Making a copy/backup of certain files and directories
I have a system with 2 HDD's, namely a 20Gb and a 7.5Gb HDD. What I would like to do is copy an exact replica of /home and /etc and all of their contents from the 20Gb to the 7.5Gb. What I have tried so far is to do it via Konqueror ie right click on /home, left click on copy, left click on /data4(this is the other drive), right click, left click paste. The system seems to copy all the files but I have noticed that the directory count on what files have been read and what files have been written is different. I thought this was just a quirk of the X session not being updated quick enough or that the complete replica had actually failed. Not liking the 'replica failed' idea, I decided to rather try the copy process from the command line (cli). I used the command #:cp -R -v /home /data4/home The system went crazy for a few minutes whilst it copied 1Gb of data and all seemed to work. I have now decided NOT to use the -v switch but would like to know if there is some way I could get a progress indicator/bar in the cli? Are there any other switches which could be added to further enhance the cp? How about using the --b switch? What about the file permissions, as I see there are 6 files owned by root in my /home ie /lost+found? I would like to copy the /home directory across with a normal user but I am worried about the root owned files in the directory. For the /etc directory I know I am going to have to use root as although the files are marked as read there is no write permission. How can I get the ownership to NOT change if I do copy the /home with root? ie ownership changes ie the original user hylton is changed to root? -- The Little Helper ======================================================================== Hylton Conacher - Licenced ex-Windows user (apart from Quicken) Registered Linux user # 229959 at http://counter.li.org Currently using SuSE 9.0 Professional with KDE 3.1 ========================================================================
On Sunday 14 March 2004 14:58 pm, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
I have a system with 2 HDD's, namely a 20Gb and a 7.5Gb HDD.
What I would like to do is copy an exact replica of /home and /etc and all of their contents from the 20Gb to the 7.5Gb.
What I have tried so far is to do it via Konqueror ie right click on /home, left click on copy, left click on /data4(this is the other drive), right click, left click paste. The system seems to copy all the files but I have noticed that the directory count on what files have been read and what files have been written is different. I thought this was just a quirk of the X session not being updated quick enough or that the complete replica had actually failed.
Yes, I've noticed that too... don't know what causes it. Konq doesn't preserve ownerships and permissions though :((
Not liking the 'replica failed' idea, I decided to rather try the copy process from the command line (cli).
I used the command #:cp -R -v /home /data4/home The system went crazy for a few minutes whilst it copied 1Gb of data and all seemed to work.
I have now decided NOT to use the -v switch but would like to know if there is some way I could get a progress indicator/bar in the cli? Are there any other switches which could be added to further enhance the cp? How about using the --b switch?
Try the -a switch - it's equivalent to -dpR,
What about the file permissions, as I see there are 6 files owned by root in my /home ie /lost+found?
They are files which have become orphaned or crosslinked - check out their contents as root and you'll likely find you can delete them.
I would like to copy the /home directory across with a normal user but I am worried about the root owned files in the directory. For the /etc directory I know I am going to have to use root as although the files are marked as read there is no write permission.
This doesn't affect whether you can write a new copy, only whether you can write to the existing file.
How can I get the ownership to NOT change if I do copy the /home with root? ie ownership changes ie the original user hylton is changed to root?
That's covered by cp's -p (=preserve attributes) switch. I quite often use midnight commander for these things since it gives you options and lets you select files. HTH Dylan -- "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Benjamin Franklin
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Sunday 14 March 2004 12:04 pm, Dylan wrote:
On Sunday 14 March 2004 14:58 pm, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
I have a system with 2 HDD's, namely a 20Gb and a 7.5Gb HDD.
What I would like to do is copy an exact replica of /home and /etc and all of their contents from the 20Gb to the 7.5Gb.
