MX Snapshot tool usage for migrating my system to a new laptop - snapshot or backup tool??

[monamtb]

Hi all,

I tried to make a snapshot of my 50 GB root and my complete home directory of 640 GB and it always fails.

I learned through a previous discussion that my 1TB USB ssd is not big enough for the snapshot because it seems to need about double the GB of the current data - so no wonder it failed every time.

I want to migrate my complete system from my Dell precision laptop to my new HP pavilion laptop.

For me some questions remain based on the discussion I followed:

1) If I make a redistribute snapshot, will all installed apps be used/ copied by the snapshot and will all of these apps be available to the new user account to be created after the snapshot install on the new laptop?

2) I created a backup of my /home directory with Lucky Backup. How do I restore all of the files into my home directory of the new HP laptop without running in to the scenario ( I once had) that all files were automatically assigned to a different ownership and I couldn't use any of the files restored since I couldn't work on my files based on a "missing ownership".

3) How do I use Lucky Backup to create incremental backups of the /home folder backup I created, once the files have moved to the new HP laptop?

I tried timeshift and lucky backup, but there are so many terms and options that I get lost on what to choose and how to do what I want to do because I am not familiar with the terminology.

I guess I need a "Backup for Dummies" for either of these programs - any links for maybe such an existing manual or step-by-step instruction article will be much appreciated.

4) Should the snapshots be used as a backup tool for my data and my running system as a whole since some mx experts deem it not useful as a data backup tool?

I really want to say I love this community and the help that is provided here - simply stellar.

[CharlesV]

There are a number of posts in the forum that talk about backups, but basically three tools handle things differently - different needs really, and all three can help you maintain it all.

Timeshift - left to its purpose, is like a "system save and restore"... and this works for your existing system to do just that. (not data, unless you include your home, but be VERY careful there!) On a daily, weekly schedule, this can save you on a running system that just borked.

MX Snapshot - think of this as THE method to create your system 'save' on to bare metal. This can provide you with limited data save, but its really meant to set your system down onto different hardware and 'boot' a new machine into your old setup, but move you into the NEW hardware too, making some adjustments so that it can work there.

Backup Apps - BackInTime (my favorite), Lucky Backup, Deja-Dup and many more , backup data and should restore data as needed.

Once you get data over a 30gb size, then MX snapshot really doesnt provide the 'one stop' backup to handle it all. And you need at least two things to move over to a new machine or recover a machine. AND when moving over to a new machine, you have to adjust for that new machine hardware, so restoring config's can be an issue too.

Your best scenario for a new machine, ( imo ), when your keeping the same MX version, is to do the following:
1) Create an MX Snapshot of your system, keeping preserve data, but making sure your excludes are enough so that your ISO will fit on your USB drive AND boot! ( ie you may need to exclude most all of your data to do this!)

Example: I have ALL of my data on my big machine on another partition, and I only shortcut to it, so MX Snapshot can run with no excludes... but on my laptop.. I have to exclude: Downloads, Video and my Data folders in order to make a snapshot. )

Test this Snapshot to make sure you can boot and run from it.

2) Backup software: I use BackInTime, so once my new machine is all loaded from my Snapshot, I restore all of my files , to my ~/home/Backup folder. Then I adjust ALL rights here, making sure I have any adjustments or movements to data done here, and then I move all of this (except .config ) into the proper areas I want to end up with. Then, individually, I save the new and then copy the old .config's over to my new machine, making sure they dont break anything.

3) Once I have my new machine setup, then I immediately setup TimeShift and create the first save. (and set for daily in the schedule.)

[DukeComposed]

2) I created a backup of my /home directory with Lucky Backup. How do I restore all of the files into my home directory of the new HP laptop

3) How do I use Lucky Backup to create incremental backups

I guess I need a "Backup for Dummies" for either of these programs - any links for maybe such an existing manual or step-by-step instruction article will be much appreciated.

Lucky Backup has extensive documentation you can use to get started and a little birdie tells me they even have their own support forum. Lucky Backup is, basically, a sophisticated wrapper around rsync, so it's going to approach copying data around in the same way that rsync does.

If you aren't familiar with how rsync behaves when synchronizing two file trees, Lucky Backup is probably not going to make a lot of sense to you. It might make things easier to run, but it isn't likely to make anything easier to understand. There are tutorials like How to Use Rsync in Linux: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners and a handy rsync cheatsheet that can help here.

