[Helpdesk] Can't Unmount/Erase External Drive?

[Andrew Main]

Vint,

Have you tried restarting? If simple restarting doesn't help, you  
might try running AppleJack (see recent discussion) to clear caches  
and generally reset the system. I don't know if this would work,  
haven't tried it myself, but it might be worth starting in Safe Mode  
by holding down the Shift key while starting up, which, similar to  
the classic Mac system, prevents loading of most kernel extensions,  
thus might free up the external disk for formatting.

As for backup software, I don't have any experience setting up such a  
system myself, but from my reading a lot of people seem to be unhappy  
with Retrospect, while Super Duper has been getting rave reviews  
everywhere. Try this search at MacInTouch for some interesting reading:
<http://www.google.com/custom?q=retrospect+super+duper&sa=Search&cof=S 
%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.macintouch.com%2F%3BGL%3A0%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC% 
3Awhite%3BLH%3A80%3BLC%3Ablue%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.macintouch.com% 
2Ffind.gif%3BLW%3A292%3BT%3Ablack%3BAWFID%3Abdc6f0b2f46d23a9% 
3B&domains=macintouch.com&sitesearch=macintouch.com>

Andrew Main

On Jan 26, 2006, at 8:32 PM, Vint Miller wrote:

> I'm trying to implement a new backup system using Carbon Copy  
> Cloner. My goal is to create a bootable copy of my main drive.
>
> From what I understand, it's best to first clear off the target  
> disk (La Cie 250Gb Firewire External) except Disk Utility will not  
> erase the volume because it can't be unmounted? I quit all apps,  
> closed all fonts thinking something on the target disc was  
> running. . .still won't unmount. I have Read and Write priveliges  
> on this disc. I can't even manually drag the contents into the  
> trash because it says the apps are in use?
>
> I'm stuck. . .any ideas?
>
> Vint Miller
> Barking Fish Design
> 505.466.3424
> vint at barkingfishdesign.com
> www.barkingfishdesign.com
>
>
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