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9. How to make a backup

9.1 How to backup pup_safe.3fs

The file pup_safe.3fs contains the personal settings and your personal files, if the files are not stored on another partition (e.g. harddrive, USB stick). The backup is very simple. Either you start Puppy with the boot-option "puppy pfix=ram" or you start your old operating system (Windows). Then you copy the file onto the backup medium (e.g. another harddrive, USB stick, CD-ROM).

9.2 How to restore files out of the pup_save.3fs-file

You can see the content of the file pup_safe.3fs only if the file is loaded while booting Puppy. If the file cannot be loaded, there is nevertheless a way of getting into the file and saving the content:

• Start Puppy with the boot-option "puppy pfix=ram".
• Then you open a shell and enter the following command:

  mount -o loop /mnt/hdax/pup_save.3fs /mnt/data

  /mnt/hdax is the partition you stored the pup_save.3fs-file (e.g. mount -o loop /mnt/hda2/pup_save.3fs /mnt/data).

• Now you can see the content of the pup_save.3fs-file at the directory /mnt/data and you can copy all files to another harddrive or USB-stick.

9.3 Backup with rsync

If you do not store your files in the file pup_save.3fs but on a partition with ext3-filesystem, you can backup the files with the rsync-command. I recommend a second (external) harddrive as backup medium. The backup harddrive must have an ext3-filesystem too (see chapter 3.3.2).

Rsync synchronizes the backup with your current files and copies only the new and/or changed files on the backup medium. At the same time rsync deletes (if you want) all files from the backup medium, which you don’t have anymore. In order to be able to use rsync, you must install the program first. (Search at the Puppy-Forum).

Before you make a backup ensure that your files were not compromised (see chapter 11.4).

The following example assumes that you saved your files at the directory /myData and that the backup directory is /backup.

Open a shell and enter the following commands:

• mount /dev/hda4 /mnt/hda4

  Mount the partition, on which you stored your file. It must be a partition with a Linux-filesystem, e.g. ext3

• mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1

  Mount the partition, on which you want to store the backup, e.g. an external harddrive with ext3-filesystem.

• rsync -av --delete /mnt/hda4/myData/ /mnt/sda1/backup

  Backup the files. If there is no backup-directory, create one with the command mkdir /mnt/sda1/backup

• umount /dev/hda4

  Unmount the partition

• umount /dev/sda1

  Unmount the partition

Note: The diagonal stroke behind /mnt/hda4/myData/ is important. Only the files within the directory /mnt/hda4/myData are copied, not the directory myData itself.

These are the rsync-options:

• a: all directories and files are copied
• v: you can see the progress on the screen
• delete: directories and files, that no longer exist in myData are deleted from the backup. If you don’t like this, leave out the --delete option.

With the following commands you can restore your files from the backup:

• mount /dev/hda4 /mnt/hda4
• mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1
• rsync -av --delete /mnt/sda1/backup/ /mnt/hda4/myData
• umount /dev/hda4
• umount /dev/sda1