Backup Linux with TIMESHIFT

[@sharpmerciful787]

Very informative video. I know it was long, but it was worth it to keep watching. Thank you.

[@joelazaro461]

Thumbs up for the first 20 seconds telling me what I came to find out, which is that this can be used from a USB drive to restore a broken system.

[@Doriandotslash]

Indeed it can. And in fact, I had to do this with Timeshift to fix my system after my EFI partition got wrecked. Worked like a charm! :)

[@joelazaro461]

@@Doriandotslash I'm trying to get off Mac this weekend (looking at Manjaro Linux) and having a capability comparable to Time Machine is a pleasant surprise.

[@Doriandotslash]

It's not as graphically pretty as the Mac one, nor does it integrate as nice into the file manager. But it is very good, and automatic. I really like it!

[@rajendraprasadsuyal909]

Thanks for creating this awesome video

[@ferrykurnia1955]

Helpful tutorial and great app. I had pepp 9 on my main desktop, somehow I switched to other distro. After playing around a couple days, I found this is not for me and swictched back to pepp 9 using timeshift. Abracadabra.... Back to pepp9 where i left off.

[@Doriandotslash]

Awesome, that's a pretty useful way to rollback to your original distro if you're feeling adventurous! Thanks for the comment :)

[@kaylinoldaccount]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I just lost all of my scripts on my work machine due to a careless mistake, which I refuse to make again. Looking into rsync backup solutions, I stumbled upon this video. I just set up TimeShift on Manjaro and it was so simple. Great video, I just subscribed!

[@Doriandotslash]

Thank you! Hopefully it saves you from future losses 😉

[@th33xitus]

Okay i watched the previous video where you mentioned how and where to backup and now watched this but I am still unsure which program is the better option for me. Timeshift or Deja Dup? What i like on Deja Dup is, that you can backup to different filesystems like ntfs or network drives without a hassle, because i currently try to migrate to Linux from 12 years of Windows usage so i still have a complete Windows system working besides the Linux system which i boot in sometimes. There is one single 3TB harddrive in my PC i set up as kind of a shared data storage which both operating systems can access to so i simply have all my documents, images and so on on both systems available in case i have to work on them. Therefore because windows can't handle ext4 that 3TB drive had to be ntfs. I would love to backup to that data storage, but timeshift doesn't allow that and only can backup to ext4 filesystems as it seems. What should i use? From the looks of it i really like Timeshift over Deja Dup how it works and behaves. The options of having always a set amount of snapshots is really nice. Is it smart to create a seperate partition on the 3TB harddrive, format it to ext4 and do full backups (system snapshots included with some /home folders i want to backup) to that partition with Timeshift?

[@Doriandotslash]

I’ve used both. TimeShift for system recovery, and Deja Dup to backup my files to my NAS. Unfortunately TimeShift won’t work over the network

[@elephant_888]

Thanks for the helpful video!

[@Doriandotslash]

Glad to help!

[@Xeno_Bardock]

Timeshift can come handy in case if updates break the system.

[@Doriandotslash]

Very true! I've had to restore from an update a year ago.

[@Xeno_Bardock]

Is there a way to configure Timeshift to automatically create system snapshots right before you update Manjaro or any other Linux distro? So you don't have to manually create system snapshots before updating. I suppose Timeshift probably would have to detect update commands and update GUI clicks for this to work.

[@Doriandotslash]

No there isn't, but that would be great if it did! Snapper in openSUSE does this with the BTRFS filesystem. But with Timeshift, if you have 2 or 3 daily backups, you can always restore to the last one. Remember that it doesn't change your /home files unless you configure it to do so. I do think it would be cool to set a trigger to run a manual backup before an update (you could also do a manual update if you remember to).

[@johanb.7869]

Great tutorial Dorian. I have nothing to backup.

[@Doriandotslash]

Haha yeah just load up the email client and login to Firefox and carry on huh? This was more for system backups and not personal files. If you try a new driver that goes bad, or some update screws things up, you can revert back to before the changes. It also fixes corrupt bootloaders which is awesome and saved me once. Thanks Johan!

[@johanb.7869]

Yes. This is the successor of systemback? I believe that you can still use systemback, but it isn't updated anymore?

