CREATIVEPLUS Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Hello all, My company has been using Retrospect 6 on a PowerMac G5 for some time for our secondary backups – we write the data to hard drives. However, as it is an old Mac, I'm worried that if the Mac stops working, we won't be able to access the data. Currently I keep the Catalog files backed up once a week on a USB stick. Is this all I would need, along with the original Retrospect software, in order to restore the data on a similar Mac? I have a few old iMacs that may well be able to do it, although nothing quite as old as the PowerMac G5. I think there's an IMac G5 somewhere that could do the job. Also, what do I need to do in order to move forward with a newer version of Retrospect on a new Mac so that we can eventually move to a much newer Mac? I'm quite tempted to restore all the data to new hard drives as the safest option, although this will be very time-consuming. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennart_T Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 You will need an old Mac capable of running Retrospect 6. You will need a Retrospect installer, license key and Driver updates. You will need the catalog files. You will need the backup set members. (In your case it seems to be hard drives.) To be (more) future safe, you should restore the backups to a new hard drive (and then make backups with that drive as the source). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CREATIVEPLUS Posted February 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Hi there, Thanks so much for the quick reply, much appreciated. I have an IMac G5 that I know is Power PC, a Retrospect 6 installer CD and license key, and I can see that there is a download page for the 6.1 installer and drivers. I have all the Catalogs on the USB stick and all the hard drives, so it seems I will be able to replicate the running of Retrospect 6 on another Mac. I will try and do so ASAP so that I have the contingency plan up and running ASAP. Yes, I agree that it would be best to restore the data to new hard drives. Many thanks! ETA: Sorry, I meant to check. With regards to Backup Sets, do I just need the physical media, or do I also need the digital 'Backup Sets' files? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twickland Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 With regards to Backup Sets, do I just need the physical media, or do I also need the digital 'Backup Sets' files? I assume by "'Backup Sets' files," you mean the backup set catalogs. Keeping the catalog files will speed future access to the data. If you don't retain the catalogs, you would need to recreate them from the backup media anytime you needed to access the data. If your backup sets are large, recreating the catalogs can be quite time-consuming. I recommend that you find someplace to keep the catalog files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CREATIVEPLUS Posted February 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 I assume by "'Backup Sets' files," you mean the backup set catalogs. Keeping the catalog files will speed future access to the data. If you don't retain the catalogs, you would need to recreate them from the backup media anytime you needed to access the data. If your backup sets are large, recreating the catalogs can be quite time-consuming. I recommend that you find someplace to keep the catalog files. Thanks. I saw that the colleague who had previously used the software had kept folders named 'Backup Sets' in the past and I wasn't sure if they were something else. If all I need is the Catalog files then that's fine. Should I ensure that the version number of the 6 software I install on my iMac G5 (if possible) is the same one that I am already working from. We have version 6.1.126 up and running at the moment but I can see that the downloads page will allow me to go up to 6.1.230. Once I've installed the software, I presume I can then just copy the Catalogs into the correct folder in Applications and go from there? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twickland Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 As long as the version is any 6.1.x, you'll be OK. The later (.230) build should be better (more bug fixes, etc.). After you copy over the catalog files, you'll need to tell Retrospect about them. Double-clicking in Finder is probably the easiest way to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CREATIVEPLUS Posted February 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2015 As long as the version is any 6.1.x, you'll be OK. The later (.230) build should be better (more bug fixes, etc.). After you copy over the catalog files, you'll need to tell Retrospect about them. Double-clicking in Finder is probably the easiest way to do this. Thanks, I will do so. I'll report back if I encounter any issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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