My method follows (thanks to another list member, John Clausen) create a directory on your second drive and mount it (for example /dev/hda2 mounted as /home2) as root # cd /home # tar cSpf - . | (cd /home2 ; tar xvSpf - ) This will give you the same permissions and directory structure within /home2 as exists in /home. You get the idea. man tar for the specifics of the switches. This *should* copy all files (dot-files included) to the new partition, preserving ownership/permissions Hope this helps - -- dh Don't shop at GoogleGear.com! -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFAVPTqBwgxlylUsJARApj0AJ4zZQQbmbayEr352XuzGkBODzJg4QCeLUhK xpp1hlc25R8U8CIl6t+fQ5w= =dB6Q -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
On Sunday 14 March 2004 12:04 pm, Dylan wrote:
On Sunday 14 March 2004 14:58 pm, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
I have a system with 2 HDD's, namely a 20Gb and a 7.5Gb HDD.
What I would like to do is copy an exact replica of /home and /etc and all of their contents from the 20Gb to the 7.5Gb.
My method follows (thanks to another list member, John Clausen)
create a directory on your second drive and mount it (for example /dev/hda2 mounted as /home2)
as root # cd /home # tar cSpf - . | (cd /home2 ; tar xvSpf - )
This will give you the same permissions and directory structure within /home2 as exists in /home. You get the idea. Tnx David for the info on that, however, there is one thing I have learnt over the years with backups and that is to never put them into a compressed file, an archive file as to get back at that data you then need to decompress and invariably have the same disk space you had on
man tar for the specifics of the switches. This *should* copy all files (dot-files included) to the new partition, preserving ownership/permissions When ever I see *should* I immediately think of the , in theory term and might. What I am looking for is a definite cp of data, not a might copy
David Herman wrote: the original master drive. No I only do a copy of the files and the directories. That way if I need a specific document before I get the master HDD up, I can get to it without having extra hassle. the data. No offense to you, but I had to ramble on a bit. :) -- The Little Helper ======================================================================== Hylton Conacher - Licenced ex-Windows user (apart from Quicken) Registered Linux user # 229959 at http://counter.li.org Currently using SuSE 9.0 Professional with KDE 3.1 ========================================================================
The Wednesday 2004-03-17 at 17:20 +0200, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
as root # cd /home # tar cSpf - . | (cd /home2 ; tar xvSpf - )
This will give you the same permissions and directory structure within /home2 as exists in /home. You get the idea. Tnx David for the info on that, however, there is one thing I have learnt over the years with backups and that is to never put them into a compressed file, an archive file as to get back at that data you then need to decompress and invariably have the same disk space you had on the original master drive.
No I only do a copy of the files and the directories. That way if I need a specific document before I get the master HDD up, I can get to it without having extra hassle.
Think again. The above command line does not create a tar archive. Notice there is a pipe, with a tar command on one side of it, and another at the other side... I will not explain the details. -- Cheers, Carlos Robinson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Wednesday 17 March 2004 07:20 am, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote: > David Herman wrote: - ------snip--------------- > > My method follows (thanks to another list member, John Clausen) > > > > create a directory on your second drive and mount it (for > > example /dev/hda2 mounted as /home2) > > > > as root > > # cd /home > > # tar cSpf - . | (cd /home2 ; tar xvSpf - ) Note the parenthesis are part of the command and there are some spaces that belong in there as well > > This will give you the same permissions and directory structure > > within /home2 as exists in /home. You get the idea. > > Tnx David for the info on that, however, there is one thing I have > learnt over the years with backups and that is to never put them into > a compressed file, an archive file as to get back at that data you > then need to decompress and invariably have the same disk space you > had on the original master drive. Actually what is happening is that the files (and their permissions) are being bundled together by the first part of the command, then via a pipe they are uncompressed in the new directory with all of the file attributes