[OS X TeX] Lost in Mac space

[Maarten Sneep]

On 13 dec 2008, at 20:51, cfrees at imapmail.org wrote:

> On Sat 13th Dec, 2008 at 20:39, Maarten Sneep seems to have written:
>>
>> I did backup before Leopard, but time machine ensures I do it on a  
>> regular basis - before there was no plan, it was ad hoc.
>
> Yes. But TM is not necessary for this. CCC and other similar utilities
> can also be used to automate it. So I have a backup run once a day.
> Once a week, it uses the weekly target and archives changed/deleted
> files. The other days it uses one of two additional targets (separate
> partitions on the same drive) and doesn't bother archiving.

Yes, I know, but all the tools I tried, were interfering with my  
normal workflow, while TM is unobtrusive enough to be tolerated.

>> Yes, I've used it to restore, and it works for me. I've hard though  
>> that a network TM backup is not quite as reliable (or speedy) as a  
>> direct (FireWire) connection. I have a FW800 drive, and no  
>> complaints at all about the speed.
>
> I know it can work well but as I understand it - which is not well
> being on Tiger still - you can't really test the backup. The nice  
> thing
> about creating a "clone" is that you can boot from it to test it out
> so you have some assurance that if you need it, it'll work. The fact
> that you can test it in use is quite nice.

Yes, a non-tested backup is about as valuable as no backup at all: you  
keep on praying nothing happens, only this time the chances of  
complete and catastrophic failure are reduced, not removed. TM is  
different: it is not a bootable backup. It is a versioning backup,  
that is understood by the system installer. Boot from the DVD, and you  
can select to restore from a particular date.

>> TM is far enough out of my way to ensure I have a current backup -  
>> it is completely automated, and _anyone_ can set it up. I do  
>> recommend you invest in a _silent_ external drive though. I don't  
>> bother with an additional backup beyond TM.
>
> However nice, it isn't an option for those of us pre-Leopard. CCC is
> not at all difficult to set up - especially version 3 which works on
> Tiger and Leopard. I can't say about the other backup utilities
> available but some people do prefer them. (I think they offer more
> options in some cases.)
>
> None of this is to criticise TM - I've never even used it. But those  
> on
> pre-Leopard systems shouldn't wait until they update to backup!

Oh, sure, no disagreement from me there. But theory and practise often  
diverge, and the reality is that before TM, I had an unreliable backup  
method, and now I have a current backup.

Maarten