cloning HD using Knoppix

[drjawn]

I am trying to use Knoppix (3.3 or 3.6) to clone a HD to a new one.
I also am having trouble booting using my Knoppix 3.3diskm which has worked like a charm previously.
I have downloaded the ISO for 3.6, burned it to a CD but haven't tried it yet.
I have some directions for the cloning, I am not a programmer, but familiar with working with command line environment, and am unsure exactly how to "relate" to the HD ID's or get to the proper prompt to enter the command(s).
I have a SCSI system. ATM, I have the "old" drive and the "to be cloned to" drive installed, and being seen by Windows.
On recent attempt to reboot with the 3.3 disk in the drive, it didn't ever fully start Knoppix. I have 384MB RAM. Does Knoppix have HD space requirements? I thought not, but am not sure.
If anyone can help me progress towards getting my borrowed drive cloned to my "new" refurbished drive, back from Seagate, my life could go on. *g*
TIA.
dj

[mmaki]

I know how to do this with qtparted and partimage but it would be a bear to explain. Anybody know how an image can be copied directly from one disk to another without having to make the intermediate image file? If not, I'll try to explain...

[ghaze]

Doesn't anyone read the docs anymore?

http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/ImageYourHardDriveUsingKnoppix


Like it says,this will work if your destination drive is the same size or slightly
larger than your source drive.
Boot with the noswap cheatcode (i.e. knoppix26 noswap) if you have a linux
swap partition on either drive.
Run 'fdisk -l" from a root terminal to figure out how knoppix recognized your
drives.If your new drive is unformatted,this ought to be easy.
If /dev/sda is the source drive and /dev/sdb is the destination,do this
dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb
If you get it backwards,you just overwrote your good drive,so be careful.
I'd suggest "man dd" before trying this.
You should also read

http://www.rajeevnet.com/hacks_hints/os_clone/os_cloning.html

Good Luck

[drjawn]

[quote="ghaze"]Doesn't anyone read the docs anymore?

http://www.knoppix.net/docs/index.php/ImageYourHardDriveUsingKnoppix


Like it says,this will work if your destination drive is the same size or slightly
larger than your source drive.
Boot with the noswap cheatcode (i.e. knoppix26 noswap) if you have a linux
swap partition on either drive.
Run 'fdisk -l" from a root terminal to figure out how knoppix recognized your
drives.If your new drive is unformatted,this ought to be easy.
If /dev/sda is the source drive and /dev/sdb is the destination,do this
dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb
If you get it backwards,you just overwrote your good drive,so be careful.
I'd suggest "man dd" before trying this.
You should also read

http://www.rajeevnet.com/hacks_hints/os_clone/os_cloning.html

I started with - Clone a hard drive onto another hard drive:

Requirements:
Destination drive equal or greater than the source drive.
Process: Make changes where necessary to match your system setup. In my example here, /dev/hda is the source, /dev/hdb is the destination.

Boot from the live cdrom distribution.
Switch to root
Make sure NO partitions are mounted from either drive.
Execute the following command, making necessary changes for your system:
dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/hdb

but was not sure how to get to the root with Knoppix, then found my original CD wasn't sucessfully booting. I have contacted the fellow who wrote those instructions you reference, and he had promised to offer some clarity, but has not followed through. I am MORE than reluctant to use anyone's suggestions that include "fdisk". The drive I am cloning to has been low level reformatted already. OSSIE J H MOORE told me that the only requirement on disk size was that the destination drive must be same size or larger. I need a little hand holding, in explicit instructions to get to the root; any tips on dealing with a misfiring CD to boot from; how to be fairly certain in ID'ing the two drives. I have them spotted as Windows boots, both in a SCSI ID and a second designation during boot up. Will these be different?
TIA for any further help.

dj

[ghaze]

fdisk -l merely lists the partitions on your drive and their file system type
man fdisk
As far as your original cd goes,burnt cds don't last forever.Burn another
one.You said you had 3.6.Use it.
You don't "get to the root" in knoppix.You "su" to root to become the
superuser(hmfic)Some commands need root priveleges to run.
Open a prompt and type "sudo su"<enter>
I thought my instructions were fairly specific.If you read the links and manual
pages I suggested(man fdisk from a prompt will get you the manual page
for fdisk)you ought to be alright.
They have several programs at bestbuy or compusa that will do this.After you
spend the money,they usually have an 800 # where you can get all the hand
holding you can afford.
Save your money,read the docs,clone your drive.Ain't nothin to it.
If you want to spend money,buy "Knoppix Hacks" from amazon.They deal
with cloning extensively.
Here's all the hand holding I can afford.
boot knoppix (use no swap if you have a linux partition,hit enter if you don't)
open a terminal and type "sudo su" into it.Hit enter.
type "fdisk -l" to list your partitions.If your src drive is the master and your
new drive the slave,they ought to be hda and hdb or sda and sdb respectively.
type "dd if=/devhda of=/devhdb" hit enter.
Go make some coffee,this will take awhile.
If it's successful,you'll see something like
222202020 records in
222202020 records out
If it fails,it'll tell you.
That's it

[firebyrd10]

partimage should give you a nice gui from the CL.

[drjawn]

what is partimage, please?
TIA.

dj

[drjawn]

snip

Save your money,read the docs,clone your drive.Ain't nothin to it.

snip

type "dd if=/devhda of=/devhdb" hit enter.

snip



Ok, I have successfully cloned the drive I need to return twice using the dd approach. At some point in my researching this effort, someone suggested that if I did this to a drive larger than the original drive it would write to the whole drive, and as a result, would take a long time. Unfortunately for me, this did not occur. Going from a 9.1 to a 36 GB drive left me with a 9.1 GB "36gig" drive. Is there a way to use dd with a switch or adjustment to get it to write to the whole drive? Or, is there another method using Knoppix to achieve this?
TIA.

dj

[UnderScore]

** I have no guarantee that this would work. Backup your data. Use at your data's risk. **
qtparted is a GUI partition editor and is found in Knoppix. It should allow you to resize the partition. I have used to resize ext3 & NTFS partitions. Run knoppix and open up a konsole & type sudo qtparted.
I hope this helps.
James

[mmaki]

qtparted should be able to take care of the excess (free) space. Boot the PC with the new image to Knoppix and run qtparted. When you select the disk (probably hda) you should see your partition and free space. Thre are several ways in qtparted to resize the partition. I find the easiest is just to use the drag method and drag the size of the partition to use the entire disk or desired size. Be sure to commit the change (File...Commit).

Good luck!

[Rouskis]

Are you familiar with this: Clone Maxx: http://www.pcinspector.de/clone-maxx/uk/welcome.htm