ASIAIR Pro Restoring a backup on Mac

[KEJ]

Restoring a Backup on a Mac

 

Something else I came across and a chap called Terry on Facebook had a solution.

Again, you might already know this, but just in case.

 

Backup

You buy a new ASIAIR Pro, you are pretty much advised that one of the first things you should do, is to create a backup of your software(includes your license key) from the supplied SD card.

And one of the common methods suggested for Mac users is to use the “Apple Pi Baker” program/application.

  

 

So, I used the application to create my backup and saved it in a safe place, in fact I made two copies(belt and braces).

Then, yesterday, I thought I should really try to restore one of these backups to make sure they actually work, else what is the point of having a backup for that rainy day.

And actually, I will keep the original safe and use my copy going forward.

 

Restore

So, I inserted a new blank SD card(Fat32) and started the restore process, letting it run its course.

Once it had finished, I did a quick eye ball to compare the copy to the original and all the files appeared to be there.

 

 

 

I then plugged the restored SD card back into the ASIAIR Pro, but the device would not start/boot up!

Just in case, I then reformatted another SD card and tried that one, but still no good.

I then created another backup from the original SD card(so all in all I had img and zip versions) and tried to restore them, the same result, fail.

 

 On further investigation, it looks like this is fairly common.

 Terry on ASIAIR Facebook group suggested downloading the file from the ZWO website, but then using your own License file.

 

 

I then used the ASIAIR PRO link above(from the “How_to_Restore_ASIAIR_OS.pdf” on line doc)  to get the file.

First, keeping a copy of my zwoair_license safe of course(still on the original SD card).

The file is pretty large, unzips to about 31 GB and takes a while to download(9GB zipped) even on cable.

 

I then restored(using Apple Pi Baker) this new downloaded file to my new SD card and once it had completed, I then overwrote(replaced) the 

existing “zwoair_license” file with my original(my unique supplied copy).

Next, I then inserted the new copied/restored SD card into the ASIAIR Pro and it started.

Finally, I then connected via the ASIAIR app using my IPhone and was prompted to update the firmware to the latest version which I did.

 

Happy Ending

Bingo all good, the original SD card supplied by ZWO stored in a safe place and I am now using this copy going forward.

 

[craneo]

Thanks for the information!  Are you then saying that even if I an a Mac user I need Win 32 Disk Imager?  I downloaded pi-baker and did a back up of the asiair pro.  I guess you are saying I need to download my my zwoair_license file also in order to restore should my asiair disk becomes corrupt?  Thanks

 

[KP82]

On Mac or any *nix system, you could always use DD to backup and restore your microsd card image for the RPi.

[Davey-T]

Had the same problem with Win32 thingy, made copy wouldn't boot.

Dave