intact > No I only do a copy of the files and the directories. That way if I > need a specific document before I get the master HDD up, I can get to > it without having extra hassle. I agree that is a sound method. When I was asking about this on the list (I believe the thread was named moving day..., around november 2001) there was discussion of using cp, with some specific flags but as this method worked for me its what I use :-) Another suggestion from that thread follows (assuming the source directory is /home and the new directory is /home2) I (dh) had tried cp -a /home /home2 Terrance Eck suggested The correct way to ensure hidden files are included is: cp -a /home /home2 As I said before, I use the tar method suggested by John Clausen, and it has worked for me but the cp -a method may suit you. > When ever I see *should* I immediately think of the , in theory term > and might. What I am looking for is a definite cp of data, not a > might copy the data. Ok, yes, it has worked for me numerous times as described, I'm sure it would make you quite happy :-) > No offense to you, but I had to ramble on a bit. :) None taken, more than one way to skin a horse. Have a great evening! - -- dh Don't shop at ZipZoomFly.com! -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFAWSHdBwgxlylUsJARAnAvAJ0fySHm+3UOXtgm7oIUxKEBBj1QmACfc96K dDC+tNWC37cPh8gSUSA+hb4= =3G8T -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Wednesday 17 March 2004 08:11 pm, David Herman wrote: > On Wednesday 17 March 2004 07:20 am, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote: > > David Herman wrote: > > ------snip--------------- > > When I was asking about this on the list (I believe the thread was > named moving day..., around november 2001) there was discussion of > using cp, with some specific flags but as this method worked for me > its what I use :-) > > Another suggestion from that thread follows > (assuming the source directory is /home and the new directory is > /home2) I (dh) had tried cp -a /home /home2 Ooops, bad typing, I (dh) had tried cp -ax /home /home2 > Terrance Eck suggested > The correct way to ensure hidden files are included is: > cp -a /home /home2 > > As I said before, I use the tar method suggested by John Clausen, and > it has worked for me but the cp -a method may suit you. - ------snip----------- Keep having a great evening! - -- dh Don't shop at ZipZoomFly.com! -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFAWTl3BwgxlylUsJARAtl3AJwOpgwf5vuvaIFByXwi2Hv+FdOOOQCfaDfc f54ovLqMVuSUiay5pgJj8Ck= =CIg5 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
On Thursday 18 March 2004 05:53, David Herman wrote:
As I said before, I use the tar method suggested by John Clausen, and it has worked for me but the cp -a method may suit you.
------snip----------- Keep having a great evening!
TAR works great like this :- tar clf - . | ( umask 0; cd /mnt; tar xvf - ) ____________________________________ best rgds _________
pinto wrote:
On Thursday 18 March 2004 05:53, David Herman wrote:
As I said before, I use the tar method suggested by John Clausen, and it has worked for me but the cp -a method may suit you.
------snip----------- Keep having a great evening!
TAR works great like this :-
tar clf - . | ( umask 0; cd /mnt; tar xvf - )
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I have decided to use the command: cp -a /home /data4 for both the home and etc directories. I trust this will include all the hidden files, retain the user permissions and generally just cp the darn directory. :) -- The Little Helper ======================================================================== Hylton Conacher - Licenced ex-Windows user (apart from Quicken) Registered Linux user # 229959 at http://counter.li.org Currently using SuSE 9.0 Professional with KDE 3.1 ========================================================================
On Friday 19 March 2004 07:58, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
tar clf - . | ( umask 0; cd /mnt; tar xvf - )
I trust this will include all the hidden files, retain the user permissions and generally just cp the darn directory. :)
TAR does preserve all hidden files, permissions & symbolic links best rgds _________
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC)"
pinto wrote:
On Thursday 18 March 2004 05:53, David Herman wrote:
As I said before, I use the tar method suggested by John Clausen, and it has worked for me but the cp -a method may suit you.
------snip----------- Keep having a great evening!
TAR works great like this :-
tar clf - . | ( umask 0; cd /mnt; tar xvf - )
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I have decided to use the command: cp -a /home /data4 for both the home and etc directories.
