MacBlog

dump filesystem backup in Tiger still broken

Dump in Tiger version 10.4.0 is still broken. It has been broken since 10.0.0. It cannot read any filessystem created with Tiger - UFS or HFS+; because dump looks for at "magic number" that Tiger does not include in its partition table.

Somebody really needs to fix it, or write hfsdump and hfsrestore. Its beyond me.

here are the errors I get:

% dump -0 -f dumphfs /Volumes/hfs
DUMP: Date of this level 0 dump: Sat May 7 12:01:21 2005
DUMP: Date of last level 0 dump: the epoch
DUMP: Dumping /Volumes/hfs to dumphfs
DUMP: bad sblock magic number
DUMP: The ENTIRE dump is aborted.

don't even think about it, that does not work either:

% df -k
...
/dev/disk1s2 39065960 36268408 2797552 93% /Users/bob
/dev/disk2s2 2520 88 2432 3% /Volumes/hfs

% dump -0 -f dumphfs /dev/disk2s2
DUMP: Date of this level 0 dump: Sat May 7 12:09:49 2005
DUMP: Date of last level 0 dump: the epoch
DUMP: Dumping /dev/disk2s2 to dumphfs
DUMP: Cannot open /dev/disk2s2

]]> For the details, read the following from way back in 2001 (http://www.omnigroup.com/mailman/archive/macosx-admin/2001-June/012204.html):

With considerable technical input from Dr. Marcel Bresink, I think we
now have a better handle on what is going on with dump/restore. Assuming
that the dump utility packaged with OSX 10.0.3, is compiled from the
corresponding Darwin 1.3 dump source, that source code contains the
following:

#define FS_MAGIC 0x011954 /* the fast filesystem magic number */
........
if (sblock->fs_magic != FS_MAGIC)
quit("bad sblock magic number\n");
...........

The magic number is that for the Berkeley FFS file system, and is not
for the HFS+ system. Thus the "bad sblock magic number" error when when
tries to use dump on HFS+ files. But one might think that dump could be
used for OS X UFS files, given that the UFS file system was supposedly
derived from the FFS system. Well, apparently that depends on when you
formatted your UFS file system. If you formatted with Mac OS X Server
1.x or a "DP" version of OS X, dump will work. (These used a BSD-Unix
partition table.) Mac OS X PB, 10.x, and OS X Server 10.x use a
"Macintosh" partition table, so the magic number is not where the dump
code can find it.

Since "restore" isn't shipped with OS X 10.x (even though it is part of
Darwin), all of this info on dump may be of little consequence. However,
IMHO this does point up some serious issues with Mac OS X:
1. Even though dump/restore may be a bit archaic, many Unix users
(myself included) would use dump/restore unless there is something
better in the offing.
2. Apple should not have allow a broken dump to appear in /sbin/dump, or
at least should have put a bug note on the man page.
3. While dump is certainly not restricted to FFS file systems (there is
Linux dump), I don't know what the implications of the retention of the
resource fork in HFS+ mean with respect to a dump for HFS+. BUT, if
Apple wants to see rapid adoption of OS X, they should have made sure
some sort of backup utility was shipped.
4. The fact that there are now two UFS systems is terrible. It opens the
whole question of just what Apple means when they say Darwin is the
underpinning of OS X. We need a consistent Unix base for OS X, and if
that is different from Darwin, Apple should say so.

--dick peskin

Richard L. Peskin, RLP Consulting, Londonderry, VT
http://www.rlpcon.com
http://www.caip.rutgers.edu/~peskin

Convert iCal to vCal format

Change the extension from .ics to .vcs and your're done. You can now open it with Palm Desktop. You do lose a lot of the meta info though.

Carbon Emacs

Supposedly , Emacs 21.4 will have OS-X support. Until then, see these pages:

Mindlube
Franconi
MacEmacs JP
Porkrind

I use the Mindlube distribution.

