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- adjusting pages for SystemRescueCD 1.5.5
- updating documentation for SystemRescueCD 1.5.5
- updating trunk site

1 sng 28 Installing on USB
2     ==============================================================================
3    
4     Installation to USB made easy
5     ****************************************
6     Until recently installing Clonezilla-SysRescCD on a USB disk would not
7     be such a great idea, because of its size. But since USB devices become
8     cheaper and cheaper, it is an interesting alternative.
9    
10     Starting with version 3.1.0, Clonezilla-SysRescCD provides an iso
11     file that's ISO-Hybrided. This means (as we read at the isolynux site {{
12     http://syslinux.zytor.com/wiki/index.php/Doc/isolinux#HYBRID_CD-ROM.2FHARD_DISK_MODE
13     }}) that
14    
15     "the iso file can be booted from either CD-ROM or from a device which BIOS
16     considers a hard disk or ZIP disk, e.g. a USB key or similar. This image can
17     then be copied using any raw disk writing tool (on Unix systems, typically
18     "dd" or "cat") to a USB disk, or written to a CD-ROM using standard CD
19     burning tools.
20    
21     The ISO 9660 filesystem is encapsulated in a partition (which starts at
22     offset zero, which may confuse some systems.) This makes it possible for
23     the operating system, once booted, to use the remainder of the device for
24     persistent storage by creating a second partition."
25    
26     [[ important.png ]]
27     Incorrect use of any raw disk writing tool could cause your operating system
28     (GNU/Linux / Windows) not to boot. Confirm the command before you run it.
29    
30     So, from any linux box, assuming Clonezilla-SysRescCD iso file is in
31     your home directory, and your USB device name is sdc4, you just execute
32     the commands:
33    
34     umount /dev/sdc4
35     dd if=~/clonezilla-sysresccd-full-mod-"myVersion".iso of=/dev/sdc4 bs=512
36    
37     And that's it. Your usb device is ready to boot!!!
38    
39     Installing the "hard" way
40     ****************************************
41     If the "easy" way does not work there is an alternative; you will use
42     the Clonezilla-SysRescCD ISO file (or CD) to copy and modify a couple of
43     files on the USB disk, and finally make it bootable, using syslinux {{
44     http://syslinux.zytor.com }} and its configuration file syslinux.cfg.
45    
46     [[ important.png ]]
47     Incorrect use of syslinux could cause your operating system (GNU/Linux /
48     Windows) not to boot. Confirm the command before you run it.
49    
50     The only thing that's important is that your USB disk must contain a VFAT
51     (Windows 98 or DOS) file system. If this is not the case, refer to the
52     section "Troubleshooting", to find out how you can format it, before
53     copying files to it.
54    
55     The bootable USB disk creation procedure can be performed either from
56     Linux or Windows.
57    
58     [[ info.png ]]
59     If you want to create a bootable USB flash drive for this version
60     or later, remember to use the syslinux command from syslinux
61     3.71 or later. Otherwise the boot menu won't work.
62    
63     Installation from Linux
64     ---------------------
65     There are two ways you can proceed, if you are going to use Linux to
66     perform the USB installation, either using a running linux box, or using
67     Clonezilla-SysRescCD.
68    
69     I will assume that you have saved clonezilla-sysresccd-full-mod-3.1.0.iso
70     in your home directory (~).
71    
72     Using a linux box
73     ---------------------
74     If you already have a linux box up and running, you can use it to create
75     your Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB, without even having to burn it to CD
76     beforehand. The only thing here is that you have to have syslinux {{
77     http://syslinux.zytor.com }} installed.
78    
79     I will assume that your CD drive is /dev/sr0 and that your USB device
80     is /dev/sdc4. You may have to change any of them to reflect your system
81     configuration.
82    
83     Boot into linux, connect your USB device and execute the following commands:
84     mkdir /mnt/mycd
85     mount ~/clonezilla-sysresccd-full-mod-3.1.0.iso /mnt/mycd -o loop
86     mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
87     mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt/usbdevice
88     cp -r /mnt/mycd/* /mnt/usbdevice
89     umount /mnt/mycd; rmdir /mnt/mycd
90     cd /mnt/usbdevice
91     rm isolinux/*.cfg
92     mv isolinux/* .
93     rmdir isolinux
94     cd; umount /dev/sdc4
95     rmdir /mnt/usbdevice
96    
97     Finally make your USB device bootable, by executing
98     syslinux /dev/sdc4
99     and you are done.
100    
101     > Using Clonezilla-SysRescCD
102     If you already burnt Clonezilla-SysRescCD to CD, you can use it to create
103     your Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB.
104    
105     I will assume that your CD drive is /dev/sr0 and that your USB device
106     is /dev/sdc4. You may have to change any of them to reflect your system
107     configuration.
108    
109     Boot SystemRescueCD using the option To RAM, and when it is fully loaded,
110     execute the following commands:
111     mkdir /mnt/mycd
112     mount /dev/sr0 /mnt/mycd
113     mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
114     mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt/usbdevice
115     cp -r /mnt/mycd/* /mnt/usbdevice
116     umount /mnt/mycd
117     cd /mnt/usbdevice
118     rm isolinux/*.cfg
119     mv isolinux/* .
120     rmdir isolinux
121     cd; umount /dev/sdc4
122    
123     Finally make your USB device bootable, by executing
124     syslinux /dev/sdc4
125     and you are done.
126    
127     Installation from Windows
128     ---------------------
129     Installing Clonezilla-SysRescCD from Windows is as easy as
130     it is in Linux. You have to burn Clonezilla-SysRescCD to CD
131     or use a CD/DVD ROM emulator software like Daemon Tools {{
132     http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/announcements.php }} to mount the ISO file.
133    
134     I will assume that your USB device is drive K: and your CD drive or mounted
135     ISO file is drive
136     D:. You may have to change any of them, in order to reflect your system
137     configuration.
138    
139     You will have to
140    
141     * Copy all files from drive D: (CD or mounted ISO file) to drive K:
142     (USB disk)
143     * Delete all cfg files from K:isolinux
144     * Move all files from K:isolinux to K:
145     * Delete folder K:isolinux
146    
147     Now all you have to do is make your USB disk bootable. In order to do
148     that you have to open a DOS window (in Windows XP press "Start / Run "
149     and type cmd). Then type at DOS prompt:
150     K:
151     cd bootprog
152     syslinux -ma K:
153    
154     Booting from USB
155     ---------------------
156     Before trying to boot from your USB device, you have to set your boot device
157     at your BIOS. This means you have to reboot having your USB device connected,
158     get into your BIOS (usually pressing DEL) and make the appropriate settings
159     in the BOOT section.
160    
161     Booting Clonezilla Live should not be a problem. Just select the desired
162     option and press ENTER to boot.
163    
164     Booting SystemRescueCD has been made equally simple with SystemRescueCD
165     v 1.0.0, so you shouldn't have any problem (option cdroot is not required
166     any more).
167    
168     If you have any problems here, you may try adding any of these boot
169     parameters:
170     usbstick
171     doscsi
172    
173     Troubleshooting
174     ---------------------
175     Whether you can successfully boot from a USB disk or not, depends mainly on
176     your BIOS. Chances are that you will not be able to boot on an old computer,
177     with an old (and possibly buggy) BIOS. So I would recommend testing your
178     Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB on a new computer.
179    
180     * I can't boot (I don't even see the splash screen)
181     or Clonezilla Live does not boot
182    
183     The first thing you should do is double check your BIOS settings. Reboot
184     having your USB device connected, get into your BIOS (usually pressing DEL)
185     and make the appropriate settings in the BOOT section.
186    
187     If you are on linux, check that the partition on the USB disk is active
188     (bootable), executing:
189     fdisk -l /dev/sdc
190     You should get something similar to this:
191    
192     Disk /dev/sdc: 1031 MB, 1031798272 bytes
193     64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 983 cylinders
194     Units = cylinders of 2048 * 512 = 1048576 bytes
195    
196     Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
197     /dev/sdc4 * 1 983 1006576 6 FAT16
198    
199     If the partition is not active (no astrisk), execute:
200     fdisk /dev/sdc
201     and issue "Command: " a (toggle a bootable flag) and "Partition number:"
202     4 (for /dev/sdc4).
203    
204     If you are on Windows, this is taken care of by syslinux (parameters -ma).
205    
206     If you still have problems booting, you should try to execute
207     syslinux -s /dev/sdc4
208     from Linux, or
209     syslinux -sma K:
210     from Windows (from folder K:syslinux).
211    
212     syslinux man page reads:
213    
214     (Option) -s
215     Install a "safe, slow and stupid" version of syslinux. This version may work
216     on some very buggy BIOSes on which syslinux would otherwise fail. If you find
217     a machine on which the -s option is required to make it boot reliably, please
218     send as much info about your machine as you can, and include the failure
219     mode.
220    
221     * I still can't boot
222     In this case you will have to format your USB disk.
223    
224     If you are using linux to perform the installation, execute the command:
225     mkdosfs -F 16 /dev/sdc4
226     to create a FAT16 file system, or
227     mkdosfs -F 32 /dev/sdc4
228     to create a FAT32 file system.
229    
230     When you are done go back to section "Installation from Linux".
231    
232     If you are on Windows, you should download the HP-USB Format tool {{
233     http://h50178.www5.hp.com/local_drivers/17550/SP27608.exe }}, install it
234     and format your USB drive using the Fat or Fat32 option. This program can
235     be used to format USB devices that won't boot properly when formatted with
236     Windows format tool.
237    
238     When you are done go back to section "Installation from Windows".
239    
240     * I still can't boot (after formating)
241     Things are getting tough!!! Try to format your USB disk using the option you
242     did not use previously. So, if you have created a FAT32 file system, create
243     a FAT16 file system this time, and recreate Clonezilla-SysRescCD on USB.
244    
245     If nothing works, you are out of luck; you will not be able to use
246     Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB on this computer... If you do manage to boot it,
247     please send me a message.
248    
249     * SystemRescueCD does not boot
250     Ok, you have managed to get to the splash screen and successfully booted
251     Clonezilla Live. But you still can't boot SystemRescueCD.
252    
253     Refer to section Booting from USB to find out the boot parameters you can
254     use with SystemRescueCD.
255    
256     Customizing sysresc.cfg
257     ---------------------
258     As stated previously, Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB is booted by syslinux through
259     its configuration file syslinux.cfg. This file loads sysresc.cfg in order
260     to boot SystemRescueCD.
261    
262     If you have to specify any additional boot parameters for SystemRescueCD,
263     you may want to write these changes to the configuration file, so that
264     you don't have to insert them by hand every time.
265    
266     The procedure to do that is the following:
267    
268     Boot SystemRescueCD (or if that's not possible yet, bot Clonezilla Linux
269     and get to the command line) using the option To RAM, and when it is fully
270     loaded, execute the following commands:
271     mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
272     mount /dev/[device] /mnt/usbdevice
273     cd /mnt/usbdevice
274     cp sysresc.cfg sysresc.bak
275     sed 's|scandelay=5|scandelay=x [additional params]|'
276     sysresc.cfg > sys.cfg
277     mv sys.cfg sysresc.cfg
278     cd; umount /dev/[device]
279     syslinux /dev/[device]
280     reboot
281    
282     where x is a number from 1 to 10.
283    
284     After executing these commands, you will have a new sysresc.cfg file,
285     and a backup file called sysresc.bak (in case things go wrong).
286    
287     If, for example, you want to increase the device scan delay to maximum,
288     the above commands would become:
289     mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
290     mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt/usbdevice
291     cd /mnt/usbdevice
292     cp sysresc.cfg sysresc.bak
293     sed 's|scandelay=5|scandelay=10|' sysresc.cfg > sys.cfg
294     mv sys.cfg sysresc.cfg
295     cd; umount /dev/sdc4
296     syslinux /dev/sdc4
297     reboot
298    
299     If, in addition to that, you had to use the boot parameter usbstick,
300     then it would be:
301     mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
302     mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt/usbdevice
303     cd /mnt/usbdevice
304     cp sysresc.cfg sysresc.bak
305     sed 's|scandelay=5|scandelay=10 usbstick|' sysresc.cfg > sys.cfg
306     mv sys.cfg sysresc.cfg
307     cd; umount /dev/sdc4
308     syslinux /dev/sdc4
309     reboot
310    
311     In case something goes wrong with your new settings, you can always rename
312     sysresc.bak to sysresc.cfg, either from linux or Windows.
313    
314    
315    
316    
317     Boot parameters
318     ==============================================================================
319    
320     Intro
321     ****************************************
322     Booting a linux system means loading a kernel, which is actually the
323     operating system. Well, this is not exactly true, and it is not the only
324     thing that happens during boot up phase, but it is not my intension to
325     explain it here.
326    
327     The kernel is loaded by Isolinux (the CD boot manager), which is able to pass
328     a number of parameters to it, through its configuration file isolinux.cfg.
329    
330     These parameters, called boot parameters, are documented by the kernel
331     itself, and can differentiate its behavior dramatically. In our case,
332     each CD (SystemRescueCD and Clonezilla Live) accept a different set of
333     parameters, because they are based on gentoo {{ http://www.gentoo.org/ }}
334     and debian, respectively.
335    
336     While in the splash screen of Clonezilla-SysRescCD, you can edit the boot
337     parameters by pressing TAB. They will be presented to you, and you can
338     add or remove what you want. You must be careful not to change or remove
339     the parameters that are dedicated to the CD itself, as altering them will
340     certainty make it unbootable. When you are done, just press ENTER to boot.
341    
342     SystemRescueCD boot parameters
343     ****************************************
344     [[ info.png ]]
345 sng 75 The following info applies to SystemRescueCD v. 1.5.5. In case
346 sng 28 you need to get info for a more recent version of SystemRescueCD
347     please see the page "Sysresccd-manual-en Booting the CD-ROM {{
348     http://www.sysresccd.org/Sysresccd-manual-en_Booting_the_CD-ROM }}"
349    
350     A typical sysresccd isolinux entry is:
351    
352     kernel rescuecd
353     append initrd=initram.igz video=ofonly
354    
355     The kernel used is rescuecd, and anything after the word append is a
356     boot parameter.
357    
358     Available kernels (boot images):
359    
360 sng 60 * rescuecd Default for 32bit systems, with Framebuffer disabled, best choice.
361     * rescue64 Default 64 bit kernel. Use it if you want to chroot to a 64bit
362     linux system installed on your hard disk, or if you have to run 64 bits
363     programs. This kernel is able to boot with 32bit programs, and it requires
364     a processor with 64bit instructions (amd64 / em64t).
365     * altker32 an alternative kernel for 32bit systems. Boot with this kernel
366     if you have problems with rescuecd
367     * altker64 an alternative kernel for 64bit systems. Boot with this kernel
368     in case you have problems with rescue64.
369 sng 28
370     The boot parameters you can use are:
371    
372 sng 43 General boot options
373 sng 75 Press <TAB> to add additional options (in SystemRescueCd-1.5 and more recent)
374 sng 28
375 sng 43 * docache: causes the CD-ROM will be fully loaded into memory. A slower
376     start but once complete, programs start faster and the CD drive will be
377     released allowing normal access to other CDs. This requires 400MB of memory
378     to cache everything (including the bootdisks and isolinux directories). Add
379     lowmem if you have less that 400MB of memory of to prevent these directories
380     to be copied.
381     * setkmap=kk: which defines the keymap to load where kk (example: setkmap=de
382 sng 75 for German keyboards). This way you won't be prompted for the keyboard
383     configuration during the boot.
384 sng 60 * root=/dev/xdnp: the root=<device> option boots an existing linux
385     system. For example, if you have linux Gentoo installed on /dev/sda6,
386     use rescuecd root=/dev/sda6 to start it. Keep in mind that you must use a
387     64bit kernel if your system is made of 64bit programs. This option works
388     with LVM volumes. Use rescuecd root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00. Support
389     is also provided for root=auto, which scans all the block devices tfor
390     a linux system. The first linux system found will be started. So with
391     root=auto let you start the system installed from the CD-ROM in case
392     you have problem with your boot loader or kernel. It's also possible
393     to specify a partition using its filesystem label or filesystem
394     uuid. If the label of the partition where linux is installed is
395     mylinux, then boot it using rescuecd root=LABEL=mylinux. Similarly
396 sng 43 root=UUID=b3d3bec5-997a-413e-8449-0d0ec41ccba7. See more details.
397     * initscript=service:action: This options allows start/stop a service
398     at boot time. For instance if you need the samba service to be started,
399     you can boot with: initscript=samba:start. This does the same thing as
400     /etc/init.d/samba start. Use this option multiple times for different
401     services. All the actions that are supported by an initscript can be used.
402 sng 60 * backstore=xxx: SystemRescueCd comes with support for the backing-stores. A
403     backing-store saves all the changes you can make. so that you keep these
404     changes the next time you boot it. By default, sysresccd automatically
405     scan removable devices (eg: USB sticks) at boot time and uses the first
406     backing-store it finds. A backing-store is not mandatory and it the
407     scan fails it will store the files which change in memory. To disable
408     the disks scan at boot time specify backstore=off on the boot command
409 sng 43 line. If you want to save your backing-store file on an harddisk, boot with
410     backstore=alldev to scan all devices (not just removable devices). The
411     default location for backing-stores file is any file named sysrcd.bs
412     located at the root of a disk which is often an USB stick. Change the path
413     by using backstore=/sysrcd/mybackstore.bs. See backing-stores.
