How to clone and restore your system

This is a quick guide to cloning and restoring your system. I'd advise that you print this out and keep it in a safe place by your machine so that you won't waste time looking for it when your machine goes down.

Cloning your machine will create an exact copy of every single file on your computer onto a second hard drive. This can be either an internal or external disk. I'd advise external over internal because if something damages your machine, the external disk won't get damaged as well. The best time to create a clone is right after you have done a fresh Erase and Install of your operating system, have installed all of your apps and are ready to go.

Cloning
1. Download and install Carbon Copy Cloner.

2. If you are cloning to an external drive, connect it now.

3. Fire up Carbon Copy Cloner from your Applications folder. In the dialog that appears, select your system drive as the source and set your backup drive as the target.



4. Under options, make sure "Copy everything from source to target" is selected. You must check "Erase target volume" too, so as not to cause conflicts with data already on the disk. If you do not check this, the drive may not be bootable and this whole process would be pointless.



5. Click Clone and wait for it to finish. Be aware that this could take several hours.

6. Unmount your external disk (if applicable) and keep it in a safe, dry place, not too hot and not too cold. If you're paranoid like me, I'd advise connecting it to your machine every so often and verifying the disk in Disk Utility to make sure that it everything is ok.

Restoring
So the worst has happened. Your system is completely hosed and you have a deadline in 12 hours. What do you do?

Temporary Solution
1. Mount your backup disk, go to System Preferences and click on Startup Disk. If it is an external disk, it must be connected via FireWire in order to be bootable.



2. Select the backup drive in the drives list and click Restart.



3. The system will now restart in the backed-up "fresh" operating system.

This is a temporary solution to help you get your project finished without wasting time. You are advised to follow the permanent solution below.

If you have an external disk, make sure that it doesn't get disconnected either deliberately or accidentally. That's a good way to cause a kernel panic, which is never good. Don't put the machine to sleep. Shut the machine down completely before unplugging the drive. I once forgot the machine was asleep and unplugged it and my system completely froze. Not good.

Permanent Solution
1. Backup any data that you do not want to lose.
2. Boot to the backup hard disk as detailed in the Temporary Solution above.
3. In Carbon Copy Cloner, clone the backup disk over the startup disk. Follow the steps for cloning above but select your backup drive as the source and your startup disk as the target.
4. You must select "Erase the target drive".
5. Click Clone and wait for it to finish. Again, this could take several hours.
6. Go back to System Preferences > Startup Disk and set your startup disk back to the old drive and click Restart.

Xserve RAID replaced by third party solution

Today has been a day of good news and bad news. The good news is that Xsan 2 was released and it looks GREAT, and the bad news is that Apple has now discontinued the Xserve RAID. It's bad news but it's bad news with a decent solution.

There was no official statement from Apple but the old Xserve RAID page now points to the Promise VTrak E-Class RAID Subsystem. It's a shame as I love our Xserve RAIDs (we have three), even though they do put out a lot of heat and noise.

I can see why Apple did it, as the price and complexity did not help sales, and endorsing an established third party is cheaper and easier. The Xserve RAIDs were in need of a update, so it is refreshing to read the specs on this machine:

	Xserve RAID	Promise V-Track
Fibre Channel Port Speed	2 GB	4 GB
Fibre Ports per Controller	1	2
Max number of drives	14	16
Max drive size	750 GB	750 GB
Max storage	10.5 TB	12 TB (24 TB with expansion module)
Drive type	Ultra ATA	SATA / SAS
Controller cache	512 MB	2 GB
On-drive cache	8 MB	16 MB
Redundant controllers	No	Yes
Expansion	None	Expansion chassis adds 16 extra drives
Rack size	3U	3U

See more specs here.

Pricing Comparison

Low-End:


Mid-Range


High-End


Other Promise Configurations


This is without a doubt much better value for money than the Xserve RAID but the high initial cost will put a lot of people off, I would imagine. I think I am going to take advantage of cheap Xserve RAID units and get the maximum possible performance out of our existing units before shelling out for these.

I have spoken to a few people that own Promise RAIDs and they say they are very satisfied with them, so my mind is at rest on that front.

Apple releases Xsan 2

Apple today announced Xsan 2, a brand-new edition of its popular Storage Area Network (SAN) software.

SAN software allows you to manage storage devices on a network. It manages the reading and writing to the volumes through one machine (a server), otherwise data corruption can occur if two machines are reading and writing to the same area at once. It also allows you to control access to the data on these volumes. It is commonly used for managing video editing storage networks (we use Xsan 1.4 here at Digital Rebellion) so while it's probably not particularly exciting for most people, it is a big deal.

