On 5/15/23 17:17, Maureen L Thomas wrote:
I have everything I need including a third HDD. There are so many
backup programs I have to wonder which one will work for my needs. I
just need to make a backup of my home directory so if I do something
stupid like play with /var and have no idea how to fix it. Is there
something else I need to back up besides /home? I appreciate your help.
Moe
I will assume that you have one desktop computer with one internal
drive, that you have two USB HDD's for backups, that you will connect
one USB HDD at a time, and that you will rotate the USB HDD's periodically.
Start keeping records of your system administration activities. The
simplest approach is to use a USB flash drive. Create a log.txt file
and type your notes into that. Copy and paste console sessions into the
log.txt. Copy files you create, modify, or delete to the USB flash
drive. This information will be invaluable for future reference and
trouble shooting.
Keep using Brasero to burn optical discs containing the data that you
want to keep indefinitely (archives).
If your system drive is an SSD, emptying the trash and running fstrim(8)
prior to taking an image will reduce the image file size.
I would start by using Clonezilla to save a compressed full image of the
internal drive to a file on a USB HDD:
https://clonezilla.org/
Clonezilla is non-trivial. If you get stuck, try the clonezilla-live
mailing list archives (or subscribing and posting):
https://sourceforge.net/p/clonezilla/mailman/
Once you have an image, do a full backup onto the USB HDD (see below).
Then immediately rotate the USB HDD's, take a compressed full image, do
a full backup, and move the first USB HDD off-site.
After a period of time, or when the current USB HDD is nearly full,
fetch the off-site USB HDD, rotate disks, take a compressed full image,
do a full backup, and move the previous USB HDD off-site. Repeat
periodically.
As the USB HDD's fill up, delete the oldest images and backups to make
room for new images and backups.
As for a Debian backup package:
https://wiki.debian.org/BackupAndRecovery
I have been using rsync(1) over ssh(1) for backups for many years. If
you are comfortable with a terminal, command-line interface,
configuration files, rsync(1), ssh(1), crontab(1), etc., I suggest
rsnapshot(1):
https://manpages.debian.org/bullseye-backports/rsnapshot/rsnapshot.1.en.html
If you want a simpler, single-user, GUI desktop backup application, I
suggest backintime(1):
https://manpages.debian.org/buster/backintime-common/backintime.1.en.html
Evaluate the backup solution by using a test directory with some small
test files under your home directory. Verify that you can backup. Then
modify or delete a test file and verify that you can restore it. If you
like the backup tool, reconfigure it to backup your home directory and
any data directories you have created. Backing up /etc would be nice,
if you can figure that out.
Restoring a Clonezilla image is more involved. You will need a blank
drive of exactly the same size as your current system drive, plus a
drive case and tools for removing and installing drives (including an
anti-static wrist strap). After taking a full image, remove the system
drive, install the blank drive, restore the image, boot the computer,
and test. If all is well, put the previous drive in the case. If not,
zero the new drive and try again. If you cannot get the new drive
working, remove it, reinstall the previous drive, and put the new drive
in the case until you are ready to try again.
David
