Preserving disk authorizations using Apple Software Restore.

[MacTron]

This method works great, however there are a couple issues:

1) The allocation of memory to each program will need to be re-done every time you restore an image since all of them are lost.

It is weird. I never had this issue...

[supernova777]

disregard this 1.2.4 developer kit.. it still has 1.3.2 version of ASR from 1998.....  even though its from jan 2001

[supernova777]

i read that theres 1 checksum test when using mac os standard filesystem
and 2 when using hfs+...
but u can skip them both by res-edit the prefs file for ASR.. (thats what the documentation says)
anyways im DONE on this topic for the day. phew

ok maybe not yet
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/9286/automate-asr
this app is said to have ASR inside it. maybe theres a version with 2.2.5inside

With the advent of ASR 2.x, it is more capable of other methods of restoring, but the old ASR Prefs file won't work with it.
 

u see mactron the new asr 2.x doesnt see the old prefs file.. we NEED a complete package of 2.x ASR and then this would be working 100% with no problems !!!!!!!!!!!!!! but here we have a possibly solution to work with 2.2.4 aswell.. using this script "Config ASR script"

this asr version is dated june 2002

Code: [Select]

Automate ASR  1.0
From Your Friends at Really Early Morning Software
http://homepage.mac.com/remsoftware/index.html

Automate ASR is a very advanced replacement to implementation of automatic restorations using Apple Software Restore.  Apple provied a mediocre way to do implementations in ASR 1.x by editing the Standard ASR Preferences file with ResEdit.  Crude and limited, but it worked.  With the advent of ASR 2.x, it is more capable of other methods of restoring, but the old ASR Prefs file won’t work with it.  So, now what?  AppleScript to the rescue!

History
This project started as an assignment for me (a Mac techie) for the Mac Lab at my school.  We use Apple Software Restore on a regular basis to image entire labs.  ASR 1.x is outdated and can’t do quite as much as the newer versions of ASR.  We had always used the prefs file to fully automate it, so when we wanted to switch to ASR 2.x, we needed a new way.  So I started writing this script, and the only thing it started off being able to do was restoring a single image to the internal hard drive.  Then we had the problem with multiple images and with multiple drives present.  Along came the option to deal with those situations.

It stopped there for a while when I came across a big problem and had to find a solution (don’t ever have file sharing turned on on the image file!  BAD idea!).  I had written to the Mac-Managers list to get this problem solved, and afterwards I had scores of people asking me for a copy of my script.  Originally, I was just going to tell these people to edit the ASR script to fit their needs, but some of them had no AppleScripting knowledge.  Along came the Config ASR script to setup all the options you need to automate the restoration.  My hope is that this set of scripts will ease the pain of imaging for lab administrators like me.

Overview
This archive contains:
ASR script — the actual restoration script.
Config ASR script — the script to setup your restoration preferences.
Apple Software Restore application — You should know what this is!  Version 2.1.2 is included to ensure compatibility.
Configurations folder — A prenamed empty folder for your disk images.
All of these files must reside in the same directory at all times!

When you first start your setup, run the Config ASR script.  This allows you to setup the various options for the restore process.  To restore a drive, run the ASR script.  These files must always stay in the same folder, because they rely on themselves for the preferences and they are setup so they look for themselves in the same directory.  The ASR application and the Configurations folder must also be in this same directory.  If you are running the restore from a CD or other locked volume, make sure to run the Config ASR script before burning the CD.  You cannot change the preferences if you are running from a locked volume.

Your restoration disk MUST be setup this way:
--
Restore CD [this name doesn't matter]
Apple Software Restore [application—use version 2.1.2 to ensure compatibility]
ASR [the main script]
ASR Config [the configuration script—VERY important!]
Configurations [folder]
[at least 1 valid ASR image inside]
System Folder* [valid system folder, OS 9 or later recommended, maybe even required.  I dunno.  Try it out and let me know.]
[must contain all AppleScript extensions and standard additions file]
Utilities [folder]
[put things like Drive Setup, Disk First Aid, Script Editor, etc. in here.  Not required, but you'll thank yourself later.   Also include an appropriate disk security unlocker if needed.]
--
*The scripts do not necessarily have to be run off the same disk as the startup disk.  Just make sure that whatever system folder is currently active has the appropriate files.

Put an alias to the ASR script in the disk's startup items folder for 100% automation if that is your intent.

If there is more than one script in the configurations folder, the ASR script will ask you which to use for the restore.  If there is more than one mounted volume whose name is not in the ignored volumes list, it will ask which volume to restore.

The ASR script must be run from the Finder, not Script Editor, unless you move all the files into the same folder as script editor...

