MondoRescue HOWTO

Utilisation and Configuration of Mondo and Mindi under Linux (Version
2.2.1-rRRR)

Bruno Cornec

   MondoRescue Project

   <bruno@mondorescue.org>

Conor Daly

   MondoRescue Project

   <conor.daly_at_met.ie>

   Copyright © 2000-2006 Bruno Cornec

   This document describes the use of mondo and mindi tools to realize
   disaster recovery backup of your systems. It provides information on
   installation,  backup and restore modes, hardware and software
   requirements, and answers to some frequently asked questions. The
   goals are to offer a general view of the functions and their best
   usages. Mondo Rescue is a Disaster Recovery Solution which allows
   you to effortlessly backup and interactively restore Linux, Windows
   and other supported filesystem partitions to/from CD/DVD-+R/RW
   media,  tape,  NFS,  ... and Mindi Linux provides the bootable
   emergency restore CD/floppy set which Mondo uses at boot-time.

   License

   This HOWTO is a free documentation. you may copy, redistribute
   and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
   License, Version 1.1.

   or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with
   no Invarian t Sections, Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts. This
   document is distributed hoping it will be useful, but without any
   guaranty; you're completely responsible of its use, and coulnd't
   complain  in  case  it doesn't work , or even if it breaks the
   hardware.  All  the  software  included in it, if not alr eady
   copyrighted is released under the GPL.
     _________________________________________________________

   Table of Contents
   1. About this Guide

        1.1. Purpose / Scope of this Guide
        1.2. New versions of this document
        1.3. Suggestions / Feedback
        1.4. Aknowledgements

   2. QuickStart
   3. Overview

        3.1. Mondo Rescue
        3.2. Mindi
        3.3. Linux Backup
        3.4. Windows Backup

              3.4.1. Windows ME/95/98
              3.4.2. Windows NT4/2K/XP

        3.5. Mondo Rescue and Mindi Linux History
        3.6. System Requirements

              3.6.1. Hardware Requirements
              3.6.2. Kernel Requirements
              3.6.3. Software Requirements

   4. Installation

        4.1. Mindi Installation
        4.2. Mondo Installation

   5. Tests

        5.1. Testing Mindi

   6. Backup

        6.1. Recommandations
        6.2. Backup Commands and Options

              6.2.1. Standard Example With CD-R
              6.2.2. Standard Example With CD-RW
              6.2.3. Standard Example With Tape
              6.2.4. Standard Example With Failsafe kernel
              6.2.5. Standard Example With Network Backup

   7. HOWTO run mondo interactively using cron

        7.1. Overview
        7.2. Introduction
        7.3. Who should read this?

              7.3.1. Insurance
              7.3.2. Efficiency

        7.4. The Problem

              7.4.1. Cron's environment
              7.4.2. Interactivity
              7.4.3. Screen

        7.5. The Solution

              7.5.1. Briefly
              7.5.2. In Detail

   8. Compare
   9. Restore

        9.1. Overview
        9.2. Tips and Tricks

              9.2.1. Barebones (Nuke) Restore
              9.2.2. Interactive Restore
              9.2.3. Expert Restore
              9.2.4. Modified partitions - Restore to a different disk
                      geometry

              9.2.5. Advanced

   10. FAQ

        10.1. Overview
        10.2. General Questions
        10.3. Booting and Kernel related Questions
        10.4. Installation related Questions
        10.5. Hardware related Questions
        10.6. Backup related Questions
        10.7. Compare related Questions
        10.8. Restore related Questions

   A. GNU Free Documentation License

        0. PREAMBLE
        1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS
        2. VERBATIM COPYING
        3. COPYING IN QUANTITY
        4. MODIFICATIONS
        5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
        6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
        7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
        8. TRANSLATION
        9. TERMINATION
        10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
        How to use this License for your documents
     _________________________________________________________

Chapter 1. About this Guide

1.1. Purpose / Scope of this Guide

   This HOWTO serves to help people get started with using mondo/mindi
   as way to backup/restore their system. This is a work constantly
   evolving. It was started by Hugo Rabson and has since been worked
   upon by a number of people. See the 'About' web page for a list of
   members of the development team.

   There are many ways to contribute to the Linux movement without
   actually  writing  code.  One of the most important is writing
   documentation, allowing each person to share their knowledge with
   thousands of others around the world. This HOWTO is designed to help
   you get familiar with how Mondo/Mindi works.

   Opinions expressed here are those of the authors. Informations are
   provided in the aim to be useful to the readers. However, there
   can't be, through this document, any warranty of any kind on the way
   it works on your systems, nor the author could be responsible for
   any  problem caused by the use of these informations. However,
   software  editors don't garantee you a lot either (re-read the
   contracts).
     _________________________________________________________

1.2. New versions of this document

   The  newest  version  of  this document can always be found on
   MondoRescue's homepage MondoRescue.

   If you make a translation of this document into another language,
   please let meknow so that I can include a reference to it here.
     _________________________________________________________

1.3. Suggestions / Feedback

   I rely on you, the reader, to make this HOWTO useful. THis HOWTO is
   probably incomplete even if it tries to be accurate to the best of
   our  knowledge.  If  you  have  any  suggestions, corrections,
   recommandations or congratulations :-) don't hesitate to send them
   to me <bruno@mondorescue.org>, and I will try to incorporate them in
   a next revision or to the mondorescue mailing list; e-mail the list
   at mondo-devel@lists.sourceforge.net; tell us what is wrong and how
   it  should be fixed. Include the section title and recommended
   changes.  Whenever possible, include the exact, spell-checked,
   grammar-checked text that you think would improve the document.

   See Mondo's Support page for more information.

   Please note that we do our best to help everyone but it is difficult
   for us to help you if you do not attach a log file to your e-mail.
   Let me say that again - attach your log file to your e-mail! Thank
   you. Without it we can't offer any tangible help because you aren't
   either.  That's  what  the  log  file is for. It is located at
   /var/log/mondo-archive.log;   and  /var/log/miindi.log  or  at
   /var/log/mondo-restore.log

   This document was originaly written by native english speakers, but
   is maintained by a non-native english speaker so help me correct
   mistaques instead of rumbling that I've done one :-)

   I am also willing to answer general questions on MondoRescue, the
   best I can. Before doing so, please read all of the information in
   this HOWTO, and then send me detailed information about the problem,
   especially including the logs generated by the tools, or traces
   obtained (Did I say that already :-].

   If you publish this document on a CD-ROM or in hardcopy form, a
   complimentary copy would be appreciated; mail me for my postal
   address. Also consider making a donation to the Linux Documentation
   Project to help support free documentation for Linux. Contact the
   Linux HOWTO coordinator, Guylhem AZNAR
   <guylhem@rrremovethis.oeil.qc.ca>.
     _________________________________________________________

1.4. Aknowledgements

   Thanks goes to these people for helping and adding to this HOWTO.

   Document maintainer:

     * Bruno Cornec

   Original Design Assistance by:

     * Xion Network.com

   Original Document Assistance by:

     * Cafeole
     * Troff
     * Randy Delfs
     * Mikael Hultgren

   Original LinuxDoc and LaTeX Reformat by:

     * Bryan J. Smith

   Original DocBook Reformat by:

     * Mikael Hultgren

   Original author; 1.6x material:

     * Hugo Rabson
     _________________________________________________________

Chapter 2. QuickStart

     * We recommend that you read this complete HOWTO. However, if you
       are too busy or impatient, then please use this QuickStart guide
       to stay out of trouble.
     * Install the tarball, RPM, or DEB mindi and mondo packages. (see
       Installation for more details)
     * Execute as root (type 'su -' to become root if you are not
       logged in as root)

       bash# mondoarchive

   Choose from the list of supported backup media types. The media you
   will use most often are CD/DVD-+R, CD/DVD-+RW, tape, NFS and hard
   disk. If you want to backup/restore over a network, choose 'NFS'. If
   you want to backup/restore to/from a local partition or if you
   simply want to store the ISO images in a local directory until you
   have time or facilities to burn them to CD's, choose 'hard disk'. If
   you choose 'CD/DVD-+R[W]' or 'tape' then in general your hardware
   will be detected and configured for you.
   If you are backing up to CD/DVD-+R[W] then Mondo will ask you if
   your CD burner has BurnProof technology, is inside a laptop, or is
   otherwise eccentric. If you are backing up to a tape streamer then
   you will not see this message.
   How much compression do you want? None, if your tape streamer has
   built-in hardware compression. Maximum, if your CPU is blazingly
   fast. Average should do just fine for most situations.
   If you want to backup the whole computer (excluding /sys and /proc,
   naturally) then leave this as / which is the default. Otherwise,
   specify subsets, (e.g. /usr/local /home ) being sure to put a space
   in between each path.
   If you are backing up your whole computer then you might want to
   exclude certain directories, e.g. /shared/MP3. Please specify them
   in the 'exclude directories' dialog box. Please put a space in
   between each path, e.g. /shared/private /scratch /nfs /windows
   Is your kernel sane? Red Hat, Mandrake, SuSE, Debian and Slackware
   users should in general say 'yes' because these vendors are good at
   producing reliable kernels. If you are using Gentoo or LFS then your
   kernel might be non-standard, in which case say 'no' to use Mondo's
   failsafe kernel (provided separately).
   If you want to verify the archives after writing them to media, say
   'yes' here. If you have absolute faith in your hardware and your
   Linux distribution, say 'no'... and a little prayer.
   If you are sure you want to go ahead, say 'yes' and find something
   else to do while Mondo backs up your computer. If you say 'no' then
   you will be unceremoniously dumped at the shell prompt. :-)
   The backup process will now commence. There are some pre-backup
   tasks to be carried out first but the backup is essentially
   underway. To simplify the backup process, you were asked a series of
   questions. Next time, if you like, you could call mondoarchive with
   various command-line switches to control its behavior, instead of
   answering a series of questions. See the man page for details.
   Mondo will make a catalog of all files to be backed up. This may
   take up to five minutes. The list of files will be divided into
   sets, approximately 4 MB (before compression) of files per set. This
   typically takes one minute.
   Mondo calls Mindi. Mindi generates bootable floppy disk images and
   auxiliary data disk images which are based on your existing Linux
   distribution and filesystem. That way, you can be sure Mondo's tools
   will be compatible with your existing filesystems and binaries:
   Mondo's tools are your tools. Mindi takes up to five minutes to run.
   Finally, Mondo begins backing up your computer. This process may
   take a few minutes or a few hours, depending on how much data you
   are archiving, how fast your CPU is, how much RAM you have, and so
   on. It will backup your regular files and then your large files
   (files larger than approximately 32MB). If you have opted to verify
   your backups, Mondo will do that too.
   Do you want to create a boot floppy at the end? Yes, if you're a
   tape or NFS user. No, if you are using CD/DVD-R[W]'s and your
   computer supports bootable CD's. Tape users only need one floppy but
   other users may need more. Mondo will advise accordingly.

     * Try  to boot from the first CD of the backup (or the first
       floppy, if you made floppies). Choose 'Compare Mode' by typing
       compare at the boot screen.
     * If  you  can boot, fine. If not, make a Mindi "Test" CD to
       checkout the compatibility of your system. (see Testing Mindi
       for more details). Remove the CD/floppy; boot your computer as
       usual; execute as root

       bash# mindi
       bash# cd /root/images/mindi
       (for CD-R)

       bash# cdrecord dev=0,0,0 speed=4 -eject -v mindi.iso
       (for CD-RW)

       bash# cdrecord dev=0,0,0 speed=4 blank=fast -eject -v mindi.iso
       Reboot your system with the created Mindi CD, with the BIOS set
       to boot from CD. If the result is a command line in 'Expert'
       mode, your system checks out. Remove the CD and reboot your
       system.
     * If you still cannot boot from Mindi's CD then please e-mail the
       mondorescue mailing list for help.

