Best strategy for Timeshift

Questions about applications and software
Forum rules
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
Locked
thenerdyguy
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 156
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2021 2:46 pm

Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by thenerdyguy »

I tried to make Timeshift save it's snapshots to an USB key, but then, the system would refuse to shut down.

In the past, I would save them directly on the drive, but since I had a kernel issue and was locked out of my drive, this doesn't seem like the best strategy.

How could I better set this up?
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Sep 27, 2023 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
User avatar
diabolicbg
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1359
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:20 am
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by diabolicbg »

IMHO you don't have to use external media, but it's not a good idea to keep the backups in the root directory. Use space on another drive or partition formatted to ext4. About 50GB is sufficient. Direct Timeshift to write to this partition and enter the schedule settings, for example weekly with 2-3 backups saved.
It's a good idea to do a basic one after system setup and then let the program write daily, weekly, on startup or however you like. In the end you don't need more than 2 backups. More than 2 are an unnecessary waste of space.
That's how it is with me:
2023-03-27_20-48.png
2023-03-27_20-49.png
2023-03-27_20-49.png (11.65 KiB) Viewed 797 times
- You see, in this world there are two kinds of people, my friend, those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig. - "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
thenerdyguy
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 156
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2021 2:46 pm

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by thenerdyguy »

diabolicbg wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 1:50 pm IMHO you don't have to use external media, but it's not a good idea to keep the backups in the root directory. Use space on another drive or partition formatted to ext4. About 50GB is sufficient. Direct Timeshift to write to this partition and enter the schedule settings, for example weekly with 2-3 backups saved.
It's a good idea to do a basic one after system setup and then let the program write daily, weekly, on startup or however you like. In the end you don't need more than 2 backups. More than 2 are an unnecessary waste of space.
That's how it is with me:
2023-03-27_20-48.png

2023-03-27_20-49.png
Since it's a laptop and there's no other drive, should I then create a new partition dedicated to Timeshift?
User avatar
diabolicbg
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1359
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:20 am
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by diabolicbg »

thenerdyguy wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 2:22 pm Since it's a laptop and there's no other drive, should I then create a new partition dedicated to Timeshift?
That's a good idea as long as you have space. If not, try using a USB disk.
- You see, in this world there are two kinds of people, my friend, those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig. - "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
Aftermath
Level 1
Level 1
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2022 6:18 pm

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by Aftermath »

I have tried and needed Timeshift on occasions yet cannot seem to get it working. I do not believe that using backup software is useful unless you are reinstalling from scratch your operating system with all it's settings and installed programs. Using backup software for simply saving dot files is easy enough by simply copying from one partition to another as your back up either internally or better yet both internal and external. Why bother using applications like Timeshift to simply back up files and the following iterative ones? Why get yourself dependent upon a program for getting back your dot files instead of simply saving copies to another drive, probably a fat32 formatted partition drive would be best for more universal access by other operating systems.

I came across some info on You Tube where someone with a video there claimed that back up programs like Timeshift will not work unless you place them on a lvm formatted partition. Not sure if that is correct yet have tried to get back an operating system back up that was saved on an Ext4 formatted external partition yet did not work.
User avatar
JerryF
Level 16
Level 16
Posts: 6543
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2015 1:23 pm
Location: Rhode Island, USA

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by JerryF »

There probably is a setting in BIOS that keeps the USB active so that's why it's not shutting down.

Timeshift has always worked for me. You can run it from a live USB to restore your system if you can't boot from your main drive.

As for Timeshift needing an LVM partition---that is not true.
User avatar
AZgl1800
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 11117
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2015 3:20 am
Location: Oklahoma where the wind comes Sweeping down the Plains
Contact:

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by AZgl1800 »

thenerdyguy wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2023 2:22 pm
Since it's a laptop and there's no other drive, should I then create a new partition dedicated to Timeshift?
Laptop user here, I initially partitioned the 1TB SSD in two Partitions.
the 2nd partition was left " Unallocated " until after I had set up my partitions for the OS.
I use a /home partition so I can upgrade or perform Fresh Installs w/o loosing my data.

when that is all done and working, then I format the 2nd partition and label it /Backup
and that is where I point Timeshift


1TB SSD paritions.jpg
LM21.3 Cinnamon ASUS FX705GM | Donate to Mint https://www.patreon.com/linux_mint
Image
Cosmo.
Level 24
Level 24
Posts: 22968
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2014 7:34 am

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by Cosmo. »

Aftermath wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2023 5:25 pm I do not believe that using backup software is useful unless you are reinstalling from scratch your operating system with all it's settings and installed programs. Using backup software for simply saving dot files is easy enough by simply copying from one partition to another as your back up either internally or better yet both internal and external.
dot files (and dot folders) are near to exclusively used inside user's home. But TS is made to secure the system, not user data. This means, both things are not related to each other.

If you find TS useless, than nobody holds you back to ignore it. But if you fall into trouble and cannot restore your system you may never come and cry about the system fault. We had somebody who did this just a short time ago.

We have seen here an uncountable number of cases, where a TS restore made out of a totally broken system an up and running one. If you prefer in case of trouble to do a complete new install, than have fun. Hopefully you are not in urgent need for your computer, when this happens.
User avatar
diabolicbg
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1359
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2021 8:20 am
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by diabolicbg »

Cosmo. wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 4:15 am
Aftermath wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2023 5:25 pm I do not believe that using backup software is useful unless you are reinstalling from scratch your operating system with all it's settings and installed programs. Using backup software for simply saving dot files is easy enough by simply copying from one partition to another as your back up either internally or better yet both internal and external.
dot files (and dot folders) are near to exclusively used inside user's home. But TS is made to secure the system, not user data. This means, both things are not related to each other.

