System Update App and Timeshift in Testing repo
 

I have placed the linux mint system update application in the Bodhi linux 5.x Testing repo.

To learn more about this tool see Kiezel's blog: Install a Cool Additional Update Tool in Ubuntu.

To install this application, add the testing repo and run the commands below:

Note this will also install gir1.2-appindicator3-0.1, software-sources and timeshift. I recommend you let it. But if you don't want these or only want say timeshift change the last command above to:

To install timeshift by itself or separately:

For full functionality of the Update application you need at least software-sources and timeshift.

Note it also pulls in a dependency init-system-helpers_1.56+nmu1~ubuntu18.04 initially from Bionic-Backports. I added this to Bodhi's testing repo also to avoid complications with the fact Bodhi by default will not install backports. For more on backports in Ubuntu see Ubuntu's Wiki.

Since this tool will update the kernel using the default settings, if you wish to not update the kernel you can add the kernel to the Ignore list. See attached image:

Attachment 32721

You can view the ignore list in the Update application under Edit -> Preferences, as shown below:

Attachment 32722

Also note installing mintupdate also installs Kernel Manager. A program to let you install or remove different Kernel versions.

I am considering adding this update manager to the upcoming Bodhi Linux 5.1 App Pack ISO. Any thoughts on this or issues noted while testing would be appreciated.

Enjoy :)

Have yet to test on Bodhi, but will just note that under Linux Mint 19.3, on an i7 / 4GB / non-SSD laptop, timeshift pretty much brings the machine to its knees while it runs rsync on the ext4 filesystem. I basically have to go for a walk / have cup of tea until it becomes usable again.

Others' mileage may vary. I have it scheduled to only run once a month because of this.

Not saying this is a bad idea, though - I like the idea of adding mintupdate to Bodhi.

that has not been my experience with timeshift on bodhi 5 on my i5 / 8 gb with both ssd and hdd internal drives. i make daily snapshots and rarely notice them happening except that my external hdd drive light blinks for about a minute.

Excellent! Thank you. :)

Just this remark: in a clean installation of the 5.1 RC, I wasn't able to get the mintupdate icon to appear in the system tray automatically, even though (after installing mintupdate from the Testing repo) it's part of the Startup Applications by default.

I even tried modifications of the startup command in Startup Applications, but nothing I tried was able to change this... Its systray icon only appears after manually launching mintupdate from the menu first.

What I'd like to achieve is that the mintupdate icon is always visible in the system tray automatically, so that I can always see at a glance whether my Bodhi is up to date or not.

Just trying in VM for BL 5.1 beta but everything correct here. Mintupdater in systray and fully working.

Stefan

EDIT: add updater in Startup settings under System tab (not under Apps tab)
http://www.enlightenment.org/ss/e-5e...0.85750001.jpg

That's the solution! Thank you. :)

It's great to have options.

My option is no Timeshift, ever. I do not backup my / partition. I stay close to the long term support type releases, almost no PPAs, and even rarer random .deb app installs. I do keep the most recent Live installs on thumb drives, keep my installation up to date, and in general trust the OS devs to come up with stability. they haven't failed yet.

This works very well in the *buntu realm of things. I do backups of my /home data since recovering/rebuilding/recollecting all that would be much harder than a fresh install of the OS. Those backups are frequent, on a tight schedule, and are to a removable USB target drive - four, in fact, on a rotating schedule.

If someone else tends to be more experimental in the OS, then by all means use a tool like Timeshift to have a rollback position when things do go sideways. Also, if someone does not understand how Timeshift works, it can contribute to things going sideways. I see that happening a lot over at the Mint Linux forums. They just install TS, don't bother to check defaults, run it all the time with the changes written to the / partition and run out of room in a virtual nanosecond. But for those who take the time to set it up correctly, it's fine.

thanks for adding all of this. i had been thinking about adding mintupdate after Kiezel mentioned it a while back, but never got around to it. being able to test it from the repos seemed like a good reason to give it a go.

i wasn't able to upgrade timeshift 19.08 from the ppa that i had previously installed through the update manager even after a reboot. it did so just fine from the terminal.

I don't plan on using timeshift. I have no need for such a tool. But anyways it will end up in our main repos and be available without a ppa for users that want it. I am also going to add it to the AppPack ISO, it and mintupdate. In time I may 'bodhize' the package, remove all references to mint and examine the code a little closer.


I tend to be very experimental with my OS. My philosophy always has been that if I break I can fix it. So far that has been true although at least once it would have easier to just reinstall.

As to users not checking TS defaults or understanding the implications of software like that and hard drive usages, you will always have user error. Just hope we don't get to many users asking for help because of it.

Just a note here all users using the PPA prob should remove it if using these packages from the testing repos.

Well, apparently Timeshift defaults to daily snapshots when you cancel the wizard (which you get after first launch of TS). Which is far too many, in my view.

It would be nice to have it default to monthly snapshots (or even none at all) when you cancel the wizard, because excessive disk usage is a possibility. Especially in combination with Snaps or Flatpaks. There have been several complaints about that on Linux Mint Forums.

But perhaps that default is hardcoded into Timeshift? If so, I might try to contact its developer about that (I've had contact with him before)....

For the record: even though Timeshift is linked to gm10's mintupdate in the GUI of mintupdate, AFAIK it's not really tied to it. It should be possible to install and use gm10's mintupdate without Timeshift.

Yeah, those are the symptoms of human error/misunderstanding TS, especially and understandably by new users. It's a fine tool that should be an option for anyone to use, but a horrible mess when not understood.

So it is. Another thing that's often not understood by new Timeshift users: Timeshift isn't a backup tool. It's a system restore tool.

When you abuse Timeshift for backup purposes, you run the risk that that important document that you've been working on for days, is suddenly reset to the state it was in a week ago, by the mere act of restoring a Timeshift snapshot. :D

By default, Timeshift therefore doesn't include anything within the /home directories. The only exception you might reasonably make, are the hidden files with the application settings.

Generally, my advice for Timeshift is: schedule monthly snapshots at most, with a retention of only two. Nobody ever needs more than two snapshots for restoring a working system.

More about how to deal with Timeshift on my website:
https://easylinuxtipsproject.blogspo...-mint.html#ID7
(item 7)

For the record these should be in the Bodhi linux 5.0 main repo and it is no longer needed to install from the testing repository.

Enjoy :)