   When  making  a  backup on a live system, there will always be
   processes running that will write out data on the system after you
   have made the backup and before you have made the compare, this will
   result in difference showing up when comparing your backup. For a
   full explanation and what can be done to avoid this, please read
   this section.

     * This QuickStart covers the ideal case. Upon receiving any system
       feedback/errors, read each related HOWTO section.
       Example 2-1. A test backup of your /home directory to CD-Rs
       using the command line

       bash# mondoarchive -OVc 4 -I /home -gF
       The 'c' means you must be writing to CD-Rs, not CD-RWs (the
       latter would require 'w' instead of 'c'). The '4' is the speed
       of your CD writer. The string after -I is the path to be backed
       up.  The  '-gF'  means  you  are  going  to see the pretty
       yellow-on-blue screen instead of the boring white-on-black
       screen. :) It also means Mondo will not offer to create physical
       boot floppies for you. It is assumed that you are able to boot
       from the CD which Mondo has generated.
       Example 2-2. A backup of your whole filesystem to NFS using the
       command line

       bash# mkdir -p /mnt/nfs
       bash# mount 192.168.1.28:/home/nfs /mnt/nfs
       bash# mondoarchive -OVn 192.168.1.28:/home/nfs -gF[...]
       bash# umount /mnt/nfs
       bash# cdrecord dev=0,0,0 speed=4 -eject -v
       /root/images/mindi/mindi.iso
       Note that you have to mount the NFS partition, backup to it,
       unmount it, and create a boot CD to allow you to restore from
       scratch if necessary. To reassure yourself that you will be able
       to restore from the NFS share even if your PC is wiped, please
       boot  from  the Mindi CD and type 'compare'. The on-screen
       instructions from that point on should be sufficient.
       Example 2-3. A backup of your whole filesystem to tape using the
       command line

       bash# mondoarchive -OVt -d /dev/st0 -9 -L -g
       In this case, we assume Syslinux is incompatible with your boot
       media. For some reason, some BIOSes just don't like Syslinux. If
       you find this to be the case for your computer, please use '-L'
       to force Mondo to use LILO instead of Syslinux as the boot
       loader for its CD/floppies. (NB: This has nothing to do with
       which boot loader your hard drive uses.) Also, it is a good
       habit to specify your tape streamer with '-d <device>'. You
       don't usually need to but it's good to be on the safe side. Some
       computers call your tape streamer /dev/osst0, some call it
       /dev/ftape, ...
     _________________________________________________________

Chapter 3. Overview

3.1. Mondo Rescue

   Mondo Rescue backs up your file system to CD, tape, NFS (archives
   stored remotely) or ISO's (archives stored locally). Mondo uses afio
   as the backup engine; afio is a well-respected replacement for tar.
   In the event of catastrophic data loss, you may restore some or all
   of your system, even if your hard drives are now blank. Mondo Rescue
   can do a lot of other cool things:

     * You can use Mondo to clone an installation of Linux. Just backup
       the crucial stuff and exclude /home, /var/log, etc.
     * You can backup a non-RAID file system and restore it as RAID
       including the root partition (if your kernel supports that).
     * You can backup a system running on one and restore as another .
     * You  can restructure your partitions, e.g. shrink/enlarge,
       reassign devices, add hard drives, etc, before you partition and
       your  drives.  Mondo  will  restore  your  data  and amend
       /etc/lilo.conf and /etc/fstab accordingly.
     * You  can  backup Linux/Windows systems, including the boot
       sectors. Mondo will make everything right at restore-time.
       (However, do run "Scandisk" when you first boot into Windows,
       just in case.)
     * You can use your Mondo backup CD to verify the integrity of your
       computer.

   Mondo's principal virtue is that it protects you from the problems
   that can arise when you reinstall completely from scratch. If you
   want to wipe and restore your system every year just as a matter of
   'good practice', Mondo is not for you. However, if you want to get
   up and running again in a hurry after someone breaks into your
   computer and wipes it (or if you accidentally wipe it yourself) then
   Mondo is definitely for you. It will permit you to roll back to a
   known-good installation in a very short period of time, sometimes as
   little as twenty minutes. Even if you backup large amounts of data
   to tape daily and do not want to add yet another backup regime,
   please consider backing up the core filesystem (i.e. everything but
   the directories containing your huge database and your prizewinning
   novel) every month or so, just in case. You will be glad you did.

   What is Mondo not?

   Mondo is not an everyday backup program. It is not designed to
   replace  tar, afio, kbackup, etc. Mondo is designed to make it
   possible to recover from scratch if necessary. Tar and afio offer a
   quick, convenient way to backup small sets of files, sometimes to
   removable media.
     _________________________________________________________

3.2. Mindi

   Mindi Linux creates a set of boot/root floppy disk images that will
   let you perform basic system maintenance on your Linux distro. The
   principal virtues of Mindi's boot disks are the fact that they
   contain your kernel, modules, tools and libraries. You can ask for
   additional binaries (or other files) to be included on the kit. The
   libraries will be added for you.

   Whichever modules were loaded at backup-time, they are reloaded at
   boot-time.  So,  in theory, you will boot into almost the same
   environment as you were in when you backed up. If you want to add
   files   to  your  Mindi  boot  disks,  edit  '<INSTALLPATH  OF
   MINDI>/mindi/deplist.txt' and add the files to that list. The added
   files and dependencies, will be spread across the data disks at
   run-time.

   Mindi makes sure that Mondo has all the tools it needs at boot-time.
   Mondo uses fdisk, mkfs, cat, less, more, afio, gzip, bzip2, your
   keyboard configuration, your glibc libraries, your other libraries,
   your kernel, your modules, ... a lot! Mindi takes care of all that,
   so that Mondo can get on with the job of backing up or restoring
   your data.

   Mindi is also handy for making boot CDs/disks which stand on their
   own. You do not need Mondo. Indeed, if you like, you could use
   another backup/restore program with Mindi. Just add it to Mindi's
   dependency list (type 'locate deplist.txt' to find it). Mindi will
   include your software on its boot CD/disks the next time you run
   mindi.
     _________________________________________________________

3.3. Linux Backup

   Mondo Rescue and Mindi Linux are used primarily as Linux backup and
   cloning tools. The fall in prices of CD-RW drives and writable discs
   will allow current users to keep good backups and future users to
   leverage the cloning capability.

   Tape drives are more likely to suit your needs if you run a larger
   installation (or have lots of MP3's). Warning! OnStream drives do
   not play well with Mondo. I do not know why. It is, in my opinion,
   something which OnStream should look into. Mondo uses fopen(),
   fread(), fwrite() and fclose() to interact with tape drives. That
   works for most drives but some drives just don't like that.

   Mondo Rescue has tested thousands of times on various computers. It
   worked for them. Thousands of users testify to Mondo's stability and
   its ease of use. However, please test it on your own system before
   you rely on it. In fact, do not rely on any software until you have
   tested it to see if it performs as expected.

   To establish that Mondo will behave well in an emergency, please be
   prepared. Run a test backup as follows:-

     * Run mondoarchive without any command-line options.
     * Backup a subset of files - e.g. /usr/local - to CD or tape. Say
       'yes' when asked if you want to verify them.
     * If you are not backing up to CD, please create boot floppies
       when prompted.

   Next, restore archives to your live filesystem.

     * When mondoarchive terminates, run mondorestore without any
       command-line options.
     * Insert the CD or the first boot floppy when prompted. Press
       <Enter>. Wait a moment.
     * Select a subset of files to restore, e.g. /usr/local/man and
       /usr/local/bin. Hit OK.
     * Restore files to /tmp or /root/RESTORED or something similar.
     * When mondorestore terminates, compare the restored files to the
       originals using cmp or diff.

   Finally, simulate an emergency restore.

     * Boot from CD/floppies.
     * Select 'Interactive Mode' at boot-time. (Type 'interactive' and
       hit <Enter>.)
     * Hit OK when shown the mountlist. Say 'yes' when asked if you
       accept the mountlist.
     * Select files to restore, e.g. /usr/local/man and /usr/local/bin.
       Hit OK.
     * Restore files to /tmp or /root/RESTORED or something similar.
     * When mondorestore terminates, please reboot and compare the
       restored files to the originals.

   FYI, the subroutines to repartition and reformat your drives are
   very stable. If you are a RAID or LVM user, you might encounter some
   difficulties when wiping and restoring from scratch because of the
   sheer range of filesystem layouts and the impossibility of testing
   Mondo on every single one. If you have trouble, just drop to the
   command-line and partition/ manually. Then, call mondorestore,
   select Interactive Mode, and say 'no' when asked if you want Mondo
   to partition or your drives for you.

   You see, even if you have trouble, you still have two hands and most
   of the tools you need - lvchange, pvcreate, fdisk, mkraid, etc. - to
   do it manually. After you have prepped and formatted your drives
   manually (if you have to), just run mondorestore again and say 'no'
   when asked if you want to prep or your drives. What could be easier?
     _________________________________________________________

3.4. Windows Backup

   Backing up windows partitions.
     _________________________________________________________

3.4.1. Windows ME/95/98

   Verify that the partition is listed in /etc/fstab and is mounted
   (e.g. /dev/hda1). Mondo will take care of everything else. The files
   will be archived just like all other files in the live file system.
   At  restore-time,  Mondo  will take care of the boot sector of
   /dev/hda1 prior to the restore.

   Note: if Windows ME/95/98 is not located on /dev/hda1 or /dev/sda1,
   then Mondo will not take care of the boot sector of /dev/hda1. The
   user will have to boot from a DOS floppy and run SYS C: to correct
   the Windows boot sector.
     _________________________________________________________

3.4.2. Windows NT4/2K/XP

   Windows NT4/2K/XP typically use the NTFS file system, not VFAT.. The
   user should use '-x /dev/hda1' (or whichever device the Windows
   partition resides). Mondo will treat the partition as a biggiefile.
   Mondo will also add an entry to the mountlist to reflect the size
   and type of the partition. The user may not edit that partition's
   size at restore-time (for obvious reasons).

   Please bear in mind that Mondo was written for Linux users. If Mondo
   does not backup or restore your Windows system well, you might want
   to consider reporting it to the mondorescue mailing list
     _________________________________________________________

3.5. Mondo Rescue and Mindi Linux History

   Mondo  Rescue was created in December 1999 by Hugo Rabson as a
   utility to clone Linux/Windows installations. Norton Ghost would not
   do the job, and his boss wanted to jump on the Linux bandwagon. So,
   he  wrote  a  few  scripts and shoehorned them into the latest
   Linux-Mandrake CD. Since that time, Mondo grew into a disaster
   recovery suite for Linux and Windows. Mondo forced him to learn
   about the kernel, its initrd initial ramdisk, modules, library
   dependencies, disk partitioning, and the myriad differences between
   the Top 10 Linux distributions.

   The first formal release was made on February 18th, 2000. Mondo is
   currently one of the top five Linux backup/restore programs. Mondo
   has been compared favorably to ArcServe, Arkeia and BRU. Although
   Mondo lacks the more advanced, enterprise-level features of ArcServe
   and Arkeia, for workstations and small- to medium-size servers it is
   ideal because it is small, fast, efficient, stable, comes with
   source code, and is being actively developed and supported.

