Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Systemback: Restore Your Linux System To Previous State

http://www.unixmen.com/systemback-restore-linux-system-previous-state/

Systemback is an open source, system backup and restore application. Using Systemback, we can easily create backups of system and users configuration files. In case of problems, we can easily restore the previous state of the system. There are extra features like system copying, system installation and Live system creation.

Features

Systemback includes the following features:
  • System backup
  • System restore
  • System copy
  • System install
  • Live system create
  • System repair
  • System upgrade

Install Systemback On Ubuntu 14.04 And Previous versions

Currently, Syetmback is available only for ubuntu based systems. On Ubuntu and it’s derivatives, we can easily install it via PPA. Run the following command sequences to install Systemback on your Ubuntu system
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nemh/systemback
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install systemback

Usage

Create System Restore Point:
After installing it, launch Systemback app either from Dash or Menu.
The default Systemback main interface will look like as below.
Systemback_010
Initially, there is no system restore point. So, let us create a new system restore point by clicking on the Create New button which is found under the Point Operations section.
Now, the Systemback will create a new restore point for your system.
Systemback_011
Systemback_012
After creating the restore point, the backup will be stored in the /home/systemback/ folder. You can change the location from the Storage directory option on the top right corner of the Systemback main window. Also, the successfully created system restore points will be shown on the top left corner of the main interface.
Systemback_013
Restore the system to previous state:
Restoring to the previous state is as simple as creating restore point. Open up the Systemback main window, select any one of the system restore point, and hit the button System Restore under the Function Menu.
Systemback_001
You’ll be asked whether you want to do a full restore, system files restore, or just user(s) configuration files only. Select the option accordingly and hit the Next button.
Systemback_003
Finally, click Start button to restore your system to previous working state.
Systemback_005
System Copy:
Using System Copy feature, we can easily copy the files from one partition to another and vice versa. Use this feature with caution. Else, you’ll be ended up with data loss.
System Install:
This option will let you to create a new user with password of your choice. Also, you can change your system root user password if you want to.
Live System Create:
This is one of cool and notable feature of Systemback. Unlike other system backup and restore tools, Systemback will let you to create a live CD/DVD of your current system with or without the users data files. Later, you can use this Live CD/DVD on other system, also you can install it if you want.
Systemback_006
Systemback_007
After creating live system, convert it to ISO, and boot the ISO using CD/DVD or USB thumb drive.
Systemback_008
System Repair:
Like System Restore, this option will help you to fix your Linux desktop in case of any problems. Don’t touch this option, unless you know what you’re doing.
System Upgrade:
Using this option, you can upgrade your Linux system to the most recent version.
System upgrade_002
Exclude:
If you don’t want to include a file or folder in your restore points, you can use this feature.
Systemback_010

Removing Systemback

If you not happy, or doesn’t have necessity to keep it on your system, you can remove this software as shown below. But, I guess, this tool will definitely be an useful tool in your arsenal.
sudo apt-get purge systemback
For me, Systemback is doing the good job as it advertised, and has many additional features among other system backup and restore tools. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.
Cheers!

TimeShift: Restore Your Linux Desktop To Previous State

http://www.unixmen.com/timeshift-restore-linux-desktops-previous-state/


Have you ever had a situation or ever wanted to restore your Linux desktop to previous state? Windows has an excellent utility called System Restore to restore the system to previous state, but Linux doesn’t has any native application to do that. No worries, today i came up with application called TimeShift.
TimeShift is a application that provides functionality similar to the System Restore feature in Windows and theTime Machine tool in Mac OS. TimeShift protects your system by taking incremental snapshots of the file system at regular intervals. These snapshots can be restored later to bring your system to the exact state it was in at the time when the snapshot was taken.
TimeShift is something similar to applications like rsnapshotBackInTime and TimeVault but with different goals. TimeShift is designed to protect only system files and settings. User files such as documents, pictures and music are excluded.
Install TimeShift On Ubuntu 12.04/12.10/13.04/13.10
Add the TimeShift PPA with command:
$ sudo apt-add-repository -y ppa:teejee2008/ppa
Update the package lists using command:
$ sudo apt-get update
Now Install TimeShift using following command:
$ sudo apt-get install timeshift
Install TimeShift On other Linux distributions
Currently TimeShift packages are available only for Ubuntu based systems, but also the developer has developed packages for other distributions.
Before installing TimeShift, you should install the following packages depending upon your distribution.
libgtk-3 libgee2 libsoup libjson-glib rsync
Download the TimeShift packages for other distributions from the following links.
After downloading the TimeShift, install it using the following command.
Install TimeShift 32bit:
# chmod +x timeshift-latest-i386.run
# sh ./timeshift-latest-i386.run
Install TimeShift 64 bit:
# chmod +x timeshift-latest-amd64.run
# sh ./timeshift-latest-amd64.run
Launch TimeShift
Launch TimeShift either from Menu or Dash. At first launch, the application will estimate the system size for snapshot.
Create Restore point
Click Backup on the Menu bar and  take first snapshot of your system.
TimeShift v1.3.1 by Tony George (teejeetech.blogspot.in)_001After taking the first snapshot, you can schedule for automatic snapshots on a particular interval. To do that go toSettings section, enable Scheduled Snapshots and set the backup levels such as hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, boot etc.
The Snapshots will be saved on /timeshift location. TimeShift will run at 30 minute regular intervals and take backups only when needed.
After completing the first snapshot, you will have a following like screen.
TimeShift v1.3.1 by Tony George (teejeetech.blogspot.in)_002The Snapshots will be saved with exact date and time when the backup has been taken.
System Restore
You can restore Snapshots either from the running system or live cd. Restoring backups from a live system requires a reboot to complete the restore process. If your system broken or doesn’t boot in case, you can use the live cd to restore the system to a previous working state.
To restore your system to earlier state, click on the Restore button and select the snapshot.
Restore_004Also if you want to exclude some applications from being restored, you can have the option to exclude them.
Restore_005Cross platform restoration is also possible. For example, currently you are using Ubuntu 13.10 and want to try out Linux Mint 16 for a week. After one week you can switch to your old distribution Ubuntu 13.10. Please note that since installing new distributions formats root partition, so you should move the /timeshift folder to new partition.
I hope this application will help you sometimes if something went wrong on your Linux desktop. You don’t need to reinstall your system, you simply can restore your system to a previous working state without much effort using TimeShift.
Good luck!