restore to redundant machine OS X password error

[pjreagan]

Greetings,

 

My file server strategy has been to have two duplicate machines - one in operation regularly being backed up to an external drive. The other in storage. When the first goes down I connect the external drive to the second machine then run the Retrospect disaster recovery disc to rebuild it to the point of the last backup. Then the first machine can be repaired at my leisure.

 

Upgrading the hard drives was the occasion to recheck this strategy. I could have sworn this was working when initially set up a couple of years ago but it's not now. Retrospect seems to be replacing the files but the redundant machine will not accept the admin password. Is this an OS X security issue - the OS installation is associated with the machine's MAC address?

 

Yes I know I could install the OS manually then copy over the files but this would require rebuilding the server's parameters wouldn't it?

 

Possibly relevant specification details...

Retrospect 6.1.126

OS 10.2.8 Server (yes I know it's old)

Cube 450MHz (yes I know they're old)

...this small office only needs reliable backups, speed hasn't been an issue.

 

Shouldn't it be possible to follow this simple strategy? Or was I drinking the wrong Kool-aid?

 

Thanks for whatever help you can offer.

[CallMeDave]

Quote:

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Shouldn't it be possible to follow this simple strategy?

 

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Hard to say, as it's unclear from reading what your precise strategy is.

 

The sticking point for me is "Retrospect seems to be replacing the files..." I don't understand what this means.

 

What's important to know is:

 

- What Type of Backup Set are you using ("backed up to an external drive" is not specific enough).

- What is the Source of your Backup (is it the root of your HD?)?

- What are the exact steps you take on Restore ("run the Retrospect disaster recovery disc to rebuild it to the point of the last backup")?

 

 

Dave

[pjreagan]

Thanks for your reply Dave. 'Sorry for being vague, here are more details...

 

- Type of Backup Set on the FireWire drive: File, normal, separate catalog

- Backup Source: All files of the server

- Steps taken:

connect the external FireWire drive to the second computer

start the computer with the Retrospect disaster recovery disc

choose:

"Immediate restore",

"Restore an entire disk",

"Open" to access an existing catalog file,

the catalog from the FireWire drive,

the snapshot of the first computer,

"Restore Entire Disk" and the second computer's drive,

"Replace" in the "Really restore..." confirmation message,

"Restore" to confirm all previous choices

 

The intent is to replace all files on the second (redundant) machine with a "snapshot" of the first machine so that everything (files, server OS and server settings) will be just as the first machine was at the time of the last backup.

 

Retrospect takes a number of minutes to apparently copy a lot of files from the external drive. Then, upon restarting the second machine without the disaster disc, the server OS password challenge appears. The problem is that the admin credentials from the first machine are not accepted.

 

Should I not be surprised at this? Is there any way to get my credentials to be accepted?

 

Thanks,

Patrick

[CallMeDave]

Quote:

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connect the external FireWire drive to the second computer

 

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- Is the Destination volume on this second computer empty?

[pjreagan]

No. I've tried it two ways

1) with OS 9 already installed

2) after the first attempt failed, with a fresh install of 10.2.8 Server - matching drive names and admin credentials.

 

Would you recommend wiping the drive and trying again?

[CallMeDave]

Quote:

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I've tried it two ways

1) with OS 9 already installed

2) after the first attempt failed, with a fresh install of 10.2.8 Server - matching drive names and admin credentials.

 

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Since this is the first time there has been any mention of OS 9, what does it have to do with anything?

 

If your Snapshot was created by a backup of the root level of your Source volume, then I'd suggest a Restore to an empty volume, so everything on the Snapshot can be put back the same way it was copied.

[pjreagan]

Actually OS9 should have nothing to do with the situation - it had been installed earlier as a test.

 

To make sure I just erased everything on the second computer's drive using Norton Wipe Disc. Then went through the "restore entire disc" process outlined above. The same result occurred: the second computer will not accept the admin credentials used on the first computer.

 

So Dave: should it be possible to restore an entire disc onto a different mac and have the OS credentials work? You've done this?

 

Has anyone else done this? Am I running into an OS X security feature that won't let a copy of the drive work on a different computer?

 

Thanks!

Patrick

[CallMeDave]

>should it be possible to restore an entire disc onto a different mac and have the OS credentials work?

 

Yes.

 

 

> You've done this?

 

Yes, many times.

 

 

Am I running into an OS X security feature that won't let a copy of the drive work on a different computer?

 

No. Mac OS X doesn't care about your hardware, as long as it's compatible.

 

A Retrospect Restore is only as good as the Backup that proceeded it. You don't tell us much about the history of the Backup Set, so it's hard for us to comment.

 

- If you boot from a different volume (the Retrospect Boot CD doesn't let you use the Finder, so you need a read/write boot volume) do you see the expected users in /Users/ ?

 

- If you boot from a Mac OS X install CD/DVD, can you use the Reset Password option?

 

 

Dave

[pjreagan]

Resetting the passwords worked!

 

For future readers: This involved booting from an OS X install disc then choosing the "Installer" menu item, the the "Reset Password" option. In my case it took resetting all the passwords (they're supposed to be the same anyway). Apparently one or more of mine got corrupted in the backup process.

 

Thanks Dave!