TIMESHIF TCredit:https://github.com/teejee2008/timeshift
Keep your Linux install backed up
Nick Peers reveals the tools, techniques and tips you need to protect everything from personal files to your entire Linux installation.
OUR EXPERT
Nick Peers has been an ardent backup fanatic since spending one Christmas holiday manually recovering hundreds of text files one at a time from the command line back in the late ’90s.
Mint users will notice the version of Déjà Dup Backups offered in the main repositories isn’t the latest – that said, there’s little difference between it and the rather bloated 900MBplus Flatpak version, which is why we recommend you install the older System Package version instead.
Do you need reminding of the importance of backups? From protecting your irreplaceable D data to ensuring system glitches are mere annoyances rather than catastrophes, everyone needs a good backup regimen. In this tutorial we’ll explore the best tools on offer from Ubuntu and Mint to provide everything you need, and we’ll cover both backup and restore scenarios, whether reverting individual files to earlier versions or undoing a recent botched update or unwanted app installation. You’ll never endure the stomach-churning pain of data loss again.
Home folder
The most important part of any backup regimen is to protect your personal files, from documents to photos and videos. Unlike your OS or apps, which can be reinstalled, your personal files can’t easily be recreated – if at all. Both Ubuntu and Mint ship with tools to provide the means to automatically back up these files. Mint’s file backup tool is covered in the first box (opposite), but Ubuntu users are better served by their file backup tool: Backups. Access it by typing backups into the launcher’s search tool. It’s actually a rebadged and integrated version of Déjà Dup Backups, and Mint users can add this via Software Manager (search for ‘deja’ and choose the System Package version). After installation, you’ll find it under the label Backups.
Once launched, click Create My First Backup. Your Home folder is selected by default under Folders To Back Up, while Downloads and Rubbish Bin are excluded under Folders To Ignore. Use the + buttons to add more to either list before clicking Forward.
Next, you’re prompted to select a location for your backup. In addition to any locally attached storage, there are options to back up directly to Google Drive (just enter your credentials when prompted), or you can back up to any network drive (click the ? button for the syntax to use, such as smb://computer-name/ folder . Once selected, click Forward again. Next, you’re given the option of encrypting your backup (which is compressed into a tar.gz file) using a password before being returned to the main screen. From here, click Back Up Now to take your first backup.