Linux Tip | Making Backups with Grsync

A quick look at one of my favorite Linux utilities for moving data around and making simple backups. For info on how I can help you get started with Linux check out www.ezeelinux.com

[@PoeLemic]

All of your videos are so useful still, even after 7 years later. This GUI for rsync makes more sense to me. Easier to use than having to write a script to do a simple backup.

[@SaschiIein]

Greetings Joe, thanks for the video, I used it today (2022) to make a exact backup of my home folder. Thanks you for this clear and understandable course.

[@TrailToHeaven]

I really appreciate your work. Fun fact, today I lost some configurations and first thing I remembered was my backup with Grsync that reminded me of you and this video. I only knew this program from you and you saved me two weeks of work. Came to say thank you very much have a great day.

[@CDVentress]

Wow!, Joe, This video was from 2015. It was good to hear your voice again. I hope you are doing well.

[@CharlesCollins]

Thanks Joe. helpful and clear video. Like the background image

[@EarnestRedwoodLINUXMASTER]

I want to take this time to thank you Joe. You know I love working with Linux, and if you explain in such a way that even I can get. You can share it well and my friend you have master that. Than you for all that you do.

[@EzeeLinux]

Thanks. :)

[@nickcollins7568]

Fantastic video. Will look to download it myself. So simple to use.

[@valvelifter1]

Thank you. Most useful and very clearly explained.

[@jeffersongrindle2305]

Joe; at this moment I have just installed Mint 18.1 MATE x64 for the SECOND time! I had backed up my data two days ago and decided to upgrade to 18.2 and that obviously was a mistake. I used grsync to back up the data onto an external drive and into a custom folder named "Mintvault" to identify it from the other directories on that drive. I repartitioned my hard drive and made my home partition larger as I had to remove my music folder as it was the largest and I was in danger of losing my downloaded podcasts (using gPodder) as it constantly expands. I had viewed your video on backups and moving them to another system as well as this one in using grsync so I used grsync to create the backup. the first attempt at restoring my data failed because I had to stop and leave (the cafe) so I had to restart it today. I completed the restore and my data ended up in my home folder but inside the custom folder that I named for the backup so I opened up a tty, logged in as root, deleted the "new" user directory and moved the backed up data into it's place. I rebooted and was greeted with my restored desktop but with a missing application, a flashing desktop bar on the bottom (I moved it to the top originally) and the "busy system" circle icon in the middle of the screen along with a flashing data window. I decided to just start over again so I've reinstalled Mint 18.1 as 18.2 is just not working for me. If you have any idea as to why my restore went "tango-u" and "snafu" I'm all ears. Hp ProBook 4530S Intel® Core™ i5-2450M CPU @ 2.50GHz × 4, 8Gigs DDRam.

[@hinesfigher6093]

Hi Joe, I have watched several of your videos, they are very instructional. I made the switch to Linux with your help and I appreciate that. I have while watching, often thought to myself that "command line computing went out with the 90's", and it seemed you did a lot on the terminal. A lot. Anyways I had to check that this is a Chris Titus video when at about 2:40 you say you prefer a GUI to command line. Whoa! Glad to hear that. But carry on, and thanks for all you the videos you put up.

[@gautamganguli1221]

Thanks. I just backed up my data using your video.

[@robertlopez2365]

Great Videos as usual, Attention to detail. Happy New Year. Dr Rob

[@MadhuranandaPahar]

Hi, thanks for the video. It was very helpful. By the way, which desktop environment are you using? It looks pretty cool.

[@EzeeLinux]

That was Linux Mint with Cinnamon, I think./ It's an old vid. I have written software that does a much better job of doing this since then. :)

[@eladhen2]

Brilliant Joe! Exactly what I needed! Running an update now!

[@ronstar9548]

Nice video. Very Informative. I was wondering if there is anyway to select multiple folders to sync at once? For Example.... Lets say I wanted to copy, Music,Documents, Downloads all at once, and sync them my external hard drive.... Is that possible? Or is it only one directory at a time?

[@EzeeLinux]

It's actually easier to do that from the command line... This is one at a time. By the way, I write a full backup utility called 'up' that supersedes everything in this vid. :_)

[@tonibest451]

Thanks for the nice video. Just to know what folder/s need to backup so after one disaster and setup a clear OS (and recover from your backup Grsync) will have a same state before disaster.

[@Anthillacres]

Just what the Doctor ordered. I am in the middle of the first backup and my only observation is that 'status bar' is useless. Can't wait to check the files. I am backing about 100GB from a 1TB drive to a external 3TB drive.

