Re: Uh Oh - Hosed Upgrade - Deb - How to Recover ?

On 8/6/26 17:16, Jim Jackson wrote:
> On 2026-08-05, Lawrence D?Oliveiro <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On Tue, 04 Aug 2026 18:18:23 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>>
>>> # Copy the root partition.
>>> dd if=/dev/sda1 | gzip >/mnt/backup/cjglap2/sda1.img.gz
>>
>> Doing a dd on a volume that is currently mounted may not give
>> completely reliable results.
>>
>>> # Copy various directories.
>>> rsync -av --delete /etc                                /mnt/backup/cjglap2
>>> rsync -av --delete /usr                                /mnt/backup/cjglap2
>>> rsync -av --exclude='/home/cjg/.cache/' --delete /home /mnt/backup/cjglap2
>>> rsync -av --delete /var/spool/slrnpull                 /mnt/backup/cjglap2
>>
>> ???-a??? does not include ???-A??? or ???-X???, which I like to include these
>> days, just in case.
> 
> also --numeric-ids
> 
> The machine you are backing up to may have different "system" ids (<1000)
> and cause problems when copying back - depending on how one does it.

   SO many complicating factors these days ! Remember
   when Linux updates "Just Worked" ???

   MY case, kinda lucky. MX has a good "custom live ISO"
   utility and I did the full thing about three weeks ago.
   I *can* restore my lap to it's previous condition and
   then do the updates again. MIGHT work.

   Nasty overkill though.

   Have had intractable update issues with Manjaro - had
   to hose a couple of boxes. However Deb derivs are
   usually pretty solid this way. Is this no longer true ?

   If not ... shit ... some of the BSDs aren't TOO bad now.

   Rsync is a great util ... an option for almost ANY
   particular need. Used it extensively for custom
   company backups for a long time. However it just
   saves the FILES - not the real SETUP, including
   the boot-up partitions. For that, for a real and
   complete re-install, it's either dd or a 'sparse'
   variant. The MX util is a 'sparse variant'. Store,
   make ISO, install ISO.

   Kinda tried to write an rsync for Winders - minus
   the client/server shit. Got sort of along with it
   but it got TOO deep and time-consuming.

   Gonna make the stick tomorrow. If my prob does not
   resolve in a few days, then ...

   Already copied all the shit in my home and Desktop
   so I can copy them back.