The other day I reinstalled OS X. My computer had become extremely sluggish and I wanted to see if the performance would improve if I reformatted my hard disk and started over. Along the way I learned a few lessons about restoring using Arq. Here’s what I did:
Before Wiping Out My Data
Before I went through with it, I made sure I had all my data backed up. Arq had backed up the following:
- ~/Library (excluding Logs and Caches)
- ~/Documents
- ~/Music
- ~/Pictures/iPhoto Library (my photos)
- ~/src (my source code)
- /Applications
- /Library/Application Support
Reinstalling
I inserted the Snow Leopard installation disk, shut down the computer, and then started it holding down the Option key. I clicked on the DVD and the computer booted from it. I formatted the disk and installed OS X. I created a user with the same name as I was using before.
Next I downloaded and installed Arq. I launched Arq and entered the same S3 keys and encryption password I was using before.
Finally it was time to restore using Arq.
Initial Restore
Instead of waiting for absolutely everything to be restored from S3, I restored files in several steps.
Restoring ~/Library
The first step was to restore ~/Library from my “other computer” (the previous incarnation of my computer). I opened the triangle next to “Other Computers”, found my old computer, opened the triangle next to “Library” and selected the latest backup:
Then I clicked “Restore…” and Arq restored the Library folder to ~/Restored by Arq/Library (because a Library folder already existed).
When that restore was done, I closed all open applications, deleted the contents of ~/Library, and dragged everything from ~/Restored by Arq/Library to ~/Library.
Back in Business
At that point I could use Mail, iCal and Address Book. I selected a few applications in Applications backup folder and restored them as well.
I also wanted to sync my calendars with my iPhone, so I plugged it in and it sync’d. Later I’ll delete the iTunes files in ~/Music and replace them with the backed-up files.
Restoring Everything Else
Now that the computer felt “back to normal”, I restored my “src” folder (where all my work files are). Then I got back to work, restoring the really large folders (Documents, Music and Pictures) at my leisure over the next few days.
Conclusions
The multi-step restore approach was a big time-saver and got me up and running fairly quickly. The Library folder was relatively small (really small in fact, with the exception of Mail).
I learned that reformatting the hard drive helped a little with sluggishness, but the long-term fix is likely the purchase of an Optibay and an SSD.
I also learned that restoring this way is fairly complicated. So I’m thinking about how to make a product that would restore more seamlessly while also allowing people to get back to work before absolutely everything is restored. There’ll be more to come on that.
I don’t quite agree with your conclusion. If I’m reinstalling my computer or porting my files over to a new computer I would never think of using Arq… I’d just do it all locally with an external hard drive (much faster and cheaper… you’re not wasting Amazon bandwidth)
I use Arq as my all-in-one backup solution for the occasional mishap (files I need to restore) or for the hard drive failure that never seems to come. In other words I have completely replaced Time Machine with Arq… and the advantage of Arq is that I can use it anywhere and it backs up my files in another geographic location so now I’m also protected against any “rural apocalypse”.
I can, however, understand what you mean in regards to a seamless one-click restore of all files and settings. I just don’t know how easy that is to implement or if that’s even possible… simply because Operating Systems change, files structures, Applications, etc. Why backup all of that (including a lot of possible junk, outdated settings, etc.) and restore it to your newly installed or fresh from the factory mac?
I think there will always be some effort involved in completely restoring your computer… at least for some time. But then again, how often do you need to restore your computer?
I also find it Interesting that you’d backup your Applications and as well as most of your Library. When I think of backup I always think of non-reproducible files. It’s probably faster just downloading the Apps again and just restoring the preference files from the library. Plus, with the App Store coming to the mac, backing up Applications (except for app settings) is obsolete… or so I’d like to think.
Additionally if I have Arq set to backup every hour I don’t want it to spend a lot of time backing up useless Application files that probably get changed by the second when an application is running. Same thing with the Library; the way I have it setup is: Once a week a program backs up essential Library files such as application settings and preferences, etc. to another folder named “Library Backup”. This folder is then backed up to Arq.
This way Arq uses minimal system resources as well as bandwidth as only non-reproducible files are backed up constantly and application settings and preferences just once a week.
Anyhow, just my two cents… and food for thought
I do find Arq really simple to use and don’t think it could be much simpler… but surprise me :p
Comment by Tom — November 6, 2010 @ 12:40 am
I plan on using Arq as a supplement to my Time Machine backup. Should I need to restore data from a sluggish Mac or after a catastrophic drive failure I would likely use my Time Machine backup as I know it’ll be more current (I’m currently doing an Arq backup once daily) and faster than over my network connection. I love Arq as my catastrophic computer failure and the off chance that my Time Machine backup is lost, either via natural disaster or theft. This makes me sleep easier at night.
With that being said, I welcome any changes you make to the app and my co-worker and I think we’ll be recommending it as an on the go backup for some employees at our company.
Comment by David Cintron — December 11, 2010 @ 3:28 pm