Backing up settings (SOLVED)

[birkopf]

Dear All,

I have Kubuntu 8.04 on 64bit processor.
I want to back up some of my settings (but not whole system), format disk and install fresh Kubuntu.

I want to backup my emails, todo's, etc. from Kontact, passwords from kdeallet, bookmarks from browsers, list of IRC channels from Konversation, Amarok settings and playlists... most of these programs do not have backup option.

Probably some of them have their configuration files in hidden folders in Home Folder, but will copying and pasting them into new installation restore everything ?

- Can someone experienced help me with doing it properly ?

(In Windows it was easy )

[tinker]

Re: Backing up settings

Dear All,

I have Kubuntu 8.04 on 64bit processor.
I want to back up some of my settings (but not whole system), format disk and install fresh Kubuntu.

I want to backup my emails, todo's, etc. from Kontact, passwords from kdeallet, bookmarks from browsers, list of IRC channels from Konversation, Amarok settings and playlists... most of these programs do not have backup option.

Probably some of them have their configuration files in hidden folders in Home Folder, but will copying and pasting them into new installation restore everything ?

- Can someone experienced help me with doing it properly ?

(In Windows it was easy )

I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be just as easy for you in Kubuntu as it was in Windows, probably even easier except you may not yet be familiar with some differences between the Windows file system and the GNU/Linux file system.

All of the applications you mentioned have their user settings in the user's home as you have already correctly determined and so will your mail store be there, as long as you haven't moved it somewhere else. This is the reason that many experienced users suggest making a separate /home partition, if you had home on a separate partition then all you would have to do is install the "fresh Kubuntu" mounting the home partition that you had left as it already was. But that is a topic that you didn't ask about, just something that you might want to consider for the future. When copying the files you want, a thing that you have to be cautious about is permissions, all the files in your home need the permissions that they have in order for the system to work correctly. If you copy them to some other partition that is formatted with a Linux file system and then back, it can work because the Linux file system can retain those permissions. Whatever method (command) you choose to do the copy will take arguments that specify to preserve permissions, for example, with the cp command you might choose cp -a or cp -dpR (it would be a good idea to read the man page for cp so you are familiar with what I'm suggesting). That's just one method. Another method, one that could be stored on CD or a windows file system too is to use the command tar, which can create a tarball(file) preserving permissions of the files inside which remain when the tarball is untarred back to the separate files (there is a man page for the tar command too). As you can well imagine, neither can I sit here and detail all the other possible methods (I use rsync) nor are you likely to want to read through many more. Actually, if you have another linux formatted partition you could probably just mount it and copy the files to it with kongueror or some other GUI file manager. This should be enough to get you started and you can come back with specific questions if you have them.

There is one more thing I want to mention, even though people get in the habit of reinstalling Windows and, sometimes, it is even easier to reinstall a Linux system than find out what is wrong and fix it, finding what is wrong and fixing it will give you more experience and knowledge to the workings of your chosen operating system. Easy is not always best. Is there a specific reason that you want a "fresh Kubuntu" because of a problem with your current one, someone here may be able to help you sort that out instead of needing a reinstall?

[toad]

Re: Backing up settings

And to save you all that hassle I suggest that for the new install you partition yourself a separate /home - that way you do not have to back up, but on new install, you just tell the partitioning program where your existing home is and ... bingo

[birkopf]

Re: Backing up settings

This is the reason that many experienced users suggest making a separate /home partition, if you had home on a separate partition then all you would have to do is install the "fresh Kubuntu" mounting the home partition that you had left as it already was.

Well, I was in love with Linux years ago but I had modem than and bills were killing me so I stayed with Win. Currently I decided to switch completely to Linux. When installing first time Kubuntu - I had destroyed fresh system probably 8 times and needed to reinstall. I decided I will make separate partition for /usr because I thought it will preserve all users and all settings in case of crash. Well - it didn't. It's causing some troubles... nothing serious but solving them is good learning as you mentioned.

Yesterday Adept suggested update to my Linux headers, and important packages... and it f***d up my Linux (grub, drivers, i can't execute 'make' command=compile, etc.). I had fixed it temporally , but soon I will need to reinstall and do like you said - separate partition for /home

finding what is wrong and fixing it will give you more experience and knowledge to the workings of your chosen operating system. Easy is not always best. Is there a specific reason that you want a "fresh Kubuntu" because of a problem with your current one, someone here may be able to help you sort that out instead of needing a reinstall?

Before I will reinstall - believe me - I am going to experiment to the level it will stop working


PS - Everything works on Kubuntu from what I had on Windows, except synchronizing my PDA (Win Mobile 6) with it. Synce just doesn't want to go. I believe I messed up this as well, so on fresh copy it should go...

[dibl]

Re: Backing up settings

PS - Everything works on Kubuntu from what I had on Windows, except synchronizing my PDA (Win Mobile 6) with it. Synce just doesn't want to go. I believe I messed up this as well, so on fresh copy it should go...

If you have a "critical" Windows thingy that you really gotta keep going with, you might want to look at the free VMWare Player, or else VirtualBox, for running a Windows VM on your Linux system. Among other benefits, you can dispense with the Windows antivirus/anti-malware stuff, assuming you only use the VM for your special sync thing, and not for browsing and e-mail.

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...8556#msg148556

[tinker]

Re: Backing up settings

I decided I will make separate partition for /usr because I thought it will preserve all users and all settings in case of crash. Well - it didn't. It's causing some troubles... nothing serious but solving them is good learning as you mentioned.

