Leopard backup boots, but apps crash? Try this.
 

On some systems, Leopard is using incorrect "prebinding" information after starting up from a copy, and this is causing some applications to crash. If you're one of the people affected, the attached will resolve the issue.

To use it, do the following:

1. Unzip the attached to a convenient location (not your Desktop - I recommend an "Applications" folder in your Home folder).
2. Set the "fix_prebinding.sh" script that gets unzipped a the "After copy" script in the Advanced tab of Options.

Let me know if that helps.

OK Dave,

Thanks

It work.

In waiting to find really what's wrong in this issue, thanks for the script.

This proves once again the seriousness of the team of SuperDuper! and the monitoring of its customers :)

Ps : I noted that little Snitch loses all rules when I apply this script.
I do not know if that is helpful in the matter before us, and if there is a causal connection

It works. Thanks Dave. I guess it is important that you find out what is causing this, but until you do, since the fix gives me a bootable clone, that is all that I need,

Dave,

Can you clarify which systems need this script? I'd rather not run it if I don't need it but on the other hand, I'd rather not discover after a HD failure that I can't run from an SD clone.

If the script is generally required, do you plan to incorporate it into a future upgrade of SD?

It doesn't hurt to use it: since we don't know what Macs seem to need it and what don't, and it doesn't hurt anything, we're going to add the same functionality into the next update.

greengrass, just restart from your clone to see if you need this script. I fail to understand why some one would not check out the clone, but wait it is needed to see if it actually works? Seems that would not be a good time to discover that you cannot use your backup copy. But that is just my opinion.

The problem is two fold. "some systems" and "some applications" are different criteria. My clones boot and seem to work well. So I consider SuperDuper a great success.

But, without knowing which applications are failing, I would need to test every application? My Applications folder shows 131 items with several folders containing multiple applications. I could actually test these programs from a booted clone, but I add new programs regularly, and would then have to test each new program to see if it will work from a clone?

I also have extensive rules set up with Little Snitch. Is there a problem with getting these rules to work on my backup?

My weekly scheduled backups are designed to be used on a regular basis as a working machine. I use an external 500 GB FW800 drive to boot from in the office, and clone what I need to my Laptop's internal 160 GB drive when I'm on the road. This seems to work perfectly as the programs and files I need on-site are there, and up to date. I'm just hoping the programs will actually work when needed.

The problem shows up the first time you boot the clone. The CPU usage goes to 100% and stays there. On my system, Hardware Growler and Super Get Info, which are set to run at setup, quit unexpectedly, and I cannot get Activity Monitor to run, it also quits unexpectedly after loading for over 5 minutes. These symptoms are a clue that the clone is unusable. I don't see that you need to test every application to see if they all run properly, it is obvious when you boot the clone if it is unusable, then, if you run prebinding and all is well, I would surmise that you have the answer to the question.

Sparse image question
 

Hi

I have my wife's MacBook Pro backed up using sparse images as I prefer the ability to save various backup images side by side instead of dedicating an entire backup disk to a clone.

My question is this: is there a way to apply the fix-script to the sparse images I have already made - I cannot test the sparse images without erasing the harddrive in the MacBook Pro, so I don't know if the problem applies to her machine or setup.

Is it simply a matter of running the script after the backup image has been restored, or is the only way to apply it through the "run after" option in Super Duper?

You can run the command inside the script from Terminal after you've created the backup, if you'd like. (The script is a text file, so you can see the command.)

Do you mean that I should run the script on the MacBook Pro after I have restored the backup from the image? I've just tried running the script from Terminal on my Mac Pro as a test - it says this in return:

"update_dyld_shared_cache failed: you must be root to run this tool"

I was logged in as Admin, but I know that that is different from Root - I'm not very much into terminal or commands, but I've heard a little of the "sodu" command, do I have to combine that to temporarily gain Root-access while running the script?

I just pasted the following into terminal:

#!/bin/sh
if [ -e "$4/System" ]; then
echo "Updating prebinding on $3..."
update_prebinding -root "$4" -force
fi

Thanks for the help (-:

You'll do:

sudo update_prebinding -root "/Volumes/the-drive-name" -force

It'll prompt for your password.

Hm the problem here is, I cannot run the terminal/bash because it is broken too...What to do now?

The above doesn't require you to run Terminal.

But...
 

How to start a shell script with sudo privileges without a shell?
(sorry i'm a unix'er)

BTW: My SD also doesn't work....so I cannot use the "after copy" option.

Should I make a new backup (in my running system) and include the script?

Yes, make a new backup and run the script at the end of the backup. Don't do this from the backup itself.

need some more instruction...
 

Greetings,

I downloaded your zip file and unzipped it.

In the past I thought of myself as a power user, but now since OS-X, there's a lot "under the hood" that's unclear to me.
For example, I have never used Terminal and am reluctant to do so unless I have really detailed instructions.

What do I do with this "fix_prebinding.sh" file? I can see that it is a text file.
Is it something that I paste into Terminal, if so, where and how? Or what do I do?

My MacBook is at the local Apple repair; where they determined that it needs a new motherboard, so I don't have the original hard drive in my hands.

Can I implement this fix when I have booted from the cloned drive? Or do I need to get the MacBook back and use this fix before creating a new clone?

As you can see, :confused: I am bordering on clueless. ;)

Thanks for the help.

Jeff Hands

You don't have to use Terminal: the instructions I provided in the first post explains what to do. But if your Mac is already at the shop, it's a little too late to implement this particular fix.

Are you running from the copy now?

not running from the clone right now
 

Thanks for the quick response.