I trust this will include all the hidden files, retain the user permissions and generally just cp the darn directory. :)
You will probably want this instead: cp -apr /home /data4 -a == all files -p == retain permissions -r == recursive JimW
On Friday 19 March 2004 18.35, Jim Westbrook wrote:
You will probably want this instead:
cp -apr /home /data4
-a == all files
No, a stands for 'archive' and is equivalent to -dpr. -apr is therefore the same as '-dprpr' which is unnecessary. It's all in 'man cp'
-p == retain permissions -r == recursive
JimW
Jim Westbrook wrote: [snip]
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I have decided to use the command: cp -a /home /data4 for both the home and etc directories.
I trust this will include all the hidden files, retain the user permissions and generally just cp the darn directory. :)
You will probably want this instead:
cp -apr /home /data4
-a == all files -p == retain permissions -r == recursive Tnx Jim,
I would have included the switches as you say but according to the man page -a is equal to -dpr as well as including all files. Tnx though -- The Little Helper ======================================================================== Hylton Conacher - Licenced ex-Windows user (apart from Quicken) Registered Linux user # 229959 at http://counter.li.org Currently using SuSE 9.0 Professional with KDE 3.1 ========================================================================
With either of these methods I assume you must be root or can it be done as user? Also what about backing up one step further to either a second drive or to CDRW? Can tar files span or must they be split? I have a second drive for win32 with extra space for instalation insurance but I would prefer to use CDRW. CWSIV On Fri, 2004-03-19 at 09:35, Jim Westbrook wrote:
----- Original Message -----
On Thursday 18 March 2004 05:53, David Herman wrote: TAR works great like this :- tar clf - . | ( umask 0; cd /mnt; tar xvf - )
You will probably want this instead:
cp -apr /home /data4
-a == all files -p == retain permissions -r == recursive
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Saturday 20 March 2004 15:51, Carl William Spitzer IV wrote:
With either of these methods I assume you must be root or can it be done as user?
Also what about backing up one step further to either a second drive or to CDRW? Can tar files span or must they be split? I have a second drive for win32 with extra space for instalation insurance but I would prefer to use CDRW.
CWSIV
<SNIP> If I may jump in, here... I use the backup that comes w/SuSE (9 Pro), and I have created a b/u profile which includes changed files in /etc, /usr/local & /home (and one can also choose which places not to b/u). It will span several CD-Rs or CD-RWs ...or one could feasibly b/u to a smb share. Once the profile is created, one only has to start the process. - -- ...CH Avoid doing business with 'The Link' ISP. SuSE Is All U Need Linux user# 313696 Linux box# 199365 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFAXL5hamdq40EXXvQRAmitAJ9r6SvPC5XED68/ugUrR0dIBdQiYgCdHIY4 cRVunY6X7NaVu7arZO3FN4U= =cNHJ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
I am still in 8.2 and waiting for 9.1 to see if it works out.
CWSIV
On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 15:57:50 -0600 C Hamel
=2D----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1
On Saturday 20 March 2004 15:51, Carl William Spitzer IV wrote:
With either of these methods I assume you must be root or can it be done as user?
Also what about backing up one step further to either a second drive or to CDRW? Can tar files span or must they be split? I have a second drive for win32 with extra space for instalation insurance but I would prefer to use CDRW.
CWSIV
<SNIP> If I may jump in, here... I use the backup that comes w/SuSE (9 Pro), and I= =20 have created a b/u profile which includes changed files in /etc, /usr/local= =20 & /home (and one can also choose which places not to b/u). It will span=20 several CD-Rs or CD-RWs ...or one could feasibly b/u to a smb share. Once= =20 the profile is created, one only has to start the process. =2D --=20 =2E..CH Avoid doing business with 'The Link' ISP. SuSE Is All U Need Linux user# 313696
________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!
The Saturday 2004-03-20 at 13:51 -0800, Carl William Spitzer IV wrote:
With either of these methods I assume you must be root or can it be done as user?
Also what about backing up one step further to either a second drive or to CDRW? Can tar files span or must they be split? I have a second drive for win32 with extra space for instalation insurance but I would prefer to use CDRW.