414     * isoloop=xxx: Grub2 (currently in development: grub-1.98) provides a new
415     feature to boot from an ISO image which is stored from the hard disk. If you
416     put a copy of systemrescuecd-x86-x.y.z.iso on a partition that Grub2 can read
417     then you can boot SystemRescueCd directly from the ISO image stored on your
418     hard drive. This is very convenient if you frequently update SystemRescueCd
419     and you want to boot it directly from Grub2. Grub2 knows what an ISO image
420     is and it will load the kernel image (rescuecd/rescue64) and the initramfs
421     (initram.igz) from the ISO into memory. It will then do its normal job and
422     execute the kernel. The SystemRescueCd init script must then be aware that
423     its sysrcd.dat file is in an ISO and not directly on the partition. For that
424     reason, this isoloop=xxx boot option is required so you must use it in your
425     grub.cfg. This option is only supported in SystemRescueCd-1.4.0 and more
426 sng 60 recent. This option specifies the path of the ISO image in the partition that
427     grub considers as its root partition. It's important to understand that the
428     path of the ISO image may be different from the path on your linux system. If
429     you have a separate boot partition mounted on /boot and if you copy this
430     ISO image to /boot/sysrcd/systemrescuecd-x86-x.y.z.iso then the option has
431     to be isoloop=/sysrcd/systemrescuecd-x86-x.y.z.iso. This is because the
432     boot partition is what Grub2 will consider as its root partition during
433     the boot process. Please read the section about isoloop for more details.
434 sng 28
435 sng 43 Hardware, drivers and troubleshooting options
436     * dodebug: Enables verbose messages in linuxrc
437 sng 28
438 sng 75 * doload=xxx: loads needed kernel modules, multiple comma separated
439     occurrences are permitted (example: doload=3c59x,e1000)
440     * noload=xxx: prevents loading kernel modules, multiple comma separated
441     occurrences are permitted (example: noload=3c59x,e1000). Use this option
442     if you have a problem when the system loads a particular module.
443 sng 28 * nonet: this will disable the network auto detection at startup
444 sng 43
445 sng 28 * scandelay=x: pauses x seconds during the startup to allow slow devices
446 sng 43 to initialize. This is required when you boot an USB device. A delay of
447 sng 28 only few seconds should be enough.
448 sng 43
449 sng 28 * doxdetect: Since version 0.3.5 the auto-configuration is done in X.Org
450 sng 43 itself, mkxf86config is disabled by default. This option forces the system to
451     run the mkxf86config startup script and to run the hardware auto-detection
452     from this script. Use this option if you have problems with the graphical
453     environment configuration. This option replaces the option noxdetect that
454     was useful in previous versions.
455     * nodetect: prevents generic hardware auto-detection. Use this option if
456     you have problems with the hardware auto-detection.
457    
458     * dostartx: load the X.Org graphical environment.
459     * forcevesa: Forces X.Org to use the safe VESA driver instead of the best
460     video driver detected for your video card. Use this option if you cannot
461     get the graphical environment working with the default options.
462     * forcevesa=xxx: The startx command will load the Xvesa server instead
463     of Xorg, and use the screen resolution given as parameter (eg: 1024x768,
464     1280x1024x32).
465    
466 sng 28 * all-generic-ide: In case of problems related to your hard disk, try to
467     enable this option (eg rescuecd all-generic-ide)
468 sng 43 * nodmraid: Disable dmraid, for some motherboards with built-in RAID
469     controller.
470     * nomdadm: Disable mdadm, for software RAID.
471    
472     * acpi-off / noapic / irqpool: use these options if you have problem when
473     the kernel boots: if it hangs on a driver or if it crashes, ...
474    
475     * lowmem: For systems with smaller memory, some daemons are not started
476     including sshd and nfsd.
477    
478 sng 28 * skipmount=/dev/xxx: The system mounts all the storage devices at boot
479 sng 43 time to find the sysrcd.dat file. If your hard disk is broken it should
480     be mounted. Boot with skipmount=/dev/sda1 skipmount=/dev/sda2 to ignore
481     these two partitions.
482 sng 28
483 sng 43 Network configuration and remote access
484 sng 75 * nonm: to disable the Network-Manager service that conflicts with the
485     standard network command line tools such as ifconfig and ip. You can use
486     this option if you want to configure the network using these commands. This
487     option is not necessary when SystemRescueCd is booting from the network
488     since the service is automatically stopped in that case. This option
489     requires SystemRescueCd-1.5.5 or more recent.
490 sng 43 * dodhcp: to request a DHCP server provide network attributes including
491 sng 75 an IP address, gateway...
492     * nodhcp: never run the dhcp client in the initramfs boot
493     script. May be useful if you use PXE boot on a computer with
494     several ethernet interfaces. Support for this option is available in
495     SystemRescueCd-1.5.5-beta2 and more recent
496 sng 43 * ethx=ipaddr/cidr: Sets the static IP address of all the ethernet
497     interfaces on the system. The /cidr extension is optional. For instance,
498     if you use option ethx=192.168.0.1 on a machine with two ethernet adapters,
499     both eth0 and eth1 will be configured with 192.168.0.1. You can use the
500     format ethx=10.0.0.1/24 (using the cidr notation) if you don't use the
501     default netmask.
502     * eth0=ipaddr/cidr: This option is similar to ethx=ipaddr/cidr but it
503     configures only one interface at a time. To configure the network on a
504     server that has two interfaces, use: eth0=192.168.10.1/24 eth1=192.168.20.1.
505 sng 28 * dns=ipaddr: Sets the static IP address of the DNS nameserver you want
506     to use to resolve the names. For instance dns=192.168.0.254 means that
507     you want to use 192.168.0.254 as the DNS server.
508     * gateway=ipaddr: Sets the static IP address of the default route on your
509     network. For instance gateway=192.168.0.254 means that the computer can
510     connect to a computer outside of the local network via 192.168.0.254.
511     * dhcphostname=myhost: Sets the hostname that the DHCP client will send
512     to the DHCP server. This may be required if the default hostname cannot
513     be used with your DHCP configuration. This option has been introduced
514     in SystemRescueCd-1.3.5.
515     * rootpass=123456: Sets the root password of the system running on the
516     livecd to 1234. That way you can connect from the network and ssh on the
517     livecd and give 123456 password as the root password.
518 sng 60 * vncserver=x:123456: The vncserver boot option has been introduced in
519     SystemRescueCd-1.0.2. This options forces the system to configure the
520     VNC-server and to start it automatically at boot time. You have to replace
521     x with the number of displays you want, and 123456 with your password The
522     password must be between 5 and 8 characters, else the boot option will be
523     ignored. In other words the vncserver=2:MyPaSsWd option will give you access
524     to two displays (display=1 on tcp/5901 and display=2 on tcp/5902). Display
525     0 is reserved for X.Org since SystemRescueCd-1.1.0.
526     * nameif=xxx: You can can specify what interface name to give to a
527     particular interface using the mac address. You need SystemRescueCd-1.1.0
528     or newer to do that. Here is how you can specify which interface
529     is using which mac address on a machine with two network interfaces:
530     nameif=eth0!00:0C:29:57:D0:6E,eth1!00:0C:29:57:D0:64. Be careful, you have
531     to respect the separator (comma between the interfaces and exclamation
532 sng 75 marks between the name and the mac address). You can also use the magic
533     keyword BOOTIF with SystemRescueCd-1.5.4 and more recent when you boot from
534     pxelinux. The pxeboot loader will set BOOTIF to the name of the interface
535     used to boot. You can then use something like nameif=eth0!BOOTIF if you
536     want the boot interface to be called eth0 on a computer with several
537     Ethernet interfaces.
538 sng 28
539 sng 43 Network boot using PXE
540     SystemRescueCd provides several options for booting from the network
541     using PXE.
542 sng 60 These options can be combined with other network boot options such as ethx
543     (cf previous section). See PXE network booting to get a global overview
544     of SystemRescueCd and PXE and Manage remote servers using PXE.
545 sng 43 The second stage downloads the kernel + initramfs using DHCP/TFTP.
546     The third stage of the PXE boot process acquires the root files system.
547     Several protocols are available.
548 sng 28
549 sng 43 * netboot=tftp://ip/path/sysrcd.dat: from a TFTP server. The filesystem
550     is loaded into memory. As a consequence computers with less than 400MB of
551     memory won't be able to boot this way. The system will continue to work
552     if the network is disconnected after the boot process.
553     * netboot=http://ip:port/path/sysrcd.dat: from a Web server. The file system
554     is loaded into memory. Computers with smaller memory won't be able to boot
555     this way. The the system continues to work if the network is disconnected
556     after the boot process.
557     * netboot=nfs://ip:/path: mount an NFSv3 directory. The NFS url must be
558     the path of the directory that contains sysrcd.dat. Only NFSv3 can be used,
559     NFSv4 is not supported. NFS it allows computers with smaller memory to boot
560     SystemRescueCd from the network. After the boot process, the connection
561     is required or you will loose the access to the root file system.
562     * netboot=nbd://ip:port: connect to an NBD server configured with sysrcd.dat
563     on ip:port. NBD is easier to configure than NFS (only one TCP port involved)
564     and it allows computers with smaller memort to boot SystemRescueCd from
565     the network. After the boot process, the connection is required the access
566     to the root system.
567    
568 sng 60 For information on activating speakup, see the speakup info page.
569 sng 43
570     Options provided for autorun
571 sng 28 * ar_source=xxx: place where the autorun are stored. It may
572     be the root directory of a partition (/dev/sda1), an nfs
573     share (nfs://192.168.1.1:/path/to/scripts), a samba share
574     (smb://192.168.1.1/path/to/scripts), or an http directory
575     (http://192.168.1.1/path/to/scripts).
576 sng 43 * autoruns=[0-9]: comma separated list of the autorun scrip to be run. For
577     example autoruns=0,2,7 the autorun sc autorun0, autorun2, autorun7 are
578     run. Use autoruns=no to disable all the autorun scripts with a number.
579 sng 28 * ar_ignorefail: continue to execute the scripts chain even if a script
580     failed (returned a non-zero status)
581     * ar_nodel: do not delete the temporary copy of the autorun scripts located
582     in /var/autorun/tmp after execution
583     * ar_disable: completely disable autorun, the simple autorun script will
584     not be executed
585     * ar_nowait: do not wait for a keypress after the autorun script have
586     been executed.
587    
588     Clonezilla Live boot parameters
589     ****************************************
590     [[ info.png ]]
591 sng 60 The following info applies to Clonezilla Live v. 1.2.5-17
592 sng 28 In case you need to get info for a more recent version of Clonezilla Live
593     please see the page "The boot parameters for Clonezilla live {{
594     http://www.clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live/doc/fine-print.php?path=./99_Misc/00_live-initramfs-manual.doc#00_live-initramfs-manual.doc
595     }}"
596    
597     A typical Clonezilla Live isolinux entry is:
598    
599     kernel /live/vmlinuz1
600     append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
601     ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general"
602     ocs_live_extra_param="" ocs_live_keymap="" ocs_live_batch="no" ocs_lang=""
603     vga=791 nolocales
604    
605     The kernel used is vmlinuz, and anything after the word append is a boot
606     parameter.
607    
608     The following info comes from the
609     page titled The boot parameters for Clonezilla live {{
610     http://www.clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live/doc/fine-print.php?path=./99_Misc/00_live-initramfs-manual.doc#00_live-initramfs-manual.doc
611     }}.
612    
613 sng 60 Clonezilla live is based on Debian live with clonezilla installed. Therefore
614     there are 2 kinds of boot parameters:
615 sng 28
616     * Boot parameters from live-initramfs. You can refer to this manual of
617     live-initramfs.
618     * Boot parameters specially for Clonezilla. All of them are named as
619     "ocs_*", e.g. ocs_live_run, ocs_live_extra_param, ocs_live_batch, ocs_lang.
620     * ocs_live_run is the main program to run in Clonezilla live to save
621     or restore. or other command. Available program: ocs-live-general,
622     ocs-live-restore or any command you write. Use the Absolute path in
623     Clonezilla live.
624     e.g. ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general"
625 sng 43 //NOTE// You might have to use "sudo" command inside your own script,
626     or you can assign it like: ocs_live_run="sudo bash /my-clonezilla"
627 sng 28 * ocs_live_extra_param will be used only when ocs_live_run=ocs-live-restore
628     (not for ocs-live-general or any other), then it will be passed to
629     ocs-sr. Therefore these parameters are actually those of ocs-sr.
630     e.g. ocs_live_extra_param="-b -c restoredisk sarge-r5 hda"
631     * ocs_live_keymap is for keymap used in Clonezilla live. Man install-keymap
632     for more details.
633     e.g. ocs_live_keymap="NONE" (won't change the default layout)
634     ocs_live_keymap="/usr/share/keymaps/i386/azerty/fr-latin9.kmap.gz"
635     (French keyboard)
636     * batch mode or not (yes/no), if no, will run interactively.
637     e.g. ocs_live_batch="no"
638     * ocs_lang is the language used in Clonezilla live. Available value:
639     en_US.UTF-8, zh_TW.UTF-8... (see $DRBL_SCRIPT_PATH/lang/bash/)
640     e.g. ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8"
641     * ocs_debug (or ocs-debug) is for you to enter command line prompt before
642     any clonezilla-related action is run. This is easier for you to debug.
643     * ocs_daemonon, ocs_daemonoff, ocs_numlk, ocs_capslk.
644     Ex. for the first 2 parameters, ocs_daemonon="ssh", then ssh service will
645     be turned on when booting. For the last 2 parameters, use "on" or "off",
646     e.g. ocs_numlk=on to turn on numberlock when booting.
647     * ocs_prerun, ocs_prerun1, ocs_prerun2... is for you to run a shell script
648     before Clonezilla is started. E.g. ocs_prerun="/live/image/myscript.sh". If
649     you have more commands to run, you can assign them in the order:
650     ocs_prerun=..., ocs_prerun1=..., ocs_prerun2=.... If more than 10
651     parameters, remember to use ocs_prerun01, ocs_prerun02..., ocs_prerun11
652     to make it in order.
653     * ocs_live_run_tty. This option allows you to specify the tty where
654     $ocs_live_run is run. By default $ocs_live_run is run on /dev/tty1
655     only. (It was also on /dev/ttyS0 before, but since Clonezilla live >=
656     1.2.3-22 no more this due to a problem). If you want to use ttyS0, for
657     example, add live-getty and console=ttyS0,38400n81 in the boot parameter.
658 sng 43 //NOTE//
659     * This parameter was added in Clonezilla live 1.2.3-22 or later.
660     * If "live-getty console=$tty,38400n81" are assigned in the boot parameters,
661     ocs_live_run_tty will honor $tty, even other value is assigned to
662     ocs_live_run_tty in boot parameter.
663     * It's recommended to assign ocs_lang and ocs_live_keymap in the boot
664     parameters too.
665     * ip, this option allows you to specify the network parameters for
666     network card. In Clonezilla live a patched live-initramfs is used, which
667     is different from the original live-initramfs so that you can assign
668     DNS server, too. Its format is: ip=ethernet port,IP address, netmask,
669     gateway, DNS. E.g. If you want to assing eth0 with IP address 10.0.100.1,
670     netmask 255.255.255.0, gateway 10.0.100.254, DNS server 8.8.8.8, you can
671     assign the following in the boot parameter:
672     ip=eth0,10.0.100.1,255.255.255.0,10.0.100.254,8.8.8.8
673     If more than one network card, you can use ":" to separate them, e.g.:
674     ip=eth0,10.0.100.1,255.255.255.0,10.0.100.254,8.8.8.8:eth1,192.168.120.1,255.255.255.0,192.168.120.254,,
675 sng 28 * Besides, "live-netdev" (yes, not ocs_live_netdev) can be used when
676     using PXE booting, you can force to assign the network device to get
677     filesystem.squashfs. This is useful when there are two or more NICs are
678     linked. E.g. live-netdev="eth1" allows you to force the live-initramfs
679     to use eth1 to fetch the root file system filesystem.squashfs.
680    
681     With the above options, we have the following examples:
682    
683     * A PXE config example for you to boot Clonezilla live via PXE, and ssh
684     service is on, the password of account "user" is assigned:
685     ----------------------------------------
686     label Clonezilla Live
687     MENU LABEL Clonezilla Live
688     MENU DEFAULT
689     kernel vmlinuz1
690     append initrd=initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs noswap noprompt vga=788
691     fetch=tftp://192.168.120.254/filesystem.squashfs usercrypted=bkuQxLqLRuDW6
692     ocs_numlk="on" ocs_daemonon="ssh"
693     ----------------------------------------
694     The usercrypted password is created by:
695     echo YOUR_PASSWORD | mkpasswd -s
696     ("mkpasswd" is from package "whois" in Debian or Ubuntu. Check your
697     GNU/Linux to see which package provides this command if you are not using
698     Debian or Ubuntu. Replace YOUR_PASSWORD with your plain text password,
699     and remember do not put any " in the boot parameters of live-initramfs
700     (while it's ok for those ocs_* boot parameters), i.e. do NOT use something
701     like usercrypted="bkuQxLqLRuDW6").
