# Making backups



## DMXtools (Mar 29, 2004)

When you're using computers, it's kind-of important to back up your work. Especially if you're doing an upgrade to the operating system, backing up to some sort of removeable media (CD-ROM, Zip disk or floppy) is essential.

Over the weekend, I attempted to upgrade the linux kernel on my server to fix a known security hole in the older kernel. Before doing so, I backed up my entire website to another hard drive on the same machine, then proceeded to turn the installer script loose - I'm not a linux guru and it seemed like it would be much easier to do a fresh install than to try to patch the old one.

Well, I had a switch set wrong in the installer or something - rather than just c:, it formatted and installed a new file system on every hard drive it found... when I went to copy my website back to var/www/ it wasn't there.

I spent most of Sunday rebuilding - there were a few pages I had to re-type from scratch - and have most of the commercial stuff back up. By the end of today I expect to have everything back, including the freebie construction project I mentioned in the *Lighting Questions* forum.

I saved ten minutes by not bothering to write a CD-ROM. UGH!

John


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## digitaltec (Mar 29, 2004)

Thats a good point to make. Always backup everything you do. When I program a lighting console, I usually have between 4-10 copies of the same show incase something would happen. I also have a copy of the console settings that I like to use to make programming easier. Pop in the disk and the console is set up just the way I like it. But back to my original point. a console for lighting or sound is the same as your computer at home except it have a different keyboard. Do you trust your home computer from not crashing? I doubt it. I know I have a backup drive that ever night to backs up my entire computer in case something would happen to my hard drive. Keep that in mind. Trust me it's not fun to have an entire show programed with over 1000 cues and you go to hit the go button and you find out your show is lost. Been there down that. Not a fun experience trying to re-program the show in an hour. It did help that I had all of the paperwork with me. If you have not noticed, everything that can go wrong has gone wrong with me.


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## dj_illusions (Mar 30, 2004)

its kinda iconic ironic (a joke for mayhem) that i am a tech yet still have difficulty using computers. next time we are talking about computers, can we do it in english lol.... linux kernal... what the!?


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## avkid (Mar 30, 2004)

linux is an operating system , so is microsoft windows no idea what a kernel is.


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## zac850 (Mar 30, 2004)

linux is an open source operating system (os). It runs on mac and PC, and it is the open source, so it is free and you can't make money off of it. It is sort of the underground OS, that computer geeks/dorks/hackers use. If you know what linux is, your a dork, if you have it.... lol 

I have a basic understanding of what a kernel is, but not enough to post any understandable definition here....


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## Nephilim (Mar 31, 2004)

The kernel of any operating system is the central process loop that handles everything the OS does, or just about - depends on the OS design. But it is the big central process - where the magic happens. You could say it's the SM of the OS.


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## andguent (Mar 31, 2004)

Hindsight is always 20/20. I also will often to the dual hard drive setup for backups. Especially as people upgrade their 4-10g hard drives with 40 or 80's, those smaller ones become cheap or free.

When doing something major like formatting or installing an OS, I will often physically disconnect my backup drive from the system. I am notorious for doing major installs when I am as tired as possible. Physically pulling cables gives paranoid geeks like me peace of mind no matter what state of mind I am in. 

Yes, to those that use Linux, I believe any kernel before 2.4.19 will need a patch or upgrade. It's one of the more serious patches I've seen for Linux. Normally stuff like this is reserved only for Windows users.  *cower*


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