In general, the best way to precisely clone a large system is with a tool specifically designed to perform that function. I like Clonezilla for things like this because it makes a transferable image of the entire system. It is not, in the traditional sense, a backup utility. It doesn't even necessarily know or care about files or mountpoints. It just makes copies of partitions and their contents. You may have better luck setting up the new laptop next to the old laptop and cloning from one to the other across the network with Clonezilla than trying to split this particular baby into apps-and-configs and user data.

[Kermit the Frog]

1) If I make a redistribute snapshot, will all installed apps be used/ copied by the snapshot and will all of these apps be available to the new user account to be created after the snapshot install on the new laptop?..

Yes.

Just the desktop, wallpaper, panel, window manager settings and such customizations will turn to defaults for the new user(s).
The installed and removed programs will stay as they are, just the preferences about them will normally turn back to defaults, too.
Also the drivers will be picked automatically according to those machines (hardware).

[atomick]

Yes Snapshot will do what you want to Image and then deploy onto your new Laptop; Prime cmos/bios make sure secure boot is turned off or set to a "Standard" boot and not a custom option (asus strix moboz confuse this optn).
Snapshot is unique to MX and to me is one Superb feature. Recent updated all hardwarez to top AMD 78/7950/7954 3 items and play lots with MX snapshot. My day driver is AMD7800x3D 32g ddr and various drive configs. nvme0 = 1T all out w/swap.
I just since kernel 6.10.6-2 created new snapshot of this 7800 and deployed onto MX23.2 system that update seemed not to touch being my 7950x3D 64g ddr. So I Over-wrote installed MX23.3 kernel 6.10.6-2 onto this system perfectly and was installed to 1st boot in about 3min. :: Snapshot without going into chapters of finger dance will back up your MX-Linux OS File system as is the OS part. Thinking it will take everything in /home/yourAcct/*.* yes and no, so this is where you must limit exclude what is not necessary. Like everything exclude all the sub folders and "Edit" via its own edit and look closely thru top-bottom the structure of how it "Excludes" all the series of FS parts. and in Home. I snapshot then usually install the ISO image into VBox Guest, to which ~/home/MYact/VboxVMs home directory and subdir: nothing gets copied into the snapshot. (only OS-fs files)
or all my guest image loads. For VirtualBox.ova bkups are on 2nd disc. here is ex: where by home is set to exclude: some entry examples to exclude outside the common listing to exclude.
example:
home/*/VBoxVMs/*
home/*/Virtual Box VMs/*
home/*/.cache/*
home/*/bin/*
home/*/myBig/* as examples, and everything else Downloads/Documents/Picz etc. nothing subfolders all checked.

if you have a large dir to another large dir with big files follow the manual entry to the Edit Exclusions - and add it to this list -- button left middle of opening the 2nd page of options for where snapshot is going to go when copy built. (I do this onto a 2nd Drive nvme1 dir result.) [ not into my ~/home folder/snapshot ] wish not to creating a bkup loop scenario.

Snapshot copies all from BM (bare-metal) install thru to what all my additional apps you add in to now. All additional accts etc. I have few other test accts Make sure all sub folders in Your Acct shown in pg 2 of snapshot are all checked and any you added to the exclusions list pg 2, all additional space size critical entry.
try 1 with preserve accnts for bkup and one for resetting accounts for sharing (hint meaning copy of ) this is more slim by result not by much though. of my 1st install at BM I clean tweak add fair number apps clean /var/log cache dirs then Snapshot. Once completed takes like 1.33 sec to image I load to install to a VBox guest and test.
All my apps /usr/share/bg's are all incl'd in snapshot. not any Archive or additional space consuming files. myBig I would scp over to the 2nd machine Laptop etc. and sync there, One chap incld'd some rsync link info 'thx' or use other means to copy archive.n.large file content to laptop. usb-sata adaptor maybe as option.
That sums it up play practice be blessed. MX snapshot is true mind blow. (saves ghost like backups or anything clonezilla else mentioned. alone MX-snapshot should be gold ribbon award) for sysAdmins. anyone with patience to learn this coolie.

okay so some stats. my end result snapshot are about 3.67g total for kernel 6.10.6-2 and 3.95g for most recent 6.10.7-1 w/o accounts ( I also USB-create a copy to a 64g flash stick - I install from) above mention!.
snapshot has undergone good corrections since MX23.3 was out instl to vbox I'd setup 32 gig disc space at 1st it reqd 58-60g spc that is corrected now as just mention.

