Timeshift & Similar Solutions - Safeguard & Recover Your Linux

@Vrai , that's a question I will deal with over at Timeshift - I'll move your Post and this Post over there next 24 and we'll have a Q&A session :)

Cheers

Wiz
 


I am including, above, a couple of Posts from another Thread, where I was helping Member "Doc" to restore on his rig Timeshift snapshots of his LInux Mint 18.3 'Sylvia' Cinnamon, after Store Techs had botched up installing a new SSD for him, and had given him the older (and not asked for) LInux Mint 18.1 'Serena' Cinnamon.

Following those, I will give a detailed response.

Wizard
 
Last edited:
TIMESHIFT NEWS - BULLETIN 5

12 August 2019

Tony George has apparently released Timeshift v19.08.

I say "apparently" because he has still to get his website up-to-date to reflect the release. Tony works a day job in IT in India and produces Timeshift and other packages as a labour of love.

For those Distros that ship Timeshift installed such as Linux Mint and Linus Lite, it is coming through in your updates currently.

Same applies if you have it installed via PPA with Ubuntu.

When I get a look at the release notes, I will bring it to you.

Cheers

Wizard
 
Last edited:
MODERATOR'S NOTE - I have moved the 4 Posts #104 to #107 from an alternative Thread as the content is relevant here ... Wizard

I am planning to upgrade my SSD to a 1 TB drive. If I install the same distro on my new SSD will I be able to then load my timeshift to the newly installed OS on my new drive?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
More info, mate :)

1. What's the OS you are going to, or have snapshot/ted, that you want to install at the other end?

2. Is it the case that you want to install a clean OS at the receiving end, then use the Timeshift snapshot you have on your current computer to duplicate to the new drive, settings, data and all?

3. What is the size of the existing OS as per, say GParted?

I may move this to my Thread on Timeshift, so that many of its Watchers may benefit, but we'll see what you come back with.

Cheers

Wiz
 
Evening (or morning as the case may be)
1. Mint 19.2
2. Yes, since I solved my previous problem I did a fresh install of Tina and I am debating on if its safe to start setting it up for long term use as I am waiting for my new SSD to arrive
3. Currently 13.92 GB
4. Feel free to relocate! I wasn't exactly sure where to post this so stayed "general"
 
Friday afternoon ... are you on night shift or at home? I am just ducking backwards and forwards from Garage to Laundry where I am at a crucial point in laying down a home brew.

I'll copy these Posts to the Timeshift Thread and take it up there, and close off input to this Thread with a view to deleting it later.

Cheers
 
At home, back on service tomorrow night. I didn't know this thread existed!

Good luck w/ the brew!
 
OK we're back :)

Jeff, the simplest thing to do at the moment is to use a 16 GB USB stick as the venue for a Timeshift snapshot of Tina.

You would format the stick to Ext4, run Timeshift that is already installed on your Tina, choosing the Location as the USB stick. In your Settings on TS, have the Scedule Tab cleared (no schedule) and the Users Tab set to the right-hand option Include All. This applies to both you as The User and Root if it is there.

This will give you the maximum on-demand snapshot you can get.

Best time to do this is when you are about to effect the move in drives, but don't add too much additional software to the existing Tina before you do so.

13.92 GB so far consumed will likely fit on a 16 GB stick, compression with Timeshift is 1:1, i e nil compression.

If less than 1 GB of free space is available on the USB stick towards the completion of the snapshot process, Timeshift may have a bellyache with either a non-fatal warning or else fail to complete the operation and it will tell you.

I don't have Tina onboard at the moment, but unless it has become bloated over Tessa, install will have consumed maybe 7 to 9 GB, so you have added software is that so?

At the receiving end, that is once the new SSD is in place - if the SSD is the sole drive, you would need to install Tina on it, then use the new Tina's Timeshift to Restore the snapshot from the stick over the top of the new Tina.

If you have a hybrid drive, eg 2 TB SATA with Linux/es on it, and the 1 TB new SSD, you could save on the new install of Tina and just use Timeshift on one of the other Linux to restore the snapshot to the new SSD.

Let me know if this is the sort of thing you want to do, or else specify other.

Friday here in Oz, so

Avagudweegend

Chris Turner
wizardfromoz
 
Very helpful! Currently I have a Timeshift snap saved on an external HDD but could do the same with a USB. I actually have a 64 GB USB I could use. I don't think I will be adding any additional software at the moment (I added my pCloud and Wine).

Would there be a benefit to using the USB drive vs. the HDD? I can easily do either.

And, finally, yes this is EXACTLY what I was planning to do!

Thank you as always and enjoy your weekend!
 
Always welcome, friend.

Would there be a benefit to using the USB drive vs. the HDD? I can easily do either.

Not particularly. 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm SATA will always provide a faster performance than even USB 3 stick connected to USB 3 port.

So if you have a dedicated partition for Timeshift snapshots set up on the HDD and acting as a communal repository shared by several LInux over even several drives, then it is eminently easy.

I use this method (with the stick) for moving a Distro from the older Toshiba Satellite laptop in the Laundry, to the newer Dell Inspiron in the Garage. The two units are somewhat different, in that the Toshiba has nVidia-Intel card, and the Dell AMD card, different RAMS &c.

Timeshift can't currently deploy across a network, but I do not think that that will be far away, as it is powered by rsync, and rsync is eminently suitable for deploying packages and apps across a network.

Cheers

Wiz

BTW a 1 TB SSD should be formatted to GPT, but if it MBR, format it to GPT before you set up the partitioning.
 
You probably did!

Mint doesn't give the option to format in GPT on installation (or not that I've noticed). Does it do this automatically? If not is the best way to download Gparted from the live session and format to GPT before installing?

As for the HDD I think it is 5400 and yes, there is nothing else on this drive and I set up a partition specifically for storing Timeshift.

Enjoy the weekend,I will be on service for the next 4 nights! I will report back once I receive and install the new SSD!
 
I should have read your entire write up on Timeshift before I tried restoring from a snapshot! The long and short is my new SSD is up and running but I was unable to get the OS restored from the TImeshift snap. Is the thread where you talk about restoring an OS titled as such?

PS: were you the drinking stage with your home brew or are you earlier in the process?
 
Earlier, 2 weeks away yet from tasting.

But back on-topic :)

Can you show us a GParted screenshot of how the SSD is set up?

Wiz
 
My part of Australia is in drought ... but not my beer supply.

On the face of it, the GParted shot looks good.

Did you create the ESP or did Timeshift?

I haven't used the /dev/nvme scenario before, because my SSD is not of that type but I have seen it.

It's a long-winded way of saying /dev/sdb1 and /dev/sdb2 isn't it? :)

Can you also show us a shot of your other drive?

Wiz, out for my night
 
Very glad to hear you are not personally drought stricken! You are in Western Australia?

1. The ESP was created when I reinstalled Tina (I was not successful in restoring from the timeshift snap (I have to read your entire tutorial when I have time to figure out how to restore from timeshift)

2. I am pretty sure /dev/nvme is the same as /dev/sdb1 or sdb2

3. Here is a screen shot of the external HDD where I am storing my timeshift
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot from 2019-08-31 19-23-27.png
    Screenshot from 2019-08-31 19-23-27.png
    187 KB · Views: 645
Very glad to hear you are not personally drought stricken!

No, we are, I am in South-East Queensland.

Thanks for the shot, will look at this tomorrow.

Cheers
 

Staff online


Top