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Using Grsync as my primary backup UI and the first time I did a full copy, I found discrepancies. Maybe someone can help me understand what went wrong.

Missing desktop shortcuts...when I navigate to the Desktop folder on the backup drive (plenty of room, new, SATA, ext USB, same setup as the HDD I'm copying), there are some missing shortcuts. Out of 22 desktop items, there are 2 missing.

A couple folders (still in Desktop folder on the backup drive) have a small X in the lower right corner. They require a password to open. And yet, other similar folders do not? One is a text folder where I keep my recipes, the other is an XLS spreadsheet that I edit with Libreoffice.

The Home folder is missing an empty folder but that's probably OK. The other folders seem to have everything.

What I don't get is why the desktop folder has these discrepancies.

Anyone know what is happening here?

Jim_HiTek
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  • It would be helpful if you post the results of Rsync output obtained from the screen displayed after Rsync has completed it's task. You are specifically looking for ** Launching RSYNC command: which appears at the beginning of the run. This will detail all the switches (options) you have set for the task and may hold a clue to what is going on. At the end, it will also detail what was sent. – graham Dec 13 '17 at 06:26
  • Is this what you're looking for? pkexec rsync -r -t -v --progress -c -s /home/jimm /media/jimm/Bkup – Jim_HiTek Dec 14 '17 at 16:02
  • I've since checked more folders and there's problems all over. Like the documents folder, half of them require a password, the other half don't. None of them should require a password. Or I'd expect all of them to. – Jim_HiTek Dec 14 '17 at 16:06
  • I would suggest then that you need to run Rsync as superuser – graham Dec 14 '17 at 17:33
  • OP here. I reformatted the HDD with NTFS file system rather than the EXT4 that I had the first attempt at a /home backup. Did another Grsync (again, as superuser) and this time none of the folders require a password. So made progress. But...still missing 2 files from the desktop. And they both happen to be LibreOffice Calc files. One is an ODS extension, the other is an XLS. Both are regularly edited, which is why they are on the desktop. In the main SS folder deeper into the /home directory, all of those SS's are still there. Just missing the two on the desktop. Ideas? – Jim_HiTek Dec 19 '17 at 15:49
  • If you set up a new Grsync session as a test, if you select the desktop folder will it pick up those files? I don't think there is an issue with LibreOfficeCalc as I regularly backup .ODS and XLS files without issue. Have you tried selecting Advanced Options in the Grsync dialogue box and checking 'Browse files imstead of folders' to pick up these files? – graham Dec 19 '17 at 20:17
  • Haven't tried that, Graham, I will now though. Those two missing files are 'links'...I should have mentioned that before. – Jim_HiTek Dec 21 '17 at 00:07

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Looking at your options listed, they are not so dissimilar to mine with the exception of the the inclusion of -W which is a setting for copying whole files.

You can see the whole list of settings here:

But you could well be right; the fact that they are links rather than files could be critical to the success or otherwise of the operation.

Best advice is to set up test beds to see how you can capture the files you are looking to backup. Ticking option boxes creates the switches required in Grsync so you can easily check what you have set by them. Choose: File > Rsync command line (or Alt + R) rather than running the sessions which might do some destructive damage if options are not chosen carefully.

graham
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