Restore Data - Macintosh File System iDataAgent - Full System Restore

Topics | Full System Restore | Related Topics

Overview

The difference between a normal restore and a full system restore is the severity of the problem. Normally, if data is lost or removed, it is recovered from the archives using the normal restore procedures. However, when a normal restore operation cannot correct a software and/or hardware corruption problem, some additional changes may be required.

When the root file system is lost, a full system restore is required.

Perform a Full System Restore

Before You Begin

The full system restore operation for a Macintosh system includes the following general steps. Detailed instructions are provided in the following section.

Partition a drive and create a mini-root file system.
Re-install the Macintosh operating system.
Re-install the Macintosh File System iDataAgent.
Use the CommCell Console to restore the root file system.
Re-create the Volumes directory.
Make the newly restored root bootable.
Restart the system.
Use the CommCell Console to restore the remaining volumes.

To perform a full system restore:

Place the Macintosh installation CD into the drive.
To boot the system from the CD, press the power-on button while holding down the c key. When the Apple logo displays you can release the c key.
From the Installer menu, select Open Disk Utility...
To partition a drive from the Disk Utility, complete the following steps:

Select a disk.

From the Partition tab, click the Split button, then select the desired partition.

Under Volume Information, enter a Name for the partition (which we will refer to as "mini_root" in this procedure) and select Format as "Mac OS Extended". For Size [in GB], enter a number that is at least 2 GB greater than the minimum space requirements for the version of Mac OS X that you are trying to install (check the Mac OS X requirements). Press Return.

Select the remaining partition and enter the correct Volume Information for that partition. Repeat this task for each remaining disk/partition.

Click the Partition button. A confirmation message appears, click Partition to continue.

After the partition has been created, quit the Disk Utility.
From the Installation Utility, follow the prompts to continue the installation until you get to the Select Destination phase. Select the "mini_root" partition created in Step 4 above, then click Continue.
Click Install. The install program starts copying the software. This step may take a while to complete. After the OS software installation has completed, the system will restart automatically.
After the system has restarted, enter registration information, then assign the computer name and IP address using the same settings that were used in the original installation.

If you are prompted to update your system software, select Quit Software Update.
Open a Terminal window, then enter sudo passwd root
When prompted, provide a password for root.
Enter su - root to switch to the root user.

Install the Macintosh File System iDataAgent to the same CommServe using the same Client name that was used during the previous installation. See the Deployment - Macintosh File System iDataAgent for instructions.

We recommend that you adjust your Energy Saver settings before restoring the system so that the computer, display and hard disk will not be put to sleep during the restore.

From the CommCell Console, right-click on the backup set that contains the backup data of the root file system, click All Tasks, then click Restore. Type / as the path to restore from, then click OK.

Do not select Unconditional Overwrite from the Restore Options dialog box.
From the Restore Options dialog box, under Destination folder, click Browse then select the original root partition (which is currently mounted under the Volumes directory) in the Browse window and click OK.
Click the Advanced button on the Restore Options dialog box. From the Advanced Restore Options dialog box, under Filter Paths(exclude) click Add. Type in /Volumes then click OK. Click OK on the Advanced Restore Options dialog box.
When restoring encrypted data, refer to Data Encryption.
From the Restore Options dialog box, click OK to begin the restore. The restore job will begin and you can monitor the status of the job in the Job Controller window.
After the restore job has completed successfully, open a Terminal window on the client then navigate to the original root partition which is currently mounted under the Volumes directory.
Re-create the Volumes directory by entering mkdir Volumes
Make the newly restored root bootable by using the bless command. For example:

bless -folder "/Volumes/<original root partition>/System/Library/CoreServices" -setOF
Restart the system. The system boots to the newly restored root.
Restore your remaining Volumes.

This procedure is now complete.