Stay safe

Stay safe

This is a collection of options you have to operate your manjaro safely. This is about events that can happen to every Linux user. Please do not underestimate the relevant risks and warnings. You can easily start a search in the Manjaro forum for each of the following points. Then you will get an overview of what the current status is at each point.

Hardware

Hardware tends to break from time to time ;-) . This most often happens shortly after installation (< 1 month) or after the end of the average lifespan (e.g. > 5 years).

hdd / ssd

Please remember that every hard drive/SSD will fail at some point and be prepared. Sometimes the data can still be read (then it's time for a final backup). But you can't rely on that.

Power supply

You can simply replace a broken power supply with a new one. If you were very unlucky, the old power supply may have damaged other things like your motherboard or hard drives when it died. But that rarely happens.

Motherboard

If you need to replace your motherboard, be aware that the new one usually won't boot right away. There is UEFI in the motherboard. This contains the configuration of the way you used to boot. With the replacement, this is missing from the new UEFI.

In the simplest case it is enough to go to the UEFI boot selection. Your UEFI will then search for a suitable UEFI partition. And ideally finds the boot entry for the grub of manjaro.

Software

As a rolling release, the Manjaro software is renewed regularly. You need enough file system space and a way to rollback if the update fails catastrophically. Even when you install or reconfigure a program, a lot can go wrong. Better safe than sorry.

Experienced system administrators say:

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no backup - no pity

Update

The closer you stay to updating, the fewer problems you will encounter. But that doesn't just mean installing the updates, but also reading the relevant thread beforehand. Carry out the necessary maintenance work after the update. Then a reboot should definitely follow.

Being careless in these matters can work well for a long time, but it usually takes its toll at some point. The clean-up work usually takes a lot longer than the time saved.

read

If the update thread is only a few hours old, it's better to wait a while. An update in the first 24 hours is only for people who can help themselves ;-)

consider

Consider whether any of the problems described may occur to you If so, there is usually a link with instructions on what you should do. Please read this carefully. Then act accordingly. This will save you a lot of problems.

update in tty

Do the update on the console (tty). The GUIs are all well and good, but there are update situations where the GUI might freeze. This is the first step to disaster.

After the update has been completed, check again whether there are any errors or warnings. If so, read the message and see if there is a recommendation for action. If so, act.

If you are unsure, copy the warning and ask on the Manjaro forum (before proceeding)

reboot

If you are afraid of booting, check if the necessary files are there to boot.

  * kernel(s)
  * modules
  * initr
  * grub.cfg
  (or use maxi to test this)

Be prepared

Live manjaro

You need a CD/DVD or USB to boot from. This should be a current version of manjaro. In no case older than 6 months. The desktop does not have to be the same as your usual desktop. For example, the version with XFCE (fast and robust) is well suited.

What you could do this way:

• Boot into a Manjaro without changing the internal HDD or SSD
• If possible, make an additional backup of certain “latest” data
• Determine the real problem using guidance from the wiki/forum
• Fix the problem using instructions from the wiki/forum
• Roll back using snapper or timeshift
• Perform a reinstallation
• Import your backups

proven techniques

kernel

Keep at least 2 kernel installed. Atleast one of them should be a LTS-kernel

btrfs

BTRFS works with COW, checksums, logs, barriers ... to keep your filesystem safe. read more -->

snapshots

BTRFS also enables you to make snapshots easily and without wasting time and space. This is the basis for easy rollbacks. read more -->

timeshift

Is very easy to use, and to rollback. It works best together with btrfs.

snapper

Snapper only works with btrfs. But it can do more than timeshift. In particular, it supports multiple profiles. This allows it to offer separate rollbacks for the system and for data in /home or elsewhere.

gparted

gparted is a really well-functioning program for viewing the partitions of an HDD/SSD. It can move and resize existing partitions. It carries out all necessary changes so that the file system is preserved as much as possible. But that is not a sensible reason to forego a backup.

GPT

If it is possible to use a GPT partition table, it is strongly recommended to do so. Together with UEFI, this simplifies the boot process and is much easier to maintain in the long run.

encryption

It has been shown that encryption significantly complicates the task of saving a system

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So only use this if you really do regular backups and are sure that you can get everything back if you accidentally lock yourself out of your system.

It would be really good if you understood exactly beforehand

• At what level it is encrypted
• Where the keys are
• How to create a backup of the keys

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This is Work in progress as of 30.12.2023

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