I recently switched to iDrive for my backup needs but couldn’t work out how to get it running on Linux. iDrive provide a series of scripts for Debian machines but this is obviously no good for non Debian systems (using Nixos here). I read about a method of hacking the scripts so they think you’re running Debian, but this didn’t work. Anyway, I eventually figured it out and thought I’d share the workaround here in case it’s useful to anyone. The solution is to use Distrobox. Just set up a Debian box there and run the scripts as described. It took me 2-3 goes to get the dependencies installed but now it’s all great and working as intended. Good luck, fellow iDrive users.
Yeah, the personal backup and sync. Sorry, I didn’t think to make it clear.
No worries at all. You just helped me make a decision. I’ve been an iDrive customer for years but recently switched to Linux for my primary OS and thought I was out of luck regarding the 5TB for $79/yr plan. So I’ll have to investigate further.
Oh cool. For some bizarre reason iDrive ask you to email them to get the link for the scripts. But you can get them here: https://www.idrive.com/online-backup-linux-download So just download the scripts, install Distrobox, and pull the Debian 12 image. Then enter the Distrobox Debian and navigate to the scripts. Change the permissions (chmod a+x *.pl) and execute the account_settings.pl script. I think I got an error about perl, but I just installed it myself (sudo apt install perl) and carried on. I think I might have had another error at some point but I just ran it again and it all pulled through properly. And now my Distrobox is on my iDrive dashboard and everything works properly. Just remember that if you reboot you might need to go back into the Distrobox and execute account_settings.pl again, but because everything’s already installed it will just ask you to login, and that’s it - you’re back online. Good luck!