[@Doriandotslash]

SystemBack development and support ended and is not available for Ubuntu 18.04 or most current distros. I do find that this is the best current backup solution. But it still lacks SystemBack’s ability to create live bootable ISOs. It also can’t backup over a network, which means I still use Deja Dup to back up my documents over my network to my NAS.

[@NoEgg4u]

I am from the school of having redundancy, especially with backups. After a backup is completed, I like to make a copy of that backup onto yet another external USB drive. So my questions are: 1) When Timeshift does a backup, does it place all of your files into an archive (a single file like a tar file), allowing you to easily copy that archive file to a new location? Or does Timeshift simply copy all files (like "cp -r) in a mirrored way to your target location, resulting in simply having your same file structure located elsewhere for you to read, edit, etc? 2) Also, is there a password and/or encryption option, so that if someone gets their hands on your external USB drive (that contains your Timeshift backup) that would prevent them from having your data in the clear? 3) Lastly, does Timeshift offer file compression? Your videos are a big help in my researching moving from Windows to Linux. When I make the leap, I want to have everything prepared, so that I limit my struggle with my new OS. Thank you.

[@Doriandotslash]

Here are your answers; 1) Timeshift copies the files into timestamped folders which can be browsed manually to find files. From within Timeshift, you can right-click on a snapshot and select "Browse Files". 2) It doesn't provide either since it's primarily intended to backup your system and not data, which is why you have the options set to exclude home folders. If you wish to backup your personal data, you could back it up to an encrypted partition. 3) Same as #2, it does not. However, if the partition you're backing up to uses a Btrfs or ZFS filesystem, then it's possible to set that up ahead of time so that the backups are automatically compressed. That's a bit more work to set up though. Compression isn't really necessary though since Timeshift does incremental backups. The first backup takes the most room, after that, the additional snapshots only backup new and changed files. Using Deja-Dup from my other video is probably better for backing up your personal data, as it can password protect the backups. But those backups are stored in archives and not as easily browsable.

[@NoEgg4u]

@@Doriandotslash I discovered that VeraCrypt can encrypt an entire drive / entire partition. So I am thinking that I can mount a VeraCrypt encrypted USB drive, and my OS will simply see it as a mounted file system, and I can direct my backups to it. In the event of a drive failure that was running my Linux box, I can replace the failed drive, boot from a live flash drive that contains both Timeshift and VeraCrypt, restore my new drive, and give myself a hug for figuring it all out. Does the above make sense? Is it doable, without needing to be a Linux expert? Thank you.

[@p_mouse8676]

They should run this by default when changing major settings. Not the first time I messed up my entire OS. A bit comparable with what Windows is doing. Btw I assume that this also works with an external or network drive to save your files on?

[@Doriandotslash]

Yeah this is definitely a must-have. I always recommend backups, and it's saved me more than once! Yes TimeShift can backup and restore to an external drive, but not a network drive unfortunately.I use TimeShift for local system backups, and my home folder is backed up over my network to my NAS with Deja Dup.

[@p_mouse8676]

One more question, does it also work for mixed desktop environments? Obviously not the settings etc, but I mean all the other parts (like program settings)

[@Doriandotslash]

TimeShift backs up everything in your system including any DE’s you have, but it does not back up anything in your home folder, and doesn’t back up any settings for software. Those settings config files are hidden in your home folder. So if you want to back those up, you need to tell it to backup the user’s hidden files like I showed in the video. Then all your settings will also be saved.

[@Radzioslaw]

Would you like maybe doing some videos about NAS for beginners? I'm quite new to linux and my interest in it grew because of NAS. I've got loots of questions about this topic like what hardware to choose, try to DIY or go with Synology or QNAP (maybe something else)? Is it possible to run on the later two Open Media Vault or is it better to stick with their os? And generally how to set it all up (and how to not mess it) to be able to use with various OS for backups as well as integrate nextCloud into it and having secure online access to it .. It would be amazing because I really like your tutorials! Well that's a long comment, anyway - keep it up!

[@Doriandotslash]

Sounds interesting but it’s not very Linux-based. I would recommend buying a purpose built NAS. They’re simpler and easier to configure. Just follow the instructions and use your file manager to access it via smb.

[@Radzioslaw]

DorianDotSlash could you maybe do a small tour of your setup, pros&cons stuff like that?

