backing up hard drive with emacs?

backing up hard drive with emacs?

[Steven Arntson]

Sorry if this question is poorly stated... I'm a beginning emacs user
who's trying to be more responsible about backing up the hard drive of my
computer. A friend gave me a USB drive with the same amount of space as
my laptop's hard drive, and I'd like to figure out how to back up the
data.

I've read some info online, and am primarily confused by it. I'd like a
simple way to make a copy of my home folder on this drive. I don't need
compressed archives or anything--this is just in case a boulder falls on
my laptop--but it would be nice if it had the ability to see what I'd
changed since last time and just recopy that, rather than doing it all
from scratch. (Is it called "cloning" the drive?)

Does emacs have any simple utility to do this kind of thing, or
(slightly offtopic) is there a cli command that would make it happen?

Lastly, should I be thinking about this whole issue differently than I
am?

Thank you!
steven arntson

Re: backing up hard drive with emacs?

[Eric Abrahamsen]

Steven Arntson <steven@stevenarntson.com> writes:

> Sorry if this question is poorly stated... I'm a beginning emacs user
> who's trying to be more responsible about backing up the hard drive of my
> computer. A friend gave me a USB drive with the same amount of space as
> my laptop's hard drive, and I'd like to figure out how to back up the
> data.
>
> I've read some info online, and am primarily confused by it. I'd like a
> simple way to make a copy of my home folder on this drive. I don't need
> compressed archives or anything--this is just in case a boulder falls on
> my laptop--but it would be nice if it had the ability to see what I'd
> changed since last time and just recopy that, rather than doing it all
> from scratch. (Is it called "cloning" the drive?)
>
> Does emacs have any simple utility to do this kind of thing, or
> (slightly offtopic) is there a cli command that would make it happen?
>
> Lastly, should I be thinking about this whole issue differently than I
> am?
>
> Thank you!
> steven arntson

Emacs itself probably isn't the right tool for this job: you could use
it to invoke other commands, but by itself it doesn't do this sort of
thing.

There are a million different solutions for backing things up, but I
think one of the simplest and most effective is rsync, which is likely
already on your machine (provided it's not windows). If you google
"rsync for backups" you'll get more information than you ever wanted.

Eric

Re: backing up hard drive with emacs?

[Bob Proulx]

Steven Arntson wrote:
> Sorry if this question is poorly stated...

You didn't say what operating system you were using.  (You did say
emacs and we all know the joke that emacs is a pretty good operating
system but...)  In order to really help we will need to know the OS
you are running first.

> I'm a beginning emacs user who's trying to be more responsible about
> backing up the hard drive of my computer. A friend gave me a USB
> drive with the same amount of space as my laptop's hard drive, and
> I'd like to figure out how to back up the data.

This is one of those topics that has a zillion different possible
ways.  Everyone will have a different opinion.

> I've read some info online, and am primarily confused by it. I'd like a
> simple way to make a copy of my home folder on this drive. I don't need
> compressed archives or anything--this is just in case a boulder falls on
> my laptop--but it would be nice if it had the ability to see what I'd
> changed since last time and just recopy that, rather than doing it all
> from scratch. (Is it called "cloning" the drive?)

This would be a good question in a general utility mailing list.

> Does emacs have any simple utility to do this kind of thing, or

I use emacs for a lot of things but I haven't yet run into a backup
utility written in emacs!  :-)

> (slightly offtopic) is there a cli command that would make it happen?

Many.  Lots.  Zillions!

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_backup_software

> Lastly, should I be thinking about this whole issue differently than I
> am?

IMNHO you should be looking at backup software.  You can always do the
brute force technique (brute force and ignorance will always triumph
over elegance and finesse) such as using rsync and one of these:

  https://rsync.samba.org/examples.html

For many people that is sufficient.  But after a point it definitely
makes sense to use software that is designed to do the task of making
backups.  Something like rdiff-backup.  Or Obnam.  Or one of the
others.  Everyone will have an opinion.  I have used rsync directly
for a very long time.  I have used BackupPC but it takes some setup.
I personally wouldn't be thinking of backup from within the context of
emacs.

Bob

Re: backing up hard drive with emacs?

