Revision of Backup Files Quickly and Easily from Fri, 03/05/2010 - 21:59
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This manual describes one easy solution to backup and restore files on your computer. It is highly configurable and does not require any use of the command line.
Getting the Program
The program you need is SBackup, also called "Simple Backup and Restore". Either open the Add/Remove Applications wizard or Synaptic Package Manager and search for "sbackup", or open the terminal and type:
sudo apt-get install sbackup
Setting Backup Properties
Click on "Simple Backup Config" from the System Tools section of your Menu Bar.
General
Recommended Backup will perform a daily backup of your /home,system data held in /etc,/usr/local and /var. It will exclude multimedia files and any files over 100MB. By default this backup will be stored /var/backup.
Custom Backup lets you change a backup schedule, backup schedule, included directories/files, and purging schedule yourself.
Manual Backup is a good option if you do not want the program to back up files automatically.
Include
Select which directories and files on your system will be backed up.
Exclude
By default, certain multimedia files (like .ogg, .mp3, and .avi) and any file larger than 100 MB are excluded from backups, to drastically cut down on the time it takes to make backups and the size of backups. Directories listed in the "Paths" and "Regex" sections generally store temporary information that does not need to be backed up.
Destination
You can store backups either in a default directory in /var/backup, in a custom directory, or on an internet backup server. For maximum security, it is best to back up to a removable storage device (external hard drive or USB drive).
Time
Here you set your backup schedule.
Purging
You can enable or disable purging of old and incomplete backups, and choose either a simple cutoff point for old backups or go by a logarithmic schedule.
Backup
When you are satisfied with the settings you have chosen, you can initialize a backup manually at any time by pressing the "Backup Now!" button. Otherwise, the program will only backup when scheduled. The backup process will run as a background daemon until it is finished.
Restoring a Backup
Click on "Simple Backup Restore" from the System Tools section of your Menu Bar. Simply choose a backup file, select a folder or individual file to restore, and press the "Restore" button. Your folders and/or files will be synchronized with the contents of the backup archive.
