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    #1

    [SOLVED] Disk geometry, format, what has changed?

    Why I CANNOT image a Kubuntu 8.10 or 9.04?, I usually take hard drive snapshots (images) of my installs for backup purposes, but since Kubuntu 8.10 I cannot create an image with any imaging software (Ghost, DriveImage, etc)

    The imaging software always report ERRORS on the drive or DRIVE DIRTY and even if you fix those problems (within the imaging program) still doesn't create an image, it's very frustrating.

    I know is not the hard drive, because I even tried brand new drives, it's the OS not the hardware.

    Does anyone knows why?
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    #2
    Re: Disk geometry, format, what has changed?

    I used to work for a competitor, back when it was Binary Research and before Symantec came along and bought Ghost. Ever heard of ImageCast? Well... that's not important, really.

    My point is... imaging Linux partitions has always been tricky business. Back in the day, only a few had done it right. (Disk Director, Partition Magic are the only ones that came close)

    It's not the hardware, you're right... but it's not the OS either. Linux has no problem understanding its own partition, but the disk utilities that try to 'adapt' an EXT2/EXT3 partition like it's FAT, FAT32 or NTFS are just doing it the wrong way. There is a native security structure in the EXTn volume that ties into user/group permission scheme, which in itself is written within the partition, and follows a maze of cross-linked files... unless the utility knows how to interpret these structures, the imaging will fail, fail, fail.

    Ironically, there's a solution that won't cost you a dime... I can't say for sure, but I've heard good things about PartImage for doing Linux images. It's developed by guys that actually understand Linux, so it's probably a better bet to get a reliable system image.
    Find the project here: http://www.partimage.org

    It images Linux, it runs in Linux, and it's supported just like Linux. Give it a shot, you have nothing to lose but time... and since you're imaging hard-disks, it would seem you've got plenty of that.

    OTOH, one of the better commercial products is Acronis Disk Image. If you have some bucks to drop, you might give that a shot. http://www.acronis.com

    Either way...

    Good luck,
    - Douglas
    [hr]<br />System#1: Kubuntu 9.04 AMD64 (KDE 4.2)<br />AMD Athlon64-2x 4600+, 4GB DDR2-PC6400<br />nVidia GeForce 7300 / 512MB<br />System#2: Kubuntu 9.04 (KDE 4.2)<br />AMD Sempron 3300+, 2GB DDR-PC3200<br />
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      #3
      Re: Disk geometry, format, what has changed?

      This subject has come up a lot here, and it's fair to say that Partimage is generally considered safe and good for Linux. I have a friend who does quite extensive and serious administrative back-ups with it.

      @Duggeek, btw, I find your posts to be very informative and interesting! Thanks for taking time to fill in details as you do.
      An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way. Charles Bukowski
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        #4
        [SOLVED] Disk geometry, format, what has changed?

        First of all, thank you for the replies, second, good to know I'm not alone doing some fancy stuff like imaging Linux PCs

        I did some research and found PING , this application is open source, free and AWESOME, I was not only able to image Kubuntu Jaunty but ANY other PC (FAT32, NTFS, etc)

        I feel much better now.

        Thank you.
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