I am getting messages that my primary/boot drive is dying so I want to move/clone everything on a new drive. What is the best way to do this?

Thanks

I guess it depends on what you mean by "best". You will probably have to use a Linux boot CD/DVD to do the copying.

Here are some choices.

You can use the Linux "cp -a" command. You have to create partitions on the new hard disk and format them first. Use a Linux boot CD/DVD to create the partitions, format the partitions and copy files. Use the "chroot" command to set the new Linux root partition as the root filesystem and then install your boot loader software. If some files on the old hard disk can't be read you will have to copy folders selectively and decide if it's worth trying to copy to OS or simply reinstall that.

You can use the Linux "dd" command to copy the entire hard disk or individual partitions. The drawback is that it will not change the size of the partitions. If your new disk is larger then you have to resize the partitions or create new ones afterward. If your new disk is smaller you have to shrink each partition after copying or do other things to make them fit. This doesn't work well if your entire old hard disk can't be read without errors.

You can use partition copying software such as Ghost, Paragon Hard Disk Manager or one of the free programs. As long as all of your old hard disk can still be read these should work fine. If you have errors, then you might have to use the "cp" command and figure out if the unreadable files are important.

Hi,

Welcome to LQ!

You will find partimage on 'SystemRescueCD', 'UBCD' and 'RIP' LiveCD to use for copy, moving of partitions.

You can take a look at the 'Tools, Recovery, Diagnostic, Emergency' section of 'Slackware-Links' for other tools. More than just Slackware® links!

Thanks Erik and onebuck. This pointed me in the right direction and I got it done.