Question about snapshots/Timeshift (MX Linux)

[Goatmilk]

I'm trying to wrap my head around the snapshot thing.

It creates an iso of my system to use in case I break anything. Got that. Takes forever and produces a 4.1 gib raw CD image.

I figured that this iso wouldn't help much in case my Linux goes belly up so I used MX Live USB Maker and created a bootable USB. I haven't tested it, but the program said something about success. Ok so far.

Now some people say make a snapshot every day.... Whisky Tango Foxtrot? And probably keep a hundred or so to choose from? So I looked at Timeshift and read, that the RSYNC option creates one snapshots and then updates it. But it seems it also writes a new one every time. And there is no option to get it to run once only when you click on it - you can only choose between option from 'hourly' (oh my gawd...) over daily, weekly, monthly or on every boot.

Now I don't know how many snapshots I'd like. Of course I'd like to have one after every major change in the system. But I wouldn't bother if I'd spent a couple of days or so doing nothing but watching movies or reading books.

So, how could I automatize a process that somewhat goes like this:

1. Create a snapshot i.e. update an existing one if there is one
2. Write it on a usb stick as an usable iso
3. And only do so if I press a button that says 'go'.

It wouldn't even have to create a bootable usb stick; I could do that myself once a week or so. Or after every major change.

But I don't want to fill the whole hdd up with dozens of 4.1 gb snaphots.


A second question - is there a simple command, maybe for the terminal, that cleans out cache, recycle bin, tmp files etc? Something that a newbie can safely use?

 

[Condobloke]

I'm trying to wrap my head around the snapshot thing.

It creates an iso of my system to use in case I break anything. Got that. Takes forever and produces a 4.1 gib raw CD image.

Which snapshot are you talking about.....which app is making this snapshot ?

so I used MX Live USB Maker and created a bootable USB. I haven't tested it, but the program said something about success. Ok so far.

When it said success....that is becasue the downloaded .iso was written to the usb stick successfully. The next step is to boot your pc via that usb stick. If you can boot to that usb stick....put a sticky note on that usb stick and dont use it for anything else
( I thought you would have already had one...a usb stick with the .iso for mx already attached ....maybe I missed something)

Timeshift: Rsync is the way to go.

Then Location: This is where you will keep the snapshots...preferably on an external drive.

The: Select snapshot levels: The choices are obviously many

You can choose to keep just one weekly snapshot. This means that as soon as the second weeks snapshot is made 9this happens automatically) the initial snapshot taken the week before will be automatically deleted.

You can choose to keep 3 daily snapshots....meaning it will take a snapshot each day for three days straight.....then when it makes the fourth days snapshot it will automatically delete the first one that was taken....th nest day it will take fifth snapshot and delete the second one that was taken.....at any one time you will only have 3 snapshots.....BUT....if you were to double slick just to the side of one of the snapshots and type somehting in there to remind yourself what was happening at the time that particular snapshot was taken....that snapshot will not be deleted.

Below is a screenshot of mine :

I choose to keep 3 daily snapshots and one boot snapshot, one weekly snapshot and one monthly snapshot.(the monthly has not occurred yet...my decision to keep a monthly was only made recently.
Space Used" Timeshift uses space....quite a bit of it (depending on how many you keep of course)

Those that I keep consumes around 40GB approx.

I have a 2 TB drive partitioned into two equal sizes....so around 1TB each.....the second tb is used for important stuff...documents and is formatted to ntfs so it accommodates that type of data
The first TB is formatted to ext4....because that is what timeshift demands.....and the tv shows and movies and other assorted jusnk does not complain....it works...beautifully.

Timeshift is incredibly intelligent. The snapshot it take son one day will be absolutely up to date. It basically takes care of itself.

The next step after snapshot levels is User Home Directories

Mine looks like this:

In other words I choose to keep as much info as I can. The app is FREE, so I take advantage of that....to make my life as painless as possible, if the occasion arises where I need to restore.

