EDIT: I have created a Wikibooks guide "How To Backup Operating Systems" which covers this topic in greater detail...
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_To_...rating_Systems
After reading some of the problems folks have had with updates/upgrades, I thought I would share my method for backing up partitions and maintaining a multi-OS system. I'm sure there are other approaches but this has worked well for me.
Basically this procedure allows you to backup an entire partition (your Ubuntu or WinXP installation, for example) to one "partition image file". This image file can be stored on another partition, another drive, a networked filesystem, or burned to a CD/DVD. If something goes wrong with the system, due to any kind of system problem, bad upgrade, or hard drive failure, you can just roll the system back to the exact state it was in when you saved the image - restoration takes 5-10 minutes.
I have found having a reasonably recent image of my partition takes the worry out of testing new updates, messing with drivers, or trying a new version of the OS. If anything goes really wrong, just roll it back. Also, if I'm working on something and the computer goes haywire, rather than having to stop what I'm doing and spend hours straightening it out, I just restore it in 5 minutes. It is very good for WinXP too, where network settings can mysteriously gunk themselves. Rather than trying to find what went wrong, I just roll it back to when it did work. Finally, it's a good test of hardware. If the problem still exists after restoration, you know it's probably a hardware issue.
In short, it's well worth spending a little time learning how to do this!
Works with ext2/3, reiser, FAT32, and NTFS partitions.
First I'll give you my recommendations for setting up a hard drive. You can backup any partition, but you need another place to store the backup. The backup image file will be about half the size of the data on the partition (it is gzipped). My image file of Kubuntu Edgy is 1.0GB.
If you're starting from scratch, I recommend a hard drive setup something like this:
The swap partition should be at least double the size of your RAM.
Ubuntu usually fits comfortably in 5G (my 5G partition is 55% full). If you are going to install a lot of large software, then make it bigger.
The "extra system" partition is good to make for later. This is a place where you can install a new OS to try it out, without affecting your other OSes.
Making a separate partition for /home is one approach. /home is where Ubuntu stores all your user settings, like gnome/kde/software preferences and settings, etc. Having it on a separate partition means that when you roll back the system partition, the user settings are unaffected. You can also skip the separate partition for /home and just make frequent backups of that folder. If you need to roll back the system, you would then follow that by restoring the /home folder from your backup.
The /data partition is for anything else. It's also a good place to initially store the backup image file(s).
To set up a drive like this, you can select 'manually edit the partition table' during Ubuntu install. If you want XP on the system, it's easier to partition the drive first, then install XP to the appropriate partition, then install Ubuntu. In that case you can use cfdisk to do the partitioning before the XP install (see below). (The reason for installing XP first is that it overwrites the MBR and doesn't see Ubuntu, whereas when you install Ubuntu after XP, it sees XP and enables the multi-OS bootloader.)
SystemRescueCD is what I use to maintain the system and make backups. This can be downloaded from http://www.sysresccd.org as an ISO file and burned to CD. This creates a bootable CD. SystemRescueCD is a slim linux liveCD with a bunch of system maintenance tools on it. The new version even allows you to startx and run Firefox, but the command line tools are what we want. SystemRescueCD has run successfully on every system I have ever used it on (unlike more complex LiveCDs).
Boot the SystemRescueCD. Press Enter at the Boot and Keyboard prompts. Eventually it will stop at a root console. If you want to access the ethernet/internet, you may need to type net-setup.
cfdisk is one of the utilities you can run. This allows you to (re)partition your hard drive. Just be aware that this is a destructive process. You can also startx and double-click the icon for GParted, which allows you to resize partitions non-destructively.
HOW TO BACKUP A PARTITION
Once you have your OSes installed and configured, make partition backups of each. In fact, I often make several backups during installation (initial install, prior to installing the video driver, etc). It takes a few minutes but saves time when things don't go as planned.
Boot SystemRescueCD. First you need to decide where you want to save the backup image file. If you want to save it on another partition, you need to mount that. For example
Or, you can mount an NFS or Samba network share. For Samba (windows shared folder):
It's also possible to mount a USB stick or external hard drive for this purpose.
