MondoRescue HOWTO

Utilisation and Configuration of Mondo and Mindi under Linux (Version
2.2.8-r2139)

Bruno Cornec

   MondoRescue Project

   <bruno@mondorescue.org>

Conor Daly

   MondoRescue Project

   <conor.daly_at_met.ie>

   Copyright (c) 2000-2006 Bruno Cornec

   License

   This HOWTO is a free documentation. you may copy, redistribute
   and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
   License, Version 1.1.

   or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
   with no Invariant Sections, Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover
   Texts. This document is distributed hoping it will be useful,
   but without any guaranty; you're completely responsible of its
   use, and coulnd't complain in case it doesn't work, or even if
   it breaks the hardware. All the software included in it, if not
   already copyrighted is released under the GPL.
     __________________________________________________________

   Table of Contents
   About this Guide

        Purpose / Scope of this Guide
        New versions of this document
        Suggestions / Feedback
        Aknowledgements

   QuickStart
   Overview

        Mondo Rescue
        Mindi
        Linux Backup
        Windows Backup

              Windows ME/95/98
              Windows NT4/2K/XP

        Mondo Rescue and Mindi Linux History
        System Requirements

              Hardware Requirements
              Kernel Requirements
              Software Requirements

   Installation

        Mindi Installation
        Mindi Busybox Installation
        Mondo Installation
        RPM verifications

   Tests

        Testing Mindi

   Backup

        Recommendations
        Backup Commands and Options

              Standard Example With CD-R
              Standard Example With CD-RW
              Standard Example With Tape
              Standard Example With Failsafe kernel
              Standard Example With Network Backup

   HOWTO run mondo interactively using cron

        Overview
        Introduction
        Who should read this?

              Insurance
              Efficiency

        The Problem

              Cron's environment
              Interactivity
              Screen

        The Solution

              Briefly
              In Detail

   Compare
   Restore

        Overview
        Tips and Tricks

              Barebones (Nuke) Restore
              Interactive Restore
              Expert Restore
              Modified partitions - Restore to a different disk
                      geometry

              Advanced

   FAQ

        Overview
        General Questions
        Booting and Kernel related Questions
        Installation related Questions
        Hardware related Questions
        Backup related Questions
        Compare related Questions
        Restore related Questions

   GNU Free Documentation License

        0. PREAMBLE
        1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS
        2. VERBATIM COPYING
        3. COPYING IN QUANTITY
        4. MODIFICATIONS
        5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
        6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
        7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
        8. TRANSLATION
        9. TERMINATION
        10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
        How to use this License for your documents
     __________________________________________________________

About this Guide

Purpose / Scope of this Guide

   This HOWTO serves to help people get started with using
   mondo/mindi as way to backup/restore their system. This is a
   work constantly evolving. It was started by Hugo Rabson and has
   since been worked upon by a number of people. See the 'About'
   web page for a list of members of the development team.

   There are many ways to contribute to the Linux movement without
   actually writing code. One of the most important is writing
   documentation, allowing each person to share their knowledge
   with thousands of others around the world. This HOWTO is
   designed to help you get familiar with how Mondo/Mindi works.

   Opinions expressed here are those of the authors. Informations
   are provided in the aim to be useful to the readers. However,
   there can't be, through this document, any warranty of any kind
   on the way it works on your systems, nor the author could be
   responsible for any problem caused by the use of these
   informations. However, software editors don't garantee you a
   lot either (re-read the contracts).
     __________________________________________________________

New versions of this document

   The newest version of this document can always be found on
   MondoRescue's homepage MondoRescue.

   If you make a translation of this document into another
   language, please let meknow so that I can include a reference
   to it here.
     __________________________________________________________

Suggestions / Feedback

   I rely on you, the reader, to make this HOWTO useful. THis
   HOWTO is probably incomplete even if it tries to be accurate to
   the best of our knowledge. If you have any suggestions,
   corrections, recommandations or congratulations :-) don't
   hesitate to send them to me <bruno@mondorescue.org>, and I will
   try to incorporate them in a next revision or to the
   mondorescue mailing list; e-mail the list at
   mondo-devel@lists.sourceforge.net; tell us what is wrong and
   how it should be fixed. Include the section title and
   recommended changes. Whenever possible, include the exact,
   spell-checked, grammar-checked text that you think would
   improve the document.

   See Mondo's Support page for more information.

   Please note that we do our best to help everyone but it is
   difficult for us to help you if you do not attach a log file to
   your e-mail. Let me say that again - attach your log file to
   your e-mail! Thank you. Without it we can't offer any tangible
   help because you aren't either. That's what the log file is
   for. It is located at /var/log/mondoarchive.log; and
   /var/log/mindi.log (if called alone) or at
   /var/log/mondorestore.log

   This document was originaly written by native english speakers,
   but is maintained by a non-native english speaker so help me
   correct mistaques (sic) instead of rumbling that I've done one
   :-)

   I am also willing to answer general questions on MondoRescue,
   the best I can. Before doing so, please read all of the
   information in this HOWTO, and then send me detailed
   information about the problem, especially including the logs
   generated by the tools, or traces obtained (Did I say that
   already :-].

   If you publish this document on a CD-ROM or in hardcopy form, a
   complimentary copy would be appreciated; mail me for my postal
   address. Also consider making a donation to the Linux
   Documentation Project to help support free documentation for
   Linux. Contact the Linux HOWTO coordinator, Guylhem AZNAR
   <guylhem@rrremovethis.oeil.qc.ca>.
     __________________________________________________________

Aknowledgements

   Thanks goes to these people for helping and adding to this
   HOWTO.

   Document maintainer:

     * Bruno Cornec

   Original Design Assistance by:

     * Xion Network.com

   Original Document Assistance by:

     * Cafeole
     * Troff
     * Randy Delfs
     * Mikael Hultgren

   Original LinuxDoc and LaTeX Reformat by:

     * Bryan J. Smith

   Original DocBook Reformat by:

     * Mikael Hultgren

   Original author; 1.6x material:

     * Hugo Rabson
     __________________________________________________________

QuickStart

     * We recommend that you read this complete HOWTO. However, if
       you are too busy or impatient, then please use this
       QuickStart guide to stay out of trouble.
     * Install the tarball, RPM, or DEB mindi and mondo packages.
       (see Installation for more details)
     * Execute as root (type 'su -' to become root if you are not
       logged in as root)

       bash# mondoarchive

   [mamain-mini.png] Choose from the list of supported backup
   media types. The media you will use most often are CD/DVD-+R,
   CD/DVD-+RW, tape, NFS and hard disk. If you want to
   backup/restore over a network, choose 'NFS'. If you want to
   backup/restore to/from a local partition or if you simply want
   to store the ISO images in a local directory until you have
   time or facilities to burn them to CD's, choose 'hard disk'. If
   you choose 'CD/DVD-+R[W]' or 'tape' then in general your
   hardware will be detected and configured for you.
   [maburnproof-mini.png] If you are backing up to CD/DVD-+R[W]
   then Mondo will ask you if your CD burner has BurnProof
   technology, is inside a laptop, or is otherwise eccentric. If
   you are backing up to a tape streamer then you will not see
   this message.
   [macompression-mini.png] How much compression do you want?
   None, if your tape streamer has built-in hardware compression.
   Maximum, if your CPU is blazingly fast. Average should do just
   fine for most situations.
   [mainclude-mini.png] If you want to backup the whole computer
   (excluding /sys and /proc, naturally) then leave this as /
   which is the default. Otherwise, specify subsets, (e.g.
   /usr/local /home ) being sure to put a space in between each
   path.
   [maexclude-mini.png] If you are backing up your whole computer
   then you might want to exclude certain directories, e.g.
   /shared/MP3. Please specify them in the 'exclude directories'
   dialog box. Please put a space in between each path, e.g.
   /shared/private /scratch /nfs /windows
   [makernel-mini.png] Is your kernel sane? Red Hat, Mandrake,
   SuSE, Debian and Slackware users should in general say 'yes'
   because these vendors are good at producing reliable kernels.
   If you are using Gentoo or LFS then your kernel might be
   non-standard, in which case say 'no' to use Mondo's failsafe
   kernel (provided separately).
   [maverifyq-mini.png] If you want to verify the archives after
   writing them to media, say 'yes' here. If you have absolute
   faith in your hardware and your Linux distribution, say 'no'...
   and a little prayer.
   [maproceedq-mini.png] If you are sure you want to go ahead, say
   'yes' and find something else to do while Mondo backs up your
   computer. If you say 'no' then you will be unceremoniously
   dumped at the shell prompt. :-)
   [1-mini.png] The backup process will now commence. There are
   some pre-backup tasks to be carried out first but the backup is
   essentially underway. To simplify the backup process, you were
   asked a series of questions. Next time, if you like, you could
   call mondoarchive with various command-line switches to control
   its behavior, instead of answering a series of questions. See
   the man page for details.
   [3-mini.png] Mondo will make a catalog of all files to be
   backed up. This may take up to five minutes. The list of files
   will be divided into sets, approximately 4 MB (before
   compression) of files per set. This typically takes one minute.
   [1-mini.png] Mondo calls Mindi. Mindi generates bootable media
   image and auxiliary data disk images which are based on your
   existing Linux distribution and filesystem. That way, you can
   be sure Mondo's tools will be compatible with your existing
   filesystems and binaries: Mondo's tools are your tools. Mindi
   takes up to five minutes to run.
   [5tape-mini.png] Finally, Mondo begins backing up your
   computer. This process may take a few minutes or a few hours,
   depending on how much data you are archiving, how fast your CPU
   is, how much RAM you have, and so on. It will backup your
   regular files and then your large files (files larger than
   approximately 32MB). If you have opted to verify your backups,
   Mondo will do that too.

     * Try to boot from the first media of the backup. Choose
       'Compare Mode' by typing compare at the boot screen.
     * If you can boot, fine. If not, make a Mindi "Test" CD to
       checkout the compatibility of your system. (see Testing
       Mindi for more details). Remove the media; boot your
       computer as usual; execute as root

       bash# mindi
       bash# cd /var/cache/mindi
       (for CD-R)

       bash# cdrecord dev=0,0,0 speed=4 -eject -v mindi.iso
       bash# wodim dev=0,0,0 speed=4 -eject -v mindi.iso
       (for CD-RW)

       bash# cdrecord dev=0,0,0 speed=4 blank=fast -eject -v mindi.iso
       bash# wodim dev=0,0,0 speed=4 blank=fast -eject -v mindi.iso
       Reboot your system with the created Mindi CD, with the BIOS
       set to boot from CD. If the result is a command line in
       'Expert' mode, your system checks out. Remove the CD and
       reboot your system.
     * If you still cannot boot from Mindi's CD then please e-mail
       the mondorescue mailing list for help.