All that is explained on the minihowto I told you the other day, which is included on the suse dvd. -- Cheers, Carlos Robinson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Saturday 20 March 2004 01:51 pm, Carl William Spitzer IV wrote:
With either of these methods I assume you must be root or can it be done as user?\
If you have more than 1 user and want to back up /home to a new directory /home2 all in 1 pass then yes that would be easiest. If you want to copy/backup files and directories that you have full access to and are backing up to a directory you have full access to (say /home/yourname to /home2/yourname where you already have full access rights to /home2/yourname), then you will not need to become root in order to use these methods. See ya - -- dh Don't shop at ZipZoomFly.com! -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFAXltzBwgxlylUsJARAkXLAJ9Sphzt46QjSnoV3Q8rpZbciymFTACcC8XH p9xyuBkqHlgOLIYIUoxzvR0= =tKAc -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
The Wednesday 2004-03-17 at 20:11 -0800, David Herman wrote:
Actually what is happening is that the files (and their permissions) are being bundled together by the first part of the command, then via a pipe they are uncompressed in the new directory with all of the file attributes intact
However: | Previous versions of the Mini How-To stated that you could also use | tar to copy the disk, but this method was found to have a bug. There | are of course many other ways to copy the disks, but these three are | the simplest, quickest, and most reliable. | | (Hard Disk Upgrade Mini How-To) I wonder what that "bug" is. -- Cheers, Carlos Robinson
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Thursday 18 March 2004 07:29 am, Carlos E. R. wrote: - --------snip--------------
However: | Previous versions of the Mini How-To stated that you could also | use tar to copy the disk, but this method was found to have a bug. | There are of course many other ways to copy the disks, but these | three are the simplest, quickest, and most reliable. | | (Hard Disk Upgrade Mini How-To)
I wonder what that "bug" is.
I (VERY) vaguely remember something about tar or gzip having a maximum file size, don't know if this is even true but if so then perhaps that is related to the "bug". See ya - -- dh Don't shop at ZipZoomFly.com! -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFAWjPgBwgxlylUsJARAnD8AJwM5ODjlErLxzmB5G9txmtPUgSfHwCffICp MEB21Lni6UkjisNnw4xfCbk= =IRFv -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
The Thursday 2004-03-18 at 15:42 -0800, David Herman wrote:
I wonder what that "bug" is.
I (VERY) vaguely remember something about tar or gzip having a maximum file size, don't know if this is even true but if so then perhaps that is related to the "bug".
But with that method the tar archive is not created, it is a pipe, so there is no problem with a size limit of the archive. There could be with the individual files, but that limit would apply with any other method. -- Cheers, Carlos Robinson
I do not have a DVD drive and currently using 8.2.
CWSIV
On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 02:57:44 +0100 (CET) "Carlos E. R."
The Saturday 2004-03-20 at 13:51 -0800, Carl William Spitzer IV wrote:
With either of these methods I assume you must be root or can it be done as user?
Also what about backing up one step further to either a second drive or to CDRW? Can tar files span or must they be split? I have a second drive for win32 with extra space for instalation insurance but I would prefer to use CDRW.
All that is explained on the minihowto I told you the other day, which is included on the suse dvd.
--
________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!
The Sunday 2004-03-21 at 17:54 -0800, Carl William Spitzer IV wrote:
I do not have a DVD drive and currently using 8.2.
So? It is also included on the CDs. I also have 8.2, but those howtos have been included with the distro CDs for years. I saw them in 5.2. -- Cheers, Carlos Robinson
Dylan wrote:
On Sunday 14 March 2004 14:58 pm, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
I have a system with 2 HDD's, namely a 20Gb and a 7.5Gb HDD.
What I would like to do is copy an exact replica of /home and /etc and all of their contents from the 20Gb to the 7.5Gb.
What I have tried so far is to do it via Konqueror ie right click on /home, left click on copy, left click on /data4(this is the other drive), right click, left click paste. The system seems to copy all the files but I have noticed that the directory count on what files have been read and what files have been written is different. I thought this was just a quirk of the X session not being updated quick enough or that the complete replica had actually failed.