Ah! I see. Yes, I think that was an easy mistake to make. Usr does sort of refer to user just not quite the way you were thinking of it and even though there is a standard, there are still some differences among distros. Here is something that you might like to look at, the document describes the Linux Filesystem Hierarchy, it might help you learn where things are *supposed* to be. Don't let the 2004 date bother you, it's still useful.
http://tldp.org/LDP/Linux-Filesystem...tml/index.html

[birkopf]

Re: Backing up settings

If you have a "critical" Windows thingy that you really gotta keep going with, you might want to look at the free VMWare Player

You know what I thought when I notice your response?
"uff... dibl wrote something so probably problem is solved" heh
you're well known here

Back to topic - No. I am happiest person, that I was able to leave Windows and nothing bothers me to come back to it... but thank you for that suggestion. I still didn't fired up wifi on my Aspire7520 and someone suggested that with "emulation" windows drivers should work. And that synce...

[dibl]

Re: Backing up settings

"uff... dibl wrote something so probably problem is solved" heh
you're well known here

Yes, and the amazing thing is, they let me remain a member of the Forum anyway!

On your original question, or notion, I'll tell you the truth, as I see it. All these attempts to back up "settings" cause as many problems as they avoid, due to subtle differences between versions and distributions. So sharing the /home directory is, in my experience, far less beneficial than is commonly believed (I did it that way for awhile, but no more).

Here's what I do, FYI:

1. Back up the sacred stuff -- bookmarks, personal docs, etc. to a DVD and save it in a different town.

2. Put Linux on a modest-sized partition, that is big enough for my VMWare Player VM, which in itself is 8GB. So, typically I make a 16GB or 20GB partition for Linux, and install the whole thing there.

3. My "big" data -- 800GB of research and other documents, music, images, videos are all on separate drives and partitions, and I symlink 'em in to my /home partition. So, with Kubuntu on /dev/sda1, and my images on /dev/sdc1, I open the default "Pictures" folder in my Kubuntu /home folder, in one Dolphin instance, and in the second Dolphin instance I highlight the image folders on the other drive, and I simply drag 'em all across to the "Pictures" folder, and click "link here" and VOILA! there they are. Same thing with music, videos, and documents.

4. I install my VMWare VM under /home in a partition named WinXPkinda. It runs better when it is in the same partition as the OS, for some reason, so I don't fight it I just go along with it.

That's it. On my sidux installation, it's the same deal -- it has its own partition and symlinks to all the same data. Data backups are on external media, saved securely.

My bottom line -- it takes at least as long to work out the bugs in a copied version of your "settings" as it does to set it up right the first time for a new installation. That's my opinion, worth all of two cents.

[birkopf]

Re: Backing up settings

1. Back up the sacred stuff -- bookmarks, personal docs, etc. to a DVD and save it in a different town.

Yes. I have already done it, just in case...
I mean data is still in my flat in London

2. Put Linux on a modest-sized partition, that is big enough for my VMWare Player VM, which in itself is 8GB. So, typically I make a 16GB or 20GB partition for Linux, and install the whole thing there.

I have never heard of VM, but it will probably pay to try. Maybe than I won't need to install synce which was causing so many problems

3. My "big" data -- 800GB of research and other documents, music, images, videos are all on separate drives and partitions, and I symlink 'em in to my /home partition.

Gosh! That's wast! What is your research about? Are you counting sheep in Australia + New Zealand and making separate file for everyone ?

Anyway - In my case I have "just" my laptop HDD partitioned 20GB - 60GB.

So, with Kubuntu on /dev/sda1, and my images on /dev/sdc1, I open the default "Pictures" folder in my Kubuntu /home folder, in one Dolphin instance, and in the second Dolphin instance I highlight the image folders on the other drive, and I simply drag 'em all across to the "Pictures" folder, and click "link here" and VOILA! there they are. Same thing with music, videos, and documents.

That's something I heard first time about (as well), but sounds very good. Obviously Windows users can't do that...

My bottom line -- it takes at least as long to work out the bugs in a copied version of your "settings" as it does to set it up right the first time for a new installation. That's my opinion, worth all of two cents.

Well - I don't have any external disks, but other readers will definitely appreciate that.

To sum up and finish (happily) topic:
When I will be reinstalling system, I will repartition system and sda1 will go under / and sda2 under /home.
Than I guess I need to mount it and format it, and I will restore my data from DVD disk by pasting it there after installation.

How to go with this job when I will need reinstall system after I am having /home on separate partition?
(Step-by-Step) Should I Mount it during installation? Will data survive or installer will overwrite it ?

[dibl]

Re: Backing up settings

The partitions that you choose for "/" and "/home" will be automatically set up in your /etc/fstab file at the time you install Kubuntu, so they will be automatically mounted when you boot.

Other partitions on your computer will need to be "X"d on the installer if you want them set up in /etc/fstab during installation (this is a great new feature in Intrepid), or else you'll have to manually edit /etc/fstab later, to add them.

And here's a link about the new VMWare Player 2.5 (free, of course):

http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...opic=3097965.0

[birkopf]

Re: Backing up settings

Thanks very much to all of you for help.

Case is solved.

Now if you don't mind http://kubuntuforums.net/forums/inde...0291#msg150291

[toad]

Re: Backing up settings (SOLVED)

Hi dibl,

I noticed your lack of enthusiasm when it came to separate /home partitions for some time now - and the point you are making is certainly worth raising.

I have had Debian Etch, Lenny, two different Kubuntu's and a Suse install on the computer at the same time and KDE would always be slightly different, albeit using the same ~/.kde directory.

To get rid of that problem one would need to instruct the OS (for example Lenny) not to go to ~/.kde but to ~/.kde_lenny, or Kubuntu 8.04 to ~/.kde_k0804

This just came to me because of what you said and the "problems" I experienced but I don't know how to implement it yet.

Any suggestions are more than welcome