Hey guys, I just bought two 1TB drives that I want to mirror (I want both drives to contain the exact thing) on a Mac running 10.5.2 Leopard.
I want to be able to work from one drive and for it to automatically sync with the other.
Someone told me to look into setting up a RAID in Disk Utilties, but I dont know enough about it and I dont want to risk my files.
So anyone who has experience in this, could you please help me? Recommend some software or tell me more about a RAID
Thanks.
Chris Mathews
Full Version: Mirror 2 Drives?
Here is the problem with RAID - you delete a file off your drive, too bad - it is deleted off your second drive as well... Corrupted file? Both drives. Virus? On both drives....
Better suggestion: daily (or weekly) backups from Drive A to Drive B --- I am not sure what software is out there for Mac to do that, but it could be as simple as dragging and dropping your files from one drive to another.
What is good about this method is that if you delete a file by mistake, you can still go over to Drive B and pull it back. You can't do that with RAID.
Better suggestion: daily (or weekly) backups from Drive A to Drive B --- I am not sure what software is out there for Mac to do that, but it could be as simple as dragging and dropping your files from one drive to another.
What is good about this method is that if you delete a file by mistake, you can still go over to Drive B and pull it back. You can't do that with RAID.
That makes sense, and no I dont want it to delete both or corrupt both. I would like some software that copied them for me though...anyone?
Carbon Copy Cloner is a great free program to set up a scheduled backup of one drive to another.
As far as setting up the raid goes, as mentioned above, there are downfalls because if you get a corruption on one of the drives, that corruption ends up happening on both drives because they are exact copies, but you can do it in disk utility, and here is an article on setting that up.
http://www.macworld.com/article/57858/2007...geekfactor.html
As far as setting up the raid goes, as mentioned above, there are downfalls because if you get a corruption on one of the drives, that corruption ends up happening on both drives because they are exact copies, but you can do it in disk utility, and here is an article on setting that up.
http://www.macworld.com/article/57858/2007...geekfactor.html
you can get carbon copy cloner here
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
it's free but they accept donations
Here are the two help files for how you will want to set this up:
http://www.bombich.com/software/docs/CCCHe...ent/backup.html
http://www.bombich.com/software/docs/CCCHe.../scheduler.html
The basic thing you need to do is create the incremental backup config, choosing the folders you want included in the backup, and save it. When you save it, you have the option to schedule it to run whenever you like.
Also, when setting up the backup job, there is an option to remove or archive deleted files. You mention you want to keep deleted files backed up, so you can choose that option. I have mine set to delete them though. It's up to you.
Another option would be to use your second 1TB drive as a Time Machine drive. That will keep history too. Carbon Copy Cloner is probably better because you can easily just swap the drive if there is a failure since it is a bootable copy.
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
it's free but they accept donations
Here are the two help files for how you will want to set this up:
http://www.bombich.com/software/docs/CCCHe...ent/backup.html
http://www.bombich.com/software/docs/CCCHe.../scheduler.html
The basic thing you need to do is create the incremental backup config, choosing the folders you want included in the backup, and save it. When you save it, you have the option to schedule it to run whenever you like.
Also, when setting up the backup job, there is an option to remove or archive deleted files. You mention you want to keep deleted files backed up, so you can choose that option. I have mine set to delete them though. It's up to you.
Another option would be to use your second 1TB drive as a Time Machine drive. That will keep history too. Carbon Copy Cloner is probably better because you can easily just swap the drive if there is a failure since it is a bootable copy.
Thanks a lot Mike! I will be trying them out
I use Super Duper http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/Sup...escription.html
works like a charm! You can also use it as your startup drive which I do occasionally to run Disk Warrior from my cloned drive.
works like a charm! You can also use it as your startup drive which I do occasionally to run Disk Warrior from my cloned drive.
time machine is built into leopard and backs up every hour or when you tell it to. Its a lifesaver, I wouldn't suggest anything else in your situation. If a file goes corrupt or you accidentally delete something, restoring it is as easy as drag and drop.
QUOTE(MeeksDigital @ April 24 2008, 02:36 PM) 
time machine is built into leopard and backs up every hour or when you tell it to. Its a lifesaver, I wouldn't suggest anything else in your situation. If a file goes corrupt or you accidentally delete something, restoring it is as easy as drag and drop.
Time Machine will not allow you to mirror one external to another though, right?That is what I tried using first but it seems it is only for backing up your Mac HD to an external...QUOTE(J Scott @ April 24 2008, 01:53 PM)
I use Super Duper http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/Sup...escription.htmlworks like a charm! You can also use it as your startup drive which I do occasionally to run Disk Warrior from my cloned drive.
I will look into them as well, thanks!
The standard for Mac backup has always been Retrospect. I think it's made by a company called EMC, now. It used to be Dantz. I've used it for 13 years. Never let me down. You can back up to any media, but auto-loading tape drives is where it shines. Right now I'm just using it to back up one external (working drive) to another external (backup drive).
I ended up using SuperDuper, thanks for everyones help!
youre missing out on time machine. Its way more powerful than youre giving it credit for. And no. Its not just for backing up your system drive.
QUOTE(MeeksDigital @ April 25 2008, 02:50 AM)
youre missing out on time machine. Its way more powerful than youre giving it credit for. And no. Its not just for backing up your system drive.
i am using Time Machine to back-up my system drive, but I don't know how to use it to back-up my other drives to each other
If you don't want to use TM try this
http://www.econtechnologies.com/site/Pages...o_overview.html
http://www.econtechnologies.com/site/Pages...o_overview.html
all good suggestions.
