Full backup, plus reinstall?

[J0k3r]

Is there away where I can do a full system backup including retropi / adding, settings that I can reinstall ect ect on another device same device obviously (4k+)

Many thanx in advance
J

[darwindesign]

Yes…

[How to] Make periodic backups of whole OSMC system

The backup function within OSMC backs up only your libraries and Kodi user settings. A number of people have asked what is the best way to do a complete backup of OSMC. Here is a script which makes a backup of both partitions of a standard RPi SD card install. The backup device is assumed to be a local disc or a network share mounted in the /media/ directory and formatted as ext4. But see discussion below about nfs shares and extended attributes. [TLDR: it doesn’t matter.] Each backup is dat…

[J0k3r]

Thanx for Rpi solution got a pi3b too

Anyone know if this solution will work on vero4k+

Many Thanx in advance
J

[darwindesign]

@J0k3r

Anyone know if this solution will work on vero4k+

I believe it does and @grahamh just never updated the how to stating as such.

[grahamh]

The backup works fine with Vero - I use it daily. The readme on github is up to date. I haven’t used the restore script for ages. It relies on using the kernel from a recent image and the official installer has undergone a few updates since I last looked at it. It should work but YMMV.

[sneuge]

Hey folks / Graham,

Thanks for the backup and restore facilities. I wonder could you tell me what will work with the osmc-restore script on a Vero 4k+? Having a little trouble understanding the disk structure and if the osmc-restore script will work with it. There seem to the following block devices on the Vero 4k:

• mmcblk0
• mmcblk0boot0
• mmcblk0bbok1
• mmcblk0rpmb

as well as fdisk reporting multiple /dev partitions (I’m unsure which disk it’s using here by default).

What I’m trying to do is a full disk copy / restore between an existing 4k+ and a new one (ok, 2nd hand) one I bought the other day. Would I be better off formatting a USB stick with a Linux or osmc variant and copying the whole disk via dd or similar?

Thanks in advance
E/S

[grahamh]

Last time I tried a restore using the method in my github it failed with the current install kernel and dtb. I then used an install kernel from long ago and it worked.

@sneuge

formatting a USB stick with a Linux

It is possible to boot a Vero from USB, and rsync all the files into the emmc. But you need to build our kernel with a custom .config. Any other linux will likely bork the bootloader and won’t set up the virtual disk /dev/vero-nand-root that you need to copy the system into.

Unless you’ve got a really complicated setup, using the backup system within OSMC to get your Kodi library and settings moved to the new box is probably a better option. You will thus get rid of the cruft you may have accumulated on the old box.

HTH

[sneuge]

Thanks for replying.

Perhaps another option would be start with a fresh install to set up the bootloader and then just run osmc-restore for the system partition - I say this loosely as I am not quite familiar with how the Vero is set up.

echo Usage: “$( basename “${BASH_SOURCE[0]}”) [-f] source_device|backupdir|/[system|boot] [restore_device][partition]”

BTW, which block device are you restoring to on Vero - mmcblk0?

Your suggestion is a good one and probably the simplest and what I’ll end up doing but of course I like to understand things and get my hands dirty too

Thanks

[grahamh]

No. You should not attempt to write to the system partition when it’s in use. You would have to have run an instance entirely from USB or SD, which is basically what the installer does.

[sneuge]

Great, cool, yes - that’s what I meant, boot from USB and only restore/rsync that main partition - as you mentioned in the earlier post.

Thanks for the responsiveness! Great community here.