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Aron Peterson · Apr 24, 2007, 05:03 AM

I've just used SuperDuper to do a full back up of my HDD and found that the back up is half a gig smaller and has less folders and files. Is this the norm?

chabig · Apr 24, 2007, 07:49 AM

Probably. There are certain system files that don't get backed up because they're created on the fly...like virtual memory swap files.

all2ofme · 07:52 AM

Depends on whether the missing files *should* be backed up. Are you sure you're doing "Backup - All files"?

If you're still not getting anywhere you should post on the shirtpocket forums. You'd get a response from the developer in a fraction of the time you're expecting. It's as if the chap never sleeps...

A happy SD! user

Aron Peterson · Apr 24, 2007, 08:17 AM

Yes I'm doing all files - full back up. The difference is 400MBs and those missing files are impossible to track down before it is scattered throughout all folders. My /library, /system and user folders are all smaller than they are on my main HD.

Is there a large difference for your back ups too? Anything beyond a few MBs isn't acceptable because they could be important system files or your personal work.

I'll try Carbon Cloner and Drive Genius and see what results I get from them.

Sherman Homan · Apr 24, 2007, 08:38 AM

I think chabig is right. The missing files are temp/page/swap files. I have used SuperDuper since the flakiness of the first release of OS X. It has always worked well for me. Have you tried booting from your backup and see if it behaves correctly?

chabig · Apr 24, 2007, 08:42 AM

I'm certain your backup is fine. SuperDuper has been around for years. Don't you think someone might have noticed a serious problem like that by now?

By default, a complete backup excludes system temporary files, system cache files, and Spotlight indexes. From the "Using" popup menu, scroll down to Edit Selected Copy Script and dig around. You'll see what's not copied.

Chris

Aron Peterson · Apr 24, 2007, 08:49 AM

Originally Posted by Sherman Homan

I think chabig is right. The missing files are temp/page/swap files. I have used SuperDuper since the flakiness of the first release of OS X. It has always worked well for me. Have you tried booting from your backup and see if it behaves correctly?

I thought it might be the caches. The only ones I flushed before backing up were browser caches. Isn't 400MBs a little too much a difference though?

Unfortunately I can't boot the back up because it's a USB drive and my Mac is a PPC. I can only use it to restore.

There is another problem. As you can see, system files that should be invisible are visible. Also, my folder icons for system folders aren't the same.

chabig · Apr 24, 2007, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by Aron Peterson

There is another problem. As you can see, system files that should be invisible are visible. Also, my folder icons for system folders aren't the same.[/IMG]

Those icons are normal, because you're not looking at your boot drive. The Mach file should be invisible, but I wouldn't worry about it.

CatOne · Apr 24, 2007, 03:12 PM

SuperDuper! is the bomb diggety.

I have NEVER had an issue.

And yes, the backup will be slightly smaller than your boot disk. 400 MB is reasonable. But SuperDuper does not copy certain cache files, and it certainly doesn't duplicate your VM files (because those go away at reboot anyway), so this is nothing to worry about.

Seriously, it's an excellent, extremely reliable app. Its "incremental" backup feature where it does the "smart clone" is FANTASTIC... I do a fully bootable clone backup 3x/week and it takes about 10 minutes each time. It has saved my azz twice... once of the times I had a hard drive fail (as in crashed, DEAD), and I lost 1 hour's worth of work total (I'd made a backup the night before). The other time I got overly aggressive with Monolingual and it was my safety net. I actually regularly install software updates on my backup clone just to see that they don't cause any issues.

Two thumbs up for SD!

mdc · Apr 25, 2007, 02:40 PM

Run a full backup on your main drive, then open two copies/windows of WhatSize. Run one window on each drive and when they're both finished you'll be able to see exactly which folders are smaller and drill down to see which files are missing.

Like everyone said, I'm sure the developer of SuperDuper! is well aware that certain files are missing. I've been using the app for a while now and have never had an issue with my backups.

Aron Peterson · Apr 25, 2007, 03:01 PM

Can't see any complaints so it looks like SuperDuper! is super alright.