resound01 Posted October 16, 2003 Report Share Posted October 16, 2003 I read in this forum that Retrospect 5.1 is considered incompatible with the new Panther OS. If I buy Retrospect 5.1 today, will I have to pay for the Panther compatible upgrade when it is released? When will a Panther compatible upgrade be released? I have been extremely disappointed with the performance of Retrospect 5, and I'm hoping that version 5.1 fixes the bugs in 5. However, I don't want to buy 5.1 if I'm going to have to buy a new version in a month or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resound01 Posted October 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2003 Before I get any flak, let me rephrase my first statement. I read in this forum that Retrospect 5.1 does not support Panther or G5s (not that it is incompatible, although, I'm not sure if there's a difference). My previous questions still apply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowspawn Posted October 17, 2003 Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 No info on Panther, but... Quote: and I'm hoping that version 5.1 fixes the bugs in 5. You don't need to hope, you should find out. Retrospect 5.1 in use so you can ask about specific problems and find out ahead of laying down the money whether they are addressed. No point blindly upgrading and them being disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resound01 Posted October 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 In theory, yes, I should be able to find out if Retrospect 5.1 addresses the problems that I've been experiencing with version 5 before I buy it. In reality, I won't be able to know if Retrospect 5.1 actually works with my setup until I physically test it. And when I begin upgrading my servers and clients to Panther, I may encounter still more problems. Dantz has become less and less helpful with technical support over the years, and in turn their Retrospect Server for Mac app has become less reliable. That is why I am compelled to ask about Retrospect 5.1 compatibility Panther and future upgrade costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayoff Posted October 17, 2003 Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 At the time of a paid upgrade Dantz often offers deep discounts for Support and Maintenance so that you don't need to worry about upgrade or support costs for a full year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resound01 Posted October 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2003 That's great as long as Dantz releases meaningful updates within that year of coverage. I lost a lot of faith in Dantz when I upgraded from Retrospect 4 to 5. Retrospect 4 worked extremely well, but version 5 barely gets the job done. It crashes all the time! I've pursued dozens of Dantz's suggested "fixes", and none of them have worked. Finally, Dantz released an upgrade (5.1, which I believe was released more than a year after 5), and I'm expected to shell out more money to hopefully get back to where I was with version 4. Can someone just answer my initial questions? If 5.1 won't support Panther or G5s, is the upgrade to 5.1 going to be free or not? And if it is not free, how much is it going to cost, and when will it be released? I don't want to buy into obsolescence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resound01 Posted October 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2003 I'm not too surprised that no one will directly address my questions about Retrospect compatibilty with Panther. My guess is that Dantz intends to release a 10.3 compatible upgrade to version 5.1 in 6 to 12 months, and they'll be charging a couple hundred dollars for it. In the meantime, I'll be exploring alternatives to Retrospect 5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallMeDave Posted October 23, 2003 Report Share Posted October 23, 2003 Quote: My guess is that Dantz intends to release a 10.3 compatible upgrade to version 5.1 in 6 to 12 months, and they'll be charging a couple hundred dollars for it You're right. Dantz will probably be selfish enough to allocate engineering resources to updating the program to be compatible with the new features introduced by Apple, and then they'll have the nerve to spend additional time and money testing their work on an OS that was only provided in its final form to developers about two weeks ago. And then, if they are arrogant enough to add some highly requested features, they'll probably offer the new version to users at some price higher then free. I think I'll move to Windows, where everything works great and updates are always free. