Post by: Gregg on September 16, 2007, 05:45:56 PM
Seems to me one reason to partition these huge drives would be to use some partitions as storage, and a smaller partition to hold the OS and applications. Then you can "segregate" backups, indexing, journaling, maintenance, etc.
What say ye? Do ya'll still partition your drives?
(Our former govenor was talking about partitioning in his now defunct campaign for President. But I think he was talking about Iraq, not Macs.)
Post by: Paddy on September 16, 2007, 07:39:33 PM
My drives are 250GB though - not 750GB monsters.
I just back up the drive to an external and a second internal every night.
Post by: FLASH1296 on September 16, 2007, 08:24:23 PM
I create a small partition between 10 and 20 GB depending on the Hard drive size.
Here I run the Operating System, and the most important applications.
I create a small partition 10 GB in which I install the software that creates a Microsoft "E Disk" E for emergency. This is a bootable drive that contains a clone of YOUR O.S. along with TechToolPro 4.5.3 If you do not want to use TechToolPro, you can install a bare bones O S here and add Disk Warrior, Data Rescue II, Super Duper, File Buddy, Drive Genius, etc. and other favorite utilities so that you too can have a bootable partition from which to do backups, run repairs, etc.
A 3rd Partition is where I SAVE ALL documents that I create - or care to keep.
This makes (data) backups as simple as possible and very easy to automate as well.
Post by: Jack W on September 16, 2007, 08:38:02 PM
On my two 300GB internal drives, I have total of 12 partitions.
Digital pictures, videos, files, apps, MHD, maps, backup partititions, etc.
I don't like all my stuff intermixed.
FWIW, Jack
Post by: sunset on September 16, 2007, 11:45:00 PM
Boot partition + 2 clone partitions, Apps, Data, Downloads, Photos, BackUp and Storage. Also have one that houses OS9 which I haven't used in a couple of years.
Perhaps it's time to kill that one. Main reason I've kept it is in case a friend needs an extension or something from 9, I can help, maybe. I like to keep my stuff separated--it's easier to find what I'm looking for.Just a thought...
Post by: chriskleeman on September 17, 2007, 08:39:29 AM
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!
Chris K
Post by: Jack W on September 17, 2007, 03:58:08 PM
QUOTE(chriskleeman @ Sep 17 2007, 09:39 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
At the moment, I have redundant partitions in both my G4 DA and my back-up drive, so that I can have access should something go wrong in either drive. I have my DA backed up to one partition, my iBook backed up to a partition in both the DA and the back-up drive, and both have a spare partition to back up any documents or data that I don't need to use, but need to have access to. My drive size in both the DA and the back-up drive is 250 GB.
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!
Chris K
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!
Chris K
Hey Chris,
You sound like Jim. I love it!
Jack
Post by: Texas Mac Man on September 17, 2007, 09:07:37 PM
By having separate partitions, I can still operate & get on line if I have a problem with one OS. If I'm booted in OS X, I can still open classic applications that are on the OS 9.2.2 partition.
Post by: RHPConsult on September 18, 2007, 01:34:27 AM
My AluminumPB (for travel – and on which this in being composed) has only two partitions of its 75 GB (mol) drive. One (15 GB) contains a spare OS in case something totally unexpected befalls the “”main” OS – on a 60 GB partition.
A "safety net" for traveling far from home better than anything else I’ve been able to think of.
Before 10.4.x came along, I maintained a separate partition for Documents on it, but when my home Mac (a iMacIntel) “joined” the family - and Classic went the way of the Dodo Bird – I decided not to partition it, just to see why Cupertino designed OS X they way they did. I then found it very convenient to have documents default to an established folder with many, many sub-folders for retention and storage.
Lillian’s G-5 iMac has a multi-partition scheme (OS/Apps/Utilities + Docs + spare OS + Archive) Since it’s a G-5, it continues to have Classic operating (in the “open) to run her favored WordPerfect (albeit somewhat shakily). She became so accustomed to having Documents stored separately from pre-OSX days, that’s she’s more comfortable doing so today. Surprise, surprise.
Each these Macs (and their partitions) are regularly backed up to similarly separate partitions on a 500 GB external FW/USB2 drive.
Stashed elsewhere in our house is (our not yet quite outcast) old Pismo with an early OSX + a separate "retail" OS9 on differing partitions, and docs files going back 15+ years, that I may wish to access. It has an airport PCMCIA card, so I can print those files should that be necessary.
Post by: chriskleeman on September 18, 2007, 07:27:32 AM
QUOTE
Hey Chris,
You sound like Jim. I love it!
Jack
You sound like Jim. I love it!
Jack
Yeah, I'm almost as grumpy as he is too!!!
Chris K
Post by: krissel on September 19, 2007, 01:30:49 AM
Internally have two 300G and one 500G (all SATA) and one smaller SCSI (50G).
Each has one volume for the system and applications of around 80G (exept the SCSI) and a 20G for OS 9 and its applications (really don't need that much space). The rest of each drive is for data storage.
Backups are to external FW drives of 160G and two 300G drives.
I prefer the separation so running utilities is faster and the drives don't become so fragmented. It's easy to clone off to an external only the parts I want at any time.
