Re: Clone root partition

[Hugo Vanwoerkom <hvw59601@care2.com>]

Digby Tarvin wrote:
> I did this only yesterday - but in my case I wanted a mirror
> image of the entire system, not just the root partition.
>
> The simplest most bullet proof procedure I could come up with was:
> 1.	dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/sda
> 2.	vi /etc/fstab in the copy and 1,$s/hda/sda/
> 3.	either 
> 	a. edit /boot/grub/menu.lst on the internal drive
> 	to add a boot obtion passing the USB root to the kernel
> 	or
> 	b. if your host supports USB booting, update the boot sector
> 	on sda to look for the stage 2 boot in the USB partition.


Could you expand on this piece? How do I update a boot sector on sda to 
look for the stage2 boot in the USB partition? Is this grub?

Hugo



> I used for first option, so am not sure if I have covered everything
> required for a direct USB boot...
>
> I booted using the USB copy and everything looked to be working fine.
>
> Didn't use 'sync,noerror' in the dd operation because I count on having
> perfect media, and if I don't I want to know about it!
>
> Regards,
> DigbyT
>
> On Sat, Dec 30, 2006 at 05:45:34PM +0000, T wrote:
> > Hi, 
> >
> > I'm trying to compile a comprehensive document on cloning root partitions.
> > My immediate goal is to clone my current working Linux to external USB HD,
> > so that I can use it wherever I go.
> >
> > By comprehensive I mean it should not be as simple minded as
> >
> >   dd if=/dev/hda2 of=/dev/sda2
> >
> > or 
> >
> >   cp -a / /mnt/point
> >
> > or 
> >
> >   tar -p -m cf - / | (cd /mnt/point; tar xf - )
> >
> > I know they work, but there are so many things have been left out. By
> > comprehensive, I mean I want to know all relevant things that need to be
> > considered.
> >
> > For example for dd, let alone its rigid limitation, if you use it, at least
> > the 'conv=sync,noerror bs=4k' options should be used: sync,noerror just
> > means continue and zero fill any error blocks, bs=4k just writes 4k at a
> > time which will speed things up a lot. For cp, at least 'cp -ax' should be
> > used.
> >
> > But there are still much more to it. 
> >
> > First, directories that don't need to copy over, like /tmp, /proc. With
> > modern Linux that uses udev, the /dev and /sys don't need to be copied
> > either. Anything else (besides distro specifics like /var/cache/apt/archives)?
> >
> > 2nd, the clone partition should be made bootable, by grub or lilo.
> >
> > Anything else? Like the concerns of /etc/fstab...
> >
> > Last, with all the above concerns, how to achieve them with various tools?
> >
> > Keywords: tar rsync find cpio dd
> >
> > thanks
> >
> > PS. If you come across this message late, be it a week or even a month
> > late, please do comment, I hope this thread can be a one stop place for
> > people looking for concerns over cloning root partitions. 
> >
> >
> > --
> > Tong (remove underscore(s) to reply)
> >   http://xpt.sourceforge.net/
> >
> >
> > --
> > To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-REQUEST@lists.debian.org 
> > with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org