   Since November 2005, Hugo Rabson has tranfered the maintenance of
   the Mondo Rescue suite to Andree Leidenfrost and Bruno Cornec, both
   previous developpers and packagers of the tool since nearly the
   begining.
     _________________________________________________________

3.6. System Requirements

3.6.1. Hardware Requirements

   Your computer must have:

     * Intel(R)-compatible CPU (ia32, x86_64/amd64 or ia64)
     * 64MB of RAM (128MB recommended)
     * 800MB of hard disk space free
     * CD writer, tape streamer, NFS share or some way to backup the
       backups :)

   It is recommended that your computer have very good airflow. The
   backup with Mondo Rescue and Mindi Linux will utilize your CPU, CD
   drive and fixed disk(s) like very few other applications. With a few
   hours  of system backup activity, computers without sufficient
   airflow may show symptoms such as not burning full CD discs. The
   solution is a $20 or less additional fan at your local electronics
   discount store.
     _________________________________________________________

3.6.2. Kernel Requirements

   Your kernel must have:

     * stable loopfs support, which means it really needs to be 2.2.19
       or 2.4.7 (or later)
     * CD-ROM device support
     * ISO9660 file system support
     * initrd ramdisk support (built-in)
     * Virtual memory file system support (built-in)
     * floppy disk support (built in)
     * ext2 file system support (built-in)
     * Support for the backup media (Tape, CD-RW, NFS, Hard disk)
     * If the backup media is CD-RW then you need SCSI emulation also
       vfat  support in the active kernel - mindi needs this when
       creating syslinux boot floppies

   Please  note  that  the  stock kernels of Red Hat/RHEL/Fedora,
   Mandrake/Mandriva, SuSE/SLES/OpenSuSE, Debian and Slackware all meet
   Mondo's  requirements.  If  your  kernel does not meet Mondo's
   requirements then there is something wrong with it. Mondo's demands
   are not unreasonable.

   Mondo (specifically Mindi) does not require any specific module. It
   does require that your kernel support the initrd initial ramdisk
   facility. Typically this is supported by the Linux kernel. Modules
   used are needed to support the CD, floppy disks, hard disks, etc. If
   the support is modular, then the modules will be incorporated in a
   boot disk by Mindi. If the support is built-in (static), then it
   will be available at boot-time by default.
     _________________________________________________________

3.6.3. Software Requirements

   See Mondo's Download page for details.

   Mondo requires afio, bzip2, cdrtools/cdrecord/growisofs, ncurses,
   newt, isolinux/syslinux, lzo (optional), lzop (optional), mkisofs,
   slang, and a few other packages.

   Good Linux distributions provide all these packages. If yours does
   not then please go to the aforementioned Download page or surf the
   Net, preferably the website of the distribution you are using.

   Mondo's expectations are not unreasonable, either of your Linux
   distribution or of your kernel. However, if your distribution fails
   to meet its expectations and you cannot find out how to resolve
   them, please feel free to e-mail the mondorescue mailing list
     _________________________________________________________

Chapter 4. Installation

4.1. Mindi Installation

   If you are installing from a tarball then copy it to wherever you
   have enough space, for example /tmp and type:

   bash# cd /tmp
   bash# tar -zxvf mindi-1.x.tgz
   bash# cd mindi-1.x
   bash# ./install.sh

   This installs mindi additional files into /usr/local/lib/mindi and
   the program into /usr/local/sbin

   Or, if you are installing from an RPM/deb then copy it to wherever
   you have enough space, for example /tmp and type:

   bash# rpm -Uvh /tmp/mindi-1.x-x.i386.rpm
   or
   bash# dpkg -i /tmp/mindi-1.x-x.deb

   This installs mindi additional files into /usr/lib/mindi and the
   program into /usr/sbin.
     _________________________________________________________

4.2. Mondo Installation

   If you are installing from a tarball then copy it to wherever you
   have enough space, for example /tmp and type:

   bash# cd /tmp
   bash# tar -zxvf mondo-2.xx.tgz
   bash# cd mondo-2.xx
   bash# ./configure
   bash# make && make install

   This installs mondo into /usr/local/lib/mondo and installs the
   programs into /usr/local/sbin

   Or, if you are installing from an RPM/deb then copy it to copy it to
   wherever you have enough space, for example /tmp and type:

   bash# rpm -Uvh /tmp/mondo-2.x-x.i386.rpm
   or
   bash# dpkg -i /tmp/mondo-2.x-x.deb

   This installs mondo into /usr/lib/mondo and installs the programs
   into /usr/sbin
     _________________________________________________________

Chapter 5. Tests

5.1. Testing Mindi

   Mindi is a vital part of the backup procedure. If you have used
   Mondo before or if you are in a hurry, skip steps 6.2 and 6.3; go
   straight to QuickStart.

   However, if you have time or if you have been having trouble getting
   Mondo to work, I would recommend trying out Mindi directly (rather
   than via Mondo) to see if it can produce a bootable CD on your
   system.

   Make sure you are root while doing this, otherwise mindi will fail,
   now do this.

   If you have any problems, please:-

     * less /var/log/mindi.log
     * feel free to edit mindi (it's a shell script, btw) to try to fix
       the problem yourself
     * contact the mondorescue mailing list if you get stuck.

   Type:-

   bash# mindi

   Example screen output, selecting to use your own kernel, to create
   boot disks, and to create a bootable CD image:

# mindi
Mindi Linux mini-distro generator v1.09-r762

Latest Mindi is available from http://www.mondorescueg

BusyBox sources are available from http://www.busybox.net

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
Do you want to use your own kernel to build the boot disk (y/n) ?y
Would you like to use LILO (instead of syslinux)
for your boot CD/floppies (y/n) ?n
Analyzing dependency requirements                               Done.
Making complete dependency list                                 Done.
Analyzing your keyboard's configuration.

Adding the following keyboard mapping tables: us-latin1         Done.
Assembling dependency files............................................
.......................
  Done.
The files have been subdivided into 5 directories.
         Your mountlist will look like this:-
    Finding all volume groups
  No volume groups found
  No volume groups found
  No volume groups found
  No volume groups found
        DEVICE          MOUNTPOINT      FORMAT          SIZE (MB)
        /dev/hda1       /               ext3                399
        /dev/hda9       /home           ext3              48478
        /dev/hda6       /usr            ext3               4999
        /dev/hda7       /var            ext3               1000
        /dev/hda5       swap            swap                349
        /dev/hda8       swap            swap               2003
    Finding all volume groups
  No volume groups found
  No volume groups found
  No volume groups found
  No volume groups found
Tarring and zipping the groups..................                Done.
Creating data disk #1...#2...#3...#4...#5...                    Done.
Making 1722KB boot disk...........................1440+0 enregistrement
s lus.
1440+0 enregistrements écrits.
mke2fs 1.38 (30-Jun-2005)
Failed to copy /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.12-15mdk-i686-up-4GB to ramdisk

Warning - failed to create 1.44MB boot/root floppies

Warning - failed to create 1.72MB boot image. Please reduce your kernel
's size

if you want to make a 1.72MB floppy disk.

Making 2880KB boot disk...........................mkfs.vfat 2.10 (22 Se
p 2003)
... 2880 KB boot disks were created OK                          Done.
In the directory '/root/images/mindi' you will find the images:-
   mindi-data-1.img    mindi-data-2.img    mindi-data-3.img    mindi-da
ta-4.img    mindi-data-5.img mindi-root.1440.img
Would you like to create boot+data floppy disks now (y/n) ?n
Shall I make a bootable CD image? (y/n) y
NB: Mindi's bootable CD always uses isolinux.

For a bootable CD w/LILO, please use Mondo.

Finished.

Boot and data disk images were created.

#

   If your kernel is too large (more than about 900KB) then you cannot
   make boot floppies, although you can still make a bootable CD image.
   The easiest way to test Mindi in either case is to say 'n' to its
   first  question  and  'y' to its second, then use the separate
   application cdrecord to make a bootable CD-R or CD-RW.

   Use the cdrecord application to write the CD image:

   bash# cd /root/images/mindi
   bash# cdrecord -scanbus

   The output of the above call to cdrecord will tell you your CD
   writer's node. It is usually '0,0,0'. Choose one of the following
   calls to write the CD, depending on whether the disk in the drive is
   a CD-R or a CD-RW. Please replace 'x,x,x' with your writer's node.
   For further information, type 'man cdrecord" from a Linux command
   line.

   If writing to a CD-RW Drive/Disc:

   bash# cdrecord -v blank=fast dev=x,x,x speed=4 mindi.iso (for CD-RW)

   If writing to a CD-R Drive/Disc:

   bash# cdrecord -v dev=x,x,x speed=4 mindi.iso (for CD-R)
     _________________________________________________________

Chapter 6. Backup

6.1. Recommandations

     * Shut down all possible applications (this minimizes any compare
       differences following the backup). Especially shutdown properly
       any running database on your system, as the recovery may lead to
       corrupted data.
     * Type:

   bash# mondoarchive

   For most users, that should be enough. :-) Mondoarchive will usually
   autodetect your hardware and configure it for you.

   If you are a power user (or you like to control every detail of how
   Mondo runs) then you may want to look at the command-line switches.
   For example:-

   bash# mondoarchive -Ow9 -gF -I /home

   cdrecord will tell you where your CD recorder lives, in SCSI terms,
   which looks like '0,0,0'. The previous call to mondoarchive tells
   Mondo to backup everything to a 4x CD-RW drive that has a CD-RW disk
   in it. (Use -Oc instead of -Ow if you are using CD-R.)

   Please put the first CD-R(W) in the drive now. You will be prompted
   to insert CD #2 but you will not be prompted to insert the first
   disk. However, if you forget, do not worry: if Mondo fails to write
   the first (or any) disk, it will offer to retry, abort or fail.

   Find the speed/compression compromise that best suits your needs.
   Here maximum (-9) compression level is used.

   If you are using cron then please consult the chapter that Conor
   Daly has dedicated to that topic
     _________________________________________________________

6.2. Backup Commands and Options

   Backup Command:

   mondoarchive <-option1> <-option2> ... <-optionN>

   E.g.,

   bash# mondoarchive -E "/mnt/dos /mnt/cdrom" -9 -Oc 8

   Would create backup CD to a CD-R disc at the highest compression
   level, writing at speed 8 and ignoring the /mnt/dos and /mnt/cdrom
   directories.

   To see a detailed list of switches and their meaning, see the HTML
   man page on the website or type 'man mondoarchive' at the console.
     _________________________________________________________

6.2.1. Standard Example With CD-R

   bash# mondoarchive -Oc 2 -g

   Replace '2' in '-Oc 2' with the writer's speed. If mondoarchive
   cannot find your CD-R then please add '-d 0,0,0' (or whatever your
   CD writer's SCSI node is; usually, it is 0,0,0) to the call.

   Please insert the first disk in the writer while the PC is chugging
   away. If Mondo needs additional CD-R(W) then it will ask for them.
     _________________________________________________________

6.2.2. Standard Example With CD-RW

   bash# mondoarchive -Ow 2 -g

   Replace '2' in '-Ow 2' with the writer's speed.
     _________________________________________________________

6.2.3. Standard Example With Tape

   bash# mondoarchive -Ot -d /dev/st0 -g
     _________________________________________________________

6.2.4. Standard Example With Failsafe kernel

   bash# mondoarchive -k FAILSAFE -Ow 2

   If you have problems during the restore phase, due to your kernel
   (which may be the case on some distributions), you may want to
   explore the Failsafe approach, In order for this option to work
   you'll have to get the mindi-kernel tarball or package for your
   distribution.
     _________________________________________________________

6.2.5. Standard Example With Network Backup

   bash# mount 192.168.1.3:/home/nfs -t nfs /mnt/nfs
   bash# mondoarchive -OVn 192.168.1.3:/home/nfs -g -s 200m
   bash# umount /mnt/nfs

   The resultant ISO's can be burned to CD's if you want (which isn't a
   good  idea unless you're a Mondo expert because they'll try to
   restore  over a network by default, which is silly because the
   archives are on the CD's). Or, you can boot from the Mindi floppies
   (or mondorescue.iso) and hit ENTER a few times to restore.