702     //NOTE// If you do not assign salt to mkpasswd, the encrypted password
703     will not be the same every time you create it.
704     For more about usercrypted discussion, please check the here.
705    
706     * How to put your own binary driver in Clonezilla live without modifying
707     /live/filesystem.squashfs:
708    
709     * Boot clonezilla live
710     * Become root by running "sudo su -"
711     * Copy the dir lsi, which contains a precompiled kernel module matching
712     the running kernel in Clonezilla live and a script to run it, to a working
713     dir, e.g.:
714     cp -r /live/image/lsi /home/partimag
715     * cd /home/partimag
716     * /opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-live-dev -c -s -i lsi -u lsi -x
717     "ocs_prerun=/live/image/lsi/prep-lsi.sh"
718     * /opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-iso -s -i lsi -u lsi -x
719     "ocs_prerun=/live/image/lsi/prep-lsi.sh"
720     * ///NOTE/// In this example, the 2 files in dir lsi are: megasr.ko (the
721     binary driver) and prep-lsi.sh. The contents of prep-lsi.sh:
722    
723     ------------------------
724     #!/bin/bash
725     cp -f /live/image/lsi/megasr.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/block/
726     chown root.root /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/block/megasr.ko
727     depmod -a modprobe megasr
728     sleep 1
729     ------------------------
730     * To put your customized script with a PXE version of Clonezilla live
731     (You have to use Clonezilla live version 1.2.2-2 or later):
732     In this example, we assume (1) The IP address of your PXE server is
733     192.168.120.254, (2) the customized script (custom-ocs-2) is put on
734     your PXE server's tftpd root dir (E.g. On DRBL server, the path is
735     /tftpboot/nbi_img/. It might be different in your case if you are not use
736     DRBL server as a PXE server).
737     Therefor your pxelinux.cfg/default file is like:
738     ------------------------
739     label Clonezilla Live
740     MENU DEFAULT
741     # MENU HIDE
742     MENU LABEL Clonezilla Live
743     # MENU PASSWD
744     kernel vmlinuz1
745     append initrd=initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs noswap noprompt vga=788
746     ip=frommedia fetch=tftp://192.168.120.254/filesystem.squashfs
747     ocs_prerun="busybox tftp -g -b 10240 -r custom-ocs-2 -l
748     /tmp/custom-ocs-2 192.168.120.254" ocs_live_run="bash /tmp/custom-ocs-2"
749     ocs_live_keymap="NONE" ocs_live_batch="no" ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" nolocales
750     TEXT HELP
751     Boot Clonezilla live via network
752     ENDTEXT
753     ------------------------
754     The content of custom-ocs-2 can be like:
755    
756     ------------------------
757     #!/bin/bash
758     . /opt/drbl/sbin/drbl-conf-functions
759     . /opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-functions
760     . /etc/ocs/ocs-live.conf
761    
762     # Load language file
763     ask_and_load_lang_set en_US.UTF-8
764    
765     # 1. Mount the clonezilla image home.
766     # Types: local_dev, ssh_server, samba_server, nfs_server
767     prep-ocsroot -t nfs_server
768    
769     # 2. Restore the image
770     if mountpoint /home/partimag/ &>/dev/null; then
771     ocs-sr -l en_US.UTF-8 -c -p choose restoredisk ask_user ask_user
772     else
773     [ "$BOOTUP" = "color" ] & $SETCOLOR_FAILURE
774     echo "Fail to find the Clonezilla image home /home/partimag!"
775     echo "Program terminated!"
776     [ "$BOOTUP" = "color" ] & $SETCOLOR_NORMAL
777     fi
778     ------------------------
779     live-initramfs manual
780     ---------------------
781     This is the manual of live-initramfs {{
782     http://www.clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live/live-initramfs-param.php }}
783    
784     live-initramfs(7)
785     =================
786    
787     Name
788     ----
789     live-initramfs - Debian Live initramfs hook
790    
791     Synopsis
792     --------
793     BOOT=live
794    
795     as kernel parameter at boot prompt.
796    
797     Description
798     -----------
799    
800     live-initramfs is a hook for the initramfs-tools, used to generate
801     a initramfs
802     capable to boot live systems, such as those created by *live-helper*(7).
803     This includes the Debian Live isos, netboot tarballs, and usb stick images.
804    
805     At boot time it will look for a (read-only) media containing a "/live"
806     directory where a root filesystems (often a compressed filesystem image like
807     squashfs) is stored. If found, it will create a writable environment, using
808     aufs, for Debian like systems to boot from.
809    
810     You probably do not want to install this package onto a non-live system,
811     although it will do no harm.
812    
813 sng 60 live-initramfs is a fork of casper.
814     casper was originally written by Tollef Fog Heen
815     &lt;tfheen@canonical.com&amp;gt;
816     and Matt Zimmerman &lt;mdz@canonical.com&amp;gt;.
817 sng 28
818     Boot options
819     ------------
820    
821     Here is the complete list of recognized boot parameters by live-initramfs.
822    
823     access=*ACCESS*::
824    
825     Set the accessibility level for physically or visually impared users. ACCESS
826     must be one of v1, v2, v3, m1, or m2. v1=lesser visual impairment,
827     v2=moderate
828     visual impairment, v3=blindness, m1=minor motor difficulties, m2=moderate
829     motor
830     difficulties.
831    
832     console=*TTY,SPEED*::
833    
834     Set the default console to be used with the "live-getty" option. Example:
835     "console=ttyS0,115200"
836    
837     debug::
838    
839     Makes initramfs boot process more verbose.
840    
841     fetch=*URL*::
842    
843     Another form of netboot by downloading a squashfs image from a given url,
844     copying to ram and booting it.
845    
846     hostname=*HOSTNAME*, username=*USER*, userfullname=*USERFULLNAME*::
847    
848     Those parameters lets you override values read from the config file.
849    
850     ignore_uuid
851    
852     Do not check that any UUID embedded in the initramfs matches the discovered
853     medium. live-initramfs may be told to generate a UUID by setting
854     LIVE_GENERATE_UUID=1 when building the initramfs.
855    
856     integrity-check::
857    
858     If specified, an MD5 sum is calculated on the live media during boot and
859     compared to the value found in md5sum.txt found in the root directory of the
860     live media.
861    
862 sng 60 ip=**[CLIENT_IP]:[SERVER_IP]:[GATEWAY_IP]:[NETMASK]:[HOSTNAME]:
863     [DEVICE]:[AUTOCONF]
864     [,[CLIENT_IP]:[SERVER_IP]:[GATEWAY_IP]:[NETMASK]:[HOSTNAME]:
865     [DEVICE]:[AUTOCONF]]***::
866 sng 28
867     Let you specify the name(s) and the options of the interface(s) that
868     should be
869     configured at boot time. Do not specify this if you want to use dhcp
870     (default).
871     It will be changed in a future release to mimick official kernel boot param
872     specification
873     (e.g. ip=10.0.0.1::10.0.0.254:255.255.255.0::eth0,:::::eth1:dhcp).
874    
875     ip[=**frommedia**]::
876    
877     If this variable is set, dhcp and static configuration are just skipped
878     and the
879     system will use the (must be) media-preconfigured /etc/network/interfaces
880     instead.
881    
882     {keyb|kbd-chooser/method}=**KEYBOARD**,
883     {klayout|console-setup/layoutcode}=**LAYOUT**,
884     {kvariant|console-setup/variantcode}=**VARIANT**,
885 sng 60 {kmodel|console-setup/modelcode}=
886     **CODE**, koptions=**OPTIONS**::
887 sng 28
888     Configure the running keyboard as specified, if this one misses
889     live-initramfs
890     behaves as if "keyb=us" was specified. It will be interfered from
891     "locale=" if
892     locale is only 2 lowecase letters as a special case. You could also specify
893     console layout, variant, code, and options (no defaults).
894    
895     live-getty::
896    
897     This changes the auto-login on virtual terminals to use the (experimental)
898     live-getty code. With this option set the standard kernel argument
899     "console=" is
900     parsed and if a serial console is specified then live-getty is used to
901     autologin
902     on the serial console.
903    
904     {live-media|bootfrom}=**DEVICE**::
905    
906     If you specify one of this two equivalent forms, live-initramfs will
907     first try
908     to find this device for the "/live" directory where the read-only root
909     filesystem should reside. If it did not find something usable, the
910     normal scan
911     for block devices is performed.
912    
913     {live-media-encryption|encryption}=**TYPE**::
914    
915     live-initramfs will mount the encrypted rootfs TYPE, asking the passphrase,
916     useful to build paranoid live systems :-). TYPE supported so far are
917     "aes" for
918     loop-aes encryption type.
919    
920     live-media-offset=**BYTES**::
921    
922     This way you could tell live-initramfs that your image starts at offset
923     BYTES in
924     the above specified or autodiscovered device, this could be useful to
925     hide the
926     Debian Live iso or image inside another iso or image, to create "clean"
927     images.
928    
929     live-media-path=**PATH**::
930    
931     Sets the path to the live filesystem on the medium. By default, it is set to
932     '/live' and you should not change that unless you have customized your media
933     accordingly.
934    
935     live-media-timeout=**SECONDS**::
936    
937     Set the timeout in seconds for the device specified by "live-media="
938     to become
939     ready before giving up.
940    
941     {locale|debian-installer/locale}=**LOCALE**::
942    
943     Configure the running locale as specified, if not present the live-media
944     rootfs
945     configured locale will be used and if also this one misses live-initramfs
946     behave
947     as "locale=en_US.UTF-8" was specified. If only 2 lowercase letter are
948     specified
949     (like "it"), the "maybe wanted" locale is generated (like en:EN.UTF-8),
950     in this
951     case if also "keyb=" is unspecified is set with those 2 lowercase letters
952     (keyb=us). Beside that facility, only UTF8 locales are supported by
953     live-initramfs.
954    
955     module=**NAME**::
956    
957     Instead of using the default optional file "filesystem.module" (see below)
958     another file could be specified without the extension ".module"; it should be
959     placed on "/live" directory of the live medium.
960    
961     netboot[=**nfs**|**cifs**]::
962    
963     This tells live-initramfs to perform a network mount. The parameter
964     "nfsroot="
965     (with optional "nfsopts="), should specify where is the location of the root
966     filesystem. With no args, will try cifs first, and if it fails nfs.
967    
968     nfsopts=::
969    
970     This lets you specify custom nfs options.
971    
972     noautologin::
973    
974     This parameter disables the automatic terminal login only, not touching
975     gdk/kdm.
976    
977     noxautologin::
978    
979     This parameter disables the automatic login of gdm/kdm only, not touching
980     terminals.
981    
982     nofastboot::
983    
984     This parameter disables the default disabling of filesystem checks in
985     /etc/fstab. If you have static filesystems on your harddisk and you want
986     them to
987     be checked at boot time, use this parameter, otherwise they are skipped.
988    
989     nopersistent::
990    
991     disables the "persistent" feature, useful if the bootloader (like syslinux)
992     has
993     been installed with persistent enabled.
994    
995     noprompt
996    
997     Do not prompt to eject the CD on reboot.
998    
999     nosudo::
1000    
1001     This parameter disables the automatic configuration of sudo.
1002    
1003     swapon::
1004    
1005     This parameter enables usage of local swap partitions.
1006    
1007     nouser::
1008    
1009     This parameter disables the creation of the default user completely.
1010    
1011     noxautoconfig::
1012    
1013     This parameter disables Xorg auto-reconfiguration at boot time. This
1014     is valuable
1015     if you either do the detection on your own, or, if you want to ship a custom,
1016     premade xorg.conf in your live system.
1017    
1018     persistent[=nofiles]::
1019    
1020     live-initramfs will look for persistent and snapshot partitions or files
1021     labeled
1022     "live-rw", "home-rw", and files called "live-sn*", "home-sn*" and will
1023     try to,
1024     in order: mount as /cow the first, mount the second in /home, and just
1025     copy the
1026     contents of the latter in appropriate locations (snapshots). Snapshots
1027     will be
1028     tried to be updated on reboot/shutdown. Look at live-snapshot(1) for more
1029     informations. If "nofiles" is specified, only filesystems with matching
1030     labels
1031     will be searched; no filesystems will be traversed looking for archives
1032     or image
1033     files. This results in shorter boot times.
1034    
1035     {preseed/file|file}=**FILE**::
1036    
1037     A path to a file present on the rootfs could be used to preseed debconf
1038     database.
1039    
1040     package/question=**VALUE**::
1041    
1042     All debian installed packages could be preseeded from command-line that way,
1043     beware of blanks spaces, they will interfere with parsing, use a preseed
1044     file in
1045     this case.
1046    
1047     quickreboot::
1048    
1049     This option causes live-initramfs to reboot without attempting to eject the
1050     media and without asking the user to remove the boot media.
1051    
1052     showmounts::
1053    
1054     This parameter will make live-initramfs to show on "/" the ro filesystems
1055     (mostly compressed) on "/live". This is not enabled by default because could
1056     lead to problems by applications like "mono" which store binary paths on
1057     installation.
1058    
1059     textonly
1060    
1061     Start up to text-mode shell prompts, disabling the graphical user interface.
1062    
1063     timezone=**TIMEZONE**::
1064    
1065     By default, timezone is set to UTC. Using the timezone parameter, you can
1066     set it
1067     to your local zone, e.g. Europe/Zurich.
1068    
1069     todisk=**DEVICE**::
1070    
1071     Adding this parameter, live-initramfs will try to copy the entire read-only
1072     media to the specified device before mounting the root filesystem. It
1073     probably
1074     needs a lot of free space. Subsequent boots should then skip this step
1075     and just
1076     specify the "live-media=DEVICE" boot parameter with the same DEVICE used this
1077     time.
1078    
1079     toram::
1080    
1081     Adding this parameter, live-initramfs will try to copy the whole read-only
1082     media
1083     to the computer's RAM before mounting the root filesystem. This could need
1084     a lot
1085     of ram, according to the space used by the read-only media.
1086    
1087     union=**aufs**|**unionfs**::
1088    
1089     By default, live-initramfs uses aufs. With this parameter, you can switch to
1090     unionfs.
1091    
1092     utc=**yes**|**no**::
1093    
1094     By default, Debian systems do assume that the hardware clock is set to
1095     UTC. You
1096     can change or explicitly set it with this parameter.
1097    
1098     xdebconf::
1099    
1100     Uses xdebconfigurator, if present on the rootfs, to configure X instead
1101     of the
1102     standard procedure (experimental).
1103    
1104     xvideomode=**RESOLUTION**::
1105    
1106     Doesn't do xorg autodetection, but enforces a given resolution.
1107    
1108     Files
1109     -----
1110    
1111     /etc/live.conf
1112    
1113     Some variables can be configured via this config file (inside the live
1114     system).
1115    
1116     /live/filesystem.module
1117    
1118     This optional file (inside the live media) contains a list of white-space or
1119     carriage-return-separated file names corresponding to disk images in the
1120     "/live"
1121     directory. If this file exists, only images listed here will be merged
1122     into the
1123     root aufs, and they will be loaded in the order listed here. The first entry
1124     in this file will be the "lowest" point in the aufs, and the last file in
1125     this list will be on the "top" of the aufs, directly below /cow. Without
1126     this file, any images in the "/live" directory are loaded in alphanumeric
1127     order.
1128    
1129 sng 60 /etc/live-persistence.binds
1130 sng 28
1131     This optional file (which resides in the rootfs system, not in the live
1132     media)
1133     is used as a list of directories which not need be persistent: ie. their
1134     content does not need to survive reboots when using the persistence features.
1135    
1136     This saves expensive writes and speeds up operations on volatile data such as
1137     web caches and temporary files (like e.g. /tmp and .mozilla) which are
1138     regenerated each time. This is achieved by bind mounting each listed
1139     directory
1140     with a tmpfs on the original path.
1141    
1142     See also
1143     --------
1144    
1145     live-snapshot(1), initramfs-tools(8), live-helper(7), live-initscripts(7),
1146     live-webhelper(7)
1147    
1148     Bugs
1149     ----
1150    
1151     Report bugs against live-initramfs
1152 sng 60 http://packages.qa.debian.org/live-initramfs.
1153 sng 28
1154     Homepage
1155     --------
1156    
1157     More information about the Debian Live project can be found at
1158 sng 60 http://debian-live.alioth.debian.org/ and
1159     http://wiki.debian.org/DebianLive/.
1160 sng 28
1161     Authors
1162     -------
1163    
1164 sng 60 live-initramfs is maintained by Daniel Baumann &lt;daniel@debian.org&amp;gt;
1165 sng 28 for the Debian project.
1166    
1167 sng 60 live-initramfs is a fork of casper.
1168     casper was originally written by Tollef Fog Heen
1169     &lt;tfheen@canonical.com&amp;gt;
1170     and Matt Zimmerman &lt;mdz@canonical.com&amp;gt;.