[Steven Arntson]

Bob Proulx <bob@proulx.com> writes:

> Steven Arntson wrote:
>> Sorry if this question is poorly stated...
>
> You didn't say what operating system you were using.  (You did say
> emacs and we all know the joke that emacs is a pretty good operating
> system but...)  In order to really help we will need to know the OS
> you are running first.
>
>> I'm a beginning emacs user who's trying to be more responsible about
>> backing up the hard drive of my computer. A friend gave me a USB
>> drive with the same amount of space as my laptop's hard drive, and
>> I'd like to figure out how to back up the data.
>
> This is one of those topics that has a zillion different possible
> ways.  Everyone will have a different opinion.
>
>> I've read some info online, and am primarily confused by it. I'd like a
>> simple way to make a copy of my home folder on this drive. I don't need
>> compressed archives or anything--this is just in case a boulder falls on
>> my laptop--but it would be nice if it had the ability to see what I'd
>> changed since last time and just recopy that, rather than doing it all
>> from scratch. (Is it called "cloning" the drive?)
>
> This would be a good question in a general utility mailing list.
>
>> Does emacs have any simple utility to do this kind of thing, or
>
> I use emacs for a lot of things but I haven't yet run into a backup
> utility written in emacs!  :-)
>
>> (slightly offtopic) is there a cli command that would make it happen?
>
> Many.  Lots.  Zillions!
>
>   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_backup_software
>
>> Lastly, should I be thinking about this whole issue differently than I
>> am?
>
> IMNHO you should be looking at backup software.  You can always do the
> brute force technique (brute force and ignorance will always triumph
> over elegance and finesse) such as using rsync and one of these:
>
>   https://rsync.samba.org/examples.html
>
> For many people that is sufficient.  But after a point it definitely
> makes sense to use software that is designed to do the task of making
> backups.  Something like rdiff-backup.  Or Obnam.  Or one of the
> others.  Everyone will have an opinion.  I have used rsync directly
> for a very long time.  I have used BackupPC but it takes some setup.
> I personally wouldn't be thinking of backup from within the context of
> emacs.
>
> Bob


Haha, yes, emacs pretty much is my operating system, which is why I was
curious. :) That said, I'm using Ubuntu. I looked at a couple of rsync
examples, and I think that program looks pretty good--I'm going to try it.

Thank you!
steven

Re: backing up hard drive with emacs?

[Barry Margolin]

In article <mailman.1379.1400126061.1147.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>,
 Steven Arntson <steven@stevenarntson.com> wrote:

> Haha, yes, emacs pretty much is my operating system, which is why I was
> curious. :) That said, I'm using Ubuntu. I looked at a couple of rsync
> examples, and I think that program looks pretty good--I'm going to try it.

Emacs might be useful to put a nice UI onto some other backup solution. 
But since backup doesn't really need much of a UI, I guess no one has 
bothered.

-- 
Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***

Re: backing up hard drive with emacs?

[Hans BKK]

Yes this is totally off-topic for a forum discussing a text editor but here goes 8-)

On Wednesday, May 14, 2014 11:53:49 PM UTC-4, Steven Arntson wrote:
> Haha, yes, emacs pretty much is my operating system, which is why I was
> curious. :) That said, I'm using Ubuntu. I looked at a couple of rsync
> examples, and I think that program looks pretty good--I'm going to try it.

rsync is a great tool, but a simple command-line one that will rely on your self-discipline to use properly.

Better IMO to set something up that is automatic and you don't have to think about it.

If you keep all your user-created documents/files under home, then that will help you by only having to back up that one dirtree.

Of course in the event of a system failure/HDD crash you will need to reinstall Ubuntu and your apps, and reset your configs the way you like.

If you want to avoid that then a full-drive-image program like Clonezilla (similar to the old "ghost" software if you've heard of that) is a good idea, can run that less frequently than your data backups.

Note that some people want to keep a historical record of past file versions, protect themselves from accidental deletions discovered weeks later, that requires more full-fledged corporate-style backup software.

And finally, if you have very important data and want protection from e.g. fire or theft, then you should have multiple backup storage media and rotate them off-site.