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resound01 Posted October 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2003 Hi Dave! Do you work for Dantz? I like your sarcastic post. You really roasted me! Good job! Sadly, I won't be posting anymore messages on this topic, so this is your last chance for more sarcastic banter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayoff Posted October 23, 2003 Report Share Posted October 23, 2003 Dantz will have more info on Panther compatibility once Panther has offically been released by Apple. And for the record, Dave does not work for Dantz, he is just a user who has a great deal of Macintosh and Retro experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallMeDave Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 Do you work for Dantz? I wish! I bet that would be loads of fun! I like your sarcastic post. You really roasted me! Good job! : s m i le : My ability to make people hate me is matched only by my inflated sense of self worth. Sadly, I won't be posting anymore messages on this topic, so this is your last chance for more sarcastic banter. : f r o w n : Perhaps some other posters can keep the magic alive in this thread... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bxs Posted October 24, 2003 Report Share Posted October 24, 2003 I'm using Retrospect Desktop to backup three Macs. My server machine is an iMac DV/400MHz and clients are wifes iBook 2USB and my Ti Powerbook 1GHz. I will have Apple's Panther tomorrow afternoon and I'd like to install it on my iMac. Should I assume that my Retrospect Desktop 5.1.175 will run on my iMac as usual without problems under Panther ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayoff Posted October 25, 2003 Report Share Posted October 25, 2003 Topic The following known issues exist when using Retrospect 5.1 and the Retrospect 5.1 Client for Macintosh with Apple’s new Panther operating systems (Mac OS X 10.3 and Mac OS X Server 10.3). Discussion The following known issues exist when using Retrospect 5.1 and the Retrospect 5.1 Client for Macintosh with Apple’s new Panther operating systems (Mac OS X 10.3 and Mac OS X Server 10.3). New Finder • Panther’s new Finder will display a duplicate icon on the desktop for CDs and DVDs that belong to a Retrospect Backup Set. Ejecting one CD/DVD icon will remove both icons from the desktop. Fast User Switching • Retrospect can only be run by one user at a time. FileVault • FileVault stores each user’s home directory in an encrypted disk image file, similar to those created by Apple’s Disk Copy. When a user is logged in, Retrospect will back up the contents of the user’s FileVault-protected home directory (provided that either the Local Desktop container or the specific user’s FileVault-protected home directory is selected in Retrospect’s Source Selection window). If multiple users are logged in, Retrospect will back up all mounted FileVault home directories. • Retrospect will also attempt to back up logged-in users’ FileVault sparse image files, essentially adding duplicate data to the backups. In addition, if a user changes any data in their home directory during the copy phase of the backup, Retrospect may not be able to restore a valid copy of that user’s sparse image file. Dantz recommends excluding logged-in users’ FileVault sparse image files from backups. • For each user who is not logged in, the FileVault sparse image file that contains that user’s home directory will be backed up. Retrospect is prevented from accessing the individual files contained within the encrypted disk image. • If Retrospect Backup Set Catalog Files are saved in a user’s FileVault-protected home directory, Retrospect will only be able to access those Catalog Files when the user is logged in. Dantz recommends saving Catalog Files in an always-accessible location. • In the Configure Devices window, Retrospect will show all mounted FileVault home directories as removable volumes, listing a “Content unrecognized” status. WARNING: Do not select a FileVault volume and click Erase! To do so will erase the entire contents of that user’s home directory. • As with any encryption method, Dantz recommends that users carefully consider the consequences of losing their passwords (and thus their data) before employing FileVault encryption in Panther. Case-Sensitive HFS+ (Panther Server only) • Panther Server’s Disk Utility allows administrators to format disks with a new case-sensitive HFS Plus file system. Retrospect 5.1 does not recognize case-sensitive file names. If “file” and “FILE” exist in the same directory, only one will be backed up. Device Support • SCSI host adapters may require new software drivers to function properly under Panther. Please check your SCSI card manufacturer’s website for updated drivers. Panther’s SCSI changes could additionally affect Retrospect’s ability to communicate with certain tape drives, autoloaders, and libraries. Miscellaneous Issues • Retrospect is not able to autolaunch at the Panther login screen. Computers left at the login screen can be successfully backed up with the Retrospect client software. • Retrospect may not launch on the first attempt after logging out or restarting. Trying to launch Retrospect a second time should be successful. • Retrospect is not able to restart, shut down, or sleep the backup computer after completing scripted operations. • Users may notice screen redraw problems, such as oddly spaced text. • Retrospect client notification windows (errors, successful backup messages) will not appear in Panther. