disk backup

[vsreeser]

This really doesn't seem to fit anywhere else.
What is the best way to make an image of 2 drives? Drive 0 is win7, drive 1 ubuntu. drive 2 has lots of free space, so I wanted to image a working system in case (usually read when ) I mess it up, I can get back up quickly. Tried ping, but it can't see the partitions on drive 2 ( 3 Tb, gpt). Clonezilla died trying to make an image of drive 0. A livecd would probably be best. I could either burn to cd/dvd or use YUMI to put it on a usb drive.

[oshunluvr]

How big are the drives and how full are they? Obviously, a 3TB drive can't be imaged to a CD or another drive. Really, I would begin by deciding what your motivation is and what you're protecting yourself from. Backing up an entire drive is overkill unless you have unlimited resources and time. Besides, a backup is only good at the minute you make it. As soon as your create a new file or change a setting your backup is obsolete.

If your goal is to not leave your system unbootable, then a backup isn't helpful. How can you boot and restore a backup if you can't boot?

IMO, with enough drive space, what really works well is 2 bootable Linux installs and a daily (or hourly, if you need that) backup of your home data. It takes about 100 times longer to restore and fix a backup install than it does to just re-install. Windows is a different matter, but again: what are you protecting yourself from? A virus? Hard drive failure? A bad update?

[leadwt]

Can I jump in?

I was about to enquire into the 'best' backup having tried Lucky Backup only to find recently that my weekly efforts had not resulted in up to date information being backed-up! Lost a lot of wotk!!

Anyway I use a remote HD with loadsa space and just back up /home which is on its own partition. What could I use instead of (not so) Lucky Backup?

I like the idea of two systems (I have two HDs in the box) so what's the easiest way to go about this?

Thanks.

[oshunluvr]

I have a server and a desktop. I used rdiff-backup and a cron job for automated backups, but I haven't set that up again since last install.

There's lots of ways to use 2 hard drives to back each other up. RAID1, dd copies, btrfs snapshots, rsync, and more. Depends on your needs and comfort level. I tend to backup a lot during heavy workload projects - like scanning photos etc. - and less otherwise. I suppose the smartest way to do it is to have it automated so you never forget.

[vsreeser]

I have 2 1tb drives. windows on one, kubuntu on the other. a 3rd drive is a 3tb drive. I just want a simple image to recover from a bad update or similiar problem. I've been having problems with ping and clonezilla. I want to image each os drive to an image on a partition hidden from windows and not mounted in kubuntu. I have pictures and home videos copy to all 3 desktops and 2 laptops as well as an external bakcup automaticaly, so they are not an issue.

[SteveRiley]

I have 2 1tb drives. windows on one, kubuntu on the other. a 3rd drive is a 3tb drive. I just want a simple image to recover from a bad update or similiar problem.

Assuming:

• /dev/sda is the drive containing Windows
• /dev/sdb is the drive containing Kubuntu
• /dev/sdc is the 3 TB drive

1. Boot a live image of something -- anything -- from a USB drive. The current Kubuntu Trusty will do

2. Open a console window

3. Mount the 3 TB drive into the kernel's device tree:
sudo mount /dev/sdc /mnt

4. Copy an image of the Windows drive into a file on the 3 TB drive:
sudo dd if=/dev/sda of=/mnt/sda-image bs=16M

5. Copy an image of the Kubuntu drive into a file on the 3 TB drive:
sudo dd if=/dev/sdb of=/mnt/sdb-image bs=16M

6. Unmount the 3 TB drive:
sudo umount /dev/sdc

7. Boot back into your normal operating system

---

Now let's say you want to restore the image you created back onto /dev/sda.

1. Boot a live image of something -- anything -- from a USB drive. The current Kubuntu Trusty will do

2. Open a console window

3. Mount the 3 TB drive into the kernel's device tree:
sudo mount /dev/sdc /mnt

4. Copy the image file back to the device:
sudo dd if=/mnt/sda-image of=/dev/sda bs=16M

5. Unmount the 3 TB drive:
sudo umount /dev/sdc

6. Boot back into your normal operating system

---

WARNING! The dd command is simultaneously powerful and dangerous. It can do pretty much everything when it comes to manipulating data on devices, in partitions, in files. It will do exactly and only what you ask, and it will do it without warning. Study the man page before you use it.

Also: the above procedure, while precisely answering your question, is also the most inefficient way of actually performing a backup. The image will contain the entire drive -- blank space included. The process will take a few hours.