System backup

[sudodus]

... I have my personal files backed up (several places), and can restore the whole system from an ubuntu CD plus personal files in about 15 hours (I know because I've just done it). I just imagined I would be able to backup all the system files securely so as to save time & effort if I screw the system up again or have a system failure ...

You have your own backup system already. Maybe you should not expect it to be easy to get something that is much better.

If you want a complete backup, Clonezilla is a good choice, used by many people. You need not take such complete backups very often, for example only when you make major manual changes of your system.

Instead take frequent backups of your personal files! Consider including the hidden files and directories in your home directory (the .files and .directories), if you use applications that store important data in such files, for example Thunderbird and Virtualbox.

[pastim]

Running deja-dup as sudo (via gnome-control-center) and backing up to my (smallish) USB drive seems to have done the trick. No errors reported.

It's a shame there seems to be no easy way to browse what is in the backup (as there would have been if only I could have got a zip-style method to work). I am having to take on trust that what I want is there, and that makes me uneasy ....

Still, I booted from my ubuntu live CD, ran deja-dup, and it looks as if I could restore files or the whole system from there if I ever have to.

So I now have:

1) Personal file backups (several) for normal recovery
2) This new deja-dup/duplicity method to attempt recovery if something more significant fails, without having to start all over again.
3) The ubuntu live CD to do a full clean reinstall, plus personal file backups, if all else fails.

I'll be moving into the New Year a little happier now

[pastim]

And thanks to all who responded to my cry for help. I really do appreciate it.