How to clone/copy SanDisk 1.2G flash disk as soon as it is inserted?
Hi,
We are using this card in manufacturing a product. Currently, the card
is used by an embedded application and the information on the card is
setup by the embedded hardware during the manufacturing process. We
would like to take a flashdisk that has already been setup by the
hardware, and clone/copy it.
I have been able to do this on a Debian machine using the dd command to
copy the contents of the flashdisk (using its raw memory interface) onto
a hard disk and then copy it back to another card. It takes about 25
min. to write a flashcard from the hard disk this way. I used the
following command: dd if=/dev/hde of=diskimage (I didn't know what
block size to use so I didn't use one)
I'm always trying to find ways of using Linux around here so this may be
a good job for it. Is there an easy way to make a script or something
that would display the progress of the copy so the user would know the
status of the copying? I don't think people on the manufacturing line
are going to like doing a dd command and then just watching it sit
there. Any ideas how to make/do this better? I'm sure my boss will
want me to find something for Windows to do this but I've looked and I
can't find anything.
When I use the Linux machine to copy the flashdisk .... I can't look at
the contents of the disk and I cannot read the partition information,
all I can do is use the dd command to make a byte-for-byte copy .....
which works!
We are using the 1.2GB Flashdisk part number SDP3B-1280-101-50.
I'd also like to be able to start the copying process as soon as the
flashdisk is inserted. Can someone point me in the right direction to
be able to do that?
We would also like to build a machine that has several PCMCIA interfaces
in it so we can write several cards at once. How many of these
interfaces can I put in a machine and how could I determine the optimal
number of flashcards to do at one time? I'm sure at some point writing
multiple cards at once will take longer instead of it being faster ....
I need to be able to determine the "sweet spot". The SanDisk
documentation says something about a 16-20MBytes per second burst
throughput although it took me about 25 min. to copy the image to/from
hard disk on a PIII 750. Would a faster machine be needed to do this
type of job?
I'm sure that is enough questions.
I love Debian 3.0! I have it everywhere. It Rocks!
Thanks,
Brian
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