Here are some links from a quick google: https://www.google.com/search?q=ubuntu+automatic+backup&hl=en&pws=0


BackupYourSystem - Community Help Wiki
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BackupYourSystem

software recommendation - Comparison of backup tools - Ask Ubuntu
http://askubuntu.com/questions/2596/comparison-of-backup-tools

How to Back Up Ubuntu the Easy Way with Déjà Dup
http://www.howtogeek.com/108869/how-to-back-up-ubuntu-the-easy-way-with-dj-dup/

[ubuntu] Best backup software for backing up /home - all of it
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2130235

[ubuntu] Backup Software for Ubuntu
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2122576

Automatically Backup Ubuntu To External USB Devices In 12.10 (Quantal Quetzal) | Liberian Geek
http://www.liberiangeek.net/2012/12/automatically-backup-ubuntu-to-external-usb-devices-in-12-10-quantal-quetzal/

Top 7 Ubuntu Desktop Backup Software
http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2012/05/backup-ubuntu-desktop/

Re: backing up hard drive with emacs?

[Dan.Espen]

Hans BKK <hansbkk@gmail.com> writes:

D> Yes this is totally off-topic for a forum discussing a text editor but here goes 8-)
>
> On Wednesday, May 14, 2014 11:53:49 PM UTC-4, Steven Arntson wrote:
>> Haha, yes, emacs pretty much is my operating system, which is why I was
>> curious. :) That said, I'm using Ubuntu. I looked at a couple of rsync
>> examples, and I think that program looks pretty good--I'm going to try it.
>
> rsync is a great tool, but a simple command-line one that will rely on
> your self-discipline to use properly.
>
> Better IMO to set something up that is automatic and you don't have to think about it.

rsync launched from cron.

Works for me.

-- 
Dan Espen

Re: backing up hard drive with emacs?

[Davin Pearson]

On Thursday, May 15, 2014 2:56:18 AM UTC, Steven Arntson wrote:
> Sorry if this question is poorly stated... I'm a beginning emacs user
> 
> who's trying to be more responsible about backing up the hard drive of my
> 
> computer. A friend gave me a USB drive with the same amount of space as
> 
> my laptop's hard drive, and I'd like to figure out how to back up the
> 
> data.
> 
> 
> 
> I've read some info online, and am primarily confused by it. I'd like a
> 
> simple way to make a copy of my home folder on this drive. I don't need
> 
> compressed archives or anything--this is just in case a boulder falls on
> 
> my laptop--but it would be nice if it had the ability to see what I'd
> 
> changed since last time and just recopy that, rather than doing it all
> 
> from scratch. (Is it called "cloning" the drive?)
> 
> 
> 
> Does emacs have any simple utility to do this kind of thing, or
> 
> (slightly offtopic) is there a cli command that would make it happen?
> 
> 
> 
> Lastly, should I be thinking about this whole issue differently than I
> 
> am?
> 

I used to be in the same situation where my file AUTOEXEC.BAT was deleted when I issued
the command rm * in the C:\ drive.  I have developed some Elisp tools for implementing an
automated backup system.

Check out my web page, Section 2.1 an automated backup system...

http://davin.50webs.com/research/2006/mopa2e.html

I have written a function datify that renames a tar file from foo.tar.gz to foo-YYYYMMDD-hhmmss.tar.gz, where YYYY is the current year, etc.

I have also written a function cull-same-dates that culls all but on file for a given date.  This is useful 
when you build many archive files on a given date.  It simply keeps the newest one.

I have also written a function cull-size-quota that culls older files that exceed the given size quota.
Note that you will need to hard code the size parameters in this function as they are currently coded
for my machine.

I have also written a function called demises that warns about archive files that have reduced in size more than a given amount.  Archive files that reduce in size can indicate a problem in the archive file.

If you use my automated backup system above, then all you need to do is to add a tar Makefile target in the directories that you want to backup.

I hope this helps...

Davin.

Re: backing up hard drive with emacs?

[Davin Pearson]

> I have written a function datify that renames a tar file from foo.tar.gz to foo-YYYYMMDD-hhmmss.tar.gz, where YYYY is the current year, etc.

Actually YYYY is the year that the file was last altered, MM is the month that the file was altered, etc.