Reformating soon, need some help backing up iTunes, Mail & BitTorrent!

[LukeW]

Hullo.
Next weekend I want to reformat the ol' iMac G5, I haven't done it since I got it a year or so ago and it could probably do with a spring cleaning. I got most of my files backed up, got the application disks ready to reinstall and transfered whatever licenses needed transfering ready to be started up again on the refreshed iMac. However I have been wondering how I should back up my Mail and iTunes playcounts. The iTunes library itself has been backed up but I know the playcount of each track is not imbedded into the track itself (obviousy) but done elsewhere. What files should I copy (and paste back into the new folders once the reformat is over) or how can I back it all up so my Playlists and playcounts are carried over properly? I would hate to loose a years worth. Same goes for my Mail. I have loads of emails and I don't want to loose any of them, so how can I back up all my mail so they can be reintroduced onto the new system. And for that matter how can I keep all my details and prefences so I don't have to set it all up again. That would be iceing on the cake!

Also, I don't suppose anyone knows that if you have any files midway through downloading on bittorrent (I download subbed anime, nothing to be really frowned over), if I keep the incomplete files along with the torrent in a folder, back em up, copy em over to the new machine, specify the folder to download to (which would be the one with the incomplete files in) and start em again on BitTorrent (I use the original) using the torrent, will it pick up and carry on or will it ignore them and start again from scratch?

If anyone can answer any of those questions (possibly all three) then you would be a life saver! Thanks in advance!

 

[XIII]

Hullo.
Next weekend I want to reformat the ol' iMac G5, I haven't done it since I got it a year or so ago and it could probably do with a spring cleaning. I got most of my files backed up, got the application disks ready to reinstall and transfered whatever licenses needed transfering ready to be started up again on the refreshed iMac. However I have been wondering how I should back up my Mail and iTunes playcounts. The iTunes library itself has been backed up but I know the playcount of each track is not imbedded into the track itself (obviousy) but done elsewhere. What files should I copy (and paste back into the new folders once the reformat is over) or how can I back it all up so my Playlists and playcounts are carried over properly? I would hate to loose a years worth.

I had this issue before, and I'm not quite sure how I resolved it in the end, if at all - I honestly can't remember. But it seems to me that if you back up the entire User/Music/iTunes folder, and all the files inside it, you can't really go wrong. User/Library/iTunes might be worth backing up if you want to keep the iPod updater files and/or any plugins.

Same goes for my Mail. I have loads of emails and I don't want to loose any of them, so how can I back up all my mail so they can be reintroduced onto the new system. And for that matter how can I keep all my details and prefences so I don't have to set it all up again. That would be iceing on the cake!

Again what I have done which has worked for me before is copy the entire User/Library/Mail folder, and the entire User/Library/Mail Downloads folder, and then duplicated them on the new OS. I'm sure there are some files you don't need to backup in there, but these will be created again when you clean install - and when you drag the old folder in to replace the newly created one, you will just replace those files with the old ones. Has worked fine for me before - the only issue I have had was going from a PPC Mac to an Intel Mac doing this.

Also, I don't suppose anyone knows that if you have any files midway through downloading on bittorrent (I download subbed anime, nothing to be really frowned over), if I keep the incomplete files along with the torrent in a folder, back em up, copy em over to the new machine, specify the folder to download to (which would be the one with the incomplete files in) and start em again on BitTorrent (I use the original) using the torrent, will it pick up and carry on or will it ignore them and start again from scratch?

If anyone can answer any of those questions (possibly all three) then you would be a life saver! Thanks in advance!

Azureus allows you to continue the file if you stop it and quit Azureus, then when you restart it you can continue. If you take all the relevant files, and perhaps User/Library/Application Support/Azureus as well (for statistics files and all those .plists.. don't know what they do, but it might help) then I can't see why it shouldn't work.

All of these are basically just what I have done in the past and are very vague and rough.. so feel free to ignore!