   When making a backup on a live system, there will always be
   processes running that will write out data on the system after
   you have made the backup and before you have made the compare,
   this will result in difference showing up when comparing your
   backup. For a full explanation and what can be done to avoid
   this, please read this section.

     * This QuickStart covers the ideal case. Upon receiving any
       system feedback/errors, read each related HOWTO section.
       Example 2-1. A test backup of your /home directory to CD-Rs
       using the command line

       bash# mondoarchive -OVc 4 -I /home -gF
       The 'c' means you must be writing to CD-Rs, not CD-RWs (the
       latter would require 'w' instead of 'c'). The '4' is the
       speed of your CD writer. The string after -I is the path to
       be backed up. The '-gF' means you are going to see the
       pretty yellow-on-blue screen instead of the boring
       white-on-black screen. :) It also means Mondo will not
       offer to create physical boot media for you. It is assumed
       that you are able to boot from the CD which Mondo has
       generated.
       Example 2-2. A backup of your whole filesystem to NFS using
       the command line

       bash# mkdir -p /mnt/nfs
       bash# mount 192.168.1.28:/home/nfs /mnt/nfs
       bash# mondoarchive -OVn 192.168.1.28:/home/nfs -gF[...]
       bash# umount /mnt/nfs
   bash# cdrecord dev=0,0,0 speed=4 -eject -v
   /var/cache/mindi/mindi.iso
       Note that you have to mount the NFS partition, backup to
       it, unmount it, and create a boot CD to allow you to
       restore from scratch if necessary. To reassure yourself
       that you will be able to restore from the NFS share even if
       your PC is wiped, please boot from the Mindi CD and type
       'compare'. The on-screen instructions from that point on
       should be sufficient.
       Example 2-3. A backup of your whole filesystem to tape
       using the command line

       bash# mondoarchive -OVt -d /dev/st0 -9 -L -g
       In this case, we assume Syslinux is incompatible with your
       boot media. For some reason, some BIOSes just don't like
       Syslinux. If you find this to be the case for your
       computer, please use '-L' to force Mondo to use LILO
       instead of Syslinux as the boot loader for its media. (NB:
       This has nothing to do with which boot loader your hard
       drive uses.) Also, it is a good habit to specify your tape
       streamer with '-d <device>'. You don't usually need to but
       it's good to be on the safe side. Some computers call your
       tape streamer /dev/osst0, some call it /dev/ftape, ...
       Also, depending on the tape streamer model, a tape should
       be inserted in the tape drive before starting mondoarchive,
       otherwise it may not recognize the drive.
     __________________________________________________________

Overview

Mondo Rescue

   Mondo Rescue backs up your file system to CD, tape, NFS
   (archives stored remotely) or ISO's (archives stored locally).
   Mondo uses afio as the backup engine; afio is a well-respected
   replacement for tar. In the event of catastrophic data loss,
   you may restore some or all of your system, even if your hard
   drives are now blank. Mondo Rescue can do a lot of other cool
   things:

     * You can use Mondo to clone an installation of Linux. Just
       backup the crucial stuff and exclude /home, /var/log, etc.
     * You can backup a non-RAID file system and restore it as
       RAID including the root partition (if your kernel supports
       that).
     * You can backup a system running on one format and restore
       as another format.
     * You can restructure your partitions, e.g. shrink/enlarge,
       reassign devices, add hard drives, etc, before you
       partition and format your drives. Mondo will restore your
       data and amend /etc/lilo.conf and /etc/fstab accordingly.
     * You can backup Linux/Windows systems, including the boot
       sectors. Mondo will make everything right at restore-time.
       (However, do run "Scandisk" when you first boot into
       Windows, just in case.)
     * You can use your Mondo backup CD to verify the integrity of
       your computer.

   Mondo's principal virtue is that it protects you from the
   problems that can arise when you reinstall completely from
   scratch. If you want to wipe and restore your system every year
   just as a matter of 'good practice', Mondo is not for you.
   However, if you want to get up and running again in a hurry
   after someone breaks into your computer and wipes it (or if you
   accidentally wipe it yourself) then Mondo is definitely for
   you. It will permit you to roll back to a known-good
   installation in a very short period of time, sometimes as
   little as twenty minutes. Even if you backup large amounts of
   data to tape daily and do not want to add yet another backup
   regime, please consider backing up the core filesystem (i.e.
   everything but the directories containing your huge database
   and your prizewinning novel) every month or so, just in case.
   You will be glad you did.

   What is Mondo not?

   Mondo is not an everyday backup program. It is not designed to
   replace tar, afio, kbackup, etc. Mondo is designed to make it
   possible to recover from scratch if necessary. Tar and afio
   offer a quick, convenient way to backup small sets of files,
   sometimes to removable media.
     __________________________________________________________

Mindi

   Mindi Linux creates a set of boot/root media images that will
   let you perform basic system maintenance on your Linux distro.
   The principal virtues of Mindi's boot disks are the fact that
   they contain your kernel, modules, tools and libraries. You can
   ask for additional binaries (or other files) to be included on
   the kit. The libraries will be added for you.

   Whichever modules were loaded at backup-time, they are reloaded
   at boot-time. So, in theory, you will boot into almost the same
   environment as you were in when you backed up. If you want to
   add files to your Mindi boot disks, edit '<INSTALLPATH OF
   MINDI>/mindi/deplist.txt' and add the files to that list. The
   added files and dependencies, will be spread across the data
   disks at run-time.

   Mindi makes sure that Mondo has all the tools it needs at
   boot-time. Mondo uses fdisk, mkfs, cat, less, more, afio, gzip,
   bzip2, your keyboard configuration, your glibc libraries, your
   other libraries, your kernel, your modules, ... which is a lot
   of tools! Mindi takes care of all that, so that Mondo can get
   on with the job of backing up or restoring your data.

   Mindi is also handy for making boot CDs/disks which stand on
   their own. You do not need Mondo. Indeed, if you like, you
   could use another backup/restore program with Mindi. Just add
   it to Mindi's dependency list (type 'locate deplist.txt' to
   find it). Mindi will include your software on its boot CD/disks
   the next time you run mindi.
     __________________________________________________________

Linux Backup

   Mondo Rescue and Mindi Linux are used primarily as Linux backup
   and cloning tools. The fall in prices of CD-RW drives and
   writable discs will allow current users to keep good backups
   and future users to leverage the cloning capability.

   Tape drives are more likely to suit your needs if you run a
   larger installation (or have lots of MP3's). Warning! OnStream
   drives do not play well with Mondo. I do not know why. It is,
   in my opinion, something which OnStream should look into. Mondo
   uses fopen(), fread(), fwrite() and fclose() to interact with
   tape drives. That works for most drives but some drives just
   don't like that. Also, depending on the tape streamer model, a
   tape should be inserted in the tape drive before starting
   mondoarchive, otherwise it may not recognize the drive.

   Mondo Rescue has been tested thousands of times on various
   computers. It has worked for them. Thousands of users testify
   to Mondo's stability and its ease of use. However, please test
   it on your own system before you rely on it. In fact, do not
   rely on any software until you have tested it to see if it
   performs as expected.

   To establish that Mondo will behave well in an emergency,
   please be prepared. Run a test backup as follows:-

     * Run mondoarchive without any command-line options.
     * Backup a subset of files - e.g. /usr/local - to CD or tape.
       Say 'yes' when asked if you want to verify them.
     * If you are not backing up to CD, please create boot media
       when prompted.

   Next, restore archives to your live filesystem.

     * When mondoarchive terminates, run mondorestore without any
       command-line options.
     * Insert the media when prompted. Press <Enter>. Wait a
       moment.
     * Select a subset of files to restore, e.g. /usr/local/man
       and /usr/local/bin. Hit OK.
     * Restore files to /tmp or /root/RESTORED or something
       similar.
     * When mondorestore terminates, compare the restored files to
       the originals using cmp or diff.

   Finally, simulate an emergency restore.

     * Boot from media.
     * Select 'Interactive Mode' at boot-time. (Type 'interactive'
       and hit <Enter>.)
     * Hit OK when shown the mountlist. Say 'yes' when asked if
       you accept the mountlist.
     * Select files to restore, e.g. /usr/local/man and
       /usr/local/bin. Hit OK.
     * Restore files to /tmp or /root/RESTORED or something
       similar.
     * When mondorestore terminates, please reboot and compare the
       restored files to the originals.

   FYI, the subroutines to repartition and reformat your drives
   are very stable. If you are a RAID or LVM user, you
   might encounter some difficulties when wiping and restoring
   from scratch because of the sheer range of filesystem layouts
   and the impossibility of testing Mondo on every single one. If
   you have trouble, just drop to the command-line and
   partition/format manually. Then, call mondorestore, select
   Interactive Mode, and say 'no' when asked if you want Mondo to
   partition or format your drives for you.

   You see, even if you have trouble, you still have two hands and
   most of the tools you need - lvchange, pvcreate, fdisk, mkraid,
   etc. - to do it manually. After you have prepped and formatted
   your drives manually (if you have to), just run mondorestore
   again and say 'no' when asked if you want to prep or format
   your drives. What could be easier?
     __________________________________________________________

Windows Backup

   Backing up windows partitions.
     __________________________________________________________

Windows ME/95/98

   Verify that the partition is listed in /etc/fstab and is
   mounted (e.g. /dev/hda1). Mondo will take care of everything
   else. The files will be archived just like all other files in
   the live file system. At restore-time, Mondo will take care of
   the boot sector of /dev/hda1 prior to the restore.

   Note: if Windows ME/95/98 is not located on /dev/hda1 or
   /dev/sda1, then Mondo will not take care of the boot sector of
   /dev/hda1. The user will have to boot from a DOS floppy and run
   SYS C: to correct the Windows boot sector.
     __________________________________________________________

Windows NT4/2K/XP

   Windows NT4/2K/XP typically use the NTFS file system, not
   VFAT.. The user should use '-x /dev/hda1' (or whichever device
   the Windows partition resides). Mondo will treat the partition
   as a biggiefile. Mondo will also add an entry to the mountlist
   to reflect the size and type of the partition. The user may not
   edit that partition's size at restore-time (for obvious
   reasons).

   Please bear in mind that Mondo was written for Linux users. If
   Mondo does not backup or restore your Windows system well, you
   might want to consider reporting it to the mondorescue mailing
   list
     __________________________________________________________

Mondo Rescue and Mindi Linux History

   Mondo Rescue was created in December 1999 by Hugo Rabson as a
   utility to clone Linux/Windows installations. Norton Ghost
   would not do the job, and his boss wanted to jump on the Linux
   bandwagon. So, he wrote a few scripts and shoehorned them into
   the latest Linux-Mandrake CD. Since that time, Mondo grew into
   a disaster recovery suite for Linux and Windows. Mondo forced
   him to learn about the kernel, its initrd initial ramdisk,
   modules, library dependencies, disk partitioning, and the
   myriad differences between the Top 10 Linux distributions.