   Those ISO images can also be used for a PXE restore. For this to
   work, please refer to the file README.pxe provided with your mindi
   package.
     _________________________________________________________

Chapter 7. HOWTO run mondo interactively using cron

7.1. Overview

   Mondoarchive is designed to run interactively (at least where media
   changes are necessary). Cron does not allow user interaction with a
   job. This section addresses the problem by using screen as a wrapper
   for mondo.

   This section is Copyright 2003 Conor Daly.
     _________________________________________________________

7.2. Introduction

   Mondoarchive is designed to run interactively. That's not strictly
   true, if you run mondoarchive without the '-g' switch, it will just
   run. However, there is a problem where media changes are necessary.
   The user must change the media and tell mondoarchive that the change
   has been done. The problem lies in the fact that cron does not allow
   user interaction with a job. If you schedule a mondoarchive job via
   cron, you better be sure it needs only one media. in practical
   terms, this means using tapes or ISOs (if CD-R(W) is your backup
   medium). However, for tape users, there's always the possibility
   that the backup will overflow the tape while for CD-R(W) users,
   there is the added hassle of burning the ISOs in the morning. If
   your CD_R(W) backup routinely occupies more than one media, this is
   not for you (use the ISO option and burn the CDs in the morning).
   This HOWTO addresses the problem by using screen as a wrapper for
   mondo.
     _________________________________________________________

7.3. Who should read this?

7.3.1. Insurance

   Mondo  users who wish to automate the backup and whose backups
   routinely occupy close to one media are the best audience. If you
   backup  to  tape, the occasion will arise when the backup will
   overflow your tape. In this instance, mondoarchive will ask for
   another tape. If you're using cron to start the backup, you won't be
   able to tell mondo that the new tape is mounted and the backup will
   fail. If you backup to CD-R(W), the same situation will arise but
   sooner.
     _________________________________________________________

7.3.2. Efficiency

   If your backup already occupies two media, this method will allow as
   much of the backup as possible to proceed during quiet periods. Time
   the backup to start wich enough time to complete the first media
   shortly before the operator arrives for work. The next media can be
   mounted and the backup completed asap and minimises the time for
   which  users  are  inconvenienced  by the backup (eg. database
   locked...).
     _________________________________________________________

7.4. The Problem

7.4.1. Cron's environment

   When  a user submits a job with cron, their environment is not
   preserved. This is reasonable since cron jobs are typically ongoing
   and may be adversely affected if the user's environment changes
   subsequent to the cron submission. Thus, a cron job should call a
   script that set's up the correct environment before starting the
   user's desired program. The 'at' command does this nicely.
     _________________________________________________________

7.4.2. Interactivity

   When a job is started with cron, it runs as a background process. No
   interaction with the program is possible (unless it is capable of
   interacting via a FIFO or some such) except termination via its pid.
   The only program that I know of that allows such interaction and
   serves as a wrapper for other prrocesses is 'screen'
     _________________________________________________________

7.4.3. Screen

   There's one little problem with screen though. It expects to attach
   to a terminal when it first starts. This won't happen under cron so
   screen will fail. Fortunately, screen comes with a "start detached"
   option.
     _________________________________________________________

7.5. The Solution

7.5.1. Briefly

     * Use 'at' to run your usual mondoarchive command
     * Grab the script generated by 'at' and make a copy of it
     * Edit  that  script to use 'screen -m -d <your mondoarchive
       command>'
     * Run that script from your crontab
     * Use 'screen -r' to attach to the mondo screen to change CDs
     * Use '<CTRL>-a d' to detach the screen again
     _________________________________________________________

7.5.2. In Detail

7.5.2.1. at

   Use the 'at' command to submit your usual mondoarchive command. My
   mondoarchive command is:

   # mondoarchive -D -Ow 10 -S /home/mondo/ -T /home/mondo/ -g \ -E
   "\"/home/cdaly/GIS/W2K /home/mondo/\"" -9

   To submit the mondoarchive command with 'at' do:

   # at now + 5 min mondoarchive -D -Ow 10 -S /home/mondo/ -T
   /home/mondo/ -g \ -E "\"/home/cdaly/GIS/W2K /home/mondo/\"" -9
   <CTRL>-d

   This  generates  a script in /var/spool/at/ which sets up your
   environment and runs your command. Grab this script to become your
   cron job.
     _________________________________________________________

7.5.2.2. Grab the 'at' script

   Make a copy of the script generated by the 'at' command to use as
   the basis for your cron job.

   grep mondo /var/spool/at/*
   cp /var/spool/at/<file-from-grep> /root/mondo-cronscript

   You'll need to edit this.
     _________________________________________________________

7.5.2.3. Edit mondo-cronscript

   To use screen, you'll need to edit the cronscript and add the screen
   command. My mondo-cronscript looks like:
#!/bin/sh
# atrun uid=0 gid=0
# mail    cdaly 0 umask 22
PWD=/root; export PWD
XAUTHORITY=/root/.xauthyOrD4f; export XAUTHORITY
HOSTNAME=bofh.irmet.ie; export HOSTNAME
PVM_RSH=/usr/bin/rsh; export PVM_RSH
QTDIR=/usr/lib/qt-2.3.1; export QTDIR
LESSOPEN=\|/usr/bin/lesspipe.sh\ %s; export LESSOPEN
XPVM_ROOT=/usr/share/pvm3/xpvm; export XPVM_ROOT
KDEDIR=/usr; export KDEDIR
USER=root; export USER
LS_COLORS=no=00:fi=00:di=01\;34:ln=01\;36:pi=40\;33:so=01\;35:bd=40\;33
\;01:cd=40\;33\;01:or=01\;05\;37\;41:mi=01\;05\;37\;41:ex=01\;32:\*.cmd
=01\;32:\*.exe=01\;32:\*.com=01\;32:\*.btm=01\;32:\*.bat=01\;32:\*.sh=0
1\;32:\*.csh=01\;32:\*.tar=01\;31:\*.tgz=01\;31:\*.arj=01\;31:\*.taz=01
\;31:\*.lzh=01\;31:\*.zip=01\;31:\*.z=01\;31:\*.Z=01\;31:\*.gz=01\;31:\
*.bz2=01\;31:\*.bz=01\;31:\*.tz=01\;31:\*.rpm=01\;31:\*.cpio=01\;31:\*.
jpg=01\;35:\*.gif=01\;35:\*.bmp=01\;35:\*.xbm=01\;35:\*.xpm=01\;35:\*.p
ng=01\;35:\*.tif=01\;35:; export LS_COLORS
MACHTYPE=i386-redhat-linux-gnu; export MACHTYPE
MAIL=/var/spool/mail/root; export MAIL
INPUTRC=/etc/inputrc; export INPUTRC
BASH_ENV=/root/.bashrc; export BASH_ENV
LANG=en_US; export LANG
LOGNAME=root; export LOGNAME
SHLVL=1; export SHLVL
II_SYSTEM=/usr/local/ingres; export II_SYSTEM
USERNAME=root; export USERNAME
HOSTTYPE=i386; export HOSTTYPE
OSTYPE=linux-gnu; export OSTYPE
HISTSIZE=1000; export HISTSIZE
LAMHELPFILE=/etc/lam/lam-helpfile; export LAMHELPFILE
PVM_ROOT=/usr/share/pvm3; export PVM_ROOT
HOME=/root; export HOME
SSH_ASKPASS=/usr/libexec/openssh/gnome-ssh-askpass;
export SSH_ASKPASS
PATH=/usr/local/ingres/ingres/bin:/usr/local/ingres/ingres/utility:/usr
/kerberos/sbin:/usr/kerberos/bin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/loc
al/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/X11R6/bin:/root/bin; export PA
TH
cd /root || {
echo 'Execution directory inaccessible' >&2
exit 1
}
screen -m -d mondoarchive -D -Ow 10 -S /home/mondo/ \
-T /home/mondo/ -g -E "\"/home/cdaly/GIS/W2K /home/mondo/\"" -9
#done

   The crucial line is this one:

   screen -m -d mondoarchive -D -Ow 10 -S /home/mondo/ -T /home/mondo/
   -g -E "\"/home/cdaly/GIS/W2K /home/mondo/\"" -9

   This uses 'screen -m -d' to "-m -d Start screen in "detached" mode.
   This creates a new session but doesn't attach to it. This is useful
   for system startup scripts. (From 'man screen')"

   When screen starts, it will be in the background and "detached".
     _________________________________________________________

7.5.2.4. Run the thing with cron

   To get the whole thing running, do:

   crontab -e

   and add the following lines:

   # run mondoarchive at 23:59 weekdays
   59 23 * * 1-5 /root/mondo-cronscript

   Your mondoarchive job will run at 23:59 monday-friday.

   DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE TAPES!
     _________________________________________________________

7.5.2.5. Getting at it...

   Once your cron job is running regularly, you'll want to get to it to
   change tapes and check status etc.

   screen -r

   attaches to the running screen where you can change CDs etc

   <CTRL>-a d

   detaches the running screen again.
     _________________________________________________________

7.5.2.6. Caveat

   The  script  generated  by  'at' is unique to the user/machine
   combination. You MUST regenerate it on each machine where it will be
   used. Using the one above will NOT work for you. MAKE YOUR OWN!
     _________________________________________________________

Chapter 8. Compare

   Before you trust your backup CD, make sure your BIOS can boot CD
   (and that it is configured to do so).

     * Boot from the first CD.
     * Type:

   LILO: compare

   Follow the on-screen instructions. This will compare your backup
   against your original file system.

   FYI, no bad archives have been created since May 2000. Having said
   that, I would still encourage you to run Compare before trusting the
   backups.

   To view the file differences, look at the file '/tmp/changed.txt'.
   Normal differences include logs and other dynamic system files that
   changed during the time of the backup process. If only a few files
   differ  -  e.g. files in /var, files ending in '&#732;', logs,
   temporary  files, /etc/mtab, /etc/adjtimex - then you know the
   archives are good. Your logs will change over time, too. Bear in
   mind that a difference between the backup and the live copy does
   not indicate  a  flaw  in Mondo. It indicates that you or your
   filesystem changed the files, so the backup is no longer 100% up to
   date. However, that is inevitable, as your filesystem changes from
   moment to moment (which is why you back it up regularly).
     _________________________________________________________

Chapter 9. Restore

9.1. Overview

   I hope you don't have to restore from scratch very often. It's
   nerve-wracking until you realize that Mondo's restore engine is very
   reliable.

   If you find that you cannot make your PC boot from the CD, take
   heart: the first backup CD of each set contains floppy disk images
   to give you the same functionality as the CD (minus the archives, of
   course) on floppies. Remember, your Mondo CD is a fully functional
   CD-based mini-distribution as well as a recovery CD.

   You can choose from the following modes:

   Interactive
          Restore step-by-step, or restore a subset of the archives.
          This is the method you should mainly use for your recovery
          needs.

   Nuke
          Wipe your drives and restore everything, automatically and
          unattended. Warning: This does exactly what is says, so be
          carefull using it.

   Expert
          Boot to a shell prompt. If you want to do anything creative,
          you should boot into Expert Mode. It's called expert, I think
          that says it all.

   If the CD is not found during the initial restore CD boot attempt,
   reboot the PC a second time prior to reporting failure. Occasional
   timing errors and hardware/software/system conflicts do occur.
     _________________________________________________________

9.2. Tips and Tricks

   Ideally, restore your system to a spare hard drive to test the
   integrity and reliability of your disks. To do that, either edit
   your mountlist to make the devices point to your spare hard drive,
   or swap your hard drive cables between boots.

   At a bare minimum, compare your CD against your file system before
   you decide whether to trust them.

