Convert MacOS case sensitive to case insensitive

[Wade Garrett]

Some years ago, I inadvertently formatted my 1 GB Mac HD to extended
journaled case sensitive. I need to change it back to case insensitive now.

Can I just back up to Time Machine, reformat the HD, then restore from
the case sensitive TM backup?

In other words, will I end up with all my data now on the case
insensitive drive?

What happens to files that only differ by case- i.e., myfile and Myfile?

[android]

In article <osibt4$lgb$1...@news.albasani.net>,

It used to be: Make a diskimage from Diskutility. Reformat the disk and
restore from the diskimage. That was the way I did it... Make sure that
this method still applies before you perform it on your system, that
might vary from mine!!!
--
teleportation kills

[Jolly Roger]

On 2017-10-22, Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> wrote:
> Some years ago, I inadvertently formatted my 1 GB Mac HD to extended
> journaled case sensitive. I need to change it back to case insensitive
> now.
>
> Can I just back up to Time Machine, reformat the HD, then restore from
> the case sensitive TM backup?
>
> In other words, will I end up with all my data now on the case
> insensitive drive?

What I think I would do instead is use macOS Recovery to install a fresh
copy of macOS, then *migrate* the data from the Time Machine backup to
the new system.

> What happens to files that only differ by case- i.e., myfile and
> Myfile?

I'm not sure how Migration Assistant would handle that situation. If
you haven't specifically created any, I wouldn't worry about it, though.

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

[Wade Garrett]

The diskimage would be case sensitive and if I restored it to the newly
formatted case insensitive HD, wouldn't I end up right back where I am now?

[Wade Garrett]

On 10/22/17 2:11 PM, Jolly Roger wrote:
> On 2017-10-22, Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> wrote:
>> Some years ago, I inadvertently formatted my 1 GB Mac HD to extended
>> journaled case sensitive. I need to change it back to case insensitive
>> now.
>>
>> Can I just back up to Time Machine, reformat the HD, then restore from
>> the case sensitive TM backup?
>>
>> In other words, will I end up with all my data now on the case
>> insensitive drive?
>
> What I think I would do instead is use macOS Recovery to install a fresh
> copy of macOS, then *migrate* the data from the Time Machine backup to
> the new system.
>
>> What happens to files that only differ by case- i.e., myfile and
>> Myfile?
>
> I'm not sure how Migration Assistant would handle that situation. If
> you haven't specifically created any, I wouldn't worry about it, though.
>

Just reinstalling the OS from macOS Recovery wouldn't change the HD
formatting to case insensitive, would it? Don't I need to reformat?

[Neill Massello]

I don't know how Apple's restore function would deal with this. I
suggest that you clean up the case sensitive volume before you do the
backup and erase, either by checking important folders manually or using
a duplicate-finding app.

I use Gemini, which is quite good.

<https://macpaw.com/gemini>

[nospam]

In article <osj5tm$m52$1...@news.albasani.net>, Wade Garrett

cloning to a disk image is stupid.

clone your drive to another hard drive, one which is formatted as case
insensitive, then check to see if there are any problems. if that works
to your satisfaction, reformat your internal drive and clone it back.

[Neill Massello]

Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> wrote:

> Don't I need to reformat?

Yes, although the current terminology would be "erase" the volume or
disk.

[Lewis]

In message <f545a2...@mid.individual.net> Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> On 2017-10-22, Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> wrote:
>> Some years ago, I inadvertently formatted my 1 GB Mac HD to extended
>> journaled case sensitive. I need to change it back to case insensitive
>> now.
>>
>> Can I just back up to Time Machine, reformat the HD, then restore from
>> the case sensitive TM backup?
>>
>> In other words, will I end up with all my data now on the case
>> insensitive drive?

> What I think I would do instead is use macOS Recovery to install a fresh
> copy of macOS, then *migrate* the data from the Time Machine backup to
> the new system.

Definitely. Or use Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper to duplicate the
filesystem onto a case-insensitive volume.

>> What happens to files that only differ by case- i.e., myfile and
>> Myfile?

> I'm not sure how Migration Assistant would handle that situation. If
> you haven't specifically created any, I wouldn't worry about it, though.

I found a python script that will check your drive for conflicts:

#v+
#!/usr/bin/env python

import os

for root, dirs, files in os.walk('.'):
content = dirs + files
for f1 in content:
for f2 in content:
if f1 != f2 and f1.lower() == f2.lower():
print os.path.join(root,f1)
print 'done'

#v-

However, that being python, I suspect there are some spaces needed in
the above.

Also, iPartition says it can convert volumes from case-sensitive to
case-insensitive, but it is not free (and rather expensive, IMO).

