How to Backup my Powerbook to DVDs

June 12, 2006 1:33 AM

I have a Powerbook with a CD burner and I have access to an iMac with a Superdrive. I'd like to backup my disk (or at least my user folder) to DVD-Rs. One catch: I can't install any software on the iMac.

There's enough space on the iMac disk that I could fit my whole user folder there and just burn via the Finder. But that will force me to fineagle with messing around with splitting the contents of folders between discs, or having odd bunches of stuff stored on discs together.

Is there some simple solution I'm missing? All I really want is a snapshot of my hard disk as a just-in-case before I move across the country. That way, if my Powerbook gets dropped or otherwise made incapacitated, I have all my research (and music and photos) in a fairly safe, long-ish term, medium.

So: what's the best technique for backing up 45 gigs to some optical media?

posted by terceiro to computers & internet (4 comments total)

Connect the PowerBook to the iMac in FireWire Target Mode.

The PowerBook's hard drive will show up on the Desktop as a FireWire hard drive. Burn the DVDs from data on the FireWire (PowerBook) hard drive.
posted by Mr. Six at 1:37 AM on June 12, 2006

Mr. Six: good as done. I can get the info *to* the iMac, but what's the easiest way to burn 45 gigs easily to DVDs? What I hope someone will discover is a SuperDuper!-type solution that will automagically segment disks and doesn't require administrator permission to install. And a Red Rider BB-gun. And a pony. For free.
posted by terceiro at 1:53 AM on June 12, 2006

Intego Personal Backup or Retrospect Personal (now "Desktop Edition") will split data across multiple discs.

You'd need administrator permission to install most new applications, however, including (especially) these.

If you have another FireWire hard drive with two FireWire ports, you can daisy-chain drives and use Carbon Copy Cloner (free).
posted by Mr. Six at 1:58 AM on June 12, 2006

If that iMac has enough space on it to hold the information you're worried about, can you just copy the info there for safekeeping during your move, and have whoever owns the iMac delete it once you get where you're going? A bunch of DVDs won't be much (if any) more robust than your PowerBook itself, so your stuff will be safer if it's not jostled on a move.

If you DO run into trouble—e.g., PowerBook is damaged in transit—you can ask whoever works the iMac to burn your DVDs on their end.

Something like that is what I'd do, before I'd try using the Finder or third-party software to make backups.

(Note: I have backups on external hard drives, two of 'em, mirroring each other. I use Disk Utility's Restore command to make bootable volumes, and PsyncX to do incremental backups.)
posted by cgc373 at 8:35 PM on June 12, 2006