Overwriting old/corrupted files in a backup

[Linux for blind general discussion]

I agree. rsync is fast and extremely powerful.


If in the future you need something really sophisticated, like large 
companies use, try storeBackup.


Fernando



On 08/16/2017 09:57 AM, Linux for blind general discussion wrote:
> Use rsync instead. You'll never look back.
>
> Janina
>
> Linux for blind general discussion writes:
>> Okay, so using the cp command with the -Rn switch is convenient for
>> say copying my Music folder from my home directory to an external hard
>> drive or the SD card for my portable Media player when the destination
>> already has an older copy without needing to copy everything already
>> present in the old copy, manually determining what's been added and
>> copying manually, or dealing with a bunch of prompts. It also allows
>> an aborted copy to more or less be resumed from where it left off.
>>
>> This method is simple enough to not require scripting or complex
>> command syntax, but it does have a few downsides:
>> 1. It won't overwrite corrupted files left by an interrupted copy, and
>> such files are too rare for manual searching.
>> 2. Files that have been altered don't get copied. unless they've
>> changed filename. Not a big issue for copying my Music folder since
>> those files are seldom altered, but copying say, my writing folder can
>> lead to the backup media containing only older drafts of some
>> documents.
>> 3. It tells me nothing of files from an older copy that have been
>> deletd/renamed since the last copy. jdupes can find old files on the
>> destination media if the new file is just a rename, but it can't help
>> with files that have been altered as well as renamed.
>>
>> I suppose what I'm looking for is a command line utility or script
>> that executes the following pseudo code:
>> Given directories source and destination:
>> for every file found in both source and destination:
>> if file.source != file.destination
>> prompt user whether to overwrite one version of the file with the
>> other or to add the files to a list for later examination.
>> For every file only in source:
>> search for match in destination.
>> If match found prompt user towhich to rename to match.
>> If not match found, copy to destination.
>> For every file only in destination:
>> search for match in source.
>> If match is found, prompt user to which file should be renamed.
>> If no match is found, prompt user whether to copy of delete.
>>
>> If anyone knows of command line utilities to help with this task, it
>> would be greatly appreciated.
>>
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