Re: [PLUG] how to backup/restore with XFS?

[Gordon Dexter <gordon@texasdex.com>]

If you want to create an exact copy, all you need to do is use partimage 
to create a filesystem image on an external drive, use fdisk to 
duplicate the partition table exactly, restore the backed up partitions, 
and then use grub-install to fix the MBR up the way you like it.  That 
will work best if you have the exact same disk size and don't want to 
change your partition layout.

Or, if you'd prefer, just use dd if=/dev/sda of=/mnt/usbdisk/newimage

If you can have both disks at the same time, just get a device that lets 
you plug the old disk in via USB (a SATA or IDE to USB converter, 
they're under $20 and very useful) and use dd for that.  Again, only 
works if you have the exact same size disk.

If you are changing disk sizes and partition sizes then just copy files 
normally from one disk to the other.

--Gordon

Jonathan E. Magen wrote:
> Friends,
> I knew this day would come, the hard disk on my beloved ThinkPad has
> reached the end of it's life (it's rated for ~600k load/unload cycles
> and it's gone over 1m). Lenovo support has a new one on the way and I
> need to consider how to move my system over. Though I've backed up all
> of my important files and the like, I was wondering if there is a way
> to move my whole system over to avoid having to reinstall Debian, etc.
>
> XFS is my filesystem of choice and I know that it can dump a complete
> filesystem image to be restored later. Does anyone have any experience
> with this who could tell me if it's possible to dump and restore my
> root and home partitions on another hard disk? Can an entire system be
> moved like this at all?
>
> The disk will be here in 1-2 days so I've got that long to figure out
> if I can reliably get fancy with XFS or whether I need to consider
> other options.
>
>   

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