   To test Mondo's ability to handle your LILO or GRUB boot loader and
   accompanying configuration file:

     * Boot from the backup CD into Expert Mode
     * Type:

   bash# mondorestore --mbr

     * To fix any mess it made (not that it should) type:

   bash# mount-me
   bash# chroot /mnt/RESTORING

   bash# lilo OR grub-install '(hd0)'
   bash# exit
   bash# unmount-me

     * If it did not work then please copy /tmp/mondo-restore.log to a
       floppy (or to your hard disk, USB key, ...), gzip it and e-mail
       it to the mondorescue mailing list.
     _________________________________________________________

9.2.1. Barebones (Nuke) Restore

   Imagine that your hard drives happen to be wiped, deliberately or
   accidentally. Or, imagine that you want to clone your existing
   operating system. In either case, you want to run in Nuke Mode.

   If you want to wipe everything and restore your whole system from
   CD, please:

     * Use the -H option when invoking mondoarchive
     * Boot from the first Mondo CD
     * Press RESTORE<enter>
     * Insert the subsequent CD when asked
     * Watch the screen for errors

   That's  it.  The  restoration process for tape or NFS users is
   similarly easy: just boot, answer the on-screen prompts, and wait.

   Now,  should  something  go wrong, you will be able to examine
   /tmp/mondo-restore.log to see what happened. All is not lost. You
   can fdisk and the partitions yourself, using the tools that come
   with the CD. You can then run mondorestore in Interactive Mode and
   say 'no' when asked if you want Mondo to partition/ your drives.

   If  you  want  to  see exactly what Mondo is doing while it is
   restoring,  press <Alt><left cursor> to view its logfile, in a
   virtual console, scrolling past.
     _________________________________________________________

9.2.2. Interactive Restore

   Interactive Mode is for people who have lost a subset of data from
   their live file system, or perhaps who have lost some data from
   their latest backup and want to restore a subset of data from an
   earlier backup. If you want to restore only some files or if you do
   not want to prep/ your drives, then you should boot into Interactive
   Mode.  The interactive mode will provide an 'Editing mountlist
   screen' that allows you to setup a different disk geometry.

   To move up and down between partitions in the 'Editing mountlist
   screen', use the Up and Down arrows. To move between the main window
   and the buttons at the bottom, use the Left and Right cursor keys.
   TAB shifts focus from one screen item to the other in a haphazard
   fashion, owing to the complexities of the Newt library.

   If you want to restore selectively, just press <enter> and follow
   the on-screen instructions. You will be asked to say yes/no to a
   range of questions.

   If you are planning to modify your partition table, you would do
   well to read up on the partition layout and the use of fdisk, it
   gives you some pointers on how to best lay out partitions. You can
   find a good guide at http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Partition/index.html

   If you want to restore a subset of the backup then:

     * Boot from the CD
     * Type:

   bash# interactive

     * Then, after booting, answer the questions as follows:

   Do you want to partition your devices? no
   Do you want to them? no
   Do you want to restore everything? no
   Do you want to restore something? yes
   Which path do you want to restore? /mydata [e.g.]
   Do you want to run LILO to setup your boot sectors? Yes
     _________________________________________________________

9.2.3. Expert Restore

   If you are planning to modify your partition table, you would do
   well to read up on the partition layout and the use of fdisk, it
   gives you some could pointers on how to best lay out partitions. You
   can    find    good    a    guide    at   http://www.ibiblio.o
   rg/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/mini/Partition/index.html

   To restore manually, please:

     * Boot from the first CD, then type:

   bash# expert

     * Then do whatever you like. :) You may type the following, of
       course:

   bash# mondorestore
     _________________________________________________________

9.2.4. Modified partitions - Restore to a different disk geometry

   One of the nice things about Mondo is that it lets you wipe your
   existing  system and restore it in any layout you like (within
   reason). You can move from non-RAID to RAID,install and utilize
   additional drives, move from ext2 to ReiserFS, etc., all without
   risking the loss of data.

   If  the  user  excluded a particular partition from backup and
   specifically excluded it from the mountlist itself using -E then
   Mondo will insert a small (32MB) partition at restore-time, in order
   to avoid having to re-jig fstab, the partition table, etc.

   To do this:

     * Boot into Expert Mode, then type:

   bash# mondorestore

     * (edit the mountlist using the on-screen editor)

   If you want to move from ext2 to ReiserFS, you can do it here (so
   long as your kernel supports ReiserFS). Ditto for XFS, JFS or ext3.

   Mondorestore will try to modify your /etc/fstab to reflect changes
   you have made to the mountlist. If you are not using LILO, you can
   still create your own /mnt/RESTORING/etc/lilo.conf and run lilo -r
   /mnt/RESTORING  to configure your boot sectors and Master Boot
   Record.

   Mondo (technically, Mindi on behalf of Mondo) creates a file called
   a mountlist. This can be found on the ramdisk at /tmp/mountlist.txt;
   it looks something like this:

   /dev/hda1 /mnt/windows vfat 4096000
   /dev/hda5 / reiserfs 6023000
   /dev/hda6 /tmp xfs 955000
   /dev/hda7 /usr ext3 4096000

   It is fairly easy to understand the list. Each line refers to a
   single device/partition. The line is:

   <device> <partition> <> <Kilobytes>

   If you have added a hard drive and want to take advantage of the
   additional space, you could amend the above mountlist to read:

   /dev/hda1 /mnt/windows vfat 6096000
   /dev/hda5 / reiserfs 9123000
   /dev/hda6 /tmp xfs 955000
   /dev/hdb1 /usr ext3 8192000
   /dev/hdb2 /home xfs 8192000

   This assumes that your old hard drive is /dev/hda and the new hard
   drive is /dev/hdb.

   Or, if you want to add RAID support, create a new /etc/raidtab on
   the ramdisk (which is beyond the scope of this HOWTO) and then write
   a mountlist like this:

   /dev/hda1 /mnt/windows vfat 6096000
   /dev/md0 / reiserfs 9123000
   /dev/md1 /tmp xfs 955000
   /dev/md2 /usr ext3 8192000
   /dev/md3 /home xfs 8192000

   So long as your /etc/raidtab file is sane, Mondo can automatically
   partition and your disks for you, including the RAID devices.

   Once   you  have  finished  editing  /tmp/mountlist.txt  using
   mondorestore's built-in editor then you may choose 'OK'. Please note
   that this will not write anything to your hard disk. You will only
   reformat or repartition your disks if you say 'Yes' when asked if
   you want to do those things.
     _________________________________________________________

9.2.5. Advanced

   It is now possible to restore to a live filesystem using Mondo. In
   other words, you do not have to boot your PC from your CD/floppy in
   order to restore files. Mondo was originally designed for disaster
   recovery - situations in which you cannot boot your PC. If you can
   boot your PC, it is not really a disaster, is it? :) Well, if you
   have wiped out your priceless collection of "MTV's Bjork Unplugged"
   MP3's, perhaps it is. Anyway, just type this as root

   bash# mondorestore

   Choose your type of backup media. The live restoration process is
   very similar to what you'll experience if you type mondorestore with
   no parameters after booting from a Mondo CD/floppy.
   Hit 'OK' when you have inserted the tape/CD. If you generated a tape
   backup, the tape itself should be enough. If you generated a CD
   backup, the first CD should be enough. Otherwise, you may need the
   boot floppy.
   Flag the files and directories you wish to restore. Use the 'More'
   and 'Less' buttons to open and close subdirectories.
   Specify the location to restore the files to. In general, '/' is
   appropriate. If you do not want to overwrite newer versions of the
   files you are restoring then specify /tmp/BKP or similar as the
   restore path.
   Mondorestore will retrieve configuration information from the media.
   (The sample screen is for tape users. CD users will see something
   different.)
   Data will be restored to the hard disk - first the regular files,
   then any big (32MB or greater) files in the restore set.

   I hope this manual is proving to be useful to you.
     _________________________________________________________

Chapter 10. FAQ

10.1. Overview

   Are    the    errors    from   Mindi   or   Mondo?   Look   at
   /var/log/mondo-archive.log,    /var/log/mindi.log    or    the
   mondo.err.xxxxx.tgz log indicated by the screen message. Pipe screen
   errors which relate to the creation of boot disk(s) and or data
   disk(s) to a text file.

   See  the  MondoRescue  for details. If you are going to e-mail
   mondorescue mailing list then please attach that text file (zipped!)
   and give :

     * Your kernel version
     * Your Linux distro's name and version
     * Whether your kernel supports initrd and loopfs; it should!
     * What  sort  of  PC  you  are  using,  including  hard disk
       configurations

   Mondo is freely available under the GPL and you are given it for no
   charge. When you e-mail the mondorescue mailing list, please bear
   that in mind.
     _________________________________________________________

10.2. General Questions

   10.2.1. Q: What is "Mindi"?
   10.2.2. Q: Why is it called "Mondo"?
   10.2.3. Q: Mondo does not work on my system. It keels over and dies.
          What's wrong?

   10.2.4. Q: What if the error is in Mindi?
   10.2.5. Q: Can I trust Mondo?
   10.2.6. Q: How do I report a bug?
   10.2.7. Q: I think Mondo should (...insert suggestion here...) and I
          have rewritten it accordingly. Would you like to see my
          patch?

   10.2.8. Q: I think Mondo should (...insert suggestion here...); will
          you incorporate this feature for me, please?

   10.2.9. Q: Mondo says, "XXX is missing," and then terminates. What's
          wrong?

   10.2.10. Q: Can Mondo handle multi-CD backups and restores?
   10.2.11. Q: Can Mondo handle Linux/Windows dual-boot systems?
   10.2.12. Q: Can Mondo backup Windows-only systems?
   10.2.13. Q: Does Mondo support LVM?
   10.2.14. Q: What if I don't use LILO? What if I use GRUB?
   10.2.15. Q: I get the error, 'Cannot find /tmp/dev.0' or 'Cannot
          mount device 0x0701'; what do I do?

   10.2.16. Q: Can I create a Mondo CD and then use it to create an
          archive of any OS on any PC?

   10.2.17. Q: Why do you insist on putting floppy disk images on Mondo
          CD? They waste space and I never use them. The CD works just
          fine, so why keep the floppy disk images?

   10.2.18. Q: Why doesn't the Mondo project have a cool-looking animal
          logo?

   10.2.19. Q: Is there a Mondo user 'Code of Conduct?

   10.2.1. Q: What is "Mindi"?

   A: Mindi, a.k.a. Mindi-Linux, makes a mini-distribution from your
   kernel, modules, modules, tools and libraries. It can also generate
   an El Torito 2.88/5.76MB boot disk image. Mondo uses Mindi to create
   a mini-distro, then boots from it and runs on it.

   10.2.2. Q: Why is it called "Mondo"?

   A:  The  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles described cool things as
   'mondo'. Hugo Rabson wasn't sure what to call this project. 'Faust'
   was  one  idea  he had, partly as a dig at his former boss who
   practically owned him because of his legal status at the time. In
   the end, He chose something short and distinctive.

   10.2.3. Q: Mondo does not work on my system. It keels over and dies.
   What's wrong?

   A:  It  works  on Red Hat 7.x/8/9, RHEL 2.1/3/4, Mandrakelinux
   8.x/9.x/10.x, Debian 3.0, most flavors of SuSE/SLES, some flavors of
   Slackware, etc. The more distributions we support, the more moving
   targets we have to hit. Please bear this in mind when e-mailing the
   list. :) If you would like to help us by beta-testing Mondo (or
   Mindi) on your PC then we would be very interested in working with
   you to work around the eccentricities of your Linux distro. However,
   rest assured, 90% of the bugs reported are actually symptoms of
   FooLinux X.Y's unique way of doing things.

   Please send a copy of /var/log/mondo-archive.log to the mondorescue
   mailing list along with a description of your distro, your kernel,
   etc. Oh, and before sending it, please try to read it.

   10.2.4. Q: What if the error is in Mindi?

   A: Please send a copy of /var/log/mindi.log to the mondorescue
   mailing list along with a description of your distro, your kernel,
   etc. Oh, and before sending it, please read it asit's much easier to
   understand it.