New features include a completely overhauled Xsan Admin (yay) which offers greater speed, greater stability and more monitoring features. There is now an Easy Setup wizard, a new filesystem offering up to 2 PB per volume (1 petabyte = 1024 terrabytes), and templates that optimize the system for a particular task (e.g. HD video, SD video, file sharing, etc).

There's also a new MultiSAN feature that allows you to connect to other SANs on the same server, such as a SAN for dailies and a different one for stock footage for example. It also comes with Spotlight support.

My number one favorite feature though would have to be the ability to direct files to a specific location. You can automatically set certain types of files to go to certain volumes such as dailies in one place, audio in another, project files in a third. This is very cool and is a great way to keep everything organized without having to impose rules on everyone.

I am very much liking the sound of this. My major complaint about Xsan 1.4 (and the same goes for Color and Shake) is that it didn't feel very Apple-like. It was complex to set up, it didn't "just work" and it was difficult to manage. Apple is famous for its ease of use but it was lacking in the previous version of Xsan.

I would be upgrading in the near future were it not for the following caveat: it is Leopard-only. The system requirements for the server are much higher too - 2 GB RAM minimum, plus 2 GB per volume (up from 512 MB per volume). I would not advise the use of Leopard in a critical environment yet. Some people edit on Leopard and have no problems at all but I am waiting until at least 10.5.4 before I consider upgrading.

Despite this, this is a great upgrade. Xsan 2 is available now for $999 per machine.

To see the difference an Xsan 2 network will make to a video editing network, see the graphs at the bottom of this page.

Toshiba to drop HD DVD

BBC News is reporting that shares of Toshiba have risen over speculation that it will scrap the HD DVD format. Toshiba was one of the pioneers of the format and has stood by it even after it was eclipsed by Blu-ray.

The article states that Toshiba is "reviewing its business strategies" but no decision has been made about HD DVD's future yet. This reflects a change in Toshiba's attitudes as it used to answer a firm "yes, the format will continue" when asked.

I hope Toshiba kills it sooner rather than later, as not only are they hurting themselves and the industry, but they are prolonging the inevitable. I think the major complaint about Blu-ray - price - will become a non-factor in the future as the industry can now focus its resources on one format to bring down prices, instead of splitting them between two. Also, technological improvements over time and increased demand will lower production costs and bring down prices as well.

Some people are wondering if it will all be in vain, as the download industry is just starting to take off. That remains to be seen but I don't think they are ready to directly compete with discs yet though.

Update 2/19/08: It's official. Toshiba has now suspended production of HD DVD players and recorders but will continue to clear out its inventory until March. This is a lot earlier than I had originally expected, so well done Toshiba for not drawing it out.

FCS Remover 1.0.2 released

We've just released FCS Remover 1.0.2. FCS Remover is a free utility for uninstalling Apple's Final Cut Studio suite.

This update offers the following features and fixes:
* Compressor and Qmaster support
* Now removes Final Cut Studio codecs
* Now removes some extra files that were missed out in previous versions
* New automatic update facility

This is just a minor update to fix a couple of things. I've been receiving a lot of feedback and the next version will not only be faster, but it will allow you to select which Final Cut Studio products you wish to remove. I am planning to rewrite the application for the next release so please be patient. Your comments and suggestions have been noted though and the update facility will notify you when additional versions are available.

You can file bug reports and feature suggestions here:
Bug reporter
Feature request

As always, your feedback is highly appreciated.

I also wanted to let you know that we now have an appcast feed up and running. You can import this into an RSS reader such as NewsFire and be instantly notified of new application updates, complete with a link to install them immediately.

Using Pacifist to downgrade QuickTime

Since I often need to use this information for reference, I am posting a guide here. As you may already be aware, certain versions of QuickTime can cause havoc with Final Cut Pro and other professional applications like After Effects. For example, many users of FCP 4.5 HD have been unable to capture long clips after installing QuickTime 7.3 and up.

Apple does not offer a means of uninstalling a rogue version of QuickTime so the solution is rather "hacky". It will solve the problem but for best results, you are recommended to perform a full Erase and Install to reinstall Mac OS X.

Also, don't perform this process unless it is absolutely necessary.

1. Download Pacifist.

2. Check which version of QuickTime works best with your software.

3. Download the version of QuickTime you wish to downgrade to.

4. Start up Pacifist and drag the QuickTime package onto the Pacifist logo in the main window.



5. A new window will pop up. Use the disclosure triangles to select the following two directories:
System/Library/Components
System/Library/QuickTime



It might be worth backing up the existing /System/Library/Components and /System/Library/QuickTime directories on your hard disk before performing this.

6. Now click Install up the top.

7. You will get this message, click Install and then type in your admin password:



8. It will spend a minute or so extracting and verifying files then this message will appear:



Click "Don't ask again for this installation" and then hit Replace.

9. When it finishes, restart your machine. If you go to QuickTime Player, it will still say the version number of the old version but if you open Final Cut Pro, it will now work as it did previously.

