No subject

that you have another machine running Windows / MacOS / something you're
happy with.

If I'm editing a configuration file in Ubuntu, I normally make a backup file
in the same directory with the "cp" (copy) command, so I'd run something
like:

	"sudo cp application.conf application.conf.bak"

Then, if there's a problem, I just copy back

	"sudo cp application.conf.bak application.conf"


If I'm doing something more "serious" that might just might bring down a lot
of the system, I tend to copy vital data off the machine as follows:

1: I change to the directory I want to back up (assume it has
subdirectories), using the cd command

2: "sudo cp -r * ~mark/backup"

- this copies (including subdirectories because of the "-r" option)  all the
files into the "backup" subdirectory of my home directory "~mark" - you'll
need to replace mark with your own username

- running it as sudo copies files that only administrator has access to

3: I then use an ftp client (like Filezilla) to copy the files out of
/home/mark/backup (which is what ~mark means) onto another box, such as my
Windows laptop.

- Filezilla is a nice drag and drop interface, which will allow you to copy
off entire directory structures.

- In order to get this to work, you may find you need to install an ftp
server on Ubuntu. The following will work, and also give a good introduction
to how you install packages from the command line :-) If you have a GUI on
your Ubuntu box, then you can run Synaptic and let it sort everything out
for you, but I don't, so I can't :-)

3i: Enable "extra repositories" by uncommenting various lines in /etc/etc
(you will need to run "sudo nano /etc/apt" to do this, then remove the #
symbols from the things that look like URLs - at this point, I tend to put a
# symbol in in front of the CD, so that I am naturally installing from the
Internet rather than the CD which is often elsewhere.)

3ii: Run "sudo aptitude update" which will update the package manager with
the appropriate information about where to get the new server files from.

3iii: I tend to run the ftp server from the so-called "INETD" superserver,
so I need to install that first with "sudo aptitude install netkit-inetd"

3iv: Then I can run "sudo aptitude install proftpd" and install the FTP
server.





-----Original Message-----
From: ubuntu-uk-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com
[mailto:ubuntu-uk-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com] On Behalf Of Passive PROFITS
Sent: 23 April 2007 17:31
To: British Ubuntu Talk
Subject: [ubuntu-uk] Newbie Question: best quick backup method - please!!

Hi All,

This is my first post to the list.  I'm new to both
Lunux and Ubuntu, though I've tried on and off over
the last 10 years to get a linux installation working,
finally, with Ubuntu, I've done it (or more accurately
the OS community has!!).

Anyway.  Having just fully set up my desktop (LAMP
installation of server running fine!), I've just
trashed it by misconfiguring x.org config.  I perhaps
could have tried some neat boot CD to fix it, but
thought better, and have just started completely
reinstalling.

My question, so I don't end up losing a day (again!)
is what is the best method for me to backup my / ??

FWIW, I've only got one partition spare on my current
HD.  It's large enough to copy / to, but it is
currently formatted as NTFS.

Questions:

1.  Which utility do I use to back-up / ?

nb:  I understand I can simply zip/gz/tar the whole
drive's contents .... is that right!?

2.  Can I back up direct from / (ex3) to NTFS
    (or do I need to format current NTFS to ex3 1st?

Quick answer giving me a SIMPLE solution (as I'm
completely new to CLI etc, too!!) really appreciated
QUICKLY!! ....  I'll need to do this backup in a
couple of hours (overnight tonight latest!) ...

TIA,

PassivePROFITS (a.k.a PP)



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