   10.2.5. Q: Can I trust Mondo?

   A: Mondo has generated reliable archives since May 2000. Lost data
   occured by using bad CD-R disks and not verifying their contents.
   Some users have not tried booting from their CD until crunch time.
   Remember to boot into Compare Mode to verify the backup before you
   trust it. If Mondo did not work, you would not be reading this. If
   it does not work for you, your kernel is usually the culprit. Check
   Linux Kernel support to see what your kernel should support. Please
   e-mail the list if you need some help with this.

   10.2.6. Q: How do I report a bug?

   A: E-mail the bug report (mondo.err.xxxxx.tgz) to the mondorescue
   mailing list. Ok you've read it already but it's really important if
   you want help. If you don't send a logfile then there isn't a lot
   that we can do for you, so PLEASE include a logfile at the very
   least.

   10.2.7. Q: I think Mondo should (...insert suggestion here...) and I
   have rewritten it accordingly. Would you like to see my patch?

   A: Absolutely! :-) The best way for you to make Mondo do what you
   want is to modify it and then send the patch. That way, we can all
   benefit.

   10.2.8. Q: I think Mondo should (...insert suggestion here...); will
   you incorporate this feature for me, please?

   A: please enter the suggestion in our feature system at MondoRescue

   10.2.9. Q: Mondo says, "XXX is missing," and then terminates. What's
   wrong?

   A: A good Linux distribution should contain XXX but the designers,
   in their infinite wisdom, decided not to include that particular
   tool. Check Related Linux Packages and install the missing package.
   If that fails, contact the vendor/distributor/manufacturer/designer
   of your distro.

   10.2.10. Q: Can Mondo handle multi-CD backups and restores?

   A: Yes, up to twenty CD per set. This 20-CD limit results from
   laziness on mondorescue's part. I'll be removed in the future.
   However, if your system occupies more than 20 CD, may it's time for
   another type of media ?

   10.2.11. Q: Can Mondo handle Linux/Windows dual-boot systems?

   A: Yes. If your system currently boots into Linux or Windows via
   LILO, you can backup and restore both OSes at the same time using
   Mondo. If you are using NTFS then add the switch, '-x <device>'.

   10.2.12. Q: Can Mondo backup Windows-only systems?

   A: Not at the moment.

   10.2.13. Q: Does Mondo support LVM?

   A: Mondo supports LVM v1 and v2. Mondo backs up and restores your
   existing setup but it does not make it easy for you to change your
   LVM   configuration,   at   the   moment.  You  have  to  edit
   /tmp/i-want-my-lvm at boot-time to do that.

   10.2.14. Q: What if I don't use LILO? What if I use GRUB?

   A: GRUB is supported by Mondo.

   10.2.15. Q: I get the error, 'Cannot find /tmp/dev.0' or 'Cannot
   mount device 0x0701'; what do I do?

   A:  Please free up /dev/loop0 using 'losetup /dev/loop0 -d' to
   unmount that loop device. If your OS will not let you do that,
   contact your local support group or Linux vendor.

   10.2.16. Q: Can I create a Mondo CD and then use it to create an
   archive of any OS on any PC?

   A: Not yet. You can use Mondo to backup Linux or Linux/Windows dual
   boot. One day, Mondo will let you backup partitions it can't read or
   write, by treating each partition as one long file to be backed up.
   This file will be chopped, compressed and archived like any other
   big file.

   10.2.17. Q: Why do you insist on putting floppy disk images on Mondo
   CD? They waste space and I never use them. The CD works just fine,
   so why keep the floppy disk images?

   A: Because. It helped us in the past. If you really, truly want them
   gone then please submit a patch to make them optional.

   10.2.18. Q: Why doesn't the Mondo project have a cool-looking animal
   logo?

   A: Excellent question! Please submit graphics of candidate animal
   logos!

   10.2.19. Q: Is there a Mondo user 'Code of Conduct?

   A:  Yes.  Read  the HOWTO. Submit patches. Recommend realistic
   improvements. Be courteous to other users on the discussion list. Do
   not whine.
     _________________________________________________________

10.3. Booting and Kernel related Questions

   10.3.1. Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says, "VFS:
          Unable to mount root fs." I am using an old Debian distro.
          What do I do?

   10.3.2. Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says, "Cannot
          mount root fs - kernel panic," or something similar. What do
          I do?

   10.3.3. Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says, "UPGRADE
          YOUR RAM". What does that mean?

   10.3.4. Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says something
          about not finding my CD-ROM drive and then it blames the
          kernel. What does that mean?

   10.3.5. Q: The Mondo CD/floppy takes ages to boot. How can I speed
          it up?

   10.3.6. Q: I made a Mondo CD using the failsafe kernel (i.e. I said
          'no' when Mondo asked if I wanted to use my own kernel). It
          still doesn't boot. Help!

   10.3.7. Q: What if my PC won't boot from a CD?
   10.3.8. Q: But why won't Mondo boot from my CD? It says my kernel is
          flawed/outdated/ whatever, and when I wrote to the ML, they
          told me the same thing... but I still don't get it. I mean,
          my kernel works for everything else. Why not Mondo?

   10.3.9. Q: Why do I only need a boot disk if I'm using a tape drive?
          Where are the data disks?

   10.3.10. Q: Why does it say, "Process accounting FAILED" when I
          reboot?

   10.3.11. Q: Why does it say, &#8220;request_module[block-major-1]:
          Root fs not mounted VFS: Cannot open root device "100" or
          01:00 Please append a correct "root=" boot option kernel
          panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 01:00&#8221; when i
          boot from the CD?

   10.3.12. Q: How do i copy boot+data disk images to physical floppy
          disks ?

   10.3.13. Q: My tape drive doesn't play nicely with Mondo at
          boot-time. What do I do?

   10.3.1. Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says, "VFS:
   Unable to mount root fs." I am using an old Debian distro. What do I
   do?

   A: Ask Debian's designers why they, unlike every other distro I can
   find, have included cramfs and other 'goodies' with their kernel. In
   the meantime, please use '-k FAILSAFE' in your command line when
   calling Mondo.

   A: From Sarge onwards, all stock Debian 2.6 kernels should work
   fine. If you are still using stock Debian 2.4 kernels, FAILSAFE is
   the way to go. Of course, if you have compiled your own kernel and
   experience problems, FAILSAFE is the way to go as well, but this is
   not really Debian-specific.

   10.3.2. Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says, "Cannot
   mount root fs - kernel panic," or something similar. What do I do?

   A: Recompile your kernel (or use '-k FAILSAFE'). Take a look at
   Linux Kernel support to see what you're kernel must support.

   10.3.3. Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says, "UPGRADE
   YOUR RAM". What does that mean?

   A: Recompile your kernel and add Virtual memory file system support.
   Take a look at Linux Kernel support to see what you're kernel must
   support. (Of course, if your PC has less than 64MB of RAM, you could
   always... what's the phrase? I know, upgrade your RAM!)

   10.3.4. Q: When I try to boot from the Mondo CD, it says something
   about not finding my CD-ROM drive and then it blames the kernel.
   What does that mean?

   A: Your kernel must support initrd, loopfs, IDE|SCSI|USB CD-ROM's,
   and ramdisks. Take a look at Linux Kernel support to see what you're
   kernel must support. If your kernel does not support these things,
   Mondo will not boot from your CD. However, when running Mindi, you
   may choose to use _its_ kernel instead of your own. In addition, you
   may boot from floppy disk images instead the CD: copy the disk
   images from the CD /images directory to floppy disks, using 'dd'.
   Take a look at Copy boot data disks on how to make those.

   10.3.5. Q: The Mondo CD/floppy takes ages to boot. How can I speed
   it up?

   A: Edit mindi (it's a shell script, btw) and change LILO_OPTIONS=""
   to LILO_OPTIONS="-c". This enables map compaction in lilo and speeds
   up booting, for more info see the lilo man page.

   10.3.6. Q: I made a Mondo CD using the failsafe kernel (i.e. I said
   'no' when Mondo asked if I wanted to use my own kernel). It still
   doesn't boot. Help!

   A:  OK,  now that is a bug. :-) I included a kernel with Mondo
   (technically, with Mindi, which Mondo uses) to make sure that users
   could use Mondo despite flaws in their own kernels. If you are using
   Mondo/Mindi's kernel but still cannot boot from your Mondo CD then
   please e-mail the mondorescue mailing list.

   10.3.7. Q: What if my PC won't boot from a CD?

   A: Copy the image files from the CD /images directory, using the dd
   command. Take a look at Copy boot data disks on how to make those.
   Then boot from the first floppy; follow it up with the data disks;
   finally, type 'mount /mnt/cdrom' and then utilize the restore script
   as usual, e.g. mondorestore.

   A: You may also want to boot using the network with PXE. Look at the
   README.pxe file of mindi to know more details on how.

   10.3.8. Q: But why won't Mondo boot from my CD? It says my kernel is
   flawed/outdated/ whatever, and when I wrote to the ML, they told me
   the same thing... but I still don't get it. I mean, my kernel works
   for everything else. Why not Mondo?

   A: Because Mondo makes a boot disk using your kernel. I bet your
   other software doesn't do that. Also, not all kernels are suitable
   for boot disks. I'm sorry but that's Life. Upgrade your kernel
   and/or recompile it. Take a look at Linux Kernel support to see what
   you're kernel must support.

   10.3.9. Q: Why do I only need a boot disk if I'm using a tape drive?
   Where are the data disks?

   A: On the tape. :-) The first 32MB of the tape will be set aside for
   a large tarball containing the data disks, a list of all files
   backed  up,  and  other  sundries. If Mondo and Mindi do their
   respective jobs then you won't need additional floppies, just the
   boot floppy and the tape(s).

   For the moment mondorescue doesn't support OBDR for tapes. Feel free
   to produce patches for it :-)

   10.3.10. Q: Why does it say, "Process accounting FAILED" when I
   reboot?

   A: You were using Process Accounting. Red Hat (or whichever distro
   you are using) does not provide a startup/shutdown script yet. So,
   when you try to backup the process log, it just grows and grows as
   Mondo tries to back it up. Mondo doesn't back it up anymore and
   that's why. The unfortunate side-effect is... well, what you see on
   your screen. Type 'touch /var/log/pacct' and then 'paccton' to fix
   the error message.

   10.3.11. Q: Why does it say, &#8220;request_module[block-major-1]:
   Root fs not mounted VFS: Cannot open root device "100" or 01:00
   Please append a correct "root=" boot option kernel panic: VFS:
   Unable to mount root fs on 01:00&#8221; when i boot from the CD?

   A: Recompile your kernel and add initrd support. Take a look at
   Linux Kernel supportto see what you're kernel must support.

   10.3.12. Q: How do i copy boot+data disk images to physical floppy
   disks ?

   A: The images are in /root/images/mindi (even if they are created by
   Mondo) and also in the 'images' directory on the first CD of your
   backup set, if you have backed up to CD. You can copy the images to
   disk as follows:-

   Put an empty Boot floppy
   bash# fdformat /dev/fd0u1722
   bash# dd if=/root/images/mindi/mindi-boot.1722.img of=/dev/fd0u1722
   Put an empty Data floppy
   bash# fdformat /dev/fd0
   bash# dd if=/root/images/mindi/mindi-data-N.img of=/dev/fd0
   Replace N with 1, 2, etc.

