Sorry, I once again have to burst your bubble.

The folks at mswhs.com found HP’s white paper on the new HP MediaSmart servers. I’ll quote the most depressing line: “Note that the “Restore System from Backup” feature of Time Machine is not implemented.”

What that means is, while you can restore individual files that were accidentally deleted… you cannot recover a Mac from a catastrophic failure (won’t boot, lost, stolen, damaged, defective, etc).

And, while the white paper doesn’t say why… I know why, and I’ll tell you. See, what HP did to enable Time Machine to work with Windows Home Server (WHS), was to patch the way WHS handles SMB stores. Then, on the Mac, they tweak a few settings to override Apple’s backup restrictions. This allows the Mac to see SMB file shares (like, WHS file shares), and then HP’s intermediary on the Mac mounts the special patched SMB file share mount.

And, if you’re running Mac OS X 10.5.5 or later, that works great. The problem is, the Mac OS X install/restore disc is not using 10.5.5. It’s usually at 10.5.0. Worse, HP can’t patch the install disc to “see” the Windows Home Server anyways.

There is a workaround, what HP would have to do is slipstream their patches onto the Mac OS X disc. That’s really complicated, and well, they’d have to hire someone… like me… to write a utility that would let someone insert a Mac OS X install/restore disc, and then a blank DVD, and create a custom restore disc that would work with Windows Home Server.

Will I do it? Sorry, I don’t have time. But, if HP wants to hire MechaWorks to do the consulting on it… I’m sure something can be arranged…

Another workaround that I’ve come up with would be to copy the Time Machine store to a Mac-formatted hard drive, once you need to do a full system restore. That would allow the restore disc to see it. I’m surprised HP doesn’t document this solution as being a supported workaround… it certainly would save a lot of users frustration when they realize they can’t do a full system restore (and then HP tells them it isn’t possible, when it in fact is).

This is a stark contrast to Steve Jobs’ own comments when Mac OS X Leopard was unveiled. “AirPort Extreme is the perfect backup solution for Leopard.” His words. Now that Time Capsule is out, Apple appears to refuse to fix the original AirPort Extreme, which with its USB port, could backup to Time Machine. However, bugs with the setup continue, and Apple refuses to detail any technical reason why they could not be fixed.

Today, Apple closed all my bug reports on the matter with the following statement: “Please note that the current configuration is not supported.  We recommend using Time Capsule.

We consider this issue closed.  Thank you for taking the time to notify us of this issue.”

So, Apple, will you credit my cost of the AirPort Extreme (which Steve Jobs told us all to buy ahead of Leopard), for the cost of a Time Capsule? Didn’t think so.

I advise everyone stuck with one of these units, to buy an OSx86 PC, and backup to that. If Apple hauls me into court, I’ll counter-claim in a class action over this debacle. Also, this weekend I will have much fun in yanking my AirPort Extreme from my network. Apple has clearly dropped the ball here.

I have successfully backed up my 12-inch PowerBook G4 over Wi-Fi to my AirPort Disk… and then restored the entire backup via Wi-Fi from my AirPort Disk. It took an excruciatingly long time to do, but it worked without a problem.

So, bottom line, if you want to use AirPort Disk as a Time Machine backup, make sure you’re running firmware 7.3.2 on the base station, and make sure your Mac is running 10.5.4 or later.

Now, the question remains (as it has with the past two updates), will this patch fix TIme Machine backups via AirPort Disk?

Historical Recap:

As you may know, and as I’ve crusaded here… Apple told people that Leopard would support Time Machine over the AirPort Extreme’s USB port, only to pull the rug out from everyone (after they had bought the base station in preparation for Leopard). And, then came Time Capsule… and the backlash.

Apple then offered an update to “enable” the feature… but that update had bugs, so then Apple declared it as an “unsupported” feature, and literally has refused to provide any information since. Great customer service Apple!

So, tonight, I’ll be trying again with Time Machine via AirPort Disk, and report back.

Originally, Time Machine had a lot of additional features which didn’t make the final cut. One of the features was to use the free disk space on the boot drive as shadow copy storage. This mimicked a feature from Vista that does the same thing (and Microsoft really doesn’t promote well at all). Alas, problems with multi-linked directories scrapped the feature.

But, this is not the feature I’m referring to. Originally, when installing Mac OS X, Leopard would offer to make an initial Time Machine backup of your Tiger drive. The benefits were three-fold: One, existing Mac owners would get an initial sales pitch for Time Machine. Two, users would be set up with Time Machine even before Leopard was installed. And, three, should anything go wrong, reverting to Tiger would have been painless.

And it’s that third feature that Apple still is regretting. Their support database continues to have to be updated with workarounds for partially-failed Leopard installs. The “Leopard Blue Screen Of Death” resulting from the APE Manager utility was one of the most notorious, as the tool had been integrated into some well-known drives (like, Logitech’s universal driver for all their accessories).

This brings me to why I wrote this post. Apple should not wait until the next generation of Mac OS X to add some of these features back. There’s nothing stopping Apple from adding a new update to the install disc and offering added functionality. Apple did this with Migration Assistant, and slipstreaming features like Time Machine during installation should be no different. It will save Apple money (in support costs), and improve the Mac experience overall.

Anyways, I realized it’s really a bug that Apple doesn’t alert users about this.

And thus, RadarWeb bug 5860702 was born. Basically, it says, Apple, if you’re going to leave this feature buggy… you’ve got to warn users that it’s buggy. Time Machine data shouldn’t be put at risk, ever. This is people’s backups, their lives, we’re taking about.