1171 sng 28
1172    
1173    
1174    
1175     About Clonezilla Live
1176     ==============================================================================
1177    
1178     Intro
1179     ****************************************
1180     The DRBL-based PXEBoot Clonezilla is used to clone many computers
1181     simultaneously. It is an extremely useful tool, however, it does have several
1182     limitations. In order to use it, you must first prepare a DRBL server AND
1183     the machine to be cloned must boot from a network (e.g. PXE/Etherboot).
1184    
1185     To address these limitations, the Free Software Lab at the NCHC has combined
1186     Debian Live {{ http://debian-live.alioth.debian.org/ }} with Clonezilla
1187     to produce "Clonezilla Live", a new software that can be used to easily
1188     clone individual machines.
1189    
1190     Clonezilla Live provides two modes of operation:
1191    
1192     * device-image
1193     In this mode of operation, a disk/partition can be saved to an
1194     image file. This image file can be used to restore the original
1195     disk/partition. With Clonezilla-SysRescCD, it can also be used to create an
1196     automated restore CD/DVD. This is the mode of operation we will discuss here.
1197    
1198     * device-device (cloning)
1199     This mode of operation creates an exact copy of the original disk/partition
1200     on the fly.
1201    
1202     When working in device-image mode, you will always have to specify three
1203     things:
1204    
1205     * The location of the image file
1206     * The working parameters for the operation
1207     * The disk/partition that will be saved/restored
1208    
1209     Clonezilla Live provides a user friendly interface in order to insert
1210     this data.
1211    
1212     When Clonezilla Live is booted up, either normally or copied to RAM, the
1213     contents of the whole CD/DVD can be found in folder /live/image. This
1214     is where you will find any extra files, such as the restorecd and the
1215     doc folders.
1216    
1217     Starting and stopping Clonezilla Live
1218     ****************************************
1219     When you boot into Clonezilla Live, the program (actually a script) starts
1220     automatically. There are many places where you can stop it, by selecting
1221     Cancel or answering N(o) to a question. When you do that you will probably
1222     get the following:
1223     Now you can choose to:
1224     (0) Poweroff
1225     (1) Reboot
1226     (2) Enter command line prompt
1227     (3) Start over
1228     [2]
1229    
1230     Select Poweroff or Reboot, only if you haven't already mounted a disk
1231     partition. I found out by experience, it is not always safe to let any live
1232     CD automatically unmount my partitions. So if you have already specified
1233     the image partition and/or the partition to save/restore, you should enter
1234     command line prompt and type:
1235     sudo su -
1236     mount | grep /dev/[sh]d
1237     and then unmount the partitions shown by the last command. So if the
1238     results of this command is for example:
1239     /dev/hda1 on /home/partimag type vfat (rw)
1240     just type the command:
1241     umount /dev/hda1
1242     and it's now safe to Poweroff of Reboot.
1243    
1244     If, on the other hand, you just want to restart the program, type:
1245     ocs-live
1246    
1247     About the Image file
1248     ****************************************
1249     One thing should be made clear about the image file: it is not a file,
1250     it is a folder, containing the actual image file and some data about the
1251     disk/partition it is associated with. So when you insert the image file name,
1252     you actually insert the folder name where the image will be saved/restored.
1253    
1254     Before you are able to insert the image file name, a list of partitions
1255     will be presented to you, so that you can choose where it should be
1256 sng 75 saved/found. When you select one of them, it will be mounted and a list
1257     of folders will be presented to you, so you can select the base image
1258     directory (first level directory within the partition), which will then
1259     be mounted under /home/partimag. This way you can, for example, create a
1260     folder called all_my_images in one of your disk partitions, and move all
1261     your image files in there; Clonezilla Live will be able to find them!!!
1262 sng 28
1263     Another thing that should be pointed out is that only unmounted partitions
1264     will be included in the above list. This means that if you have stopped
1265     the program at some point after specifying the partition where the image
1266     file resides, and it has been mounted, it will not be present in the list
1267     the next time it is presented to you, and you will not be able to use it.
1268    
1269     There are two things you can do in this case; either unmount the partition,
1270     as stated above, or select
1271     skip Use existing /home/partimag
1272    
1273     instead of any other option, when you restart the program. The later of
1274     course means that you still want to use the previously specified partition
1275     as the image file location.
1276    
1277     Fianlly I should say that Clonezilla Live is able to use a remote
1278     disk/partition as the location of the image file, mounted through ssh,
1279     samba or nfs. Using any of these options is a more advanced topic, way
1280     beyond the scope of this presentation.
1281    
1282     Scripts' options
1283     ****************************************
1284     This section presents the options which are available at the "Clonezilla
1285     advanced extra parameters" screens, if the "Expert" mode is selected. For
1286     other options, see Getting backups and Restoring data.
1287    
1288     Backup options
1289     ---------------------
1290     > Imaging program priority
1291    
1292     -q2 Priority: partclone > partimage > dd
1293     -q1 Priority: Only dd (supports all filesystem, but inefficient)
1294     -q Priority: ntfsclone > partimage > dd
1295     Priority: partimage > dd (no ntfsclone)
1296    
1297     This option chooses which imaging programs are preferred. By default,
1298     Clonezilla Live uses partclone for nearly all filesystems, including
1299     ext2/3/4, NTFS and FAT32. If a filesystem isn't supported by partclone,
1300     but is supported by partimage (spesifically: if the filesystem is HFS,
1301     HPFS or JFS), it is cloned by partimage. If it isn't supported by either
1302     (for example Linux swap, though it doesn't make any sense to clone swap
1303     partitions), it is cloned by dd. Unlike partclone or partimage, dd copies
1304     all blocks of the partition instead of only used, resulting in slower
1305     imaging process and bigger images.
1306    
1307     Normally the default option -q2 should be preferred. Try another option
1308     if you have problems and believe they are caused by the imaging program used.
1309    
1310     > Various parameters
1311    
1312     These options are available at the second "Clonezilla advanced extra
1313     parameters" screen.
1314     -c Client waits for confirmation before cloning
1315     This option causes Clonezilla Live to ask if you really want to clone the
1316     disk/partition just before it starts cloning. It is enabled by default.
1317    
1318     -j2 Clone the hidden data between MBR and 1st partition
1319     If this option is set, the 15 hidden sectors between Master Boot Record
1320     and the first partition are copied. This area usually contains some data
1321     necessary for booting. The option is enabled by default and should be kept
1322     enabled if you are cloning a bootable disk.
1323    
1324     -nogui Use text output only, no TUI/GUI output
1325     Causes Clonezilla Live to force the used programs to use only command-line
1326     interface even if text-based or graphical user interface is available.
1327    
1328     -a Do NOT force to turn on HD DMA
1329     Prevents Clonezilla Live from using DMA for communicating with hard
1330     drives. Slows cloning down but in some conditions cloning without this
1331     option can be impossible.
1332    
1333     -rm-win-swap-hib Remove page and hibernation files in Win if exists
1334     This option prevents Clonezilla Live from cloning your page file if you
1335     are cloning a partition containing Windows. Often the page file is big
1336     and unneeded, and skipping it may speed cloning up without causing any
1337     harm. Mind you, this option is disabled by default because sometimes the
1338     page file may be necessary.
1339    
1340     -ntfs-ok Skip checking NTFS integrity, even bad sectors (ntfsclone only)
1341     This option works only if you selected the -q option and you're cloning
1342     a NTFS partition. It prevents the integrity check of NTFS partitions and
1343     speeds the cloning process up a little. However, if the check is disabled,
1344     there is a risk that the filesystem is damaged and the image created from
1345     it is useless.
1346    
1347 sng 75 -rescue Continue reading next one when disk blocks read errors
1348     If this option is set, Clonezilla Live continues cloning even if a read
1349     error occurs. If there is one, the disk image will be corrupted, but
1350     failing hard drives can only be cloned with this option enabled.
1351    
1352     -fsck-src-part Check and repair source file system before saving
1353     This option causes Clonezilla Live to check the integrity of the partition(s)
1354     to be cloned. If the filesystem of the partition is damaged, Clonezilla Live
1355     also attempts to repair it automatically. Enabling this option reduces the
1356     risk that the image contains a damaged filesystem. However, the option is
1357     disabled by default because the automatic filesystem repair attempt may
1358     cause data loss.
1359    
1360 sng 28 -gm Generate image MD5 checksums
1361     Causes Clonezilla Live to calculate MD5 checksum(s) of image(s) created. If
1362 sng 75 the image gets corrupted afterwards, the checksum allows to notice the
1363 sng 28 corruption before the image is restored. Mind you, calculating the checksum
1364     takes some time and slows the process down a little.
1365    
1366     -gs Generate image SHA1 checksums
1367     This option is identical to the above, but creates SHA1 checksum(s) instead
1368     of MD5. SHA1 is considered to be more accurate checksum algorithm than MD5,
1369     but MD5 is more popular.
1370    
1371     > Compression method
1372    
1373 sng 75 -z1p Use parallel gzip compression (testing), for multicore/CPU
1374 sng 28 -z1 gzip compression (fast with a smaller image)
1375 sng 75 -z2p Use parallel bzip2 compression (testing), for multicore/CPU
1376 sng 28 -z2 bzip2 compression (slowest but smallest image)
1377     -z3 lzo compression (faster with image size approx. to that of
1378     gzip)(NOTE!!)
1379 sng 75 -z4
1380     lzma_compression_(slowest_but_also_small_image,_faster_decompression_than_bzip2)
1381     -z5p Use_parallel_xz_compression_(testing),_for_multicore/CPU
1382     -z5
1383     xz_compression_(slowest_but_also_small_image,_faster_decompression_than_bzip2)
1384     -z6p Use_parallel_lzip_compression_(testing),_for_multicore/CPU
1385     -z6
1386     lzip_compression_(slowest_but_also_small_image,_faster_decompression_than_bzip2)
1387 sng 28 -z0 No compression (fastest but largest image size)
1388    
1389     This option chooses the method which is used to compress the image while
1390     creating it.
1391    
1392     If no compression is used at all, there won't be any negative speed impact
1393     caused by compression. However, the image file size is the size of all the
1394     data backed up - for example, if you clone a 160 GB hard drive containing
1395     60 gigabytes of data, the resulting disk image will be 60 gigabytes in size.
1396    
1397     Gzip and lzop are fast compression methods. Lzop is many times faster than
1398     gzip, but creates slightly larger images. Clonezilla Live warns that lzop
1399     requires good-quality RAM, but I (the contributor who wrote this chapter)
1400     think other compression methods require good RAM too.
1401    
1402 sng 75 Bzip2, lzma, xz and lzip are powerful compression methods. Lzma creates a
1403     little smaller images than bzip2, and decompressing lzma-compressed images
1404     is faster than decompressing bzip2 images. But there is no free lunch:
1405     lzma compression method is very slow compared even to bzip2, which isn't
1406     fast method either.
1407 sng 28
1408 sng 75 Lzma method is becoming obsolete, and both xz and lzip are attempting to
1409     become its successor. They are a bit less powerful compression methods than
1410     lzma, but much faster. The differences between xz and lzip are virtually
1411     non-existent.
1412    
1413     If you don't use the i486 version of Clonezilla-SysRescCD and your
1414     processor contains multiple cores and/or supports Hyper-Threading, parallel
1415     gzip, bzip2, xz and lzip compression methods are also available. Parallel
1416     compression means that each processor core compresses a different part of the
1417     image at a time. Without parallel compression one core compresses everything.
1418    
1419     The speed impact caused by parallel compression depends on the number
1420     of processor cores available. In addition, Hyper-Threading increases the
1421     speed by about 30 % if parallel compression is used. For example, if your
1422     processor contains four cores and supports Hyper-Threading, speed with
1423     parallel compression is nearly 5,2 times as high as without. However,
1424     parallel compression is currently an experimental feature.
1425    
1426 sng 28 > Splitting
1427    
1428     This option (command line: -i [number]) decides if the created image files
1429     are splitted into smaller pieces, and if yes, how large the pieces are. This
1430     setting doesn't usually matter, but some filesystems (most importantly
1431     FAT32) don't allow files larger than four gigabytes. If you're saving the
1432     disk image to a FAT32 partition, enter 4000 or less. (Value 0 disables
1433     splitting, so don't use it in that case.) If the filesystem allows files
1434     big enough, enter any value which isn't too small (you don't want to split
1435     the image into too many pieces, do you?)
1436    
1437 sng 75 Clonezilla Live warns that it is no longer safe to disable splitting because
1438     value 0 can confuse init. I (the contributor) don't know what the warning
1439     exactly means and haven't been able to reproduce the problem. Anyway,
1440     entering a very big value, for example 999999999999, is a safe way to keep
1441     the image in one piece.
1442    
1443 sng 28 > Postaction
1444    
1445     -p true Do nothing when the clone finishes
1446     -p reboot Reboot client when the clone finishes
1447     -p poweroff Shutdown client when the clone finishes
1448    
1449     In this screen you can decide what Clonezilla Live does when the
1450     disk/partition is cloned.
1451    
1452     Spiros told above that he has found out that it's not always safe to allow
1453     Live CDs automatically unmount partitions, and I have lost data when trying
1454     auto-unmount with a script. So, avoid -p reboot and -p poweroff options
1455     if possible. You have been warned.
1456    
1457     Restore options (script ocs-sr)
1458     ---------------------
1459     > Various parameters
1460    
1461     These options are available at the first "Clonezilla advanced extra
1462     parameters" screen.
1463     -g auto Reinstall grub in client disk MBR (only if grub config exists)
1464     Causes Clonezilla Live to reinstall GRUB into the Master Boot Record
1465     of the disk if at least one partition contains GRUB config file
1466     (/boot/grub/menu.lst). The option is enabled by default and shouldn't
1467     cause any harm. However, it should be disabled if you for example have
1468     another bootloader in MBR and chainload GRUB with it.
1469    
1470     -e1 auto Automatically adjust filesystem geometry for a NTFS boot partition
1471     if exists
1472     The NTLDR bootloader used by Windows isn't able to determine automatically
1473     where the files it needs are stored. It only knows their physical locations,
1474     which sometimes change when the disk or partition is copied. If the locations
1475     are changed and this option is selected, the location information of the
1476     files is changed accordingly. This option is enabled by default and if
1477     it's disabled, the cloned Windows will fail to boot.
1478    
1479     -e2 sfdisk uses CHS of hard drive from EDD(for non-grub boot loader)
1480     This option requires that the -e1 auto option is selected. It causes
1481     Clonezilla Live to use disk read interface named EDD for determining the
1482     physical locations of the files when updating the location information
1483     used by NTLDR. The option is enabled by default because it reduces the
1484     risk that Windows doesn't boot.
1485    
1486     -hn0 PC Change MS Win hostname (based on IP address) after clone
1487     If this option is selected and a partition containing Microsoft Windows is
1488     cloned, its IP address -based hostname is changed after cloning. Computers
1489     which are on any network simultaneously need to have different hostnames,
1490     so this option is needed if a Windows system is cloned to another computer
1491     and the original computer is still used in addition to the one where the
1492     image was restored to.
1493    
1494     -hn1 PC Change MS Win hostname (based on MAC address) after clone
1495     This option causes the MAC address -based hostname of Windows to change. This
1496     option needs also be enabled in the above condition.
1497    
1498     -v Prints verbose messages (especially for udpcast)
1499     Causes Clonezilla Live to tell more information of what it does.
1500    
1501     -nogui Use text output only, no TUI/GUI output
1502     Causes Clonezilla Live to force the used programs to use only command-line
1503     interface even if text-based or graphical user interface is available.
1504    
1505     -b Run clone in batch mode (DANGEROUS!)
1506     Causes Clonezilla Live to run in batch mode. According to Clonezilla
1507     Live reference card, this option is dangerous, though I (the contributor)
1508     don't know why.
1509    
1510     -c Client waits for confirmation before cloning
1511     This option causes Clonezilla Live to ask if you really want to clone the
1512     disk/partition just before it starts cloning. It is enabled by default.
1513    
1514     -t Client does not restore the MBR (Mater Boot Record)
1515     Do NOT restore the MBR (Mater Boot Record) when restoring image. If this
1516     option is set, you must make sure there is an existing MBR in the current
1517     restored harddisk. Default is Yes.
1518    
1519     -t1 Client restores the prebuilt MBR from syslinux (For Windows only)
1520     If this option is set, the MBR is overwritten by prebuilt one which
1521     chainloads Windows. Use this option if you have to restore Windows and
1522     make it bootable, but don't have the original MBR or backup of it.
1523    
1524     -r Try to resize the filesystem to fit partition size
1525     This option is useful if you are cloning a small disk to larger one. It
1526     tries to resize the restored filesystem to the size of the partition where
1527     it was restored to. It allows you to use the whole size of your new disk
1528     without resizing the partition afterwards. The option requires that the
1529     disk where the image is copied already contains a partition where the
1530     image is restored or that the option -k1 is enabled.
1531    
1532     -e sfdisk uses the CHS value of hard drive from the saved image
1533     Force to use the saved CHS (cylinders, heads, sectors) when using sfdisk. Of
1534     cource, there is no use of it when using any of -j0, -k or -k2 options.
1535    
1536 sng 75 -icrc Ignore CRC checking of partclone
1537     This option causes partclone to skip checking the CRC32 checksums of
1538     the image. Enabling this option speeds the restore process up. However,
1539     if this option is enabled and the -cm and -cs options are disabled, there
1540     is no way to notice if the image has corrupted.
