Can i use Grsync to do this? will there be any issues with sudo or permissions when I try to copy all file directories?
I will be using a ZorinOS USB and also an external backup harddrive
Also, my internal drive which i need to copy was not encrypted.
I don't know what's installed on the Zorin ISO by default, so I can't say for sure, but if it has Clonezilla then use that - it is dedicated software for backing up, restoring, and cloning entire drives or individual partitions. I use Clonezilla semi-regularly (by booting their ISO directly though, not as a tool within another OS) and it is great, if you can get your head around the old-school interface. It is very quick and has good compression, and the default settings are usually spot-on.
If not, gparted should be installed and that has a feature to "copy" partitions but I have never used it, so I don't know exactly how good or bad it is as a backup tool.
I generally wouldn't recommend simply copy-pasting all your files and folders as a "backup", especially if you want a "system image" type of backup rather than simply another copy of your files. You can't really just copy-paste the folders from each partition and have a working operating system. You really should use a proper backup utility like Clonezilla, Timeshift, etc.
If you only have one USB stick and it's 8GB or larger, I recommend flashing it with Ventoy. This then lets you copy ISO files onto the stick and boot them from Ventoy's bootloader, instead of having to re-flash the USB stick with each individual ISO file. I keep a couple of Ventoy sticks around with a variety of linux and Windows ISOs, plus tools like Clonezilla, Super Grub2 Disk, etc.
@Ultrabenosaurus , Clonezilla doesnt have a setting/option to verify that the copy was done successfully, a verification? like Grsync does?
Yes, it does, and it's selected by default though you can choose not to:
https://clonezilla.org/show-live-doc-content.php?topic=clonezilla-live/doc/01_Save_disk_image
You might prefer to use Rescuezilla. I tried to run it on Ventoy USB which also has .iso's of various GNU/Linux distributions, but had to use a DVD in the end. It uses a Graphical interface and is based on ubuntu 22.04 and it does have a nice GUI with confirmation dialog.
Thanks, I'd hate to have to create a cd or dvd just to clone a drive/back one up. I will try to use clonezilla or grsync on my zorinOS USB
@Ultrabenosaurus , got a problem, and it doesnt appear the SSD is mounted? so I cant unmount it? (Tagging @Aravisian )
I'm using grsync instead, i made sure to run it in sudo. It looks to be working well. I like grsync a lot. Lets see if it works successfully/flawlessly. Its going to take a few hours to copy 512 gigabytes.
@Ultrabenosaurus , @Aravisian ,
Clonezilla wouldnt work. And so I used GRsync instead. Grsync worked, it copied 95% of the data, but it gave me 23 errors too though. And because it was a live USB, it didnt even have enough RAM to let me look at the very long error log displayed on the grsync GUI. It would freeze and crash when I tried to copy it all and paste it into a txt file. The errors are intermixed with countless non error file move entries. I really need a way to have grsync save the error log to a text file, but it doesnt have a way too. I really need to know what these 23 errors are. I made sure to run grsync with sudo. I also ran the terminal next to grsync in sync with it and the terminal still didnt record the errors.
I even tried to use the linux program "Meld", to afterwards compare the source SSD to the destination external SSD and it froze up as well. My ram cant handle it. This really sucks.
I wish I could just wipe the internal SSD and install Zorin 17. But I need to see what files were errors before I wipe the original data.
Sorry, I doubt I can help here. It seems like a very situational issue with your computer. I've never used Clonezilla as a tool within another distro's live ISO before and never encountered that mounting problem with it. I've never even heard of grsync or Meld before, either.
Same. I backup manually and only the files I need to preserve. This means that I back up ata bare minimum once per week, though often more. It is fast, brief and painless and when I need to restore, I only need to restore those files. Much easier than Timeshift or DejaDup or other software.
Even if I must do a full reinstall - I am usually back up and running at where I left off within an hour (Though admittedly... It has been a long time since I had a catastrophe that necessitated a reinstall. Learning is beneficial).