The scripts are editable for informational/educational reasons and to let you make more customized preferences.  They are commented to help you.

This does not do anything to help you make segmented images.  The way Apple did segmented images is with .dmgpart files, which can (hopefully) be made with Disk Copy 6.5 (now in beta).  Currently there isn't really a way to make these for the end user...

This doesn't help at all with the 2GB limit.  There is no workaround for that (due to limitations in the Mac OS file systems and the fact that Disk Copy has not been updated to work with bigger files).  Sorry!

System Requirements
A Macintosh with AppleScript installed.
Either the Standard Additions or Display Dialog scripting addition (included with various versions of AppleScript).
Apple Software Restore, version 2.1.2 recommended (included)
Recommended:
AppleScript version 1.4.3 or later (Requires MacOS 9.0).
A version of AppleScript that includes the Standard Additions scripting addition.
NOTE:  These scripts were written with AppleScript 1.6.  They may not work with earlier versions of AppleScript.  I haven’t taken the time to test these scripts out with previous Mac OS versions.  I highly recommend OS 9 or higher.  I cannot guarantee compatibility with any other OS version.  If you cannot get the Config ASR and ASR scripts to negotiate their settings, you may be able to work around this by merging the applications into one.

Contact Info
Want to contact the author?  I accept bug reports, suggestions for improvements, etc.  If you would like any sort of AppleScript written for you (personally), e-mail me with your idea, and we will negotiate payment.  If you are looking for help creating your own AppleScripts, please visit Apple’s web site at http://www.apple.com/applescript/ .  That site has been very helpful to me, especially the AppleScript Language Guide.

If you wish to distribute these scripts, this Read Me must be included.  If you wish to include any or all parts of this on a CD or any other item with relatively wide distribution, please send me a note of your doing so.  I would also appreciate a copy of what is being distributed and/or a donation.  Thank you for your support!

Email: [email protected]
Website:    http://homepage.mac.com/remsoftware/index.html

Version History
**This Read Me file was updated 6/11/02**
11/22/01 1.0   (ASR 1.2.2/Config ASR 1.1.2) Initial Public release [as for the high versions on the individual scripts, it’s because of the previous versions I did at school]

Disclaimer
The AppleScripts accompanying this Read Me are provided “as is.”  I have made a reasonable effort to make sure that they won’t do any damage, however I cannot provide any guarantees.  By running these programs, you assume all risk for any damage that may occur.  If these scripts damage your files, cause you to run around in circles screaming like a monkey out of hell, magnetize your boss, break your refrigerator, invert the color of your wallpaper, or elope with your daughter, it is your responsibility, not ours.  I would appreciate a kind note (no rants or flames, please) so that I may try to prevent this from occurring again, however I probably won’t be able to help you personally.  I will try to correct any problems that may occur, however being notified of a possible problem with a script does not make me responsible for attempting to fix such problem, nor for notifying users that a problem may exist.

All brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.  I would like to thank Trans–Tex Software for Tex–Edit Plus, the awesome program used to create this Read Me! file.

All AppleScripts™ included in this archive are ©2001.  They may not be reproduced in any way without permission from the author.  The source code we distribute is for informational and educational purposes only, not for resale, pirating, or human consumption.  Thanks!i remember this dan guys page said u need to update some applescript extensions for newer scripts to work aswell
AppleScript version 1.4.3 or later seems to be the important update

here we have the page of the makers of this applescripts
http://web.archive.org/web/20030207104617/http://homepage.mac.com/remsoftware/applescript.html

like i said what needs to be tried now is using automate ASR 1.0 with ASR 2.4.2
and see if it works to set these advancced options.. such as skip verify checksum
again the 3rd time the web.archive.org doesnt index the file for downloading the image scan script. 
http://web.archive.org/web/20030207104617/http://homepage.mac.com/remsoftware/asrscan.hqx DEAD LINK !!

[Syntho]

This method works great, however there are a couple issues:

1) The allocation of memory to each program will need to be re-done every time you restore an image since all of them are lost.

It is weird. I never had this issue...

Where is that info supposed to be stored? All of mine reset to their default settings for some reason.

