Disaster Recovery. the BMUG guide to getting your stuff back. Introduction Recovering a single file or folder... 3

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Setting up a new hard disk or system... 4 3.

1 Disaster Recovery the BMUG guide to getting your stuff back Introduction Recovering a single file or folder Setting up a new hard disk or system Recovering your files from Time Machine Recovering your files from SuperDuper... 6

2 Introduction If you are reading this manual, chances are that you have experienced one of the following catastrophes: you have deleted, corrupted or otherwise mucked up an important file or folder; your computer has been stolen or destroyed in a fire or other disaster; some software process like a system update has failed part-way through, leaving your computer unbootable and the files inaccessible; or your computer s hard drive has failed. Obviously, at this stage you need a backup, and how to create and maintain a backup is explained in the BMUG Backup Manual. The purpose of this Disaster Recovery Manual is to explain how to use your backup to get back to square one how to get your old files up and running again. When we started writing this manual, we thought it would be a really simple task, and it is, but it turned out to be surprisingly difficult to find clear instructions for doing it! Lost or deleted file When you ve lost an important file, the solution is simple. You need to locate a backup of the ailing file and then over-copy it onto your working computer. This process is described in the first chapter. Stolen or disabled computer leaves your files inaccessible In these cases, recovery will take some time and effort. Two ways of carrying out this process are described in chapters 3 and 4. Before you can start, you will need: some kind of backup, preferably of the whole hard drive that has been prepared in one of two kinds of software either in SuperDuper or similar, or in Apple s own Time Machine. to get your old computer or the new one that replaces it to the starting position. This means that it will have a perfectly functioning hard disk with up to date system software. It is futile to mess around with a flaky system or a flaky hard disk. Get them both working perfectly before you consider going through the total recovery process. This process is explained in chapter 2. We all need a full backup. And we don t just need one backup, we also need a second one stored in a different safe location, just in case. Remember what happened to Marnie s friend in the Canberra fires! Alternate backing up to two drives, maybe weekly, so that at worst you will only ever put one week s work at risk. Tip: Note that you are kidding yourself if you are trying to get by with an incomplete backup, say just of your documents folder or your iphoto images. Just consider how hard it is going to be to find all the installation disks, reload all the applications, look up and enter all the serial numbers and so on. Steve Craddock, , for BMUG. Feel free to make copies, but please acknowledge the source 2

1. Recovering a single file or folder If you use your computer a great deal, there are bound to be one or two occasions every year when you make unwanted changes to an important file, or you

Don t duplicate all your work, just obtain an earlier undamaged version of the file in either of these two ways: Simple manual file recovery It doesn t matter how you backup, you need to find an

This process is simple and foolproof, especially from a SuperDuper backup.

3 1. Recovering a single file or folder If you use your computer a great deal, there are bound to be one or two occasions every year when you make unwanted changes to an important file, or you accidentally delete it. Don t duplicate all your work, just obtain an earlier undamaged version of the file in either of these two ways: Simple manual file recovery It doesn t matter how you backup, you need to find an earlier generation of the lost or damaged file on your DVD or your external hard drive or wherever it is, then copy it to your working computer, and the problem is solved. This process is simple and foolproof, especially from a SuperDuper backup. But there is an even better way Time Machine file recovery highly recommended Apple s brilliant backup software, that comes free and already installed on all new computers, automates the process described above, so that it may be done in seconds much more quickly than it can be described! 1. Open a Finder window and navigate to the chosen file or folder. 2. Click the Time Machine icon in your Dock or menu bar. 3. The screen will whizz to a starry night image with the Finder window at the centre and a time-line to the right. Highlight the file, choose an appropriate date in the time-line an earlier date or time when the file was as you want it, and then click restore. 4. Time Machine notes the presence of a file with the same name, and offers three choices. It s safest to choose keep both, whereupon Time Machine will re-name the existing file original : Voilà! 3

2. Setting up a new hard disk or system As explained in the introduction, there are several reasons you might need to do this, but hopefully this measure will be a last resort.

To do this: insert the installation DVD; click the computer restart button; and hold down the C key as the computer starts up.

