Easiest security backup? - for complete installation

[pamojja]

Could someone be so friendly and advise the easiest backup of a whole EasyOs installation on an USB stick for a beginner?

Background is: I tried 80 live Linux distros on new hardware. Only EasyOS worked in everything after the installation on the USB-stick. With the large caveat, that the first 2 installation either failed to boot after some days, or to save session. Having now one working installation with the programs and settings needed, it would be nice if it could be simply copied and pasted to equal partitions on another drive for backup. And in case of the worst, which happened to me already twice in very short and trial time only, simply continue with the backup sticks.

Does such copy and paste, like with the frugal install this way, work? Or is this even easier from within EasyOS with one of its apps?

[Geek3579]

I have used a live clonezilla OS to make a backup image of a disk/usb. Its GUI is a bit basic or non-intuitive, but it works. Then write the image to a new usb with EasyDD.

One can also use a LIVE version of GParted (not the installed version) to copy each partition in turn to a new device. I think one needs to make a partition table on the new device using Gparted. Its my method of choice.

Or one can make an image/compressed image of the original usb using the dd command. Not recommended for beginners, but its pretty safe.
Eg, for a compressed image: dd if=/dev/sdX conv=sync,noerror bs=64K | gzip -c > OUT.img.gz
Then write the image to a new usb with EasyDD .

BTW, it does help to rewrite/fill unused data space in each partition with null bytes, so when it is compressed as a backup image, the file will be much smaller:
1) cd into a partition on the usb: cd /mnt/sd<XN>
2) fill unused space with null bytes creating a tempfile which fills the partition and gives an error message:
dd if=/dev/zero of=tempfile bs=1M
3) ...Then delete tempfile using ROX

And I always make sure the source image partitions do not fill the source usb, eg the last partition on a 16GB USB will fill only up to 13 or 14 GB. That way any variation in storage of any target with a nominal 16GB usb can be accommodated. Again, use GParted to resize the last partition.

[pamojja]

One can also use a LIVE version of GParted (not the installed version) to copy each partition in turn to a new device. I think one needs to make a partition table on the new device using Gparted. Its my method of choice.

Thanks so much for these options. I tried this once, with a failing to boot RoboLinux installation, because I suspected the particular USB simply defective. Didn't work, but there could have been many reasons for, not possible for GParted to correct. But should work with a functioning partition. And the GUID in limine.cfg corrected.

BTW, it does help to rewrite/fill unused data space in each partition with null bytes, so when it is compressed as a backup image, the file will be much smaller:
1) cd into a partition on the usb: cd /mnt/sd<XN>
2) fill unused space with null bytes creating a tempfile which fills the partition and gives an error message:
dd if=/dev/zero of=tempfile bs=1M
3) ...Then delete tempfile using ROX

What is the reason, that the formatted empty space of a partition does apparently get copied with its full 'empty' size otherwise? And once written as 'null bytes' and deleted, that unused space isn't copied to the backup-image?

I assume its to compress the backup image, before writing that with EasyDD to another? When it would decompress again?

And how is that situation of empty space differently handled, when using GParted instead?

Or one can make an image/compressed image of the original usb using the dd command. Not recommended for beginners, but its pretty safe.
Eg, for a compressed image: dd if=/dev/sdX conv=sync,noerror bs=64K | gzip -c > OUT.img.gz
Then write the image to a new usb with EasyDD .

And I always make sure the source image partitions do not fill the source usb, eg the last partition on a 16GB USB will fill only up to 13 or 14 GB. That way any variation in storage of any target with a nominal 16GB usb can be accommodated. Again, use GParted to resize the last partition.

So with the command-line creation of images, one always needs enough space for the backup image on the same drive. And that process could not simply be directed to create the backup-image on a spare mounted USB?

[pamojja]

Just now thought I asked too late about backup of functioning EasyOS. On startup, where one either press enter, wait for 15 minutes, or choose one of 4 options, the message appeared:

Delayed saving of session, please wait..

How on earth can that be, when a session is all but in RAM, that it could be saved after a long power off?

It took about 20 minutes, then gladly EasyOS GUI started despite this impossibility.

[pamojja]

One can also use a LIVE version of GParted (not the installed version) to copy each partition in turn to a new device. I think one needs to make a partition table on the new device using Gparted. Its my method of choice.

Seems the most easiest choice. But did I do it right in creating first the exact same size partitions on the target USB, creating a partition table, and then copy each partition? I'm asking again because my first attempt failed.

On the other hand there seems an app installed in kirkstone: Pudd - copy drive or partition. Wouldn't do that exactly the same as possible with GParted? Or are there differences in how to use?

[Geek3579]

One can also use a LIVE version of GParted (not the installed version) to copy each partition in turn to a new device. I think one needs to make a partition table on the new device using Gparted. Its my method of choice.

Seems the most easiest choice. But did I do it right in creating first the exact same size partitions on the target USB, creating a partition table, and then copy each partition? I'm asking again because my first attempt failed.

On the other hand there seems an app installed in kirkstone: Pudd - copy drive or partition. Wouldn't do that exactly the same as possible with GParted? Or are there differences in how to use?

I am NOT an expert on drive partitions, but I believe (tbc) that there can be variations in the way/size partitions are created (even though they are the same nominal size), based on the block sized used to write the data. So just creating partitions of a nominal size may not match the original partition structure. I always allow for a bit more space in the drive than might be required, as drives can also be of slightly different sizes. I sometimes get around this by making a virtual disk image in QEMU (or VirtualBox). Eg 26GB for a nominal 32GB drive. Once created, the image is converted to a RAW image which can be written to the new drive, eg with EasyDD.

I'm not sure how you copied the partitions over. Using Gparted, the whole partition must be copied and pasted into unallocated space. ( BTW, I always use the same partition table for the copy as the original, either mbr or gpt, the latter when I expect more than 4 partitions to be required, including the boot partition.)

As for how null bytes work, when you find out, let me know !!

[pamojja]

I am NOT an expert on drive partitions, but I believe

And I'm even more confused with so many options without practical experience, of how to.

Therefore I repeat my question in the OP:

Could someone be so friendly and advise the easiest backup of a whole EasyOs installation on an USB stick for a beginner?

Does such copy and paste, like with the frugal install this way, work? Or is this even easier from within EasyOS with one of its apps?

[pamojja]

Jay, it did work with simply copy.\paste the whole files, and changing the UUID in the limine.cfg All settings taken over, aqemu, the only app installed beside firefox, did start up a VM. Only the firefox profile wasnt found, therefore I started the bookworm easyos version container, where it is preinstalled. So really only a minor inconvenience.

Have now a reserve installation of EasyOS, should one of it fail again.

`Why not complicated, if it could be easy`, as a saying here goes

[pamojja]

Only the firefox profile wasnt found, therefore I started the bookworm easyos version container, where it is preinstalled. So really only a minor inconvenience.

Or maybe it is? Installing the latest Firefox on Kirkstone didn't solve it. The profile folder is still not found or accessible. And Firefox doesn't start. Is there a fix for this error?

[pamojja]

nstalling the latest Firefox on Kirkstone didn't solve it. Is there a fix for this error?

third restart of EasyOS and Firefox did resolve it. Firefox update and repeated restart did appealingly restore is profile, it works again on the new backup usb.