Heyo!!!, SO as we know I am new to ubuntu, and I am a bit affraid that I might mess something up. SO I am wondering, does ubuntu have a back up and restore thing as well? OR will I have to just reinstall ubuntu if I some how mess things up?
Look at backintime-qt (graphical) and timeshift.
"Just because you can do it doesn't mean you should do it." "If it ain't broke don't fix it."
Heyo, Thank you. I am installing time shift now.
Originally Posted by shadowtabby Heyo!!!, SO as we know I am new to ubuntu, and I am a bit affraid that I might mess something up. SO I am wondering, does ubuntu have a back up and restore thing as well? OR will I have to just reinstall ubuntu if I some how mess things up? There are 50 options. Each has pros and cons. Main thing is to backup stuff to different physical media. For a beginner, that is usually handled easiest with a $40 USB 2TB HDD. Get one that has external power, so it isn't slow. Timeshift is for the OS. If you don't have to do a snapshot daily, have it do one at least weekly, just before you run your normal weekly patching. Patching more often than once a week is probably too often. Back-In-Time is for your $HOME directory and for all the human-users HOME directories and typical data (documents, images, etc.). It uses hard-links to minimize the required storage for each "version" it makes. It is pretty efficient. The technique uses has been around in Unix for 40 yrs. You can learn about hardlinks and symbolic links on wikipedia. Good to have knowledge about both of those methods. You need both types of backups when you are new-to-Linux. The combination of Timeshift and Back-in-Time is a good one for most people. Beware that timeshift restores don't always work, so be certain you test it BEFORE you count on it and before you really trust it. I don't know how much you know about using virtual machines, but that is a great way to test a small backup/restore process, so you aren't surprised when it truly is important. It will also build confidence in the solutions that you choose for this need. When you become more advanced or start setting up servers (no GUI on a server), then you'll need a different backup solution. There are many. Of course, using other solutions often means either less flexibility or a more complex restore process. Restores under timeshift are pretty easy to get the OS back as it was. Timeshift isn't perfect. There are issues where it is possible to have corrupted backups under some specific situations. To ensure no corruption is possible, there are other methods that add complexity to an OS setup. Best avoided. There are always trade-offs, it seems. I setup Back-in-Time on my 80+ yr old mother's Linux computer. She loved it and it was easy for her to understand. Timeshift didn't exist back then.
+1 for Back-In-Time. Easy enough to use and for me has been completely reliable.
UP THE IRONS!
Heyo, Long reply hehe. Timeshift doesn't always work? Ooffff, I want something that does, hehe. Thank you for that heads up. What if I remove timeshift and use back in time? No no I am only using ubuntu on my gaming PC. So I really don't want to screw things up. Hehe. So far I am enjoying the learning and find my PC is going faster too. I don't have old things in my PC either well maybe the i7-8700.
Most software failures are due to incorrect setup or incorrect expectations. Most people find that using both Timeshift for the OS and Back-in-time for their data is the best option for simplicity of restore of the OS post-disaster and having really great versioned backups of their personal settings and data. If you use just one or the other, then you'll need to specifically set them up in the method you require. I've never seen timeshift fail myself, but I don't use it. I've only seen it used by others and I've seen a demo of the entire setup including a full restore using both timeshift and back-in-time. Did I mention that I setup back-in-time for my mother's PC? If you don't understand, go find some youtube videos about each tool and watch someone actually set them up, listen to the extra tidbits of knowledge they convey. Before you ask, no, I can't recommend any. I've not needed them. I'm fairly experienced with Linux (over 30 yrs). Actually, I use LVM to take volume snapshots then use rdiff-backup to "pull" backups to my backup server, but that's much more complicated than 99% of the people in these forums want.
Heyo, Okies maybe I don't need it then, because where you said "Most software failures are due to incorrect setup or incorrect expectations." I am very very very careful with what I do, and if I am not sure then I wont do it. Wait so I can do back ups and have it backing up to my NAS???
Originally Posted by shadowtabby Heyo, Okies maybe I don't need it then, because where you said "Most software failures are due to incorrect setup or incorrect expectations." I am very very very careful with what I do, and if I am not sure then I wont do it. You need BOTH timeshift and something link Back-in-Time. You'll thank me later. Originally Posted by shadowtabby Wait so I can do back ups and have it backing up to my NAS??? Depends on the capabilities of your NAS and how files are stored there. In general, it is a bad idea to use storage that client machines can access over the network for backups. Why? Because when they get malware/cryptoware, they have access to the NAS storage and can make all the data there they can access useless.
Originally Posted by TheFu You need BOTH timeshift and something link Back-in-Time. You'll thank me later. Depends on the capabilities of your NAS and how files are stored there. In general, it is a bad idea to use storage that client machines can access over the network for backups. Why? Because when they get malware/cryptoware, they have access to the NAS storage and can make all the data there they can access useless. Ah okies I know I have my NAS access controlled with a firewall, which seems pretty good and need to have an assigned IP address on the router and allowed in the firewall. Only mine and my sisters devices are allowed to access it. On the router. I restricted that to mine and my sisters computers.
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