Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 17 September 2010 01:27, David D Lowe daviddlowe.fl...@gmail.com wrote: On 16/09/10 22:02, Tommy Pyatt wrote: You may be able to compress it first into a .tar.gz or other compressed archive of some sort, then you could store it anywhere. I think I've done that before, but i'm not certain. Last time I tried that, it took half an hour before spitting out an error message. David D Lowe You need to make sure there's enough space to store the archive, but that's the best way to make sure that permissions are maintained. NTFS isn't good enough, in my experience. As a minimum, it makes every file executable. I can't remember what happens about user names, but I don't think it works. Ext2/3/4 or another Linux filesystem works OK. I normally do as Tommy suggested and use an archive though. Cofion/Regards, Neil. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 16/09/10 09:57, Alan Lord (News) wrote: One gotcha that you should be aware of when using a fresh operating system install is that usernames and groups in linux are actually really numbers (UID and GID) and the name is mapped to the UID in /etc/passwd. If you are the first user (the admin user) on Ubuntu your UID should be 1000 - try typing ls -n in a terminal window. When you install a new system the user you create during that install is assigned the UID and GID 1000. Clearly, if you back up your home/username directory and you are not the first user (perhaps your UID is 1002 for example) then you will need to be aware of this and change the UID/GID of your home directory's data. To help me be more clear on this: Am I correct in understanding that as long as the original /home/username is copied or backed up while being signed on as first user, then the subsequent paste into the new install will be ok? -- alan cocks Ubuntu user -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 17/09/10 13:35, alan c wrote: On 16/09/10 09:57, Alan Lord (News) wrote: One gotcha that you should be aware of when using a fresh operating system install is that usernames and groups in linux are actually really numbers (UID and GID) and the name is mapped to the UID in /etc/passwd. snip / To help me be more clear on this: Am I correct in understanding that as long as the original /home/username is copied or backed up while being signed on as first user, then the subsequent paste into the new install will be ok? Hi Alan, How does this work? When every user is created on a linux system they are assigned a UID number (and usually a GID of the same). These tend to happen sequentially so the first user (the one you create when installing Ubuntu) will get UID 1000. The next 1001 etc etc - there *may* be gaps as some applications might create users when they get installed. Although looking at my /etc/passwd it looks as though Ubuntu uses UIDs 1000 for applications. So: /home/user1 will be stored on the file system with UID/GID of 1000. /home/user2 1001 /home/user3 1002 etc etc, It isn't a *major* headache of the UIDs from one system to the next don't match when moving a backup, you just have to be aware of this and change as necessary: either use: sudo vipw to edit /etc/password and change the user's UID/GID to the right ones, or: sudo chown newuser: -R /home/newuser I'd be a little more careful with this one in case there are any system files/hidden files stored in your home dir. I don't think there should be but I'm sure a quick search/find could tell you. HTH Al -- The Open Learning Centre http://www.theopenlearningcentre.com -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 17/09/10 14:18, Alan Lord (News) wrote: On 17/09/10 13:35, alan c wrote: On 16/09/10 09:57, Alan Lord (News) wrote: One gotcha that you should be aware of when using a fresh operating system install is that usernames and groups in linux are actually really numbers (UID and GID) and the name is mapped to the UID in /etc/passwd. snip / To help me be more clear on this: Am I correct in understanding that as long as the original /home/username is copied or backed up while being signed on as first user, then the subsequent paste into the new install will be ok? Hi Alan, How does this work? When every user is created on a linux system they are assigned a UID number (and usually a GID of the same). These tend to happen sequentially so the first user (the one you create when installing Ubuntu) will get UID 1000. The next 1001 etc etc - there *may* be gaps as some applications might create users when they get installed. Although looking at my /etc/passwd it looks as though Ubuntu uses UIDs 1000 for applications. So: /home/user1 will be stored on the file system with UID/GID of 1000. /home/user2 1001 /home/user3 1002 etc etc, It isn't a *major* headache of the UIDs from one system to the next don't match when moving a backup, you just have to be aware of this and change as necessary: either use: sudo vipw to edit /etc/password and change the user's UID/GID to the