OK - Can I get advice on good backup apps that will back up the whole computer and allow restoration of the whole system, bits of it and individual files? Also allow me to set where it backs up to - external hard drives, internal drive and Google Drive. Do external drives be in Linux format? Presumably the other options are OK.
At the moment, I have Lucky and Time shift, the first going to Google and taking up a lot of space and the second going to my hard drive - right? Presumably Time shift is no help if the drive and data become inaccessible?
Hi @14nd.
What I though was Lucky seems to be Deja Dup, unless they use the same icon. I've now installed Pika Backup and can't find RescueZilla in the Apps Store.
Quick question - since I don't know what is in all the folders, what do i need to back up to do a full restore?
Any idea how to empty the Trash folder on my external USB? Managed to do it in the Rubbish Bin
Timeshift backups need to be stored on a drive or partition formatted to the same file system being used, normally this should be Ext4. You normally have /home, your data folder, excluded from Timeshift snapshots, because if you include /home and you have to go back to an early snapshot new data will be lost forever. For a complete system backup I only recommend Rescuezilla. I am not aware of any app to backup programs, but Timeshift will include your system and apps with each snapshot. I normally change the default of 5 snapshots a day to 3. To backup your /home folder, be sure to use Ctrl+ H to show hidden files as these will contain your settings you have made for your applications, they are indicated by starting with a period/full stop. Then use Ctrl+ A to select all of your home folder contents, Ctrl+ C to copy to Clipboard, then having created a folder on external device named Zorin home, open it, then press Ctrl+ V to paste your home folder contents into it.
Checkout my unofficial manual for Zorin 17 Core here:
I've found the download for Rescuezilla - I was looking in the Software Store.
By the way, why do some installed programs such as Deja Dup not show up in the Installed Apps list?
If there's a trash folder on your USB you can right click and select Move to Trash and it will tell you that it can't be moved to the trash, and give you the option to Delete it instead.
I think the system programs that come with Zorin will be called their system name so Deja Dup will be called Backups on the Installed Apps list. But if you start typing Deja Dup in the search field it will show Backups and have a checkmark that it is installed.
I don't really do backups because I run my system a lot differently than most people, so I can't give any info for how to do it or recommend programs.
I recommend FoxClone. Faster than Rescuezilla and tells you if you have enough free space on your destination drive when setting up a backup if you are tight for space.
Will look into it. I eventually got Rescuezilla to work once, then had trouble booting into the Rescuezilla USB, then problems with the app freezing.
What do Linux people do in this case? Is there something like Ctrl/Del/Alt? I don't like having to just turn the computer off, especially with drives connected.
You can control processes using the System Monitor, already installed in Zorin OS.
However if the computer is frozen, the closest equivalent that I could find on how to force the system to shutdown everything properly is to run a particular sequence on the keyboard. It's a bit complicated and I always have to look it up to remember how it is:
Alt + Prnt Screen + R + E + I + S + U + B.
Alternatively, you could drop-down to a TTY (purely text-based terminal environment) and continue to work from there, which you can use issue commands to terminate any misbehaving processes.
To drop-down to a TTY you can press Ctrl + Alt + F1. It may be another function key, as these things tend to change. on my Debian machine that would be F5. To restore the graphical environment you can then press Alt + F2 or just run reboot if you prefer to restart after closing everything else things up.
The exact sequence might be different, as I've just tried on my Debian machine and the function keys were a little different.
When you login and go to a Topic or Category your Avatar (T in light brown circle) will show up Top Right. Click on it and a list of different icons appear. The one you want has the same symbol as a bookmark:
Hm. I have Prt Scr, not Print Screen. Ignoring this for now, I don't have the right-hand side Alt key that I'd need to be able to push on Alt and Prt Scr at the same time, as they are too far apart. Apparently, the second Alt is US keyboard and I have Alt Gr
If you have left Alt it should be that. It should normally be Shift+ PrtScr to capture whole desktop, Alt+ Prt Scr for taking screenshot of Window. On some keyboards/Notebooks Prt Scr might be coloured yellow or Orange and a Fn key will be in same colour to indicate this key should be pressed with any designated keys for different function such as changing to external display for Presentations.
