #2, you should be  fine and it should leave partition #1 alone. If you're worried, do get another drive which, by the way, would be better anyway. You do not want the only backups you have all on one drive - all hard drives fail at some point and, if it did, you'd lose all your backups.

     

    See if all of that helps with using TM.

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 2, 2016 7:44 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 2, 2016 7:44 PM in response to Roundhere

    .I'm not sure. too bad an entire amount of hardrive space can't be excluded from backups. I see that TM would try to utilize all the HD space but the options not there to say "don't touch this partition"...seems odd. I would never know in the first place if a backup works until it's actually tested a few times. Probably best to spend the money for another hardrive at some point ...in the meantime that's a whole alot of wasted space just for various OS backups on a  single 2 tegabite external HD....

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Feb 2, 2016 7:56 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 7 (32,009 points)
    iPad
    Feb 2, 2016 7:56 PM in response to Roundhere

    Well, as I said, I don't use TM - I prefer bootable clones. You only need the same amount of space that your current system is (plus add 20 - 30% for future expansion). And, you can boot from the external drive if needed. I have 2 copies of everything (and 3 of my most important data in a folder in the Documents folder) spread over 4 external hard drives (they all have several partitions). And, you can test your clone immediately after you've made it: simply try booting into it - if you can, then it's working. I test it almost every time I update a clone.

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 2, 2016 8:05 PM in response to babowa
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 2, 2016 8:05 PM in response to babowa

    I appreciate this very much. I don't do regular backups of current workflow even though I should ....I usually drop and drag very important documents over several external hardrives ( I probably waste a lot of space over many hardrives) For this instance and the purpose of this post I'm more interested in just a backup of the OS only in case of hardrive failure. There are probably other things on a computer that can fail that I hope to never know about.

    It's an extra bonus to store music and pictures when backing up... but I do that as mentioned over the span of several hardrives and in different formats. I have a long way to go in understanding macs but so far (knock on wood) not one has let me down....yet. i wonder if 0's and 1's will stay on hardrives forever ( eBen if I have 20)? I'm sure that's a whole other can of beans.

     

    babowa ,

    thank you for being so quick, nice and very cool in answering all my questions ....I can't say enough thanks but I hope this will suffice!

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Feb 2, 2016 8:14 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 7 (32,009 points)
    iPad
    Feb 2, 2016 8:14 PM in response to Roundhere

    It's easier to back up the whole thing although, with CarbonCopyCloner, you can exclude certain things. It comes in handy to have a complete backup of an entire system in case disaster strikes - easier to recover.

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 2, 2016 9:39 PM in response to babowa
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 2, 2016 9:39 PM in response to babowa

    Can the bootable clones be on a (USB) hardrive or does it need to be a firewire or better...quicker transfer rate? This has been a question as far as bootable backups for me

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Feb 2, 2016 10:14 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 7 (32,009 points)
    iPad
    Feb 2, 2016 10:14 PM in response to Roundhere

    USB3 is quite fast; I've not noticed a difference between that and my other drive which is FW800. The old FW 400 is slower than the new USB3.

  • by PatsyeP,

    PatsyeP PatsyeP Feb 2, 2016 10:27 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 2, 2016 10:27 PM in response to Roundhere

    I have the same concern.  I am upgrading a 2007 Powerbook Pro with 4 GB memory from Snow Leopard to El Capitan, only because I have to do presentations on Apple TV sometimes, and because of Apple's lack of support.  Please let me know how your Mac is doing after the upgrade!!  Thanks!

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 2, 2016 11:54 PM in response to PatsyeP
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 2, 2016 11:54 PM in response to PatsyeP

    So far ok but I'd suppose it depends on exactry what your trying to run. I'm on an iMac mid 2007 Maxed ram. Everything is ok but this is more of an office type of computer ...basic tasks. The good news is that it runs el capitan 10.11.3. Good support on this forum for me. My older mac is more concerning but I don't plan on an upgrade. let me know if you want me to test something for you. I need to back up more and test the backups.

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 3, 2016 7:03 PM in response to babowa
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Feb 3, 2016 7:03 PM in response to babowa

    I probably could use partition 2 on the same external hardrive. But TM question about replacing Seems a bit confusing and its greyes out when I say exclude this partition named 10.6.8 back up. Does that mean it not selectable or selectable? In the future a drive per OS backup to avoid confusion. Also I named the external hardrive 10.6.8 backup and that aspect of naming has always confused me as one of the 3 partitions shares the same name? Never understood that format naming of an external hardrive. It's like the name of the ext hardrive is also the name of one of the 3 partitions? Sorry for this confusion and I appreciate all your help.

  • by babowa,

    babowa babowa Feb 3, 2016 8:08 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 7 (32,009 points)
    iPad
    Feb 3, 2016 8:08 PM in response to Roundhere

    The naming of the external hard drive is your choice. If you find the current one confusing, it is easy to change: with the icon on the desktop, highlight it and hit the Return key. The title should change to an editable field - change it to something else. When finished, hit the Return key again.

     

    Since I don't use TM, I'm not familiar with its interface - can you post a screenshot of the dialog window you are talking about?

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 3, 2016 8:38 PM in response to babowa
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 3, 2016 8:38 PM in response to babowa

    Yes, I've never understood naming the hardrive as opposed to the hardrives partitions ...seems like one of the named partitions always follows the actual name of the entire hardrive...(maybe part of my user error) I'm going to follow your instructions next time I do the naming ...especially when there's no data to lose while trying to name.

    Yes, I am going to screenshot the confusing TM message ( at least what I can't figure out) 20 mins from home ...

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 3, 2016 9:18 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Feb 3, 2016 9:18 PM in response to Roundhere

    image.jpgHere's some screen shots I'm not sure it will help

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 3, 2016 9:20 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 3, 2016 9:20 PM in response to Roundhere

    image.jpg

  • by Roundhere,

    Roundhere Roundhere Feb 3, 2016 9:22 PM in response to Roundhere
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Feb 3, 2016 9:22 PM in response to Roundhere

    image.jpg

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