right ones, or: sudo chown newuser: -R /home/newuser I'd be a little more careful with this one in case there are any system files/hidden files stored in your home dir. I don't think there should be but I'm sure a quick search/find could tell you. Thanks Alan. I am dealing with fairly basic systems so it will be easiest for me to work only as the first user for the backups and the subsequent install. I am also looking at some other aspects of /home/username also however I will post in a new subject. -- alan cocks Ubuntu user -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 16/09/10 08:58, Norman Silverstone wrote: I frequently read that, before carrying out various operations, one should first backup the home folder. Does this mean simply taking a CD and copying the home folder to it? Assuming that this is correct does it mean that if I mess things up or even have to re-install Ubuntu from scratch, copying this home folder back into the new installation will restore such things as my email address book and stored emails, for example? Please advise this overcautious person. Norman I think that is correct. I have my /home on a separate partition to the system (/), so when I have reinstalled my data, settings, email etc. are retained Ian -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 16 September 2010 09:05, ian pettitt ian.pett...@bbsrc.ac.uk wrote: I think that is correct. I have my /home on a separate partition to the system (/), so when I have reinstalled my data, settings, email etc. are retained I've lost count of how many times I've said this but it seems many people don't know. You do not need a separate /home partition to achieve that. The installer has for some time now supported reinstalling 'over the top' of an existing install _without_ deleting /home, whether it's a separate partition or just a subdirectory on your root (/) partition. To achieve a reinstall/upgrade of this nature simply boot from a recent CD and when you get to the partitioning step, choose to 'manually' partition the disk. Choose where you want to install and make sure 'Format' is _not_ ticked. The installer will go through /bin, /usr, /var, /etc, /lib and so on deleting all files before the installation starts. It will _not_ delete /home. Of course this only preserves /home, not your settings in /etc nor mysql databases in /var or anything else outside of /home, but it's a very useful feature. Cheers, Al. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 16/09/10 08:58, Norman Silverstone wrote: I frequently read that, before carrying out various operations, one should first backup the home folder. Does this mean simply taking a CD and copying the home folder to it? This is absolutely possible although probably not totally necessary. Assuming that this is correct does it mean that if I mess things up or even have to re-install Ubuntu from scratch, copying this home folder back into the new installation will restore such things as my email address book and stored emails, for example? I keep /home on a separate partition as do many others. Although I am led to believe that a new Ubuntu install can be told to leave your home directory alone and all will be well. Backing up /home/username will store all your settings and data - that which isn't stored elsewhere of course ;-) One gotcha that you should be aware of when using a fresh operating system install is that usernames and groups in linux are actually really numbers (UID and GID) and the name is mapped to the UID in /etc/passwd. If you are the first user (the admin user) on Ubuntu your UID should be 1000 - try typing ls -n in a terminal window. When you install a new system the user you create during that install is assigned the UID and GID 1000. Clearly, if you back up your home/username directory and you are not the first user (perhaps your UID is 1002 for example) then you will need to be aware of this and change the UID/GID of your home directory's data. There are quite a few files in /home that do not really need backing up and can take up quite a bit of space - I'm instantly thinking of .thumbnails/ .local/share/Trash FWIW, I run a small script that backs up several parts of all our computers every night. I back up: /home /etc and /var and exclude directories such as above and any temporary files, e.g files ending with ~ Hope this helps. Alan -- The Open Learning Centre http://www.theopenlearningcentre.com -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On Thursday 16 Sep 2010 09:55:33 Alan Pope wrote: To achieve a reinstall/upgrade of this nature simply boot from a recent CD and when you get to the partitioning step, choose to 'manually' partition the disk. Choose where you want to install and make sure 'Format' is _not_ ticked. The installer will go through /bin, /usr, /var, /etc, /lib and so on deleting all files before the installation starts. It will _not_ delete /home. Of course this only preserves /home, not your settings in /etc nor mysql databases in /var or anything else outside of /home, but it's a very useful feature. Which distro installers support this? They actually rm -rf those directories first? If so, this is indeed an excellent feature. The last Ubuntu installer I used only specified format or not, and didn't say anything about clearing the directories first. What I don't want is existing, non-conflicting older files to be left there. Regards, Tyler -- If one would give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest man, I would find something in them to have him hanged. -- Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 16/09/10 09:55, Alan Pope wrote: On 16 September 2010 09:05, ian pettittian.pett...