[@EzeeLinux]

+Roy Blood Yeah, that thing doesn't tell you much but the program works and that's all that counts. LOL :)

[@dixielandfarm]

Great tip JC... I didn't know about this utility, so I just wrote a few rsync scripts to do my backups, but this would have been easier :)

[@EzeeLinux]

dixielandfarm Works either way. You can use Grsync for non-scripted stuff. :)

[@donbenoit2072]

Joe. I think that you should talk about selecting the destination directory. As a new user, I mistakenly left the destination directory the same name as the source directory. So what happened is that it made many duplicate files in the source home directory. I deleted the duplicates in the source directories but they went to the expunged directory and it won't give me permission to permanently delete them from the guy. Don

[@JLMoriart]

I can't believe that the symbol for "Go" is a GEAR. What were they thinking??? How many people have overwritten entire file systems because they hadn't finished setting things up and clicked that for more options?

[@RockawayCCW]

Shouldn't the dot bash file be called dot bashful, since it's a hidden file?

[@jurgenkopf6377]

Very nice video. grsync is what I need.

[@EzeeLinux]

You may want to check out a program I wrote that makes this even simpler. This is a rather old vid. github.com/EzeeLinux/xbt-external_backup_tool

[@RockawayCCW]

This looks like the perfect way to use my 2TB USB drive instead of manually copying thing over.

[@clydesight]

Very good video, as usual. Thanks. I have a stupid question however. Maybe I didn't quite understand you, or I am strill thinking like Windows. Here's the deal. I have a Ubuntu Unity install on a USB stick. I love it, but it is a little quirky. Neverhteless I HAVE to use it for Grand Orgue, a special musical software package. I have put this on it and configured it, so I don't want to go through all that again. Will Grsyn help me back this up so it is exaclty what is on the USB? I kind of think so, but am not entirely sure. Sorry if I sound stupid. I am living in the Linux world now, Linux Mint MATE for most day to day things, and Ubuntu Unity for the special music software - GrandOrgue, which won't work on Linux Mint - at least I couldn't install it. I kept getting errors and GrandOrgue documentation states Ubuntu. I thought I could do it on Mint because it is an Ubuntu based distro? Still figuring these flavors out. Anyway GranOrgue is HIGHLY configurable, and it uses some humongous sample sets. So I want a back up. Sorry if I over esxplained this.

[@EzeeLinux]

***** The short answer is I don't know. I am assuming you're booting from a live image with a persistence file on a USB stick. If so, that means they do some trickery with the home folder to make that work and I just don't know if Grsync follows those links. There is a tool that will make an exact clone of a drive called CloneZilla that would let you clone the drive into a file for safe keeping elsewhere so if you wanted to copy A usb drive, boot loader and all, and then move it to a new one you could do it that way. As a general rule, all settings for Linux software live in your home folder so one could restore the home folder and then re-install the software and end up right back where it was before if the system needs to moved or reloaded. The only exception I have found to this is any Windows software you install with WINE. You have to re-install that from scratch if you reload the machine. :) Ubuntu and Mint are generally compatible for software but I went and looked up the program you're talking about and it's not in the official repositories. It probably doesn't get all of its dependencies automatically under Mint and you most likely have to install them manually to get it to work. Where there's a will there's always a way. :)

[@clydesight]

Joe Collins Thanks for your reply. Yeah, if I can make a copy of the whole drive to a file, that might do it. My plan is to format a 64GB USB stick to boot persistent Ubuntu. That will give me PLENTY of space for sound files and such. Then I'd like to clone my current UBUNTU onto that, so I don't have to go looking for stuff all over again. It's good that the home folder holds all the configs. I'm not worried about Windows software. I am using WINE, but it isn't running any installed Windows software.

[@RockHeiland]

when migrating my home folder from one Linux distro to another, it is best not to copy hidden files along with my data, because there could be distro specific settings, right?

[@raulgirao1458]

Great video. Thanks!!!

[@kahlschlag17]

Are there any problems with backing up /home folder in linux which would have file type ext4 or brtfs (Suse) to a USB that is formatted vfat or ntfs?

[@EzeeLinux]

Yes, don't do it if you want to preserve file permissions correctly.

[@chasb441]

Hi Joe...loving your videos as very new to Linux (Mint 18.2). I'm using Grsync and trying to make a backup on a Drobo Nas but keep getting red warnings in Grsync. I have mounted the NAS in Mint but cannot get the backup to work. Report from Grsync here.... **** default - Sun Aug 13 11:15:49 2017 ** Launching RSYNC command (simulation mode): pkexec rsync -r -n -t -p -o -g -x -v --progress --delete -u -s /home/ /run/user/1000/gvfs/smb-share:server=drobo5n.local,share=drobopublic/PC Backup Mint/ sending incremental file list rsync: ERROR: cannot stat destination "/run/user/1000/gvfs/smb-share:server=drobo5n.local,share=drobopublic/PC Backup Mint/": Permission denied (13) rsync error: errors selecting input/output files, dirs (code 3) at main.c(652) [Receiver=3.1.1] Rsync process exit status: 3 Can you help?

[@madisonkamw5758]

I love the video and the tool is excellent but how do I install Grsync on my system.

