minimum time to reinstall??

wicky

wicky

play thing
I've just started a new design job in a very busy studio, and have taken over a G4 Quicksilver machine with the standard OSx 10.1.4 installation. The company had experienced issues with Quark 4 and Retospect using OSx, so they all boot straight into 9........ this, of course, is rubbish!!

The problem is, the muppet who had the machine before me has deleted many of the OSx files, thinking he didn't need them (eg. no applications folder!!)

The machine has about 60gig of current projects on it and is constantly in use, and I haven't got a great deal of time to sort it out.

Does anybody know the quickest, best and most foolproof way of putting OSx back onto the machine, without wiping it? Ideally, I'd like to put OSx 10.2.8 onto it (because I own a copy), but i need to be able to back track and access OS9 in its current state.

Will simply installing Jaguar /Panther over the top work, or am I likely to run into problems?

Cheers
 
wicky said:
I've just started a new design job in a very busy studio, and have taken over a G4 Quicksilver machine with the standard OSx 10.1.4 installation. The company had experienced issues with Quark 4 and Retospect using OSx, so they all boot straight into 9........ this, of course, is rubbish!!

The problem is, the muppet who had the machine before me has deleted many of the OSx files, thinking he didn't need them (eg. no applications folder!!)

The machine has about 60gig of current projects on it and is constantly in use, and I haven't got a great deal of time to sort it out.

Does anybody know the quickest, best and most foolproof way of putting OSx back onto the machine, without wiping it? Ideally, I'd like to put OSx 10.2.8 onto it (because I own a copy), but i need to be able to back track and access OS9 in its current state.

Will simply installing Jaguar /Panther over the top work, or am I likely to run into problems?

Cheers
Click to expand...

If it's having problems because of the files the previous user has mistakenly erased, i would strongly suggest a full erase and install. Could you possibly burn the data to a dvd or send it to a firewire harddrive (the data you want to keep) and do a full erase and install of OS X.

Just my opinion.
 
Taking a copy of OS X from home and installing it on a work machine violates the license agreement, and, hence, is illegal. I would strongly suggest getting the company to fork over $130 and get a retail copy of Panther.

You can install OS X on a hard drive without actually erasing the hard drive. Just choose a clean install, but DO NOT select the option to erase the hard drive. If the installer insists on erasing the hard drive, cancel the installation and back the files up. Either way, I would STRONGLY suggest making a backup of the hard drive before installing anything. Keeping important files on only one hard drive without a backup somewhere is a big no-no and is begging for problems.
 
Under normal circumstances I wouldn't consider anything less than a full clean installation, especially on my own kit. However, (a) I need to have access to the system as it is at the moment. The project files are all set up in a way that I'm only just getting my head around; (b) the machine needs to be up and running again asap, as there is no time allocated to sorting it out.

Of course, the other issue is that I don't know anything about Retrospect, the back up program that they use. I'm not sure if it will work with OSx, especially if there's no time to work it out.

As it stands at the moment, I'm very reluctant to end up in the position of of saying i'm going to sort it all out, and then finding that I can't make it work with the rest of the office (mending it, but effectively breaking it in the wider context).

I'm really looking for a solution that includes a failsafe get back to how it was before option..... if that's possible?

Could I just stick another hard drive in it, and boot from that, until I'm satisfied that everything works? That way, I can always revert back to the previous state?
 
wicky said:
Under normal circumstances I wouldn't consider anything less than a full clean installation, especially on my own kit. However, (a) I need to have access to the system as it is at the moment. The project files are all set up in a way that I'm only just getting my head around; (b) the machine needs to be up and running again asap, as there is no time allocated to sorting it out.

Of course, the other issue is that I don't know anything about Retrospect, the back up program that they use. I'm not sure if it will work with OSx, especially if there's no time to work it out.

As it stands at the moment, I'm very reluctant to end up in the position of of saying i'm going to sort it all out, and then finding that I can't make it work with the rest of the office (mending it, but effectively breaking it in the wider context).

I'm really looking for a solution that includes a failsafe get back to how it was before option..... if that's possible?

Could I just stick another hard drive in it, and boot from that, until I'm satisfied that everything works? That way, I can always revert back to the previous state?
Click to expand...

Just an observation, it only takes about 10-15 minutes to do a full erase and install of OS X (on my machine), the most timely thing would be getting the files back on the computer. (If you have a firewire HD, that would be good).

Sorry if this is not helping though
 
Yes. Install a second hard drive and install OS X on that. Boot from the new OS X hard drive and see if it works. If it does, cool. If it doesn't, well, you're back where you started from...

...and buy OS X, don't pirate it.
 
ElDiabloConCaca said:
Taking a copy of OS X from home and installing it on a work machine violates the license agreement, and, hence, is illegal.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I know you mean well, and your advice is much appreciated, but perhaps this is quoting the obvious, isn't it? I have a purchased version with a multiple user agreement, I just didn't think it was necessary to write all the details.
 
MBHockey said:
Just an observation, it only takes about 10-15 minutes to do a full erase and install of OS X (on my machine), the most timely thing would be getting the files back on the computer. (If you have a firewire HD, that would be good).

Sorry if this is not helping though
Click to expand...

No, no, it's really helping... kinda thinking outloud, you know =)

I'm just a bit werided out by the whole thing. It's been ages since I've used OS9, and it all seems pretty alien to me now. I don't relish the idea of trying to sort it out, finding myself way past the point of no return, and then having to rebuild a working OS9 machine ... if you see what I mean. The truth is, I never really understood extensions, and I have no idea what installed software and settings on the machine are essential. I think I would find it pretty difficult to get the machine back to it's current state in a very limited timeframe.

I have to use it though, and I need OSx, so if there's an easy option, I'll go for that. I recon the second H/D option is probably the best bet, and the least headache. Does anybody have any idea if this is likely to work with an external firewire drive as the boot drive?

As for software, does anybody have any idea if Retrospect works with OSx, and if there are any known issues with Quark 4 running in classic?

Apologies for the long rambling post.... blah blah

cheers
 
Hi wicky

Retrospect works just fine in OS X (well almost), I have had a few early problems, but since switching to external Firewire drives instead of tapes everythings been OK. I'm using Retrospect v 5.0.238 in Panther. There is also a Panther bug with the autorun extension not working properly all the time but I just turn on Retrospect when I leave work.

eric
 
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