   The first formal release was made on February 18th, 2000. Mondo
   is currently one of the top five Linux backup/restore programs.
   Mondo has been compared favorably to ArcServe, Arkeia and BRU.
   Although Mondo lacks the more advanced, enterprise-level
   features of ArcServe and Arkeia, for workstations and small- to
   medium-size servers it is ideal because it is small, fast,
   efficient, stable, comes with source code, and is being
   actively developed and supported.

   Since November 2005, Hugo Rabson has tranfered the maintenance
   of the Mondo Rescue suite to Andree Leidenfrost and Bruno
   Cornec, both previous developers and packagers of the tool
   since nearly the begining.
     __________________________________________________________

System Requirements

Hardware Requirements

   Your computer must have:

     * Intel(R)-compatible CPU (ia32, x86_64/amd64 or ia64)
     * 64MB of RAM (128MB recommended)
     * 800MB of hard disk space free
     * CD writer, tape streamer, NFS share or some way to backup
       the backups :)

   It is recommended that your computer have very good airflow.
   The backup with Mondo Rescue and Mindi Linux will utilize your
   CPU, CD drive and fixed disk(s) like very few other
   applications. With a few hours of system backup activity,
   computers without sufficient airflow may show symptoms such as
   not burning full CD discs. The solution is a $20 or less
   additional fan at your local electronics discount store.
     __________________________________________________________

Kernel Requirements

   Your kernel must have:

     * stable loopfs support, which means it really needs to be
       2.2.19 or 2.4.7 (or later)
     * CD-ROM device support
     * ISO9660 file system support
     * initrd ramdisk support (built-in)
     * Virtual memory file system support (built-in)
     * ext2 file system support (built-in)
     * Support for the backup media (Tape, CD-RW, NFS, Hard disk)
     * If the backup media is CD-RW then you need SCSI emulation
       also
       vfat support in the active kernel - mindi needs this when
       creating syslinux boot media

   Please note that the stock kernels of Red Hat/RHEL/Fedora,
   Mandrake/Mandriva, SuSE/SLES/OpenSuSE, Debian and Slackware all
   meet Mondo's requirements. If your kernel does not meet Mondo's
   requirements then there is something wrong with it. Mondo's
   demands are not unreasonable.

   Mondo (specifically Mindi) does not require any specific
   module. It does require that your kernel support the initrd
   initial ramdisk facility. Typically this is supported by the
   Linux kernel. Modules used are needed to support the CD, hard
   disks, etc. If the support is modular, then the modules will be
   incorporated in a boot disk by Mindi. If the support is
   built-in (static), then it will be available at boot-time by
   default.
     __________________________________________________________

Software Requirements

   See Mondo's Download page for details.

   Mondo requires afio, bzip2, cdrtools/cdrecord/growisofs (may be
   part of the dvd+rw-tools package), ncurses, newt,
   isolinux/syslinux, lzo (optional), lzop (optional), mkisofs,
   slang, and a few other packages.

   Good Linux distributions provide all these packages. If yours
   does not then please go to the aforementioned Download page or
   surf the Net, preferably the website of the distribution you
   are using.

   Mondo's expectations are not unreasonable, either of your Linux
   distribution or of your kernel. However, if your distribution
   fails to meet its expectations and you cannot find out how to
   resolve them, please feel free to e-mail the mondorescue
   mailing list
     __________________________________________________________

Installation

Mindi Installation

   If you are installing from a tarball then copy it to wherever
   you have enough space, for example /tmp and type:

   bash# cd /tmp
   bash# tar -zxvf mindi-1.x.tgz
   bash# cd mindi-1.x
   bash# ./install.sh

   This installs mindi additional files into /usr/local/lib/mindi
   and the program into /usr/local/sbin

   Or, if you are installing from an RPM/deb then copy it to
   wherever you have enough space, for example /tmp and type:

   bash# rpm -Uvh /tmp/mindi-1.x-x.i386.rpm
   or
   bash# dpkg -i /tmp/mindi-1.x-x.deb

   This installs mindi additional files into /usr/lib/mindi and
   the program into /usr/sbin.
     __________________________________________________________

Mindi Busybox Installation

   If you are installing from a tarball then copy it to wherever
   you have enough space, for example /tmp and type:

   bash# cd /tmp
   bash# tar -zxvf mindi-busybox-1.x.tgz
   bash# cd mindi-busybox-1.x
   bash# make oldconfig
   bash# make busybox
   bash# make install

   This installs busybox files and symlinks into
   /usr/local/lib/mindi/rootfs

   Or, if you are installing from an RPM/deb then copy it to
   wherever you have enough space, for example /tmp and type:

   bash# rpm -Uvh /tmp/mindi-busybox-1.x-x.i386.rpm
   or
   bash# dpkg -i /tmp/mindi-busybox-1.x-x.deb

   This installs busybix files and symlinks into
   /usr/lib/mindi/rootfs
     __________________________________________________________

Mondo Installation

   If you are installing from a tarball then copy it to wherever
   you have enough space, for example /tmp and type:

   bash# cd /tmp
   bash# tar -zxvf mondo-2.xx.tgz
   bash# cd mondo-2.xx
   bash# ./configure
   bash# make && make install

   This installs mondo into /usr/local/lib/mondo and installs the
   programs into /usr/local/sbin

   Or, if you are installing from an RPM/deb then copy it to copy
   it to wherever you have enough space, for example /tmp and
   type:

   bash# rpm -Uvh /tmp/mondo-2.x-x.i386.rpm
   or
   bash# dpkg -i /tmp/mondo-2.x-x.deb

   This installs mondo into /usr/lib/mondo and installs the
   programs into /usr/sbin
     __________________________________________________________

RPM verifications

   For RPM based distributions (Fedora, OpenSuSE, Mandriva, ...),
   you may want to do this post-install in order to check the
   validity of your installation:

   bash# rpm -Va mindi mondo mindi-busybox

   This gives some truly obtuse output. Basically it will list all
   files that do NOT pass the verify tests (done on size, MD5
   signature, etc). Please read rpm man page to discover the
   meaning of the output.
     __________________________________________________________

Tests

Testing Mindi

   Mindi is a vital part of the backup procedure. If you have used
   Mondo before or if you are in a hurry, skip steps 6.2 and 6.3;
   go straight to QuickStart.

   However, if you have time or if you have been having trouble
   getting Mondo to work, I would recommend trying out Mindi
   directly (rather than via Mondo) to see if it can produce a
   bootable CD on your system.

   Make sure you are root while doing this, otherwise mindi will
   fail, now do this.

   If you have any problems, please:-

     * less /var/log/mindi.log
     * feel free to edit mindi (it's a shell script, btw) to try
       to fix the problem yourself
     * contact the mondorescue mailing list if you get stuck.

   Type:-

   bash# mindi

   Example screen output, selecting to use your own kernel, to
   create boot disks, and to create a bootable CD image:

# mindi
Mindi Linux mini-distro generator v1.09-r762

Latest Mindi is available from http://www.mondorescueg

BusyBox sources are available from http://www.busybox.net

------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Do you want to use your own kernel to build the boot disk (y/n) ?y
Would you like to use LILO (instead of syslinux)
for your boot media (y/n) ?n
Analyzing dependency requirements                               Done.
Making complete dependency list                                 Done.
Analyzing your keyboard's configuration.

Adding the following keyboard mapping tables: us-latin1         Done.
Assembling dependency files.............................................
......................
Done.
The files have been subdivided into 5 directories.
        Your mountlist will look like this:-
    Finding all volume groups
  No volume groups found
  No volume groups found
  No volume groups found
  No volume groups found
        DEVICE          MOUNTPOINT      FORMAT          SIZE (MB)
        /dev/hda1       /               ext3                399
        /dev/hda9       /home           ext3              48478
        /dev/hda6       /usr            ext3               4999
        /dev/hda7       /var            ext3               1000
        /dev/hda5       swap            swap                349
        /dev/hda8       swap            swap               2003
    Finding all volume groups
  No volume groups found
  No volume groups found
  No volume groups found
  No volume groups found
Tarring and zipping the groups..................                Done.
Creating data disk #1...#2...#3...#4...#5...                    Done.
Making 1722KB boot disk...........................1440+0 enregistrements
 lus.
1440+0 enregistrements A(c)crits.
mke2fs 1.38 (30-Jun-2005)
Failed to copy /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-15mdk-i686-up-4GB to ramdisk

Making 2880KB boot disk...........................mkfs.vfat 2.10 (22 Sep
 2003)
... 2880 KB boot disks were created OK                          Done.
In the directory '/var/cache/mindi' you will find the images:-
   mindi-data-1.img    mindi-data-2.img    mindi-data-3.img    mindi-dat
a-4.img    mindi-data-5.img mindi-root.1440.img
Shall I make a bootable CD image? (y/n) y
NB: Mindi's bootable CD always uses isolinux.

For a bootable CD w/LILO, please use Mondo.

Finished.

Boot and data disk images were created.

#

   If your kernel is too large (more than about 900KB) then you
   cannot make boot media, although you can still make a bootable
   CD image. The easiest way to test Mindi in either case is to
   say 'n' to its first question and 'y' to its second, then use
   the separate application cdrecord or wodim to make a bootable
   CD-R or CD-RW.

   Use the cdrecord or wodim application to write the CD image:

   bash# cd /var/cache/mindi
   bash# cdrecord -scanbus
   bash# wodim --devices

   The output of the above call will tell you your CD writer's
   node. It is usually '0,0,0'. Choose one of the following calls
   to write the CD, depending on whether the disk in the drive is
   a CD-R or a CD-RW. Please replace 'x,x,x' with your writer's
   node. For further information, type 'man cdrecord" from a Linux
   command line.

   If writing to a CD-RW Drive/Disc:

   bash# cdrecord -v blank=fast dev=x,x,x speed=4 mindi.iso (for
   CD-RW)
   bash# wodim -v blank=fast dev=/dev/xxx speed=4 mindi.iso (for
   CD-RW)

   If writing to a CD-R Drive/Disc:

   bash# cdrecord -v dev=x,x,x speed=4 mindi.iso (for CD-R)
   bash# wodim -v dev=/dev/xxx speed=4 mindi.iso (for CD-R)
     __________________________________________________________

Backup

Recommendations

     * Shut down all possible applications (this minimizes any
       compare differences following the backup). Especially
       shutdown properly any running database on your system, as
       the recovery may lead to corrupted data. Or if applicable,
       boot to single user mode.
     * Type:

   bash# mondoarchive

   For most users, that should be enough. :-) Mondoarchive will
   usually autodetect your hardware and configure it for you.