<https://coriolis-systems.com/iPartition/>
"Convert case-sensitive HFS+ to normal HFS+ and vice-versa, a real boon
if you’ve made the wrong choice in the past."


--
Friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.

[Jolly Roger]

Yes. You would boot to recovery, erase the disk, install macOS, then
migrate the data from the backup.

[android]

In article <osj5tm$m52$1...@news.albasani.net>,

Oppsss... Could be true. Told you to check, it was not last week. Clone
it to disk and back then! Should work...
--
teleportation kills

[JF Mezei]

Someone said:
>> The diskimage would be case sensitive and if I restored it to the newly
>> formatted case insensitive HD, wouldn't I end up right back where I am now?

create a .dmg that is case sensitive.
Mount it, and then create a few files in it, some of which are case
variations of each other.

such as:
chocolate.txt
Chocolate.txt


Then create a new .dmg that is case-insensitive

Try to backup the first mounted disk to the second mounted disk.
(don't go .dmg to .dmg as this wil deal with the .dmg as a single file
and raw copy data).

Not only will you see if this changes the formatting of the second
(target) drive, but also whether diskutil issues warnings about conflicts.

You may wish to populate the conflicting files with different text
content (such as a line with "this file's original name was Chocolate.txt")

If Diskutil overwrites one with the contents of the other, you will see
via its contents which one was written over the other.

[Wade Garrett]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried most of them and
regretfully,none worked for me.

I was able to erase/reformat and upgrade from Sierra to non case
sensitive High Sierra- but any kind of automated restore process changed
it back to case sensitive.

I didn't have it in me to do a manual setup and move all the stuff back
onto a 1 TB hard drive by hand- so I guess I'll just keep using the case
sensitive setup :-(

Thanks again for the help.

[Jolly Roger]

Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> wrote:
> On 10/22/17 11:01 AM, Wade Garrett wrote:
>> Some years ago, I inadvertently formatted my 1 GB Mac HD to extended
>> journaled case sensitive. I need to change it back to case insensitive now.
>>
>> Can I just back up to Time Machine, reformat the HD, then restore from
>> the case sensitive TM backup?
>>
>> In other words, will I end up with all my data now on the case
>> insensitive drive?
>>
>> What happens to files that only differ by case- i.e., myfile and Myfile?
>
> Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried most of them and
> regretfully,none worked for me.
>
> I was able to erase/reformat and upgrade from Sierra to non case
> sensitive High Sierra- but any kind of automated restore process changed
> it back to case sensitive.

Migration Assistant included? I wouldn't think Migration Assistant would be
reformatting drives.

[Wade Garrett]

On 10/24/17 11:07 AM, Jolly Roger wrote:
> Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> wrote:
>> On 10/22/17 11:01 AM, Wade Garrett wrote:
>>> Some years ago, I inadvertently formatted my 1 GB Mac HD to extended
>>> journaled case sensitive. I need to change it back to case insensitive now.
>>>
>>> Can I just back up to Time Machine, reformat the HD, then restore from
>>> the case sensitive TM backup?
>>>
>>> In other words, will I end up with all my data now on the case
>>> insensitive drive?
>>>
>>> What happens to files that only differ by case- i.e., myfile and Myfile?
>>
>> Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried most of them and
>> regretfully,none worked for me.
>>
>> I was able to erase/reformat and upgrade from Sierra to non case
>> sensitive High Sierra- but any kind of automated restore process changed
>> it back to case sensitive.
>
> Migration Assistant included? I wouldn't think Migration Assistant would be
> reformatting drives.
>

That's what I ended up using- and I was surprised too!

[JF Mezei]

On 2017-10-24 09:03, Wade Garrett wrote:

> Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried most of them and
> regretfully,none worked for me.

suggest you take a look at the line commands for

diskutil
> https://developer.apple.com/legacy/library/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man8/diskutil.8.html



hdiutil
> https://developer.apple.com/legacy/library/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/hdiutil.1.html#//apple_ref/doc/man/1/hdiutil



asr
> https://developer.apple.com/legacy/library/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man8/asr.8.html#//apple_ref/doc/man/8/asr


diskutil is general disk management, formatting, verification.

hdiutil is what manages ".dmg" disk images (create etc)

asr is the software backup/restore part.

ASR has the -format qualifier which allows you to override the source's
format (when not sp]ecified, the target has same file system attribtes
as source).


Additional notes:

When I moved to the 2013 Macpro, its small boot drive forced me to do a
fair bit of disk gymnastics to zap the "default" OS that came with
machine and moved only my Yosemite and apps to the SSD with all the rest
on other drives. Couldn't do a simple clone.

I cloned my former system disk (2TB) to another 2TB drive. I then
trimmed that new copy of all my content, leaving only the OS and
applications in it. I was then able to clone that to the system
partition on the SSD (zapping the OS that came with machine and thus
fully preserving the system "personality" of my old mac pro (all
settings, customizations etc).