[supernova777]

OK!!!!!!!!
i found a working link/mirror of the remsoftware stuff
http://webpages.charter.net/remsoftware/util-scripts.html

the scripts are here!! working! for use with "automate ASR 1.0" also downloadable here

Use these scripts to prepare an image for use with ASR.  Apple has these scripts available in the 20MB Installer SDK, but you can get them here at a smaller size, and even with instructions!  What convenience!

also attached! but this text.. now that i read it.. seems to say the scripts are the same as the ones in the sdk.. which will be of little benefit because we have those ones already
i just wish i could find this other dan guys "modified" scripts

http://web.archive.org/web/20040810131028/http://developer.apple.com/testing/docs/TNasr.html
in this documentation directly from apple there is reference made to 650mb size.. this was the CD size of the time..
cds were later improved to 700mb + 800mb sizes but 650 i remember was the standard for CD image size
thats why i reccommended trying with 650mb size because this software was from that time period
maybe we "get lucky" with using this segment size

if only we could get a copy of ASR 2.2.5 with the script "scan image for 9+X"
that is detailed in the how to pdf

Finally, after the image has been created, select the appropriate scan script from the scripts menu:
a.
If your image contains just Mac OS X, select “Scan X-only image for ASR” from the “Scripts”
menu.
b.
If your image contains just Mac OS 9, or both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X, select “Scan X+9
image for ASR” from the “Scripts” menu

this is the missing key i think -- i had thought these scripts might be contained in these files in the attached asrscan.hqx...
http://web.archive.org/web/20010518134101/http://www.delta.edu/~dgschmid/
http://web.archive.org/web/20010824081636/http://www.ctap.fcoe.k12.ca.us/ctap/restore.htm
if only the link worked on http://web.archive.org/web/20010603203947/http://www.delta.edu/~dgschmid/asr.html page
for his "extras" scripts + preference file

Download my extras. Don't worry; they're small. Open up the "Scripts" folder in ASR. Drag the 2 applescripting extensions to the System Folder. (Which should put them in the Scripting Additions folder.)

im trying to find..
http://web.archive.org/web/20010422072503/http://www.delta.edu/~dgschmid/MacintoshMP3.html cool page on mp3 encoding

[supernova777]

dan's asr page says this:

Remember, if you copy from a hard drive that has directory damage (b-trees and gremlins and whatnot) your image will be bad! You have to fix the damage first or make a read/write image, mount it, run Disk First Aid on it (really, it works!) and then convert it to read only (which is a pain).

damn the b-trees!
read carefully..
here he is suggesting 2 ways to rectify a bad image
1) disk first aid
or 2)or make a  "read/write image"
(instead of "read-only" or "read-only compressed")

why then do all the other guides (including his own) reccomend "read-only" or "read-only compressed"?

[supernova777]

"But I want a checksum!"

But why? Ok, fine. Open up my script. Uncomment the timeout lines and everything that's commented out in between them, and then comment out "set tImageChecksumValidity to true". Don't use the original script provided with ASR; it will most likely timeout.

here we see dan telling people how to RE-enable checksum.. so obviously his "modified script" already has this feature disabled to prevent error alert
and he also says the asr script original is flawed..

but we see the property involved.. "tImageChecksumValidity"
in whichever script we use we look for this and make sure its set to false to disable

this tImageChecksumValidity string variable appears in line 72 of the script from asr 1.3.2

   if (tImageConsistency is not true) or (tImageChecksumValidity is not true) then

http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=1680.msg8695#msg8695

really cant we just disable checksum checking of cSum resource by ASR completely?
by using preferences file... + resedit to edit the prefs file..? if this works it and asr will just restore the
image + do it properly without the need for scanning the image nad generating proper cSum

[IIO]

Another bad news:
Unfortunately I just found another limit: 4GB.

thats should be fine for a system folder.

TDM and MAS plug-ins, colorschemes and (the probably "biggest" problem:) altiverb responses could be removed before making a clone image.

[supernova777]

!!!!! breaking news!!!!  breaking news!!!!   ;)breaking news!!!!  !!!!! breaking news!!!!  breaking news!!!!  breaking news!!!!  !!!!! breaking news!!!! breaking news!!!! breaking news!!!! just been in contact with Mike Bombich from CCC software
and hes given me the ASR for Mac OS X 1.1 which contains the X+9 scripts!!!!!!

it also has ALL OF THE FILES referred to in the ASR how to PDF
including ASR 2.2.5dc32!!!!!!!!!! dated February 28, 2002!!

ive attached the zip file.. but it must be extracted on MAC OS X or else loses resource forks
i will create a os9 archive in .sit format in just a moment!

another victory soon come

WE SHOULD ALL REMEMBER >> MOST OF THE *LAST VERSIONS* OF 9 SOFTWARE MAY BE LABELLED AS 10.1 or 10.2 PROGRAMS
even tho they are in fact still ppc mac os 9 100% compatible.. this is the best example of this..
this is the biggest reason.. NOT TO DELETE POSTS JUST BECAUSE THEY MENTION MAC OS X MACTRON

during the period of time of first few versions of mac os x there is a LARGE OVERLAP where things were both MAC OS 9 + MAC OS X compatible... from the source code level... the same programming code worked on both.. i think its called carbon? or carbon is just the GUI elements. im not sure..