   If you are a power user (or you like to control every detail of
   how Mondo runs) then you may want to look at the command-line
   switches. For example:-

   bash# mondoarchive -Ow9 -gF -I /home

   cdrecord or wodim will tell you where your CD recorder lives,
   in SCSI terms, which looks like '0,0,0'. The previous call to
   mondoarchive tells Mondo to backup everything to a 4x CD-RW
   drive that has a CD-RW disk in it. (Use -Oc instead of -Ow if
   you are using CD-R.)

   Please put the first CD-R(W) in the drive now. You will be
   prompted to insert CD #2 but you will not be prompted to insert
   the first disk. However, if you forget, do not worry: if Mondo
   fails to write the first (or any) disk, it will offer to retry,
   abort or fail.

   Find the speed/compression compromise that best suits your
   needs. Here maximum (-9) compression level is used.

   If you are using cron then please consult the chapter that
   Conor Daly has dedicated to that topic
     __________________________________________________________

Backup Commands and Options

   Backup Command:

   mondoarchive <-option1> <-option2> ... <-optionN>

   E.g.,

   bash# mondoarchive -E "/mnt/dos /mnt/cdrom" -9 -Oc 8

   Would create backup CD to a CD-R disc at the highest
   compression level, writing at speed 8 and ignoring the /mnt/dos
   and /mnt/cdrom directories.

   To see a detailed list of switches and their meaning, see the
   HTML man page on the website or type 'man mondoarchive' at the
   console.
     __________________________________________________________

Standard Example With CD-R

   bash# mondoarchive -Oc 2 -g

   Replace '2' in '-Oc 2' with the writer's speed. If mondoarchive
   cannot find your CD-R then please add '-d 0,0,0' (or whatever
   your CD writer's SCSI node is; usually, it is 0,0,0) to the
   call.

   Please insert the first disk in the writer while the PC is
   chugging away. If Mondo needs additional CD-R(W) then it will
   ask for them.
     __________________________________________________________

Standard Example With CD-RW

   bash# mondoarchive -Ow 2 -g

   Replace '2' in '-Ow 2' with the writer's speed.
     __________________________________________________________

Standard Example With Tape

   bash# mondoarchive -Ot -d /dev/st0 -g
     __________________________________________________________

Standard Example With Failsafe kernel

   bash# mondoarchive -k FAILSAFE -Ow 2

   If you have problems during the restore phase, due to your
   kernel (which may be the case on some distributions), you may
   want to explore the Failsafe approach, In order for this option
   to work you'll have to get the mindi-kernel tarball or package
   for your distribution.
     __________________________________________________________

Standard Example With Network Backup

   bash# mount 192.168.1.3:/home/nfs -t nfs /mnt/nfs
   bash# mondoarchive -OVn 192.168.1.3:/home/nfs -g -s 200m
   bash# umount /mnt/nfs

   The resultant ISO's can be burned to CD's if you want (which
   isn't a good idea unless you're a Mondo expert because they'll
   try to restore over a network by default, which is silly
   because the archives are on the CD's). Or, you can boot from
   the Mindi media (or mondorescue.iso) and hit ENTER a few times
   to restore.

   Those ISO images can also be used for a PXE restore. For this
   to work, please refer to the file README.pxe provided with your
   mindi package.
     __________________________________________________________

HOWTO run mondo interactively using cron

Overview

   Mondoarchive is designed to run interactively (at least where
   media changes are necessary). Cron does not allow user
   interaction with a job. This section addresses the problem by
   using screen as a wrapper for mondo.

   This section is Copyright 2003 Conor Daly.
     __________________________________________________________

Introduction

   Mondoarchive is designed to run interactively. That's not
   strictly true, if you run mondoarchive without the '-g' switch,
   it will just run. However, there is a problem where media
   changes are necessary. The user must change the media and tell
   mondoarchive that the change has been done. The problem lies in
   the fact that cron does not allow user interaction with a job.
   If you schedule a mondoarchive job via cron, you better be sure
   it needs only one media. In practical terms, this means using
   tapes or ISOs (if CD-R(W) is your backup medium). However, for
   tape users, there's always the possibility that the backup will
   overflow the tape while for CD-R(W) users, there is the added
   hassle of burning the ISOs in the morning. If your CD_R(W)
   backup routinely occupies more than one media, this is not for
   you (use the ISO option and burn the CDs in the morning). This
   HOWTO addresses the problem by using screen as a wrapper for
   mondo.
     __________________________________________________________

Who should read this?

Insurance

   Mondo users who wish to automate the backup and whose backups
   routinely occupy close to one media are the best audience. If
   you backup to tape, the occasion will arise when the backup
   will overflow your tape. In this instance, mondoarchive will
   ask for another tape. If you're using cron to start the backup,
   you won't be able to tell mondo that the new tape is mounted
   and the backup will fail. If you backup to CD-R(W), the same
   situation will arise but sooner.
     __________________________________________________________

Efficiency

   If your backup already occupies two media, this method will
   allow as much of the backup as possible to proceed during quiet
   periods. Time the backup to start with enough time to complete
   the first media shortly before the operator arrives for work.
   The next media can be mounted and the backup completed asap and
   minimises the time for which users are inconvenienced by the
   backup (eg. database locked...).
     __________________________________________________________

The Problem

Cron's environment

   When a user submits a job with cron, their environment is not
   preserved. This is reasonable since cron jobs are typically
   ongoing and may be adversely affected if the user's environment
   changes subsequent to the cron submission. Thus, a cron job
   should call a script that set's up the correct environment
   before starting the user's desired program. The 'at' command
   does this nicely.
     __________________________________________________________

Interactivity

   When a job is started with cron, it runs as a background
   process. No interaction with the program is possible (unless it
   is capable of interacting via a FIFO or some such) except
   termination via its pid. The only program that I know of that
   allows such interaction and serves as a wrapper for other
   processes is 'screen'
     __________________________________________________________

Screen

   There's one little problem with screen though. It expects to
   attach to a terminal when it first starts. This won't happen
   under cron so screen will fail. Fortunately, screen comes with
   a "start detached" (-d) option.
     __________________________________________________________

The Solution

Briefly

     * Use 'at' to run your usual mondoarchive command
     * Grab the script generated by 'at' and make a copy of it
     * Edit that script to use 'screen -m -d <your mondoarchive
       command>'
     * Run that script from your crontab
     * Use 'screen -r' to attach to the mondo screen to change CDs
     * Use '<CTRL>-a d' to detach the screen again
     __________________________________________________________

In Detail

at

   Use the 'at' command to submit your usual mondoarchive command.
   My mondoarchive command is:

   # mondoarchive -D -Ow 10 -S /home/mondo/ -T /home/mondo/ -g \
   -E "\"/home/cdaly/GIS/W2K /home/mondo/\"" -9

   To submit the mondoarchive command with 'at' do:

   # at now + 5 min mondoarchive -D -Ow 10 -S /home/mondo/ -T
   /home/mondo/ -g \ -E "\"/home/cdaly/GIS/W2K /home/mondo/\"" -9
   <CTRL>-d

   This generates a script in /var/spool/at/ which sets up your
   environment and runs your command. Grab this script to become
   your cron job.
     __________________________________________________________

Grab the 'at' script

   Make a copy of the script generated by the 'at' command to use
   as the basis for your cron job.

   grep mondo /var/spool/at/*
   cp /var/spool/at/<file-from-grep> /root/mondo-cronscript

   You'll need to edit this.
     __________________________________________________________

Edit mondo-cronscript

   To use screen, you'll need to edit the cronscript and add the
   screen command. My mondo-cronscript looks like:
#!/bin/sh
# atrun uid=0 gid=0
# mail    cdaly 0 umask 22
PWD=/root; export PWD
XAUTHORITY=/root/.xauthyOrD4f; export XAUTHORITY
HOSTNAME=bofh.irmet.ie; export HOSTNAME
PVM_RSH=/usr/bin/rsh; export PVM_RSH
QTDIR=/usr/lib/qt-2.3.1; export QTDIR
LESSOPEN=\|/usr/bin/lesspipe.sh\ %s; export LESSOPEN
XPVM_ROOT=/usr/share/pvm3/xpvm; export XPVM_ROOT
KDEDIR=/usr; export KDEDIR
USER=root; export USER
LS_COLORS=no=00:fi=00:di=01\;34:ln=01\;36:pi=40\;33:so=01\;35:bd=40\;33\
;01:cd=40\;33\;01:or=01\;05\;37\;41:mi=01\;05\;37\;41:ex=01\;32:\*.cmd=0
1\;32:\*.exe=01\;32:\*.com=01\;32:\*.btm=01\;32:\*.bat=01\;32:\*.sh=01\;
32:\*.csh=01\;32:\*.tar=01\;31:\*.tgz=01\;31:\*.arj=01\;31:\*.taz=01\;31
:\*.lzh=01\;31:\*.zip=01\;31:\*.z=01\;31:\*.Z=01\;31:\*.gz=01\;31:\*.bz2
=01\;31:\*.bz=01\;31:\*.tz=01\;31:\*.rpm=01\;31:\*.cpio=01\;31:\*.jpg=01
\;35:\*.gif=01\;35:\*.bmp=01\;35:\*.xbm=01\;35:\*.xpm=01\;35:\*.png=01\;
35:\*.tif=01\;35:; export LS_COLORS
MACHTYPE=i386-redhat-linux-gnu; export MACHTYPE
MAIL=/var/spool/mail/root; export MAIL
INPUTRC=/etc/inputrc; export INPUTRC
BASH_ENV=/root/.bashrc; export BASH_ENV
LANG=en_US; export LANG
LOGNAME=root; export LOGNAME
SHLVL=1; export SHLVL
II_SYSTEM=/usr/local/ingres; export II_SYSTEM
USERNAME=root; export USERNAME
HOSTTYPE=i386; export HOSTTYPE
OSTYPE=linux-gnu; export OSTYPE
HISTSIZE=1000; export HISTSIZE
LAMHELPFILE=/etc/lam/lam-helpfile; export LAMHELPFILE
PVM_ROOT=/usr/share/pvm3; export PVM_ROOT
HOME=/root; export HOME
SSH_ASKPASS=/usr/libexec/openssh/gnome-ssh-askpass;
export SSH_ASKPASS
PATH=/usr/local/ingres/ingres/bin:/usr/local/ingres/ingres/utility:/usr/
kerberos/sbin:/usr/kerberos/bin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local
/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/X11R6/bin:/root/bin; export PATH
cd /root || {
echo 'Execution directory inaccessible' >&2
exit 1
}
screen -m -d mondoarchive -D -Ow 10 -S /home/mondo/ \
-T /home/mondo/ -g -E "\"/home/cdaly/GIS/W2K /home/mondo/\"" -9
#done

   The crucial line is this one:

   screen -m -d mondoarchive -D -Ow 10 -S /home/mondo/ -T
   /home/mondo/ -g -E "\"/home/cdaly/GIS/W2K /home/mondo/\"" -9

   This uses 'screen -m -d' to "-m -d Start screen in "detached"
   mode. This creates a new session but doesn't attach to it. This
   is useful for system startup scripts. (From 'man screen')"

   When screen starts, it will be in the background and
   "detached".
     __________________________________________________________

Run the thing with cron

   To get the whole thing running, do:

   crontab -e

   and add the following lines:

   # run mondoarchive at 23:59 weekdays
   59 23 * * 1-5 /root/mondo-cronscript

   Your mondoarchive job will run at 23:59 monday-friday.

   DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE TAPES!
     __________________________________________________________

Getting at it...

   Once your cron job is running regularly, you'll want to get to
   it to change tapes and check status etc.

   screen -r

   attaches to the running screen where you can change CDs etc

   <CTRL>-a d

   detaches the running screen again.
     __________________________________________________________

Caveat

   The script generated by 'at' is unique to the user/machine
   combination. You MUST regenerate it on each machine where it
   will be used. Using the one above will NOT work for you. MAKE
   YOUR OWN!
     __________________________________________________________

Compare

   Before you trust your backup CD, make sure your BIOS can boot
   CD (and that it is configured to do so).

     * Boot from the first CD.
     * Type:

   LILO: compare

   Follow the on-screen instructions. This will compare your
   backup against your original file system.

   FYI, no bad archives have been created since May 2000. Having
   said that, I would still encourage you to run Compare before
   trusting the backups.

   To view the file differences, look at the file
   '/tmp/changed.txt'. Normal differences include logs and other
   dynamic system files that changed during the time of the backup
   process. If only a few files differ - e.g. files in /var, files
   ending in '&#732;', logs, temporary files, /etc/mtab,
   /etc/adjtimex - then you know the archives are good. Your logs
   will change over time, too. Bear in mind that a difference
   between the backup and the live copy does not indicate a flaw
   in Mondo. It indicates that you or your filesystem changed the
   files, so the backup is no longer 100% up to date. However,
   that is inevitable, as your filesystem changes from moment to
   moment (which is why you back it up regularly).
     __________________________________________________________

Restore

Overview

   I hope you don't have to restore from scratch very often. It's
   nerve-wracking until you realize that Mondo's restore engine is
   very reliable.

   If you find that you cannot make your PC boot from the CD, take
   heart: the first backup media of each set contains disk images
   to give you the same functionality as this media (minus the
   archives, of course) on other boot media. Remember, your Mondo
   CD is a fully functional CD-based mini-distribution as well as
   a recovery CD.

   You can choose from the following modes:

   Interactive
          Restore step-by-step, or restore a subset of the
          archives. This is the method you should mainly use for
          your recovery needs.

   Nuke
          Wipe your drives and restore everything, automatically
          and unattended. Warning: This does exactly what is says,
          so be careful using it.

   Expert
          Boot to a shell prompt. If you want to do anything
          creative, you should boot into Expert Mode. It's called
          expert, I think that says it all.

   If the CD is not found during the initial restore CD boot
   attempt, reboot the PC a second time prior to reporting
   failure. Occasional timing errors and hardware/software/system
   conflicts do occur.
     __________________________________________________________

Tips and Tricks

   Ideally, restore your system to a spare hard drive to test the
   integrity and reliability of your disks. To do that, either
   edit your mountlist to make the devices point to your spare
   hard drive, or swap your hard drive cables between boots.

   At a bare minimum, compare your CD against your file system
   before you decide whether to trust them.

   To test Mondo's ability to handle your LILO or GRUB boot loader
   and accompanying configuration file:

     * Boot from the backup CD into Expert Mode
     * Type:

   bash# mondorestore -Z mbr

     * To fix any mess it made (not that it should) type:

   bash# mount-me
   bash# chroot /mnt/RESTORING

   bash# lilo OR grub-install '(hd0)'
   bash# exit
   bash# unmount-me

     * If it did not work then please copy /tmp/mondorestore.log
       to to your hard disk, USB key, ..., gzip it and e-mail it
       to the mondorescue mailing list.
     __________________________________________________________

Barebones (Nuke) Restore

   Imagine that your hard drives happen to be wiped, deliberately
   or accidentally. Or, imagine that you want to clone your
   existing operating system. In either case, you want to run in
   Nuke Mode.

   If you want to wipe everything and restore your whole system
   from CD, please:

     * Use the -H option when invoking mondoarchive
     * Boot from the first Mondo CD
     * Press RESTORE<enter>
     * Insert the subsequent CD when asked
     * Watch the screen for errors

   That's it. The restoration process for tape or NFS users is
   similarly easy: just boot, answer the on-screen prompts, and
   wait.

   Now, should something go wrong, you will be able to examine
   /tmp/mondorestore.log to see what happened. All is not lost.
   You can fdisk and format the partitions yourself, using the
   tools that come with the CD. You can then run mondorestore in
   Interactive Mode and say 'no' when asked if you want Mondo to
   partition/format your drives.

   If you want to see exactly what Mondo is doing while it is
   restoring, press <Alt><left cursor> to view its logfile, in a
   virtual console, scrolling past.
     __________________________________________________________

Interactive Restore

   Interactive Mode is for people who have lost a subset of data
   from their live file system, or perhaps who have lost some data
   from their latest backup and want to restore a subset of data
   from an earlier backup. If you want to restore only some files
   or if you do not want to prep/format your drives, then you
   should boot into Interactive Mode. The interactive mode will
   provide an 'Editing mountlist screen' that allows you to setup
   a different disk geometry.

   To move up and down between partitions in the 'Editing
   mountlist screen', use the Up and Down arrows. To move between
   the main window and the buttons at the bottom, use the Left and
   Right cursor keys. TAB shifts focus from one screen item to the
   other in a haphazard fashion, owing to the complexities of the
   Newt library.

   If you want to restore selectively, just press <enter> and
   follow the on-screen instructions. You will be asked to say
   yes/no to a range of questions.

   If you are planning to modify your partition table, you would
   do well to read up on the partition layout and the use of
   fdisk, it gives you some pointers on how to best lay out
   partitions. You can find a good guide at
   http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Partition/index.html

   If you want to restore a subset of the backup then:

     * Boot from the CD
     * Type:

   bash# interactive

     * Then, after booting, answer the questions as follows:

   Do you want to partition your devices? no
   Do you want to format them? no
   Do you want to restore everything? no
   Do you want to restore something? yes
   Which path do you want to restore? /mydata [e.g.]
   Do you want to run LILO to setup your boot sectors? Yes
     __________________________________________________________

Expert Restore

   If you are planning to modify your partition table, you would
   do well to read up on the partition layout and the use of
   fdisk, it gives you some could pointers on how to best lay out
   partitions. You can find good a guide at http://www.ibiblio.o
   rg/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/mini/Partition/index.html

   To restore manually, please:

     * Boot from the first CD, then type:

   bash# expert

     * Then do whatever you like. :) You may type the following,
       of course:

   bash# mondorestore
     __________________________________________________________

Modified partitions - Restore to a different disk geometry

   One of the nice things about Mondo is that it lets you wipe
   your existing system and restore it in any layout you like
   (within reason). You can move from non-RAID to RAID,install and
   utilize additional drives, move from ext2 to ReiserFS, etc.,
   all without risking the loss of data.

   If the user excluded a particular partition from backup and
   specifically excluded it from the mountlist itself using -E
   then Mondo will insert a small (32MB) partition at
   restore-time, in order to avoid having to re-jig fstab, the
   partition table, etc.

   To do this:

     * Boot into Expert Mode, then type:

   bash# mondorestore

     * (edit the mountlist using the on-screen editor)

   If you want to move from ext2 to ReiserFS, you can do it here
   (so long as your kernel supports ReiserFS). Ditto for XFS, JFS
   or ext3, ext4.

   Mondorestore will try to modify your /etc/fstab to reflect
   changes you have made to the mountlist. If you are not using
   LILO, you can still create your own
   /mnt/RESTORING/etc/lilo.conf and run lilo -r /mnt/RESTORING to
   configure your boot sectors and Master Boot Record.

   Mondo (technically, Mindi on behalf of Mondo) creates a file
   called a mountlist. This can be found on the ramdisk at
   /tmp/mountlist.txt; it looks something like this:

   /dev/hda1 /mnt/windows vfat 4096000
   /dev/hda5 / reiserfs 6023000
   /dev/hda6 /tmp xfs 955000
   /dev/hda7 /usr ext3 4096000

   It is fairly easy to understand the list. Each line refers to a
   single device/partition. The line format is:

   <device> <partition> <format> <Kilobytes>

   If you have added a hard drive and want to take advantage of
   the additional space, you could amend the above mountlist to
   read:

   /dev/hda1 /mnt/windows vfat 6096000
   /dev/hda5 / reiserfs 9123000
   /dev/hda6 /tmp xfs 955000
   /dev/hdb1 /usr ext3 8192000
   /dev/hdb2 /home xfs 8192000

   This assumes that your old hard drive is /dev/hda and the new
   hard drive is /dev/hdb.

   Or, if you want to add RAID support, create a new /etc/raidtab
   on the ramdisk (which is beyond the scope of this HOWTO) and
   then write a mountlist like this:

   /dev/hda1 /mnt/windows vfat 6096000
   /dev/md0 / reiserfs 9123000
   /dev/md1 /tmp xfs 955000
   /dev/md2 /usr ext3 8192000
   /dev/md3 /home xfs 8192000

   So long as your /etc/raidtab file is sane, Mondo can
   automatically partition and format your disks for you,
   including the RAID devices.

   Once you have finished editing /tmp/mountlist.txt using
   mondorestore's built-in editor then you may choose 'OK'. Please
   note that this will not write anything to your hard disk. You
   will only reformat or repartition your disks if you say 'Yes'
   when asked if you want to do those things.
     __________________________________________________________

Advanced

   It is now possible to restore to a live filesystem using Mondo.
   In other words, you do not have to boot your PC from your media
   in order to restore files. Mondo was originally designed for
   disaster recovery - situations in which you cannot boot your
   PC. If you can boot your PC, it is not really a disaster, is
   it? :) Well, if you have wiped out your priceless collection of
   "MTV's Bjork Unplugged" MP3's, perhaps it is. Anyway, just type
   this as root

   bash# mondorestore

   [rest1-mini.png] Choose your type of backup media. The live
   restoration process is very similar to what you'll experience
   if you type mondorestore with no parameters after booting from
   a Mondo media.
   [rest2-mini.png] Hit 'OK' when you have inserted the tape/CD.
   If you generated a tape backup, the tape itself should be
   enough. If you generated a CD backup, the first CD should be
   enough. Otherwise, you may need the boot media.
   [rest3-mini.png] Flag the files and directories you wish to
   restore. Use the 'More' and 'Less' buttons to open and close
   subdirectories.
   [rest4-mini.png] Specify the location to restore the files to.
   In general, '/' is appropriate. If you do not want to overwrite
   newer versions of the files you are restoring then specify
   /tmp/BKP or similar as the restore path.
   [rest5-mini.png] Mondorestore will retrieve configuration
   information from the media. (The sample screen is for tape
   users. CD users will see something different.)
   [rest6-mini.png] Data will be restored to the hard disk - first
   the regular files, then any big (32MB or greater) files in the
   restore set.