Note: The older version of SystemRescueCD could not mount an NTFS partition for writing. I have not tried this, but the newer version claims to be able to do this with:
Once you have mounted the partition or network share where you will save the image file, enter:
This will run the Partimage program, which is what makes the backup of partitions, and also restores them.
First, use arrow keys to select the partition you want to backup (in this example, hda2, or the kubuntu partition). Then press Tab move the cursor to the filename field. Assuming we mounted /mnt/h7 above, you might save the image file as: /mnt/h7/image-kubuntu1 (this will place it in /data)
Now move down and make sure the 'Save partition to image file' option is checked (use space bar to select it). Press F5 to proceed. Next you are given some options - set these as you wish. If the image file is larger than the set size (default 2G), it will be broken into multiple files (.000, .001, etc) If you are saving the image file to FAT32 be sure to set this no higher than 4G. Press F5 to proceed.
The partition will be gzipped and saved to the image file(s) - takes 10-15 minutes. When it's done, exit partimage and umount whatever you mounted:
Now enter
When the screen goes blank, remove the CD so the computer boots into your OS. You should now find the image file image-kubuntu1.000 where you saved it. It will be owned by root - change this as you like.
First thing I do is create a text file image-kubuntu1.txt that describes the image (what version OS, what was installed on it, MD5SUM of the file, etc). As I make changes to the system, I record them in this file. If it's necessary to roll the system back, I then have a record of what changes I made since the image was made.
You can also burn this image file to DVD for safekeeping. Although not necessary, it's possible to burn a copy of SystemRescueCD that contains the image file on the same DVD. Assuming image-kubuntu1.000 is in the folder /data/mydvd-data-files/:
If you want to burn the image file to a CD rather than DVD, then you should probably have partimage break the image into files no larger than 700M for you.
HOW TO RESTORE A PARTITION
If for any reason you want to roll the partition back, you follow similar steps.
First, boot SystemRescueCD and mount the partition or network share where the image is saved, in our example:
Or, if you burned the image file onto the SystemRescueCD DVD as shown above, you will find it in /mnt/cdrom.
Or, if your image is saved to another DVD or CDs, and you have only one CD/DVD drive, you will need to copy the files to a hard drive partition or network share before booting SystemRescueCD. (The manual also says it is possible to issue a command and remove the SystemRescueCD from the drive, but the one time I tried this with an older version it did not work for me - your results may vary.) Update: If you enter "fb1024 docache doeject" or "fb800 docache doeject" at the Boot: prompt the CD will eject after booting. If you plan to store your image files this way, you may want to store them on some kind of bootable disc so that you can copy them to the hard drive easily, or have a bootable floppy.
Once you have your image file location mounted, run partimage. This time select the partition to restore, press Tab and enter the name of the image file, in this example /mnt/h7/image-kubuntu1.000
Be sure to select the option 'Restore partition from image' below the filename (use space bar to select it). Press F5 to continue. The partition will be restored in about 5 minutes.
Exit partimage, umount whatever you mounted, and enter reboot. Remove the CD and your computer will travel back in time.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
* Be sure to keep a separate image file (or set of them) for each computer you maintain. Using the image file from one computer on another computer will generally cause problems, unless the hardware is exactly the same.
* partimage is still experimental at backing up NTFS partitions. I have never had a problem, but it says that if the partition is highly fragmented it may not be able to save the backup. If this is the case you will receive an error, and will know that the image file was not created successfully. (Try defragging several times and chkdisk) Once an image is created successfully, it should restore without problems.
* In my experience, partimage will not restore an image to a partition that is smaller than the original, even if the data would fit. It will restore the image to a partition that is larger than the original (the fs grows).
* Your MBR is not part of the partition image, so if this is damaged, you will need to restore it or replace it. It is possible to backup the MBR - see below. Also, be mindful that the MBR contains the partition table, so if you change your partition table, this is stored in the MBR. It is also possible to separately backup the partition table and the boot code in the MBR.
