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# Full-System, Bootable Backup (Using Synk Standard or Synk Professional)

This backup strategy provides for the capability to immediately boot from your backup drive in the case of failure for a minimum of downtime, at the cost of a more complex configuration and higher resource requirements.

## Backing Up

To create a bootable backup, you need to be able to dedicate a full volume to the backup--you cannot backup to a folder within a volume. Additionally, this volume must be physically attached to your computer (such as an external FireWire hard drive), not accessed across the network.

Setting up your backup disk:

Your disk must be properly configured to be able to hold a bootable backup.

First, your backup disk must be partitioned correctly for the type of processor in your machine. The bottom of this Apple Knowledge Base article instructs you how to discover which partition scheme your backup disk has. If your disk is incorrectly partitioned, follow the instructions earlier on that page (or in Disk Utility Help) to repartition the disk.

Then, select the backup volume in the Finder and choose "File > Get Info" from the menu bar. Ensure that the checkbox next to "Ignore ownership on this volume" is unchecked.

Configuring Synk:

In Synk, "choose File > New Script" from the menu bar to create a new script. If desired, click on the script's name in the left pane to rename it to something more suitable, like "My Bootable Backup."

Open a Finder window and choose "Go > Computer" from the menu bar. Drag the disk that represents your computer to the "Source" area in the script's "Folders" tab.

Drag the backup volume to the destination area in Synk's interface. (In Synk Professional, drop the backup volume on top of the placeholder destination in the list to replace it.)

The script will need to be run as root for proper operation. In Synk Standard, select "Run this script as root" in the Options tab. In Synk Professional, select "root" from the "Run script as user" popup in the Options tab. In both cases, you may need to adjust the security settings in the preferences if this is the first time anybody has been authorized to run as root--Synk will inform you if this is the case.

If you wish to have an archive of deleted and obsolete files, create a directory in the destination drive for this purpose, and drop it in the archive slot in the Archive tab.

The first run may take quite a while, as it must copy every file, but subsequent runs will only copy modified files. You should also enable ZeroScan in the Settings tab to make the updates to your backup lightning fast!

As with all backups, you should regularly verify the bootability of your backup so as to avoid an unpleasant surprise later. You can boot from the backup volume by holding down the option key while turning on your computer, and selecting your backup volume from the menu.

## Restoring

If you have accidentally deleted or damaged a file, you can find the most recently backed up file in your "backup" folder. If you configured an archive folder, earlier versions of files will have been archived in the folder you chose.

If your system fails, you can boot from the backup volume by holding down the option key while turning on your computer, and selecting your backup volume from the menu. While you can operate off of your backup copy indefinitely, it is a good idea to restore functionality to your main system promptly and resume normal backups. While working from your backup copy, you don't have the safety net of an extra backup copy available.

To restore a damaged system, simply restart from your Mac OS X install CD and initialize and re-install your system and applications. Instruct the installer to migrate your information from your backup drive. After installation, make sure to choose "Software Update..." from the Apple menu to bring your system software back up to date.

It is also possible to clone the backup copy back to the original system using Apple's Disk Utility. This is faster than reinstalling, but in our experience, a fresh system is a happy system--see the help page about backing up home folders only for more information.