Filevault and moving the iTunes music library

Filevault encrypts one's entire user directory - at least as of OS version 10.3.7. It makes little sense to encrypt the entire music library, not to mention it probably slows down your machine. If you want to move your music library outside of your user directory, say to /Users/wilk2/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music, you need to tell iTunes under Preferences->Advanced and then choose Advanced->Consolidate LIbrary. This will copy (not move) all the music to the new location. If you skip either of the two steps and move the library by hand, iTunes will not be able to find your music. If you do not have enough room on your harddrive for two copies of your entire music library, I suggest you use an external harddrive. Not a bad idea anyway, to make a copy of your user directory incase of a malfunction during the initial Filevault encryption.

Avantgo 5.7

Did anybody notice that there is finally a new version of the Avantgo palm client? It is version 5.7 b35 and it supports the T3's full screen. I use it with the MAL conduit and it works beautifully on the Mac. It fully rocks. I am intrigued by Plucker, but AFAIK there is no conduit that approaches the functionality of the Avantgo conduit. There are ads, but I find them reasonable considering the cost of this software (free).

Install Local Perl Modules

Its a good idea to install perl modules locally so they are not overwritten by operating system updates. Its also keeps you from messing up the default installation. If you have problems with perl you can nuke the local install modules to see if it fixes the problem. To perform a local install, the following might be helpful:

'perl Makefile.PL INSTALLDIRS=site INSTALLSITELIB=~/lib/perl PREFIX=~/lib/perl'

sometimes just 'perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=~/lib/perl' is enough

then make; make install

Retrospect

I backup with Retrospect. I find it a frustrating experience, but as of now, no other piece of software will do what I need it to do, except for Retrospect. Currently I run 6.0 at work and 5.1 at home. I run 5.1 at home because I have not gotten around to upgrading it, and it seems to be running OK. My most recent frustrating experience occured when I tried to backup to CD-Rs with my g5's superdrive. Since it can use DVD-Rs, I assumed incorrectly that it can also backup to CD-Rs. Retrospect will only reliable backup to DVD-Rs with this drive. The new g5s that have come out have LG made superdrives instead of the Pioneer superdrive. The LG drives are not yet supported by Retrospect.

Retrospect allows for custom filters including filtering based on "color-label". This is not yet supported by BRU, but its in the works. Maybe if BRU gets its act together and makes a nice Mac interface that supports color-labels, I will give it a go. It is so nice to exlude all blue items and include all red items regardless of their location.

Word Alternatives

There are many alternative word processors for the mac. Here are some in no order at all: Mellel ($39), Ragtime and its freeware version Ragtime Solo, OpenOffice (free, X11), NeoOffice/J (free, but still non-aqua), KWord (free, KDE), AbiWord (free), Lyx on OSX and LaTeX for the masochists, Word Perfect (OS 9), Nisus Writer (Okita Composer), WriteNow (OS9), FullWrite (OS9), Mariner Write, Ulysses, ThinkFree which aint ($49), Appleworks, and Adobe Framemaker.

There is even a freeware EndNote replacement called Papyrus. There is another word processor by the same name that might be released, Papyrus, especially good if you need that all important OS/2 compatibility.

I think the best alternatives are Mariner Write and Ragtime.

Bags for the 12-inch laptop

After a ridculously detailed search for a bag to carry my 12-inch powerbook around in, I wound up buying the AcmeMade with fabric based on the designs of Eames because that is too cool, and the TiBag because its so inexpensive. The bags that I considered were from the following folks: TiBags, Santa Cruz Digital, AcmeMade, WaterField, Tom Bihn, Willow Design, Timbuk 2, Spire, and Booq. I found a lot of these bags to be rather overpriced for what you get, which is why the $40 TiBags is such a great deal. The Eames Dots bag always gets comments at the coffee shops.

Palm Desktop: copy event

Palm Desktop (v5.2.1) does not allow you copy and paste an event, but you can drag it to the system desktop (creating a vCard) and drag it back, and then drag it somewhere else in Palm Desktop.

Why is there no date on the menubar?!!

Why Apple does not include the option of displaying the date on the menubar of OSX is beyond me. Perhaps is its to encourage other people to write little proggies to do this. These are all good options: Himekuri, MenuCalendarClock, TimeStat, wClock. I wound up using Himekuri. JetClock does not add the date in the menubar, but it seems to be kinda neat anyway for jet-setters. Its also possible to hack OSX.