@bbsrc.ac.uk wrote: I think that is correct. I have my /home on a separate partition to the system (/), so when I have reinstalled my data, settings, email etc. are retained I've lost count of how many times I've said this but it seems many people don't know. You do not need a separate /home partition to achieve that. The installer has for some time now supported reinstalling 'over the top' of an existing install _without_ deleting /home, whether it's a separate partition or just a subdirectory on your root (/) partition. To achieve a reinstall/upgrade of this nature simply boot from a recent CD and when you get to the partitioning step, choose to 'manually' partition the disk. Choose where you want to install and make sure 'Format' is _not_ ticked. The installer will go through /bin, /usr, /var, /etc, /lib and so on deleting all files before the installation starts. It will _not_ delete /home. Of course this only preserves /home, not your settings in /etc nor mysql databases in /var or anything else outside of /home, but it's a very useful feature. Cheers, Al. I was unaware of this useful feature - I am very cautious when using the partitioner :-) I have my disk split into partitions as recommended in the documentation https://help.ubuntu.com/10.04/installation-guide/i386/apcs03.html But I have a large drive. On a more limited capacity system I will try out this option the next time I have a system to reinstall Thanks Ian -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 16 September 2010 10:24, Tyler J. Wagner ty...@tolaris.com wrote: Which distro installers support this? It's a feature of Ubiquity. I do not know if the alternate CD also has the feature because I've not tried it recently. They actually rm -rf those directories first? Yes. If so, this is indeed an excellent feature. The last Ubuntu installer I used only specified format or not, and didn't say anything about clearing the directories first. It doesn't say anything about it in the installer which is why most people don't know about it. But I think it's been in Ubuntu for at least 3 releases. What I don't want is existing, non-conflicting older files to be left there. Nothing is left, the entire filesystem (bar /home) is cleaned. Cheers, Al. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
I frequently read that, before carrying out various operations, one should first backup the home folder. Does this mean simply taking a CD and copying the home folder to it? This is absolutely possible although probably not totally necessary. Assuming that this is correct does it mean that if I mess things up or even have to re-install Ubuntu from scratch, copying this home folder back into the new installation will restore such things as my email address book and stored emails, for example? Snip Thanks folks for the answers, so far, to my question. What I am thinking of doing is to dual boot my in-use HDD and, to save a lot of hassle I thought that the easiest thing to do would be to install XP thereby losing my Ubuntu installation and then installing the same version of Ubuntu back on. Before installing XP I propose to take a copy of the home folder and then copy that back into the new installation of Ubuntu. Does this make sense? Norman -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 16 September 2010 10:29, ian pettitt ian.pett...@bbsrc.ac.uk wrote: I was unaware of this useful feature - I am very cautious when using the partitioner :-) Some are less cautious, and discover the feature by accident. https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-users/2010-September/228201.html (read entire thread) I have my disk split into partitions as recommended in the documentation https://help.ubuntu.com/10.04/installation-guide/i386/apcs03.html Wow, that's massively outdated. Cheers, Al. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 16 September 2010 10:29, Alan Pope a...@popey.com wrote: On 16 September 2010 10:24, Tyler J. Wagner ty...@tolaris.com wrote: Which distro installers support this? It's a feature of Ubiquity. I do not know if the alternate CD also has the feature because I've not tried it recently. For those that don't know, Ubiquity is the Ubuntu graphical installer. It doesn't say anything about it in the installer which is why most people don't know about it. But I think it's been in Ubuntu for at least 3 releases. It was added for 8.04. Cofion/Regards, Neil. -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
