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Thread: Howto: Backup and restore your system!

  1. #11
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    Re: Howto: Backup and restore your system!

    Quote Originally Posted by Sam
    But it's a commercial application....
    true, very true.

  2. #12
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    Re: Howto: Backup and restore your system!

    Quote Originally Posted by Sam
    But it's a commercial application....
    Exactly. And it also requires you to shut down your operating system. This might be fine for your workstation, but not something you'd really want to do with a server.

    Also, What if you want to backup to a USB device? Or a firewire device? Or to a machine on your network? Or to a machine somewhere on the internet? All that is possible when you backup from a running operating system and the TAR method.

    Sure, ghost might be a great application, but it'll cost you $47.00 at least, which is kind of silly when the rest of the software you are using didn't cost you a penny

    My point being: Ghost might be good, but you don't need it

    (p.s. the link to the symantec site doesn't really work for me)
    Last edited by Heliode; May 18th, 2005 at 03:57 PM.
    "Windows is something to overcome"

    Howto's by me:
    Tweak firefox! (URL now works..)
    Backup/Restore your system!
    Avoid having to reboot


    Compentux.org
    , the Linux Tip & Howto gathering initiative!

  3. #13
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    Re: Howto: Backup and restore your system!

    Quote Originally Posted by Heliode
    Also, What if you want to backup to a USB device? Or a firewire device? Or to a machine on your network? Or to a machine somewhere on the internet? All that is possible when you backup from a running operating system and the TAR method.
    Well I backup-up to a USB-flash drive. Since I don't have a floppy-drive in my laptop, but I did have a Norton Ghost floppy, I first copied the contents of the floppy to a CD and made it bootable, then I booted from the CD which ran Norton Ghost and which also recognized my USB-flash drive. I then choose to make a back-up of my Ubuntu EXT3 partition and put it on the USB-flash drive.

    About the reboot, yeahh your absolutely right about that one, but the latest versions of Norton Ghost doesn't even need a reboot anymore to back-up Windows. But where talking about Linux here, and since this program doesn't run on Linux..... .... you get the picture!

  4. #14
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    Re: Howto: Backup and restore your system!

    Quote Originally Posted by Heliode
    (p.s. the link to the symantec site doesn't really work for me)
    Well, I made a copy past for you from the website:

    Ghost compatibility with Linux

    Situation:
    You are preparing to use Ghost to clone a computer that contains the Linux operating system, and you want to know whether your version of Linux has been tested with Ghost.

    Solution:
    Whether Ghost can clone a drive or a partition from a Linux computer depends on the version of Ghost, the version of Linux, and the type of file system. In general, Ghost versions prior to 6.0 can do only sector-by-sector copies of entire drives. Ghost versions 6.0 and later are compatible with many versions of Linux and can clone both drives and individual partitions.

    Supported file systems
    All Ghost versions support sector copy operations for Linux disks. Sector copy operations can clone entire disks and not individual partitions.

    Ghost versions that support EXT2 or EXT3 can perform a native copy operation, which supports the cloning of individual partitions. Ghost versions that support EXT2 or EXT3 partitions allow all of the same functionality on EXT2 and EXT3 partitions as they do with FAT and NTFS partitions.

    Ghost does not support other Linux file systems such as Reiserfs.



    Details regarding specific Ghost versions with specific Linux versions

    (1) Both Red Hat 6.1 and Mandrake 6.1 use 4 KB block sizes by default. In some cases, Ghost 6.0 - 6.02 will work successfully on these, but this is not a supported configuration for Ghost 6.0 - 6.02. Ghost 6.03, 6.04, 6.5, 7.0 and 7.5 handle 4 KB block sizes appropriately and are supported in these configurations.

    (4) Lockup problems with Mandrake 7.0 in Ghost versions 6.0 - 6.02 might be resolved by using the -ID switch on Ghost.exe. These problems were resolved in 6.03. However, the patching of LILO after cloning with Ghost 6.03 will fail if the default target in /etc/lilo.conf is other than the first target. To prevent this target problem, change the order of the targets in /etc/lilo.conf so that the default target is the first one in the list, then run /sbin/lilo to rewrite the /boot/map file.

    (5) Ghost 6.0 - 6.04 might work with Slackware 7.0, provided Slackware 7.0 does not use 4 KB block sizes. However, Ghost 6.0 - 6.04 do not support Slackware 7.0 at this time.