[@polymatrix]

Thanks for this great video! What surprises me is that it doesn't yet have 1,000 views - it's very informative! One question I do have (since this is inevitably going to draw comparisons to mac OS's Time Machine feature): does your oldest backup keep everything from the previously oldest backup? Perhaps another way to explain it is: does this keep a hybrid rolling-complete backup? If I'm not making any sense let me try to explain. In Time Machine it keeps monthly backups until the drive is full. The oldest monthly backup will get deleted once it reaches that point. However, what's in the oldest to-be-deleted backup will migrate that data into the next oldest backup so you don't lose those files. Does Time Shift do this as well, or is every backup a copy of your files at the time the backup occurs? So, if I create "doc1.doc" on one day, then add "doc2.doc" on another, the next backup will grab only "doc2.doc" or will it have both "doc1.doc" & "doc2.doc"? Sorry for this being long-winded, I tried to play with Time Shift this past weekend & it didn't work for me at all, but I'm also not sure I have the correct expectations of it. Thanks a ton for the video!

[@Doriandotslash]

Thanks! That’s a good question. I looked into it, and TimeShift doesn’t store actual files into the backups, only hard links. So deleting the original backup doesn’t delete the files if you have a newer backup, it only deletes the hard links. When there are no remaining links to files, then it is lost.

[@Doriandotslash]

I just editing my answer after looking into it a bit so check my last reply.

[@sevenseville5964]

Can I use timeshift to create a new installation or clone of my installation onto new media , say a blank partition or blank hard drive? would just restoring the saved timeshift folder , (after saving it to a usb drive or even dvd )and booting my ubuntu or mint to the new computer and new hard drive and restoring with timeshift to that new media, is that how it would work? sorry for convoluted question here.

[@Doriandotslash]

In theory yes, you could do this. However, it would be much easier and faster to just clone the drive or partitions to a new disk with something like the dd command for example.

[@SkyMesA]

Thanks for the vid! How can we backup our whole system if a update (im gonna use Manjaro, byebye w$10) nuked our system?

[@chuckleon5366]

I'm a year late to the party but perhaps you will respond. First time Linux Mint user on a preinstalled system. Found three vids on Timeshift and have not seen an answer to my issue. Made the novice mistake of setting snapshots to internal hard drive and it appears I saved only on one day. I need a snapshot from the previous day to reverse a failed attempt to install a VPN. There is a Timeshift folder in the home directory, can I use a file from there to restore to earlier?

[@Doriandotslash]

Hi Chuck. If TimeShift only saved one snapshot then I’m afraid that’s all that is available to restore. Unless you mean they have been saved elsewhere?

[@chuckleon5366]

@@Doriandotslash Found snapshot files in what appears to be a drive: casper-rw but the files were empty. Timeshift says it ran out of space. Thanks for the quick reply. I think I'll file this under "learning curve." I will use an external to save timeshift.

[@matthewpaolini]

I have a question. I am running Manjaro Cinnamon and backed up everything for my user. If I were to install another distro, over Manjaro Cinnamon, could I restore with TimeShift the previous version of Cinnamon without any hassles? Would Manjaro run without any problems?

[@Doriandotslash]

Provided you only restore folders like Documents, Download, Videos etc, it should be fine. Restoring hidden folders like .config .local etc might cause issues if restored to a different distro that uses different versions of packages.

[@matthewpaolini]

@@Doriandotslash I should probably reinstall Cinnamon then restore from Timeshift. Would that be better?

[@Doriandotslash]

Yes it would be better if you plan to also restore all the settings files.

[@prayan72]

Hi, do you think Timeshift works fine with "noatime"? Thank you!

[@Doriandotslash]

I don’t see why not

[@prayan72]

Thank you Dorian!

[@barkingbandicoot]

Nice! Comparable to TimeMachine in OS X! Do you need to do a partition on the same drive? Could I have an external drive to plug in via USB and backup when I want? Is there a native KDE backup program or is Time Shift the best to use? Thanks!

[@Doriandotslash]

It is, just not as pretty ;) The partition can be on a separate drive like an external USB if you'd like. You just have to ensure it's automatically mounted everytime you boot up so Timeshift can perform the scheduled backups. Same program for KDE as well.

[@barkingbandicoot]

Thanks!