* If you have a hard drive failure, the procedure is: install and partition the new drive (using cfdisk, for example), then restore the partitions using partimage (hopefully you saved a copy of your image files elsewhere). Restore or replace the MBR (install grub, etc). (One way to restore the MBR is to install Ubuntu, which will install grub, then when the installation is done restore the Ubuntu partition to its previous state.)
OTHER NOTES:
SystemRescueCD has a lot of other useful tools worth investigating, including Clam Anti-Virus, partition table and MBR backup, freedos, and memtest. (Type freedos or memtest at the Boot: prompt to boot into these modes).
Here are my notes on SystemRescueCD - see the manual for details.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_To_...rating_Systems
After reading some of the problems folks have had with updates/upgrades, I thought I would share my method for backing up partitions and maintaining a multi-OS system. I'm sure there are other approaches but this has worked well for me.
Basically this procedure allows you to backup an entire partition (your Ubuntu or WinXP installation, for example) to one "partition image file". This image file can be stored on another partition, another drive, a networked filesystem, or burned to a CD/DVD. If something goes wrong with the system, due to any kind of system problem, bad upgrade, or hard drive failure, you can just roll the system back to the exact state it was in when you saved the image - restoration takes 5-10 minutes.
I have found having a reasonably recent image of my partition takes the worry out of testing new updates, messing with drivers, or trying a new version of the OS. If anything goes really wrong, just roll it back. Also, if I'm working on something and the computer goes haywire, rather than having to stop what I'm doing and spend hours straightening it out, I just restore it in 5 minutes. It is very good for WinXP too, where network settings can mysteriously gunk themselves. Rather than trying to find what went wrong, I just roll it back to when it did work. Finally, it's a good test of hardware. If the problem still exists after restoration, you know it's probably a hardware issue.
In short, it's well worth spending a little time learning how to do this!
Works with ext2/3, reiser, FAT32, and NTFS partitions.
First I'll give you my recommendations for setting up a hard drive. You can backup any partition, but you need another place to store the backup. The backup image file will be about half the size of the data on the partition (it is gzipped). My image file of Kubuntu Edgy is 1.0GB.
If you're starting from scratch, I recommend a hard drive setup something like this:
Code:
device size mount use ------ ---- ----- --- hda1 2G swap linux swap hda2 5G / kubuntu (reiser or ext3) [boot partition] hda3 7G /mnt/winxp windowsxp (fat32 or ntfs) hda4 xxG Extended hda5 7G extra system hda6 5G /home user configs (reiser, ext3) hda7 xxG /data user data (reiser, ext3, or fat32)
Ubuntu usually fits comfortably in 5G (my 5G partition is 55% full). If you are going to install a lot of large software, then make it bigger.
The "extra system" partition is good to make for later. This is a place where you can install a new OS to try it out, without affecting your other OSes.
Making a separate partition for /home is one approach. /home is where Ubuntu stores all your user settings, like gnome/kde/software preferences and settings, etc. Having it on a separate partition means that when you roll back the system partition, the user settings are unaffected. You can also skip the separate partition for /home and just make frequent backups of that folder. If you need to roll back the system, you would then follow that by restoring the /home folder from your backup.
The /data partition is for anything else. It's also a good place to initially store the backup image file(s).
To set up a drive like this, you can select 'manually edit the partition table' during Ubuntu install. If you want XP on the system, it's easier to partition the drive first, then install XP to the appropriate partition, then install Ubuntu. In that case you can use cfdisk to do the partitioning before the XP install (see below). (The reason for installing XP first is that it overwrites the MBR and doesn't see Ubuntu, whereas when you install Ubuntu after XP, it sees XP and enables the multi-OS bootloader.)
SystemRescueCD is what I use to maintain the system and make backups. This can be downloaded from http://www.sysresccd.org as an ISO file and burned to CD. This creates a bootable CD. SystemRescueCD is a slim linux liveCD with a bunch of system maintenance tools on it. The new version even allows you to startx and run Firefox, but the command line tools are what we want. SystemRescueCD has run successfully on every system I have ever used it on (unlike more complex LiveCDs).