Post by: Gregg on September 19, 2007, 07:25:45 AM
Post by: Paddy on September 19, 2007, 07:52:38 AM
Originally my backup drive was partitioned as well - one for the Powerbook backups and one for the G5 backups. However, I've now got 250GB drives in both the G5 and the external and don't keep any files on my new MacBook Pro that I don't immediately copy to the G5, so I removed the partitioning on the external to just use it to back up the G5. If I used the MacBook more extensively, I'd get another external drive for it, especially as I prefer to leave the external I have permanently hooked up to the G5 so it does its backups nightly and automatically.
I don't think your son should wait for disaster to strike.
And partitioning, for all it's uses, won't save you from drive failure, which after you've been computing for a few years, is bound to hit some time.
Post by: Gregg on September 19, 2007, 12:11:53 PM
QUOTE(Paddy @ Sep 19 2007, 07:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Disaster-proofing is easy, and these days relatively inexpensive. Just get an external FW/USB drive...
Just so terminlogy isn't a stumbling block here, would a USB "Flash Drive" (aka "thumb drive") be one of the options you're suggesting? I've seen flash drives up to 8GB for abot $150 in the catalogs.
Post by: Paddy on September 19, 2007, 09:03:42 PM
Not as small as a thumb drive perhaps, but still very portable and a lot more mileage for the money!
Post by: Gregg on September 20, 2007, 07:46:33 AM
Post by: chriskleeman on September 20, 2007, 08:37:56 AM
But Gregg, most Firewire equipped Macs will boot off a Firewire enclosure with a hard-drive installed. That's the beauty of the way a program like SuperDuper backs up, in that you clone your entire drive first, and then use the Smart Update feature to only back up the files that have been changed or added, and it's bootable. I've been operating off a drive that I cloned from my MDD machine to my DA with no glitches so far
And like Paddy says, so much more bang for the buck!
I find my flash drive very useful for taking files back and forth between my laptop, desktop and the PC at work, and for a redundant backup of some stuff.
HTH,
Chris K
Post by: RHPConsult on September 21, 2007, 12:59:57 AM
aka, IAWCK
Post by: Gregg on September 21, 2007, 07:24:29 AM
QUOTE(chriskleeman @ Sep 20 2007, 08:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Gregg, most Firewire equipped Macs will boot off a Firewire enclosure with a hard-drive installed. That's the beauty of the way a program like SuperDuper backs up, in that you clone your entire drive first, and then use the Smart Update feature to only back up the files that have been changed or added, and it's bootable. I've been operating off a drive that I cloned from my MDD machine to my DA with no glitches so far ...
Ok... Cloned? Does that imply that everything on your main hard drive is on the "Firewire hard drive"? ... including applications?
Obviously, if it's bootable there's an OS installed on it. Are you technically supposed to have 2 licenses? Sure, one could be OS9 for "Classic" apps, but I doubt many people would do that anymore.
Post by: Paddy on September 21, 2007, 07:53:36 AM
Post by: Gregg on September 22, 2007, 04:48:38 PM
Is "Clone Drive" some sort of command that's part of Super Duper's arsenal? Or, does one have to know a methodology for making a clone?
Post by: Jack W on September 22, 2007, 08:14:18 PM
See attached image.
This will clone Files to Files 1. If you have done this before, it will "smart update" only those items that have changed since the last clone. Saves oodles of tim!
- Jack
Post by: Gregg on September 23, 2007, 04:46:48 PM
As far as cloning everything, is that also in SD's bag of tricks, or is it done from some other source? Files to Files1 will not give you a bootable volume. Just wondering how involved setting that up might be...
Post by: RNKIII on September 23, 2007, 05:09:50 PM
Yep... as easy as 'point and click'.... cause it's on a MAc... Just 'clone' hd#1 to hd#2 and after that, as Jack says, it will 'smart' update 'just' those files changed since the last backup....
SD! is "VERY" easy to work with, and hasn't failed me in over 2 years.
Bob K... rnkiii
Post by: Jack W on September 23, 2007, 06:10:09 PM
QUOTE(Gregg @ Sep 23 2007, 05:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Thanks Jack. I haven't convinced either of my "kids" to get Super Duper yet, but the more I know about it, the more "convincing" I can be.
As far as cloning everything, is that also in SD's bag of tricks, or is it done from some other source? Files to Files1 will not give you a bootable volume. Just wondering how involved setting that up might be...
As far as cloning everything, is that also in SD's bag of tricks, or is it done from some other source? Files to Files1 will not give you a bootable volume. Just wondering how involved setting that up might be...
Gregg,
If you clone a bootable drive, the clone will also be bootable.
- Jack
Post by: Gregg on September 24, 2007, 07:43:10 AM
Post by: RHPConsult on September 24, 2007, 08:21:54 AM
How do you spell No-brainer?
Post by: chriskleeman on September 24, 2007, 08:22:29 AM
IAW Jack and Bob... It's so easy even my dog could do it!!!
Chris K
EDIT: AND ME TOO!!!
Post by: Paddy on September 24, 2007, 08:23:44 AM
