nospam <> wrote:
> In article <harry->,
> Harry <> wrote:
>
> > "After any system update, users should start a fresh new backup, rather
> > than trying to update a backup from a previous version of OS X. Remember
> > to reformat your external backup drive using the version of Apple Disk
> > Utility that comes with the new version of OS X. A simple Erase is not
> > sufficient. The format should be Mac OS Extended, no Journaling.
> > SilverKeeper cannot be used to update a backup made with a previous
> > version of the OS."
> > from http://www.lacie.com/silverkeeper/
> >
> > Can anybody explain why they recommend "no Journaling"?
>
> because they're ignorant and/or the product is buggy?
I'll second that.
Specific points which are highly dubious:
> > "After any system update, users should start a fresh new backup, rather
> > than trying to update a backup from a previous version of OS X."
Define "update". I assume they actually mean "upgrade", e.g. after
upgrading from Tiger to Leopard. I can't believe this product wouldn't
be able to cope with a minor version update such as 10.5.4 to 10.5.5.
I happily use SuperDuper to "smart update" my clone backups when the
original and backup are running different minor versions (usually just
before installing the next system update).
> > "Remember to reformat your external backup drive using the version of
> > Apple Disk Utility that comes with the new version of OS X. A simple
> > Erase is not sufficient."
Um, what? There is no "reformat" mechanism in Disk Utility. It isn't
possible to "reformat" an ATA drive at all on any computer platform or
operating system (short of using a proprietary manufacturer-specific
utility, which they probably don't make available to the general
public).
Erase is sufficient to write a completely new file system (directory).
The only thing it doesn't touch is the partition table, and it isn't
likely that Apple would stuff up something major like a partition table
on a system upgrade. (At some point in the distant future they might
drop support for Apple Partition Map, which would require repartitioning
old drives.)
I've never needed to erase a file system because of an OS upgrade.
Sometimes when a new file system is added it is useful to do that just
so you can use the new file system (e.g. in the transition from Mac OS
Standard to Mac OS Extended, back in Mac OS 8.1 days).
> > "The format should be Mac OS Extended, no Journaling."
Why? Turning off journalling only gives a slight boost in performance,
while adding the risk of file system directory corruption if there is a
system crash or power cut while the drive is being modified.
The only circumstances I can think of in which journalling might
interfere would be if they were implementing the file system themselves
and doing block-level access. This is a highly dubious thing for backup
software to be a attempting.
> > "SilverKeeper cannot be used to update a backup made with a previous
> > version of the OS."
Fair enough. I can see situations where this might cause problems.
(Again, assuming "version of the OS" means "major version of the OS".)
One sentence that makes sense out of the whole thing.
--
David Empson
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