Yes, I've noticed that too... don't know what causes it. Konq doesn't preserve ownerships and permissions though :(( So I noticed when I tried to open one of the backed up files using my normal user. A bit of a pain that you can't retain the ownerships using Konq!
Not liking the 'replica failed' idea, I decided to rather try the copy process from the command line (cli).
I used the command #:cp -R -v /home /data4/home The system went crazy for a few minutes whilst it copied 1Gb of data and all seemed to work.
I have now decided NOT to use the -v switch but would like to know if there is some way I could get a progress indicator/bar in the cli? Are there any other switches which could be added to further enhance the cp? How about using the --b switch?
Try the -a switch - it's equivalent to -dpR, Will do. I see that the -p switch preserves the ownership, according to the man pages, so I'll see.
What about the file permissions, as I see there are 6 files owned by root in my /home ie /lost+found?
They are files which have become orphaned or crosslinked - check out their contents as root and you'll likely find you can delete them. OK. Why does the fs create crosslinked and orphaned files? Are these types of files similar to Windows .tmp or \~ files?
I would like to copy the /home directory across with a normal user but I am worried about the root owned files in the directory. For the /etc directory I know I am going to have to use root as although the files are marked as read there is no write permission.
This doesn't affect whether you can write a new copy, only whether you can write to the existing file. such a minor subtlety...aaarrrggghhhhh. But thanks for clearing me up on that.
That's covered by cp's -p (=preserve attributes) switch. I quite often use midnight commander for these things since it gives you options and lets you select files. mmm, tried my mc and all I got was the rough mc screen with little blocks all over it, the same ones Microsoft Word uses when it can't display a font or symbol. Think I'll therefore have to stick to the cli and the -a switch.
-- The Little Helper ======================================================================== Hylton Conacher - Licenced ex-Windows user (apart from Quicken) Registered Linux user # 229959 at http://counter.li.org Currently using SuSE 9.0 Professional with KDE 3.1 ========================================================================
The Sunday 2004-03-14 at 16:58 +0200, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
What I would like to do is copy an exact replica of /home and /etc and all of their contents from the 20Gb to the 7.5Gb.
/usr/share/doc//howto/en/mini/Hard-Disk-Upgrade.gz -- Cheers, Carlos Robinson
Carlos E. R. wrote:
The Sunday 2004-03-14 at 16:58 +0200, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
What I would like to do is copy an exact replica of /home and /etc and all of their contents from the 20Gb to the 7.5Gb.
/usr/share/doc//howto/en/mini/Hard-Disk-Upgrade.gz Tnx Carlos...but....
1. I only have /usr/share/doc/packages /usr/share/doc/release-notes If the .gz is indeed what would help me then a. Please tell me how to install it off the SuSE 9.0 CD's b. How do I unzip a .gz using linux. This is an old Windows user who cut hi teeth on Win 3.11. 2. I do not need to 'upgrade' the HDD, merely make a copy of parts of it onto a another HDD, for safety. I hope that better explains it for you. -- The Little Helper ======================================================================== Hylton Conacher - Licenced ex-Windows user (apart from Quicken) Registered Linux user # 229959 at http://counter.li.org Currently using SuSE 9.0 Professional with KDE 3.1 ========================================================================
The Wednesday 2004-03-17 at 17:27 +0200, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
/usr/share/doc//howto/en/mini/Hard-Disk-Upgrade.gz Tnx Carlos...but....
1. I only have /usr/share/doc/packages /usr/share/doc/release-notes
Then install it. From where? Find it. How? Using pin (pin Hard-Disk-Upgrade.gz): ./CD1/suse/noarch/howto-2003.3.9-1.noarch.rpm: -rw-r--r-- root root 7257 Aug 21 2000 /usr/share/doc/howto/en/mini/Hard-Disk-Upgrade.gz ./CD1/suse/noarch/howtofr-2003.3.9-1.noarch.rpm: -rw-r--r-- root root 6995 Jun 23 1998 /usr/share/doc/howto/fr/a-jour/mini/text/Hard-disk-upgra Ie, you need to install the howto*rpm in the language of your choice - mostly, english or english - yes, you can also choose english? Did I say eng... Right, I shut up :-p Jokes aside, the fact is that only a few are translated. But there is a huge amount of documentation there.
