
What's new with Backuplist+ 8.5.8
Backuplist+ 8.5 is an important update for all users with OS 10.8 and above. High Sierra introduces the new apfs file system which is a big change from the OS X! I am working on further modifying aspects of the cloning engine to work better with apfs as more infromation is released to developers. In the mean time, backupList+ should function as it always has and has some new features.
The following changes have been made:
- Updated for OS High Sierra 10.13
- Fixed several bugs in High Sierra
- Changed some cloning behaviors for the new apfs file system introduced in High Sierra.
- Fixed bug preventing remounting of encrypted sparse images.
- New feature: You can now set up multiple backup tasks to run with one click or on schedule.
- New feature: You can select multiple backup tasks in the task bar to run manually and in sequence.
- Latest custom build of rsync 3.1.1 optimized for OS X.
Important considerations for previous users of backupList+:
You need to understand the changes to version 8.5.8 that will affect how you use backupList+.
New in version 8.5.8:
Due to the new apfs file system there are some significant changes to consider.
When you first install OS 10.13 High Sierra, the new apfs file system will be installed along with a firmware update to your computer. This will only happen on machines or drives with solid state drives (ssd's.) Regular hard drives will work fine with OS 10.13 but continue to be formatted as HFS+. The new apfs file system is compatibale with copying to and from older HFS+ drive systems with some considerations. The main change here with backupList+ is when performing system clones to another drive or machine.
Cloning an apfs volume to an external HFS+ volume: This should work as always and will copy High Sierra onto the HFS+ drive and make it bootable. You can also select (in settings) to have it recreate the Recovery HD hidden partition on the destination volume. Since it will not be an apfs system on the destination, it will have none of the benefits of apfs and behave as a normal updated OS X disk.
Cloning an apfs volume to an external apfs volume: This should also work as expected and make a replica on the destination drive similar to the source drive. At present backupList+ will not make this external drive bootable but that will be fixed in the next update. Apfs file system has two hidden volumes, the Recovery volume (same as in previous OS) and the new Reboot volume which is needed for bootability. In the next release I will add the ability to recreate these hidden volumes and make it bootable.
Cloning an HFS+ volume to an apfs volume: This will work but there isn't much reason for doing so as you would be going back to the older system. However it may be desired to restore an HFS+ clone to the newer System if anything happens, drive failure etc. If your only backup is on an HFS+ volume, or your backup is a non bootable apfs volume I advise reinstalling onto the destination from the High Sierra installer and then at the prompt migrate all the data back from your backup volume.
Older changesI
- If you wish to make a system clone, copy files not owned by you, or schedule backups, you need to re-enter your administrator password in version 8.5. The security handling of root access for rsync has changed so backupList+ will not work properly without doing this. Your password is not seen by anyone or visible in the code but used by the System to enable the root access for a helper tool to run rsync and associated tasks as root.
- BackupList+ now uses a separate Scheduler app which resides in your menu bar as a background application. It is just a timer which checks in with the main application for changes to any scheduled backups and launches them at the appropriate time. To engage the new scheduler, if you are an existing backupList+ user, you need to check your scheduling options for existing backups sets. Un-checking and re-checking the "schedule backup" box will bring up dialog asking if you want to add the Scheduler app to your logins. See more about this in scheduling...
- backupList+ now uses the disk UUID (unique indentifier) to verify that the destination is the correct one. Issues can often arise when there are multiple disks with same name or badly ejected disks that leave "ghost" folders. You can turn this off in preferences and return to using just the disk name to verify. You should re-enter the destination for all backup tasks that were previously set to enable this feature.
- The backupList+ options have been changed to reflect which type of backup you are performing. Every effort is made on this upgrade to update your settings to reflect the new format. You should definitely check your options and settings on first launch to be sure they are what you intended from before. The new format is much more intuitive, especially for novice users, but all the old options are still there, including the expert options. See "settings" for more details...
New Features
There is now a separate column in the source list for backup sets (now called "tasks") which shows the last backup made for that particular task. This si also reflected in the top banner under "destination" on the lower right edge. Also the Scheduler app which is added to the main user menu bar when scheduling backups also has a new column showing the last backups made for each backup task or set.
The new main window
The new Scheduler window
The new Recovery HD option
The new archive option ( with pruning! )