Backing up with "cp" [solved]

[uthappam]

Debian Jessie XFCE. I use this script to periodically back up my home directory to an external drive:

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cp -R -u /home/albert/* /media/albert/"Expansion Drive"/albert/

The configuration files, for example .icedove, are not copied. Can I modify the cp command to include them also?

[Head_on_a_Stick]

Don't specify the files:

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cp -R -u /home/albert /media/albert/"Expansion Drive"/albert/

This would be better though:

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rsync -aAXv /home/albert /media/albert/"Expansion Drive"/albert/

This preserves symbolic links, permissions and ownerships, modification times, ACLs and extended attributes.

[uthappam]

Thank you. I shall give it a go.

[uthappam]

It looks like I did not explain myself well enough. I have a full backup on the external drive. What I want is to periodically add files which are not present on the external drive and replace files which have changed since the last backup. I ran the rsync command you gave and it copied all the files -- which would not have happened with cp -u. It was a waste of time. Also, I do not understand why -r was missing from the command you gave me.

[Head_on_a_Stick]

I ran the rsync command you gave and it copied all the files -- which would not have happened with cp -u. It was a waste of time.

That's not what happens when I use rsync(1) but I have never tried using `cp -u` beforehand.

If you try running rsync(1) again I am confident it will only copy over the files that are different (use "--delete" to remove files no longer present in $SOURCE).

I have no idea what you mean by "-r" being missing.

"-R" and "-r" and exactly equivalent -- see cp(1)

[uthappam]

What the rsync command did was copy over a second complete directory tree. I have deleted it and am going back to cp. There was no r switch in the rsync command you gave.

[Head_on_a_Stick]

What the rsync command did was copy over a second complete directory tree

Watch those trailing slashes if you want to define the folder structure

There was no r switch in the rsync command you gave

Yes there was, read the man page...

[uthappam]

This old fellow is now confused and will start afresh. What I need is a script which I can run periodically to copy new and changed files (including hidden files) to my external drive (which now contains only the files which Seagate put there). Source is /home/albert.

[RU55EL]

When you run rsync again (using the same destination) it will only copy the differences.

I use rsync to backup my work files on my notebook computer. I simply added an alias to the .bash_aliases file in the home directory.

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alias work.backup='sudo rsync -azhv --delete /home/russel/Documents/work_files/ /media/russel/Backup_Drive/work.files.backup'

That way, when I get home I just plug in the backup external drive and type work.backup at the command line.

The first time that I ran the command to back up to my external hard drive it took a while because I have about 27GB of data. But, after that it only copies any changes that you make. So, subsequent backups only take seconds.

Note: By adding --delete to the command, it will remove files from the backup drive if I have deleted them from my work files on the notebook.

[uthappam]

Thank you, Russel. I shall study the rsync command and try to figure out this .bash_aliases business. I have thousands of photos, so the first run will take a long while. Is your limit 55 miles an hour or that many kilobytes a second?

[RU55EL]

alias is a very useful command.

If you type ll at the command line you typically get:

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bash: ll: command not found

If you then type:

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alias ll=ls -l

then type ll at the command line you get the same result as if you typed

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ls -l

But, as soon as you reboot, or close the terminal window and open a new one the alias command you created is gone. If you add the alias command to the .bash_aliases file in your home directory the command will always be available. If you forget which alias commands you have defined, just type

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alias

at the command line to see a listing of aliased commands.

Note: I just completed and rsync backup of my work data.

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sent 3.02M bytes  received 636 bytes  1.21M bytes/sec
total size is 27.51G  speedup is 9,101.06

[uthappam]

Thank you, Russel. I have decided to stay with that with which I am comfortable. For routine updates I shall use the script I gave in my first post, with the hidden (dot) files being copied over with a file browser less frequently.

[dasein]

What the rsync command did was copy over a second complete directory tree.

If that's what "rsync did," it's because that's what you told rsync to do.

HoaS is entirely correct: rsync is exactly the right tool for exactly the job you're trying to accomplish.

My suggestion to you is this: experiment a little with some small test runs in rsync until you get comfortable with its syntax and understand its operation. Once you get the hang of it, you'll see that it's the perfect tool for this job.

Or if CLI just isn't your thing, have a look at grsync.

[uthappam]

I told rsync to do what it did because I was told to tell it what I told it.

[dasein]

My sincere apologies for trying to help you. I promise not to repeat the mistake.

[uthappam]

What what you said makes sense -- but you too accuse me of doing the wrong thing, failing to see that I did what I was told to do .

[RU55EL]

This is not about blame...it is about learning!

I suggest you follow dasein's excellent suggestions, experiment and learn how to use rsync. It is the perfect program for backing up files, including hidden files.

[uthappam]

Russel, I've learnt not to follow advice without at least trying to see that it won't make me waste time. And perhaps you will agree that nothing is perfect for everyone. Thank you, wizard-with-many-zeroes. I shall stay with that with which I am comfortable. All old dogs are not keen to learn new tricks.

[uthappam]

wizard10000, I shall appreciate help with a single command which can do what I want. Will

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cp -R -u /home/albert /media/albert/"Expansion Drive"/albert/

do the job? There is no /* after /home/albert, the source.

Alternatively, will

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rsync -av /home/albert /media/albert/"Expansion Drive"/albert/

recursively freshen files, including hidden files? The switches are different from the ones I used earlier, and there is no slash after source. Each alternative has a slash after destination, which I think should not cause trouble. I'm afraid I could not properly understand the explanation in the link you gave.

The directory "albert" is at the top level in my external hard drive -- and I do not wish again to create another complete "albert" under it.

[uthappam]

Thank you. I shall delete the "albert" tree on my external drive and run

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rsync -av /home/albert "/media/albert/Expansion Drive"

I notice that you have -u in your script but not in the command you wrote for me. Any reason not to use -uav?