Full credit for this tip goes to Fred Turner.

Edit 2/17/08: Fixed a couple of errors.

Update 11/16/08: Erik Smith sent me another solution to the issue, although I would definitely say try it at your own risk.

List of QuickTime downloads

Are you looking for a non-current version of QuickTime to ensure compatibility with old software? Look no further.

QuickTime 7:
QuickTime 7.6 for Leopard
QuickTime 7.6 for Tiger
QuickTime 7.5.5 (Leopard)
QuickTime 7.5.5 (Tiger)
QuickTime 7.5 (Leopard)
QuickTime 7.5 (Tiger)
QuickTime 7.5 (Panther)
QuickTime 7.4.5 (Leopard)
QuickTime 7.4.5 (Tiger)
QuickTime 7.4.5 (Panther)
QuickTime 7.4.1 (Leopard)
QuickTime 7.4.1 (Tiger)
QuickTime 7.4.1 (Panther)
QuickTime 7.4 (Leopard)
QuickTime 7.4 (Tiger)
QuickTime 7.4 (Panther)
QuickTime 7.3.1 (Leopard)
QuickTime 7.3.1 (Tiger)
QuickTime 7.3.1 (Panther)
QuickTime 7.2
QuickTime 7.1.6

QuickTime 6:
QuickTime 6.5.3
QuickTime 6.5.2
QuickTime 6.5.2 reinstaller for QuickTime 7.0.1
QuickTime 6.4 reinstaller
QuickTime 6.3.1
QuickTime 6.3 reinstaller
QuickTime 6.0.3

QuickTime 5:
QuickTime 5.0.5

QuickTime 4:
QuickTime 4.1.2
QuickTime 4.0.3

Unfortunately Apple's site does not offer versions below 4, but I doubt many video editors out there are using a machine old enough to require QuickTime 3.

64 GB Panasonic P2 cards coming soon

Panasonic has announced 64 GB P2 cards to begin shipping in Fall 2008 (price unannounced). This doubles the storage space of the current 32 GB offerings. What I love about the HVX200 is that it is the camera that keeps on giving. When it first came out, 8 GB P2 cards would set you back around $1200. Today a 32 GB P2 card with 4 times the capacity will cost you around $1500. Unlike tape-based formats, the P2 format becomes more cost-effective as time goes on, increasing the cost-effectiveness of the HVX200 and P2 workflow.



As you can see above, the 64 GB card offers just over 1 hour of high-def footage which means that it now has the edge over tape-based formats (at least in terms of storage space) and this lead can only increase with time.

However, remember that you are storing your precious footage on there so even if you CAN store your entire short film on there, I'd advise regular backups to a hard drive in the field.

[via Studio Daily]

How to restore the DVD Studio Pro welcome screen

I saw this thread on Apple's discussion forum in which a user was asking how to get back DVD Studio Pro's welcome screen once you deselect "Show at startup". Unlike Motion, DVD Studio Pro has no option in its menu to restore it once again.

Here's how to do it:
1. Make sure DVD Studio Pro is closed.

2. Navigate to ~/Library/Preferences (~ refers to your user directory).

3. Double-click on com.dvdstudiopro.plist to open it in Property List Editor.

4. Click the arrow next to "Root" to expand the options and then click New Sibling at the top.

5. Type showFirstLaunchDialog exactly as shown here.

6. Set Class to Number.

7. Set Value to 2.



8. Click File > Save.

9. Fire up DVD Studio Pro and enjoy your restored welcome screen.

Hope this helps other people who were having this issue.

The proper way to install a Mac OS X update

As always, I advise you not to update a working system, especially not in the middle of a project. And I am hoping that those without a working system are at least waiting a few days to see if any major issues crop up.

With that out of the way, here is the proper way to update your Mac OS X system.

1. Clone your system drive using something like Carbon Copy Cloner. This may take a while but it is worth it.

2. If you have a laptop, make sure it is plugged into the mains. You don't want it switching off mid-update.

3. Make sure you are logged in as an administrator.

4. Don't use Software Update. Always download the Combo Update manually, which is less likely to cause problems because it includes all previous updates.

5. Close all applications, including ones running in the background, minimized in your dock and residing in your menu bar. You don't want anything conflicting with an OS update.

6. Go to Disk Utility and repair permissions on your startup disk.

7. Install the update. Don't fire up any applications after it finishes, just restart immediately.

8. Your computer may reboot more than once; this is perfectly fine.

9. When it loads back up, go to Disk Utility and repair permissions again.

10. Install updates for your third party software to ensure compatibility with the new OS version (if applicable).

11. Repair permissions.

12. Test your applications thoroughly (including capturing, rendering, etc).

13. If it all went wrong, restore from the clone you made in step 1.