Forgive me for being dense, but as I look at the instructions from the first post I can only understand the first point:

"To use it, do the following:

1. Unzip the attached to a convenient location (not your Desktop - I recommend an "Applications" folder in your Home folder).

:) OK, that I understand... but :confused:

2. Set the "fix_prebinding.sh" script that gets unzipped a the "After copy" script in the Advanced tab of Options.

:confused: Sorry this second step is utterly Greek to me.

How do I ... "set a script" ? Is Super Duper already open when I do this? Is the Advanced tab of Options in Super Duper?

When I get the MacBook back again on Friday I'll try this all over again, because I do want to have a usable clone always on hand.

Thanks again.

Try:

- Open SuperDuper!
- Click "Options"
- Click the "Advanced" tab
- Check the "After copy" option checkbox, and choose the "fix_prebinding.sh" file as the script to run.

Hopefully that'll help.

that's what I needed!
 

Thanks for the extra explanation!
That was just what I needed. I made a new clone, after getting my MacBook back and the clone works just fine. What a relief!

Jeff:D

do i have to run this script after every backup?
 

script worked like a charm after i ran it: all my apps on my clone now actually work.

but do i need to continue to run this script after every backup?

as a side note, my applications only started failing once i switched backup drives. it also prevented carbon copy cloner clone applications from running as well...

what exactly does the script do? does it fix pre-binding on the clone or the "home" system? i know utilities like onyx fix pre-binding...

Until our next update comes out, you do need to run the script after every copy (which is why you set it as the 'after copy' script -- it'll happen automatically.

It fixes prebinding on the copy, not on the home system.

hi david,

i'm curious as to why this is happening now when it did not occur about a month ago, and the only variable that has changed is my external drive?

also, would it be possible to fix the pre-binding on my home system, and have that "fixed pre-binding" transfer over onto the clone, thus eliminating need for the script?

i don't mind running the script after each clone; i'm mainly curious as to why this is occurring in the first place.

I don't know why it's suddenly started happening: it doesn't happen to me, and hasn't happened on any of my test systems. It's clearly some unusual change in Leopard, but I don't know what it might be -- I only know that re-prebinding on the destination resolves the issue.

No, fixing the prebinding on the source doesn't do it, unfortunately. It has to be done post-copy, on the destination.

oh, i remember what's changed on my end since last superduper-ing: 10.5.3.

anyone have this issue in 10.5.2?

Yes, nearly all of the thread -- above -- is pre-10.5.3.

Hi there...

Some things are a little cloudy to mee.

See my situation:

1.I've made a disk image backup into a external drive.
2.Booted with Mac OS 10.5.1 Leopard DVD and put Disk Utility to work.
3. Selected Open->Image and then selected the backup image on my external drive.
4. Mounted the backup image on external drive
5. Selected it as source and then erased my local Hard Drive
6. Told disk Utility to clone


After I booted up, nothing is running with exception of Opera, neither Firefox, Safare, Activity Monitor, Terminal, even superduper.

How can this script be applied to my case?

Thanks a lot!

I'm really desperate here, just cant work right now.

Please download (using Opera) Onyx and use it to rebuild your prebindings. That should fix the problem.

Hi dnanian,

Onyx is crashing too, simple can't open it.

I've tried to create a new account to run Onyx and it's was okay, I runned your script too as root and nothing...

I could simple use this new user as you can see now (just figure it out) but I have sooo many things on this account, so many preferences for tons os things, is there an easy way to import all that?

Thanks for your reply.

Instead, open Terminal and run:

Didn't work too...

Any other ideias?

Thx!

What part didn't work? The applications shouldn't really work in one account and not another... perhaps you could provide me with a crash log for one of them? Send it to the support email address and we'll work through this issue there -- it doesn't seem to have anything to do with prebinding, and sounds more likely to be something loading into your applications (like a hack) that isn't working.

Well.. nothing worked insted of creating a new account. I'll send crash reports on support mail then.

I don't think it is any kind of crack since I'm with problems with Disk Utility, Safari, Activity Monitor, Terminal, and so on...

Photoshop runs well...
The process crashed is always launchd too.

Well, I'll send you an email.

Thanks for your time and patience.

Not a crack, but rather a hack/haxie, input manager, or something similar.

This was a bit scary
 

I upgraded to Leopard the other day and never thought to check my new clones. I had another reason to boot from the clone yesterday and found I had the problem with apps crashing which was fixed by the script as advised.
However, I found the whole experience a bit unnerving. Yes, I realize I should have checked the new clones after upgrading but, on the other hand, had I been in an emergency situation, I don't think I would have found that argument completely persuasive. I consider this to have been a situation requiring an emergency "patch" of some kind and, in that sense, I think some kind of notice should have been broadcast to users. Is it not possible to use the Update facility in some way for that?

Not for something like this, no. It doesn't happen to all users, and it's relatively easy to 'fix' after the fact, so I didn't feel that rushing out a version that didn't address all the issues was appropriate... sorry that you found it scary!

By "after the fact", do you mean it would have been possible to apply to apply the script to a clone which was not working properly? If so, than I overestimated the problem and please disregard.

If not, and the user would have been left with a defective backup, then I stick with my original position. Even if it only impact a few users, the consequences for those users could have been catastrophic.

So, either I apologize or I don't. :) :(

The script does run after the backup, actually, and what it does can be done to the backup without the script (in many different ways): the files themselves are all there, and fine.

I didn't realize it was possible to run the "fix" script after the backup had already been made, so I guess I am forced to apologize. :eek: