Mintbackup?

67GTA · Post by **67GTA** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 12:31 am

I have always hated not having a bullet proof back up solution for Linux distros. I have used several apps from the Debian repositories over the years, but none of them are foolproof. I have used partimage many times, but had problems with compressing/uncompressing errors. Would it be possible to integrate a backup system? I'm not talking about Windows Restore. Maybe a few simple clicks to set the backup options and then a few to restore them. Most of the GUI backup apps are not very user friendly. They still require some Linux knowledge to set up. I'm not a developer, so I have no idea what this would encompass. Just an idea.

scorp123 · Post by **scorp123** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 4:32 am

All you need is tar and gzip ... When disaster strikes you won't have a GUI anyway, so there is no point learning GUI backup tools.

http://www.linuxmint.com/forum/viewtopi ... 1510#21510

scorp123 · Post by **scorp123** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:18 pm

KrazyPenguin wrote: Because if you don't know the commands, how are you suppose to type them in??

Learn them !!

Besides: "man" is your friend.

scorp123 · Post by **scorp123** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:28 am

BlahBlah_X wrote: type "sudo remastersys backup" and it will create a bootable, installable cd of your system.

That sounds good.

67GTA · Post by **67GTA** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:39 am

That is cool. That is just what I was thinking about. I did not know there was a stand alone app that would do that. There goes my idea. The first version is in the Feisty repos. I might try it tomorrow. Thanks.

scorp123 · Post by **scorp123** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:44 am

KrazyPenguin wrote: You can't tell some newbie user to "LEARN THEM!!!"

Oh yes ... *I can*

And I do. All the time. Messages like this one prove that I am right:
http://www.linuxmint.com/forum/viewtopi ... 1522#21522
This user learned the commands I told him and now he's happy for he can backup and restore his /home directory. Voila, mission accomplished. One more ex-newbie, one more who knows his ways around and who has less and less to fear.

KrazyPenguin wrote: Well I guess you could

And I do.

KrazyPenguin wrote: But you might scare them away

I don't care ... If someone is "scared away" because us more experienced folks here try to help them by telling them what commands they have to learn to get around their new OS then they don't deserve our attention and they deserve the agonies they experience on that crap-by-design OS they most likely used before.

historyb · Post by **historyb** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 2:11 pm

It's the way it's told to them, not that it's told to them

scorp123 · Post by **scorp123** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:57 pm

historyb wrote:It's the way it's told to them, not that it's told to them

That depends on how well they listen

Seriously: What's the point of a GUI backup tool if you have use it for the restore too? Chances are you won't be able to use it when something bad happens. I have seen many people fall into this trap. The backup is there, yes. Everything is there, up to the last second before the lights went out. Except that there is no easy way to get the data back because there is no easy way to get the oh-so-badly needed backup client working again. And this defeats the purpose of backups ... in that case you could just as well accept that your data is lost and install from scratch.

Stuff like Remastersys (mentioned above) is a different story: If it can create a bootable CD or DVD so that you don't have to get into a working backup client copy again to initiate a restore -- all that's needed is on that bootable CD -- then by all means use that, or at least give this a try. It's always good if users have a choice, and if this method works the better for all of us.

I personally can only suggest what experience has taught me: The simpler you make your backups the simpler it will be to get the data back again. And if that means that you have to learn a few useful shell commands ... well, then learn them! In the end it will be beneficial for you, you will be able to get your stuff back ... all of it if you want to. Or just the few select portions you really want back, anywhere, anytime, regardless of CPU, distro ... or even OS. Just to mention that Linux *.tar.gz archives can easily be read on other operating systems too, e.g. on Windows WinRAR and WinZIP can handle them (there might be a problem reading really large archives though as Windows may have troubles handling really large files beyond 4 GB ...), and Mac OS X also has its own tools to read those archives. Even "exotic" OS's such as OS/2 and BeOS can handle Linux's *.tar.gz files. But usually a simple Live CD is all that you will need: Boot anywhere, restore anything. It really is simple.

So if you follow my advice above and really learn those few and simple commands, chances you will always get your data back, regardless what OS you may be forced to use in that moment.

Quoting (oh well, not really

) Darth Vader: "... If you only knew the power of the shell ... "

historyb · Post by **historyb** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 7:25 pm

If I may I respectfully disagree, I think that if you use a gui to backup than by all means you can use one to restore. You would pop in the live cd and do th restore from there.

Although with that said I do like Remastersys though I can see a weakness with it and that would mean making multiple backup CD's or DVD's so as to keep current.

hairy_Palms · Post by **hairy_Palms** » Sun Jul 08, 2007 6:06 pm

Although with that said I do like Remastersys though I can see a weakness with it and that would mean making multiple backup CD's or DVD's so as to keep current.

or using rewriteables

Alephcat · Post by **Alephcat** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 6:40 pm

Eric_Jardas wrote:Give a man a fish, he can feed his family for a day day, teach him how to fish and he can feed his family forever.

"Give a man a fire and he is warm for a day, set a man alight, and he is warm for the rest of his life"