[mythtv-users] Restore backup?

[Jay Ashworth]

----- Original Message -----
> From: "faginbagin" <mythtv at hbuus.com>

> >> On Sun, Jan 5, 2014 at 1:56 PM, Daryl McDonald
> > Apparently I have both types of backups, from MythTV that I must have
> > set up some time ago, and others from Mythbuntu that I set up recently
> > in response to that thread. Is it necessary to actually perform the
> > restoration of a backup or is seeing it's 19.whatever MB size
> > confirmation enough thast I would have something to work with should
> > I need it?
> 
> One question: Why?
> 
> If you've been recording or adding media content to your MythTV
> system, the database is going to grow. If you restore an older backup,
> you will have lost the info about any recordings made since that
> backup was made. So, if the database is growing because you are
> actually using MythTV, that's what you want and you will only shoot
> yourself in the foot if you restore an older backup.

Well, it sounds like I'd better throw an oar in the water here, since
we discussed this on a separate thread that Daryl may be reading.

The answer is this, Daryl:

Yes, you should trial-restore that backup -- BUT YOU CAN'T DO IT ON 
YOUR PRODUCTION MACHINE.

(Were those capital letters enough warning, ev'ryone? :-)

If you do it on your production machine, you will--as is suggested 
here--trash your system, since you'll have lots of recording files
about which your database will no longer have data.

And yet, you can't trust any backup until you've proven that it can
be restored.

My reaction here is to suggest that it sounds to me, from your
choice of questions and language, as if you are not expecially
adept in Linux and MySQL technical operations.

Because of that, it will be difficult for you to set up a system to
test restore your backups.

In that case, your best bet is just to check up on the files occasionally,
and make sure that each one is larger than the previous one, and that
they're getting made on whatever schedule has been set up for your
system (by whomever set it up).  And hope they're clean, which they
usually are. 

By "usually", I mean that if they have a reasonable size, and it 
gets bigger every week, then your odds of being able to restore it are
98% or better; them is, as we say, gambling odds.

Please ask clarifying questions if necessary before doing anything fatal.

Cheers,
-- jra
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                  Baylink                       jra at baylink.com
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