The only catch with time machine is you won't have an exact copy. All your files are buried inside the timemachine file structure. You can do it this way, and I can help dig up details on how if interested.
Think of the scenario of what happens when your main 1TB drive fails. If you use a cloning process, like carbon copy cloner or super duper, you can immediately get back to work using your backup drive since its an exact copy of all the folders and files. Then, as fast as possible, get a new drive and copy everything to it to use as either the main drive or the backup.
If you use time machine, you will need to first get a new replacement drive, then restore the time machine backup to the new drive.
In either case, you need to get a new drive when you have a failure, and you will have to copy all the data to it. With a dup drive, you can still work without the backup, if you absolutely had to. With time machine, you need that second drive first.
When this does finally happen though, you do run the risk of having the backup fail, so you'll want to replace that as soon as you can. This is why is nice to have 2 backups. With this in mind, consider getting a 3rd 1TB external drive that you connect every week or so. That is up to you though.
The only catch with time machine is you won't have an exact copy. All your files are buried inside the timemachine file structure. You can do it this way, and I can help dig up details on how if interested.
Think of the scenario of what happens when your main 1TB drive fails. If you use a cloning process, like carbon copy cloner or super duper, you can immediately get back to work using your backup drive since its an exact copy of all the folders and files. Then, as fast as possible, get a new drive and copy everything to it to use as either the main drive or the backup.
If you use time machine, you will need to first get a new replacement drive, then restore the time machine backup to the new drive.
In either case, you need to get a new drive when you have a failure, and you will have to copy all the data to it. With a dup drive, you can still work without the backup, if you absolutely had to. With time machine, you need that second drive first.
When this does finally happen though, you do run the risk of having the backup fail, so you'll want to replace that as soon as you can. This is why is nice to have 2 backups. With this in mind, consider getting a 3rd 1TB external drive that you connect every week or so. That is up to you though.
Ok all you mac guys - any software for us PC users?
I have two NAS and want to do the same thing. They are each 2 TB, and I want to set them up to mirror each other automatically. I don't want a compressed or proprietary file - I want it to do a drag and drop like copy but just updating the new files.
I use the HD's on my main computer for my working files and when done back them up to the NAS, which is why I want the second one to be a mirror as a double backup.
I have two NAS and want to do the same thing. They are each 2 TB, and I want to set them up to mirror each other automatically. I don't want a compressed or proprietary file - I want it to do a drag and drop like copy but just updating the new files.
I use the HD's on my main computer for my working files and when done back them up to the NAS, which is why I want the second one to be a mirror as a double backup.
QUOTE(Mark @ April 25 2008, 10:43 PM)
Ok all you mac guys - any software for us PC users?
I have two NAS and want to do the same thing. They are each 2 TB, and I want to set them up to mirror each other automatically. I don't want a compressed or proprietary file - I want it to do a drag and drop like copy but just updating the new files.
I use the HD's on my main computer for my working files and when done back them up to the NAS, which is why I want the second one to be a mirror as a double backup.
I have two NAS and want to do the same thing. They are each 2 TB, and I want to set them up to mirror each other automatically. I don't want a compressed or proprietary file - I want it to do a drag and drop like copy but just updating the new files.
I use the HD's on my main computer for my working files and when done back them up to the NAS, which is why I want the second one to be a mirror as a double backup.
Sure. AllwaySync: http://allwaysync.com/
QUOTE(MikeMaruffi @ April 25 2008, 04:47 PM)
all good suggestions.
The only catch with time machine is you won't have an exact copy. All your files are buried inside the timemachine file structure. You can do it this way, and I can help dig up details on how if interested.
Think of the scenario of what happens when your main 1TB drive fails. If you use a cloning process, like carbon copy cloner or super duper, you can immediately get back to work using your backup drive since its an exact copy of all the folders and files. Then, as fast as possible, get a new drive and copy everything to it to use as either the main drive or the backup.
If you use time machine, you will need to first get a new replacement drive, then restore the time machine backup to the new drive.
In either case, you need to get a new drive when you have a failure, and you will have to copy all the data to it. With a dup drive, you can still work without the backup, if you absolutely had to. With time machine, you need that second drive first.
When this does finally happen though, you do run the risk of having the backup fail, so you'll want to replace that as soon as you can. This is why is nice to have 2 backups. With this in mind, consider getting a 3rd 1TB external drive that you connect every week or so. That is up to you though.
The only catch with time machine is you won't have an exact copy. All your files are buried inside the timemachine file structure. You can do it this way, and I can help dig up details on how if interested.
Think of the scenario of what happens when your main 1TB drive fails. If you use a cloning process, like carbon copy cloner or super duper, you can immediately get back to work using your backup drive since its an exact copy of all the folders and files. Then, as fast as possible, get a new drive and copy everything to it to use as either the main drive or the backup.
If you use time machine, you will need to first get a new replacement drive, then restore the time machine backup to the new drive.
In either case, you need to get a new drive when you have a failure, and you will have to copy all the data to it. With a dup drive, you can still work without the backup, if you absolutely had to. With time machine, you need that second drive first.
When this does finally happen though, you do run the risk of having the backup fail, so you'll want to replace that as soon as you can. This is why is nice to have 2 backups. With this in mind, consider getting a 3rd 1TB external drive that you connect every week or so. That is up to you though.
this pretty much summed it up for me, thanks! I will stick with Super Duper!
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