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shimabkt Posted October 28, 2003 Report Share Posted October 28, 2003 Is Retrospect Desktop 5.0.238 compatible with Panther? Or must I upgrade to version 5.1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevencvf Posted October 29, 2003 Report Share Posted October 29, 2003 Quote: shimabkt said: Is Retrospect Desktop 5.0.238 compatible with Panther? Or must I upgrade to version 5.1? I want to second this question. My organization does not need the new features in version 5.1 but wants access to Panther. Can I expect the bug list by Dantz about version 5.1 to apply to version 5.0238? Or is version 5.0238 incompatible with Panther? If the 5.1 list does not apply to Panther, can we expect Dantz to post a second bug list? Version 5.1 is not different enough from version 5.0 for most organizations to warrant an upgrade of the software plus clients. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayoff Posted October 30, 2003 Report Share Posted October 30, 2003 Dantz has not tested Retrospect 5.0 with Panther and testing of 5.0 is not planned. Panther is a major new operating system with a great deal of low level changes ranging from a new file system, adding a new user security model, and application launching changes with Fast User Switching. Panther breaks Retrospect's ability to launch automatically in addition to other things. This (and all other known issues with Panther) are covered in a Dantz Knowledgebase Article linked from the main Mac-version home page. http://www.dantz.com/index.php3?SCREEN=kbase&ACTION=KBASE&id=28093 Dantz is working closely with Apple to insure the best support for Panther moving forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevencvf Posted October 30, 2003 Report Share Posted October 30, 2003 Then at this stage is there any point in upgrading to version 5.1? Or is it expected that any updates involving Panther compatibility will be a pay upgrade, perhaps version 5.2? Since there aren't any additional features my organization requires beyond version 5.0, if I'm going to pay for compatibility issues I want to make sure to pay for the correct version. Any advice would be helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevencvf Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 Hmm, two months later and no response. Anybody have any suggestions for my post above? Thanks, Steven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayoff Posted December 18, 2003 Report Share Posted December 18, 2003 Please keep an eye out for an annoucement from Dantz at Macworld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevencvf Posted December 18, 2003 Report Share Posted December 18, 2003 Thanks. That is the kind of answer I needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josephstern Posted December 27, 2003 Report Share Posted December 27, 2003 Panther and Client 5.1.109 were running fine for me until the 10.3.2 update - now my (OS 9) server can see but not connect to this client. Any ideas? Any fix soon? No backup!!!!! Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natew Posted December 29, 2003 Report Share Posted December 29, 2003 Hi In the past some updates have re-enabled the built in OSX firewall. It is worth double-checking that port 497 is open. Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padmavyuha Posted January 5, 2004 Report Share Posted January 5, 2004 Quote: Mayoff said: Dantz has not tested Retrospect 5.0 with Panther and testing of 5.0 is not planned ... Panther breaks Retrospect's ability to launch automatically in addition to other things. This (and all other known issues with Panther) are covered in a Dantz Knowledgebase Article linked from the main Mac-version home page. http://www.dantz.com/index.php3?SCREEN=kbase&ACTION=KBASE&id=28093 Something that isn't mentioned in the article is a problem I've only had since upgrading to Panther while using Express 5.0.238 - namely, that after backing up to a firewire drive (and quitting Retrospect), I can't eject the drive because Panther tells me it is 'in use'. Turns out that I can safely eject if I first go into Activity Monitor and kill any processes called 'retrorun'. This didn't happen in 10.2.xx. Something in RE 5.0.238 is failing to release resources in 10.3.2 - I went straight in at 10.3.2, so I don't know if it was a problem before that version. Has anyone else had this problem, as they say? - padmavyuha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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