Boot the SystemRescueCD. Press Enter at the Boot and Keyboard prompts. Eventually it will stop at a root console. If you want to access the ethernet/internet, you may need to type net-setup.
cfdisk is one of the utilities you can run. This allows you to (re)partition your hard drive. Just be aware that this is a destructive process. You can also startx and double-click the icon for GParted, which allows you to resize partitions non-destructively.
HOW TO BACKUP A PARTITION
Once you have your OSes installed and configured, make partition backups of each. In fact, I often make several backups during installation (initial install, prior to installing the video driver, etc). It takes a few minutes but saves time when things don't go as planned.
Boot SystemRescueCD. First you need to decide where you want to save the backup image file. If you want to save it on another partition, you need to mount that. For example
Code:
mkdir /mnt/h7 mount /dev/hda7 /mnt/h7 ls /mnt/h7
Code:
mkdir /mnt/smb mount -t smbfs -o lfs //192.168.10.3/my-share/ /mnt/smb/
Note: The older version of SystemRescueCD could not mount an NTFS partition for writing. I have not tried this, but the newer version claims to be able to do this with:
Code:
mkdir /mnt/ntpart mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/hda3 /mnt/ntpart
Code:
partimage
First, use arrow keys to select the partition you want to backup (in this example, hda2, or the kubuntu partition). Then press Tab move the cursor to the filename field. Assuming we mounted /mnt/h7 above, you might save the image file as: /mnt/h7/image-kubuntu1 (this will place it in /data)
Now move down and make sure the 'Save partition to image file' option is checked (use space bar to select it). Press F5 to proceed. Next you are given some options - set these as you wish. If the image file is larger than the set size (default 2G), it will be broken into multiple files (.000, .001, etc) If you are saving the image file to FAT32 be sure to set this no higher than 4G. Press F5 to proceed.
The partition will be gzipped and saved to the image file(s) - takes 10-15 minutes. When it's done, exit partimage and umount whatever you mounted:
Code:
umount /mnt/h7
Code:
reboot
First thing I do is create a text file image-kubuntu1.txt that describes the image (what version OS, what was installed on it, MD5SUM of the file, etc). As I make changes to the system, I record them in this file. If it's necessary to roll the system back, I then have a record of what changes I made since the image was made.
You can also burn this image file to DVD for safekeeping. Although not necessary, it's possible to burn a copy of SystemRescueCD that contains the image file on the same DVD. Assuming image-kubuntu1.000 is in the folder /data/mydvd-data-files/:
Code:
growisofs -Z /dev/hdc=systemrescuecd-x86-0.3.2.iso growisofs -M /dev/hdc -J -R /data/mydvd-data-files/
HOW TO RESTORE A PARTITION
If for any reason you want to roll the partition back, you follow similar steps.
First, boot SystemRescueCD and mount the partition or network share where the image is saved, in our example:
Code:
mkdir /mnt/h7 mount /dev/hda7 /mnt/h7 ls /mnt/h7
Or, if your image is saved to another DVD or CDs, and you have only one CD/DVD drive, you will need to copy the files to a hard drive partition or network share before booting SystemRescueCD. (The manual also says it is possible to issue a command and remove the SystemRescueCD from the drive, but the one time I tried this with an older version it did not work for me - your results may vary.) Update: If you enter "fb1024 docache doeject" or "fb800 docache doeject" at the Boot: prompt the CD will eject after booting. If you plan to store your image files this way, you may want to store them on some kind of bootable disc so that you can copy them to the hard drive easily, or have a bootable floppy.
Once you have your image file location mounted, run partimage. This time select the partition to restore, press Tab and enter the name of the image file, in this example /mnt/h7/image-kubuntu1.000
Be sure to select the option 'Restore partition from image' below the filename (use space bar to select it). Press F5 to continue. The partition will be restored in about 5 minutes.
Exit partimage, umount whatever you mounted, and enter reboot. Remove the CD and your computer will travel back in time.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
* Be sure to keep a separate image file (or set of them) for each computer you maintain. Using the image file from one computer on another computer will generally cause problems, unless the hardware is exactly the same.