Speaking of Restore
if you need to simply restore because an app has had an unexpected effect on the system (this would be very unusual...)....you simply open Timeshift, select which snapshot you are going to Restore to....single click it so it highlights......then click on Restore.
Do Not change any of the settings/drives etc etc that Timeshift chooses. They Will be correct....just click on next....wait for the page to complete whatever it is doing....follow the process through...it will eventually say it is going to restore to such and such a place etc etc......the screen will turn dark and it will start restoring.....DO NOT interrupt it. Just sit and marvel at the thousands and thousands of files flashing past on the screen.....after a few minutes it will reinstall grub and tell you it going to reboot....and it will.....and up will come your desktop. Job done.

btw...if you want to really cut down on space....you simply do not place a tick in any of the boxes in select snapshot levels

Simply open Timeshift and click on Create....up the top on the left hand side....one click....and it will create a snapshot of your system at that exact time......and that is all it will do. It will make another snapshot unless you instruct it to.

 

[Condobloke]

Take note.
Timeshift is not a backup.....it will not restore your pictures and that type of 'data'......it restores system files.

if you want a backup.....an image of the entire disc, I recommend Rescuezilla. More about that later if you want.

I use rescuezilla because it works, and it restores without a murmur.

I carved off a 250GB slice of the "important stuff" partition just to keep rescuezilla backups on. ....formatted to ext4....because the favoured file type for Linux is ext4. (there are others but that gets unnecessarily complicated)
There is an aarticle about rescuezilla here...written by Jarret B...one of our own

https://www.linux.org/threads/rescuezilla-system-recovery-tools.48828/

 

[Vektor]

Hi Goatmilk

It would be nice if you could be specific when you use the term "snapshot". MX has the program with that in the name. Sounds like Timeshift uses that term also.

I am familiar with the MX Snapshot program and have made hundreds of ISO backups for personal use and others. If you have a question about it specifically I can try to answer.

Vektor

 

[Brickwizard]

You are saying Snapshot, I assume you mean A Back up copyof your system , and not screenshot which is a copy of just your current screen
OK I have been using Linux for over 20 years, I use "Timeshift" for my back-up, I have 2 machines, this HP desktop I run timeshift every morning keeping the initial set up the latest set up plus 2 in-between, My laptop depending on use Is back up once or twice a week [keeping the same as before] in the evenings [as that is when I am most likely to have it switched on]

 

[bob466]

With Timeshift you have two options...create a snapshot of System Files or a snapshot of everything on the Drive.

I create a snapshot of everything on the Drive and is stored on an External 2TB HDD because of it's size...now it's a backup and if anything goes wrong I just plug in my HDD and restore the snapshot...simple.

You don't have to run daily snapshots...I create a snapshot once a month. You should never just rely on one type of backup...I also use Foxclone and Redorescue backups which are stored on an External 1TB SSD.

This shows I've selected all files to backup...

This shows my External HDD is selected...

This shows snapshots on my External HDD...

You don't have to do this but if the Drive fails or for some reason it becomes unbootable...everything is lost.
When you install Timeshift on an external HDD/SSD you must format it to EXT4 and when you restore a snapshot from the External HDD/SSD you must do so from the Live Session...otherwise it won't boot...hope this helps.

 

[Goatmilk]

Thank you all so much, and sorry I'm just showing up now. I've had some busy days.

I'm using Timeshift now, with 'on-demand-snapshots' only, because right now I'm making quite a lot of them, keeping the latest and deleting the older ones.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find whatever Timeshift created in order to make a live usb. Couldn't find any 'export'or 'save here' options either. My first snaphot was done with MX Snapshot which saves an iso file on /home/. I guess the problem with Timeshift is that it stores a bunch of folders in order to quickly update changes only.

Solution for now: if I'm happy with the system and wish to have its backup on a usb drive, I create another one in MX Snaphot and make the live usb from that one. Unfortunately, MX Snapshot takes forever, and MX Live usb Maker is even worse.

I will definitely look into Rescuezilla, and once Linux is on the big computer, check the option to run Timeshift on an external drive, too, or probably on a usb flash drive. After all, if the system drive goes kaput, the best backup stored on it is of no use.

As for my personal files (on home) - I'm a Windows user! That means, they are copied twice and thrice on a bunch of external hard drives, anyway... :lol: I probably won't change that habit anytime soon.

I got some more questions, but I guess I'll better open another thread, since it has nothing to do with snapshots. I just hope I won't be spamming the forum.

But hey, it's a sweet looking thing so far, isn't it?