[@EzeeLinux]

It's in the repositories for every distribution of Linux I've ever seen.

[@Xxmeca421xX]

Also how do I exclude a folder Like for Music, I dont need to backup all of my albums?

[@EzeeLinux]

DO it from the command line and use the exclude option of rsync. :)

[@bryancampbell9312]

I just started running Mate 16.04 - where do I download GRSYNC. I dont see it in the Software Boutique. Also is there an easier way to search for applications?

[@EzeeLinux]

Install Synaptic Package Manager from the Boutique. Give you access to everything in the repositories. :)

[@EzeeLinux]

Install Synaptic Package Manager from the Boutique. Give you access to everything in the repositories. :)

[@Nazareth434]

So Joe- if i backup the home folder to say a seperate internal hard-drive- and my linux gets hosed=- I just reinstall linux from scratch, and copy the home folder on backupdrive back to the home folder position in linux on main drive?? That will put back all my drivers, programs custom tweaks (ie menu preferences, desktop icons etc)? Also how quick is this method? (About 70 gig in my home folder) I have liek a program called easystroke that has many custom set mouse gestures- and it's a pain to reinstall all the gestures and commands- will this method of backup restore all the custom settings?

[@EzeeLinux]

ALL of your settings are in your home directory. As long as you restore it exatcly as it was before, you'll have no problems. :)

[@Nazareth434]

so how would you go about 'restoring' it? Simply overwrite it with the grsync program? I currently use systemback to completely backup the whole system, but it's a little daunting doing the whole live system deal- it's just not very intuitive- wouldl ike something a little more easy- and i like hte idea of doign a fresh install of linux and then copying home directory to it better than like systemback does- Well I'm looking at your other backup and restore video- I'll check that one out to see how it's done-

[@EzeeLinux]

Yes, you ca use Grsync to copy it all back and that should work just fine. There will be a few system settings that aren't stored in you're home folder but pretty much all program related settings are stored in your account. :)

[@Nazareth434]

Thanks Joe- Basically though I'm looking for a way to 'bare bones backup' a dual boot system of windows 7 and linux- but if i can't find a good way to get it done, I'll look more into the GRsync program- looks promising

[@robertlopez2365]

How did you get 2 cursors to work.?

[@unvaccinatedAndPureBlood]

Thanks for the tutorial. I used grsync to copy one folder to another and once finished I looked at both sizes and they were different by a few mb!? Is this normal?

[@EzeeLinux]

Double check the settings... They should be identical. :)

[@unvaccinatedAndPureBlood]

It was my fault! The file system I copied to was NTFS from ex4. All good now. Thank you Joe.

[@EzeeLinux]

There's a option for that in rsync. If you have to do that agin just add it to the command line for Windows compatibility. It will speed things up. :)

[@geodude9537]

i have to select my root dir instead of home with rsync to get anything (kali linux) is that normal,???

[@EzeeLinux]

No clue... Kali isn't a mainstaream desktop. :)

[@donbenoit2072]

sorry from the gui.

[@kahlschlag17]

just use dd.

[@Tyco072]

I had found a guide to clone a linux installation to another drive using Grsync, without to copy also all the linked files coming from the media drives present in the system. Do you know which options should be selected? It would be very useful. The guide I saw didn't show all settings. I have tried something but it didn't work.

[@EzeeLinux]

Here you are: serverfault.com/questions/233623/using-rsyncs-archive-flag-without-copying-symbolic-links

[@Tyco072]

@@EzeeLinux Thank you. In that page there is the command "-a --no-links" for rsync. In Grsync I selected the 2 advanced options "copy symlinks as symlinks" and "copy hardlinks as hardlinks", which should do the same. (Note: I don't know exactly what a hard link is. I only guess that also its option should be selected). If I understood it well, these options should be selected to don't copy the physical files. Did you tried them? Eventually I will try to add the command "-a --no-links" in the "Extra options" tab, but I don't understand why it didn't work, if I set the 2 options correctly.

[@Tyco072]

@@EzeeLinux I have added the command "-a --no-links" in the extra options, but it doesn't work. It will copy everything. If I disconnect all the other drives and I run it, it copies the root partition in loop without end, apparently.

[@EzeeLinux]

@@Tyco072 You're confused here. Wrong kind of links... Try -xx for your option instated of --no-links. It should be something like: rsync -aHxx --delete- --progress /source/directory /destination/directory. The a puts rsync in archive mode, preserving dates and permissions, the H ensure that 'hard links' for file within the file system are honored but the xx tell rsync not to leave the file system, ignoring mounted volumes. :)

[@Tyco072]

@@EzeeLinux I will try also this, but the option "Don't leave file system" was already selected in the GUI. It seems that Grsync don't work as it should. Then I have tried to clone using the Timeshift tool. It has worked better, but when I boot the cloned installation it makes a long pause by the step "scanning for Btrfs file systems", but in the source installation and in the system there were no Btrfs partitions... Why does it happen?