* partimage is still experimental at backing up NTFS partitions. I have never had a problem, but it says that if the partition is highly fragmented it may not be able to save the backup. If this is the case you will receive an error, and will know that the image file was not created successfully. (Try defragging several times and chkdisk) Once an image is created successfully, it should restore without problems.
* In my experience, partimage will not restore an image to a partition that is smaller than the original, even if the data would fit. It will restore the image to a partition that is larger than the original (the fs grows).
* Your MBR is not part of the partition image, so if this is damaged, you will need to restore it or replace it. It is possible to backup the MBR - see below. Also, be mindful that the MBR contains the partition table, so if you change your partition table, this is stored in the MBR. It is also possible to separately backup the partition table and the boot code in the MBR.
* If you have a hard drive failure, the procedure is: install and partition the new drive (using cfdisk, for example), then restore the partitions using partimage (hopefully you saved a copy of your image files elsewhere). Restore or replace the MBR (install grub, etc). (One way to restore the MBR is to install Ubuntu, which will install grub, then when the installation is done restore the Ubuntu partition to its previous state.)
OTHER NOTES:
SystemRescueCD has a lot of other useful tools worth investigating, including Clam Anti-Virus, partition table and MBR backup, freedos, and memtest. (Type freedos or memtest at the Boot: prompt to boot into these modes).
Here are my notes on SystemRescueCD - see the manual for details.
Code:
SYSRESCD 0.3 NOTES BOOT freedos memtest ranish like fdisk (untested) aida hardware info dban wipe hard drives completely ntpass windows registry editor / password editor fb800 frame buffer (for qtparted - defunct?) NETWORK net-setup eth0 recommended dhcpcd eth0 establish (alternate method) ifconfig info ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.110 manual route add default gw 192.168.1.1 manual gateway setup CLAMAV freshclam update virus sigs mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/testpart clamscan -r /mnt/testpart virus scan GPARTED startx use menu or gparted SFDISK (partition table backup) (untested) Make: sfdisk -d /dev/hda > bak-hda Restore: sfdisk /dev/hda < bak-hda MBR BACKUP (untested) Backup: dd if=/dev/hdx of=MBR-backup bs=512 count=1 Restore: dd if=MBR-backup of=/dev/hdx bs=512 count=1 Backup Boot Code Only: dd if=/dev/hdx of=MBR-backup bs=448 count=1 Restore Boot Code Only: dd if=MBR-backup of=/dev/hdx bs=448 count=1 Install Grub: grub-install /dev/hda PARTIMAGE (command line method) partimage -z1 -o -d save /dev/hda5 /mnt/myhd/rescuefile MOUNT mount -t smbfs -o lfs //192.168.10.3/my-share/ /mnt/temp1/ (samba) mount -t ntfs /dev/hda1 /mnt/temp1 (read-only) mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/hda1 /mnt/temp1 (read/write) BURN DVD To master and burn an ISO9660 volume with Joliet and Rock-Ridge extensions on a DVD: growisofs -Z /dev/dvd -R -J /some/files To append more data to same DVD: growisofs -M /dev/dvd -R -J /more/files To finalize the multi-session DVD maintaining maximum compatibility: growisofs -M /dev/dvd=/dev/zero To use growisofs to write a pre-mastered ISO-image to a DVD: growisofs -dvd-compat -Z /dev/dvd=image.iso BURN CD In order to get the identifier numbers of your device: cdrecord -scanbus To burn image: cdrecord dev=/dev/hdc -v filename.iso To create and burn image at speed 2: mkisofs -R -o cdimage.raw /tmp/master/tree cdrecord -v speed=2 dev=/dev/hdc cdimage.raw Erase CD: cdrecord blank=fast dev=/dev/hdc Multisession mkisofs -J -L -R -o cdimage.raw /tmp/somefiles/* cdrecord -v -multi -data dev=/dev/hdc cdimage.raw # Locate the start of the free space on the CD: cdrecord -msinfo dev=0,5,0 #0,1263 (example output) mkisofs -J -L -R -o cdimagi.raw -M /dev/hdc -C 0,1263 /tmp/somefiles/* cdrecord -v -multi -data dev=/dev/hdc cdimage.raw