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only backing up essential TB files

  • 4 replies
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  • Last reply by christ1

pcooper2
pcooper2
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to backup TB on windows to my Pi, I mount the TB profile folder then rsync its contents to the backup drive on the Pi ( then rsync it later to an offsite backup, but a slow connection) The windows folder has a lot of *cache* folders/files - which i can exclude there are lot of folders with a ~ or ~~ at the end of the name I am assuming they are some sort of temprary folder that i can also ignore ? If i dont backup *Trash* does that mean the restore function should i need to use the backup isnt available . And I think I'll keep the *msf files - AIUI not essential but useful to have immediately available should I need to use the backup

anything else I can ignore for the backup

to backup TB on windows to my Pi, I mount the TB profile folder then rsync its contents to the backup drive on the Pi ( then rsync it later to an offsite backup, but a slow connection) The windows folder has a lot of *cache* folders/files - which i can exclude there are lot of folders with a ~ or ~~ at the end of the name I am assuming they are some sort of temprary folder that i can also ignore ? If i dont backup *Trash* does that mean the restore function should i need to use the backup isnt available . And I think I'll keep the *msf files - AIUI not essential but useful to have immediately available should I need to use the backup anything else I can ignore for the backup

All Replies (4)

christ1
christ1
  • Top 25 Contributor
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The windows folder has a lot of *cache* folders/files

Not sure what folder you're talking about. Please provide the exact folder name and the full path. In general cache data should not be part of the profile folder for the exact reason, that there's no need to back it up.

there are lot of folders with a ~ or ~~ at the end of the name

Please be more specific.

If i dont backup *Trash* does that mean the restore function should i need to use the backup isnt available .

If there's data in Trash you may want to restore later you should back it up. Having that said, there are people who use Trash as a storage folder, which is beyond me. If you're one of them, you definitely should back it up. If not, then the size of Trash is probably small anyway. Since disk space is cheap, there is no point arguing whether to back it up or not. Just do it.

And I think I'll keep the *msf files

Yes.

anything else I can ignore for the backup

As a rule of thumb, I'd backup the entire profile folder, except the cache data. That belongs to AppData\Local.

pcooper2
pcooper2 Question owner
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BackupPi >: find /media/pi/Maxtor/Win-PC/TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default -name "*~" /media/pi/Maxtor/Win-PC/TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default/abook.sqlite-wal~ /media/pi/Maxtor/Win-PC/TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default/content-prefs.sqlite~ /media/pi/Maxtor/Win-PC/TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default/ImapMail/imap.isp.com/INBOX.msf~ /media/pi/Maxtor/Win-PC/TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default/ImapMail/imap.xxxx.com/INBOX.msf~ /media/pi/Maxtor/Win-PC/TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default/ImapMail/imap.xxx.com/Trash.msf~ /media/pi/Maxtor/Win-PC/TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default/places.sqlite-wal~ /media/pi/Maxtor/Win/TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default/prefs.js~ BackupPi >: BackupPi >: find /media/pi/Maxtor/Win-PC/TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default -name "*cache*" /media/pi/Maxtor/Win-PC/TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default/shader-cache BackupPi >:

david
david
  • Top 10 Contributor
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My thoughts follow christ1's. Why not just backup all of TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default? That would ensure you have everything.

christ1
christ1
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find /media/pi/Maxtor/Win-PC/TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default -name "*~"

That produces a list of files, not folders. And it doesn't seem to be a lot. I have no idea why they have been created in the first place, Thunderbird normally does not create those files. Therefore I'd just back them up. You can decide later to delete them, and if needed, you can restore from the backup.

find /media/pi/Maxtor/Win-PC/TBProfile/9nqe1fvi.default -name "*cache*"

Basically the same as above. I don't have a folder 'shader-cache' in any profile. Therefore, if in doubt, just keep it.