A few hours on Google and sifting through YaST has turned up nothing... :-(

What program can copy files to removable media (in my case DVD+-R) and automatically handle spanning multiple disks, but NOT:
1. create an archive file (like tar, dar, zip, rar, etc.)
2. add compression
3. split files

In short, the files are preserved in their original format and may be copied directly from the media using native file coping methods (copy, cp, drag/drop, etc.). Timestamps, permissions, etc., are unimportant.

Why? Well issues 1, 2, and 3 make it difficult to unwrap the resulting package on another computer because additional software and knowledge is necessary. In my case, it is further complicated because the destination is not a Linux computer.

So, how do you get 25GB off of a Linux machine onto another computer using a lowest common denominator (file system, file names, common media, etc.)?

My best two options to date (both are undesirable)
1. use a GUI DVD creation program (K3b in my case) and pick through the source directories, or
2. creating a BASH script that creates catalogs 4.4GB via 'du' and packet writes to DVD (I really don't want to invest the time)

Thanks!

You could make an image file of 4.5 gigs, then mount it, and go to where the files are that you want to move, and run mv * /image-mountpoint/
when the image is full, no more files will be moved, and you can burn that set, then delete it.

just a sloppy idea.

Why not just:

1: network the machines together, copy or rsync files over the network
2: use an external removable drive - External 2.5" USB hard drives are running about $70.00 for a 320 GB drive.

not sure I see the reason to burn it all to DVD's to do a one time move.

I love the mobility having an external USB HD has given me.. Wiped it, dumped the NTFS default file system, and repartitioned/reformatted it as Fat32 & EXT3 for more versatility.

Set a mount point by uuid and wrote a rsync backup script for my local machine. I can just plug in the drive and launch the script to backup all my data to the external drive. simple, fast, efficient

I also grabbed a USB to IDE2.5/3.5/SATA adapter for $15.00 from the comp store, so I can use any old HD I have laying around for this sort of function.

These are solutions for ideal circumstances. If a network was available I could choose from countless possibilities: uucp, ssh, ftp, nfs, http, smb, and even piping a dd dump over a socket with netcat. If I had large external storage available using a sneaker net goes without saying. I'm asking for help with a less than ideal circumstance.

Many scenarios could result in this predicament. Perhaps network equipment is not affordable, sames goes for external storage. Maybe the equipment is not available because of location or time of day. Maybe its a customer... would you want to send your customers home with a 320GB drive and their assurance they'd return? Sometimes disposable media is the best choice.

Also, I could also rely on the UNIX philosophy of combining many small tools to create a solution, but that is too time consuming and error prone. Meaning, the cost outweighs the benefits. However, benefiting from someone else's efforts--possibly even improving apon them--is the Linux way. Hence my request for a software or method recommendation.

The previous suggestion of mounting an image and moving files into it was very creative - it is definitely on my plan b list.

Thanks everyone.

I am going to have to agree with the USB drive solution. It is cheaper/GB. It is much faster. It translates across OS (choose your file system you wish to send out). As far as the customer thing, that is easily handled. It is called a deposit. Cable companies(converter boxes), DVD rentals(and players), even gas stations (gas can) do it. With an easy solution like this it is highly unlikely anybody is going to do things in the (much harder) manner you wish.

Its a restore for someone who has not replaced the computer yet. How long do you suggest I keep the loaner out?

This is mildly amusing.

The tread is a request for a disk spanning copy program. Please keep it on topic.

Thanks.

so let me get this straight.

The data is on his old hard drive
in his old PC
which no longer works..

Why not just have him buy the $15.00 USB -> IDE/SATA Hard Drive adapter and give him his own hard drive to take home ?

When he buys his new machine he can plug the old Hard drive in the USB port and copy all his files off his old drive to the new system..

I fail to see how that is giving him a loaner drive if it's his drive and data to begin with ???

I found this script on Source Forge. I have used it a couple of times and it works fine.


http://sourceforge.net/projects/discspan/

This script only works with DVD's but has potential.

Thanks, I'll check it out. (Actually, I think I did but ran into compatibility issues. Can't hurt to look 2x.

Meanwhile, I couldn't find a solution to fit those requirements so I switched to a rdiff-backup to an external drive. Its not the ideal solution for me, but the benefits of rdiff-backup are hard to deny... incremental changes unencumbered by wrapping in an archive.

Cheers

Your Welcome,

Seemed to fit your original specs. This is a Python script and could probably be modified with minimum effort and perhaps given a GUI interface. Rdiff-backup is however the better solution with a little training, in the long run more economical.

Good Luck