[arkman]

I have an issue that has happened twice that stumps Apple Tech. Support. Here is what happened:
I backed up my G4 iBook to an external FireWire hard drive using Disk Utilities Restore feature. I have done this many times. I am using OS 10.4.9
When the copying was complete I noticed that my Applications folder was missing. Actually it turned invisible. I have a program that reveals invisible folders and files and there it was. All the programs are still there and work fine but the folder itself is invisible.
Here is my questions: What happened??? How do I make the Applications folder visible again?? What do I do to prevent this from happening in the future?
Here was my solution: I created a new folder and copied all files from the invisible folder to it. I then deleted the invisible folder and renamed the new folder. What a pain. Can you give me a better solution?

[Tom_Diola]

Use real software for backup.

[d00d]

It's hard to know what could have gone wrong without seeing the actual code of Disk Utility, but it's possible the invisible bit didn't get set correctly.
Personally, I use SuperDuper and completely trust it.

[mdawson]

Given that OS X is UNIX-based, it seems like your Applications folder may have somehow became a dot file. In any *NIX operating system, directories (folders) and files beginning with a . are considered hidden files by the system. Check to see if your Applications folder is now named .Applications on your system volume.

[drmbb]

Quote:

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Use real software for backup.

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Disk Utility and ASR are not real software? Someone should really tell the Apple software engineers.

[arkman]

There was no period in the title. Also please remember that I was making a clone of my hard drive. Why would that change the original?

[mdawson]

I have no idea of how such a thing would happen from backing up short of a bug in the software. As I stated previously, OS X is effectively a UNIX variant and hides files by making them dot files. Given that your Applications folder had suddenly become hidden I figured it would be useful for you to look into the possibility of such an occurrence.

[drmbb]

arkman - do you have the Dev Tools installed (ie. xCode)? If so, there are two useful command-line tools you can use (from terminal) located in /Developer/Tools
One is "GetFileInfo" which will show you all file and folder attributes (beyond just permissions or what Finder's Get Info shows)
So you could open terminal, cd to the root of the external drive, and run:
/Developer/Tools/GetFileInfo -av Applications
If the return is "0", then the invisible bit is off. If the return is "1" the invisible bit is on (and hence why the folder is invisible).
If it's on, you can run
/Developer/Tools/SetFile -av Applications
to turn it off (with SetFile, a capital "V" would set the bit to "1", or on, a lowercase "v" would set it to "0", or off).
You can use "man GetFileInfo" and "man SetFile" to get instructions on the two commands.
Why the invisible bit would get fubar'd by ASR, I don't know. When you say it happened twice now, was it the same folder each time?

[arkman]

Why the invisible bit would get fubar'd by ASR, I don't know. When you say it happened twice now, was it the same folder each time?
Yes - the Application folder was affected each time. I do not have Dev. Tools installed and hate to play with terminal since I am not that savy using Unix. Is there another program that has a simple interface that can do the same?
I also have SuperDuper and will start using it to clone my drive. Thanks for the suggestion

[drmbb]

I don't know of a free application, but there are a couple of shareware ones you could try to just see if the invisible bit is the cause.
One is FileXaminer and the other is XRay. Both of these will give you a nag screen at startup to purchase a license, but they will run in demo mode after that, so you can at least use them to check.

[Albertr]

That's a challenge? Get Superduper and you will never, ever look back to your way of doing things. Superduper rules!

[albloom]

I suggest you use File Buddy to make the folder "visible in Finder." Lots
easier than your method. It's $40 shareware and a worthwhile tool to
have in your kit.
Why? How to prevent recurrence? I haven't a clue.

[arkman]

I will check out File Buddy. Thanks

[Albertr]

Save your money. Get Superduper like most everybody that do back ups to firewire external HD's. Your back up will be bootable too. The next back ups after the first one will be smart back ups needing much less time to back up. In addtion if you get into a bind just like now you can email the programer and he responds almost instantly. He is the best support anywhere.