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Re: Resize a disk image from 32G to 4G or copy u-boot?



Have you tried partimage?  Maybe it only does one partition, I was
looking for something that can make images like the ones you download
when youj insttall.  Just saw this today, haven't tried it yet.

Partition Image is a partition imaging utility. It has support for the
following file systems:
 * Ext2/3, the Linux standard
 * ReiserFS, a journalised and powerful file system
 * FAT16/32, DOS and Windows file systems
 * HPFS, IBM OS/2 file system
 * JFS, journalised file system, from IBM, used on AIX
 * XFS, another journalised and efficient file system, from SGI, used on Irix
 * UFS (beta), Unix file system
 * HFS (beta), MacOS File system
 * NTFS (experimental), Windows NT, 2000 and XP
Only used blocks are copied and stored into an image file.
The image file can be compressed in the GZIP/BZIP2 formats to save disk space,
and split into multiple files to be copied onto removable media (ZIP for
example), burned on a CD-R, etc.

This makes it possible to save a full Linux/Windows system with a single
operation. In case of a problem (virus, crash, error, etc.), you just have
to restore, and after several minutes, your entire system is restored
(boot, files, etc.), and fully working.

This is very useful when installing the same software on many machines: just
install one of them, create an image, and restore the image on all other
machines.

On 3/24/20, Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> wrote:
> On Tuesday 24 March 2020 16:44:42 Alan Corey wrote:
>
>> Downsizing requires that no files are in the part you trim off.
>> Upsizing can sometimes be done by deleting the partition and
>> recreating letting fdisk use the maximum size.  Don't format between
>> or anything and in case you have to type the numbers in you should
>> have a copy of them handy like
>> Device     Boot     Start        End    Sectors  Size Id Type
>> /dev/sda1              63    2056319    2056257 1004M  6 FAT16
>> /dev/sda2         2056320   43022069   40965750 19.5G 83 Linux
>> /dev/sda3        43022070  657427994  614405925  293G 83 Linux
>> /dev/sda4       657427995 1953520064 1296092070  618G  5 Extended
>> /dev/sda5       657428058 1953520064 1296092007  618G 83 Linux
>> I used to hide a partition on a Windows machine by deleting it then
>> recreating it when I wanted it, the data in it was fine.  This scheme
>> may not work on GPT especially because it puts the partition table at
>> the end of the disk.
>>
>> I would try using dd to copy the whole device like /dev/sda instead of
>> /dev/sda1 which should get the uboot.,  Then you just need to upsize
>> the second partition.  Or use dd to copy the uboot partition then
>> create and format the 2nd one manually and copy the files over with
>> cp.  Unless uboot needs to know the offset of something in the 2nd
>> partition.
>>
>> Such tiny SD cards...
>
> And nothing so far, and I have been watching, in the way of reducing a
> filesystem to only the actual size occupied. Then it can be backed up
> with dd and recovered, rewritten by dd, at a reasonable size for
> storage.  And re-expanded to fit the media it finds. All of my attempts
> to do that with dd alone have been thwarted by the fact that I have yet
> to find two u-sd's marked as such and such a capacity, that actually
> were the same size.
>
> Our tools simply have not kept up with the technology. So I wind up doing
> my backups with amanda and that hasn't kicked my applecart and spilled
> it yet. But amanda works a bit different and most read the docs and run
> screaming to the hills because theres no easy way to make a full backup
> on Friday nights. Amanda doesn't need to, its got your data covered
> anyway.
>
>> On 3/24/20, Nate Bargmann <n0nb@n0nb.us> wrote:
>> > Hi All.
>> >
>> > I have an Olimex LIME2 based Freedombox (Debian Buster) and as I am
>> > using an external hard drive with it, less than 2 GB of the 32 GB
>> > micro-SD card capacity is being used.  I have a spare 4 GB card that
>> > I would like to use instead, but haven't figured out how to downsize
>> > the root partition in the disk image file after using dd to make an
>> > image from the 32 GB card.
>> >
>> > I tried the steps at:
>> >
>> > https://softwarebakery.com/shrinking-images-on-linux
>> >
>> > and gparted fails at the resize step with an error of:
>> >
>> >    btrfs filesystem resize 1:2234368K ʼ/tmp/gparted-3ExAC9ʼ
>> > 00:00:05    ( ERROR )
>> >
>> >    Resize ʼ/tmp/gparted-3ExAC9ʼ of ʼ1:2234368Kʼ
>> >    ERROR: unable to resize ʼ/tmp/gparted-3ExAC9ʼ: No space left on
>> > device
>> >
>> > Even if I manually try to use the btrfs command to attempt the
>> > resize I get the same error which seems weird as I am *shrinking*
>> > the file system..
>> >
>> > As an alternative, I created the proper partitions on the 4 GB card
>> > and used rsync to copy the relevant data over.  That is all well and
>> > good except that now I don't have u-boot in the first 1 MB of the 4
>> > GB card (the boot partition starts at sector 2048 in both the disk
>> > image and the 4 GB card).  I'm unsure of the exact offsets or I
>> > would simply use dd to copy that data from the 32 GB image to the 4
>> > GB card and be on my way.
>> >
>> > Ideas?
>> >
>> > TIA
>> >
>> > - Nate
>> >
>> > --
>> >
>> > "The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all
>> > possible worlds.  The pessimist fears this is true."
>> >
>> > Web: https://www.n0nb.us
>> > Projects: https://github.com/N0NB
>> > GPG fingerprint: 82D6 4F6B 0E67 CD41 F689 BBA6 FB2C 5130 D55A 8819
>
>
> Cheers, Gene Heskett
> --
> "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
>  soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
> -Ed Howdershelt (Author)
> If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.
>  - Louis D. Brandeis
> Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>
>
>


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