Kerry,
sorry for late answer.
If you have trouble with both Silverkeeper and Retrospect, the issue is probably something else. Use Disk Utility to Repair Permissions before you do anything else. (I regularly use OnyX
<
http://www.titanium.free.fr/us/onyx/index.html>
to automate routine maintenance).
As I think I said, Silverkeeper only copies to Finder-mountable volumes. And it only copies visible, non-locked files for which you have permissions enough, just like if you were dragging a copy in the Finder. If that works, Silverkeeper works, if not, not. You cannot use it to backup program or system files in OSX- for that I recommend Carbon Copy Cloner
<
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html> .
We've made it as simple as possible. On the server, we have a master project folder where all project data is stored. Those who want to also have private data folders within this one. Each person is responsible for keeping the project folders and their own data up-to-date on the server.
Each day, someone has the responsibility to plug in one of the external Firewire disks, start Silverkeeper and press the GO button. That's all. It's preset to copy the Master Project Folder and all its contents to the FW disk. And it keeps a log which makes it really fast except the first time. You can set it to just copy new or changed files.
I don't want it to have scheduled backups because the server is used for other things as well (Archicad for instance). A scheduled backup is too likely to get in the way, sometimes you're in a hurry and want to turn off the machine, for example. But you can do it with Silverkeeper.
You can set up several backup sets in Silverkeeper if you like. If you don't change it, it defaults to using the last used set.
File permissions can be an issue in MacOSX. Set wrong, some files won't copy. I use a utility called Batchmod to handle that, check out
<
http://macchampion.com/arbysoft/>
If you need it, drag a data folder into Batchmod's window. On the server's master project folder, I usually set Owner as Nobody, Group as Wheel, and check all boxes to allow R W X for both Owner, Group and Others, and I also check for subfolders and files to use these priviledges and to unlock. I do this once in a while on the whole master project folder, to keep problems away. Note that this utility can be dangerous if you happen to use it on programs or system files. Always use it on data folders only. Also note that you have to be an Admin user with a valid password to use it.
If you want to set up a fileserver on a machine without OSX Server, you're restricted to use a folder in your Shared directory as primary data storage. If you want more flexibility, you'll have to buy OSX Server or use a utility like Sharepoints <
http://www.hornware.com/sharepoints/> .
Sharepoints can be quite confusing for a Unix illiterate like me, but it lets you set up shared directories on an OSX Client machine that work just as well as OSX Server, even with Samba filesharing for Windows clients. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy OSXServer - it's much more easy to use especially for bigger networks and heavier demands than ours, and includes some impressive administrative tools as well. But Sharepoints, Batchmod, and Silverkeeper fill our needs at an unbeatable price.
That's all for now. You'll have to learn Silverkeeper yourself. It's not that hard, and the help files are OK.
And follow my tips on your own risk only!
Thomas
AC4.1-AC26SWE; MacOS13.5.1; MP5,1+MBP16,1