[supernova777]

heres the full contents as viewed on 9
all files are A-OK,  resource forks intact

[supernova777]

i also suspect due to the presence of this .dmg file in the archive itself used as a template for creating dvd..
that this version of ASR will work 100% with a .dmg files

note that the .dmg file has its own specialized icon + filetype!!!
under version information is stored the size in mb with some other CRC32 checksum

[MacTron]

Thank You Chris. Great find.

i also suspect due to the presence of this .dmg file in the archive itself used as a template for creating dvd..
that this version of ASR will work 100% with a .dmg files

note that the .dmg file has its own specialized icon + filetype!!!
under version information is stored the size in mb with some other CRC32 checksum

There isn't any problem with .dmg's if they aren't compressed.

I'm ending the new scripts  test (with a 4 GB image file)...
...cross your fingers...

[MacTron]

Just to said:

IT WORKED!

with a 4 GB image file.

I'll do some extra test.

[supernova777]

IT WORKED! with a 4 GB image file.

"Strong am I with the Force" lol
Amazing!                                    impresionante!                                                                  fantastisch!                                   fantastique!     
i just connected up my firewire 500gb to my quicksilver 933.. bout to give it a test drive 



here is the updated "X+9" script for those curious like i am to cross reference with the old

Code: [Select]

-- Version 1.1.1 JFK - Updated for device images, and disabled System Folder matching when used when ASR 2.1.3
-- Version 1.1 JFK - Added block checksum string to log after scanning

property kImageSelectPromptString : "Select a image to scan"
property kImageIsReadWrite : "Selected image is read-write and cannot be scanned. Convert it to read-only (or read-only compressed) and try again"
property kImageDoesNotCheck : "The Selected image does not appear to be in the correct format, or created with Disk Copy. Click convert to convert it to Disk Copy format, or stop to halt the scan."
property kOkButton : "OK"
property kStopButton : "Stop"
property kConvertButton : "Convert"
property kImageScanOSAXString : "Scripting Additions:ImageScan"
property k8ImageScanOSAXString : "ImageScan"
property kMissingAnOSAXString : "This droplet requires the ImageScan OSAX. Please put it into your Scripting Additions folder, or Disk Copy Scripts folder"
property kInfoMessage : "This script will prompt you for a read-only disk image, verify it's image checksum and volume structures, then scan it and generate information that ASR needs to restore it."
property kDontShowAgainButton : "Don't show again"
property kDisplayInfoMessage : 0

on run
if kDisplayInfoMessage is 1 then
set tResult to display dialog kInfoMessage buttons {kDontShowAgainButton, kOkButton} default button kOkButton with icon note
if button returned of tResult is kDontShowAgainButton then
set kDisplayInfoMessage to 0
end if
end if

try
tell application "Disk Copy 6.5b13"
set tImageToScan to choose file of type {"devi", "rohd"} with prompt kImageSelectPromptString
set tImageInfo to info for tImageToScan
end tell
on error tErrMessage number tErrNumber
if tErrNumber = -128 then -- The user clicked cancel
return "User cancelled operation"
else
display dialog ("There was a problem selecting the image: " & tErrMessage & " (" & tErrNumber & ")") buttons {kOkButton} default button kOkButton
ErrorSound()
return
end if
end try

try
set tResult to «event JonBImSc» tImageToScan with «class omt0»
on error tErrMessage number tErrNumber
if tErrNumber = -1708 then -- ImageScan is not available
display dialog kMissingAnOSAXString buttons {kOkButton} default button kOkButton
ErrorSound()
return kMissingAnOSAXString
end if
display dialog ("There was a problem scanning the image: [" & tErrMessage & "] (" & tErrNumber & ")") buttons {kOkButton} default button kOkButton
ErrorSound()
return
end try

try
tell application "Disk Copy 6.5b13"
if file type of tImageInfo is "rohd" then
log "We've just scanned an image for ASR!" with time stamp
log "Image " & "“" & (tImageToScan as string) & "”" & " was scanned."
log "It has " & (source count of tResult as string) & " files in it, and it's file checksum is $" & (type 1 hexadecimal part of tResult)
log "It's block checksum is " & (type 2 hexadecimal part of tResult)
if source system folder path of tResult is not "" then
log "It's System folder is located at " & (source system folder path of tResult as string) & ", " & ¬
"and has " & (source system folder count of tResult as string) & " files in it."
end if
else
log "We've just scanned an device image for ASR!" with time stamp
log "Image " & "“" & (tImageToScan as string) & "”" & " was scanned."
end if
end tell
on error tErrMessage number tErrNumber
display dialog ("There was a problem updating the log: " & tErrNumber & return & " but the image was scanned") buttons {kOkButton} default button kOkButton
ErrorSound()
return
end try