1541    
1542 sng 28 -j1 Write MBR (512 B) again after image is restored. Not OK for partition
1543     table diffe
1544     When a disk image is restored, the partition table must be updated to
1545     reflect the actual partitions in the disk. If you don't want it to happen,
1546     enable this option. Then the Master Boot Record (including the partition
1547     table) is restored again after restoring the image. Note that using this
1548     option can destroy all the data in the target drive.
1549    
1550     -j2 Clone the hidden data between MBR and 1st partition
1551     If this option is set, the 15 hidden sectors between Master Boot Record
1552     and the first partition are restored. This area usually contains some data
1553     necessary for booting. The option is enabled by default and should be kept
1554     enabled if you are cloning a bootable disk.
1555    
1556     -cm Check image by MD5 checksums
1557     If the image folder contains MD5 checksum(s), this option causes Clonezilla
1558     Live to check if the image has corrupted by calculating its checksum and
1559     comparing it to the precalculated one. Mind you, calculating the checksum
1560     takes some time and slows the process down a little.
1561    
1562     -cs Check image by SHA1 checksums
1563     This option is identical to the above, but checks SHA1 checksum(s) instead
1564     of MD5.
1565    
1566     -a Do NOT force to turn on HD DMA
1567     Prevents Clonezilla Live from using DMA for communicating with hard
1568     drives. Slows cloning down but in some conditions cloning without this
1569     option can be impossible.
1570    
1571     -o0 Run script in $OCS_PRERUN_DIR before clone starts
1572     Run the scripts in the directory $OCS_PRERUN_DIR before clone is
1573     started. The location of the directory can be determined by editing the
1574     file drbl-ocs.conf. By default it is /opt/drbl/share/ocs/prerun.
1575    
1576     -o1 Run script in $OCS_POSTRUN_DIR as clone finishes
1577     Run the scripts in the directory $OCS_POSTRUN_DIR when clone is
1578     finished. The location of the directory can be determined by editing the
1579     file drbl-ocs.conf. By default it is /opt/drbl/share/ocs/postrun. The
1580     command will be run before that assigned in -p.
1581    
1582     The scripts will be executed by the program "run-parts". run-parts only
1583     accepts that the name of the scripts must consist entirely of upper and
1584     lower case letters, digits and underscores. So if your file name has an
1585     illegal character ".", run-parts won't run it. You can test which files
1586     will be executed by entering the command:
1587     run-parts --test /opt/drbl/share/ocs/postrun
1588    
1589     > Partition table
1590    
1591     This option decides what is done to the partition table of the target drive.
1592     Use the partition table from the image
1593     This option causes Clonezilla Live to copy the partition table from the
1594     image. Use this option if you are cloning a whole disk or somehow know that
1595     the partition tables are identical (for example, if you are restoring a
1596     partition to the same disk where it was copied from and haven't repartitioned
1597     the drive after creating the backup). This is the default option.
1598    
1599     -k Do NOT create a partition table on the target disk
1600     Do NOT create partition in target harddisk. If this option is set,
1601     you must make sure there is an existing partition table in the current
1602     restored harddisk.
1603    
1604     -k1 Create partition table proportionally (OK for MRB format, not GPT)
1605     Causes Clonezilla Live to create the partition table automatically using
1606     sfdisk after restoring the images. This option works nearly always, but
1607     sometimes cloned Windows don't boot. Note that this option doesn't work if
1608     you have GUID Partition Table on your disk. (Most likely you don't have one.)
1609    
1610     -k2 Enter command line prompt to create partition manually later
1611     Like the -k option, this option doesn't create the partition table
1612     automatically. However, after restoring the image you are led to command
1613     line prompt where you can create the partition table manually. Don't use
1614     this option if you don't know how the partition table can be created.
1615    
1616     -j0 Use dd to create partition (NOT OK if logical drives exist)
1617     Use dd to dump the partition table from saved image instead of sfdisk.
1618    
1619     We read in DRBL FAQ/Q&A {{
1620     http://drbl.sourceforge.net/faq/fine-print.php?path=./2_System/23_Missing_OS.faq#23_Missing_OS.faq
1621     }}:
1622    
1623     When I use clonezilla to clone M$ windows, there is no any problem
1624     when saving an image from template machine. However, after the image
1625     is restored to another machine, it fails to boot, the error message is
1626     "Missing Operating System". What's going on ?
1627    
1628     Usually this is because GNU/Linux and M$ windows interpret the CHS (cylinder,
1629     head, sector) value of harddrive differently. Some possible solutions:
1630     1. Maybe you can change the IDE harddrive setting in BIOS, try to use
1631     LBA instead of auto mode.
1632     2. Try to choose
1633     [ ] -j0 Use dd to create partition table instead of sfdisk
1634     and
1635     [ ] -t1 Client restores the prebuilt MBR from syslinux (For Windows only)
1636     when you restore the image.
1637     3. You can try to boot the machine with MS Windows 9x bootable floppy,
1638     and in the DOS command prompt, run: "fdisk /mbr".
1639     4. You can try to boot the machine with MS Windows XP installation
1640     CD, enter recovery mode (by pressing F10 key in MS XP, for example),
1641     then in the console, run "fixmbr" to fix it. Maybe another command
1642     "fixboot" will help, too. For more info, refer to this doc {{
1643     http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B314058&x=7&y=14 }}
1644     5. Use ntfsreloc to adjust FS geometry on NTFS partitions. For more info,
1645     refer to http://www.linux-ntfs.org/doku.php?id=contrib:ntfsreloc
1646    
1647     It has been confirmed that activating the -j0 option, fixes the problem.
1648    
1649     This option doesn't work if you use LVM (Logical Volume Manager).
1650    
1651     exit Exit
1652     This option ends the restore process and enters command line prompt.
1653    
1654     > Postaction
1655    
1656     -p true Do nothing when the clone finishes
1657     -p reboot Reboot client when the clone finishes
1658     -p poweroff Shutdown client when the clone finishes
1659    
1660     When image restoration finishes, do one of the following: choose action
1661     (default), poweroff or reboot.
1662    
1663     Saving image files in NTFS partitions
1664     ****************************************
1665     Although not recomended, you may find yourself having to save your image
1666     file in a NTFS (Windows XP) partition. You may never have a problem doing
1667     this, but you may get a message like the following one, when the partition
1668     gets mounted:
1669     Volume is scheduled for check
1670     Please boot into Windows TWICE, or use 'force' mount option"
1671     and the backup procedure fails. There are two things you can do here:
1672    
1673     * Exit the program, reboot and use Windows XP Recovery Console to fix the
1674     NTFS file system. From Recovery Console
1675     prompt, execute the command:
1676     chkdsk /f X:
1677    
1678     where X: is the drive letter of the disk. When done, boot back into
1679     Clonezilla Live and repeat the backup procedure.
1680    
1681 sng 75 If the disk/partition you are trying to backup is not the Windows System
1682     disk (usually C:), you can boot Windows, and execute the command in a DOS
1683     window. To open a DOS window click Start / Run... and at the prompt Open:
1684     type cmd.
1685    
1686     If the Windows version you use is not XP and you're trying to backup the
1687     Windows System drive, boot into SystemRescueCD (graphical mode is not
1688     needed) and run the following command:
1689 sng 28 ntfsfix /dev/hda1
1690    
1691     where /dev/hda1 is the partition name in GNU/Linux. When done, boot back
1692     into Clonezilla Live and repeat the backup procedure.
1693    
1694     * If Windows XP Recovery Console is not available, you don't have the time
1695     to execute the procedure described above, or even if you have executed it
1696     but you still get the same message, and you are absolutely sure that you
1697     get this message because the NTFS partition is really scheduled for check,
1698     and it's not because Windows crushed or have become corrupt, you can mount
1699     the patririon by hand and tell Clonezilla Live to use it. Assuming the
1700     partition is /dev/hda1, exit the program and execute the commands:
1701     sudo su -
1702     ntfs-3g -o force /dev/hda1 /home/partimag
1703     ocs-live
1704    
1705     and when you get to the screen "Mount clonezilla image directory", select
1706     skip Use existing /home/partimag
1707    
1708    
1709    
1710    
1711     Getting backups
1712     ==============================================================================
1713    
1714     Intro
1715     ****************************************
1716     In this page I will demonstrate the creation of an image file by getting
1717 sng 75 a backup of a virtual partition (/dev/sdb1). The image file will be saved
1718     in another virtual partition (/dev/sda1).
1719 sng 28
1720     The first thing you do when you want to get a backup of a disk/partition,
1721     is make sure both the souce (to be backed up) and target (to hold the
1722     image file) partitions are in excellent condition (error free). This is the
1723     logical thing to do, cause I wouldn't want to backup a corrupt partition,
1724     or end up with a corrupt image file.
1725    
1726     There is one more step I would want to take: I should check that my BIOS
1727     boot settings are correct, in order to boot from my CD/DVD drive.
1728    
1729     Having done all of the above, I am ready to boot from Clonezilla-SysRescCD.
1730    
1731     [[ info.png ]]
1732 sng 75 The following pressentation has been made usingClonezilla Live v 1.2.5-17
1733 sng 28
1734     Getting the backup
1735     ****************************************
1736     Clonezilla-SysRescCD starting screen
1737     ---------------------
1738     If you're fine with US keymap and English language (available languages are
1739     English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese [both simplified
1740     and traditional]) or don't mind editing the boot parameters, just select
1741     Clonezilla Live at the starting screen and press ENTER. When the system
1742     comes up, it will load the program that will preform the backup. After
1743     that continue from this step.
1744    
1745     If you need to change these settings, select one of the available Clonezilla
1746     Live menu entries, and press TAB. The current boot parameters will be
1747     displayed.
1748    
1749     The default parameters for booting Clonezilla Live on a 1024x768 screen,
1750     are the following:
1751    
1752     append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
1753     ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
1754     ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
1755     ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" ocs_live_keymap="NONE" vga=791 nolocales
1756    
1757     By deleting the words in red, you instruct Clonezilla Live to ask you the
1758     values of these parameters. When the appropriate changes have been done
1759     (as shown bellow), just press ENTER to boot.
1760    
1761     append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
1762     ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
1763     ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
1764     ocs_lang="" ocs_live_keymap="" vga=791 nolocales
1765    
1766     Screen "Choose Language"
1767     ---------------------
1768     [[ backup-00.png ]]
1769     I select "en_US.UTF-8 English" and press ENTER.
1770    
1771     Screen "Configuring console-data"
1772     ---------------------
1773     [[ backup-01.png ]]
1774     I select "Select keymap from full list" and press ENTER. If you're using
1775     US keymap, the default option "Don't touch keymap" is a better choice.
1776    
1777     Screen "Configuring console-data"
1778     ---------------------
1779     [[ backup-02.png ]]
1780     As I (the contributor who wrote a great deal of this page) use Finnish
1781     keyboard, I select "pc / qwerty / Finnish / Standard / Standard". Because
1782     you most likely use a different keyboard, choose the one you use.
1783    
1784     Screen "Start Clonezilla"
1785     ---------------------
1786     [[ backup-03.png ]]
1787     I select "Start Clonezilla" and press ENTER.
1788    
1789     Screen "Clonezilla"
1790     ---------------------
1791     [[ backup-04.png ]]
1792     I select "device-image" and press ENTER.
1793    
1794     Screen "Mount clonezilla image directory"
1795     ---------------------
1796     In this screen I can select the way the image file directory will be saved.
1797     Available options are local directory, remote directory through ssh,
1798     samba or nfs and skip, to use the previously used directory. More info
1799     about the image file can be found at section "About the Image file".
1800    
1801     [[ backup-05.png ]]
1802     I select "local_dev" and press ENTER.
1803    
1804     Next screen
1805     ---------------------
1806     This is where I choose the location of the image file. It will be saved
1807     at the root directory of the selected partition.
1808    
1809     [[ backup-06.png ]]
1810 sng 75 I select partition sda1 and press ENTER.
1811 sng 28
1812     [[ backup-07.png ]]
1813     and then ENTER again.
1814    
1815     [[ backup-08.png ]]
1816     This screen displays the mounting result.
1817 sng 75 As we can see, /dev/sda1 has been successfully mounted under /tmp/local-dev.
1818 sng 28
1819     Next Screen
1820     ---------------------
1821     [[ backup-09.png ]]
1822     I select Beginer mode to accept the default backup options. If you select
1823     Expert mode, you can choose the options yourself. More details can be
1824     found here.
1825    
1826     Screen "Select mode"
1827     ---------------------
1828     Here I can select the desired operation.
1829    
1830     [[ backup-10.png ]]
1831     I select "savedisk" and press ENTER.
1832    
1833     Next Screen
1834     ---------------------
1835     [[ backup-11.png ]]
1836     In this screen I select the image name.
1837 sng 75 I type "Backup_22-2010_sdb", which in my opinion is more informative name
1838 sng 28 than the default.
1839    
1840     Next Screen
1841     ---------------------
1842     [[ backup-12.png ]]
1843     Finally I am asked to select the partition to save.
1844     I just press ENTER again.
1845    
1846     Starting the backup
1847     ---------------------
1848     [[ backup-13.png ]]
1849     Then the program will display the command that will be executed and will
1850     ask me to press ENTER.
1851     Then I will be asked to confirm the operation by pressing y and ENTER.
1852    
1853     [[ backup-14.png ]]
1854     After that, the backup begins
1855    
1856     [[ backup-15.png ]]
1857 sng 75 and when it's successfully completed, I press ENTER to get to the
1858     shell. Then, I execute the commands:
1859     sudo su -
1860     cd
1861     umount -a
1862     reboot
1863 sng 28
1864 sng 75 to reboot the system.
1865 sng 28
1866    
1867    
1868 sng 75
1869 sng 28 Getting backups on Samba
1870     ==============================================================================
1871    
1872     Intro
1873     ****************************************
1874     What if you don't have a spare local disk or partition or a USB disk? How
1875     will you be able to get a backup of your system? Well, if your PC is on
1876     the same LAN with another PC running Windows (or linux), you can use Samba
1877     to save your image file on that remote PC (which we will call Samba server
1878     from now on).
1879    
1880     Using Samba you will be able to mount a Windows share resource (or
1881     Samba share resource), from within Clonezilla Live, and save the image
1882     file there. Then you can boot that PC using SystemRescueCD and create a
1883     restore DVD.
1884    
1885 sng 75 In this page I will demonstrate the creation of an image file by getting
1886     a backup of my second disk (/dev/sdb). The image file will be save in my
1887     Samba server which is my laptop (ip: 10.0.0.3, Windows share resource name:
1888     all_my_images).
1889 sng 28
1890     What is Samba?
1891     ---------------------
1892     We read at http://us1.samba.org/samba/:
1893    
1894     Samba is an Open Source/Free Software suite that provides seamless file
1895     and print services to SMB/CIFS clients. Samba is freely available, unlike
1896     other SMB/CIFS implementations, and allows for interoperability between
1897     Linux/Unix servers and Windows-based clients.
1898    
1899     Samba is software that can be run on a platform other than Microsoft
1900     Windows, for example, UNIX, Linux, IBM System 390, OpenVMS, and other
1901     operating systems. Samba uses the TCP/IP protocol that is installed on the
1902     host server. When correctly configured, it allows that host to interact
1903     with a Microsoft Windows client or server as if it is a Windows file and
1904     print server.
1905    
1906     Gathering info
1907     ****************************************
1908     Before you can use this approach to get a backup, you have to get some
1909     info about the Samba server.
1910    
1911     The Samba server I have used for this example was my laptop, so I already
1912     knew most of the info required. If this is not the case for you, just ask
1913     the owner, user or system admin.
1914    
1915     The info required is:
1916    
1917     * The IP address of the Samba server
1918     * The domain on the Samba server
1919     This may exist if your PC is connected to a larger LAN (a corporation
1920     network, for example). In my case this is empty.
1921     * The user name and password you can use
1922     * The directory on the Samba server you can use to save your backup
1923     This is the name of the Windows share resource (Samba share resource)
1924     as it is known in the network, which is not necessarily the same as the
1925     local directory name. The user whose account will be used to login to the
1926     Samba server, must have write permission to this directory.
1927    
1928     Getting the backup
1929     ****************************************
1930     If you're fine with US keymap and English language (available languages are
1931     English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese [both simplified
1932     and traditional]) or don't mind editing the boot parameters, just select
1933     Clonezilla Live at the starting screen and press ENTER. When the system
1934     comes up, it will load the program that will preform the backup.
1935    
1936     If you need to change these settings, go to the Getting backups page for
1937     instructions .
1938    
1939     Screen "Start Clonezilla"
1940     ---------------------
1941 sng 75 [[ backup-03.png ]]
1942 sng 28 I select "Start Clonezilla" and press ENTER.
1943    
1944     Screen "Clonezilla"
1945     ---------------------
1946 sng 75 [[ backup-04.png ]]
1947 sng 28 I select "device-image" and press ENTER.
1948    
1949 sng 75 Screen "Mount clonezilla image directory"
1950 sng 28 ---------------------
1951     In this screen I can select the way the image file directory will be saved.
1952     Available options are local directory, remote directory through ssh,
1953     samba or nfs and skip, to use the previously used directory. More info
1954     about the image file can be found at section "About the Image file".
