# Simple LVM Backup System

**A much simpler, safer approach to LVM backups.**

After issues with complex backup systems, this is a return to basics:
- Simple LVM snapshot creation
- Direct block-level copy with dd/pv
- Minimal logic, maximum reliability

## What This Does

1. **Creates an LVM snapshot** of your source volume
2. **Copies it block-for-block** to your target drive
3. **Cleans up the snapshot** when done

That's it. No complex migration logic, no fancy features that can break.

## Quick Start

### 1. See what's available
```bash
sudo ./list_drives.sh
```

### 2. Run a simple backup
```bash
sudo ./simple_backup.sh /dev/your-vg/your-lv /dev/your-target-drive
```

### 3. Or use the GUI
```bash
sudo python3 simple_backup_gui.py
```

## Examples

**Backup your root volume to an external SSD:**
```bash
sudo ./simple_backup.sh /dev/internal-vg/root /dev/sdb
```

**Backup your home volume:**
```bash
sudo ./simple_backup.sh /dev/internal-vg/home /dev/nvme1n1
```

## Important Notes

⚠️ **WARNING: The target drive will be completely overwritten!**

- Always run as root (`sudo`)
- Target device will lose ALL existing data
- Make sure target device is unmounted before backup
- The backup is a complete block-level clone
- You need at least 1GB free space in your volume group for the snapshot

## How It Works

This is exactly what happens, no hidden complexity:

1. `lvcreate -L1G -s -n backup_snap /dev/vg/lv` - Create snapshot
2. `pv /dev/vg/backup_snap | dd of=/dev/target bs=4M` - Copy data  
3. `lvremove -f /dev/vg/backup_snap` - Remove snapshot

## Files

- `simple_backup.sh` - Command-line backup script
- `simple_backup_gui.py` - Simple GUI version
- `list_drives.sh` - Helper to show available drives

## Why This Approach?

The previous complex scripts had too much logic and caused system issues. This approach:

- ✅ Uses standard LVM commands
- ✅ Minimal chance of errors
- ✅ Easy to understand and debug
- ✅ Does exactly what you expect
- ✅ No hidden "smart" features

## Recovery

To boot from your backup:
1. Connect the external drive
2. Boot from it directly, or
3. Use it as a recovery drive to restore your system

## Requirements

- LVM-enabled system
- Root access
- Python 3 + tkinter (for GUI)
- `pv` command (optional, for progress display)

## If Something Goes Wrong

The script will try to clean up snapshots automatically. If it fails:

```bash
# List any remaining snapshots
sudo lvs | grep snap

# Remove manually if needed
sudo lvremove /dev/vg/snapshot_name
```

## No More Complex Features

This system intentionally does NOT include:
- Automatic drive detection with complex logic
- Migration between different LVM setups  
- Boot repair or GRUB handling
- Multiple backup formats
- Configuration files
- Complex error handling

If you need those features, use dedicated tools like CloneZilla or Borg Backup.

This is for simple, reliable block-level LVM backups. Nothing more, nothing less.