Moving MacOS 10.1.2 to another partition

[b1hgaa88]

My MacOS 10.1.2 partition does not have sufficient space left on it to install the latest Dev tools (900+MB needed but only 500 MB available). It seems that more and more stuff needs to cosy up to the OS these days and my system partition is only 2.5 gigs.

Question #1: How can I copy the whole OS to another larger partition without losing hidden files etc? Can I simply do this in the finder (or even via OS 9.2.2) or must I use UNIX commands to copy things over. I would then simply delete the original 2.5 gig partition space (FWB Toolkit apparently allows you to create or reduce a partition on the fly but not to INCREASE it - too bad!).

Question #2: What is the current consensus for a system partition these days. Seems at least 4 gigs should be set aside to take care of what might be coming down the pike.

Any ideas? Thanks.

PS. I know some people consider moving their Users directory to a second partition to free up some space, but my Users is only 325 MB - still not enough for what I need.

[jbmelby]

Use "Carbon Copy Cloner" (http://www.bombich.com/software/file...r1.0b4.dmg.tgz).

[b1hgaa88]

Many thanks. Have just downloaded and will try this.

Much appreciated.

[xchanyazy]

1. I've had good success using psync, which is included in MacOSX-File. I switched from a 5 GB partition to a 10 GB, and it booted from the new drive after selecting it in the startup disk prefpane, where it appeared as soon as the copy was done.

2. My OS X partition uses about 4 GB, but I keep my games (1 GB) and my /sw directory (1.65 GB) on different Hard Drives.

[b1hgaa88]

Thanks again. I've got it now. The copy/move with HFS(+) module is the one I guess.

I also have Carbon Copy Cloner so will look at both and decide which to use.

It looks as if a 4-5 gig partition might be about right for the system. A bit disappointing all these files that need to go with the system. I thought the whole idea of having OS X on a separate partition was that you could keep it pristine and away from all the rest of the stuff.

Oh well! Have to live with it I guess.

[Phil St. Romain]

Just wondering out loud and willing to take correction . . .

1. Can you not just drag the current X contents from the old partition to the new if it's on the same computer?

2. If that doesn't work, couldn't you use Disk Copy to create disk images on the current X partition, drag the contents of the X partition into them, then transfer them to the new partition, mount them, and install?

Still trying to understand some of this.

[Phil St. Romain]

Just wondering out loud and willing to take correction . . .

1. Can you not just drag the current X contents from the old partition to the new if it's on the same computer?

2. If that doesn't work, couldn't you use Disk Copy to create disk images on the current X partition, drag the contents of the X partition into them, then transfer them to the new partition, mount them, and install?

Still trying to understand some of this.

[mervTormel]

phil,

1. no, this would fail as your user account does not own and has no read access to some files (root, other users, groups), and the target would inherit the ownership and permissions of the current user (something like that, i think. anyhow, finder copies do a lot behind the scenes to make the files yours)

2. don't know if disk copy will perform as above, but it would prohibitive for the disk space poor out there.

the best methods use the ditto or psync underpinnings with a clean target.

[jbmelby]

Quote: Originally posted by Phil St. Romain Just wondering out loud and willing to take correction . . . 1. Can you not just drag the current X contents from the old partition to the new if it's on the same computer? 2. If that doesn't work, couldn't you use Disk Copy to create disk images on the current X partition, drag the contents of the X partition into them, then transfer them to the new partition, mount them, and install? Still trying to understand some of this.

No--but there is a way to do it by dragging the whole volume to another volume in OS 9. However, you then have to do some extra things in the Terminal when you're back in OS X. I have a copy of the instructions somewhere, and I can verify that the process works. But it would probably be easier for you to ferret out the information yourself. I think that I found them on MacFixIt or somewhere similar.

[mervTormel]

addendum:

oh yeah, OSX or OS9 finder copies aren't going to hook up symbolic or hard links.

[thatch]

After extensively testing all of the various methods of moving X from one local partition to another, and even some that have not been mentioned in this thread like Apple Software Restore (ASR), hfspax and hfstar, I conclude that for someone with a newer and limited knowledge of the command line, the winner is....

Carbon Copy Cloner

You don't have to have any command line experience for it at all because it's a GUI app.

(And it is much simpler than trying the method partially described above by jbmelby which would require some CLI knowledge and experience and still may not work entirely).

Plus it is the first, as far as I know, application that is made with the new Apple Script Studio for cloning volumes which is very promising to the future of X development. And it has excellent support from its author.

It's fantastically easy to use. Just copy it to your hard drive and launch it, choose your settings and preferences, click and in a little time it will have everything done; all permissions, hard links, symbolic links in tact with the system blessed and ready to boot.

CMOA info:

It would also be recommended, as with any new program, that you fully read and understand the read me file information before you begin to use it which will help in choosing the proper setting and preferences.

***** (five stars)

[Phil St. Romain]

Good discussion. I've now got Carbon Copy Cloner for one of those "just in case" scenarios.

Could you use it to copy OS X onto another computer by sharing the volume of the computer you're moving it onto? That would be fantastic!

[thatch]

Since Carbon Copy Cloner is intended for local use only and I haven't actually tested the other methods described in the read me which might be used to move over a network connection, I can only reiterate that info. It makes for a bit more complicated scenario though it seems in theory to be a possible solution.

Basically, you would use Disk Copy to put the clone to image(s) and then use Apple Software Restore on the target drive to put the mounted image back into a bootable state and hopefully still preserve all the permissions, hard links, sym links, etc...