   10.3.13.  Q:  My  tape drive doesn't play nicely with Mondo at
   boot-time. What do I do?

   A: Play with 'mt'. Use its setblksize and defblksize switches to
   reconfigure your tape drive if necessary. Some tape drives just are
   painful. If yours is one of them then God help you. Mondo can handle
   any  tape  drive  whose drive and firmware can handle fopen(),
   fwrite(), fread() and fclose(). Mondo uses standard C libraries to
   talk to your tape streamer. If your tape streamer can't handle that
   then you had better call a priest. Either that or ask for a refund.
     _________________________________________________________

10.4. Installation related Questions

   10.4.1. Q: Why do I get, "newt.h not found," or "popt.h not found,"
          several times when I try to install Mondo?

   10.4.2. Q: Newt won't compile when I try. What's the problem?
   10.4.3. Q: I've just used up 6 CD-R, only to find that Mondo won't
          boot!

   10.4.4. Q: Lots of packages, required by Mondo, are missing from my
          system. What do I do?

   10.4.1. Q: Why do I get, "newt.h not found," or "popt.h not found,"
   several times when I try to install Mondo?

   A: You have not installed libnewt and/or libnewt-devel. Please do
   so. Check Related Linux Packages to see what Mondo requires and
   where you can get tarballs and RPM's. Make sure you are using the
   right version of newt/libnewt. Read the error messages carefully.

   10.4.2. Q: Newt won't compile when I try. What's the problem?

   A: You are probably missing popt.h, which newt needs to compile, it
   can be found in the 'popt' package. Check your distribution and see
   if they have popt, if not check Related Linux Packages to see where
   you can get it.

   10.4.3. Q: I've just used up 6 CD-R, only to find that Mondo won't
   boot!

   A:  You  should  have  used  CD-RW.  ;) In the HOWTO, it gives
   instructions on how to create a test CD (one, not six).

   10.4.4. Q: Lots of packages, required by Mondo, are missing from my
   system. What do I do?

   A: Install them. :) If you are using RPM or deb then you'll be told
   which packages you need. Mondo offers a lot of those packages on its
   Download web page.
     _________________________________________________________

10.5. Hardware related Questions

   10.5.1. Q: Can Mondo handle CD-RW?
   10.5.2. Q: Does Mondo support tape drives?
   10.5.3. Q: Does Mondo support my tape drive?
   10.5.4. Q: How do I copy the floppy images from the CD to floppy
          disks?

   10.5.5. Q: Sometimes, my laptop won't mount Mondo CD properly, or
          something. Umm...

   10.5.6. Q: Does Mondo support Hardware RAID?
   10.5.7. Q: Where is my CD burner, in SCSI terms?
   10.5.8. Q: Can Mondo handle SCSI devices?
   10.5.9. Q: Why doesn't cdrecord -scanbus work ?

   10.5.1. Q: Can Mondo handle CD-RW?

   A: Yes. Use '-Ow <speed> <device>' to make it work.

   10.5.2. Q: Does Mondo support tape drives?

   A: Yes. See above.

   10.5.3. Q: Does Mondo support my tape drive?

   A: If your tape drive and its firmware and the kernel-level driver
   support fopen(), fread(), fwrite() and fclose() - standard C library
   calls - then yes, Mondo should support it. If not, well, you need a
   refund. :) Mondo plays nicely with any sane, sensible drives. That's
   most of them, by the way. :) If your drive doesn't play nicely with
   Mondo then you may try tinkering with setblksize and defblksize
   using 'mt', or tweaking Mondo's block size by recompiling it with
   make INTTAPE=4096 or INTTAPE=8192 or something. Other than that, you
   need a priest or a refund.

   10.5.4. Q: How do I copy the floppy images from the CD to floppy
   disks?

   A: Mount the CD-ROM, e.g. at /mnt/cdrom. Insert a blank floppy.
   Type:

   bash# cd /mnt/cdrom/images
   bash# dd if=mindi-boot.1722.img of=/dev/fd0u1722

   Insert another blank floppy and type:

   bash# dd if=mindi-data-1.img of=/dev/fd0u1722

   Do the above for each 'mindi-data' disk image.

   10.5.5. Q: Sometimes, my laptop won't mount Mondo CD properly, or
   something. Umm...

   A: Please insert the CD, close the CD-ROM tray, wait a few seconds
   and then press Enter to acknowledge insertion of the next CD. Your
   laptop is on crack and is sucking a little too hard on the pipe.

   10.5.6. Q: Does Mondo support Hardware RAID?

   A: Yes. You may backup and restore RAID systems. You may also backup
   a non-RAID system and restore as RAID (or vice versa) by using the
   mountlist editor to edit your RAID and non-RAID partitions and their
   settings. Mondo will do the partitioning and formatting for you.

   Tested Raid controllers includes all those showind only classical
   devices such as /dev/sdx, and SmartArray cciss controllers.

   10.5.7. Q: Where is my CD burner, in SCSI terms?

   A: Type:

   bash# cdrecord -scanbus

   Find your CD burner's device# (e.g. '0,0,0'). Call Mondo with the
   switch '-Oc <speed>' -d '<device>'. Or, if you feel lucky, just use
   '-Oc 2'; Mondo will (a) assume you want to write at 4x to a CD-R and
   (b) will do its best to find your CD burner.

   10.5.8. Q: Can Mondo handle SCSI devices?

   A: Mondo should be able to handle almost any hardware. So long as
   your  kernel and modules support it, Mindi will support it and
   therefore so will Mondo.

   10.5.9. Q: Why doesn't cdrecord -scanbus work ?

   A: If you have a 2.4.x kernel (typical example are fedora legacy
   kernels for redhat 7.X/8/9) and an IDE CDRW device, and the drive is
   not listed when you run

   bash# cdrecord -scanbus

   try adding the following kernel option to your boot script to enable
   SCSI emulation: hdx=ide-scsi, where "hdx" should be replaced with
   the  appropriate drive letter of the CDRW device, e.g., "hdc".
   (Answer provided by Christopher Moriarity cdm7_at_cdc.gov)
     _________________________________________________________

10.6. Backup related Questions

   10.6.1. Q: Mondo says, 'Cannot run mindi --makemountlist' and
          aborts. What do I do?

   10.6.2. Q: Can Mondo burn CD as they are created?
   10.6.3. Q: Mondo failed to burn my CD. It said something like,
          "Error CDB A1 01 02 53 ..." and so on. What does that mean?

   10.6.4. Q: May I backup my system with one partition layout and
          restore with another?

   10.6.5. Q: Why does Mondo need so much free disk space?
   10.6.6. Q: I am trying to do something clever, e.g. write my ISO's
          to an NFS mount, and I get some weird error messages. What do
          I do?

   10.6.7. Q: Can Mondo backup to data files on another partition, e.g.
          an NFS mount?

   10.6.8. Q: Can Mondo backup _to_ an NFS partition, i.e. backup over
          a network? How about restoring?

   10.6.9. Q: Does Mondo handle System or Hidden attributes when
          archiving Dos/Win files?

   10.6.1.  Q: Mondo says, 'Cannot run mindi --makemountlist' and
   aborts. What do I do?

   A: Look at /var/log/mindi.log and see what it says. Also, try typing
   'mindi --makemountlist /tmp/mountlist.txt' to see what Mindi says.
   Send the log to the mondorescue mailing list if you get stuck.

   10.6.2. Q: Can Mondo burn CD as they are created?

   A: Yes. Use the '-Oc <speed>' switch. Use a negative number for a
   dummy burn.

   10.6.3. Q: Mondo failed to burn my CD. It said something like,
   "Error CDB A1 01 02 53 ..." and so on. What does that mean?

   A: Cdrecord reported some serious errors while trying to burn your
   CD. Check your CD burner, your CD-R and your kernel.

   10.6.4. Q: May I backup my system with one partition layout and
   restore with another?

   A: Yes. Boot in Interactive Mode and edit the mountlist using the
   snazzy new mountlist editor. Mondo can now edit your RAID partitions
   for you. Just open /dev/md0 (or whatever) and select "RAID.." to
   start. Or, to add a RAID device:

     * Add two or more partitions, of type and mountpoint 'raid'
     * Add device '/dev/md0' and click OK
     * Follow the prompts and your own common-sense :)

   10.6.5. Q: Why does Mondo need so much free disk space?

   A: Because it need space to create the archive files with afio, then
   again space to create the ISO images that you'll be able to burn.

   10.6.6. Q: I am trying to do something clever, e.g. write my ISO's
   to an NFS mount, and I get some weird error messages. What do I do?

   A: Well, (a) use '-T /tmp' or '-T /home' or something in your call
   to Mondo. Oh, and (b) check the /etc/exports file on your NFS server
   and verify the exported filesystem is writable for the client, and
   relaunch exportfs -a.

   10.6.7. Q: Can Mondo backup to data files on another partition, e.g.
   an NFS mount?

   A: Yes. Just backup as usual but add '-d /mnt/nfs' or wherever your
   partition is mounted; don't use '-Oc' or '-Ot' at all; just '-Oi -d
   /root'. Then, after booting from the floppies which Mondo generates,
   you need to type 'ISO' at the console.

   10.6.8. Q: Can Mondo backup _to_ an NFS partition, i.e. backup over
   a network? How about restoring?

   A: Yes. Use '-On <mount> <directory>'. Example:

   bash# mondoarchive -On 192.168.1.3:/home/nfs

   10.6.9.  Q: Does Mondo handle System or Hidden attributes when
   archiving Dos/Win files?

   A: No. It probably never will, either. Sorry.
     _________________________________________________________

10.7. Compare related Questions

   10.7.1. Q: When I compare my archives to my file system, Mondo tells
          me there are differences or errors. Are the archives bad?

   10.7.1. Q: When I compare my archives to my file system, Mondo tells
   me there are differences or errors. Are the archives bad?

   A: Look at /tmp/changed.files; if the files are logfiles, temp files
   or files which you think you may have changed recently then the
   archives are simply out of date, albeit only by a few minutes. Not a
   problem. However, if lots of files in /usr have changed or if you
   get lots of errors then perhaps your CD, your tapes or even your
   hardware could be to blame. Check your CD writer or tape streamer.

   Also, don't forget to review /var/log/mondo-archive.log for more
   information.
     _________________________________________________________

10.8. Restore related Questions

   10.8.1. Q: Can Mondo help me move/resize/re-allocate my partitions?
   10.8.2. Q: My zip drive is a SCSI drive. When I restore, Mondo craps
          out, saying it can't mount the drive (because there is no
          disk in it). What do I do?

   10.8.3. Q: I received a message like, 'Fileset NNN failed' during
          restore. What does it mean.

   10.8.4. Q: Why does my ext3 partition have less space free than when
          I backed it up?

   10.8.5. Q: When I restore after booting from the CD/floppies, I
          sometimes get errors like, "Running out of memory" or
          "Segmentation fault". What is going on?

   10.8.6. >Q: I can't nuke-restore my LVM or RAID or LVM-on-RAID
          setup. I have to do it manually. What now?

   10.8.1. Q: Can Mondo help me move/resize/re-allocate my partitions?

   A: Yes. Just backup your system in Interactive Mode using Mondo.
   Edit the mountlist when prompted.

   10.8.2. Q: My zip drive is a SCSI drive. When I restore, Mondo craps
   out, saying it can't mount the drive (because there is no disk in
   it). What do I do?

   A: Restore in Interactive Mode. Delete the SCSI drive from the
   mountlist before you restore. Then Mondo won't try to partition or
   it. Next time you backup, use -E /dev/sdd (or whatever your zip
   drive is). The /dev entry will be excluded from the mountlist but
   not from the filelist. So, when you restore, you won't accidentally
   reformat your zip disk. However, after restoring, you will find that
   /dev/sdd (the _file_) will still be present in your /dev directory.
   Cool, eh?

   10.8.3. Q: I received a message like, 'Fileset NNN failed' during
   restore. What does it mean.

   A: It usually means either you had a very large (>2GB) file which
   was not archived owing to a flaw in your distro or your filesystem
   has changed in relation to the backup.

   10.8.4. Q: Why does my ext3 partition have less space free than when
   I backed it up?

   A: Mondo creates a 10MB journal file area. Your journal was probably
   smaller than that, hence the difference.