Hopefully Apple will keep taking heat over this until they realize it’s worth their time to fix it. If that’s their plan already, they should do the right thing and say so already. And, until they do, I’ll keep reminding them of it until my AirPort Extreme is dead and gone… and long after too.

I just wish for one I would get a little credit for finding these bugs… Apple ignores my emails for comment, and then goes and tells someone else the confirmation a week later. What gives, Apple?

From Sprint WiMAX, all the way down to TechTool Pro security holes… folks just don’t like to take note of when I tell you about stuff first. It’s a shame really, because over at PhoneNews.com I clobber my staff at the hint of not giving credit where it is due.

Oh, and I’m going to keep covering AirPort Disk and Time Machine to the bitter end. Apple doesn’t get to tell folks to buy one thing (AirPort Extreme + USB Hard Drive) and then pull the rug out from under them with a “supported product” (Time Capsule). I’m not being bitter over this (though I could understand why someone would think so… I just know with Apple, it takes a crusade to fix these type of issues… and another crusade to get something fixed when it falls in “unsupported” realms.

If you want to help the cause, link back to this post. Digg it. Later, rinse, repeat.

So, I booted up from my Leopard install disc, partitioned the drive, rebooted, and ran Restore System from Backup…

Note: You have to reboot after formatting a drive to use it with a Time Machine restore. This is because of a bug in the Leopard installer…

Now, it did find the Time Machine backups via Remote Disk. I selected the latest PowerBook-12 backup, and hit the Continue button. And, and, and… nothing. The system hangs on “Calculating space required to restore data”.

But, there is a silver lining to this cloud. If you unplug the AirPort Disk from the AirPort Extreme, and connect it to the system directly via USB… the backup restores successfully.

I do not know if this is an infinite hang situation… but I did let it run for over 15 minutes. With only 20 GB of disk space used, that should be more than enough time, even taking into account the bandwidth constriction of Wi-Fi.

And, this does point out a nice advantage to AirPort Disk for Time Machine over Time Capsule… you can bypass the bandwidth constraint of Wi-Fi, and plug the Time Machine drive directly into the system, and restore big files fast.

Update: What started as a fun day of restoring over AirPort Disk has turned a bit grim. As a failsafe, I had a second Time Machine drive back up the system via USB (since I figured I’d be the first outside of Cupertino to put this to a true test). My fears appear to have been very justified… as the drive failed during restoration to mount via USB. Disk Utility claims the AirPort Disk now has directory corruption (a bunch of ACLs that shouldn’t exist).

And yes, the drive passed a full file system scan the last time it was separated from the AirPort Extreme. Now, it won’t even respond when connected to the AirPort Extreme… Remote Disk connect fails from inside the Leopard installer.

Off to RadarWeb it goes. Bug 5818277. I would strongly advise folks to not use AirPort Disk for Time Machine until Apple addresses this, or at least investigates. At the very least, keep a FireWire/USB secondary backup Time Machine drive.

Enjoy, consumer advocacy in action.

Update: There is also a corresponding firmware update for AirPort Extreme that needs to be installed. This should be picked up automatically by running AirPort Utility.

This is consistent with my prior analysis… the firmware brings AirPort Extreme in-sync with Time Capsule firmware, and the Time Machine update lets it seek out the new base stations.

I will follow up if the update improves storing on other shares (Windows, etc).

Here’s the economic reality. An Apple Time Capsule (1 TB) retails for $499.99. That’s within $100 for the typical MSRP for a Windows Home Server. I’m sure you realize, a WHS box has a lot more in it than a Time Capsule box. If Time Machine did back up to Windows Home Server properly… it would make Time Capsule look like a very overpriced offering.

And, what happened to AirPort Disk support? Apple touted Time Machine originally with AirPort Disk, for all the 802.11n AirPort Extreme base station buyers. I’m personally ticked off by this one, I bought an AirPort Extreme because of this. I refuse to pay for a Time Capsule. I bought what Apple told me to buy.

What I’m getting at becomes pretty apparent… Apple has directed attention away from ensuring Time Machine worked properly over the network, to fixate and force sales of Time Capsule units. This is a disgusting move from Apple, in light of the lack of comment on AirPort Disk support. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a class action lawsuit in the works… considering Apple sold so many AirPort Extreme units during the timeframe that they were advertised as “the ultimate companion for Time Machine.”

This needs to end, and quickly. If there’s an AirPort Extreme base station bug, issue new firmware to fix it. I can understand the flaws with Samba preventing Time Machine to Windows shares, but AFP shares (Mac OS X shares) this should be a no-brainer… unfortunately, it’s still buggy backing up Mac-to-Mac.

Worse, the hackers have continued to uncover Time Machine’s full range of support. Hacks cited previously on this blog work even better under 10.5.2. As Apple improves the code that was buggy, they still leave features like AirPort Disk disabled. If AirPort Disk does work properly under 10.5.2 (with a hack to enable it), then why doesn’t Apple enable it. Oh, wait, that’s right, there are Time Capsules to sell now!

But, here’s the real shocker. Time Capsules have started to arrive in stores. Guess what? You can use a USB AirPort Disk as a Time Machine target with Time Capsule… just not with AirPort Extreme units. Apple is now contradicting itself on its own support documents, since AirPort Disk does now indeed work with Time Machine… just not on the original box Apple pitched to prospective Leopard buyers.

Apple, please, fix this quickly. Your image is hurting.