Missing sources.list.d, sources.list and preferences.d

[pemartins]

Supposedly while trying to make a backup of my Kubuntu 18.04 install with Pinguy Builder something went wrong and I lost, at least, these directories:

$ sudo apt update
[sudo] password for pemartins: 
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
All packages are up to date.
W: Unable to read /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/ - DirectoryExists (2: No such file or directory)
W: Unable to read /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ - DirectoryExists (2: No such file or directory)
W: Unable to read /etc/apt/sources.list - RealFileExists (2: No such file or directory)
W: Unable to read /etc/apt/preferences.d/ - DirectoryExists (2: No such file or directory)

I do not know if it is relevant but an error occurred during the backup operation and it was interrupted, this being because I chose the option to build an iso but it was over 5 GB, so that I understand. Losing data on my system was the thing I was not expecting at all.
I have a Pinguy Builder folder in my system made in this backup, this is its directory structure:



Is there a way that:
1st: I can get the folders back
2nd: I can find if something else got deleted?

Talking about the irony of backing up to be safe and ending up with missing stuff...

Before I found out about this I ran Synaptic and it displayed the message to manually run dpkg --configure -a, but I assume that is unrelated and it was because there was a new grub version to update to. So I did.

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edit: In my system the /etc/apt/ folder got deleted and inside the filesystem.squashfs backup created by Pinguy Builder that folder exists and has traces of my apt folder, more specifically the folder trusted.gpg.d has the mention to all the extra ppas I had installed. So no doubt it was Pinguy Builder that screwed up my system.
The best thing to do is maybe copy the apt folder from Kubuntu 18.04's iso and manually add the extra ppas I had, right?

And is there a way I can know if something else got deleted? All seems to be working just fine but if the apt folder got deleted, who knows what else could have happen...

[claydoh]

You probably need to talk to whoever makes Pinguy Builder, they would have better knowledge, as I don't think many, if any, user here have tried this software. I don't recall ever hearing about this tool myself, but know about PinguyOs, an Ubuntu respin.

https://forum.pinguyos.com/Thread-apt-cache-corrupt

[pemartins]

@claydoh thank you very much for the help and for the link, it was indeed very helpful.
I believe (hope) it was an isolated incident and only the apt folder was affected, which I already copied from Kubuntu's iso and added the extra repositories I previously had. So it's solved.
I'll report the issue to Pinguy Builder's team so they can sort it out.

Meanwhile, can you recommend a program for backup? For years I relied on Systemback which did both restore points and system backup isos but unfortunately that project has been discontinued. Do you know/recommend anything similar?
Kubuntu does not have a gui backup application installed by default, has it? I browsed the apps but could not find one installed by default.

Thank you very much once again!

[claydoh]

There are many, but I basically sync my important stuff (doc, photos) to multiple machines as well as to cloud storage, so I don't ever make actual backups of my system or settings. I am lucky to have multiple fallback devices, so work flow is not much disturbed if one fails.

Backintime seems popular, but I am sure others will pop in and let us know what they use, and the btrfs fanbois won't be far behind (file system with snapshots as a major feature) They know who they are

[pemartins]

For what I've searched probably the best option for me is Timeshift since it can do both snapshots and full system backups/restores, that can easily be copied elsewhere. It does not create isos but provides an indirect (but not that complicated) way of restoring a full operating system in case something goes really wrong with the disk or a computer gets stolen.

Thank you very much once again!

[GreyGeek]

For what I've searched probably the best option for me is Timeshift since it can do both snapshots and full system backups/restores, that can easily be copied elsewhere. It does not create isos but provides an indirect (but not that complicated) way of restoring a full operating system in case something goes really wrong with the disk or a computer gets stolen.

Thank you very much once again!

Understand that the TimeShift documentation states that if you decide to uninstall TimeShift you MUST delete ALL snapshots FIRST, before you delete it.

And, TImeShift is only a backup IF one of your destination is a removable or remote HD.

[pemartins]

Thank you so much for the info.

Oh ok, it looks like it has some tricky stuff. But if I just copy the folder created for the backups (/timeshift) to another drive/place/cloud, can't I just install TimeShift in another pc and use those folders to restore that content exactly as it was?

I really miss Systemback, it was so easy and efficient to work with.