You should treat them with the respect they deserve, but don t despair if you can t find them, a borrowed disk from a friend with a similar computer will do the job, and any Apple service centre can

4 2. Setting up a new hard disk or system As explained in the introduction, there are several reasons you might need to do this, but hopefully this measure will be a last resort... System is repeatedly crashing or the computer is totally frozen You will need to start up your computer from the installation disk that came with your computer. To do this: insert the installation DVD; click the computer restart button; and hold down the C key as the computer starts up. A surprising number of people have lost or thrown away their installation disks. Remember those original disks? They came in a nice white cardboard package in the box with the computer. You should treat them with the respect they deserve, but don t despair if you can t find them, a borrowed disk from a friend with a similar computer will do the job, and any Apple service centre can supply duplicates. Note that laptop Installation disks will not work on imacs and vice versa. Now you will need to make one important decision are you going to archive and install, or are you going to erase and install? The first option retains all your files in a folder called Previous System which can be trashed later when everything is up and running to your satisfaction. The second option as gives you a clean, empty computer to copy all your files, settings and applications back to: It would be pointless to work screen by screen through the lengthy installation process in this manual. Just work your way through steadily, agreeing to conditions and answering questions as you go. Tip for SuperDuper users: should you want to postpone doing the remedial work on your computer till later, you could go on working in the interim by booting from your SuperDuper bootable backup. Start up while holding down the option key, and you will be able to run your computer from the external hard drive. You have bought a new computer, or a new hard disk has been installed The new computer or hard disk will come with Leopard system software installed. Connect the computer to the Internet and use Software Update to ensure the system is completely current before you begin data recovery. When you have an up to date system on your computer, you are ready to go to the next stage, recovering your files, and that is explained in the next chapters. 4

3. Recovering your files from Time Machine A Time Machine backup will normally be kept on an external hard drive which may either be cabled to the computer permanently, connected periodically, or

5 3. Recovering your files from Time Machine A Time Machine backup will normally be kept on an external hard drive which may either be cabled to the computer permanently, connected periodically, or wirelessly connected, in the case of an Apple Time Capsule drive. In each case the recovery process is the same, and it may be done in two ways: 3.1 Using Migration Assistant highly recommended In your Applications Utilities folder, you will find Migration Assistant. Open it, enter your user name and administration password, and at the first screen, click From a Time Machine Backup. The next screens give you choices about which files to copy over, and so on. Obviously, when we are recovering from a crash or similar catastrophe, we want everything, imcluding applications, settings, and files. 3.2 Using your Leopard installation DVD Connect the computer to the Time Machine backup; Insert the Leopard installation DVD, and double-click the Install Mac OS X icon. As the Installer starts up and after the Choose Language screen, go to Utilities and click on Restore System from Backup the menu choice with the Time Machine icon. You will then see a dialogue box, and you should click Continue; Now you see your Time Machine backup. Click on the most recent date before any issues began, and everything will be copied over. 5

4. Recovering your files from SuperDuper Until Time Machine was introduced, SuperDuper was the preferred backup software, and many people still use it.

6 4. Recovering your files from SuperDuper Until Time Machine was introduced, SuperDuper was the preferred backup software, and many people still use it. At any time, you can retrieve individual files and folders from SuperDuper by just navigating to them and dragging them from the backup to the desktop. A different approach is needed when you wish to get all your files and applications from a SuperDuper backup. Instead of dragging across, we can use either of the following methods: 4.1 Using your Leopard installation DVD This approach will even work on an ailing computer. Connect the computer to the SuperDuper backup, then: Insert the Leopard installation DVD, while holding down the C key. As the Installer starts up and opens the Welcome screen, go to Utilities in the menu bar and click on Restore System from Backup ; Some navigation is needed to determine the source where files are coming from, and the destination where the files are to be written. Obviously the source is the backup on the external hard disk. 4.2 Using disk utilities highly recommended This approach assumes you are working on a new computer or a computer with a new system. Connect the computer to the hard disk with the SuperDuper backup, then: Go to Application Utilities Disk Utility; Highlight the appropriate computer hard disk at the left, and click on Restore you will see this window: Again, you will need to select the correct source, and the correct destination. 6

7 BMUG manuals include: Advanced iweb with your Mac Apple Mail essentials Backup your Mac Beginners guide Connecting your Mac ichat with your Mac iphoto with your Mac ipod with your Mac iweb with your Mac Music & listening with your Mac On Safari with your Mac Photoshop Elements with your Mac Scanning with your Mac Sharing with your Mac Writing with your Mac 7

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