If you find TS useless, than nobody holds you back to ignore it. But if you fall into trouble and cannot restore your system you may never come and cry about the system fault. We had somebody who did this just a short time ago.

We have seen here an uncountable number of cases, where a TS restore made out of a totally broken system an up and running one. If you prefer in case of trouble to do a complete new install, than have fun. Hopefully you are not in urgent need for your computer, when this happens.
+1000
- You see, in this world there are two kinds of people, my friend, those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig. - "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
Petermint
Level 9
Level 9
Posts: 2976
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 3:12 am

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by Petermint »

Timeshift to a good quality 64 GB USB stick. I run TS manually and only after a big update. I usually run big updates at the end of the day when I have finished everything important which means I can run TS then shut down then unplug USB.

When you recover a machine, there is little difference between a few dozen minor updates to run compared to running Timeshift after every trivial update. What you want to capture is configuration changes. Things like a battle with Nvidia where you have to test several kernels. An install of MariaDB.
After you recover, you open Update Manager to catch up on the trivia.
User avatar
Artim
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Dec 31, 2017 3:10 pm

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by Artim »

I prefer a different application for system back-up and restore, especially because it also lets me make a bootable copy of my existing system and write it to a thumb drive or DVD. Kinda like MX-Linux has. This is not to "complain" about Timeshift at all, but just to say there are easy, graphical alternatives to it if you find Timeshift troublesome.
Aftermath
Level 1
Level 1
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2022 6:18 pm

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by Aftermath »

Cosmo. wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 4:15 am
Aftermath wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2023 5:25 pm I do not believe that using backup software is useful unless you are reinstalling from scratch your operating system with all it's settings and installed programs. Using backup software for simply saving dot files is easy enough by simply copying from one partition to another as your back up either internally or better yet both internal and external.
dot files (and dot folders) are near to exclusively used inside user's home. But TS is made to secure the system, not user data. This means, both things are not related to each other.

If you find TS useless, than nobody holds you back to ignore it. But if you fall into trouble and cannot restore your system you may never come and cry about the system fault. We had somebody who did this just a short time ago.

We have seen here an uncountable number of cases, where a TS restore made out of a totally broken system an up and running one. If you prefer in case of trouble to do a complete new install, than have fun. Hopefully you are not in urgent need for your computer, when this happens.
You know more about this than I do from experience and success using Timeshift. I make copies of Timeshift after installations yet when the chips were down and I needed to get a recovery I could not get Timeshift to work. Ironically I said the same thing here that a radio talk show on computers mentioned about Windows 10, that the image snapshot backups are available to create yet never work. I figured out why they may have said that, you need to have your image recovery back ups created on an NTFS partition, Fat32 would not work from my trial and error. With Linux backups someone on You Tube made a similar comment, the back ups will not work unless they are on an LVM partition, not quite certain if that is correct, always placed them on an Ext4 partition and I cannot get them to work on one of those formatted partitions. Still I make copies and hope next time needed they may work and help me recover an operating system. On the other hand considering my hobby home use it is not so difficult to reinstall an operating system instead of recovering from a back up with Linux, the longer expanse in time comes with the complicated installation procedure I have with the use of WINE. So from your experience what is the best approach for creating a Timeshift backup? What type of formatted partition if that even matters and where, on an external thumb drive, internal separate hard drive partition, within the same partition as installed or separate partition within the same hard drive?
Cosmo.
Level 24
Level 24
Posts: 22968
Joined: Sat Dec 06, 2014 7:34 am

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by Cosmo. »

Aftermath wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2023 3:58 am I make copies of Timeshift after installations yet when the chips were down and I needed to get a recovery I could not get Timeshift to work.
That was predictable. Because of the used hard links TS snapshots cannot get copied, they will brake.

I recommend to use for the snapshots a separate partition on an internal drive; about 150 GB size, more, if you use flatpak. Do not include your home into the snapshots, it would contradict the idea behind it. Do not have fear to do snapshots in short distances. Because of the hard link technology new snapshots need only the space of newly created or changed files. Example: Do 2 snapshots immediately one after the other, the 2nd will not need any space, because there is nothing that had been changed or added. I use hourly backups, so the needed space is very low, often zero and the needed time for the snapshots, expressed as a perceptible delay, is also zero.
User avatar
Moem
Level 22
Level 22
Posts: 16193
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2015 9:14 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by Moem »

Aftermath wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2023 5:25 pm I have tried and needed Timeshift on occasions yet cannot seem to get it working.
Mod note:
You've gotten some good advice in this thread, and I'll leave it in place this time, but the next time you have a question, please start a topic of your own instead of piggybacking on someone elses thread. That's how we roll here. Cheers!
Image

If your issue is solved, kindly indicate that by editing the first post in the topic, and adding [SOLVED] to the title. Thanks!
thenerdyguy
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 156
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2021 2:46 pm

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by thenerdyguy »

Petermint wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2023 5:47 am Timeshift to a good quality 64 GB USB stick. I run TS manually and only after a big update. I usually run big updates at the end of the day when I have finished everything important which means I can run TS then shut down then unplug USB.

When you recover a machine, there is little difference between a few dozen minor updates to run compared to running Timeshift after every trivial update. What you want to capture is configuration changes. Things like a battle with Nvidia where you have to test several kernels. An install of MariaDB.
After you recover, you open Update Manager to catch up on the trivia.
That's what I wanted to do initially, by using an USB key, but it would prevent the computer from shutting down. The shutting down process would hang.
User avatar
JerryF
Level 16
Level 16
Posts: 6543
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2015 1:23 pm
Location: Rhode Island, USA

Re: Best strategy for Timeshift

Post by JerryF »

Did you check BIOS settings as I had mentioned?

Check something like "keep USB ports active even while computer is shut down".
Locked

Return to “Software & Applications”