If the .gz is indeed what would help me then a. Please tell me how to install it off the SuSE 9.0 CD's
Yast, as any other rpm.
b. How do I unzip a .gz using linux. This is an old Windows user who cut hi teeth on Win 3.11.
And me with even older msdos 3.2. If you were used to dos command line, the linux one is not so diferent. gunzip/gunzip. But you do not need to decompress those files: they are directly read with less (or zless). Or you can navigate and read the howtos with mc - midnight comander, a norton comander clone.
2. I do not need to 'upgrade' the HDD, merely make a copy of parts of it onto a another HDD, for safety.
I know, but the needed concepts you are asking about are very well explained there. -- Cheers, Carlos Robinson
On Sun, Mar 14, 2004 at 04:58:15PM +0200, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
What I would like to do is copy an exact replica of /home and /etc and all of their contents from the 20Gb to the 7.5Gb.
I'm surprised this hasn't yet come up in this thread, but it's pretty common to use rsync for the task Hylton described. It can be used for remote as well as local file transfers. Anyone who is not familiar with rsync should definitely look into it. http://samba.anu.edu.au/rsync/ -- Phil Mocek
Phil Mocek wrote:
On Sun, Mar 14, 2004 at 04:58:15PM +0200, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
What I would like to do is copy an exact replica of /home and /etc and all of their contents from the 20Gb to the 7.5Gb.
I'm surprised this hasn't yet come up in this thread, but it's pretty common to use rsync for the task Hylton described. It can be used for remote as well as local file transfers.
Anyone who is not familiar with rsync should definitely look into it.
http://samba.anu.edu.au/rsync/ Tnx Phil for the pointer to rsync. I am unfortunately looking for a more graphical tool to backup or copy the files from one location to another whilst preserving the file permissions etc.
So far the cp -a /source/dir dest/dir is doing the trick. Rsync looks much more complicated CLI tool and on installing it from the CD's and reading a few of the man pages made me think the cp option I am using now is FAR better. Tnx again. -- The Little Helper ======================================================================== Hylton Conacher - Licenced ex-Windows user (apart from Quicken) Registered Linux user # 229959 at http://counter.li.org Currently using SuSE 9.0 Professional with KDE 3.1 ========================================================================
"Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC)"
So far the cp -a /source/dir dest/dir is doing the trick.
Rsync looks much more complicated CLI tool and on installing it from the CD's and reading a few of the man pages made me think the cp option I am using now is FAR better.
Only if time and the amount of copied data is of no concern to you. rsync only copies changed data, so after the initial synchronization which copies everything, usually only small amounts of data are actually transferred. Philipp
On Sun, 2004-03-14 at 15:58, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
I have a system with 2 HDD's, namely a 20Gb and a 7.5Gb HDD.
What I would like to do is copy an exact replica of /home and /etc and all of their contents from the 20Gb to the 7.5Gb.
<snip> Totally amazed that the best / easiest method is not mentioned: I suggest: 1) Load StoreBackup with Yast. 2) Modify it's .conf file to do a backup everynight. The advantages are as follows: - StoreBackup uses gzip to compress the files, They are zipped individually so that they are individually accessable. - StoreBackup saved multiple versions of modified files, accesable via "date" directory. - StoreBackup creates a full directory structure for each run, allowing easy access to the backups. - Storebackup makes links to non modified files so as not to store the same file 2. - Storebakcup deletes old backups automatically. - Storebackup is configured "logically". i.e:. "Keep 5 daily, 3 end-of-weeks, 3 end-of-months", does exactly what you would expect! I can really think of absolutetly nothing I would change! It is the best I've ever seen. YOu set it up in an hour, check it for 3 days, and then forget about backups for ever! Jerry. P.S. Do yourself a favor, and just try it.