To achieve a reinstall/upgrade of this nature simply boot from a recent CD and when you get to the partitioning step, choose to 'manually' partition the disk. Choose where you want to install and make sure 'Format' is _not_ ticked. The installer will go through /bin, /usr, /var, /etc, /lib and so on deleting all files before the installation starts. It will _not_ delete /home. Oooh thanks! I didn't know that :) -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
Reinstalling using the existing home folder is a fabulous idea thanks! But you still need to back up in case of problems. And I back up constantly anyway in case I accidentally delete files myself or am struck by lightning etc etc. I use rsnapshot, which keeps rotating timed backups in a very small space. These instructions are for remote backup but you can also use them to backup onto an external drive or another drive on the same network (just omit setting up the password-less ssh login and don't allow rsnapshot to create a destination if you're using a removable drive) - it's pretty simple: http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-rsnapshot-backup-howto/ For my music library at home, I use an rsync script to back up to a backup server with a simple script. You can either run the script with cron or I put a short-cut on my panel and run it manually when I have my laptop connected to the network. If you want a GUI, there's Grsync or Backintime or Timevault (but I've found Timevault very buggy) etc etc. Paula -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 16/09/2010 10:33, Norman Silverstone wrote: I frequently read that, before carrying out various operations, one should first backup the home folder. Does this mean simply taking a CD and copying the home folder to it? This is absolutely possible although probably not totally necessary. Assuming that this is correct does it mean that if I mess things up or even have to re-install Ubuntu from scratch, copying this home folder back into the new installation will restore such things as my email address book and stored emails, for example? Snip Thanks folks for the answers, so far, to my question. What I am thinking of doing is to dual boot my in-use HDD and, to save a lot of hassle I thought that the easiest thing to do would be to install XP thereby losing my Ubuntu installation and then installing the same version of Ubuntu back on. Before installing XP I propose to take a copy of the home folder and then copy that back into the new installation of Ubuntu. Does this make sense? Norman, That makes perfect sense. Make sure you copy /home/norman (or whatever it is), rather than /home/norman/*, as if you do the latter, you'll miss all the hidden directories and files (Which includes .config, .ssh, and loads of stuff you'll want. Best, Glen -- Glen Mehn e: glen.m...@oba.co.uk | t: @gmehn m: +44 7942 675 755 | w: http://glen.mehn.net b: http://glen.mehn.net/mba -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
Which filesystems are suitable for one's home directory backups? I assume Fat32 is a no-no, but what about NTFS, which supports POSIX case-sensitive filenames and file permissions? Or do I have to use a traditional Linux filesystem like ext3? David D Lowe -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On 16/09/10 18:45, David D Lowe wrote: Which filesystems are suitable for one's home directory backups? I assume Fat32 is a no-no, but what about NTFS, which supports POSIX case-sensitive filenames and file permissions? Or do I have to use a traditional Linux filesystem like ext3? David D Lowe You may be able to compress it first into a .tar.gz or other compressed archive of some sort, then you could store it anywhere. I think I've done that before, but i'm not certain. Tommy Pyatt - -- Please consider the environment before printing this email. -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.10 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJMkoXkAAoJEMasqlerYGuO4g4H/i9003KfxuMj9duk4nfLuZe7 bP8SFbFIm1eX0TLK2LXOcUlxHgGIvSKYpOgMBmI5rXA7xBKjTeEWiJg3xvlJzl1c xFJjjx8Rf46Dh9dae7Q0MsORdP/6A0sIC/kfR8Lg65JPP1SL3udULDq+I/y2Oihh pzwnpLLcF36UIqnYWSx/OnjYWu5qoeOVhaU5w2kD1MAfCuz3mf38WV269ZjPQYuf gqGzHwQ2cRnKyq9ERdg60z1Gnlyoob3xZWhpWz02Hnc+iXEOhXyNE93cUY9+aUdE CEDyYOwTXW6r6FxcNVFTm8jEX9uScsynLr8x7LpMBrDWEibpSGS7Z+3aPNfEOCQ= =FNy4 -END PGP SIGNATURE- -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
Re: [ubuntu-uk] backup home folder
On 16/09/10 22:02, Tommy Pyatt wrote: You may be able to compress it first into a .tar.gz or other compressed archive of some sort, then you could store it anywhere. I think I've done that before, but i'm not certain. Last time I tried that, it took half an hour before spitting out an error message. David D Lowe -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
