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Nuclear reset for .Mac syncing
Merlin Mann | Feb 26 2008
How-To: Truly reset your .Mac sync data [Ars Technica] I never have trouble finding company when it comes to whining about the reliability of .Mac syncing. It’s surely not fair to lay all of this at the feet of the .Mac developers — sync is, we are often reminded, “hard.” But if you want to rely on syncing your Calendars, Contacts, Preferences, snippets, Yojimbo, and what have you via .Mac in a battlefield environment, you’re going to need a strong stomach, a lot of patience, and reliable backups. Plus, friends, you will regularly have to reset frickin’ everything. Entirely overfamiliar with that particular reality, I was pleased to get pointed toward David Chartier’s tutorial on saving your .Mac’s village by burning it to the ground. It’s a handy, illustrated companion piece to Apple’s own advice on scorching earth. Very handy, and, yeah, you will eventually need it. So print it out. Maybe even have it laminated.
FWIW, here’s a few other things I do (as a raving .Mac paranoiac):
Also — and I loathe admitting this — I have accepted that one of our household’s Macs is “the master” (i.e., the “the first Mac you re-register” mentioned in David’s piece). This means one Mac in the house gets extra-special backup attention as well as being the “winner” whenever I have to do the (increasingly weekly) nuclear reset David describes in this tutorial. In an ideal world, you should have so much redundant reliability that you can reset from any recently updated machine — I mean, isn’t that the point of syncing? But, as you quickly learn, that’s simply not feasible when things suddenly go kerplooey on multiple Macs over a short interval. But, by always knowing where to restart your electronic Marshall Plan — which box is the true “original” in the .Mac chicken-waving ritual — you’ll have quicker recoveries and a less frustrating experience in general. There’s no pride to be found in being a .Mac whiner. As I’ve said before, I believe the .Mac offering is the vorpal blade that Apple’s hiding under its cape. Done well — fixed well — .Mac has the potential to reliably unify every Apple user’s digital world. But for now? Yeah, it’s more like owning a Fiat where your toolbox always gets to ride shotgun. [via] 11 Comments
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 idiskSubmitted by imcquill on February 26, 2008 - 12:54pm.
Also, although by default time machine does not backup the locally sync’ed iDisk, you can get it to work using this trick I posted here: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20071107092052825 (actually, it does back up the sparsebundle, but that is not as useful as having the files backed up on a file by file basis). I feel more secure knowing I’ve got an extra copy of the idisk lying around, and also if I want to do a lightweight ‘version control system’, it is build into that solution with time machine. » POSTED IN:
What are the imporant files in ~/LibrarySubmitted by ponnamp on February 26, 2008 - 12:57pm.
re: backup all important “~/Library” - all directories? including the cache? and mail? (Mail can be quite large if synched with gmail) I’ve tried this Mozy (everything minus the cache) and its hit and miss with Mozy. Are you having better luck? Thanks Anandha » POSTED IN:
 Re: What are the imporant files in ~/LibrarySubmitted by Merlin Mann on February 26, 2008 - 1:50pm.
Mozy and I have a very complicated relationship. It keeps showing up to my school play drunk, but I try to love it anyway. Truth be told, I still can’t have Mozy running in anything like a dependable way — goes crazy with runaway processes until I restart. Really want to have it work for me. May try JungleDisk again. » POSTED IN:
 Yeah, it’s more like owning a Fiat...Submitted by seiz on February 27, 2008 - 3:14am.
Now that — Merlin — was unfair. I am owning my 3rd Fiat already (currently an orange Barchetta) and never had any problem whatsoever. I don’t even own a toolbox. .Mac on the other side, which i am using since quite some time too, gives you constant varying troubles. So that comparison was just plain unfair ;-) Cheers, » POSTED IN:
Re: Yeah, it’s more like owning a Fiat...Submitted by Merlin Mann on February 27, 2008 - 8:59am.
I owe Italy (and you) an amends. 43 Folders regrets the error. » POSTED IN:
 Actually, I think this is the nuclear option...Submitted by Lighthouse 365 on February 27, 2008 - 5:33am.
I had a problem for over a year (slow learner) with my address book not synching and tried everything including several in depth conversations with dot mac support who took me through all the obvious steps including reset sync history. Nothing worked until I found Mike. This is what he told me and it worked like a dream. I think this is the real nuclear option. Here is his email… Dear Andrew, I understand that resetting Sync History still has not resolved the issue. I would like to suggest an additional task. Because of the potential for data duplication or data loss, I suggest that you first back up your bookmarks, address book, calendars, and keychain data. For more information, please see the following article: Mac OS X: How to back up and restore your files http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n106941 REMOVE THE SYNC SERVICES FOLDER
killall SyncServer syncuid SystemUIServer
If you are syncing any devices, you will now need to add any new data from the device that is not on the computer. Then do a sync with the device, choosing “Erase data on device then sync.” Sincerely, Mike .Mac Support » POSTED IN:
Re: Actually, I think this is the nuclear option...Submitted by Merlin Mann on February 27, 2008 - 9:06am.
Honestly? I have a secret nuclear option that’s even more nuclear — I just can’t prove that it does anything extra, so I fear Gruber making fun of me. If things get really bad, I will indeed delete SyncServices (which Apple advises against), as well as FIleSync, as well as all the Calendars, etc. etc. Scorched earth. Yknow, I should have mentioned this in the piece, but, I’d love it if someone wrote a simple app for doing this raindance responsibly — doing a mini-backup, unregistering the Mac, deleting sync history, then, optionally, “rm -R’-ing any potentially troublesome folders and documents in advance of replacing info from .Mac. I’d buy it. » POSTED IN:
Frickin' Everything?Submitted by jenmenke on February 27, 2008 - 10:21am.
Merlin, didn’t I just hear you say “and I never say ‘frickin’” on MBW? Hmmmmm. » POSTED IN:
I'm evolving.Submitted by Merlin Mann on February 27, 2008 - 12:37pm.
I’m told that if I keep using profanity, I’ll singlehandely destroy one man’s family. Which would be pretty fucked up. » POSTED IN:
 Am I allowed to be profane too?Submitted by Christian on February 29, 2008 - 3:48am.
I need to after the Fiat remark. I’ve been driving a Fiat Punto (inexpensive (ca. $25,000 back in 1998) mini) for 9 years and I only use the screwdriver for selfdefence. BTW: Interesting MOT test (?) stats from The Association of Danish Automobile Owners: Percentage of faulty cars after 4 years of use (1997 models): The pure products of America surely go crazy. BTW: Family-friendly advocates should be forced to take a field trip to Denmark. I would guess that the youngsters here use ‘fuck’ (I apologize for families destroyed) in evey fifth sentence. Am I the only one who finds “f-bomb” more profane than “fuck”? Using weapons as metaphor for words seems utterly inappropriate when soldiers and civilians are killed by bombs every day. » POSTED IN:
 Re: Nuclear reset for .Mac syncingSubmitted by yagermadden on March 11, 2008 - 1:20pm.
For some reason, this particular post keeps turning up as newly unread in NetNewsWire, despite having no apparent updates or changes. Given the subject matter, I find that a bit ironic. » POSTED IN:
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