    (6) Ghost 6.03, 6.04, 6.5, 7.0 and 7.5 are compatible with Corel Linux 1.0. These Ghost version can handle the "compact" option that Corel Linux uses for LILO. Ghost 6.0 - 6.02 cannot handle the "compact" option that Corel Linux uses for LILO, so the clone will need to be booted from floppy disk after cloning.

    (7) Ghost 6.04 and earlier does not work with Linux versions that use Supermount for accessing floppy disks or CDs. Ghost stops responding during computer startup and cannot be loaded into memory. Typical Linux versions that might use Supermount include Mandrake 7.0 and Caldera 2.3. This problem has been fixed in Ghost 6.5.

    ( 8 ) In testing, the Linux Hotfix to Ghost 6.51 (this hotfix is included in Symantec Ghost 7.0 and later) appears to fix some problems between Ghost and Red Hat 7.1.

    Technical Information:
    Linux file names
    Linux files with file names that are not valid in Windows might not restore correctly using Norton Ghost Explorer. For instance, the file MYFILE.TXT, is a valid Linux file, but it cannot be restored using Norton Ghost Explorer.

    Linux Kernel 2.2 with the EXT2 file system
    If your Linux version uses the new Linux Kernel 2.2 and you add the extended features to the EXT2 file system, you might have problems with Ghost. Symantec is aware of the problem and is investigating its cause. There is no known solution or workaround at this time. For more information on the extended features of the EXT2 file system , consult your Linux Kernel 2.2 documentation.

    Dual booting
    Ghost supports dual booting with the Windows operating system and a supported Linux version only in a stand alone configuration. When using Ghost Multicast Server, GhostCast Server, or Ghost Console to work with a client computer, Ghost does not support dual booting on the client computer.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Note: If you have problems booting after restoring an image of a dual boot system, refer to the section "Boot loaders: LILO and GRUB" for information specific to your boot loader.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    SuSE
    SuSE is a popular version of Linux used in Europe. Ghost 7.0 and 7.5 have not been tested on SuSE, and we do not know at this time whether these Ghost versions are compatible with SuSE. Symantec Ghost 8.0 is compatible with SuSE.

    Caldera Linux eDesktop 2.4
    This Linux version includes a new boot loader called Grand Unified Boot Loader (GRUB), which is able to work with 8 GB and larger drives.

    Norton Ghost 2003 and earlier do not support GRUB. Unofficial testing has shown that Ghost 7.5 and earlier can create and restore images of these drives, but that the restored system cannot boot up. To repair the restored system, boot the system with the disk you created during the Linux installation and follow the instructions for re-installing GRUB.

    Boot loaders: LILO and GRUB
    Each Ghost version that supports Linux supports the LILO boot loader.
    To fix boot problems after cloning a system that uses the LILO boot loader
    Boot the computer from the Linux rescue disk.
    Log in as the root.
    Run LILO.

    Norton Ghost 2003 and earlier, and Symantec Ghost 7.5 and earlier do not support cloning Linux computers that use the Grand Unified Boot Loader (GRUB) because Ghost 7.5 and earlier cannot patch the GRUB. Restored systems using GRUB cannot start. To repair the restored computer, start the computer with the disk you created during the Linux installation and follow the instructions for re-installing GRUB. For related information, see the document Cannot start Linux with GRUB boot loader after restoring an image of a disk or partition.

    Symantec Ghost 8.x does support GRUB.

    Ghost does not support other Linux boot loaders.

    Reiserfs
    Reiserfs is a new type of Linux file system. Symantec Ghost versions 8.x and earlier do not support Reiserfs.

    Symantec Ghost 7.0 and Norton Ghost 2002
    Ghost 7.0 and 2002 include some fixes for Linux compatibility that were not included in previous Ghost versions. If you encounter problems cloning Linux disks or partitions with Ghost 6.5, upgrading to Ghost 7.0 might resolve the problem.

    Ghost 7.0 and 2002 fixed the following problem in some instances:
    Error: "Could not load NTSNX driver...The CMDS service is not started..." while starting the computer

    Norton Ghost 2000, and Norton Ghost 5.1d and earlier
    Versions of Ghost prior to 6.0 do not support Linux and will only allow a direct sector-by-sector clone of the entire drive.

    Ghost 5.1d and earlier can correctly change partition sizes on FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS partitions only. When a drive is partitioned in a different format, Ghost can only perform a sector by sector copy. Sector by sector copies do not allow for there to be any changes in the geometry of the hard drive. Therefore, Ghost can be used to clone a drive to an identical drive for cloning or backup purposes. However, Ghost currently cannot be used to migrate a Linux partition.

