Trying to make copy of the OS/'dd'/USB.

Camello · 09-25-2021, 05:40 AM

I'm sorry, I understand almost nothing of what you say.
The operating system from I am trying to do all this is MXLinux, the one I want to copy is SolydX and the USB I am using is 60GB formatted in FAT32 from the MXLinux formatter which is the one that does all those operations automatically that you are probably referring to here becasuse I have never had to do anything extra to the USB to copy any system, nor have I ever had to do anything with the Bios, and yes, it is not Legacy but UEFI.

Please if is possible ... when you answer to my post not be too technical, remember I'm just a dilettante ...

The last usb formatting:

Code:

Starting /usr/lib/formatusb/formatusb_lib 'sda' 'vfat' 'USB-DATA' 'defaults'
device is sda format is vfat
label is USB-DATA
unmount partitions OK
hide disk from udev OK
primary partition table clear OK
iso-hybrid partition table clear OK
secondary partition table clear OK
refresh partitions info /dev/sda
/dev/sda: msdos partitions
refresh partitions info OK
unmount partitions OK
bytes 62914560000 limit 2147483648000
making new partition table OK
refresh partitions info OK
create new partition OK
refresh partitions info OK
formatting partitions sda1
unmount partitions OK
mkfs.fat 4.1 (2017-01-24)
format partition OK
unmount partitions OK
label partition OK
Device sda
Refresh Partitions sda
partition to mark 1
mark b

The partition table has been altered.
Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
Syncing disks.
Setting Partition Type OK
refresh partition info OK
make disk visible to udev OK

yancek · 09-25-2021, 12:47 PM

Quote:

The operating system from I am trying to do all this is MXLinux, the one I want to copy is SolydX

That is information you should have put in your initial post. If you are trying to copy a root filesystem partition on your drive from another OS on that same drive, there will be no need to get another USB/DVD.

You indicate that your system is EFI yet your fdisk output shows no EFI partition. Your computer may be capable of booting EFI but that doesn't mean it is. Your fdisk output shows you have a GPT drive but that doesn't necessarily mean you are booting EFI as a Linux OS can be installed on a GPT drive in Legacy mode.

If you are actualy trying to copy a functional Linux OS (SodydX) to a flash drive, use a Linux format not a FAT32. FAT32 is generally used on USB's for 'live' Linux systems but, if you want to run your Linux on it, you need a Linux filesystem.

Writing a 'live' iso of Linux is substantially different than doing what you want to do and I'm afraid I don't know any simpler way to explain it.

Camello · 09-25-2021, 04:02 PM

Sorry but there is too a problem with the language communication, what I meant is that the operating system I am using is MXLinux, from this is from where I'm formatting the USB and opening the terminal for work with the 'dd' command, etc.

All I need to do is to make a copy of the already installed system (SolydX) on a USB.

Regarding the UEFI/Legacy thing, that's how one of the installers I used partitioned the disk (and I don't remember). As it is now ... nothing can be done anymore.

What do you recommend me to do in order to copy the SolydX to the pendrive?.

boughtonp · 09-25-2021, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Camello

All I need to do is to make a copy of the already installed system (SolydX) on a USB.

This can be interpreted two ways: are you trying to create a simple backup, or are you trying to produce a bootable USB drive?

Camello · 09-25-2021, 04:33 PM

I don't know how to give a right answer to your question so i will put an example of what i got from MXLinux:

I will like to get the same i got from this tool: MXLinux Snapshot, it is a live USB and a backup.

JeremyBoden · 09-25-2021, 04:51 PM

Your initial install media will provide a bootable media (and a version of your OS).
You can either use backup software to provide a snapshot periodically,
or
Take note of any substantial modifications affecting /etc and /var - this could probably be automated...