On Wednesday 31 March 2004 22:58, Jerome R. Westrick wrote:
- Storebackup is configured "logically". ~ P.S. Do yourself a favor, and just try it.
maybe, a disadvantage, for some, could be that the backup is not immediately bootable, because the files are gzipped? -- best wishes ____________ sent on Linux ____________
Jerome R. Westrick wrote:
On Sun, 2004-03-14 at 15:58, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote:
I have a system with 2 HDD's, namely a 20Gb and a 7.5Gb HDD.
What I would like to do is copy an exact replica of /home and /etc and all of their contents from the 20Gb to the 7.5Gb.
<snip>
Totally amazed that the best / easiest method is not mentioned: Easiest is a relative term I am afraid Jerome. If there was a GUI giving me a choice of directories to backup enabling me Click on multiple entries and then another window showing me the destination path, with a TAB to specify when I want the backup to happen etc Now THAT would be easy :)
I suggest:
1) Load StoreBackup with Yast. As a relative linux newbie and liking the fact that you came back to the subject some 15 days after I asked it, I installed it. I have to say though that I immediately went looking for the GUI for it. When I didn't find one I saw an entry in /etc and looked at the conf file.
2) Modify it's .conf file to do a backup everynight. I would need to be a linux computer scientist to edit this file!! I can open the file in KWrite using a new root login session but geez, hasn't any developer ever heard of SIMPLE configuration files??
The advantages are as follows:
- StoreBackup uses gzip to compress the files, They are zipped individually so that they are individually accessible. This presents a problem for me as I would then not have a 'ready-to-go' backup as each file would need to be decompressed first, as pinto mentioned.
- StoreBackup saved multiple versions of modified files, accessible via "date" directory. - StoreBackup creates a full directory structure for each run, allowing easy access to the backups. This is good so that I can find things in the backup where they were in the original.
- Storebackup makes links to non modified files so as not to store the same file 2. Links to unmodified files ie configuration files and binaries I have not used as yet but still need to be backed up?
- Storebackup deletes old backups automatically. Good, space conservation is important seeing as there might be other directories I would like to add to the backup.
- Storebackup is configured "logically". i.e:. "Keep 5 daily, 3 end-of-weeks, 3 end-of-months", does exactly what you would expect! Logically as a programmer perhaps, but as an end user looking at the file, I was a little lost.
I can really think of absolutely nothing I would change! It is the best I've ever seen. YOu set it up in an hour, check it for 3 days, and then forget about backups for ever! Forgetting about backups is never a good thing but I could get use to it, provided I had some email notification sent to me each day confirmation it completed successfully. The setup and the fact that the files are compressed or gzipped though is a problem.
Are there not any open source GUI backup programs, that although might not be as advanced as StoreBackup now, will get better with each release.
Jerry. P.S. Do yourself a favor, and just try it. Jerry I tried it but would only give it 4-6/10. Sorry to say but unless it has an X GUI and does not compress backup files, I am not interested. A good backup is one that works and although your suggestion does the backup well, to restore it to a system would require you to unzip a systems files first before using it.
Any other ideas re GUI backup clients? Regards -- The Little Helper ======================================================================== Hylton Conacher - Licenced Windows user Registered Linux user # 229959 at http://counter.li.org Currently using SuSE 9.0 Professional with KDE 3.1 ========================================================================
On Friday 02 April 2004 10:03, Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) wrote: Hylton, Have you checked out dar and kdar? Kdar is the KDE GUI frontend to dar. Stan
participants (14)
-
Anders Johansson -
C Hamel -
Carl William Spitzer IV -
Carl William Spitzer IV -
Carlos E. R. -
David Herman -
Dylan -
Hylton Conacher (ZR1HPC) -
Jerome R. Westrick -
Jim Westbrook -
Phil Mocek -
Philipp Thomas -
pinto -
S.R.Glasoe