[@AlgentAlbrahimi]

Can you make a video "How to restore you system with Timeshift from Live USB"?

[@Doriandotslash]

Good idea. I do have this video : kzbin.info/www/bejne/o57Zl4R-oZVmfKM I used a LiveUSB to boot into a distro on my hard drive. Sort of similar. The only difference if you're on a LiveUSB would be that you open the settings and point TimeShift to wherever the backups are, and then do the same things I did in that video.

[@armagedon515]

I don't like TS because it doesn't do any compression of the backup. You end up with the same size/structure as the source. It is basically y a simple copy. Also the inability to backup to NTFS partitions make it dead in the water for me. All the backup devices are NTFS formatted and the idea to make a separate EXT partition just for backup, unreadable by Windows is not appealing at all.

[@Doriandotslash]

This is true, there is no compression. It's a matter of personal preference, but I like being able to simply browse the backed up files and simply copy what I need. As for NTFS partitions, this is of course an issue because the file flags aren't the same and permissions won't be preserved. There are a lot of options out there for backups. What are you currently using?

[@armagedon515]

I am using Macrium Reflect Free edition, imaging software (Windows). It's very easy to use, commercially developed, handle Linux partitions easily while preserving all permissions. It also understand GRUB. It produce only one file, highly compressed. You can of course store that file on any Windows partitions but I haven't tried saving it on Linux partitions (EXT ?). You don't even have to have it installed. You can make a bootable dvd/usb flash drive on any windows machine which will permit any operation on Linux partitions (imaging-restoration) if you boot with it. While you can extract individual files from the image on Windows, it cannot do that yet for Linux (I think ?). All my important files are not on the Linux system partitions anyway. It save my a$$ a few times, so I am not scare of trying anything on my system now. You can easily go back in time in about 5 minutes.

[@armagedon515]

Forgot, since it is a Windows PE bootable dvd and that Windows does not recognized Linux partitions, it wouldn't be able to save the image of course on Linux partitions. There is however nothing stopping you from storing that file after, anywhere you like in Linux since the later, way superior to Windows, handle FAT, NTFS based files with no problem.

[@Doriandotslash]

Interesting. So does this mean you have to boot into Windows in order for you to be able to perform a backup? No automated backups if you stay in Linux?

[@armagedon515]

You either use your bootable DVD to do backup/restore or if you have a dual boot system with Windows, then of course you can install the program and do the Linux partition backup from there. There is also a built in scheduler which I never use. Of course it is a windows program so it is not installable in Linux. No scheduler there. Never tried it in wine but I don't think that work. Remember that it's only to backup disk/partitions, not individual files. If you have a windows computer, try it out. The free version has pretty much everything you need.

[@TheChadWork2001]

This application makes the built-in backup in Linux mint and Ubuntucompletely worthless in my opinion. This thing works time shift works I just used it this morning successfully to restore a corrupted system after a bad software compiled

[@Doriandotslash]

It’s fantastic and I recommend it to everyone. It has also saved me from a broken system as well 😎

[@TheChadWork2001]

@@Doriandotslash To answer your question about what do we use for backup, I use Timeshift to backup my Linux O.S. as we discussed, and then I backup my data by simply copying it with Beyond Compare up to the NAS. I find encryption and compression to be impractical, overly complex and irritating. A simply file copy is my favorite way.

[@Doriandotslash]

@@TheChadWork2001 I'll have to check that one out. I also just manually copy most of the time, but I've also used Deja-Dup which works very well and can backup to my NAS.

[@TheChadWork2001]

@@Doriandotslash I used to use Deja-Dup, but when you look at the files on the NAS, you don't know what they are, or where they are from. That's why I use Beyond Compare for Linux. It's an industrial strength file copy utility. One could use rsynch as well. The point is, it's hard to beat a simple file copy because of the ease of understanding what the files are, especially if you have enough space and security, and do not need to concern yourself with encryption and compression. Joe Collins does the same, (but I don't think he uses Beyond Compare.)

[@Doriandotslash]

I see it’s not open source and you have to buy it. Not something I’d use unfortunately. There are others out there than can do rsync over NAS. TimeShift uses plain rsync as well but not to a NAS.

[@QuantumReality]

I hate ubuntu 18.04 - I really hate it