Cheers

 

[LukeW]

What was the issue you had when transferring from a PPC to Intel? Only because I will be getting a MacBookPro later on and would want to copy the backed up email from my iMac to MacBook when I first get it. For that matter, can you transfer individual emails at all? Anyone know? Would be kinda handly if I could send an email that I would need on the road from my iMac to my MacBookPro and I would then be able to reply to it when I am away and in some wireless net cafe or something.

I know if I quit and clear a torrent in BitTorrent and then restart it again it starts from where it left off, however I am wondering if it is a new installation of BitTorrent on a newly reformated machine, would it do the same thing?

Thanks for all your help, I will do what you have suggested unless anyone tells me "for the love of god don't do it, it will irreversably damage your machine beyond repair" or suggest something better or something to that effect.

 

[XIII]

What was the issue you had when transferring from a PPC to Intel? Only because I will be getting a MacBookPro later on and would want to copy the backed up email from my iMac to MacBook when I first get it. For that matter, can you transfer individual emails at all? Anyone know? Would be kinda handly if I could send an email that I would need on the road from my iMac to my MacBookPro and I would then be able to reply to it when I am away and in some wireless net cafe or something.

I know if I quit and clear a torrent in BitTorrent and then restart it again it starts from where it left off, however I am wondering if it is a new installation of BitTorrent on a newly reformated machine, would it do the same thing?

Thanks for all your help, I will do what you have suggested unless anyone tells me "for the love of god don't do it, it will irreversably damage your machine beyond repair" or suggest something better or something to that effect.

From PPC to Intel when I did as I suggested earlier and copied all of my Mail folders, nothing worked. None of my accounts were there, none of my emails - had to set it all up again. It has worked when I was simply doing a clean install though. When it gets to moving to a MBP probably worth asking these questions again and seeing if anyone who really knows can help any more. There must be some kind of export function.

What I was saying with Bittorrent is that if you recreate all the files on the new machine properly I can't see why it wouldn't work. Are these files you're downloading too big to just wait for them to finish before clean installing?

Cheers

 

[LukeW]

From PPC to Intel when I did as I suggested earlier and copied all of my Mail folders, nothing worked. None of my accounts were there, none of my emails - had to set it all up again. It has worked when I was simply doing a clean install though. When it gets to moving to a MBP probably worth asking these questions again and seeing if anyone who really knows can help any more. There must be some kind of export function.

What I was saying with Bittorrent is that if you recreate all the files on the new machine properly I can't see why it wouldn't work. Are these files you're downloading too big to just wait for them to finish before clean installing?

Cheers

Nah, I can let them download before then, it has just been something I was wondering about. Once they are done I might just start something randomly and then see if it will pick up once I reformat, just to see once and for all if it will work or not.

The mail exporting is going to bug me now. It won't be long until I get my MacBookPro (end of the month, early of next month). I would have waited until the next version of OSX but I needed one now and my employer is paying for it so I am not going to complain. If anyone can help with the Mail exporting then that would be a great help!

 

[LukeW]

Worked it out! Open Mail, select all your mail or the individual emails you want, go to File then Save As. Select Raw Message Source. Back up the resulting file. Then once you have reformated, boot up Mail again and select Import Mailboxes under File again, and all your emails will be copied into an Import file in Mail, which you can then redistribute into your inbox. Doesn't solve the mystery of how to back up Mail's settings but its half the battle won anyway!

God damn, that was so obvious I feel slighly stupid. It was in Help too, somehow I either glazed over it or read it and felt it didn't help for some reason. Only after I work it out do I find it there, typically.

 

[XIII]

God damn, that was so obvious I feel slighly stupid. It was in Help too, somehow I either glazed over it or read it and felt it didn't help for some reason. Only after I work it out do I find it there, typically.

Easy, you're making me feel stupid now.

 

[Eidorian]

http://www.grapefruit.ch/iBackup/