A request for help setting a new hard-drive

[MacBH928]

I am really new to this backing up thing and it is really important please help me...

I got an old imac '17(lamp) G4 800 mhz with 80GB bought late 2002...running Tiger(10.4)
Which got an extremely important files that I need to keep.

I just about a new macbook 13(non-firewire) which is intel and runs leopard.

I am going to partition my new hard-drive 320 GB into 80-240, 80 GB for the backup and 240GB for any other use.

I want to create a bootable hard-drive and I am going to use Disk Utility , Restore to make the source-destination method.

I need these files to be accessed from mac+windows, and I would be able to boot from that hard-drive.

What format shall I use to format the disk? Mac OS Extended or MS-DOS, other?
There is an option for partition scheme, what shall I use?
Apple Partition Map or Guid Partition Table?

There are files in my Home directory which I would like to access in the backup, but my account is password secured, if I won't be able to boot from the hard-drive, will I be able to access the files going through the directories?

plz help,
do you recommend using other software?

 

[miles01110]

Don't partition your internal drive to use one as a backup, that kind of defeats the purpose. Buy an external drive and use that as a backup.

 

[MacBH928]

Yes I already bought an external hard-drive which is WB 320 GB FireWire/USB 2.0

I am just not sure how to set it up for the backup

 

[miles01110]

If you want a bootable clone of your drive you need something like SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner.

 

[Fishrrman]

RE:
"I got an old imac '17(lamp) G4 800 mhz with 80GB bought late 2002...running Tiger(10.4) Which got an extremely important files that I need to keep"

The drive may be 80gig, but you should do an inventory of the "extremely important" files, and ascertain just how many gigabytes of "keeper stuff" you actually have - as distinguished from old System files that won't be usuable on a new Intel-based Mac.

If you really, really want to store these files somewhere safe, on long-lasting media that won't degrade, you might consider burning them to gold-coated CDRs, which should last between 50-100 years (is that long enough for you?). They run about $1+ per blank CDR, but they have a longetivity that no hard drive is going to match.

You can see what I'm talking about here:
http://www.amazon.com/Verbatim-9615..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1NBHGMJJ0QSF69S7B6NF

This is "archival-grade" media. Burn these carefully (I'd suggest at half of the full-rated speed of your CDR burner), store them carefully away from the light, and they'll protect those important files for a long, long time.

- John

 

[MacBH928]

thanx fishrrman
for the great tip...
but my old imac burner died a long time ago
and transferring files is giving me hard time with things like "you don't have permission to transfer those files" which I tried to fix from the "get info" panel but still no use.

not to mention the data on those files like "created on" information is extremely important, if I transfer them I am afraid they will get new data giving me current dates.

This is why I want a way to copy my hard-drive and make it bootable. Then after that I will copy them to a CD-R.

As for now still looking for the right way to make a bootable hard-drive, given I got all the hardware necessary for it

 

[apfhex]

As for now still looking for the right way to make a bootable hard-drive, given I got all the hardware necessary for it

You already have you answer...

If you want a bootable clone of your drive you need something like SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner.

Those will clone your data, "created on" and such metadata should be preserved I think.

 

[kasakka]

Your new machine is Intel and the old one PPC so you wouldn't be able to boot Tiger on the new one.

You simply need to format the external drive as Mac OS journaled (single partition, GUID), copy all your data from the old computer to it then copy it to the new one. The creation dates shouldn't change.

 

[DewGuy1999]

Yes I already bought an external hard-drive which is WB 320 GB FireWire/USB 2.0

I am just not sure how to set it up for the backup

Is that WB supposed to be WD as in Western Digital? If so, Western Digital external hard drives are not bootable on Macs.

 

[MacBH928]

damn it!
I paid $120 for that firewire drive