   10.8.5. Q: When I restore after booting from the CD/floppies, I
   sometimes get errors like, "Running out of memory" or "Segmentation
   fault". What is going on?

   A: It sounds as if you are running out of disk space, probably ram
   disk space. Type 'df -m' to see which partitions are running low on
   space. Please send as much information as you can to the mondorescue
   mailing list. This problem is believed to have been fixed in 1.63
   and 1.71.

   10.8.6. >Q: I can't nuke-restore my LVM or RAID or LVM-on-RAID
   setup. I have to do it manually. What now?

   A: You said it yourself. You have to do it manually. :) Sorry but
   that's about it. At least you have all the tools to do it. I assume
   you know how. If you don't, look at i-want-my-lvm (a script on the
   ramdisk) if you're using LVM. It should give you a few clues. RAID
   is harder but in general Mondo's RAID support is good. After you've
   prepped and formatted your drives, run mondorestore again but say
   'no' when asked if you want Mondo to prep or your drives.
     _________________________________________________________

Appendix A. GNU Free Documentation License

   Version 1.1, March 2000

     Copyright (C) 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc. 59 Temple Place,
     Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA Everyone is permitted to copy
     and distribute verbatim copies of this license document, but
     changing it is not allowed.
     _________________________________________________________

0. PREAMBLE

   The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other
   written document "free" in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone
   the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without
   modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily,
   this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get
   credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for
   modifications made by others.

   This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that derivative
   works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense. It
   complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft
   license designed for free software.

   We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for
   free software, because free software needs free documentation: a
   free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms
   that the software does. But this License is not limited to software
   manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless of subject
   matter or whether it is published as a printed book. We recommend
   this License principally for works whose purpose is instruction or
   reference.
     _________________________________________________________

1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS

   This License applies to any manual or other work that contains a
   notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can be distributed
   under the terms of this License. The "Document", below, refers to
   any such manual or work. Any member of the public is a licensee, and
   is addressed as "you".

   A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the
   Document  or  a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with
   modifications and/or translated into another language.

   A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter section
   of the Document that deals exclusively with the relationship of the
   publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall
   subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could fall
   directly within that overall subject. (For example, if the Document
   is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not
   explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of
   historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or
   of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position
   regarding them.

   The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose titles
   are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in the notice
   that says that the Document is released under this License.

   The  "Cover Texts" are certain short passages of text that are
   listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice that
   says that the Document is released under this License.

   A "Transparent" copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy,
   represented in a format whose specification is available to the
   general public, whose contents can be viewed and edited directly and
   straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images composed
   of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some widely
   available drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to text
   formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of formats
   suitable for input to text formatters. A copy made in an otherwise
   Transparent file format whose markup has been designed to thwart or
   discourage subsequent modification by readers is not Transparent. A
   copy that is not "Transparent" is called "Opaque".

   Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain
   ASCII without markup, Texinfo input format, LaTeX input format, SGML
   or XML using a publicly available DTD, and standard-conforming
   simple HTML designed for human modification. Opaque formats include
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   only by proprietary word processors, SGML or XML for which the DTD
   and/or  processing  tools are not generally available, and the
   machine-generated HTML produced by some word processors for output
   purposes only.

   The "Title Page" means, for a printed book, the title page itself,
   plus  such following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the
   material this License requires to appear in the title page. For
   works in formats which do not have any title page as such, "Title
   Page" means the text near the most prominent appearance of the
   work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text.
     _________________________________________________________

2. VERBATIM COPYING

   You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either
   commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the
   copyright  notices, and the license notice saying this License
   applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you
   add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License. You may
   not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or
   further copying of the copies you make or distribute. However, you
   may accept compensation in exchange for copies. If you distribute a
   large enough number of copies you must also follow the conditions in
   section 3.

   You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above,
   and you may publicly display copies.
     _________________________________________________________

3. COPYING IN QUANTITY

   If you publish printed copies of the Document numbering more than
   100, and the Document's license notice requires Cover Texts, you
   must enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly,
   all these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and
   Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly
   and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The front
   cover  must present the full title with all words of the title
   equally prominent and visible. You may add other material on the
   covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the covers, as
   long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these
   conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects.

   If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit
   legibly,  you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit
   reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto adjacent
   pages.

   If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document numbering
   more  than  100,  you  must  either include a machine-readable
   Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or state in or with
   each Opaque copy a publicly-accessible computer-network location
   containing a complete Transparent copy of the Document, free of
   added material, which the general network-using public has access to
   download anonymously at no charge using public-standard network
   protocols. If you use the latter option, you must take reasonably
   prudent steps, when you begin distribution of Opaque copies in
   quantity, to ensure that this Transparent copy will remain thus
   accessible at the stated location until at least one year after the
   last time you distribute an Opaque copy (directly or through your
   agents or retailers) of that edition to the public.

   It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of
   the Document well before redistributing any large number of copies,
   to give them a chance to provide you with an updated version of the
   Document.
     _________________________________________________________

4. MODIFICATIONS

   You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document under
   the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you release
   the Modified Version under precisely this License, with the Modified
   Version  filling  the  role  of  the  Document, thus licensing
   distribution and modification of the Modified Version to whoever
   possesses a copy of it. In addition, you must do these things in the
   Modified Version:

    A. Use  in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title
       distinct from that of the Document, and from those of previous
       versions (which should, if there were any, be listed in the
       History section of the Document). You may use the same title as
       a previous version if the original publisher of that version
       gives permission.
    B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or
       entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in the
       Modified Version, together with at least five of the principal
       authors of the Document (all of its principal authors, if it has
       less than five).
    C. State  on  the Title page the name of the publisher of the
       Modified Version, as the publisher.
    D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
    E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications
       adjacent to the other copyright notices.
    F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license
       notice giving the public permission to use the Modified Version
       under  the terms of this License, in the form shown in the
       Addendum below.
    G. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant
       Sections  and required Cover Texts given in the Document's
       license notice.
    H. Include an unaltered copy of this License.
    I. Preserve the section entitled "History", and its title, and add
       to it an item stating at least the title, year, new authors, and
       publisher of the Modified Version as given on the Title Page. If
       there is no section entitled "History" in the Document, create
       one stating the title, year, authors, and publisher of the
       Document as given on its Title Page, then add an item describing
       the Modified Version as stated in the previous sentence.
    J. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document for
       public  access  to a Transparent copy of the Document, and
       likewise  the  network locations given in the Document for
       previous versions it was based on. These may be placed in the
       "History" section. You may omit a network location for a work
       that was published at least four years before the Document
       itself, or if the original publisher of the version it refers to
       gives permission.
    K. In any section entitled "Acknowledgements" or "Dedications",
       preserve the section's title, and preserve in the section all
       the   substance  and  tone  of  each  of  the  contributor
       acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein.
    L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered
       in  their text and in their titles. Section numbers or the
       equivalent are not considered part of the section titles.
    M. Delete any section entitled "Endorsements". Such a section may
       not be included in the Modified Version.
    N. Do not retitle any existing section as "Endorsements" or to
       conflict in title with any Invariant Section.

   If  the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or
   appendices  that  qualify as Secondary Sections and contain no
   material copied from the Document, you may at your option designate
   some or all of these sections as invariant. To do this, add their
   titles to the list of Invariant Sections in the Modified Version's
   license notice. These titles must be distinct from any other section
   titles.

   You may add a section entitled "Endorsements", provided it contains
   nothing  but  endorsements of your Modified Version by various
   parties--for example, statements of peer review or that the text has
   been approved by an organization as the authoritative definition of
   a standard.

   You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text, and
   a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end of the
   list of Cover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one passage of
   Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be added by (or
   through  arrangements made by) any one entity. If the Document
   already includes a cover text for the same cover, previously added
   by you or by arrangement made by the same entity you are acting on
   behalf of, you may not add another; but you may replace the old one,
   on explicit permission from the previous publisher that added the
   old one.

   The  author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this
   License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to
   assert or imply endorsement of any Modified Version.
     _________________________________________________________

5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS

   You may combine the Document with other documents released under
   this  License,  under the terms defined in section 4 above for
   modified versions, provided that you include in the combination all
   of  the  Invariant  Sections of all of the original documents,
   unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections of your combined
   work in its license notice.

   The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and
   multiple identical Invariant Sections may be replaced with a single
   copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name
   but different contents, make the title of each such section unique
   by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the original
   author or publisher of that section if known, or else a unique
   number. Make the same adjustment to the section titles in the list
   of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the combined work.

   In the combination, you must combine any sections entitled "History"
   in the various original documents, forming one section entitled
   "History";    likewise    combine    any   sections   entitled
   "Acknowledgements", and any sections entitled "Dedications". You
   must delete all sections entitled "Endorsements."
     _________________________________________________________

6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS

   You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other
   documents released under this License, and replace the individual
   copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy
   that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the
   rules of this License for verbatim copying of each of the documents
   in all other respects.

   You  may extract a single document from such a collection, and
   distribute it individually under this License, provided you insert a
   copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow this
   License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of that
   document.
     _________________________________________________________

7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS

   A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other separate
   and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of a storage
   or distribution medium, does not as a whole count as a Modified
   Version  of the Document, provided no compilation copyright is
   claimed  for  the compilation. Such a compilation is called an
   "aggregate",  and  this  License  does  not apply to the other
   self-contained works thus compiled with the Document, on account of
   their being thus compiled, if they are not themselves derivative
   works of the Document.

   If the Cover Text requirement of section 3 is applicable to these
   copies  of the Document, then if the Document is less than one
   quarter of the entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be
   placed  on  covers  that surround only the Document within the
   aggregate. Otherwise they must appear on covers around the whole
   aggregate.
     _________________________________________________________

8. TRANSLATION

   Translation  is  considered a kind of modification, so you may
   distribute translations of the Document under the terms of section
   4. Replacing Invariant Sections with translations requires special
   permission  from  their copyright holders, but you may include
   translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the
   original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a
   translation of this License provided that you also include the
   original English version of this License. In case of a disagreement
   between the translation and the original English version of this
   License, the original English version will prevail.
     _________________________________________________________

9. TERMINATION

   You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document
   except as expressly provided for under this License. Any other
   attempt to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Document is
   void,  and will automatically terminate your rights under this
   License. However, parties who have received copies, or rights, from
   you under this License will not have their licenses terminated so
   long as such parties remain in full compliance.
     _________________________________________________________

10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE

   The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of
   the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new
   versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may
   differ  in  detail  to  address  new problems or concerns. See
   http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/.

   Each  version of the License is given a distinguishing version
   number. If the Document specifies that a particular numbered version
   of this License "or any later version" applies to it, you have the
   option  of  following  the terms and conditions either of that
   specified version or of any later version that has been published
   (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the Document
   does not specify a version number of this License, you may choose
   any version ever published (not as a draft) by the Free Software
   Foundation.
     _________________________________________________________

How to use this License for your documents

   To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy
   of the License in the document and put the following copyright and
   license notices just after the title page:

     Copyright (c) YEAR YOUR NAME. Permission is granted to copy,
     distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU
     Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version
     published by the Free Software Foundation; with the Invariant
     Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with the Front-Cover Texts being
     LIST, and with the Back-Cover Texts being LIST. A copy of the
     license  is  included  in  the  section  entitled "GNU Free
     Documentation License".

   If  you  have  no Invariant Sections, write "with no Invariant
   Sections" instead of saying which ones are invariant. If you have no
   Front-Cover  Texts,  write  "no  Front-Cover Texts" instead of
   "Front-Cover Texts being LIST"; likewise for Back-Cover Texts.

   If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we
   recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of
   free software license, such as the GNU General Public License, to
   permit their use in free software.
