What is the safest way to test an evolution backup file?

Asked by Nick Praed

I tried once before to save all my email data using "File - Back Up Evolution Data" onto a zip drive. When I came to try to restore this the file it had produced had nothing in it, so I ended up losing about a years worth of mail, with all the enclosures. I have now tried the backup procedure again and see that the .gz file on the flash drive is a respectable 1.4Gb, but am still suspicious and (I think understandably) reluctant to blow all my live mails away so I can see if I can restore them ans see if the process now works. Any suggestions how I can test this backup non-disruptively?

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actionparsnip (andrew-woodhead666) said :
#1

Spin up a virtual PC and restore the file to the virtual system.

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Nick Praed (nick-praedlands) said :
#2

no capisco!

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Warren Hill (warren-hill) said :
#3

In the software centre you will find a piece of software called Virtualbox. If you install that you have a virtual machine inside your real one; you can install Ubuntu again inside your virtual machine then on that machine try and do a restore from your backup. If it works then you know the backup is OK

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Nick Praed (nick-praedlands) said :
#4

Sorry to trouble you again Warren but I get stuck creating this virtual
machine, or virtual box does. I'm not at all sure what sort of virtual
drive it might want in the first place. After I press start it's
obviously waiting for something, probably a boot flash drive, but can't
read the one I have, and since it's just a virtual machine probably
can't access anything off the internet either. If you think you have
too much explaining to do, don't bother replying to this mail. I just
want a machine I can run my small business on without infringing any
copyrights, which is why I use Ubuntu, Evolution and Libre Office I'm
not really interested in learning any more about Unix than I know
already, and most of this dates back to the eighties and has now gone
redundant or I've forgotten all of the important details. I'll take a
chance that the backup is O.K. if I have to.

Thanks for your help anyway

Nick.

-----Original Message-----
From: Warren Hill <email address hidden>
Reply-to: <email address hidden>
To: <email address hidden>
Subject: Re: [Question #221584]: What is the safest way to test an
evolution backup file?
Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:46:02 -0000

Your question #221584 on evolution in Ubuntu changed:
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/evolution/+question/221584

    Status: Open => Answered

Warren Hill proposed the following answer:
In the software centre you will find a piece of software called
Virtualbox. If you install that you have a virtual machine inside your
real one; you can install Ubuntu again inside your virtual machine then
on that machine try and do a restore from your backup. If it works then
you know the backup is OK

Revision history for this message
Warren Hill (warren-hill) said :
#5

I usually go for a VDI image

then go into settings > Storage and point the IDE controller to an the Ubuntu iso download file. It then boots as if the DVD were pugged in and you can install another copy of Ubuntu or any OS you have the iso file for.

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