Backing up the XBMC on AppleTV2

Hi,

Search for the word Backup returned hundreds of results, sorry for asking something that may have already been answered (feel free to post link).

I want to backup my XBMC config, database, scraping, etc.. I have been putting a lot of work into adding all my content into XBMC, setting things up just the way I want, and I'd hate to start from scratch!! I already had to once, when my AppleTV2 lost network connectivity and the only way to fix it was to restore to default apple config then rejailbreak and reinstall XBMC...

So if there is a way for me to backup my stuff, and be able to restore it later, that would be awesome! Let me know! I'm assuming it involves SSH into AppleTV, then using ftp or scp to transfer the files to a remote location.

The simplest way i know of to do this is to Grab yourself a copy of Filezilla for what ever Operating system your on and ssh in using IP: YourAppleIP User: root Password: alpine Port: 22 then navigate your way to /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC and you will find every thing your looking for. If your setup is anything like mine it may take a while Hope this helps

Doesn't hurt to export your video library into individual .nfo files along with your fanart too (System/Video/Library/Export Library). That way, you can add your content back into your library without needing to access the external scrapers again and choose your preferred thumbs/backdrops all over again.

If your content is on a NAS or SMB share (and therefore in a different disk from your XBMC library database) then ('watched' markers aside) a fresh install of XBMC on a fresh machine will quickly rebuild the video, database as soon as you set up your sources, without the delay of scraping all over again.

Fergus, awesome tip! I have been playing with XBMC for over a year now and have never tried exporting my library before. Loving this lil thing called ATV2!

Can I backup my XBMC on my Mac and import it onto the ATV2 without problems? :O

mischi Wrote:Can I backup my XBMC on my Mac and import it onto the ATV2 without problems? :O

Yes!

After restoring your XBMC directory, you may experiance problems adding content or marking items as watched. You cant write to the files.

If you do, log into the ATV and run this command:


This will reset the proper permissions on the files.

valkur Wrote:After restoring your XBMC directory, you may experiance problems adding content or marking items as watched. You cant write to the files.

If you do, log into the ATV and run this command:

Code:

chown -R mobile:mobile /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC

This will reset the proper permissions on the files.

Is it right to say that if I recursively backup /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC that will contain everything I need to return a wiped atv2 back to how I wanted it? Screensaver choices, sources, library, watched flags, overscan settings? The whole thing? Thinking about setting up a passwordless ssh backup from my nas on a nightly basis. A restore is as simple as rejailbreaking, installing atv2, and then recursively restoring files and permissions?

Cheers

Yuppers, I have done it several times while tinkering, I can have my ATV2 restored in 20 minutes and still have it tell me all the shows I watched, my theme, settings, everything.

**That being said, please make sure you understand what your doing before blaming me if it goes PooF

To restore your Settings, you would of course Restore your ATV2, Jailbreak it, install XBMC (and then your unofficial if thats the route you are going). Then you just upload said directory and chown -R to reset the permissions. Ready to go.

Rsync works well for backups.

- install rsync daemon on the Appletv:

$apt-get install rsync

- run rsync from your workstation

$rsync -avz root@0.0.0.0:/private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC /Volumes/Media/XBMC_backup/private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/XBMC