1955    
1956 sng 75 [[ backup-smb-05.png ]]
1957 sng 28 I select "samba server" and press ENTER.
1958    
1959     Screen "Mount Samba Server"
1960     ---------------------
1961 sng 75 This is where I have to enter the IP address of my Samba server.
1962     [[ backup-smb-06.png ]]
1963     I type "10.0.0.3" and press ENTER.
1964 sng 28
1965     Screen "Mount Samba Server" (second time)
1966     ---------------------
1967 sng 75 This is where I have to enter the domain name on my Samba server.
1968     [[ backup-smb-07.png ]]
1969     I just press ENTER, as there is no domain in my LAN. If there is a domain
1970     in your network, you have to type its name (something like my_company.com)
1971     and press ENTER.
1972 sng 28
1973     Screen "Mount Samba Server" (third time)
1974     ---------------------
1975 sng 75 This is where I have to enter the account (user) name on my Samba server.
1976     [[ backup-smb-08.png ]]
1977     I type "spiros" and press ENTER.
1978 sng 28
1979     Screen "Mount Samba Server" (fourth time)
1980     ---------------------
1981 sng 75 This is where I have to enter the directory name on my Samba server, in
1982     which the image file will be saved. I type "/all_my_images" and press ENTER.
1983     [[ backup-smb-09.png ]]
1984 sng 28
1985 sng 75 At this point I'm informed I'm going to be asked for the password for
1986     user spiros.
1987     [[ backup-smb-10.png ]]
1988     I will be able to continue only after entering it correctly.
1989     [[ backup-smb-11.png ]]
1990 sng 28
1991     Screen "Clonezilla - Opensource Clone System (OCS)"
1992     ---------------------
1993 sng 75 [[ backup-09.png ]]
1994     I select Beginer mode to accept the default backup options. If you select
1995 sng 28 Expert mode, you can choose the options yourself. More details can be
1996     found here.
1997    
1998 sng 75 Screen "Select mode"
1999 sng 28 ---------------------
2000 sng 75 Here I can select the desired operation.
2001 sng 28
2002 sng 75 [[ backup-10.png ]]
2003     I select "savedisk" and press ENTER.
2004 sng 28
2005 sng 75 Next Screen
2006     ---------------------
2007     [[ backup-11.png ]]
2008     In this screen I select the image name.
2009     I type "Backup_22-2010_sdb", which in my opinion is more informative name
2010     than the default.
2011 sng 28
2012 sng 75 Next Screen
2013 sng 28 ---------------------
2014 sng 75 [[ backup-12.png ]]
2015     Finally I am asked to select the partition to save.
2016     I just press ENTER again.
2017 sng 28
2018 sng 75 Starting the backup
2019 sng 28 ---------------------
2020 sng 75 [[ backup-13.png ]]
2021     Then the program will display the command that will be executed and will
2022     ask me to press ENTER.
2023     Then I will be asked to confirm the operation by pressing y and ENTER.
2024 sng 28
2025 sng 75 [[ backup-14.png ]]
2026     After that, the backup begins
2027 sng 28
2028 sng 75 [[ backup-15.png ]]
2029     and when it's successfully completed, I press ENTER to get to the
2030     shell. Then, I execute the commands:
2031 sng 28 sudo su -
2032     cd
2033     umount -a
2034     reboot
2035    
2036 sng 75 to reboot the system.
2037 sng 28
2038    
2039    
2040 sng 75
2041 sng 28 Restoring data
2042     ==============================================================================
2043    
2044     Intro
2045     ****************************************
2046     Image files are always created for one purpose: restoring the data they
2047     contain. Images can be, for example, a backup solution: as long as hardware
2048     works, the computer can be restored to the state it was when creating the
2049     image. Another usage scenario is changing the hard drive: files can be
2050     copy-pasted from the old drive to the new, but that method doesn't make
2051     the new drive bootable. Disk images do.
2052    
2053     This page contains a demonstration of the latter case. On the Getting backups
2054     page, a 500 MB virtual disk containing 160 megabytes of data was copied
2055     to a 2 GB virtual disk which was empty. Now the 500 MB disk is changed to
2056     an empty 2 GB disk (still virtual) and I'll restore the data to that disk.
2057    
2058     When creating a disk image, one needs to check that both the source and
2059     target partitions are error free. That's not required when the image is
2060     restored, because restoration process can't damage the disk image. Note,
2061     however, that restoring an image erases all the data in the target
2062     disk/partition.
2063    
2064     You also need to check the BIOS settings to be able to boot from
2065     Clonezilla-SysRescCD. Some BIOSes contain a boot menu, others require
2066     editing settings pernamently. Details can be found on the manual of the
2067     motherboard or laptop.
2068    
2069     Now let's boot.
2070    
2071     [[ important.png ]]
2072     Restore process erases all the data on the target disk/partition.Before
2073     restoring make sure you have backup of all the data on the target
2074     disk/partition, even if the filesystem is corrupted.
2075    
2076     [[ info.png ]]
2077     The following pressentation has been made usingClonezilla Live v 1.2.3-27
2078    
2079     Restoring data
2080     ****************************************
2081     Clonezilla-SysRescCD starting screen
2082     ---------------------
2083     If you're fine with US keymap and English language (available languages are
2084     English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese [both simplified
2085     and traditional]) or don't mind editing the boot parameters, just select
2086     Clonezilla Live at the starting screen and press ENTER. When the system
2087     comes up, it will load the program that will preform the backup. After
2088     that continue from this step.
2089    
2090     If you need to change these settings, select one of the available Clonezilla
2091     Live menu entries, and press TAB. The current boot parameters will be
2092     displayed.
2093    
2094     The default parameters for booting Clonezilla Live on a 1024x768 screen,
2095     are the following:
2096    
2097     append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
2098     ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
2099     ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
2100     ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" ocs_live_keymap="NONE" vga=791 nolocales
2101    
2102     By deleting the words in red, you instruct Clonezilla Live to ask you the
2103     values of these parameters. When the appropriate changes have been done
2104     (as shown bellow), just press ENTER to boot.
2105    
2106     append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
2107     ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
2108     ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
2109     ocs_lang="" ocs_live_keymap="" vga=791 nolocales
2110    
2111     Screen "Choose Language"
2112     ---------------------
2113     [[ backup-00.png ]]
2114     This is where the language can be selected. I select "en_US.UTF-8 English"
2115     and press ENTER.
2116    
2117     Screen "Configuring console-data"
2118     ---------------------
2119     [[ backup-01.png ]]
2120     I select "Select keymap from full list" and press ENTER. If you're using
2121     US keymap, the default option "Don't touch keymap" is a better choice.
2122    
2123     Screen "Configuring console-data"
2124     ---------------------
2125     [[ backup-02.png ]]
2126     Because I haven't changed my keyboard, I select "pc / qwerty / Finnish /
2127     Standard / Standard". Because you most likely use a different keyboard,
2128     choose the one you use.
2129    
2130     Screen "Start Clonezilla"
2131     ---------------------
2132     [[ backup-03.png ]]
2133     I select "Start Clonezilla" and press ENTER.
2134    
2135     Screen "Clonezilla"
2136     ---------------------
2137     [[ backup-04.png ]]
2138     I select "device-image" and press ENTER.
2139    
2140     Screen "Mount clonezilla image directory"
2141     ---------------------
2142     In this screen I can select the way the image file directory has been saved.
2143     Available options are local directory, remote directory through ssh,
2144     samba or nfs and skip, to use the previously used directory. More info
2145     about the image file can be found at section "About the Image file".
2146    
2147     [[ backup-05.png ]]
2148     I select "local_dev" and press ENTER.
2149    
2150     Next screen
2151     ---------------------
2152     This is where I choose the location of the image file.
2153     [[ restoration-06.png ]]
2154     I select partition hda1 and press ENTER.
2155    
2156     [[ backup-07.png ]]
2157    
2158     [[ restoration-08.png ]]
2159     This screen displays the mounting result.
2160     As we can see, /dev/hda1 has been successfully mounted under /tmp/local-dev.
2161    
2162     Next Screen
2163     ---------------------
2164     [[ backup-09.png ]]
2165     I select Beginer mode to accept the default restore options. If you select
2166     Expert mode, you can choose the options yourself. More details can be
2167     found here.
2168    
2169     Screen "Select mode"
2170     ---------------------
2171     Here I can select the desired operation.
2172    
2173     [[ restoration-10.png ]]
2174     I select "restoredisk" and press ENTER.
2175    
2176     Next Screen
2177     ---------------------
2178     [[ restoration-11.png ]]
2179     In this screen I select the image folder. This partition contains only
2180     one image.
2181    
2182     Next Screen
2183     ---------------------
2184     [[ restoration-12.png ]]
2185     Finally I am asked to select which partition the image will be restored
2186     to. After double-checking the disk doesn't contain anything important,
2187     I press ENTER.
2188    
2189     Starting the restoration
2190     ---------------------
2191     [[ restoration-13.png ]]
2192     Then the program will display the command that will be executed and will
2193     ask me to press ENTER.
2194     Then I will be asked to confirm the operation by pressing y and ENTER.
2195    
2196     [[ restoration-14.png ]]
2197    
2198     [[ important.png ]]
2199     This is the last confirmation Clonezilla Live asks.After this step there
2200     is no coming back.
2201     Then my confirmation is asked one last time. After checking one more time
2202     the disk doesn't contain any important data, I press y and ENTER.
2203    
2204     [[ restoration-15.png ]]
2205     After that, the restore process begins
2206    
2207     [[ restoration-16.png ]]
2208     and when it's successfully completed, I will be able to reboot the system
2209     by pressing 1 and ENTER.
2210    
2211    
2212    
2213    
2214     Creating a Restore DVD - Part 1
2215     ==============================================================================
2216    
2217     Intro
2218     ****************************************
2219     Assuming you have used Clonezilla Live to make a backup of your Windows XP
2220     system (partition /dev/hda1), which you have saved as win_img, you will
2221     probably be wondering what to do with it now. Well, one option would be
2222     to keep it to the disk you used to save it in, store the disk, and use it
2223     whenever you need it. Another option would be to create a DVD you can use
2224     to restore this image.
2225    
2226     Before, up to Clonezilla-SysRescCD 2.6.0, the process to create an automated
2227     restore DVD required entering command line prompt and writing some commands,
2228     that can be uncomfortable or even difficult for many people.
2229    
2230     Later, a TUI option to create an automated recovery disc was added to
2231     Clonezilla Live, and ocs-iso script included in Clonezilla-SysRescCD
2232     3.1.0 and newer has a TUI too. Old command-line options are no longer
2233     supported. This page walks you through the creation of an automated restore
2234     DVD via TUI.
2235    
2236     Assuming you have saved your image file win_img in partition hdb4, you
2237     have to boot Clonezilla Live, using Clonezilla-SysRescCD.
2238    
2239     [[ info.png ]]
2240     The following pressentation has been made usingClonezilla Live v 1.2.3-27
2241    
2242     Creating the disk image
2243     ****************************************
2244     Clonezilla-SysRescCD starting screen
2245     ---------------------
2246     If you're fine with US keymap and English language (available languages are
2247     English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese [both simplified
2248     and traditional]) or don't mind editing the boot parameters, just select
2249     Clonezilla Live at the starting screen and press ENTER. When the system
2250     comes up, it will load the program that will preform the backup. After
2251     that continue from this step.
2252    
2253     If you need to change these settings, select one of the available Clonezilla
2254     Live menu entries, and press TAB. The current boot parameters will be
2255     displayed.
2256    
2257     The default parameters for booting Clonezilla Live on a 1024x768 screen,
2258     are the following:
2259    
2260     append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
2261     ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
2262     ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
2263     ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" ocs_live_keymap="NONE" vga=791 nolocales
2264    
2265     By deleting the words in red, you instruct Clonezilla Live to ask you the
2266     values of these parameters. When the appropriate changes have been done
2267     (as shown bellow), just press ENTER to boot.
2268    
2269     append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
2270     ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
2271     ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
2272     ocs_lang="" ocs_live_keymap="" vga=791 nolocales
2273    
2274     Screen "Choose Language"
2275     ---------------------
2276     [[ backup-00.png ]]
2277     I select "en_US.UTF-8 English" and press ENTER.
2278    
2279     Screen "Configuring console-data"
2280     ---------------------
2281     [[ backup-01.png ]]
2282     I select "Select keymap from full list" and press ENTER. If you're using
2283     US keymap, the default option "Don't touch keymap" is a better choice.
2284    
2285     Screen "Configuring console-data"
2286     ---------------------
2287     [[ backup-02.png ]]
2288     Because I haven't changed my keyboard, I select "pc / qwerty / Finnish /
2289     Standard / Standard". Because you most likely use a different keyboard,
2290     choose the one you use.
2291    
2292     Screen "Start Clonezilla"
2293     ---------------------
2294     [[ backup-03.png ]]
2295     I select "Start Clonezilla" and press ENTER.
2296    
2297     Screen "Clonezilla"
2298     ---------------------
2299     [[ backup-04.png ]]
2300     I select "device-image" and press ENTER.
2301    
2302     Screen "Mount clonezilla image directory"
2303     ---------------------
2304     In this screen I can select the way the image file directory has been saved.
2305     Available options are local directory, remote directory through ssh,
2306     samba or nfs and skip, to use the previously used directory. More info
2307     about the image file can be found at section "About the Image file".
2308    
2309     [[ backup-05.png ]]
2310     I select "local_dev" and press ENTER.
2311    
2312     Next screen
2313     ---------------------
2314     This is where I choose the location of the image file.
2315     [[ restore-06.png ]]
2316     I select partition hda1 and press ENTER.
2317    
2318     [[ backup-07.png ]]
2319     and then ENTER again.
2320    
2321     [[ restore-08.png ]]
2322     This screen displays the mounting result.
2323     As we can see, /dev/hda1 has been successfully mounted under /tmp/local-dev.
2324    
2325     Next Screen
2326     ---------------------
2327     [[ backup-09.png ]]
2328     I select Beginer mode to accept the default restore options, which are
2329     used if the recovery disk is ever used. If you select Expert mode, you
2330     can choose the options yourself. More details can be found here.
2331    
2332     Screen "Clonezilla: Select mode"
2333     ---------------------
2334     Here I can select the desired operation.
2335    
2336     [[ restore-10.png ]]
2337     I select "recovery-iso-zip" and press ENTER.
2338    
2339     Next Screen
2340     ---------------------
2341     [[ restore-11.png ]]
2342     In this screen I select the image folder. This partition contains only
2343     one image.
2344    
2345     Next Screen
2346     ---------------------
2347     [[ restore-12.png ]]
2348     Now I am asked to select which disk the image will be restored to, if the
2349     recovery disc is used. Because this image is a backup, I choose the same
2350     disk where the original data resides. If you're upgrading your hard drive,
2351     choose the new drive.
2352    
2353     Next Screen
2354     ---------------------
2355     [[ restore-13.png ]]
2356     In this screen I can select the language that the recovery disc uses. I
2357     choose "en_US.UTF-8".
2358    
2359     Next Screen
2360     ---------------------
2361     [[ restore-14.png ]]
2362     This screen allows me to select the keymap that the recovery disc
2363     uses. Unfortunately, changing the keymap requires knowing where the keymap
2364     file resides in Debian GNU/Linux. Because I don't know it, I just press
2365     ENTER to accept US keymap.
2366    
2367     Next Screen
2368     ---------------------
2369     [[ restore-15.png ]]
2370     I select "iso" to create a CD/DVD disk image which I can burn to a recordable
2371     CD/DVD disc. The good thing about recordable discs is that overwriting
2372     the backup by accident is impossible. The "zip" option creates a ZIP file
2373     which can be used to create a bootable pendrive or external hard drive.
2374    
2375     [[ restore-16.png ]]
2376     Then the program will display the command that will be executed and will
2377     ask me to press ENTER.
2378    
2379     [[ cust-menu-01.png ]]
2380     Due to limitations of mkisofs, the script can't create a ISO file which
2381     is over 4,5 gigabytes in size. It causes problems if the size of your
2382     image is over 4,4 gigabytes. Clonezilla-SysRescCD contains a workaround
2383     that creates a ISO file that contains no image, so you can add the image
2384     manually later. This dialog asks if you want to do so. Note that if you
2385     see this dialog, you most likely need a dual layer DVD+R or Blu-ray disc
2386     to burn the image. Growisofs doesn't support multisession burning on dual
2387     layer DVD-R discs, so such disc can't be used either.
2388    
2389     Screen "Customization section"
2390     ---------------------
2391     [[ cust-menu-02.png ]]
2392     Now I am asked if I want to customize the boot menu of the disc. I answer
2393     "Yes". If you don't want to customize the menu, continue from this step.
2394    
2395     Screen "DVD Title"
2396     ---------------------
2397     [[ cust-menu-03.png ]]
2398     In this screen I select the title of the boot menu. I type "Home PC
2399     Restore DVD".
2400    
2401     Screen "Menu Items Caption"
2402     ---------------------
2403     [[ cust-menu-04.png ]]
2404     This screen allows me to select the caption for all menu items. I enter
2405     "Restore Win XP".