   I hope this manual was useful for you.
     __________________________________________________________

FAQ

Overview

   Are the errors from Mindi or Mondo? Look at
   /var/log/mondoarchive.log or /var/log/mindi.log (if run alone).
   Pipe screen errors which relate to the creation of boot disk(s)
   and or data disk(s) to a text file.

   See the MondoRescue for details. If you are going to e-mail
   mondorescue mailing list then please attach that text file
   (zipped!) and give :

     * Your kernel version (uname -a)
     * Your Linux distro's name and version (/etc/distro-release)
     * Whether your kernel supports initrd and loopfs; it should!
       (grep -E '^CONFIG_BLK_DEV_LOOP|^CONFIG_BLK_DEV_INITRD'
       /usr/src/linux/.config
     * What sort of PC you are using, including hard disk
       configurations (results of dmidecode, lshw, fdisk -l are
       useful here)

   Mondo is freely available under the GPL and you are given it
   for no charge. When you e-mail the mondorescue mailing list,
   please bear that in mind.
     __________________________________________________________

General Questions

   Q: Q: What is "Mindi"?
   Q: Q: Why is it called "Mondo"?
   Q: Q: Mondo does not work on my system. It keels over and dies.
          What's wrong?

   Q: Q: What if the error is in Mindi?
   Q: Q: Can I trust Mondo?
   Q: Q: How do I report a bug?
   Q: Q: I think Mondo should (...insert suggestion here...) and I
          have rewritten it accordingly. Would you like to see my
          patch?

   Q: Q: I think Mondo should (...insert suggestion here...); will
          you incorporate this feature for me, please?

   Q: Q: Mondo says, "XXX is missing," and then terminates. What's
          wrong?

   Q: Q: Can Mondo handle multi-CD backups and restores?
   Q: Q: Can Mondo handle Linux/Windows dual-boot systems?
   Q: Q: Can Mondo backup Windows-only systems?
   Q: Q: Does Mondo support LVM?
   Q: Q: What if I don't use LILO? What if I use GRUB?
   Q: Q: I get the error, 'Cannot find /tmp/dev.0' or 'Cannot
          mount device 0x0701'; what do I do?

   Q: Q: Can I create a Mondo CD and then use it to create an
          archive of any OS on any PC?

   Q: Q: Why do you insist on putting media disk images on Mondo
          CD? They waste space and I never use them. The CD works
          just fine, so why keep the media disk images?

   Q: Q: Why doesn't the Mondo project have a cool-looking animal
          logo?

   Q: Q: Is there a Mondo user 'Code of Conduct?

   Q: Q: What is "Mindi"?

   A: A: Mindi, a.k.a. Mindi-Linux, makes a mini-distribution from
   your kernel, modules, modules, tools and libraries. It can also
   generate an El Torito 2.88/5.76MB boot disk image. Mondo uses
   Mindi to create a mini-distro, then boots from it and runs on
   it.

   Q: Q: Why is it called "Mondo"?

   A: A: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles described cool things as
   'mondo'. Hugo Rabson wasn't sure what to call this project.
   'Faust' was one idea he had, partly as a dig at his former boss
   who practically owned him because of his legal status at the
   time. In the end, he chose something short and distinctive.

   Q: Q: Mondo does not work on my system. It keels over and dies.
   What's wrong?

   A: A: It works on Red Hat 7.x/8/9, RHEL 2.1/3/4, Mandrakelinux
   8.x/9.x/10.x/200x, Fedora 4/5/6, Debian 3.x, most flavors of
   SuSE/SLES, some flavors of Slackware, etc. The more
   distributions we support, the more moving targets we have to
   hit. Please bear this in mind when e-mailing the list. :) If
   you would like to help us by beta-testing Mondo (or Mindi) on
   your PC then we would be very interested in working with you to
   work around the eccentricities of your Linux distro. However,
   rest assured, 90% of the bugs reported are actually symptoms of
   FooLinux X.Y's unique way of doing things.

   Please send a copy of /var/log/mondoarchive.log to the
   mondorescue mailing list along with a description of your
   distro, your kernel, etc. Oh, and before sending it, please try
   to read it.

   Q: Q: What if the error is in Mindi?

   A: A: Please send a copy of /var/log/mindi.log to the
   mondorescue mailing list along with a description of your
   distro, your kernel, etc. Oh, and before sending it, please
   read it as it is much easier to understand it.

   Q: Q: Can I trust Mondo?

   A: A: Mondo has generated reliable archives since May 2000.
   Lost data occured by using bad CD-R disks and not verifying
   their contents. Some users have not tried booting from their CD
   until crunch time. Remember to boot into Compare Mode to verify
   the backup before you trust it. If Mondo did not work, you
   would not be reading this. If it does not work for you, your
   kernel is usually the culprit. Check Linux Kernel support to
   see what your kernel should support. Please e-mail the list if
   you need some help with this.

   Q: Q: How do I report a bug?

   A: A: E-mail the bug report (mondo.err.xxxxx.tgz) to the
   mondorescue mailing list. Ok you've read it already but it's
   really important if you want help. If you don't send a logfile
   then there isn't a lot that we can do for you, so PLEASE
   include a logfile at the very least.

   Q: Q: I think Mondo should (...insert suggestion here...) and I
   have rewritten it accordingly. Would you like to see my patch?

   A: A: Absolutely! :-) The best way for you to make Mondo do
   what you want is to modify it and then send the patch. That
   way, we can all benefit.

   Q: Q: I think Mondo should (...insert suggestion here...); will
   you incorporate this feature for me, please?

   A: A: Please enter the suggestion in our feature system at
   MondoRescue

   Q: Q: Mondo says, "XXX is missing," and then terminates. What's
   wrong?

   A: A: A good Linux distribution should contain XXX but the
   designers, in their infinite wisdom, decided not to include
   that particular tool. Check Related Linux Packages and install
   the missing package. If that fails, contact the
   vendor/distributor/manufacturer/designer of your distro.

   Q: Q: Can Mondo handle multi-CD backups and restores?

   A: A: Yes, up to twenty CD per set. This 20-CD limit results
   from laziness on mondorescue's part. I'll be removed in the
   future. However, if your system occupies more than 20 CD, may
   it's time for another type of media ?

   Q: Q: Can Mondo handle Linux/Windows dual-boot systems?

   A: A: Yes. If your system currently boots into Linux or Windows
   via LILO, you can backup and restore both OSes at the same time
   using Mondo. If you are using NTFS then add the switch, '-x
   <device>'.

   Q: Q: Can Mondo backup Windows-only systems?

   A: A: Not at the moment.

   Q: Q: Does Mondo support LVM?

   A: A: Mondo supports LVM v1 and v2. Mondo backs up and restores
   your existing setup but it does not make it easy for you to
   change your LVM configuration, at the moment. You have to edit
   /tmp/i-want-my-lvm at boot-time to do that.

   Q: Q: What if I don't use LILO? What if I use GRUB?

   A: A: GRUB is supported by Mondo.

   Q: Q: I get the error, 'Cannot find /tmp/dev.0' or 'Cannot
   mount device 0x0701'; what do I do?

   A: A: Please free up /dev/loop0 using 'losetup /dev/loop0 -d'
   to unmount that loop device. If your OS will not let you do
   that, contact your local support group or Linux vendor.

   Q: Q: Can I create a Mondo CD and then use it to create an
   archive of any OS on any PC?

   A: A: Not yet. You can use Mondo to backup Linux or
   Linux/Windows dual boot. One day, Mondo will let you backup
   partitions it can't read or write, by treating each partition
   as one long file to be backed up. This file will be chopped,
   compressed and archived like any other big file.

   Q: Q: Why do you insist on putting media disk images on Mondo
   CD? They waste space and I never use them. The CD works just
   fine, so why keep the media disk images?

   A: A: Because. It helped us in the past. If you really, truly
   want them gone then please submit a patch to make them
   optional.

   Q: Q: Why doesn't the Mondo project have a cool-looking animal
   logo?

   A: A: Excellent question! Please submit graphics of candidate
   animal logos!

   Q: Q: Is there a Mondo user 'Code of Conduct?

   A: A: Yes. Read the HOWTO. Submit patches. Recommend realistic
   improvements. Be courteous to other users on the discussion
   list. Do not whine.
     __________________________________________________________

Booting and Kernel related Questions

   Q: Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says, "VFS:
          Unable to mount root fs." I am using an old Debian
          distro. What do I do?

   Q: Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says, "Cannot
          mount root fs - kernel panic," or something similar.
          What do I do?

   Q: Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says, "UPGRADE
          YOUR RAM". What does that mean?

   Q: Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says something
          about not finding my CD-ROM drive and then it blames the
          kernel. What does that mean?

   Q: Q: The LILO Mondo media takes ages to boot. How can I speed
          it up?

   Q: Q: I made a Mondo CD using the failsafe kernel (i.e. I said
          'no' when Mondo asked if I wanted to use my own kernel).
          It still doesn't boot. Help!

   Q: Q: Why won't Mondo boot from my CD? It says my kernel is
          flawed/outdated/ whatever, and when I wrote to the ML,
          they told me the same thing... but I still don't get it.
          I mean, my kernel works for everything else. Why not
          Mondo?

   Q: Q: Why do I only need a boot disk if I'm using a tape drive?
          Where are the data disks?

   Q: Q: Why does it say, "Process accounting FAILED" when I
          reboot?

   Q: Q: Why does it say, &#8220;request_module[block-major-1]:
          Root fs not mounted VFS: Cannot open root device "100"
          or 01:00 Please append a correct "root=" boot option
          kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on
          01:00&#8221; when i boot from the CD?

   Q: Q: My tape drive doesn't play nicely with Mondo at
          boot-time. What do I do?

   Q: Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says, "VFS:
   Unable to mount root fs." I am using an old Debian distro. What
   do I do?

