How to back up your data

To back up your data I'll install a GUI called "Simple Backup", which automates the procedure of backup but uses the traditional backup tools. It produces the standard Linux backup file type: compressed tar archives.
Data on your system falls into three categories: program data, configuration data, and personal data.
Most people usually back up configuration and personal data. The operating system can be reinstalled from CD, and once the configuration files are restored from the backup, it should work just like it did before.
You should also copy the backup archives you create to a secure location. Backup files should be copied off the hard disk that contains the original data as soon as possible after creating. Good choices for safe storage are rewritable DVD discs, or a some higher-capacity USB memory sticks can also be used.

To install Simple Backup, use Synaptic to search for and install "sbackup".

After installed, two new entries will be found under System > Administration > Simple Backup Config, and Simple Backup Restore. Simple Backup Config is used to create or amend the backup job, while Simple Backup Restore is used after the disaster has occurred to restore the files.

when you open "Simple Backup GUI" it will look like this:

Creating and scheduling a backup job:

Go to System > Administration > Simple Backup Config. In the window that appears, you’ll have three choices: Use recommended backup settings, Use custom backup settings, and Manual backups only.

1. The first option configures Ubuntu to run an automated backup job every day, in the background and shortly after the computer has booted for the first time. Vital configuration files along with all the data within users’ /home folders are backed-up. Audio and video files as well as any file over 100MB are ignored to avoid the backup archive
becoming too large.
Once the initial backup has been taken, the daily backup creates incremental backups, meaning that only altered files are backed-up.
If this fits your category then select the Use recommended backup settings option and click the Save button. Then click the "Backup Now" button to create the first backup. And that’s all you need do.
You can close the Simple Backup window because the backup job runs in the background. The downside of this is that you have no progress display but it’s best to wait about an hour for the backup to complete.
The backup folder containing the actual backup archive and necessary directory files will be placed in the:
/var/backup folder
the backup will have a .ful extension, smaller backup folders will be saved to the same location every day (these will have .inc extensions)
You can copy this folders to wherever you want, old backup files are automatically deleted after 30 days.

Configuring backup jobs:

click on custom backup settings button. Then click the tabs to change the options. The backup is entirely configurable here are some options you might like to change:

To allow large backup files, click the Exclude tab,click the Max Size sub-tab on the left and remove the check alongside "Do not backup files bigger than"

under file type you can add or remove the different files you can backup.

click on destination: By default the backup files are saved to /var/backup.
to save them direct to an external hard disk or a network share click the Destination tab and select Use custom local backup directory. Then click the file browser dropdown and select the location.

next click on time: By default the backup will occur each day shortly after your computer has booted for the first time. To change it so that the backup occurs hourly, weekly, or monthly, click the Time tab and select the from the options from the Do Backups dropdown list, you also have all the other options(month,day,hour)

Once done, click the Save button and then the "Backup Now" button to create the initial backup.

Restoring a backup:

If you need to restore any files from the backup, click System > Administration > Simple Backup Restore.
If you have to reinstall from scratch then ensure you recreate the exact same username for yourself this will avoid problems with file ownerships and restored file locations.

Follow these steps to restore the data:

1. The first step is to select the location of the backup archives. Select the Use "Custom button" and click the folder icon to open a file browser dialog so you can navigate to where the backup is stored. It’s important not to specify the backup folder itself just the folder that it’s in. For example, if the backup folder was stored on your desktop, you should enter /home/username/desktop as the location (replacing username with your username). Once done, click the Apply button. This will cause Simple Backup to scan the archives.

Click the Available Backups drop-down list to choose a backup from which to restore from, they are sorted by the dates they were made.
Once the backup has been selected, the files that the backup archive contains will be displayed below the Files and Folders to restore. Each folder will have a small triangle to its left, which you can click to expand the folder and show its contents.

After you’ve found the file(s) or folders you want to restore, highlight them, and then click the Restore button. To restore system configuration settings, you should select to restore /etc, /usr and /var. Beware: this will rewrite the files and folders to their original locations. Files or folders already there with matching filenames will be overwritten! If you want to restore any files to a different location, click the Restore As button, and then choose a folder.
Thats it all done.