2406    
2407     Screen "Boot delay"
2408     ---------------------
2409     [[ cust-menu-05.png ]]
2410     I press ENTER to accept the default delay of 30 seconds. It means that
2411     when a computer is booted from the restore disc, it waits 30 seconds
2412     before choosing the default option automatically. You may want to reduce
2413     this delay if, for example, your keyboard doesn't work in boot menu and
2414     you must wait until the delay ends.
2415    
2416     Screen "Default Boot Item"
2417     ---------------------
2418     [[ cust-menu-06.png ]]
2419     In this screen I can select the default option of the menu. Selecting one
2420     of the options that restore the image makes using the disc even easier,
2421     but also raises the risk that the image is restored accidentally. Another
2422     reason to select such option may be that your keyboard doesn't work in
2423     boot menu, preventing you from choosing any non-default option. I select
2424     the first option that restores the image using pixel dimensions of 1024*768.
2425    
2426     Screen "Boot Screen Image"
2427     ---------------------
2428     [[ cust-menu-07.png ]]
2429     This screen allows me to select the background picture of the menu. Note
2430     that the picture must be in the same partition that contains the disk
2431     image, if you don't mind entering command line and mounting the right
2432     partition manually. I choose picture mysplash.png in the root of the
2433     partition. Because the partition has been mounted in /home/partimag,
2434     the full path of the picture is /home/partimag/mysplash.png.
2435    
2436     Screen "ISO Label"
2437     ---------------------
2438     [[ cust-menu-08.png ]]
2439     In this screen I can select the volume label of the disc. Volume label is
2440     the name of the disc you may see in various situations, for example in the
2441     notification you see when you insert the disc into your DVD writer. I type
2442     "Backup_52-2009_hdb".
2443    
2444     Screen "Publisher ID"
2445     ---------------------
2446     [[ cust-menu-09.png ]]
2447     This is where I choose the publisher ID of the ISO file
2448     and the disc. Publisher ID means the person or company who
2449     created the disc. However, at least in GNU/Linux reading
2450     the publisher ID is, strictly speaking, a challenge. Here {{
2451     http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/getting-volume-information-from-cds-iso- }}
2452     are instructions to read the publisher ID of a ISO file. I didn't find
2453     any working instructions to read the ID from the disc.
2454    
2455     Starting the creation of the disk image
2456     ---------------------
2457     [[ restore-17.png ]]
2458     After that, creation of the disk image begins. Note that no confirmation
2459     is asked it the disk image is small enough to fit to a CD.
2460    
2461     [[ cust-menu-10.png ]]
2462    
2463     If you have above enabled the workaround to create a ISO file without any
2464     image, you get the info screen, which explains the actions to be taken
2465     in order to burn the ISO file and add the iamge file to the DVD. A script
2466     file is also saved as /tmp/burnISO.
2467    
2468     [[ restore-18.png ]]
2469     When the disk image is successfully created, I must reboot in order to
2470     burn the disc because my DVD burner is still in use. Clonezilla Live can
2471     be loaded into computer memory during boot in order to be able to burn
2472     disc(s) within it. However, due to a known bug, the disk image can't
2473     be created if Clonezilla Live has been loaded into memory. (source {{
2474     http://free.nchc.org.tw/clonezilla-live/stable/Known-issues-Clonezilla-live.txt
2475     }}) Thus, I press 1 and ENTER to reboot to another operating system and
2476     burn the image using graphical burning program. For instructions, follow
2477     one of these links:
2478    
2479     If the ISO file contains the disk image
2480     If the ISO file contains no image
2481     If you've created a ZIP file
2482    
2483    
2484    
2485    
2486     Creating a Restore DVD - Part 2
2487     ==============================================================================
2488    
2489     What to do with the disk image
2490     ****************************************
2491     The previous page contains partial instructions to create an automated
2492     recovery DVD. They're partial because they only tell how the disk image
2493     can be created, not what one should do with the image. Of course, partial
2494     instructions are not enough, but don't worry - this page is the other part.
2495    
2496     Earlier versions of Clonezilla Live allowed creating the DVD without
2497     reboot, but it's no longer possible due to a known bug. The disk image
2498     can't be created if Clonezilla Live has been loaded into memory (source {{
2499     http://free.nchc.org.tw/clonezilla-live/stable/Known-issues-Clonezilla-live.txt
2500     }}) and the image can't be burned to disc if Clonezilla Live isn't in
2501     memory. And if the computer must be rebooted anyway, it's a good idea to
2502     use one's favorite operating system and a graphical burning program for
2503     burning the disc. Doing so also allows reading these instructions while
2504     burning the disc.
2505    
2506     This page walks through burning the disc by using ImgBurn and K3b. The
2507     instructions can be adapted for many other burning programs as well. If
2508     your burning program is too different, download either of the programs
2509     mentioned - they both can be downloaded for free.
2510    
2511     In addition to a DVD, bootable pendrive or external hard drive can be
2512     created as well. If you want to do so, follow instructions below.
2513    
2514     Before following these instructions, insert a writable DVD or Blu-ray disc
2515     to your burner.
2516    
2517     Burning the disc
2518     ****************************************
2519     If the ISO file contains the disk image
2520     ---------------------
2521     > Using ImgBurn
2522    
2523     ImgBurn {{ http://www.imgburn.com/ }} is a lightweight but very feature-rich
2524     disc burning program. It only requires about two megabytes disk space
2525     and contains a lot of settings. ImgBurn is closed-source freeware and -
2526     unfortunately - Windows-only software. I (Jyrki) personally use ImgBurn
2527     when burning discs within Windows.
2528    
2529     Launch ImgBurn and press Write image file to disc. Select the disk image
2530     you just created.
2531    
2532     At the settings window, keep Test Mode disabled. I also recommend
2533     keeping the Verify option enabled. Verifying the integrity of the disc
2534     after burning requires time and doesn't prevent the disc from becoming a
2535     so-called coaster, but it allows you to know immediately if the burning
2536     attempt failed, so you can try burning the disc again.
2537    
2538     Keep the number of copies as 1 (or increase it, if you really
2539     want multiple copies of the disc). Use your best judgment while
2540     choosing the burning speed: according to this forum thread {{
2541     http://club.myce.com/f33/high-speed-vs-low-speed-burning-69698/ }} lowering
2542     the burning speed gives very mixed results in quality. I personally use
2543     ¾ of the maximum speed of the disc, for example 12x on a disc rated 16x.
2544    
2545     After choosing the settings, press the big picture at the bottom-left of
2546     the window. Don't do anything that requires much computer resources while
2547     burning, because doing so increases the likelihood of burning failure.
2548    
2549     That's it. You own now an automated recovery disc.
2550    
2551     > Using K3b
2552    
2553     K3b (KDE Burn Baby Burn) is the disc burning program included in KDE
2554     Software Compilation. It comes with most, if not all, KDE-based GNU/Linux
2555     distributions. It can also be installed on other distributions, but I
2556     recommend against doing so - K3b requires KDE base packages to be installed,
2557     and it doesn't make much sense to install KDE base only for K3b.
2558    
2559     [[ k3b-00.png ]]
2560     I launch K3b and navigate to the folder where the disk image resides.
2561    
2562     [[ k3b-01.png ]]
2563     I double-click the file clonezilla-live-Backup_5-2010_hda.iso.
2564    
2565     [[ k3b-02.png ]]
2566     This window allows me to choose burning settings. I don't touch Image Type or
2567     Burn Medium, because they're auto-detected anyway. The maximum burning speed
2568     allowed by the disc is 16x, so I choose speed 12x. According to this forum
2569     thread {{ http://club.myce.com/f33/high-speed-vs-low-speed-burning-69698/
2570     }} low burning speed can decrease burning quality, so I always use speed
2571     near the maximum speed of the disc.
2572    
2573     I keep Writing Mode as Auto and number of copies as 1. I also keep the
2574     Simulate option disabled and enable the Verify written data option. The
2575     latter allows me to notice immediately if the burning attempt failed, so
2576     I can try burning the disc again, rather than owning a so-called coaster
2577     and relying on it if something happens to my data...
2578    
2579     [[ k3b-03.png ]]
2580     I click Start and the burning process begins.
2581    
2582     [[ k3b-04.png ]]
2583     Because I enabled the Verify written data option, K3b starts verifying
2584     the integrity of the disc right after burning.
2585    
2586     [[ k3b-05.png ]]
2587     The burning attempt succeeded.
2588    
2589     If the ISO file contains no image
2590     ---------------------
2591     If you have enabled the workaround to create a ISO file that contains
2592     no disk image (required if the size of the image is over 4,4 gigabytes),
2593     things become much more problematic. The ISO file and the image can't be
2594     burned to the disc simultaneously, they must be written one-by-one. That
2595     requires two burning sessions: the first for writing the ISO file to the
2596     disc and the second for adding the disk image. Many burning programs don't
2597     even support multisession burning at all. About the programs I've mentioned
2598     in this page: K3b supports multisession burning, ImgBurn doesn't.
2599    
2600     I didn't find any instructions for adding an additional file to a
2601     spesific directory by using K3b. Actually, I don't even know if that's
2602     possible at all. Thus, I recommend using growisofs for burning the disc
2603     if the workaround has been enabled, because growisofs allows adding
2604     any file to any directory. However, there's one more limitation:
2605     growisofs doesn't support multisession burning on dual layer DVD-R
2606     discs, so you must use dual layer DVD+R or Blu-ray disc. (source {{
2607     http://fy.chalmers.se/~appro/linux/DVD+RW/-RW/#nomultisess }})
2608    
2609     Growisofs is a command-line program and a part of dvd+rw-tools that is
2610     installed on most GNU/Linux distributions. Dvd+rw-tools is Linux-only
2611     software, so if you use a competing operating system, you must boot into
2612     SystemRescueCD (graphical mode is not needed) in order to burn the disc.
2613    
2614     Open terminal and mount the partition that contains the image. The commands
2615     below must be run as root.
2616    
2617     mkdir /media/usb
2618     mount /dev/sdc1 /media/usb
2619    
2620     Note: How a command can be run as root depends on the GNU/Linux distribution
2621     you use. If it's Ubuntu or a distro based on it, simply put "sudo" above the
2622     command. For example, the latter of the above commands can be executed by
2623     typing "sudo mount /dev/sdc1 /media/usb". If you're using SystemRescueCD,
2624     all commands are run as root, so you don't need to add any prefix to
2625     the commands.
2626    
2627     Note: In the command replace /dev/sdc1 with the partition where the disk
2628     image resides. It's the same partition you mounted as /home/partimag when
2629     creating the image.
2630    
2631     Go to root of the partition:
2632    
2633     cd /media/usb
2634    
2635     Burn the ISO file to the disc:
2636    
2637     growisofs -Z /dev/dvd=clonezilla-live-Backup_5-2010_hdb.iso
2638    
2639     Note: In the last command I have assumed your ISO file is
2640     clonezilla-live-Backup_5-2010_hdb.iso. You will have to replace this with
2641     the actual name of the file.
2642    
2643     Note: If your computer has multiple DVD drives, replace /dev/dvd with the
2644     name of your DVD writer.
2645    
2646     The disc must be ejected because it's the only known way to force the
2647     drive to reread the disc. Do it:
2648    
2649     eject /dev/dvd
2650    
2651     Note: If your drive can't reload the disc, insert the disc back right
2652     after ejecting it.
2653    
2654     Finally, add the image file to the disc:
2655    
2656 sng 75 growisofs -M /dev/dvd -R -J -V "Backup_5-2010_hdb" \
2657     --publisher "Your Name" -graft-points \
2658     /Backup_5-2010_hdb/=/media/usb/Backup_5-2010_hdb
2659 sng 28
2660     Note: In the command replace Your Name with anything you want to be the
2661     publisher ID of the disc. If you don't want the disc to have any publisher
2662     ID, run this command instead:
2663    
2664 sng 75 growisofs -M /dev/dvd -R -J -V "Backup_5-2010_hdb" \
2665     -graft-points /Backup_5-2010_hdb/=/media/usb/Backup_5-2010_hdb
2666 sng 28
2667     [[ restore-20.png ]]
2668    
2669     ZIP file instructions
2670     ****************************************
2671     Often the image file is way too big to fit to even 8 GB DVD. Some people may
2672     also want to be able to overwrite the backup when it becomes outdated. In
2673     addition, netbooks don't have optical drives at all.
2674    
2675     One option is using recovery thumb drive or external hard drive instead
2676     of DVD. If the external HD is big enough, the disk image can be even over
2677     a terabyte in size. Recovery USB drive can also be used on netbooks and
2678     overwritten at will.
2679    
2680     Clonezilla Live allows creating a ZIP file instead of disk image. If you
2681     want to do so, follow this step-by-step guide.
2682    
2683     Before creating the disk image, make sure it is split to pieces of four
2684     gigabytes or less. It is split automatically if you use Beginner mode,
2685     and if you use Expert mode, you should already know how the splitting
2686     setting can be changed.
2687    
2688     Using GNU/Linux
2689     ---------------------
2690     After creating the disk image and booting into GNU/Linux, make sure that the
2691     filesystem of the partition where you plan to put the disk image is FAT32. If
2692     you don't know the filesystem, open terminal and run this command as root:
2693    
2694     fdisk -l /dev/sdc
2695    
2696     Note: How a command can be run as root depends on the GNU/Linux distribution
2697     you use. If it's Ubuntu or a distro based on it, simply put "sudo" above
2698     the command. For example, the above command can be executed by typing
2699     "sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdc"
2700    
2701     Note: In the command replace /dev/sdc with the name of your USB disk.
2702    
2703     Note: The l in parameter -l is lowercase L, not number 1.
2704    
2705     If your disk doesn't contain any FAT32 partition, but it contains a
2706     partition which is big enough and doesn't contain any important data,
2707     format the partition as FAT32. The command below needs root access too.
2708    
2709     [[ important.png ]]
2710     The command below erases all the data on the target partition.Make sure
2711     you don't format a wrong partition by accident.
2712    
2713     mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdc1
2714    
2715     After formatting the partition or noticing that it was already FAT32,
2716     extract the ZIP archive to the root of the partition. Also these commands
2717     need root rights.
2718    
2719     mount /dev/sdc1 /media/usb
2720     unzip clonezilla-live-Backup_5-2010_hdb.zip -d /media/usb/
2721    
2722     Note: In the last command I have assumed your image file is
2723     clonezilla-live-Backup_5-2010_hdb.zip. You will have to replace this with
2724     the actual name of the file.
2725    
2726     ZIP package contains a script to make the USB drive bootable. Let's run
2727     it. The latter of these commands needs root access.
2728    
2729     [[ important.png ]]
2730     The latter of the commands below replaces theexisting bootloader of the
2731     target disk, if there is one.Make sure you don't select a wrong disk
2732     by accident.
2733    
2734     cd /media/usb/utils/linux
2735     ./makeboot.sh /dev/sdc1
2736    
2737     That's all. Your thumb drive or external hard drive should be now an
2738     automatic recovery disk.
2739    
2740     Using Windows
2741     ---------------------
2742     If the Windows version you use is not Vista or 7, you need to be logged in
2743     as administrator. If you're not, but you have access to an admin account,
2744     log out and then log again in as admin.
2745    
2746     If you don't have admin rights at all, boot into SystemRescueCD (you don't
2747     need graphical mode this time) and follow the instructions for GNU/Linux. In
2748     SystemRescueCD all commands are run as root, so you don't need to add any
2749     prefix to the commands.
2750    
2751     If you normally use Windows, you maybe don't know the name of your USB
2752     disk in GNU/Linux. If that's the case, don't specify any disk in the first
2753     command. It causes fdisk to tell about all disks in the computer and you
2754     should be able to identify both the right disk and the right partition.
2755    
2756     After creating the disk image and booting into Windows, make sure that
2757     the filesystem of the partition where you plan to put the disk image is
2758     FAT32. If you don't know the filesystem, open My Computer, right-click the
2759     partition and select Properties. Then read the "File system" column. If
2760     there reads anything but FAT32, check other partitions of the disk too,
2761     if the disk contains multiple partitions. If you have a suitable FAT32
2762     partition, continue from this step.
2763    
2764     If your disk doesn't contain any FAT32 partition, but it contains a
2765     partition which is big enough and doesn't contain any important data,
2766     format the partition as FAT32.
2767    
2768     [[ important.png ]]
2769     Formatting erases all the data on the target partition.Make sure the
2770     partition contains nothing important.
2771    
2772     Right-click the partition and select Format.... If the Windows version
2773     you use is Vista or 7, an UAC prompt asks for admin password. Enter it.
2774    
2775     At the format window, choose the FAT32 filesystem. You can enter any volume
2776     label (it means the name of the partition you can see next to the partition
2777     letter) and enable Quick Format if you're in a hurry. If Quick Format is
2778     disabled, Windows checks if the partition is physically OK after formatting
2779     it. Enabling Quick Format makes the formatting process many times faster
2780     and, contrary to popular belief, hardly ever causes any harm.
2781    
2782     After formatting the partition or noticing that it was already FAT32, extract
2783     the ZIP archive to the root of the partition. Navigate to the folder where
2784     you've saved the ZIP file and right-click it. Choose Extract all..., and when
2785     you're asked for location where the archive is extracted, enter the letter
2786     of the partition, for example H:\. Do NOT choose any folder in the partition!
