Lost scripts, other user data after OS & Retrospect version upgrades

[QonoS]

Greetings:

 

I just upgraded my OS X install from 10.3.9 to 10.4.11. (You can laugh now.)

 

Because of crash-on-launch with 6.0 under 10.4 (which I experienced) and other issues documented by EMC, I also had to upgrade my Retrospect install from 6.0.195 to 6.1.230.

 

When I successfully launched Retro 6.1, some of my previous user data was unavailable: my backup scripts and my subvolume definitions were the most obviously missing pieces.

 

My previous log is intact and available from within Retrospect.

 

I'm not sure what other user data might be missing.

 

The data could have become unavailable either during the 10.3 -> 10.4 upgrade process (I did an Archive and Install) or during the Retro 6.0 -> 6.1 process. I don't know which.

 

I have both normal backups and Duplicates of my previous 10.3 system, including the Retrospect data, on two external drives.

 

1) Is the data I describe compatible with Retro 6.1, or do I need to recreate it from scratch?

 

2) If it is compatible, where do I locate it so that I can restore it, and where should it be put in the new install? (I've looked in what would seem to be the obvious places: /Library and ~/Library, including Application Support, but haven't found anything useful so far.

 

Thanks, Q.

[twickland]

When I successfully launched Retro 6.1, some of my previous user data was unavailable: my backup scripts and my subvolume definitions were the most obviously missing pieces.

This would seem to indicate that the file Retro.Config (6.0) was deleted or ended up in the wrong place. The proper location is /Library/Preferences/Retrospect.

 

When you installed Retrospect 6.1, did you ask to import your previous configuration information, or did you select "Use Default?" If the latter, your old configuration items would have been deleted.

 

If you can't find your previous Retro.Config file (try searching in Finder), you will either need to restore it from a backup or reconstruct everything by hand.

 

The Retro.Config file from 6.0 is compatible with 6.1. However, your backup sets from 6.0 are read-only under 6.1, due to changes in the catalog structure, so you will need to create new backup sets.

[QonoS]

 

 

 

When I successfully launched Retro 6.1' date=' some of my previous user data was unavailable: my backup scripts and my subvolume definitions were the most obviously missing pieces.[/quote']

This would seem to indicate that the file Retro.Config (6.0) was deleted or ended up in the wrong place. The proper location is /Library/Preferences/Retrospect.

 

Thanks, twickland. I've checked the that location in two places: My current boot drive, and my clone of my old 10.3 system with my old install of Retro 6.0.195.

 

On the boot drive are three files:

• Retro.Config (6.0) - last modified when I quit Retrospect (a few minutes ago).
  
• Retro.Express Config (6.0) - last modified the last time I performed a backup (ran a script) under 10.3 / Retro 6.0. I haven't done any backups since then.
  
• Retro.Express Config (5.0) not modified since 2005, presumably my last activity with Retro 5.0.

 

 

On the 10.3 clone the Retro.Config (6.0) file is not present. The other two files are. Retro.Express Config (6.0) was last modified last night, presumably when I launched Retrospect after booting from the clone to retrieve my license code (I performed no other action in Retrospect at that time).

 

 

I'm wondering if the Retro.Express Config (6.0) file is actually the one with the data. It's 164K and the Retro.Config (6.0) file is only 64K, and the file mod date on my boot drive (not the clone) corresponds to my last backup. I haven't done any backups with 6.1 yet.

When I booted from the clone last night and launched Retro 6.0 to retrieve my license code, it immediately tried to run a backup script -- so I **know** that the config info is present in that install.

 

I could also check what the files look like on my second clone, which should be substantially identical to the first one.

 

When you installed Retrospect 6.1, did you ask to import your previous configuration information, or did you select "Use Default?" If the latter, your old configuration items would have been deleted.

 

That wasn't an option with the installer. Custom Install had a few options for installing various items (documentation, for example), but no option to import config information or settings -- at least, none that I was able to see. (FWIW I was installing the free 6.0 -> 6.1 upgrade, downloaded from EMC, the download is Retro-EN-6_1_230.dmg.)

 

The Retro.Config file from 6.0 is compatible with 6.1. However, your backup sets from 6.0 are read-only under 6.1, due to changes in the catalog structure, so you will need to create new backup sets.

 

That's also weird. According to EMC Retrospect 6.1 for Macintosh Read Me:

 

Retrospect 6.0 backup sets: Retrospect 6.1 supports backup sets created with Retrospect 6.0. However, once you write to a 6.0 backup set with Retrospect 6.1, you may get errors if you try to use Retrospect 6.0 to restore from this backup set. New backup sets created with Retrospect 6.1 cannot be used with Retrospect 6.0.

 

I haven't tried it, but it looks like EMC is telling me that I can write to a 6.0-created backup set with 6.1, but I can't use a 6.1-created backup set with 6.0 or restore from a 6.0-created backup set under 6.0 once 6.1 has written to it. I've seen others post the same thing about 6.0 and 6.1 backup sets (i.e. that you can't write to a 6.0 set with 6.1) but the Read Me seems to say something different.

 

Next steps? Not sure.

[QonoS]

OK, here's what I did. Based on the info in your reply and my own speculations, I:

 

• Backed up my Retrospect prefs folder from /Library/Preferences/Retrospect to my desktop.
  
• Renamed Retro.Config (6.0) to some other name.
  
• Renamed Retro.Express Config (6.0) to Retro.Config (6.0)
  
• Launched Retrospect 6.1.

 

The application launched and prompted me again for my license code. After I submitted the code, the application finished launching and immediately began counting down to run the first pending backup script. I halted (skipped) that and all other scripts that were pending and went through the program: All information that I could think of was there -- scripts, subvolume definitions, backup sets, and so on.

 

I didn't try to perform any backup or restore operations, for two reasons:

 

1) I'm not sure if the procedure I followed was fully "kosher". It sure looks like it worked, but it also seems like it's a bit of a kludge and could break things that I don't know about.

 

2) I'm still trying to resolve the issue of writing to a 6.0-created backup set (file) with 6.1. The ReadMe I linked to in my previous post says you can do it (although you're committing to using 6.1 going forward) but you and other posters here have said you can't. I'd like to get that resolved before going forward (and without corrupting my backup sets! :laugh: )

 

Thanks for any more light you can shed on the issue.

[QonoS]

Another thought.

 

It appears from the documentation page that there is a Retrospect Express 6.1 for Mac. If so I simply installed the wrong edition of the program, and finding and downloading Express 6.1 should solve the config issue (after renaming or restoring the relevant config files).

 

Still doesn't resolve the issue of whether 6.1 can use 6.0 backup sets. I'd really like to know more about this one, and get a firm answer, before I start takikng potentially-destructive action (like trying to use 6.1 with a 6.0 set, even though the Readme apparently says you can).