Another method to move over networks that I particularly think is solid is using psync from the MacOS::File installation. It does require more command line experience and knowledge but has some nice benefits such as incremental backup and also working in the background without any trouble at all. You can be listening to iTunes, surfing the web and any other things you would want to be doing while your clone or backup is in process. It's really pretty nifty.

[b1hgaa88]

Well, I successfully moved my OS 10.1.2 system files to another larger partition using Carbon Copy Cloner as suggested. Most programs seem to work O.K. although I had to re-establish some links to my Dock (in place of the "?"). However, XDarwin would not boot, or rather it booted and then quit. After a few tries I decided to re-install xFree86. Fine so far. However Window Maker did not work so I used fink to re-install (or upgrade) that.

I tried twice to no avail. XDarwin keeps giving me the green screen without the window. My Terminal log looks like this:

Welcome to Darwin!
[localhost:~] jfwoods% sudo apt-get install windowmaker
Password:
Reading Package Lists... Done
Building Dependency Tree... Done
Sorry, windowmaker is already the newest version.
0 packages upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 20 not upgraded.
[localhost:~] jfwoods% rehash
[localhost:~] jfwoods% wmaker.inst
Installing WindowMaker 0.80.0 for current user...
Copying defaults database...
The configuration file "WMGLOBAL" already exists in your defaults database.
Do you wish to replace it? <y/n/a> [n]

----------

Typed "a" to replace all (just in case)

And ended up with...

----------

The file "wmmacros" already exists in /Users/jfwoods/GNUstep/Library/WindowMaker
Do you wish to replace it? <y/n/a> [n] a
Sorry, font coding or locale en_US not recognized.
Type wsetfont with no arguments for list of supported font codings...

Now the .xinitrc, .Xclients or .xsession script must be updated so that
it calls wmaker when you start an X session.
Type the name of the file that must be changed (normally .xinitrc).
If the file already exists, it will be backed up with a .old.Feb16.10:01:13
extension
If you want to edit it by hand, hit <Control>-C now.
^C
Installation Finished

There are menus in 2 different file formats. The plain text format and
the property list format. The plain text format is more flexible, but
the menu in the property list format can be edited graphically. The
menu that will be used by default is the property list one. Read
/Users/jfwoods/GNUstep/Library/WindowMaker/README
for information on how to change it.
[localhost:~] jfwoods%

---------------------------

There seems to be some sort of font coding problem ("Sorry, font coding or locale en_US not recognized") but I don't know what to do about it. Also, I'm not sure whether I did the right thing with this .xinitrc file.

Any ideas??

[jbmelby]

You should have a directory on the root level of your hard drive called "sw". I suspect that if you were to delete that directory and completely reinstall XFree86, you'd be home free. The XFree86 installer and fink are written in such a way that they do not touch your OS X directories; all of their files are put into "sw".

[b1hgaa88]

Good! I duly ditched my sw file and re-installed once again. Everything works fine now. Many thanks to all for the excellent support.

[Mark Sissons]

Another option may be TRI-BACKUP... If you log in as ROOT, it will do a mirror backup of an OS X partition to another device.

[moyashi]

I used the ditto way a while back but had all kinds of silly quirks ... thank goodness 10.1.2 came and gave me a reason to iron out those kinks.

Also ... wondering if copy cloner does mysql database at the same time?
didn't have any luck with ditto on that part. LOL ... didn't really expect it to though.

[saint.duo]

Quote: Originally posted by thatch Basically, you would use Disk Copy to put the clone to image(s) and then use Apple Software Restore on the target drive to put the mounted image back into a bootable state and hopefully still preserve all the permissions, hard links, sym links, etc...

Unfortunately, this method doesn't always work. You have to modify ASR to not check for a checksum (not too hard). But, ASR will not always successfully restore a volume. I haven't yet figured out if it's due to volume size differences, or what, but it's quite frustrating. If nothing else, using Disk Coyp will make a pristine copy of X, so you could use that image with the other methods.

When this method works, itworks beautifully. When it doesn't, it nose-dives.

[thatch]

saint.duo,

The ASR method is not my favorite for some of those reasons you mentioned. But if you have the latest, (unreleased), version coupled with the same for unreleased Disk Copy, and you use it with some certain apple scripts that are pre-made for exactly that and a special ASR for X preference file, it will function as intended. It is still a work in progress and I guess that is why it isn't publicly available yet.

Ultimately, what we all would like from this is to have the capability to make our own software restore disks just like the ones Apple makes. But the length of time since the last release of Disk Copy would suggest that this isn't going to be anytime soon so I won't be holding my breath for it. There's hope for someday though.

moyashi,

I agree that ditto can have a few kinks in it with regard to hard and symbolic links especially. And also ditto doesn't like locked files and will gag on them but continue on to the next directory in the process although you wouldn't know immediately that had happened.

As for Carbon Copy Cloner working for your MySQL, I haven't tried that out since I don't have MySQL. If there are link issues, as I would imagine there are, the only way to know for certain is to test it out. If you have a spare partition and the time and/or inclination, I'd say go for it. And if you do, be sure to post back and let us know about the details for the benefit of all. TIA!

Mark Sissons,

I've heard that the recent upgrade to Tri-Backup is better than previously where it really wouldn't work entirely. But I haven't tested it out. Perhaps you have tried some clone across networks with it and could post some details. Or, maybe you've done some local clones to tell about.

There are certainly a bunch of other solutions that I haven't tried. Synchronize Pro is another good possibility but is very expensive and may only be for server mirroring.

b1hgaa88,

Glad to hear you finally got everything working properly. The issues with your dock icons being question marks is not really one with hard links or symbolic links. It would be more like aliases that would probably come back with a logout and back in or a restart. If you had tried those things and they didn't work then, indeed, they were broken aliases that you had to remake.