Author Topic: How To Backup And Restore Your Pc-z1 / Pc-t1 With Tar  (Read 5220 times)

dougeeebear

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How To Backup And Restore Your Pc-z1 / Pc-t1 With Tar
« on: February 22, 2011, 05:30:47 pm »
NOTE: THIS IS NOT A RECOVERY PROCEDURE!
It is a backup/restore procedure only.

This works on my PC-T1, and I think it would also work on the PC-Z1.
Also, I believe with some modification, it would work on any linux system on any computer.

This procedure is a variation of a procedure I came across on the Ubuntu Forum [Here], thanks to Heliode who came up with the idea, and to all the other users who tested and contributed.

Basically, this creates a tar archive that you can restore at a later time, such as if you have to do a recovery, and you want to get back all your customized settings, or if you messed up a configuration and can't figure out how to get it straightened out.
You have to be able to boot up to a working file system in order to use this procedure.

I have an 8GB MicroSD card that I keep my backups on.
The backup and restore scripts are also stored and run from there.
You could also use a USB stick if you wanted.
Whatever location you run backup.sh from is where the backup will be created.
The file size of my archive is about 755MB.
The archive manager will (slowly) open it later if you want to check it out.

First, create a backup script called backup.sh (or whatever you want) and copy this code into it:
Code: [Select]
#!/bin/bash

# back up the complete system

tar cvpzf backup.tgz --one-file-system --exclude=/proc/* --exclude=/lost+found/* --exclude=/mnt/* --exclude=/tmp/* --exclude=/sys/* /
Next, create a restore script called restore.sh (or whatever you want) and copy this code into it:
Code: [Select]
#!/bin/bash

# restore the complete system

tar xvpfz backup.tgz -C /
When you want to run one of these scripts, make sure you mount the MicroSD card first.

You need to be root to run these scripts, so open a terminal and enter:
Code: [Select]
sudo nautilusThis will open the file manager as root.

Navigate to the MicroSD card and double-click on backup.sh and run it.
This will create the backup.tgz in the directory you run it from.

Restore is the same procedure except you run restore.sh.

The archive preserves all the file permissions and symlinks so you don't have to worry about that.

I have done the complete procedure (backup and restore) and (recovery and restore) a couple times each just to test, and it worked perfectly each time.

It takes about 45 minutes to do the backup with no extra programs installed.

And remember, I won't be responsible if your NetWalker has a meltdown
« Last Edit: February 23, 2011, 08:48:40 am by dougeeebear »
Zaurus SL-C1000 and SL-5500
NetWalker PC-T1 (tablet)

RX Shorty

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How To Backup And Restore Your Pc-z1 / Pc-t1 With Tar
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2011, 07:53:06 pm »
Heh sweet

Thanks for thet information.
I will upload my restore pack soon again.

If you could up your pack somewhere also I can compare it with the original restore pack
Owning a Zaurus SL-C860, SL-C3200, SL-6000, Netwalker
Got the GPD Win!

dougeeebear

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How To Backup And Restore Your Pc-z1 / Pc-t1 With Tar
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2011, 10:27:43 pm »
Actually, it is not a single file.
The T1 recovery maker formats the MicroSD to ext3, makes it bootable and copies a bunch of files and folders from the T1 to it.
I think the files are compressed, about 1.3GB worth alltogether.
The only way I know of getting the files is to make the recovery sd from the T1.
It's unfortunate, but I don't see a way to share, other than making the sd.
Zaurus SL-C1000 and SL-5500
NetWalker PC-T1 (tablet)