Andy, this: http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue13/floppies.html says this: ========== Prepare as many floppies as you think you'll need by using the fdformat(8) command. You do not need to make filesystems on them however, as you will be using them in raw mode. If you are backing up a large set of subdirectories, switch to the base subdirectory and issue the following command:
cd directory tar -cv -L 1440 -M -f /dev/fd0 . This command will prompt you when to change floppies. Wait for the floppy drive light to go out of course! If you need to backup or transfer multiple files or directories, or just a single large file, then specify them instead of the period at the end of the tar command above. Unpacking the archive is similar to the above command: cd directory tar -xv -L 1440 -M -f /dev/fd0 ========== It might be five years old, but I'll bet it's still true. (I'm sure I've read of a command you can pipe the output of tar to, which will cut it into pieces of any size you want. Wish I could remember what it's called). Richard Andy Gay, Monday 04 February 2002 04:31: > I could use a simple data backup do store nothing but a /data directory > in my /home/me/data. I would like to compress (tar, I guess) it on > floppies (I don't have a whole lot of data-.maybe 10 meg uncompressed) > and be prompted when to change the floppies. Is there a utility for > that? > > Thanks. > Andy > > On Sat, 2002-02-02 at 20:20, Lyvim Xaphir wrote: > > On Saturday 02 February 2002 18:28, you wrote: > > > > Mike, > > > > I know how bad it can be when you're starting from ground zero. I had > > the same problems when I had to learn IBM Dos version 2 from scratch by > > myself. > > > > The syntax can be arcane and hard to understand at times. Plus, the man > > pages are not oriented to new users. The best source of information for > > new users are HOWTO resources, which list concrete real world examples, > > put forth in no nonsense easy to understand format. I appreciate these > > resources greatly because I did not have them 15 years ago when I got a > > generous crash course by an asshole administrator. > > > > There are many HOWTO's, but after checking I found precious little in the > > way of tar information. This was a little disturbing, as tar is a > > heavily used resource in the UNIX world. On discovering this, I > > empathized with your situation even more. > > > > To access this information locally on your system, assuming you've got a > > Mandrake system and I don't have any reason to assume otherwise, put the > > following in your browser: > > > > file:/usr/share/doc/HOWTO/HTML/en/index.html > > > > If by chance the docs are not installed, go to the following net > > resource: > > > > www.linuxdoc.org > > > > Since this is a new user's list, there should'nt be any subscribers that > > have any misplaced preconceptions concerning a list member's > > foreknowledge about anything regarding Mandrake Linux. > > > > Having said that, your original question concerned backup programs. That > > in itself tells us alot about what you are asking. First, whenever you > > are talking about a script or utility that does backups, it's generally > > desirable to be able to grab everything in a given location, plus save > > permissions and ownership information; not to mention the hidden > > .dotdirs. That's generally what backup programs do. If you tend to back > > your stuff up to CDRW like I do, you might want to make a tar.gz archive > > of your directory. In my case, I like to save the home user's directory > > to a tar.gz archive, then put it on CDRW temporarily until I've upgraded > > the system to the next latest distro. The following command will save > > everything unilaterally and keep all ownership and permissions > > information verbatim: > > > > cd /home > > tar -zxpvf /tmp/storage/home_dir.tar.gz * > > > > If you then want to view what you've done after you complete this, you go > > to the /tmp/storage directory and type: > > > > tar -ztpvf home_dir.tar.gz > > > > This doesn't do anything but pull a list of what's in the archive. The > > "z" option on the tar command line tells the program to process the > > archive with gzip, which gives it a respectable compression; saving you > > alot of space. > > > > Hope this gets you started. Email again if you've got further questions. > > > > LX > > > > > shane wrote: > > > > tar springs to mind......... > > > > > > If I knew how to use tar to backup / or /home > > > > > > I would not have asked the question. > > > > > > would you mind to tell me how to do this ? > > > > > > > > > Just smugly saying tar ( Duh ) springs to mind, doesn't really answer > > > the question. > > > > > > For anyone reading this , most of us when we ask a question , we mean > > > > > > Ok, HOW do you do that? > > > > > > Mike > > > > _________________________________________________________ > > Do You Yahoo!? > > Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com > > > > > > > > ------------=_1012702969-31383-139 > > Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? > > Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
