using dd co copy some partitions b/w 2 disks

ychaouche · 10-26-2022, 05:18 AM

Hello all,

I've been thinking about cloning my entire disk to a new disk,
but there are some partitions I do not wish to keep.
old disk is as follows :

Code:

11:03:14 ~ -1- $ sys.disk.partitions.list
[sudo] password for ychaouche:
Model: ATA WDC WD10EZEX-00W (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 1000GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/4096B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system     Flags
 1      1049kB  106MB   105MB   primary   ntfs
 2      107MB   48.8GB  48.7GB  primary   ntfs
 3      315GB   629GB   315GB   primary   ntfs
 4      629GB   1000GB  371GB   extended
 5      629GB   649GB   20.0GB  logical   ext4
 6      649GB   729GB   80.0GB  logical   ext4
 7      729GB   737GB   7999MB  logical   linux-swap(v1)
 8      737GB   764GB   26.3GB  logical   ext4
 9      764GB   808GB   44.6GB  logical   btrfs           boot


11:03:20 ~ -1- $

Partitions I'd like to copy on second disk are :
3, 5, 6, 7 (swap), and 8.

I'm not sure how to procede.

Suggestions?

EDIT : the only reason I'd like to copy the swap partition is to speed up the cloning process so that I don't have to create it manually on the destination drive.
But if that's not doable, I'll do it manually afterwards.
I am particularly concerned about the partition table on the destination drive.
If I dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb then the partition table will be copied, right?
should I use a graphical tool instead?

business_kid · 10-26-2022, 05:32 AM

I'd suggest formatting as desired, rsync your chosen partitions. Don't dd them, because dd will copy normally invisible and unwanted items, not just the information.

syg00 · 10-26-2022, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ychaouche

: the only reason I'd like to copy the swap partition is to speed up the cloning process so that I don't have to create it manually on the destination drive.

Short-cutting will lead to grief - not just swap, but all of it. dd is just about the worst option - see post above.

Clonezilla was invented for tasks like this - it will save you from yourself.

pan64 · 10-26-2022, 08:27 AM

swap should be created again, that is much faster than copying it (and much safer too). Anyway probably the best way is to use clonezilla (as it was already mentioned)

ychaouche · 10-26-2022, 08:51 AM

Thank you all for your quality answers.
Much appreciated!