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I've been running Freya since beta1, keeping it updated until today. Now, taking advantage of the 0.3.1 update, I want to perform a clean install. How do I go about doing this and backing up my data beforehand? I'd like the best answer to be a comprehensive guide which takes into account the following:

  • backup/restore personal files
  • backup/restore installed applications: possible? advisable?
  • backup/restore system configurations: advisable?
  • move /home to a separate partition: pros/cons?

My goal is to find a good balance between keeping my files and apps and enjoying the new features introduced by the devs with the newest updates.

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In my experience there is no single perfect solution for automated installation and backups. Every approach is usually quite customized to the needs and likes of the respective user. That said, I can only explain the way I handle things and hope you find some of the ideas useful...

There are several solutions for automation (like Chef, Ansible or Puppet) but for personal use (i.e. small scale) I prefer simple Shell scripts.

I think that there are four important categories that need automation/backup:

  • configuration data (your dotfiles, application config, dconf settings, etc)
  • applications (packages, additional repositories, other binaries etc)
  • personal data (pictures, documents, music, books etc)
  • security-relevant data (e.g. ssh keys)

I'll explain briefly how I handle each of those.

configuration data

I prefer to have this inside a version control system in order to easily track or undo changes if need be. I keep everything in a public GitHub repository and have some scripts to put them into place. Have a look at it and copy whatever you think is useful.

applications

In the same repository I have some scripts to install basic packages, add additional repositories or download other 3rd party applications.

personal data

I have a separate partition holding this kind of data. For some directories (like ~/Documents) I create a symbolic link (can be automated with a simple Shell script). Furthermore you should have a backup of this stuff in another place, for example in the cloud (I'm using Google Drive & Dropbox) or on a external hard drive.

security-relevant data

Obviously you don't want to make this private stuff public nor trust it to a company like Google or Dropbox. So I just keep a backup on an encrypted USB drive or SD-card.

With these precautions I am able to re-install the OS and setup my environment in a couple of hours. Every time you do this you will find things to improve, so consider it a constant work in progress.

I hope you find this helpful, just ask if you want to know anything in particular. An of course I appreciate any feedback on how to improve this ;)

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  • Interesting info. Unfortunately, I'm looking for a more simple, point-and-click approach. Your answer seems to target a more power-user than I am, frankly. And it doesn't really explain the steps to take to accomplish the final result. I'm looking rather for a how-to guide.
    – Giulio Sant
    Commented Sep 5, 2015 at 9:24
  • AFAIK there is not easy point-and-click way to have an automated setup/backup. And if there would be, I'm pretty sure it will not cover certain needs or specific settings. So building some custom baked solution like I described above might seem a bit of a hassle at first and you are probably right that it is a power-user approach... But putting all these things together little by little helped me a lot in understanding the operating system and its configuration. This is always a good thing I guess ;) Anyway, best of luck in finding a better/easier solution, looking forward to more answers!
    – dsager
    Commented Sep 5, 2015 at 21:08
  • Sorry for the noob question, but what is automation exactly?
    – Giulio Sant
    Commented Sep 5, 2015 at 21:11
  • In this case automation means that several steps (e.g. install the app X,Y&Z or write settings A,B&C to the system configuration), which you usually would do manually, are done automatically. For example you would just run a script that performs these steps for you. Repetitive tasks are always good candidates for automation ;)
    – dsager
    Commented Sep 5, 2015 at 21:46
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I'm going to try Timeshift (which backs up only system data) and Baqpaq (for user data). I've kept my system and data drive separate for a decade so this fits with my approach.

Tony states his product is similar to applications like rsnapshot (via Terminal [apt-get] or Synaptic), BackInTime [AppCenter (non-curated)] and TimeVault (unmaintained) so you may want to give one of those a try.

I've used Tony's Aptik data migration tool to move a media-center install to another machine and it worked splendidly so I believe he builds good products at a good price. Aptik is $25 and Baqpaq $19. Timeshift is gratis.

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