Does Linux use System Restore Disks?

[wizardfromoz]

hammer, saw, chisel, plane, screwdriver.

these are just 5 items in a carpenter's toolbox/toolbelt.

a recovery plan can feature more than one tool. Timeshift, Clonezilla, TestDisk for data recovery from damaged or deleted partitions, DejaDup or other backup utilities. Which tool is the most valuable?

Subjective.

Bear in mind that the OP (Original Poster, that's you, jj ) asked after

does-linux-use-system-restore-disks

if you want an actual disk, then TuxRescue, Hiren's Rescue CD, and others are worth a look.

My "Swiss Army Knife" for over 5 and a half years and 150 or more Distros has been Timeshift.

if we describe @jglen490 's comment above arbitrarily as FORMULA W, then i can give you x, y & z below.

Formula x

one by empty usb stick minimum 8 gb in capacity. Preferred is 16 gb or 32 gb, with no upper limit.

Use gparted or other partitioning tool to

• create partition table to msdos or gpt as preferred
• format the stick to ext4
• create 2 partitions – one uses all available space except for 300 to 500 mb and is ext4 – the other one is sized 300 – 500 mb and is fat32

with the fat32 partition being created, use the Name (not the Label) field to call it

*EFI System Partition

and the flags facility to flag it as

boot, esp

in my case, I am using a 16 gb stick. I have 3 drives in my rig, /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, and /dev/sdc – so my stick is /dev/sdd and I end up with /dev/sdd1 ext4 nearly 16 gb in size, and /dev/sdd2 fat32 500mb in size.

*if you are not using a computer that is UEFI supporting, ignore references to ESP and just have the one partition.

Once the stick is prepared, I leave it in place and launch Timeshift, where I identify the snapshot I wish to use.

In my case, I use full snaps each time OD on demand, but that is because I run between 60 and 100 Linux at any time. You need only choose the last incremental snapshot taken automatically on your one or more Linux.

I have chosen Linux Mint 19.3 “Tricia” MATE as my test subject, on my SSD at /dev/sdb9, with its (shared) ESP being at /dev/sdb2

I select to restore it but instead of restoring it to its source, I target the usb stick, with /dev/sdd1 for root and /dev/sdd2 for an ESP, and confirm changes and proceed.

At the end of the exercise, I have my entire Tricia MATE on a stick that I can run on another of my computers, or even take it travelling with me without the computer.


Formula y

my friend has told me that pulseaudio provides a lot better sound than the ALSA sound that my Linux has shipped with, so I blow away ALSA and install pulseaudio, only to find that my sound card does not like it, and I end up with scratchy distorted sound, or no sound at all.

Deleting pulseaudio and reinstalling ALSA does not remedy the problem, in fact I have no sound even under ALSA, so I am obviously missing something.

Fortunately, my Timeshift ran as scheduled before this, so I just rollback from the last snapshot. Voila, sound fixed.


Formula z

I have an audio-visual presentation to make at work in about an hour.

One of the kids used my work laptop (a no-no) last night to get a fast download on a game they wanted to play, and as a part of that accidentally deleted the Libreoffice Presentatations (Windows users think PowerPoint) file I was building.

They didn’t nuke Presentations, just the one, ultra-important file.

Fortunately my TS ran at 5PM yesterday, before they got on, so I use my File Manager to access the partition where my snapshots are stored, and tunnel into the snapshot to where the file is saved.

Timeshift uses no compression, that is, 1:1 so I just copy (not move) the needed file back to my Linux install, and have time to have a coffee before I meet the boss and the Board of Directors.

now, i can just as easily move past the end of the alphabet and come up with Formulae a, b, c, d &c

then this would be TL;DR (too long, don't read) - possibly is already.

i have Timeshift installed on every distro i use.

cheers

one-armed wizard

 

[jjconstr]

i have Timeshift installed on every distro i use.

cheers

one-armed wizard
[/QUOTE]
In my case, I use full snaps each time OD on demand, but that is because I run between 60 and 100 Linux at any time.




Wiz,

Thats a good argument for TS! I don't understand it all, but have partitioned my hard drive, so that part is familiar. No, no TL; DR. am trying to get as much out of it as I can, and copy it for reference.

