Which folders and files do I need to exclude from TimeShift?

Also is there a way to also exclude programs installed as .deb ?

I doing this to reduce Backup size as I have limited storage.

100GB - Windows 11
400GB - Storage
400GB - Mint
100GB - TimeShift
  • mrvictory1@lemmy.world
    0·
    4 months ago

    When I did dual boot (good riddance) I gave Linux <100 GB and rest to Windows. I had additional storage partitions but in long term they made management harder for me so I mounted Windows partition for additional space. Here are my recommendations:

    • Merge “Mint” and “Timeshift” partitions.
    • Use BTRFS if you can. In rsync mode of timeshift, the disk will hold 2 copies of your current system + changes between snapshots. In BTRFS there will be 1 copy + changes. BTRFS also supports compression.
    • System wide flatpaks are in /var/lib/flatpak/app. Flatpak installed for one user only are installed somewhere in ~/.var. Keep in mind that home directory is not backed up by default.
    • If you can, ditch dual boot. If the reason of keeping Windows is MS Office or Adobe apps, you can install them on Wine.
    • gpstarman@lemmy.todayOP
      0·
      4 months ago

      Merge “Mint” and “Timeshift” partitions.

      I thought (also most people said) keeping the Backup in same partition as root defeats the purpose of Backup and brings certain inconvenience like can’t just delete the partition. Also I don’t know if its possible to restore a backup from a partition to the same partition itself.

      Use BTRFS if you can.

      I’m aware that BTRFS has certain adavantages. But the whole BTRFS is alien to me, as I’m new to Linux. Also I assumed that BTRFS doesn’t have enough community support as ext4 is default on Linux and many people just aren’t bothered to change it.

      If you can, ditch dual boot. If the reason of keeping Windows is MS Office or Adobe apps, you can install them on Wine.

      I only use Windows for DaVinci Resolve Free. And for the possibility of requiring Windows exclusive programs in the future as I’m an Engineering Student.

      System wide flatpaks are in /var/lib/flatpak/app. Flatpak installed for one user only are installed somewhere in ~/.var. Keep in mind that home directory is not backed up by default.

      Thank You.

      • Canary9341@lemmy.ml
        0·
        4 months ago

        As the other user says, btrfs is well supported. In fact it is preferable in your case, as it allows you to use transparent compression for the whole system. In addition, btrfs snapshots are also drastically safer and faster.

          • Canary9341@lemmy.ml
            0·
            4 months ago

            You can convert it from ext4 to btrfs, but I don’t know how well it works. If you are going to do it, I suggest you check it carefully and make a backup.

          • Skull giver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl
            0·
            4 months ago

            You can convert a running ext4 system into BTRFS and even move back to ext4, but to optimise the file system there are quite a few tricks to run as well. They come down to “remove the ext4 metadata (can’t go back after that), defragment, balance, maybe defragment again” and there are tools out there that make this stuff doable though the GUI, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that approach I novices.

            The cleanest switch would be to reinstall. Not just because of the steps above, but also to make sure the right subvolumes are set up with the right properties. This too can be done from a (mostly) running system, but it’s an absolute pain in the ass to have to do manually, especially if you’re not an expert in command line stuff.

            ext4 works fine if you don’t want to deal with all of this, but you’ll have to keep an eye on things like backup sizes just a bit more often

            • gpstarman@lemmy.todayOP
              0·
              4 months ago

              Thank You for detailed information.

              I think I should learn more about BTRFS and practice installing or converting it in VM.

              • Skull giver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl
                0·
                4 months ago

                Doing it in a VM would be excellent! I recommend taking a look at a tool called “btrfs assistant” if it’s available for your distro, it’s a lot easier to navigate than the deep menu of command line flags.

      • Bitrot@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
        0·
        4 months ago

        Btrfs is well supported.

        Btrfs uses snapshots and subvolumes. It is not a traditional partition and can restore to itself.

        I think Timeshift is primarily a snapshotting tool for a quick rollback if something breaks. I would not consider it a full backup tool, there are tools that are much more robust and configurable for keeping files safe and elsewhere.

        • gpstarman@lemmy.todayOP
          0·
          4 months ago

          there are tools that are much more robust and configurable for keeping files safe and elsewhere.

          But AFAIK, Only Pika Backup has intuitive GUI. And It’s auto backup doen’t work on Mint 21.3 cause of some old packge. So I sticked to TimeShift.

        • mrvictory1@lemmy.world
          0·
          4 months ago

          I would recommend using Timeshift. BTRFS mode can create local snapshots and rsync mode can be used to backup to external media. Timeshift can exclude directories based on user preferences.

            • Bitrot@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
              0·
              4 months ago

              Btrfs can send a snapshot to another machine, but there is no pretty gui for it.

              Most file systems cannot do this.