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Restore xbmc from backup? - Printable Version

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Restore xbmc from backup? - stiscooby - 2012-07-30

I have recently been testing xbmcbuntu using a USB stick, which works fine, but I had to get a larger capacity stick as the one I was using for testing was a bit small for future use.

Anyway, I installed the add-in for xbmc and backed up all settings etc to another drive but have now come to restore the settings, using the same add-in, but this time round selecting the restore option and selecting the backup location to restore from but nothing seems to happen and I cannot seem to find a way of restoring from the backup?

Am I doing something wrong here?

Any help appreciated.

Thanks


RE: Restore xbmc from backup? - robweber - 2012-07-31

Can you post a log? Would shed some light on exactly what the program thinks it is doing.


RE: Restore xbmc from backup? - stiscooby - 2012-07-31

(2012-07-31, 16:54)robweber Wrote: Can you post a log? Would shed some light on exactly what the program thinks it is doing.

Sorry, I'm a newbie Smile

Where do I find the log please?


RE: Restore xbmc from backup? - artrafael - 2012-07-31

For the debug log (wiki):
  1. Enable debug logging in XBMC (System > Settings > System > Debugging > Enable debug logging)
  2. Perform the task that previously failed
  3. Exit XBMC
  4. Locate your debug log (wiki). For Linux, it's located in ~/.xbmc/temp/xbmc.log.
  5. Upload the debug log (wiki) to www.pastebin.com or www.xbmclogs.com
  6. Post the URL link to the uploaded log here
Do you still have your old installation on the smaller USB stick? If so, you could simply copy the ~/.xbmc/addons and ~/.xbmc/userdata folders over to your new installation on the larger USB stick.


RE: Restore xbmc from backup? - robweber - 2012-07-31

To make things a little easier you can also use the Log Uploader addon founds in the Addons > Programs area. You'll probably have to install it first but it might make mucking around in the file system easier if you aren't used to that.


RE: Restore xbmc from backup? - stiscooby - 2012-07-31

Thanks for your replies.

The install I would actually like to restore onto the new USB stick was one I installed onto a spare hard disk, not another smaller USB stick (sorry, I have done a few installs and just realised it’s the one on the hard drive I backed up/would like to restore).

If it's “simply” a question of copying folders from the relevant install (from the hard drive) to the new USB stick then that’s fine, my question is though - how do I access them/the content?

I have another windows machine and have read people can access their XBMCbuntu machines via a SSH connection, which I have just tried using putty but once logged in I have no idea how to access the relevant folders etc. I have also tried using an ftp client and tried connecting via port 22 in the hope I would then see the folders but no joy – it seems to connect but then hangs and doesn’t show any folders?

The backup/settings I would like to restore to the new USB stick are actually on a hard disk (previously formatted with NTFS as this is the same drive I had running in a previous install of XBMC but was installed under windows and contains all my films etc). This hard disk I have mounted in XBMCbuntu (running off the new USB stick) so I can see it from within XBMC media centre and locate all my files as well as the previous/required backup folder "addons & userdata" but when configuring the restore add-on I point it to these folders but then I dont seem to have any options to actually start the restore - that’s if it shouldn't start automatically? I seem to recall as soon as I created the backup settings it just automatically started the backup process?

Ideally I would like to have some way of accessing the NTFS hard disk which XBMCbuntu is using from my windows machine as my films etc need to be transferred to XBMCbuntu from my windows machine, as well as using it to store a copy of pictures/data etc.

Sorry for the long post, any further advice much appreciated!



RE: Restore xbmc from backup? - artrafael - 2012-07-31

If your XBMCbuntu system has a monitor (could be a TV) and you can attach a keyboard/mouse to it, you can do all your maintenance from that system itself, without having to SSH into it from another system. When you exit XBMC into the log-in page, you can select session type as "XBMCbuntu" instead of "XBMC" and, when you complete the log-in, you will be presented with the XBMCbuntu desktop. You can plug-in a thumbdrive containing the copies of the addons and userdata directories from your other system and use the File Manager to copy these directories into the appropriate location on your new XBMCbuntu system.

When you want to restore booting to XBMC directly, go to the shutdown menu on the XBMCbuntu desktop, log-off and, on the log-in page, change the session type from "XBMCbuntu" back to "XBMC" and then complete your log-in.

Just to be clear: the process I'm describing here and in my previous post does not use the XBMC Backup add-on... it's just manually copying a couple of directories from your "working" system to your new system. If you really would prefer to use the XBMC Backup add-on to backup/restore your settings in a more automated fashion, you may want to check the [Release] XBMC Backup thread in the Program Add-ons forum. Your restore problem may already have been discussed there or, if not, you can ask for assistance there since the author and/or users knowledgeable with this add-on are more likely to see your request.


RE: Restore xbmc from backup? - stiscooby - 2012-08-01

thanks.

i am aware of what you have suggested above but when in the file manager i can view the contents/folders of the hard drive but do you know where the folders are located containing the xbmc settings as i have been through all the folders and cannot seem to find the required files/folders which need to be copied over?

starying to think i should have put up with the stuttering play back running xbmc in windows lol.


RE: Restore xbmc from backup? - stiscooby - 2012-08-01

scrap that - I have found it!! Smile

I found when looking in file manager it was not displaying the hidden folders. I happened to try filezila to sftp to the XBMC machine which connected and displayed all the folders and in turn I found the folders needed but when I tried to view the same folders in buntu I found it was only displaying certain folders, not the folders I actaully needed.

Once I then found the "show hidden folders" option within file manager I could then see all the folders - I then found the XBMC folder containing the "adons" and "userdata" folders. Copied these to the USB drive, fired up XBMCbuntu all all my settings etc were there! wahoo!!

All I need to try and sort now is being able to copy things from my windows 7 machine to the NTFS hard disk in the XMBC machine. I guess I could use filezila but as yet I cannot see how I can access the additional hard disk using this method as I can only see the folders on the running XBMCbuntu machine (USB stick), although the hard drive is mounted and accessible from within XBMCbuntu.

Worst case I have a hard drive in the same box running windows home server which I was running before, so if I remove the XBMC buntu USB stick the machine wil then boot to windows home server where I can then access the same hard drive containing my data. Not too much hassle to do it this was but would be less messing about if I could access the drive when the machine has booted to XBMCbuntu.