Take a Snapshot with USB Drive

Another handy technique is to copy your home directory to a USB thumb drive or external drive:

• Select a USB drive. Use a drive with a capacity large enough to accommodate your data (128-1024 GB). For the most rapid snapshot, use a USB 3.0 or later drive that has fast transfer rates. We use the SanDisk Extreme Pro, which offers capacities up to 1TB and transfer speeds up to 420/380 MB/s read/write. The 512 GB capacity drive cost less than $100 as of 2021-08-21. Smaller drives with good write speeds can cost far less, but be careful: many USB drives have write speeds that are much slower than their advertised read speeds.
• Open the Dolphin file manager. It will show a panel on the left and a file area on the right.
• Click on the path above the file area and select /home. You should now see all user home directories on your system.
• Click on the Split icon at the top right to split the file area in two. Click on an empty space in the right-hand file area to make it active.
• Insert a formatted USB drive. Within 5 seconds, a USB drive name should appear on the bottom left side of the Dolphin window, under Devices. Click on this name to show the contents of this drive in the right-hand file area.
• Copy the desired folders from the /home directory to the USB drive by dragging them from the left-hand file-area to the right-hand file area. When prompted, select copy. Do NOT move the directories as this could harm your system!.
• Once all files are copied, the backup is complete. On the bottom left side of the Dolphin window, under Devices, right-click on the USB drive name to show a contextual menu. Click on Safely Remove and then remove the physical drive after confirmation by the Device Notifier in the system tray.

Because of file permissions, you may not be able to copy all files. When this happens, it may be helpful to run Dolphin as root. One can add this capability like so: Click on [Hamburger Menu] > Configure Dolphin… > Services > Download New Services…. Then search for and install "Open Dolphin As Root".

Other Solutions

Cloud storage, such as Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, or Google Drive, can often provide multiple versions of files using heuristics. However, we recommend explicitly versioned backups such as thosed provided by SCMSs (Source Control Management Systems like Git) for more exact control. Ultimately, one must balance convenience and storage requirements with completeness. And remember, any backup solution is better than none.

Disclaimer

We try hard to provide a useful solution validated by professionals. However, we cannot anticipate every situation, and therefore cannot guarantee this procedure will work for your needs. Always backup your data and test the solution to determine the correct procedure for you.

THIS SOLUTION IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOLUTION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.