On 0, Russell <rjshaw@iprimus.com.au> wrote:
> Thomas_Kroener@mail.sva-germany.com wrote:
> >
> > Hello Russell
> >
> > > I want to make a complete bootable backup of my debian 3 system
> > > on to a removeable hard disk. I've got one swap partition, and
> > > a main partition for everything else (ext2).
> >
> > > How do i copy any boot files that need to be on a certain
> > > part of the hard-disk? The hard disks are different sizes.
> >
> > I would recommend the command 'dd' which makes a 1:1 copy by blocks.
> > It copies everything, but I think it's quite easier to delete some
> > files afterwards instead of copying the needed files, because the
> > risk to forget one is higher.
>
> Would dd work? The manual says dd copies files with a variable
> block size, but i can't see any option for absolute disk placement.
He is not suggesting (I don't think, anyway,) that you dd individual
files, but rather the entire disk image. I'm not sure if this would
work when the disks are different sizes, but it will certainly leave
files in the same place on the duplicate disk. It would copy as much
of the filesystem as possible, but wouldn't mke2fs produce various
things in different places on a different sized disk?
> I'm mainly doing a backup in case i corrupt the lilo loader (among
> other things). Could i mount the removeable HDD, put matching size
> partitions on it, copy everything on to it, then run something like
> chroot lilo on that disk to give its own version of the loader? I
> can't try it yet, because i still need to get another disk.
My advice is to switch to grub. Then you have minimal chance of
corrupting the loader, and can edit the entire boot command.
Tom
--
Tom Cook
Information Technology Services, The University of Adelaide
Why are Fire Engines Red?
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The fish have fins; the Finns hate the Russians.
The Russians are red; fire engines are always rushin'.
So they're red.
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