I used grsync but got many errors, I dont know what went wrong. I copied a 512 GB internal SSD that had my ZorinOS 16 on it to a 2TB external SSD drive. I formatted the 2TB destination SSD as exFAT. Which may've been a mistake. Google gemini Advanced tells me I should try NTFS or ext4 format instead for the destination SDD.
The error log alone was 1 megabyte long. Many file path errors.
Here is a summary of what most of the grsync errors were/are:
rsync error: some files/attrs were not transferred (see previous errors) (code 23) at main.c(1338) [sender=3.2.7]
Rsync process exit status: 23
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/.config/libreoffice/4/user/backup/.\#012Jason Farmer\#012, Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich.bak.CCRXrp" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [generator] recv_generator: mkdir "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/.local/share/NuGet/http-cache/670c1461c29885f9aa22c281d8b7da90845b38e4$ps:_api.nuget.org_v3_index.json" failed: Invalid argument (22)
*** Skipping any contents from this failed directory ***
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/.local/share/gvfs-metadata/.computer:.WEp5Ec" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/etc/systemd/system/.snap-gnome\x2d3\x2d38\x2d2004-143.mount.SOqI2c" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/.PlayOnLinux/configurations/icones/.Call of Chtulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth.CmArqG" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/.local/share/gvfs-metadata/.burn:.veVzqJ" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/.local/share/gvfs-metadata/.http:uri=https%3A%2F%2Fteddit.net%2Fr%2Fu_NetworkChimp98%2Fcomments%2F12h473q%2Fnetworkchimps_complete_beginners_guide_to_the%2F.jrea5t" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/.local/share/waydroid/data/data/com.android.vending/cache/images/.zm7SgdgIKL9sNVIvIQjulmA71m0?rw&w=179&h=179&v=1&e=15.ecEeee" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/Downloads/Browser extensions/suspenders/The-Great-Suspender-notrack,webstore/.aciidic\thegreatsuspender-notrack: A chrome extension for suspending all tabs to free up memory, privacy-oriented with no analytics tracking..desktop.LeMqI6" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/Downloads/Misc/12/.who is?.jpg.q1umcg" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/Downloads/Misc/12/John Lennon Hudson /v/.lennon201.1 (@lennon201.1) | TikTok.desktop.R2ZJgI" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/Downloads/Recipes/1st priority/beef/.https:\\curatedkitchenware.com\blogs\soupeduprecipes\crispy-beef.desktop.e2sAov" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/Downloads/mold caselaw and books/.LASERNA v. BW VENTANA LLC, Tex: Court of Appeals, 5th Dist. 2024.pdf.K63JHY" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [generator] recv_generator: mkdir "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/home/username123/Music/CD Rips/THE TALLIS SCHOLARS CIPRIANO DE RORE: MISSA PRAETER RERUM SERIEM,DONE,Ripped" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/usr/share/man/man3/.Authen::SASL::Perl::DIGEST_MD5.3pm.gz.3Bt3nw" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/var/lib/dpkg/info/.libyelp0:amd64.symbols.nUB7pa" failed: Invalid argument (22)
recv_files: "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/var/lib/flatpak/app/net.mullvad.MullvadBrowser/x86_64/stable/6ceee0f54e56c877f60a9c158b3c458fe3ebd8b1497034b8c96da7ca3c2ae507/files/lib/mullvad-browser/mullvadbrowser" is a directory
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/var/lib/flatpak/runtime/org.gnome.Platform/x86_64/45/730b4b38a4a285f7a8c995571d2b1d65414e5fb4d5dcdca6ac20cd7635960238/files/lib/systemd/system/.system-systemd\x2dcryptsetup.slice.cjqKVm" failed: Invalid argument (22)
rsync: [receiver] mkstemp "/media/alpha/exFAT/5/var/lib/systemd/backlight/.platform-dell-laptop:leds:dell::kbd_backlight.BwFi2m" failed: Invalid argument (22)
I solved the issue. I was trying to copy an ext4 format SSD to an ExFAT SSD. And then I tried ext4 to ext4 and got zero errors with grsync. So glad I solved it.