rtmistler |
04-19-2017 12:17 PM |
Hi and welcome to LQ.
To add to hydrurga's and TB0ne's posts, I also recommend that you do not try to back up the OS portion while it is running.
If you intend to back up your user data then you can do this while you are operating, but not running any programs accessing your user data.
Based on your original question where you ask about cloning your operating hard drive. Yes, you can clone it, but you should not do this while it is operating. Therefore a Live boot media such as a DVD or Thumbstick are best to use to boot the system. Next you'll need a same sized, or larger hard drive than the one you intend to back up as the target. From there you can use the sudo command and the dd command. You'll have to understand which drive is the source and which drive is the target.
Some issues here, and why I'm not posting the command suggestion, are: - The dd command using the sudo modifier is powerful and if you get it incorrect, you can destroy your existing hard drive, thus doing the exact opposite of your intentions
- This type of back up, which great, is also somewhat special. No arguments the result will be effective, but ensure that you'd know what to do if you ever needed to restore, otherwise why bother going through it unless you've also learned how to make use of the archive
These are just some thoughts in preparing, or deciding as to whether or not this back up choice is best for you.
An earlier question of mine asked about just your user data. This can be done just using a File Manager, or the cp command and the correct directory top level. However you need to evaluate if you wish to backup the entire system or just your user data.
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