4.2 qubes backups corrupted

[Eric678]

Qubes OS release

4.2.0 6.6.2 & 6.1.62 and earlier RCs

Brief summary

Qubes backups do not pass the backup verification test and are unusable.

Steps to reproduce

Instal 4.2.0 6.6.2 all packages. Write a full backup to an appVM private volume (or anywhere else). Immediately run a verification restore.

Expected behavior

A verification restore will pass, provided there are no hardware errors.
I do believe my main SSD is working without errors as everything else is working fine.

Actual behavior

The backup restore fails at different places: for the above example, always vm2 root or private, block anywhere from 000 to 019 with passphrase incorrect error, around the 5GB mark (out of 5.5GB). I have seen an invalid scrypt format error as well. Every backup that I have going back months fails at different places. On 6.1.62 with ~80GB backup, failed at vm21/private.image.053.enc with passphrase incorrect. Since all blocks before passed, there must be a data corruption there.

I do find it difficult to believe that this has not been reported! Must be somehow related to my hardware: AMD 7950X + 670E.

I do consider it a bug that one cannot write an unencrypted backup (Next button stays greyed out until pass phrase entered).

[andrewdavidwong]

I do consider it a bug that one cannot write an unencrypted backup (Next button stays greyed out until pass phrase entered).

It's not a bug. It's an intentional design decision that the developers have explained multiple times before. You are free to disagree with that decision, but that does not make it a bug.

[rustybird]

The backup restore fails at different places: for the above example, always vm2 root or private, block anywhere from 000 to 019 with passphrase incorrect error

Must be somehow related to my hardware: AMD 7950X + 670E.

Seems like a duplicate of #4493

[github-actions]

This issue has been closed as a "duplicate." This means that another issue exists that is very similar to or subsumes this one. If any useful information on this issue is not already present on the other issue, please add it in a comment on the other issue. Here are some common cases of duplicate issues:

• The other issue is closed. The other issue being closed does not prevent this issue from duplicating it. We will examine the closed issue and, if appropriate, reopen it.
• The other issue is for a different Qubes release. We usually maintain only one issue for all affected Qubes releases.
• The other issue is very old. The mere age of an issue is not, by itself, a relevant factor when determining duplicates.

By default, the newer issue will be closed in favor of the older issue. However, we make exceptions when we determine that it would be significantly more useful to keep the newer issue open instead of the older one.

We respect the time and effort you have taken to file this issue, and we understand that this outcome may be unsatisfying. Please accept our sincere apologies and know that we greatly value your participation and membership in the Qubes community.

If anyone reading this believes that this issue was closed in error or that the resolution of "duplicate" is not accurate, please leave a comment below saying so, and we will review this issue again. For more information, see How issues get closed.