   A: A: Ask Debian's designers why they, unlike every other
   distro I can find, have included cramfs and other 'goodies'
   with their kernel. In the meantime, please use '-k FAILSAFE' in
   your command line when calling Mondo.

   A: From Sarge onwards, all stock Debian 2.6 kernels should work
   fine. If you are still using stock Debian 2.4 kernels, FAILSAFE
   is the way to go. Of course, if you have compiled your own
   kernel and experience problems, FAILSAFE is the way to go as
   well, but this is not really Debian-specific.

   Q: Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says, "Cannot
   mount root fs - kernel panic," or something similar. What do I
   do?

   A: A: Recompile your kernel (or use '-k FAILSAFE'). Take a look
   at Linux Kernel support to see what your kernel must support.

   Q: Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says, "UPGRADE
   YOUR RAM". What does that mean?

   A: A: Recompile your kernel and add Virtual memory file system
   support. Take a look at Linux Kernel support to see what your
   kernel must support. (Of course, if your PC has less than 64MB
   of RAM, you could always... what's the phrase? I know, upgrade
   your RAM!)

   Q: Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says something
   about not finding my CD-ROM drive and then it blames the
   kernel. What does that mean?

   A: A: Your kernel must support initrd, loopfs, IDE|SCSI|USB
   CD-ROM's, and ramdisks. Take a look at Linux Kernel support to
   see what your kernel must support. If your kernel does not
   support these things, Mondo will not boot from your CD.
   However, when running Mindi, you may choose to use _its_ kernel
   instead of your own.

   Q: Q: The LILO Mondo media takes ages to boot. How can I speed
   it up?

   A: A: Edit mindi (it's a shell script, btw) and change
   LILO_OPTIONS="" to LILO_OPTIONS="-c". This enables map
   compaction in lilo and speeds up booting, for more info see the
   lilo man page.

   Q: Q: I made a Mondo CD using the failsafe kernel (i.e. I said
   'no' when Mondo asked if I wanted to use my own kernel). It
   still doesn't boot. Help!

   A: A: OK, now that is a bug. :-) I included a kernel with Mondo
   (technically, with Mindi, which Mondo uses) to make sure that
   users could use Mondo despite flaws in their own kernels. If
   you are using Mondo/Mindi's kernel but still cannot boot from
   your Mondo CD then please e-mail the mondorescue mailing list.

   Q: Q: Why won't Mondo boot from my CD? It says my kernel is
   flawed/outdated/ whatever, and when I wrote to the ML, they
   told me the same thing... but I still don't get it. I mean, my
   kernel works for everything else. Why not Mondo?

   A: A: Because Mondo makes a boot disk using your kernel. I bet
   your other software doesn't do that. Also, not all kernels are
   suitable for boot disks. I'm sorry but that's Life. Upgrade
   your kernel and/or recompile it. Take a look at Linux Kernel
   support to see what your kernel must support.

   Q: Q: Why do I only need a boot disk if I'm using a tape drive?
   Where are the data disks?

   A: A: On the tape. :-) The first 32MB of the tape will be set
   aside for a large tarball containing the data disks, a list of
   all files backed up, and other sundries. If Mondo and Mindi do
   their respective jobs then you won't need additional media,
   just the boot media and the tape(s).

   As of 2.2.6 mondorescue does support OBDR for tapes. So if you
   have a tape supporting that protocol such as HP tape readers,
   you may directly boot from the tape as well.

   Q: Q: Why does it say, "Process accounting FAILED" when I
   reboot?

   A: A: You were using Process Accounting. Red Hat (or whichever
   distro you are using) does not provide a startup/shutdown
   script yet. So, when you try to backup the process log, it just
   grows and grows as Mondo tries to back it up. Mondo doesn't
   back it up anymore and that's why. The unfortunate side-effect
   is... well, what you see on your screen. Type 'touch
   /var/log/pacct' and then 'paccton' to fix the error message.

   Q: Q: Why does it say, &#8220;request_module[block-major-1]:
   Root fs not mounted VFS: Cannot open root device "100" or 01:00
   Please append a correct "root=" boot option kernel panic: VFS:
   Unable to mount root fs on 01:00&#8221; when i boot from the
   CD?

   A: A: Recompile your kernel and add initrd support. Take a look
   at Linux Kernel support to see what your kernel must support.

   Q: Q: My tape drive doesn't play nicely with Mondo at
   boot-time. What do I do?

   A: A: Play with the 'mt' command (package mt-st). Use its
   setblksize and defblksize switches to reconfigure your tape
   drive if necessary. Some tape drives just are painful. If yours
   is one of them then God help you. Mondo can handle any tape
   drive whose drive and firmware can handle fopen(), fwrite(),
   fread() and fclose(). Mondo uses standard C libraries to talk
   to your tape streamer. If your tape streamer can't handle that
   then you had better call a priest. Either that or ask for a
   refund.
     __________________________________________________________

Installation related Questions

   Q: Q: Why do I get, "newt.h not found," or "popt.h not found,"
          several times when I try to install Mondo?

   Q: Q: Newt won't compile when I try. What's the problem?
   Q: Q: I've just used up 6 CD-R, only to find that Mondo won't
          boot!

   Q: Q: Lots of packages, required by Mondo, are missing from my
          system. What do I do?

   Q: Q: Why do I get, "newt.h not found," or "popt.h not found,"
   several times when I try to install Mondo?

   A: A: You have not installed libnewt and/or libnewt-devel.
   Please do so. Check Related Linux Packages to see what Mondo
   requires and where you can get tarballs and RPM's. Make sure
   you are using the right version of newt/libnewt. Read the error
   messages carefully.

   Q: Q: Newt won't compile when I try. What's the problem?

   A: A: You are probably missing popt.h, which newt needs to
   compile, it can be found in the 'popt' package. Check your
   distribution and see if they have popt, if not check Related
   Linux Packages to see where you can get it.

   Q: Q: I've just used up 6 CD-R, only to find that Mondo won't
   boot!

   A: A: You should have used CD-RW. ;) In the HOWTO, it gives
   instructions on how to create a test CD (one, not six).

   Q: Q: Lots of packages, required by Mondo, are missing from my
   system. What do I do?

   A: A: Install them. :) If you are using RPM or deb then you'll
   be told which packages you need. Mondo offers a lot of those
   packages on its Download web page.
     __________________________________________________________

Hardware related Questions

   Q: Q: Can Mondo handle CD-RW?
   Q: Q: Does Mondo support tape drives?
   Q: Q: Does Mondo support my tape drive?
   Q: Q: Sometimes, my laptop won't mount Mondo CD properly, or
          something. Umm...

   Q: Q: Does Mondo support Hardware RAID?
   Q: Q: Where is my CD burner, in SCSI terms?
   Q: Q: Can Mondo handle SCSI devices?
   Q: Q: Why doesn't cdrecord -scanbus work ?

   Q: Q: Can Mondo handle CD-RW?

   A: A: Yes. Use '-Ow <speed> <device>' to make it work.

   Q: Q: Does Mondo support tape drives?

   A: A: Yes. See above.

   Of course, mondo will relay on the kernel to support your tape
   drive. So you should first check that your kernel found it
   correctly. Use for example one of the following commands:

   bash# dmesg | grep tape
   bash# cat /proc/scsi/scsi
   bash# mt -f /dev/st0 status

   Q: Q: Does Mondo support my tape drive?

   A: A: If your tape drive and its firmware and the kernel-level
   driver support fopen(), fread(), fwrite() and fclose() -
   standard C library calls - then yes, Mondo should support it.
   If not, well, you need a refund. :) Mondo plays nicely with any
   sane, sensible drives. That's most of them, by the way. :) If
   your drive doesn't play nicely with Mondo then you may try
   tinkering with setblksize and defblksize using 'mt', or
   tweaking Mondo's block size by recompiling it with make
   INTTAPE=4096 or INTTAPE=8192 or something. Other than that, you
   need a priest or a refund. Also, depending on the tape streamer
   model, a tape should be inserted in the tape drive before
   starting mondoarchive, otherwise it may not recognize the
   drive.

   Q: Q: Sometimes, my laptop won't mount Mondo CD properly, or
   something. Umm...

   A: A: Please insert the CD, close the CD-ROM tray, wait a few
   seconds and then press Enter to acknowledge insertion of the
   next CD. Your laptop is on crack and is sucking a little too
   hard on the pipe.

   Q: Q: Does Mondo support Hardware RAID?

   A: A: Yes. You may backup and restore RAID systems. You may
   also backup a non-RAID system and restore as RAID (or vice
   versa) by using the mountlist editor to edit your RAID and
   non-RAID partitions and their settings. Mondo will do the
   partitioning and formatting for you.

   Tested Raid controllers includes all those showing only
   classical devices such as /dev/sdx, and SmartArray cciss
   controllers.

   Q: Q: Where is my CD burner, in SCSI terms?

   A: A: Type:

   bash# cdrecord -scanbus
   bash# wodim --devices

   or for ATAPI type of devices on older kernel versions:

   bash# cdrecord -scanbus dev=ATAPI

   you may replace ATAPI by ATA in the previous line with certain
   cdrecord versions and hadrware configurations

   Find your CD burner's device# (e.g. '0,0,0'). Call Mondo with
   the switch '-Oc <speed>' -d '<device>'. Or, if you feel lucky,
   just use '-Oc 2'; Mondo will (a) assume you want to write at 4x
   to a CD-R and (b) will do its best to find your CD burner.

   Q: Q: Can Mondo handle SCSI devices?

   A: A: Mondo should be able to handle almost any hardware. So
   long as your kernel and modules support it, Mindi will support
   it and therefore so will Mondo.

   Q: Q: Why doesn't cdrecord -scanbus work ?

   A: A: If you have a 2.4.x kernel (typical example are fedora
   legacy kernels for redhat 7.X/8/9) and an IDE CDRW device, and
   the drive is not listed when you run

   bash# cdrecord -scanbus

   try adding the following kernel option to your boot script to
   enable SCSI emulation: hdx=ide-scsi, where "hdx" should be
   replaced with the appropriate drive letter of the CDRW device,
   e.g., "hdc". (Answer provided by Christopher Moriarity
   cdm7_at_cdc.gov)
     __________________________________________________________

Backup related Questions

   Q: Q: Mondo says, 'Cannot run mindi --makemountlist' and
          aborts. What do I do?

   Q: Q: Can Mondo burn CD as they are created?
   Q: Q: Mondo failed to burn my CD. It said something like,
          "Error CDB A1 01 02 53 ..." and so on. What does that
          mean?

   Q: Q: May I backup my system with one partition layout and
          restore with another?

   Q: Q: Why does Mondo need so much free disk space?
   Q: Q: I am trying to do something clever, e.g. write my ISO's
          to an NFS mount, and I get some weird error messages.
          What do I do?

