Restore from backup, how to recreate media set?

[stevejh]

After a power outage corrupted my Mac HD I've reached the followed recovery stage:

- Working Mac with reinstalled OSX, all apps and data not recovered yet
- Reinstalled Retrospect 11 from an app stored on a NAS
- Under 'Sources' I can see the external USB drive with my daily Retrospect backups, including the catalog file
- I'm stuck in Restore Assistant as under 'Select Backup' I can't see any media sets listed
- As I don't have any media set up in my fresh install of Retrospect, I'm worried about creating a media set and overwriting my backups or catalog file
- So I'm a bit lost working out how to get at the catalog file from 'Restore Assistant'. I've read the disaster recovery tutorial but at one point it says 'add the catalog file' but not clear what I do exactly.

This seems a dumb question but can anyone help?

[DavidHertzberg]

stevejh,

Your OP in this thread is a definitive example of how not to file a request for help. [1] You haven't explained whether the "working Mac" is your Retrospect "backup server" or a "client".   [2] You have not stated your version of either macOS (formerly known as OS X) or Retrospect, so we can't be sure which version of the Retrospect Mac User's Guide to refer you to.  [3] Whatever web browser you used to make the OP seems to be set at full-screen, so those of us who have smaller browser windows must horizontally scroll back and forth to read your OP—which may explain why nobody except me has bothered.  [4] You seem to be a PowerPoint/Keynote addict, so that your problem description is presented as if it were a set of bullet-pointed items (you're using dashes instead of bullet-points) on a slide instead of a coherent paragraph or two.

Nevertheless I'll assume that  it is your "backup server" that you are trying to restore, and you are using Retrospect Mac 14.  The closest UG procedure to what you have done using your NAS starts on page 149 of the Retrospect Mac 14 UG, under "Using FireWire Target Disk Mode".  Step 5 (optional) at the bottom of that page—which IMHO is basically the point that you have gotten to—says "If you copied your Catalog files from backups, you must get Retrospect to recognize them. From the Media Sets category, click Locate, navigate to the location of the Catalog file, and click OK to add the catalog to the list of available Media Sets."  Assuming you restored it from your NAS, the Catalog File for your Media Set is probably in Library->Application Support->Retrospect->Catalogs. Then follow the rest of the procedure steps 6 through 11 through the top of page 153, but ignore "eject the Target Disk Mode Mac’s disk" in step 11.

When you have successfully done this, IMHO you should follow the procedure "Creating a Mac OS Emergency Tools disk" on pages 146 through 148 of the UG.  The UG hasn't been updated for technology of the last 7 years, but I would assume you can use a USB flash drive as your Emergency Tools disk.  I suggest putting the flash drive in a small glass case on the wall, labeled "Break this glass in case a Retrospect 'client' machine fails".

Good luck!

 

Edited January 20, 2018 by DavidHertzberg
Deleted and re-pasted second through fourth prgs. as plain text with link to UG; clarifications

[stevejh]

DavidHertzberg,

Many thanks for your reply. The key to the answer I was looking for is in your reply - using the 'Locate' function to find the restored catalog file and thus recreate the media set in the client. I had completely forgotten this as it's been years since I've configured anything in Retrospect. I can now get at the remaining files I need to restore.

I will indeed create an Emergency Tools disk as a further disaster recovery solution.

Kind Regards,

stevejh

[DavidHertzberg]

stevejh,

You're welcome.  However I see now that item [2] in the first paragraph of my preceding post in this thread did you a substantial injustice.  The second "bulleted"  item in your OP says "Reinstalled Retrospect 11 from an app stored on a NAS", so you are not guilty of failing to state your version of Retrospect (I'll say nothing about stating your version of macOS).  Referring to the Retrospect Mac 11.5 User's Guide, my second paragraph in that post should have referred to pages 164-168, and my third paragraph in that post should have referred to pages 161-163.  It's a good thing that in those two paragraphs I also gave the titles of the applicable UG sub-sections.

Sorry for my error.

I strongly recommend that you download a .PDF of that UG onto your NAS, so that in case of future disaster you can refer to it even before you reestablish access to the Web on your "backup server".