In following up with my encryption experiments, I wanted to use the same virtual machine to do some backup experiments. Here’s the basic thought: I want to use the Redo Backup & Recovery CD to make an image of my virtual machine. Then, I want restore that image on a brand new virtual machine.
It’s pretty straight forward. Here are my notes…
Creating a Backup Drive
I added a new Virtual drive. This drive will simulate a USB drive that I would normally use for backing up. This drive won’t be “external” for the virtual machine, but it should work close enough.
I created a new disk as opposed to any existing disk that I had.
I am not sure that these settings were super important. I picked the VDI type. I also picked dynamically allocated — that way I don’t have to know how much space I need and I don’t need to reserve a bunch of space that I won’t use. I created a pretty large backup disk:
Using Redo Backup & Recovery
Next, I attached the Redo Backup & Recovery ISO to the virtual CD drive.
It boots to a Backup or Restore option screen…
I tried to go through the backup, but unfortunately, I can’t at this point. My new drive isn’t formatted or partitioned. So, I went to the Disk Utility in the menu:
I selected my “backup” drive on the left. Then, I used the format button to format it.
I kept the defaults for the formatting:
Next, I created a partition:
Again, I accepted the defaults other than giving it Name.
Backing Up
Now, I am ready to go back to that first backup/restore screen and proceed with backing up.
I selected Backup of course. Then, it asks which hard drive I want to backup. For me, it was drive #1: that’s the one with Ubuntu 13.10 installed on it.
I left both partitions selected to backup the whole drive.
Next, I selected the new Backup drive that I had created. This is the point that I was stopped at until I formatted the drive.
Then, the folder for that drive:
Lastly, a name for the backup:
And, it’s off:
When it was done, it gave me the time — 7 min:
New Computer
Now, it is time to restore my backup to make sure it is good. So, I created a new virtual machine. I tried to keep pretty much the same configuration.
I did create a different memory size for the machine, just so something would be slightly different. I also created a different hard disk size (still dynamically allocated), so it would appear different from the original.
I attached the Redo Backup and Recovery ISO image to the CD drive. And, I attached the existing virtual drive that I used for my backup disk on the other machine.
Restoring
Now, I am ready to boot it and restore. The Welcome screen comes up once it boots.
Of course, I clicked Restore. That brought me to selecting the drive that contained the backup: my backup drive that I attached from the other machine.
Next, I had to select the image file off that drive:
After that, it ran the restore. It took it just over 5 minutes:
New Machine Booting
Now, it is time to reboot, and see if we have a new machine!
The Redo program automatically ejects the CD. You can’t see it since the drive is virtual, but if you look at the settings, you’ll see the ISO is no longer attached. I just hit enter to continue…
Fixing Boot Problems
Apparently, there is some problem with Grub. When it booted up the first time, it wouldn’t start. It just stuck like this:
To fix it, I opened a terminal (Menu > Accessories > Terminal). Then, I ran these commands:
apt-get install python-software-properties add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair && sudo apt-get update apt-get install -y boot-repair && (boot-repair &)
That installed and brought up the boot repair program.
I tried the Recommended repair button. Unfortunately, that didn’t work because the base OS is 64-bit:
So, I thought about downloading the Linux Secure disk. I decided instead to use the Ubuntu Live CD that I had already downloaded. I clicked “Try Ubuntu” and opened a terminal. Then, I ran the same commands…
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair && sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install -y boot-repair && (boot-repair &)
And, it booted fine! My secret file (from my encryption experiment) is in tact as well.
