[RESOLVED] How to backup or create an image of my own OS?

[shishimaru]

Hello there everyone.
I installed Kubuntu a few weeks ago. I was wondering how to create a full backup of my own system (including the home folder and so on). My intent here is to restore my system in this state in case I want to reinstall from zero.

Otherwise, I wonder if there's any chance that I can create some sort of installation ISO from my OS. I think I could do something similar once many years ago, but I'm not sure and cannot really remember.

Thanks in advance!

[Schwarzer Kater]

You could use something like Clonezilla Live - no matter which Linux distribution you use.
Another (but automated) solution could be a combination of Timeshift for the system and Kup or Back In Time (use the Back In Time PPA for 22.04 !) for the user data.

Which one of those two examples is better suited for you depends on the use case.

[oshunluvr]

Really, I think to do what you want - Clonezilla as suggested above is your simplest and easiest option. It can make a whole disk image which includes all the necessary bits to make a disk bootable. It can also make separate partition clones. I largest downside is the monumental amount of backup storage this takes.

I would not consider a disk clone as a sole backup unless you re-do the clone weekly or something - which would take a considerable amount of time as well as space. Disk images are great to go back to day 1, but re-installing Kubuntu and restoring a home backup is much faster and less space consuming.

I used disk clones every day in my previous work, but I had 70+ networked systems with 20 or more computers that all had identical drives. When one died, I provided a clone and the facility installed and configured the clone drive and restored their data,

IMO, disk clones are not the best choice for a home user.

[claydoh]

To add to the other comments:
There are tools and utills that can make an installable image of your OS, but even compressed, they will be quite huge,. depending on your amount of data and applications.
In our long experiences in this area, most of us find that a clean install and re-configuration/software installation is usually far far quicker than restoring a disk clone.

It becomes even easier if one keeps a separate /home partition, which removes the need to restore user data on a fresh install, unless the drive itself has died or something. Many to most of us here seem to do this, or something similar.
In the case of drive corruption of failure, an actual backup scheme for your data is a very good idea. Timeshift, Backintime, Kup, and a number of other tools are great for this


A disk clones and iso images don't lend themselves well to accessing specific files you may need, and can possibly become corrupted. They are basically all-or-nothing.

Another more advanced (if you will) technique is to use a BTRFS file system, which allows for the ability to create snapshots of your file systems, which are quickly restorable - these are NOT backups, generally speaking. But they do allow for rolling back to a previous state. This can involve a bit more command-line usage (maybe) , but there are some tools like Time**** that support BTRFS and does make this a set-and-forget thing with a GUI.

[shishimaru]

Clonezilla served me well, thanks everyone.

I'll also start to use more Timeshift and DejaDup or something similar perhaps, and store everything on a USB disk.