What you could do to make things easier is to use Finder to copy the
User directory to a ci drive (at which point you can see errors when
finder asks you to confirm overwriting existing file x with X.

You can delete the Users folder from system drive (while booted in
recovery partition) as well as temporary files in /var/temp and
page/swap files in /var/vm

This makes the "cloning" faster as there is much less data to copy. You
can also shrink that partition to its actual size (aka: no free space)
and use the newly freed space to create new system partition that is
case insensitive.


Also learned: in diskutil, creting a DMG from a FOLDER is a very
different operation (file copy) than when doing a disk backup to a DMG
(volume copy).

[JF Mezei]

On 2017-10-24 11:07, Jolly Roger wrote:

> Migration Assistant included? I wouldn't think Migration Assistant would be
> reformatting drives.

Migration Assistant would assume there is an existing "vanilla" OS on
the target, would preserve it, and just update all the settings and add
all the non system files present in the source and not on target (based
on settings in the dialogue on what to copy over)

This is far more than a brite force blind ocpy operation is it is very
selective as to what it updates and I assume has means to convert
certain files from one format to another (as is done during OS upgrades)

[Jolly Roger]

Quite interesting, and disappointing. : (

Sorry that didn't do the trick.

[Lewis]

In message <f59vsq...@mid.individual.net> Jolly Roger <jolly...@pobox.com> wrote:
> On 2017-10-24, Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> wrote:
>> On 10/24/17 11:07 AM, Jolly Roger wrote:
>>> Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> wrote:
>>>> On 10/22/17 11:01 AM, Wade Garrett wrote:
>>>>> Some years ago, I inadvertently formatted my 1 GB Mac HD to extended
>>>>> journaled case sensitive. I need to change it back to case insensitive now.
>>>>>
>>>>> Can I just back up to Time Machine, reformat the HD, then restore from
>>>>> the case sensitive TM backup?
>>>>>
>>>>> In other words, will I end up with all my data now on the case
>>>>> insensitive drive?
>>>>>
>>>>> What happens to files that only differ by case- i.e., myfile and Myfile?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried most of them and
>>>> regretfully,none worked for me.
>>>>
>>>> I was able to erase/reformat and upgrade from Sierra to non case
>>>> sensitive High Sierra- but any kind of automated restore process changed
>>>> it back to case sensitive.
>>>
>>> Migration Assistant included? I wouldn't think Migration Assistant would be
>>> reformatting drives.
>>>
>> That's what I ended up using- and I was surprised too!

> Quite interesting, and disappointing. : (

Seems very wrong. Migration assistant reformatting the destination
drive? I don't buy it, but I haven't had time to test it.


--
Would you say you worship Satan, or do you simply respect his
no-nonsense approach to discipline?

[Wade Garrett]

On 10/24/17 7:15 PM, Jolly Roger wrote:
> On 2017-10-24, Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> wrote:
>> On 10/24/17 11:07 AM, Jolly Roger wrote:
>>> Wade Garrett <wa...@cooler.net> wrote:
>>>> On 10/22/17 11:01 AM, Wade Garrett wrote:
>>>>> Some years ago, I inadvertently formatted my 1 GB Mac HD to extended
>>>>> journaled case sensitive. I need to change it back to case insensitive now.
>>>>>
>>>>> Can I just back up to Time Machine, reformat the HD, then restore from
>>>>> the case sensitive TM backup?
>>>>>
>>>>> In other words, will I end up with all my data now on the case
>>>>> insensitive drive?
>>>>>
>>>>> What happens to files that only differ by case- i.e., myfile and Myfile?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried most of them and
>>>> regretfully,none worked for me.
>>>>
>>>> I was able to erase/reformat and upgrade from Sierra to non case
>>>> sensitive High Sierra- but any kind of automated restore process changed
>>>> it back to case sensitive.
>>>
>>> Migration Assistant included? I wouldn't think Migration Assistant would be
>>> reformatting drives.
>>>
>> That's what I ended up using- and I was surprised too!
>
> Quite interesting, and disappointing. : (
>
> Sorry that didn't do the trick.
>

No apology needed- thanks for the help.

[Wade Garrett]

Please post back if you find a way to make it work!

[Jolly Roger]

I see that others report success converting from case-sensitive to
case-insensitive with Carbon Copy Cloner here:

<https://superuser.com/questions/380330/mac-convert-from-case-sensitive-to-case-insensitive-file-system>

Have you gotten around to trying CCC?

[Wade Garrett]

Not yet but I will- though probably not until next week. I've got some
stuff I need to do for several days.

[Jolly Roger]

Roger that. Fingers crossed for you...