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Old 04-02-2004, 07:11 AM
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dnanian dnanian is offline
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Thanks for the post, camner. I'll do my best to answer each question in turn.

Quote:
Originally Posted by camner
1. The help talks about using SD to create "checkpoints". Do I presume correctly that the way to do this is to get SD to create a complete image of my main drive whenever I want to create a checkpoint from which I could restore whenever I wish?
By "checkpoint", in general, we mean the base volume of a safety clone. When you create a safety clone, you've basically "locked down" the original system, checkpointing it as it is at the time of the safety clone. When you boot from the Sandbox, you can modify the system on it to your heart's content, without affecting the system on the original.

If the sandbox proves unstable after these modifications, you can reboot from the original checkpoint, and your system will be as it was.

The Safety Clone is not a "complete" image, as it shares a number of components with the original, including (depending on the script you select) Applications and your personal data files. It's not really something you "restore", as such -- you boot back to the original when you need to "roll back".

At that point, you can "fix" the Safety Clone by re-running the original script with Smart Update.

Quote:
Originally Posted by camner
2. I have a second internal drive I use for a daily backup of important folders (Documents, Desktop), but I start with a clone so I can boot from it if needed. Can I use SD for this daily partial backup? If so, I presume I have to write a custom script, right? Can that custom script be set for a "smart" backup? But see #5 for confusion about the suitability of this.
The whole idea of the "Smart Update" is that the partial update is handled automatically: only the changed files get copied over. You don't really have to make a custom script -- SuperDuper will evaluate the files (very quickly) and only copy the changes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by camner
3. The docs indicate that an image backup is the "best" backup (vs a folder backup). Does that suggest that folder backups are most suitable for moving systems around, and that otherwise they aren't so useful?
It does? Can you point me to where I said that, because that's not what I meant to say!

What I meant to say was that a Safety Clone doesn't substitute for a regular backup -- which you can do, as indicated, with SuperDuper!, depending on your individual requirements.

Quote:
Originally Posted by camner
4. Why isn't there a way (or is there) to create an image without actually creating a clone first? Wouldn't that be an effective way of creating "checkpoints" without having to create a folder by folder clone at the same time?
I'm not quite sure what you mean: perhaps we're using different terminology. An "image" is a clone -- typically, in the documentation, when I refer to an "image" I mean a DMG. You can store a clone in a DMG or on another drive.

Quote:
Originally Posted by camner
5. The help files state: "Do not use Smart Update to selectively copy files to or from a clone:" This confuses me. What is the point of Smart Update if it isn't to selectivey copy files from one's main drive to a backup drive (internal or external) that one first created via the cloning process?
I had hoped to make that clear, and -- clearly -- I failed. What I was basically trying to say was that Smart Update itself will be selective about what it copies. You shouldn't "cut down" the folders it examines, because -- as described -- the "result" will be the same as an "Erase, then copy". In other words, if you tell it to just copy "/Documents" (as opposed to letting it figure it out for itself), it'll delete anything on the destination that's outside the specified folder ("/Documents"), because that's what you'd get with an Erase, then copy.

Instead, just use your regular script, and if things outside /Documents haven't changed, Smart Update'll figure it out, and won't copy them.

Hope that helps!
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Last edited by dnanian; 04-02-2004 at 07:35 AM. Reason: Cleaned up formatting...
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