end run

on ConvertImage(tImageToConvert)
display dialog ("Coming soon...")
end ConvertImage

on ErrorSound()
try
«event aevtplsn» "Error"
end try
end ErrorSound
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
-- GetPath - Returns the beginning of a input string deleting info after the last colon
--
-- Parameters:
-- Type string: aString
--
-- Returns:
-- All characters from the first character to the last colon in the string
--
-- Example:
-- GetPath("Macintosh HD:Desktop Folder:FY94 budget")
-- ==> "Macintosh HD:Desktop Folder:"
--
on GetPath(aString)
repeat
if last character of aString is not ":" then
set aString to (characters 1 thru ((length of aString) - 1) of aString) as string
else
exit repeat
end if
end repeat
display dialog aString
return aString as string
end GetPath
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[MacTron]

From 4GB to Infinity...
4GB image file size limit surpassed. Once the *new script* is applied ASR accept Image files over 4GB. Tested and confirmed.

[supernova777]

Gentlemen, Let's get down to business!! 

[supernova777]

u seem fairly confidant there will be no other limit ...
i hope this is true but i think we are in the clear now either way

i had the thought of creating a 8gb dual layer dvd for restore..
for me this is the best idea because i can have many for just a few $$ each disc
and have backup copies + copies i could give to others etc
is mac os 9 able to read/burn dual layer dvds?
i know the leopard dvd was dual layer..
im hoping the answer is yes
if anyoen has any info re: dual layer dvds + mac os 9.. please
share the knowledge!

if there is a software requirement in toast then probably would be
10.x only.. but im hoping that it can work?

i will search for toast history press releases which describe support for dual layer dvd  to make sure

http://www.roxio.com/enu/support/toast/version_history6.html
here its mentioned:

Correctly records to DVD-R DL (dual layer) media for data disc formats.

toast 6.1 is os x only right?
but thats just for *recording* maybe os 9 can still *READ* dual layer dvd? ?
i guess the best way to find out is by inserting my mac os x leopard dual layer dvd into my mdd

its too bad we cant find a way to make 8gb usb flashdrive accessible over firewire
this is why i think a dvd would be best.. not evreyone has a lacie firewire compact flash
maybe its possible to get an IDE compact flash/sd card reader? all the ones i tried to look
at recently were usb3.0 powered

we are limited to:
-DVD
-firewire
-IDE (or sata-ide with adapter)
-Sata & esata (via pci addon card)


esata will be the best performance anyway

dvd is the cheapest cost of all tho if it supported dual layer dvd
or my msata hack maybe http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=1718.0
or this IDE to SD mounted in the zip drive position:
 http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=1658.msg7893#msg7893
or for an mdd or system with no 3.5 front bay - u can mount in pci slot:


could be a very ideal for backups. as the speed of the SD card wont be that fast to run OS from.
but could be very usefull to do multiple restore images on these sd cards for backup!!!
out of all the available data storage formats we can convert to ide..
compact flash, etc SD is the cheapest!!!!!!!!

[Syntho]

I haven't read everything in the last few posts, but does this mean we'll be getting a new package with new instructions?

[supernova777]

mactron
from looking at the applescripts

... omg...

i think the real reason it didnt work is because
the old scan for ASR script was talking to THE OLD VERSION OF DISK COPY
see in the difference between the old script : http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=1680.msg8695#msg8695
and the new script : http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=1680.msg8741#msg8741

the new script is coded to pass commands directly to disk copy 6.5b13

tell application "Disk Copy 6.5b13"

and the old was sending commands to the regular old version of disk copy!!!

tell application "Disk Copy"

no fucking wonder

it may very well work simply by changing this from "disk copy" to "disk copy 6.5b13" in the old script!!!! LOL
if we had renamed disk copy 6.5b13 to "disk copy" and deleted the old.. then it might have just worked just by doing that!

[MacTron]

is mac os 9 able to read/burn dual layer dvds?
i know the leopard dvd was dual layer..
im hoping the answer is yes
if anyoen has any info re: dual layer dvds + mac os 9.. please
share the knowledge!

YES. Mac Os 9 can read Dual Layer DVD (commercial and writables).
And may be,Toast 5.2.x can write them, I don't remember for sure if I did it sometime.