What does it mean to run 60 and 100 Linux at any time?

Just got printer up and running. Manfred at answers.launchpad.net, gave me a command to run which started cups and made my printer work from Ubuntu.

systemctl restart cups

and only after that check with

systemctl status cups

I'll go to that post and describe the fix and mark it solved.

Thanks for the tutorial! It is great!

 

[jglen490]

Let me be absolutely clear on this. Timeshift, "out of the box", does not do backups. It does creates rollback points of specific changes. Do not confuse the two terms. Timeshift can be configured to create backups, as well as rollback positions, and to make them periodically. Doing so requires specific action on the user's part. This something that way too many new Linux users mess up. Even some seasoned users.

I'm not dissing Timeshift, it's a fine tool, and it can be a very flexible and useful; especially in the hands of a pro like jjconstr.

In my opinion, a Linux user with a single Linux box will be better served by using rsync or an rsync-based GUI backup tool to make periodic, and complete backups of specific areas such as your /home. And, yes, you can choose to make a complete backup of your / directory, if you want to. I choose not to, because of how I use Linux, it is more time saving to just re-install Linux than to take the time to completely backup my / partition - several times in the life of a distro version. That's my choice. I do, routinely, make a complete backup of my /home partition, because it is more time saving to do so than to try and reconstruct the data that is on /home. That is my decision.

You make your own decisions. It's your Linux and your data.

 

[wizardfromoz]

Being used to system restore disks in Windows, makes me want one for Ubuntu. But is it neccessary or is there something else?

@jglen490 , we don't disagree on a lot - quite the contrary

but i think you are misreading the thrust of what the OP was asking after, and that is eminently answered via Timeshift.

certainly, rsync is a valuable tool - ask any sysadmin - and it is also a significant part of the engines for both Tony George's Timeshift and Steven Shiau's Clonezilla.

Tony George, at his github presence here https://github.com/teejee2008/timeshift

says, in part

Timeshift for Linux is an application that provides functionality similar to the System Restore feature in Windows and the Time Machine tool in Mac OS. Timeshift protects your system by taking incremental snapshots of the file system at regular intervals. These snapshots can be restored at a later date to undo all changes to the system.


In RSYNC mode, snapshots are taken using rsync and hard-links. Common files are shared between snapshots which saves disk space. Each snapshot is a full system backup that can be browsed with a file manager.


In BTRFS mode, snapshots are taken using the in-built features of the BTRFS filesystem. BTRFS snapshots are supported only on BTRFS systems having an Ubuntu-type subvolume layout (with @ and @home subvolumes).


Timeshift is similar to applications like rsnapshot, BackInTime and TimeVault but with different goals. It is designed to protect only system files and settings. User files such as documents, pictures and music are excluded. This ensures that your files remains unchanged when you restore your system to an earlier date. If you need a tool to backup your documents and files please take a look at the excellent BackInTime application which is more configurable and provides options for saving user files.

quite clear.

i also mention it (backup) in my TS thread here https://www.linux.org/threads/timeshift-similar-solutions- atsafeguard-recover-your-linux.15241/ at least 6 times, search tool reveals. the OP has read this, i believe.

Timeshift by default does not include Home folder or partition, hence backup solutions like in-built backup facilities on the distros eg Ubuntu and Linux Mint may better serve the user.

I DO include my home, to preserve my settings for browsers, desktop and the like - but then i store my valuable documents, videos, pictures &c externally, and with the OP having a 1 TB external drive where he is setting up for TS, he may well choose to follow that line or other.

Timeshift, if used including home - when restoring, unlike a backup solution, does not prompt you when replacing existing files/ newer files whether to replace or skip, so i make that quite clear, as does Tony.

but using my method, i do not lose anything, and that has served me well for years.

any other questions or opinions on Timeshift's capabilities and shortcomings, are better served being placed at my Thread, which has an audience of over 40,000 and may help more.

Meantime, i think the OP's question has been asked and answered here.

cheers all

wizard

 

[Condobloke]

.....and that's that !!!!