System Restore

[LaRoza]

I like creating GUIs, but I can only create them in Java.. as far as I understand you use Python.
I find your idea very interesting (and useful), and I guess you're right that we need a restore program rather than a backup one (which would require way too much space to be efficient)
I would like it to restore (in a user friendly way) at least these:
1) /etc/fstab
2) /etc/X11/xorg.conf
3) the Gnome settings from my HOME directory (file associations, etc)

I use many languages, for this, I am using Python and Tkinter.

Those are already part of it Glad I know I knew what to include.

[seventhc]

Updates:

It will need people to test it soon, any takers?

I can give it a test.

[LaRoza]

I can give it a test.

Thanks.

It will require hosing your system with no backups for it to be a true test though.

Just kidding, no one has to do anything during the testing they don't want to. The creation of restore points is entirely safe, unless you have a file named the same as the system restore files do which is unlikely, because they have a funny name, a custom section and the date in their title.

[seventhc]

I can hose this system, nothing on it, so at most if the restore fails I'll just reinstall it.
anything that is important is already saved externally, so no worries.

edit..
would this be something like...create a resore point, maybe install some stuff, then try to restore it to before the install??

[LaRoza]

I can hose this system, nothing on it, so at most if the restore fails I'll just reinstall it.
anything that is important is already saved externally, so no worries.

edit..
would this be something like...create a resore point, maybe install some stuff, then try to restore it to before the install??

Perhaps it could, it won't do a few system rollback, only settings.

If one manages to bork their xorg.conf, menu.lst, or their gnome settings, this could restore it.

It basically mimics the Windows System Restore (which just backups the registry) and saves system settings.

[seventhc]

If one manages to bork their xorg.conf, menu.lst, or their gnome settings

Ok, I think I can manage that.

[popch]

Wouldn't it be useful for testing purposes if the application had a separate option 'bork system' with sub-options offering to bork specific parts?

[LaRoza]

Wouldn't it be useful for testing purposes if the application had a separate option 'bork system' with sub-options offering to bork specific parts?

I wouldn't want to write any destructive code (those Windows scripts didn't count).

Right now, I haven't written the code to restore, just everything up to that with just a message saying it isn't done.

I also ran into GUI problems, and I have to fix that. Of course, if anyone wants to test the CLI code I will give that to. The code for the core of it is separate from the use of it.

[popch]

I wouldn't want to write any destructive code

I understand your consideration but think it would be less dangerous to run some carefully designed and selectively destructive script than to rely on the people testing the restore to reliably damage the proper parts of their system.

It would not be a perfectly complete test accounting for all imaginable situations. Still it would reliably test the basic functionality.

Besides, intentionally borking the system with carefully designed code can do it in a way which is recoverable, while manually doing so might leave your system in an unpredictable state.

[LaRoza]

I understand your consideration but think it would be less dangerous to run some carefully designed and selectively destructive script than to rely on the people testing the restore to reliably damage the proper parts of their system.

It would not be a perfectly complete test accounting for all imaginable situations. Still it would reliably test the basic functionality.

Besides, intentionally borking the system with carefully designed code can do it in a way which is recoverable, while manually doing so might leave your system in an unpredictable state.

Perhaps just renaming the files in question, or changing your theme would be more suitable for testing. Then, for serious work, I'd use a VM.

This is meant to restore still working, if damaged systems.

Perhaps a rename script would be in order, which can undo everything easily. (It would effectively backup the files too)