Disk Images as Non-Compliant CD-RW Workaround?

[mattrk]

I've been a Retrospect user for about 10 years now, starting with a Python 2gig tape backup on a SCSI Quadra 700. I have a machine that was dedicated to backups, but the process ate up a lot of time, and the tape drive is nearing the end of its life.

 

 

 

I recently bought a CD-RW drive - a BusLink with a TEAC CD-W516EB mechanism - before realizing that this was not an approved drive for Retrospect backups to CDs.

 

 

 

Someone on the Macintouch forum recently posted that he uses Apple's Disk Copy to make disk images the same size as the CD-Rs he records to, and that Retrospect recognizes them as removable media; he sends his backup to each disk image, then burns to CD with Toast.

 

 

 

I've tried this for a week and I can't get my copy of Retrospect 4.3 to see the disk images. I thought it might be my external FireWire drive, but the images don't show up when placed on my internal drives, either. I don't want to make one large Mac file for backups, preferring to burn copies of the files to the CDs, then using Retrospect's catalog to tell me which disk holds any files I need.

 

 

 

I'm using a PowerMac DP/450, OS9 (due to Quark, darnit), an external FireWire 30gig Indigita mechanism, and the abovementioned CD-RW drive.

 

 

 

My question (finally): does the disk image method work in OS9 and Retrospect 4.3, or is it only OSX and/or Retrospect 5? The poster to Macintouch didn't say, and hasn't answered about what he used to achieve this. Thanks in advance for your help.

[AmyJ]

The Operating System is responsible for determining whether or not a drive is removable storage and reporting that information back to Retrospect. This issue is not Retrospect application specific and an upgrade will not change this. All removable media is accessed directly through the OS.

 

 

 

Another forum poster indicated that the Macintouch user is using OS X. That would indicate that disk images are created differently under OS 9 then OS X.