Ubuntu Backup

There are a number of tools in Ubuntu that you can use to backup your Linux system. In Ubuntu 9.10, when you open the Software Center and type "backup" in the search bar, you are presented with a load of choices. To be honest, I do not know which one is the best one. And yes, you can use the command line to run tar, rsync, scp, or whatever your favorite backup program is to use in these situations.

But, I think that the Ubuntu developers should consider selecting the one that they think is the best, and include it as part of the their operating system as an easy to use graphical interface. Possibly they can build upon a open source application or create something that is akin to Apple's Time Machine. The Time Machine program is very powerful in that it allows you to save multiple versions of files, and easily restore them using an intuitive graphical interface.

It seems that everyone is hanging terabyte hard drives on there PCs via USB and backing up files to it these days. These drive are often less then $100 and offer a great way to protect the files on your systems. It is prevalent in the business world as well.

One the strengths of Linux and Apple's OSX is the ease in which you can save off file systems without the snags of having to deal with registry settings in Windows, etc. It could further set Ubuntu apart in the operating system world by introducing an easy to use backup and recovery option by default.

Partition and MBR Restore Using TestDisk

After a little poking around with my Windoze PC, the one that would not boot, I decided that either the partition table, or the Master Boot Record (MBR) were somehow corrupted. The machine would boot using other disk drives, so the motherboard was not bad. The manufacturer sent this machine without any restore disks, or Windows XP disks, so I was pretty much SOL in simply re-installing the OS.

After backing up the data that i needed from the drive, I decided I would try to rebuild the partition table and boot record using an open source software package called TestDisk.

Here is the general procedure, I booted the PC using an Ubuntu Live CD. I went to the menu: Sytem --> Administration --> Software Sources

and enabled the Universe Repository and re-downloaded the available software information. Then at a command line: sudo apt-install testdisk

Then ran testdisk from the command line by typing

sudo testdisk

Then I followed the step by step instructions for restoring a partition table here.

This utility worked like a charm! The computer is back up and my wife is happy. When the wife is happy, the husband is happy!

Using Ubuntu to Recover Data from an XP Drive

I have several PCs in my house. One of them, a Microsoft Windows XP stopped booting for me. I was not sure if the motherboard went bad or the disk drive. This PC had a lot of files on it that were important for my wife and her on line studies. Unfortunately, I was a little re-miss in making routine backups. I did not want her to lose here files, and wanted to at least get the latest copy of her files saved off before I performed major surgery o

Luckily, I had a couple of Ubuntu Live Cd's on hand.

I simply placed a live CD in the bad computer and booted into Ubuntu. The live CD noticed the bad drive, which was no longer bootable, and mounted it. It seemed that just the boot record od the drive was bad, as all of the data was still there. I sort of lucked out, that I was able to recover all of the data in her Windows directory.

I copied the files I needed from the disk that was not longer bootable onto my usb thumb drive. This is done under the "Places" menu. The process was really easy, as you can just use click and drag.

Once I had the file copied I exited out. I am not sure if the motherboard is bad, or if it is the disk drive. I may just wipe the drive and start fresh. Still have to make a decision on that one.