I'd recommend that / and /home are in separate partitions (so that OS backups and data backups are separate).
It's usually much quicker to reinstall a Linux OS than to go looking for a possibly out of date OS backup.

giesbert · 09-26-2021, 03:22 AM

Quote:

/dev/nvme0n1p1 258095 5713 252383 3% /boot/efi

and

Quote:

/dev/nvme0n1p1 2048 526335 524288 256M Microsoft basic data

That looks like Efi.

@OP have a look at fsarchiver. fsarchiver is in repo too. It is capable to backup a running filesystem. I did use this once and it was working well then. For this you use the -A option.
But better not using copying a live filesystem!
If you do not want to use clonezilla, try another live-distro and backup in a terminal.

yancek · 09-26-2021, 04:36 AM

Quote:

That looks like Efi.

Camello, apologies for missing that, you were correct. Giesbert, thanks for pointing that out. Not sure how I missed it, that's embarassing..

Could you clarify what exactly you want? Have you installed various software on your Solydx and want a copy of the OS on a USB you can boot to with that software installed and available or do you just want a way to back it up, saving your personal data. I understand Solydx is based on Debian and I would expect it would have some software like that since both it and MX Linux are Debian based. Have you seen the link below which gives a list of backup tools for Debian?

https://wiki.debian.org/BackupAndRecovery

Quote:

I will like to get the same i got from this tool: MXLinux Snapshot, it is a live USB and a backup.

OK, that clarifies things a bit. My interpretation of that is that you simply want a 'live' Solydx on the USB with the capability of also using the USB for a backup of personal data from the Solydx install, is that correct?

Camello · 09-26-2021, 04:38 AM

That is what other forists have told me earlier in other places that is an EFI but somehow it seems that it confuses others and as I am a barely an amateur without any training in computer science, I do not know what to think or to do in many occasions ...

After installation, i dont see how to run ...

Code:

 ~$ sudo fsarchiver -A
[sudo] password for : 

No arguments provided, cannot continue

====> fsarchiver version 0.8.6 (2021-02-27) - http://www.fsarchiver.org <====
Distributed under the GPL v2 license (GNU General Public License v2).
 * usage: fsarchiver [<options>] <command> <archive> [<dev1> [<dev2> [...]]]
<commands>
 * savefs: save filesystems to an archive file (backup a device to a file)
 * restfs: restore filesystems from an archive (overwrites the existing data)
 * savedir: save directories to the archive (similar to a compressed tarball)
 * restdir: restore data from an archive which is not based on a filesystem
 * archinfo: show information about an existing archive file and its contents
 * probe [detailed]: show list of filesystems detected on the disks
<options>
 -o: overwrite the archive if it already exists instead of failing
 -v: verbose mode (can be used several times to increase the level of details)
 -d: debug mode (can be used several times to increase the level of details)
 -A: allow to save a filesystem which is mounted in read-write (live backup)
 -a: allow to save a filesystem when acls and xattrs are not supported
 -x: enable support for experimental features (they are disabled by default)
 -e <pattern>: exclude files and directories that match that pattern
 -L <label>: set the label of the archive (comment about the contents)
 -z <level>: legacy compression level from 0 (very fast) to 9 (very good)
 -Z <level>: zstd compression level from 1 (very fast) to 22 (very good)
 -s <mbsize>: split the archive into several files of <mbsize> megabytes each
 -j <count>: create more than one (de)compression thread. useful on multi-core cpu
 -c <password>: encrypt/decrypt data in archive, "-c -" for interactive password
 -h: show help and information about how to use fsarchiver with examples
 -V: show program version and exit
<information>
 * Support included for: lzo=yes, lzma=yes, lz4=yes, zstd=yes
 * Support for ntfs filesystems is unstable: don't use it for production.
:~$

Quote:

If you do not want to use clonezilla, try another live-distro and backup in a terminal.

I have seen some tutorials above all this matter before and I still do not understand. For this reason it is why I thought maybe with the 'dd' command from the terminal I could get the system installed into a live USB with its backup data (as in MXLinux-snapshot) but it seems that it is not possible to do ...
It is not true?.