    References:
    For more information regarding Symantec Ghost support for Linux, read Appendix E in the Symantec Ghost 7.5 Implementation Guide or Appendix F in the Symantec Ghost 8.0 Implementation Guide.
    Last edited by maspro; May 18th, 2005 at 04:22 PM.

  5. #15
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    Re: Howto: Backup and restore your system!

    Quote Originally Posted by look at above text
    Norton Ghost 2003 and earlier do not support GRUB. Unofficial testing has shown that Ghost 7.5 and earlier can create and restore images of these drives, but that the restored system cannot boot up. To repair the restored system, boot the system with the disk you created during the Linux installation and follow the instructions for re-installing GRUB.
    That whole stuff about Grub not working and all is ********, I used Norton Ghost 2003 to back-up and restore Ubuntu with Grub and all works fine including the booting part.

  6. #16
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    Re: Howto: Backup and restore your system!

    You just forget something:

    Ghost:


    Source


    Tar:

    FREE !!!

  7. #17
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    Re: Howto: Backup and restore your system!

    Quote Originally Posted by maspro
    That whole stuff about Grub not working and all is ********, I used Norton Ghost 2003 to back-up and restore Ubuntu with Grub and all works fine including the booting part.
    Well, I guess you have to make a distinction here: There's two kinds of ghosts you can create; partition images and disk images. A partition image includes everything on a partition, and a disk image includes everything on a disk. Obviously, if you do a disk image, the bootloader (not just GRUB but also LiLO and whatever that thing Windows uses is called) is also included in the image. However, when you just do a partition image, that kind of stuff isn't included.

    I find it strange how they list various operating systems that they support... why should ghost care about what kind of an operating system is on a disk/partition when it clones it? Isn't the filesystem its only concern? Or does this mean the actual program now runs on those Linux distributions?

    But lets get things back on-topic!

    Anyone used this howto for backing stuff up already? Any related feedback?
    "Windows is something to overcome"

    Howto's by me:
    Tweak firefox! (URL now works..)
    Backup/Restore your system!
    Avoid having to reboot


    Compentux.org
    , the Linux Tip & Howto gathering initiative!

  8. #18
    Join Date
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    Re: Howto: Backup and restore your system!

    Quote Originally Posted by Heliode
    Well, I guess you have to make a distinction here: There's two kinds of ghosts you can create; partition images and disk images. A partition image includes everything on a partition, and a disk image includes everything on a disk. Obviously, if you do a disk image, the bootloader (not just GRUB but also LiLO and whatever that thing Windows uses is called) is also included in the image. However, when you just do a partition image, that kind of stuff isn't included.

    I find it strange how they list various operating systems that they support... why should ghost care about what kind of an operating system is on a disk/partition when it clones it? Isn't the filesystem its only concern? Or does this mean the actual program now runs on those Linux distributions?

    But lets get things back on-topic!

    Anyone used this howto for backing stuff up already? Any related feedback?
    Well all that stuff about what OS is and isn't supported is kindoff strange indeed, you would say that EXT2/EXT3 is al the same in all Linux OS-ses. And indeed what you say about disk and partition images is true, I think it all depends where Grub is installed wether it will work or not.

    But back on-topic indeed :
    When I get around to it I will try your guide, because it can certainly come in handy, if I only knew of this guide sooner.... then I wouldn't have tried that whole Ghost stuff!

  9. #19
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    Re: Howto: Backup and restore your system!

    when I backuped in this method, my tar file was 948 MB so it could not fit on a cd-r. Also it wasn't a bootable image. Anyone have recommendations on how to create a bootable image that has been backup up?
    "Perception is in the mind of the Observer" - Robert Zedros

    http://thesteelo.com
    http://urbdb.com

  10. #20
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    Re: Howto: Backup and restore your system!

    Quote Originally Posted by Heliode
    But lets get things back on-topic!

    Anyone used this howto for backing stuff up already? Any related feedback?
    I just tryed to backup my system. It took 6 minutes (I've excluded the home which is TOO large). I didn't try the restore.

    One thing, you chould change
    Code:
    tar xvpfz backup.tgz
    to
    Code:
    tar xvpfz backup.tgz -C /
    which extracts the archive to the root folder in the case you burned the archive to a CD or DVD.

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