How do I create a complete system backup? - TUXEDO Computers

Regular backups are important, but rarely include the entire operating system. How to create such a complete backup is explained in this article.

Data backup with Rescuezilla

There are situations in which a complete data backup makes sense in addition to the daily backup of changed data. These include a new installation or sending in a defective device as an RMA to TUXEDO. A proven tool for this task is Clonezilla. However, its interface is not intuitive.

To make the critical task of backing up all your data as stress-free as possible, we recommend Rescuezilla, which is compatible with Clonezilla, but adds a graphical interface that takes you by the hand and guides you unerringly to backup and, if necessary, restore. Rescuezilla is designed as a live system and does not change anything on the disks connected to the computer.

What does Rescuezilla do?

With Rescuezilla, you can perform backup and restore operations even if you are not able to start your normal operating system. Rescuezilla backs up Linux, macOS or Windows installations, making it easy to use even in smaller heterogeneous environments. External USB devices such as SSDs connected via USB 3.0 are best suited for backup, but HDDs over USB 2.0 will also work. The target drive must be at least the size of the source drive, even if that is not completely full.

Backup and restore in easy steps:

Download Rescuezilla, put it on a USB stick and start it from there. Meaningful icons facilitate the selection of the action to be started:

Next you select the source drive. The software automatically displays the available drives. In the following window, select the partition(s) to be backed up:

This is followed by the selection of the target drive. Again, all available drives are automatically offered. If you select "Connected via network" here, you can choose whether the drive is an SMB/CIFS share, or accessible via SSH or NFS:

Next you specify the desired folder for the backup:

For security reasons, the configuration of the backup is shown again in a clear way:

A click on "Next" then starts the backup.

Restore in a few minutes (depending on the amount of data).

To restore, click the "Restore" button in Rescuezilla and select the drive where the backup is located in the dialog that opens. In the next step, specify the destination. Neither the source nor the destination must be mounted. If this is the case, Rescuezilla will display a warning.

Unmounting a partition

To unmount a partition, close the Rescuezilla window by clicking on the cross in the upper right corner (minimizing the window is not sufficient). Now you are back on the surface and open the partition manager Gparted by double-clicking on its icon. If only one SSD is installed, the display fits when you start the application. If there are several storage media, select the one to be backed up from the drop-down menu at the top right.
 
You will now see the partitions of the selected disk and should be able to find the corresponding partition. Mounted partitions can be identified by a key icon directly behind the partition name.

After clicking on the partition it is highlighted. Now unmount it via the context menu after right-clicking on it. Alternatively, go to Partition -> Unmount in the menu. When source and destination are clear, start Rescuezilla again and restore the backup. As with the backup, Rescuezilla displays a progress bar.

Other tools

Rescuezilla comes with a few more tools. In addition to Firefox, Rescuezilla also offers, among other things, the graphical drive and partition manager Gparted, the GNOME disk utility, Testdisk for restoring accidentally deleted data, LSHW for listing the installed hardware, and the Xfce terminal.