Re: [BackupPC-users] first "full" never completes

Les Mikesell <lesmikesell AT gmail DOT com> wrote on 09/02/2011 11:05:22 PM:> On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 5:03 PM, <hansbkk AT gmail DOT com> wrote:
> > I've now tried to uninstall/re-install twice times without success.
> > Apparently the failure of the hardlink test during the postinstall also
> > prevented the creation of the default config.pl and hosts files.
> >
> > This time I'm planning to delete the backuppc user as well as:
> >
> > /var/lib/backuppc
> > /etc/backuppc
> > /var/log/backuppc
> > /usr/share/backuppc
>
> None of that should be necessary.

But would probably be a very good idea. What would be an even better idea would be to grab a spare PC (or a virtual guest) and test it from a completely clean installation. And document the *heck* out of what you do: you *will* be doing it again (and again and again....).

> The only thing I can think is that
> you manually created something as root and left it so backuppc
> couldn't write what it needed, or your mounts aren't really where you
> think.

I would encourage you to simply use a symlink. That should simplify things. Or even better: *don't* use a symlink. Create a test system that has only a single partition and get things working with just a small amount of data. Once you can set up a server that can successfully back up, say, 1GB of data, then you know what works. Then make a single change at a time (e.g. reinstall, but using a symlink to a data partition) and see if it works. If it does, great. If not, you know what you did wrong!

> Or if you installed, then copied the installed files to a new
> place you didn't use 'cp -a' to preserve ownership and permissions.

And while there are a million reasons why you might *think* that is a a good idea (copying/moving the files to a new place), it is an absolutely *TERRIBLE* idea until you have at *least* built a working configuration without doing so. (Even afterwards, it's probably a terrible idea, but at least then you'll know conclusively that it is the source of your problems or not.)

That spare PC used to set up a *VERY* straightforward system is getting more and more important... :)

> > is there **anything** else I should do to ensure a "clean" system state
> > before re-installing BackupPC?

Not to beat a dead horse (which is just a way of saying that I'm *gonna* beat a dead horse), but I would leave your current system alone and work on that pristine system on a spare PC (or VM guest)... Once you know what works, you can compare it to the system that doesn't.

And as an aside for the hordes that are hanging on my every word (right? :) ), that's *always* a good plan: start with a machine that you can reformat and reinstall from scratch--over and over and over again--when you try to do something like implement a new software package... And once you have it working the way you think you want it to work, take *another* spare system (or guest VM) from scratch and use your copious and detailed documentation (which you have, right?) to re-create the solution as cleanly and straightforwardly as possible, updating the documentation so that you have a 100% correlati0n between your documentation and your solution.

For a computer consultant like myself, who is always planning on being able to reproduce *any* solution for another customer, such a procedure is automatic--and incredibly valuable.

Sorry if this seems like preaching or condesending. I'm not trying to; it seems like you might benefit from such a strategy.

Timothy J. Massey


Out of the Box Solutions, Inc. Creative IT Solutions Made Simple! http://www.OutOfTheBoxSolutions.com tmassey AT obscorp DOT com		22108 Harper Ave. St. Clair Shores, MI 48080 Office: (800)750-4OBS (4627) Cell: (586)945-8796

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