Retrospect Compatibility with Mac OS X Lion

Retrospect 8.2 for Mac: Compatible

Retrospect 8.2 runs on, backs up, and restores computers running Mac OS X Lion and Lion Server. Backing up Lion systems as network clients requires Retrospect Client 6.3.

Users should be aware of the following issues related to protecting Mac OS X Lion:

FileVault’s whole disk encryption feature is supported by Retrospect.

Retrospect isn’t able to restore the document snapshots created by Lion’s "Versions" feature. Only the latest iteration of each file that was present during a backup can be restored using Retrospect.

The Mac OS X Lion installer creates a hidden 640 MB "Recovery HD" partition that can boot the computer and provide access to tools like the Terminal and Disk Utility, should the need arise. If Retrospect is used to perform a complete recovery of a Lion startup volume to a blank disk or one that has been repartitioned with Disk Utility, the Recovery HD partition won’t be created. Running the Lion installer on the disk before performing the restore will ensure that the Recovery HD partition is properly created and provisioned.

Retrospect client computers running Mac OS X Lion cannot be backed up after a user has logged out and left the Mac at the login screen; the Mac must be restarted or a user must log in before Retrospect can access that Mac again. This issue also affects Macs running Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

Retrospect 7.7 for Windows with 6.3 Client for Mac: Compatible

Retrospect 7.7 for Windows backs up and restores networked computers running Mac OS X Lion and Lion Server with version 6.3 of the Retrospect Client software for Mac. The same issues listed above apply when Mac OS X Lion systems are backed up to a Retrospect 7.7 server.

Retrospect 6.1 and earlier for Mac: Incompatible

Retrospect 6.1 and earlier for Mac were designed for PowerPC processors and won’t run under Mac OS X Lion, which requires applications designed for Intel processors.

Last Update: February 14, 2012