Thanks to all of you for your help.

Camello · 09-26-2021, 05:14 PM

I think I managed to do it with clonezilla but do not bootes ... [BIOS does not recognize it]

Code:

~$ sudo fdisk -l
[sudo] password for: 
Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 238.5 GiB, 256060514304 bytes, 500118192 sectors
Disk model: PC SN520 NVMe WDC 256GB                 
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 7D3D13AC-4A54-4810-8257-722BBF55BE3A

Device             Start       End   Sectors  Size Type
/dev/nvme0n1p1      2048    526335    524288  256M Microsoft basic data
/dev/nvme0n1p2    526336  72937471  72411136 34.5G Linux root (x86)
/dev/nvme0n1p3  72937472  89714687  16777216    8G Linux swap
/dev/nvme0n1p4  89714688 159483903  69769216 33.3G Linux filesystem
/dev/nvme0n1p5 159483904 231698431  72214528 34.4G Linux filesystem
/dev/nvme0n1p6 231698432 304171007  72472576 34.6G Linux filesystem
/dev/nvme0n1p7 304171008 386467839  82296832 39.2G Linux filesystem
/dev/nvme0n1p8 386467840 500117503 113649664 54.2G Linux filesystem


Disk /dev/sda: 58.6 GiB, 62914560000 bytes, 122880000 sectors
Disk model: ProductCode     
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x3753b030

Device     Boot Start       End   Sectors  Size Id Type
/dev/sda1        2048 122879999 122877952 58.6G  b W95 FAT32
:~$

djk44883 · 09-26-2021, 06:24 PM

If you're going to use dd (or clonezilla) what does the format of the USB matter?? You're going to overwrite it. dd does not copy.

If you want to dd a part to the USB... with out a partition table? so maybe /dev/sda1 would be the choice, but you need capacity to match -- not just data space.

dd is not a new user command!! CloneZilla is an excellent tool, they have pages with step by step examples with illustrations - https://clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live-doc.php. Both the Snapshot tool and Clonzilla do more than just partclone they move the information needed to make the device bootable.

If you're just dd'ing a partition... you'll need to install grub to boot your USB to your system most likely.

pan64 · 09-27-2021, 12:55 AM

I guess you [still] missed a very important point. Copying a root filesystem (like /dev/nvme0n1p7) is not enough, that is just an operating system without boot information.
it looks like /dev/nvme0n1p1 contains boot related data, but that cannot be directly copied to usb because it will still looking for /dev/nvme0n1p7 (as operating system to load).
As it was mentioned you may try to dd your OS and install a boot loader (like grub) onto that usb.
Formatting usb is not required, or better to say do not format and do not mount that usb drive at all.

Camello · 09-27-2021, 03:01 AM

This time it was with Clonezilla and I copied the disk completely, all the partitions, all the systems are on the USB... but the Bios...

I don't understand, too complex for me, too technical, I will have to keep reinstalling the system every time it gets damaged until someone decides in the future to facilitate the installation of MXLinux-Snapshot on any Debian distro.

I abandon the matter.

Thanks to all of you.

pan64 · 09-27-2021, 04:50 AM

bios is [more or less] built into the PC, cannot/must not be copied to the usb. What you are talking about is most probably the boot system (grub) which should be installed onto that usb, not copied from somewhere else.

yancek · 09-27-2021, 05:29 AM

Quote:

I will have to keep reinstalling the system every time it gets damaged

That is pretty common for most of us and is part of the learning experience. I would suggest the next time you have a problem you post it here as there are many very experienced members. As pointed out in several posts above, you need to install the bootloader separately, probably Grub2 so doing an online search for reinstalling Grub2 should get you many results.

Reinstalling Solydx to the same partition without formatting anything, should get your system back to the original state without damaging any personal files. If you modify system files, you need to make note of what they are and have backup copies of them to copy back after the reinstall. Good luck.