Qubes 4.0 rc4 / Qubes backup doesn't find the directory
ThierryIT
I would like to backup few of my VMs.
I have mount my external usb (not using sys-usb) HDD.
From the console where my HDD is attached/mounted, I have access through /mnt/removable to all my previous (3.2) backup files.
I have created, in /mnt/removable, a new folder.
When running the Qubes backup, and choosing the newly created folder, I have this error:
Selected directory do not exists or not a directory
I have created others folders, I have change permissions ... Same problem.
Today all my folders are:
- drwxrwxr-x 3 user:user AppVM_bck
Same pb if root:root
??
Tim W
Rusty Bird
Hash: SHA512
ThierryIT:
>
> Selected directory do not exists or not a directory
Rusty
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Yuraeitha
I don't think it's a permission issue, it can't find the folder, so it's likely not even getting to the point where it's asking the system for permissions.
Missing information:
- If you're not using sys-usb, are you then running backup from dom0 or from an USB controller directly pass-through into an AppVM?
- Did you remember to use '' marks for spaces in the address?
- Did you mixup the domain:device flag with the -d flag, such as between qvm-usb/qvm-pci and qvm-backup?
- What is the full qvm-backup path you use? By full, I mean the whole thing.
In case you're not doing this from dom0, but from an USB controller directly passed into "any" AppVM, then to followup on the answer and link from Rusty Bird, to quote mig5 in the link:
"As proof, I can 'cheat' this by running sudo mkdir /mnt/removable on my dom0, and then I can proceed to backup my VMs on the disk mounted on sys-usb at /mnt/removable"
Essentially, it seems you can bypass this error by making a similar path available in dom0, even though the path in dom0 won't be used. Apparently it fails if the path isn't available in dom0, despite the path being used is actually inside the AppVM.
However, if you're running the USB from dom0 directly, then to my knowledge it has never really worked in Qubes 4, be it RC-1 or RC-4, due to the redesign including the admin tools, and it seemingly was not made to include dom0 qvm-backup. I haven't checked, but maybe it was fixed since not all hardware can make a sys-usb (for example when touchscreen is tied to USB and the controller can't be moved away from dom0 without freezing the entire screen, not just touch, but literally freezing the picture <--- which is just one example why some still need to run USB controllers in dom0).
What is your situation? More information?
Yuraeitha
Apologies, I overlooked the "- drwxrwxr-x 3 user:user AppVM_bck" line in your post. Since your USB controller then must be directly passed into the AppVM, you can try create a direct path copy directly in dom0, even though you won't be using this path. As suggested in Rusty Bird's link. Does it work for you?
ThierryIT
If using as path: /mnt/removable/AppVM_bck I do still have the same error message.
If using as path: /mnt/removable I do have a permission denied.
drwxr-xr-x root root mnt
drwxr-xr-x root root removable
drwxrwxr-x user user AppVM_bck
Are the permissions correct ? It should be root:root or user:user ?
Thx
Yuraeitha
For example XFCE4 keybinding a script located in /home/user/ can be a huge hassle if using $HOME/ or ~/ to bypass dynamic user-names in different Linux systems, and instead one has to write the actual user-name in the path, which means it only works if using the full path name, rather than path shortcuts. Maybe it's the same that happens with /mnt/removable. In which case, it may be useful to abandon this location to something not bound by location rules, which can be anywhere but the official places.
Perhaps this bug could even be related to the recent $ some days back? I dunno though, but without any insight, it seems like it maybe could be.
So try un-mount the USB drive in the AppVM, and make a new fixed location folder, it could be in /mnt/some-folder <--- give folder a name, but without spaces and special letters to avoid issues.
Change the some-older's ownership to user and give it permissions. Then once that is done, mount your drive to the folder with appropriate mounting permissions. Then do the same new path in dom0, with same ownership/permissions.
Generally only the last folder should have the same permission, at least as far as I know the parent folder permission shouldn't matter much. So don't worry about the parent folders, just focus on the final folder in the path.
Does it make a difference when you clear out dynamic paths for fixed paths, then remount it, and ensure all permissions are in place?
Also I don't think you need the dom0 trick if you try this approach, although I could be wrong. I think the dom0 identical path trick is a method to trick the system to not fail on the shortcut path. So by avoiding shortcut paths altogether, you may not need to do the dom0 trick to bypass the bug. I'm not 100% sure if this how it actually works, but it may be worth a try.
