Hi,
What program do you recommend to manage system images in case there is a problem? Maybe with a GUI on KD6
There are the usual suspects:
clonezilla - text based drive/partition imaging tool best used from separate boot device
gnome-disks - gui tool that can create and restore disk images, best used from separate boot device
gparted - gui tool that can create and restore partition images, possibly entire disk images, best used from separate boot device
KDE Partition Manager - no experience with this one, sorry
There are are also tools like btrfs-assistant to help with managing btrfs snapshots and Timeshift which also works with snapshots.
The best advice is to be comfortable fixing problems as they arise, and practicing good backup procedures. SystemRescueCD contains some of the tools I mentioned and is an excellent utility boot system for trouble-shooting:
https://www.system-rescue.org/
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may I ask another question?
My problem is the following: the fear that after a system update this will no longer work, so I can easily revert to a system image that was perhaps made automatically before the update.
With this new information, does that narrow the field?
I saw that Manjaro has timeshift installed by default
You can install Timeshift directly from the Arch repos, so that is easily achievable on EndeavourOS. That being said, it is always a good idea to install the linux-lts kernel alongside whatever kernel you regularly use as a fallback for when something happens.
However, if you install Timeshift and use it, you will need a system rescue boot disk with Timeshift available, and the latest release of SystemRescueCD contains Timeshift.
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Adding to this, if you have BTRFS, it would be a good idea to install the below packages as well.
yay -S timeshift timeshift-autosnap grub-btrfs-git
Also, even if you have EXT4, these are still a good idea. You would just need to use the rsync option in timeshift.
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newbe question, how to install a linux-lts kernel alongside?
Will grub recognize it by itself?
Yes. Simply install that kernel.
I like to make sure the system is fully up to date, so:
sudo pacman -Syu linux-lts linux-lts-headers
This will install the lts kernel and its headers.
Then run:
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
To regenerate the grub configuration before you reboot. The linux-lts kernel will become the first kernel listed in grub, so it will boot by default. If you want to change the boot order, look to:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/GRUB/Tips_and_tricks#Multiple_entries
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Really? EndeavourOS will run grub-mkconfig automatically?
Sorry, my bad. grub-mkconfig is not running automatically on new installs.
Some old installs may still have it running automatically, but it is no more recommended.
@Salvodif
After installing a new kernel (i.e. not update), you need to manually run
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
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When it comes to boot order, one doesn’t actually need to change any settings. After installing the LTS kernel on my system, yes it would’ve booted the newly installed kernel, but just by selecting Linux current in the boot menu once, it consistently selects the last kernel I booted from without any extra steps.
At least, I’m on Archcraft at the moment, so maybe it’s different on EndeavourOS?
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Also, to confirm, you are still going to install timeshift, correct? @Salvodif
I’m asking because I noticed you mark @manuel’s post as the solution rather than @eznix’s.
A kernel won’t help you roll back your system, I mean.
This describes my situation … timeshift has saved me from disaster on several occasions.
The need for ready access to additional kernels is one I’ve been trying to address using rEFInd in another thread. Am ready to give up and return to grub - which works just fine on several other EOS installations here at home.
Will start a separate thread for this.
Yeah. I currently have timeshift with EXT4 and rsync. I know using Btrfs makes the restoration process easier, but that copy-on-write thing seems to have corrupted my external SSD, so I decided to go back to EXT4 and get used to it.
Haven’t had to use it yet, but I know what to do in case I need to.
PS: Getting used to it now because I feel HDDs might become a thing of the past by the time I get a new computer. Maybe Btrfs will also be just fine, and maybe it wasn’t Btrfs that caused the issue, but it’s the only possible cause from what I could tell since it was the newer of my two (same model) SSDs.
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yep, but I was thinking that in case of any system error have a longside kernel can help on recover the system without any system image
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I am not advocating for a system image backup system, but there are other problems besides a kernel related issue that can cause a non-working system. An alternative kernel, like the lts kernel, will help when your issue is directly related to a kernel caused problem.
The best plan is to familiarize yourself with researching problems so you can fix them if and when they arise.
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back to the starting point then… a kernel-lts helps me in cases where a kernel update drives the computer crazy but not after a system upgrade.
So maybe the best solution is to install kernel-lts and Timeshift?
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I use Timeshift and have the LTS on BTRFS just in case, haven’t had to restore any timeshift backups yet but have found that occasionality the main kernel does cause a few issues
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Hmm. Interesting word. At first I said to myself; thats not a word but apparently it is.
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