   Q: Q: Can Mondo backup to data files on another partition, e.g.
          an NFS mount?

   Q: Q: Can Mondo backup _to_ an NFS partition, i.e. backup over
          a network? How about restoring?

   Q: Q: Does Mondo handle System or Hidden attributes when
          archiving Dos/Win files?

   Q: Q: Mondo says, 'Cannot run mindi --makemountlist' and
   aborts. What do I do?

   A: A: Look at /var/log/mindi.log and see what it says. Also,
   try typing 'mindi --makemountlist /tmp/mountlist.txt' to see
   what Mindi says. Send the log to the mondorescue mailing list
   if you get stuck.

   Q: Q: Can Mondo burn CD as they are created?

   A: A: Yes. Use the '-Oc <speed>' switch. Use a negative number
   for a dummy burn.

   Q: Q: Mondo failed to burn my CD. It said something like,
   "Error CDB A1 01 02 53 ..." and so on. What does that mean?

   A: A: Cdrecord reported some serious errors while trying to
   burn your CD. Check your CD burner, your CD-R and your kernel.

   Q: Q: May I backup my system with one partition layout and
   restore with another?

   A: A: Yes. Boot in Interactive Mode and edit the mountlist
   using the snazzy new mountlist editor. Mondo can now edit your
   RAID partitions for you. Just open /dev/md0 (or whatever) and
   select "RAID.." to start. Or, to add a RAID device:

     * Add two or more partitions, of type and mountpoint 'raid'
     * Add device '/dev/md0' and click OK
     * Follow the prompts and your own common-sense :)

   Q: Q: Why does Mondo need so much free disk space?

   A: A: Because it need space to create the archive files with
   afio, then again space to create the ISO images that you'll be
   able to burn.

   Q: Q: I am trying to do something clever, e.g. write my ISO's
   to an NFS mount, and I get some weird error messages. What do I
   do?

   A: A: Well, (a) use '-T /tmp' or '-T /home' or something in
   your call to Mondo. Oh, and (b) check the /etc/exports file on
   your NFS server and verify the exported filesystem is writable
   for the client, and relaunch exportfs -a.

   Q: Q: Can Mondo backup to data files on another partition, e.g.
   an NFS mount?

   A: A: Yes. Just backup as usual but add '-d /mnt/nfs' or
   wherever your partition is mounted; don't use '-Oc' or '-Ot' at
   all; just '-Oi -d /root'. Then, after booting from the media
   which Mondo generates, you need to type 'ISO' at the console.

   Q: Q: Can Mondo backup _to_ an NFS partition, i.e. backup over
   a network? How about restoring?

   A: A: Yes. Use '-On <mount> <directory>'. Example:

   bash# mondoarchive -On 192.168.1.3:/home/nfs

   Q: Q: Does Mondo handle System or Hidden attributes when
   archiving Dos/Win files?

   A: A: No. It probably never will, either. Sorry.
     __________________________________________________________

Compare related Questions

   Q: Q: When I compare my archives to my file system, Mondo tells
          me there are differences or errors. Are the archives
          bad?

   Q: Q: When I compare my archives to my file system, Mondo tells
   me there are differences or errors. Are the archives bad?

   A: A: Look at /tmp/changed.files; if the files are logfiles,
   temp files or files which you think you may have changed
   recently then the archives are simply out of date, albeit only
   by a few minutes. Not a problem. However, if lots of files in
   /usr have changed or if you get lots of errors then perhaps
   your CD, your tapes or even your hardware could be to blame.
   Check your CD writer or tape streamer.

   Also, don't forget to review /var/log/mondoarchive.log for more
   information.
     __________________________________________________________

Restore related Questions

   Q: Q: Can Mondo help me move/resize/re-allocate my partitions?
   Q: Q: My zip drive is a SCSI drive. When I restore, Mondo craps
          out, saying it can't mount the drive (because there is
          no disk in it). What do I do?

   Q: Q: I received a message like, 'Fileset NNN failed' during
          restore. What does it mean.

   Q: Q: Why does my ext3 partition have less space free than when
          I backed it up?

   Q: Q: When I restore after booting from the media, I sometimes
          get errors like, "Running out of memory" or
          "Segmentation fault". What is going on?

   Q: Q: I can't nuke-restore my LVM or RAID or LVM-on-RAID setup.
          I have to do it manually. What now?

   Q: Q: Can Mondo help me move/resize/re-allocate my partitions?

   A: A: Yes. Just backup your system in Interactive Mode using
   Mondo. Edit the mountlist when prompted.

   Q: Q: My zip drive is a SCSI drive. When I restore, Mondo craps
   out, saying it can't mount the drive (because there is no disk
   in it). What do I do?

   A: A: Restore in Interactive Mode. Delete the SCSI drive from
   the mountlist before you restore. Then Mondo won't try to
   partition or format it. Next time you backup, use -E /dev/sdd
   (or whatever your zip drive is). The /dev entry will be
   excluded from the mountlist but not from the filelist. So, when
   you restore, you won't accidentally reformat your zip disk.
   However, after restoring, you will find that /dev/sdd (the
   _file_) will still be present in your /dev directory. Cool, eh?

   Q: Q: I received a message like, 'Fileset NNN failed' during
   restore. What does it mean.

   A: A: It usually means either you had a very large (>2GB) file
   which was not archived owing to a flaw in your distro or your
   filesystem has changed in relation to the backup.

   Q: Q: Why does my ext3 partition have less space free than when
   I backed it up?

   A: A: Mondo creates a 10MB journal file area. Your journal was
   probably smaller than that, hence the difference.

   Q: Q: When I restore after booting from the media, I sometimes
   get errors like, "Running out of memory" or "Segmentation
   fault". What is going on?

   A: A: It sounds as if you are running out of disk space,
   probably ram disk space. Type 'df -m' to see which partitions
   are running low on space. Please send as much information as
   you can to the mondorescue mailing list. This problem is
   believed to have been fixed in 1.63 and 1.71.

   Q: Q: I can't nuke-restore my LVM or RAID or LVM-on-RAID setup.
   I have to do it manually. What now?

   A: A: You said it yourself. You have to do it manually. :)
   Sorry but that's about it. At least you have all the tools to
   do it. I assume you know how. If you don't, look at
   i-want-my-lvm (a script on the ramdisk) if you're using LVM. It
   should give you a few clues. RAID is harder but in general
   Mondo's RAID support is good. After you've prepped and
   formatted your drives, run mondorestore again but say 'no' when
   asked if you want Mondo to prep or format your drives.
     __________________________________________________________

GNU Free Documentation License

   Version 1.1, March 2000

     Copyright (C) 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 59 Temple
     Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA Everyone is
     permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this
     license document, but changing it is not allowed.
     __________________________________________________________

0. PREAMBLE

   The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or
   other written document "free" in the sense of freedom: to
   assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute
   it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or
   noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the
   author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while
   not being considered responsible for modifications made by
   others.

   This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that
   derivative works of the document must themselves be free in the
   same sense. It complements the GNU General Public License,
   which is a copyleft license designed for free software.

   We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals
   for free software, because free software needs free
   documentation: a free program should come with manuals
   providing the same freedoms that the software does. But this
   License is not limited to software manuals; it can be used for
   any textual work, regardless of subject matter or whether it is
   published as a printed book. We recommend this License
   principally for works whose purpose is instruction or
   reference.
     __________________________________________________________

1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS

   This License applies to any manual or other work that contains
   a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can be
   distributed under the terms of this License. The "Document",
   below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member of the
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   A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing
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   The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose
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     __________________________________________________________

2. VERBATIM COPYING

   You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either
   commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License,
   the copyright notices, and the license notice saying this
   License applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies,
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   you must also follow the conditions in section 3.

   You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated
   above, and you may publicly display copies.
     __________________________________________________________

3. COPYING IN QUANTITY

   If you publish printed copies of the Document numbering more
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   It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors
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     __________________________________________________________

4. MODIFICATIONS

   You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document
   under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that
   you release the Modified Version under precisely this License,
   with the Modified Version filling the role of the Document,
   thus licensing distribution and modification of the Modified
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    A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title
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    B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or
       entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in
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    C. State on the Title page the name of the publisher of the
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    D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
    E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications
       adjacent to the other copyright notices.
    F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license
       notice giving the public permission to use the Modified
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    I. Preserve the section entitled "History", and its title, and
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   If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or
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   You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover
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   The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this
   License give permission to use their names for publicity for or
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     __________________________________________________________

5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS

   You may combine the Document with other documents released
   under this License, under the terms defined in section 4 above
   for modified versions, provided that you include in the
   combination all of the Invariant Sections of all of the
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   In the combination, you must combine any sections entitled
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   entitled "Acknowledgements", and any sections entitled
   "Dedications". You must delete all sections entitled
   "Endorsements."
     __________________________________________________________

6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS

   You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other
   documents released under this License, and replace the
   individual copies of this License in the various documents with
   a single copy that is included in the collection, provided that
   you follow the rules of this License for verbatim copying of
   each of the documents in all other respects.

   You may extract a single document from such a collection, and
   distribute it individually under this License, provided you
   insert a copy of this License into the extracted document, and
   follow this License in all other respects regarding verbatim
   copying of that document.
     __________________________________________________________

7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS

   A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other
   separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume
   of a storage or distribution medium, does not as a whole count
   as a Modified Version of the Document, provided no compilation
   copyright is claimed for the compilation. Such a compilation is
   called an "aggregate", and this License does not apply to the
   other self-contained works thus compiled with the Document, on
   account of their being thus compiled, if they are not
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   If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to
   these copies of the Document, then if the Document is less than
   one quarter of the entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts
   may be placed on covers that surround only the Document within
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   whole aggregate.
     __________________________________________________________

8. TRANSLATION

   Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may
   distribute translations of the Document under the terms of
   section 4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations
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   you may include translations of some or all Invariant Sections
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   English version will prevail.
     __________________________________________________________

9. TERMINATION

   You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the
   Document except as expressly provided for under this License.
   Any other attempt to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the
   Document is void, and will automatically terminate your rights
   under this License. However, parties who have received copies,
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   licenses terminated so long as such parties remain in full
   compliance.
     __________________________________________________________

10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE

   The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions
   of the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such
   new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version,
   but may differ in detail to address new problems or concerns.
   See http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/.

   Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version
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   as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation.
     __________________________________________________________

How to use this License for your documents

   To use this License in a document you have written, include a
   copy of the License in the document and put the following
   copyright and license notices just after the title page:

     Copyright (c) YEAR YOUR NAME. Permission is granted to copy,
     distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of
     the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later
     version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
     Invariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with the
     Front-Cover Texts being LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts
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   If you have no Invariant Sections, write "with no Invariant
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   If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code,
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