I script hack in vbox and also my guest backups also go same backup dir with bkup/snapshot as sub folder where snapshots go both contained onto a 2nd nvme or ssd or spinners i wish off the main m2 nvme0 drive.
easy to recreate account names or change up stuff by Snapshot. It really is a marvel tool. OH Important note: Snapshot if you do 'No Account' resetting allow to share?. this does not set, but blanks out sudo account entry allowance in /etc/group
so once you install to new hardware chg root passwd : sudo passwd root : and issue usermod -aG sudo NewAcctName eg: as root or sudo usermod -aG sudo JohnSmith grep John /etc/group to verify it is set, sudo cat /etc/shadow to actually test it is set. Add to /etc/sudoers and set a file 010_newUser-passwd in to /etc/sudoers.d and visudo this is a nano like editor with cautions. (might be adv to many reader). OSI req is not necessary.
I set zstd best compromise 3rd compress option. (snapshots take about 1-2 less minutes to complete) install to VBox about 4 mins give or take. Wicked cool trik - create a zip of scripts or small stuff you may use for start setting up your new load, copy this file into /var/cache eg: myTolz.zip chmod it 600 and do this before starting a snapshot. This will be copied into the snapshot result so when you deploy to new hardware you have your tool.zip right there without any other need. How cool is that. !

the Exclusion file itself is held in /etc/mx-snapshot-exclude.list is the actual file. be careful with this less edit expert use only in snapshot tool itself. also creates a ts file /etc/snapshot_created which is when you executed the snapshot to commit time.
(maybe a new entry to the MX-UsersGuide might command a future like entry). hope this helps all reader. Simply know to learn and learn to know.

[fehlix]

I tried to make a snapshot of my 50 GB root and my complete home directory of 640 GB and it always fails.

I learned through a previous discussion that my 1TB USB ssd is not big enough for the snapshot because it seems to need about double the GB of the current data - so no wonder it failed every time.

Seems, you got lot's of advices so far.
What I would suggest, try exclude during snapshot creation as much "data" directories as you can.
( There is a exclude button. You will get the syntax when viewing the exclude.list)
And save/store/backup those data outside from the snapshot generated iso.
Do a personal snapshot, so all other data and setting related would be available,
on the snapshot and later also on the install system (created from the snapshot.)
Note the max size of snapshot is about 400 GiB, b/c the used tool xorriso
to generate the iso has set a fixed max size limit of the iso of: 400GiB -200KiB)
But in your case it would fit b/c the big linuxfs squashfs would be highly compressed
if using zstd or xz compression.

[jj 5117]

If this is your list of needs:
a. Installing the same OS with all of the same applications.
b. Transfer GUI interface settings.
c. Transfer Application settings.
d. Transfer all User files.
e. Worry about a sane backup plan later, now that toes are wet.
Then:

Using MX Snapshot and MX Live USB worked GREAT for me with a pretty large system.
I had Snapshot build its image, with ALL files, onto a hard drive. Then Live USB for a bootable portable from that.
It was great. The hard drive took a little time... But it was OK. It was the slickest OS transfer I ever did.
I don't know why larger system copies with MX Snapshot wouldn't work for some people, except for drive space.

Edit: Aaaand, Felix answered that.

[jj 5117]

OR, you could use MX's Snapshot and LiveUSB to install Root, and then do a copy/paste of your Home directory without needing to learn any backup programs.

[monamtb]

Hi all,
Thanks to everybody for the advice given and the suggestions made.

I did a personal snapshot with only my desktop and download folder data included because I wanted my home folder to be present.

I had the snapshot saved on an external USB SSD. The final iso of the USB ssd I copied back to my home folder and saved it there. I then connected another USB ssd disc und used USB maker to install the iso on it to make it bootable. I then booted the new laptop with it and installed the system.

The peculiar thing though is - on my old laptop the /root partition had 60 GB.

Now it wanted a minimum of 260 GB on the new laptop to install and wouldn't go below that.
Both systems have a 1TB ssd.
Did something go wrong there or does that make sense to you??

[Kermit the Frog]

... did a personal snapshot with only my desktop and download folder data included because I wanted my home folder to be present...

With a personal snapshot your desktop (panel, customizations etc.) will already be present. You could exclude all, later manually copy them.

Also if there's still any problem: Right after the installation (when it gets stuck) you can post /var/log/minstall.log