2787    
2788     After that, browse to the folder X:\utils\win32, where X: is the letter
2789     of the partition. Then, double-click makeboot.bat. If the Windows version
2790     you use is Vista or 7, another UAC prompt appears. Enter the password
2791     again. Then just follow the prompts to make the USB drive bootable.
2792    
2793     Now you're done. Your thumb drive or external hard drive should be an
2794     automatic recovery disk.
2795    
2796    
2797    
2798    
2799     Restoring to a different location
2800     ==============================================================================
2801    
2802     Intro
2803     ****************************************
2804     In the past restoring to a different location was not supported by
2805     Clonezilla Live at all. Because of that, a script called reloc-img was
2806     added to Clonezilla-SysRescCD, which would help the user perform this task.
2807    
2808     Recent versions of Clonezilla Live partly support restoring to a
2809     different location, so the reloc-img script is obsolete, and has been
2810     removed. Clonezilla Live now supports:
2811    
2812     * Relocation of a disk image (restoring a whole disk)
2813     * Relocation of a partition image (restoring a partition)
2814    
2815     Clonezilla Live does not support:
2816    
2817     * Relocation of a single partition contained into a disk image.
2818    
2819     Imagine you have a disk backup image named hda-2009-02-02. The image
2820     contains three partitions, hda1 (operating system), hda2 (user data)
2821     and hda3 (other data).
2822    
2823     You want to restore your other data partition (hda3), to a different system
2824     (partition sdb2) but there is no way to restore (extract) a single partition
2825     from a disk image - you can only restore the whole disk.
2826    
2827     In order to address this situation, two new scripts have been written for
2828     Clonezilla-SysRescCD: imginfo and imgconvert
2829    
2830     Script imginfo
2831     ****************************************
2832     The script will be used to print info about existing image files.
2833    
2834     Its help screen is:
2835    
2836     # imginfo -h
2837     Clonezilla Live Image Information
2838     imginfo v. 0.1 - (C) 2009 S. Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>
2839    
2840     Usage: imginfo <options> <directory>
2841    
2842     Available options:
2843     s Search in sub-directories too
2844     i [name] Pring info for image [name]
2845     v Print version info and exit
2846     h Print this screen and exit
2847    
2848     Script imgconvert
2849     ****************************************
2850     The script will be used to convert an existing disk image file to a new
2851     partition image file.
2852    
2853     imgconvert can create two type of images:
2854    
2855     * Temporary image
2856     This type of image is created by linking the data files of the existing
2857     disk image to the new partition image. This means that the original image
2858     must be present for the new image to be used. This is the default image
2859     type created by imgconvert.
2860    
2861     * Permanent image
2862     This type of image is created by copying the data files from the existing
2863     disk image to the new partition image. This means that the original image is
2864     not needed in order to use the new one. Permenant image files are created
2865     using the command line parameter -p.
2866    
2867     Its help screen is:
2868    
2869     # imgconvert -h
2870     Clonezilla Live Image Conversion
2871     imgconvert v. 0.1 - (C) 2009 S. Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>
2872    
2873     Usage: imgconvert <options> [image] [partition] <new partition>
2874    
2875     Parameters are:
2876     [image] Disk image to be converted to partition image
2877     [partition] Partition name to convert. It must be a valid device name
2878    
2879     Available options:
2880     o [image] Save new imag as [image]
2881     p Save new partition instead of making a link to the old one
2882     v Print version info and exit
2883     h Print this screen and exit
2884    
2885     Using the scripts
2886     ****************************************
2887     Restoring to a partition
2888     ---------------------
2889     After booting into Clonezilla Live, I select
2890    
2891     Enter_shell Enter command line prompt
2892    
2893     when the menu is displayed and then I press 2 to exit to the shell.
2894    
2895     At this point I will mount my images partition (in this example /dev/sdc4),
2896     and use script imginfo to get info about my image files.
2897    
2898     $ sudo su -
2899     # mount /dev/sdc4 /home/partimag
2900     # cd /home/partimag
2901     # imginfo
2902     Image files found in: /home/partimag
2903     Image: usb250-img, disk: sda, size: 259MB, parts: 1
2904     part: sda4, size: 247.00MB, type: FAT16
2905     Image: sys-bck, disk: hda, size: 320.0GB, parts: 3
2906     part: hda1, size: 22.36GB, type: Linux
2907     part: hda2, size: 39.06GB, type: Linux
2908     part: hda3, size: 233.87GB, type: Linux
2909    
2910     As you can see there are two disk images under /home/partimag: usb250-img
2911     and sys-bck.
2912    
2913     sys-bck is a backup of my old system, which had three partitions. What
2914     I need to do now is "copy" the hda3 partition to my current system, by
2915     transfering its data to partition sdb2.
2916    
2917     The way to proceed is:
2918    
2919     * Create a new partition image (containing hda3's data) based on the
2920     existing disk image file, by executing the command:
2921    
2922     # imgconvert sys-bck hda3 sdb2
2923     Clonezilla Live Image Conversion
2924     imgconvert v. 0.1 - (C) 2009 S. Georgaras
2925    
2926     Determining input image
2927     Input image: "/home/partimag/sys-bck"
2928     Validating image... ok
2929     Determining input partition
2930     Input partition: "hda3"
2931     Validating input partition... ok
2932     Determining output image
2933     Output image: "/home/partimag/sys-bck-cnv"
2934     Validating output image... ok
2935     Checking permissions... ok
2936     Determining output partition
2937     Output partition: "sda2"
2938     Validating output partition... ok
2939     Creating output image: /home/partimag/sys-bck-cnv
2940     Linking files... done
2941     Fixing info files... done
2942    
2943     This command will create a temporary partition image file (automatically
2944     named sys-bck-cnv), which contains sdb2 only, as you can see by executing:
2945    
2946     # imginfo -i sys-bck-cnv
2947     Image: sys-bck-cnv, part: sdb2, size: 233.87GB, type: Linux
2948    
2949     * Restart Clonezilla Live by pressing Control-D twice.
2950    
2951     * Restore the new image file into sdb2, by selecting
2952    
2953     Screen 1: Start_Clonezilla Start Clonezilla
2954    
2955     Screen 2: device-image disk/partition to/from image
2956    
2957     Screen 3: skip use existing /home/partimag
2958    
2959     Screen 4: Beginer / Expert
2960    
2961     Screen 5: restoreparts
2962     Restore_an_image_to_local_partition
2963    
2964     and continue as usual to restore the partition.
2965    
2966     Converting image files
2967     ---------------------
2968     # imgconvert -p -o other_data sys-bck hda3 sdb2
2969     Clonezilla Live Image Conversion
2970     imgconvert v. 0.1 - (C) 2009 S. Georgaras
2971    
2972     Determining input image
2973     Input image: "/home/partimag/sys-bck"
2974     Validating image... ok
2975     Determining input partition
2976     Input partition: "hda3"
2977     Validating input partition... ok
2978     Determining output image
2979     Output image: "/home/partimag/other_data"
2980     Validating output image... ok
2981     Checking permissions... ok
2982     Determining output partition
2983     Output partition: "sda2"
2984     Validating output partition... ok
2985     Creating output image: /home/partimag/other_data
2986     Copying files... done
2987     Fixing info files... done
2988    
2989     # imginfo -i other_data
2990     Image: other_data, part: sdb2, size: 233.87GB, type: Linux
2991    
2992     # ls -la sys-bck
2993     total 1111972
2994     drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2007-11-22 03:21 .
2995     drwxr-xr-x. 34 root root 4096 2009-04-06 21:28 ..
2996     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4 2007-11-20 20:33 disk
2997     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1081716736 2007-11-20 20:32 hda1.aa
2998     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 45453312 2007-11-20 20:33 hda2.aa
2999     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10317824 2007-11-20 20:33 hda3.aa
3000     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37 2007-11-21 18:56 hda-chs.sf
3001     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37 2007-11-21 18:50 hda-chs.sf.orig
3002     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 512 2007-11-20 20:31 hda-mbr
3003     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 259 2007-11-21 18:59 hda-pt.sf
3004     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 259 2007-11-21 18:50 hda-pt.sf.orig
3005     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 15 2007-11-20 20:33 parts
3006     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 17 2007-11-20 20:33 swappt-hda4.info
3007     #
3008     #
3009     # ls -la other_data
3010     total 24
3011     drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-06 21:27 .
3012     drwxr-xr-x. 35 root root 4096 2009-04-06 21:27 ..
3013     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5 2009-04-06 21:27 parts
3014     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10317824 2009-04-06 21:27 sdb2.aa
3015     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37 2009-04-06 21:27 sdb-chs.sf
3016     -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 106 2009-04-06 21:27 sdb-pt.sf
3017    
3018     Booting a restored Linux system
3019     ****************************************
3020     A Linux system that has been restored to a new disk/partition, is usually
3021     not ready to be booted right after the restoration procedure is finished.
3022    
3023     There are two more steps that you may have to take:
3024    
3025     * Fix /etc/fstab
3026     * Reinstall GRUB.
3027     I will assume GRUB is your boot manager, as it is the usual case nowadays.
3028    
3029     For this example I will assume that you have restored a Linux system
3030     (that used to be in sdb), to a new disk (hda), and that it contains three
3031     partitions, / (the root partition), /home (user's partition) and a swap
3032     partition. You must be really careful here, as the name of the new disk
3033     depends on the system to be booted. If it uses one of the newest Linux
3034     kernels (using the libata disk driver), ALL your disks will be recognised
3035     as SCSI. More info: "Identifying devices in Linux" section "SCSI disks
3036     when there are none!!!".
3037    
3038     This is what we have:
3039    
3040     root partition home partition swap partition
3041     Old system /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdb2 /dev/sdb3
3042     New system /dev/hda1 /dev/hda2 /dev/hda3
3043    
3044     Fixing /etc/fstab
3045     ---------------------
3046     Since we are still in Clonezilla Live, right after the restore procedure
3047     has finished, we will use it to mount our restored root partition, and
3048     edit its /etc/fstab. We issue the commands:
3049    
3050     mkdir /new-root
3051     mount /dev/hda1 /new-root
3052     vi /new-root/etc/fstab
3053    
3054     The contents of /etc/fstab could be something like
3055    
3056     /dev/sdb1 / reiserfs acl,user_xattr 1 1
3057     /dev/sdb2 /home reiserfs defaults 1 2
3058     /dev/sdb3 swap swap defaults 0 0
3059    
3060     and we have to change ti to
3061    
3062     /dev/hda1 / reiserfs acl,user_xattr 1 1
3063     /dev/hda2 /home reiserfs defaults 1 2
3064     /dev/hda3 swap swap defaults 0 0
3065    
3066     Finally, we unmount the partition, and we are ready to reboot
3067    
3068     umount /new-root
3069     reboot
3070    
3071     Reinstalling GRUB
3072     ---------------------
3073     When Clonezilla-SysRescCD menu appears, we select Tools > Super Grub Disk
3074    
3075     Then we select Super Grub Disk > Super Grub Disk (WITH HELP) > English
3076     Super Grub Disk > Gnu/Linux > Fix Boot of Gnu/Linux (GRUB). From this
3077     entry we will be able to reinstall GRUB to our hard disk.
3078    
3079     You may also want to have a look at Super Grub Disk "documentation {{
3080     http://www.supergrubdisk.org/wiki/SuperGrubDiskDocumentation }}".
3081    
3082    
3083    
3084    
3085     Fixing boot problems
3086     ==============================================================================
3087    
3088     Intro
3089     ****************************************
3090     Boot problems are probably the most feared computer problems. Without an
3091     operating system you can't access your data, get the work done or even
3092     google for help. That's why it's often a good idea to have an alternative
3093     operating system available for searching help if the main OS doesn't
3094     work. Also a copy of Clonezilla-SysRescCD can be invaluable help.
3095    
3096     Actually, the initial reason why I (Jyrki) installed GNU/Linux at all was
3097     that I wanted to be able to fix Windows boot problems if they occur. I
3098     installed both GNU/Linux and GRUB to my external hard drive, completely
3099     separating operating systems. Even if either bootloader stopped working,
3100     I'd still be able to boot one of my OSes.
3101    
3102     But such configuration is not easy to create, and when I installed GNU/Linux,
3103     I knew very little about it. If I didn't read the instructions I found
3104     here and there very carefully, I probably would have done a common mistake:
3105     installing GRUB to my internal hard drive. Such mistake would have caused
3106     two problems:
3107    
3108     * Inability to boot GNU/Linux at any computer expect the one which was
3109     used for installing
3110     * Inability to boot Windows when the external drive isn't connected
3111    
3112     In this page, I simulate that situation in a virtual machine and fix
3113     both problems.
3114    
3115     Symptoms
3116     ****************************************
3117     What happens when I try to boot the external hard drive on another computer
3118     depends on the BIOS of the computer. For example, on my computer I see a
3119     Black Screen of Death {{ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Screen_of_Death
3120     }} when I try booting from a disk with empty Master Boot Record. Other
3121     BIOSes may boot the local operating system or display an error message
3122     (for example "Disk boot failure", "Missing operating system" or "Operating
3123     system not found").
3124    
3125     The other problem is very easy to determine. When external drive is
3126     disconnected and I try to boot, I'll see this:
3127    
3128     [[ error-21.png ]]
3129    
3130     Goals
3131     ****************************************
3132     Because I still want to separate my operating systems completely,
3133     I try to restore NTLDR to the Master Boot Record of the internal disk,
3134     if possible. If that's not possible, I install there another bootloader
3135     that chainloads Windows.
3136    
3137     I could reinstall GNU/Linux completely and make sure that the GRUB is
3138     installed to the right disk this time, but it's not a good idea if I only
3139     need to overwrite the first 446 bytes (yes, bytes, not kilo- or megabytes)
3140     of the disk. So, I only install GRUB to the external disk, by using Super
3141     Grub Disk.
3142    
3143     Your problem (if you have one at all) most likely is different, but goals
3144     are often the same.
3145    
3146     You need to restore NTLDR if you...
3147    
3148     * ...just installed GNU/Linux, but the boot menu doesn't mention Windows
3149     at all. You're not willing to learn how Windows can be added to the boot
3150     menu, you just need to make your computer to boot Windows again right now.
3151     * ...cloned your Windows partition to your brand new computer but didn't
3152     clone the Master Boot Record.
3153     * ...are about to uninstall GNU/Linux and aren't willing to use GRUB as
3154     your bootloader.
3155    
3156     You need to install GRUB if you...
3157    
3158     * ...just installed Windows and want to make GNU/Linux bootable again.
3159     * ...cloned your GNU/Linux partition to your brand new computer but didn't
3160     clone the Master Boot Record.
3161     * ...just installed GNU/Linux but installed GRUB to a non-first hard drive
3162     by accident. (The symptom is that your computer still boots to the operating
3163     system you had installed already.)
3164    
3165     [[ info.png ]]
3166     The following pressentation has been made usingSuper Grub Disk v0.9799
3167    
3168     Restoring NTLDR
3169     ****************************************
3170     There are a lot of ways to restore NTLDR. However, sometimes there is no
3171     legal way to restore it, and I'm NOT telling about the illegal ones. The
3172     last resort is using syslinux to chainload Windows; there is usually no
3173     way to notice that syslinux is used instead of NTLDR.
3174    
3175     I've listed here the most important options in order I'd use them.
3176    
3177     Restoring NTLDR from a backup
3178     ---------------------
3179     If you've been smart enough to use Clonezilla Live to create a disk image
3180     of your first hard drive, it's very easy to restore NTLDR.
3181    
3182     Your NTLDR is safe in a file called hda-mbr or sda-mbr. You can use dd to
3183     overwrite your existing Master Boot Record.
3184    
3185     [[ important.png ]]
3186     Don't restore all 512 bytes of your Master Boot Record.The MBR contains
3187     your partition table and restoring it afterrepartitioning your disk erases
3188     all the data on the disk.
3189    
3190     If you normally use GNU/Linux, open terminal and run these commands as root:
3191    
3192     mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt/usb
3193     dd if=/mnt/usb/Backup/sda-mbr of=/dev/sda bs=446 count=1
3194    
3195     Note: In the commands I have assumed that your first hard drive is /dev/sda
3196     and that your disk image resides in the folder Backup in partition
3197     /dev/sdc1. You will have to replace them with the correct pieces of
3198     information.
3199    
3200     Note: How a command can be run as root depends on the GNU/Linux distribution
3201     you use. If it's Ubuntu or a distro based on it, simply put "sudo" above
3202     the command. For example, the latter of the above commands can be executed
3203     by typing "sudo dd if=/mnt/usb/Backup/sda-mbr of=/dev/sda bs=446 count=1"
3204    
3205     If you normally use another operating system, boot into SystemRescueCD and
3206     run the above commands. In SystemRescueCD all commands are run as root,
3207     so you don't need to add any prefix to the commands.
3208    
3209     If you don't know the name of the partition, run this command as root:
3210    
3211     fdisk -l
3212    
3213     It tells how many hard drives you have, how many partitions they contain
3214     and what filesystems the partitions use. If you know, for example, that
3215     the disk where you've saved the disk image contains only one partition,
3216     look for such disks.
3217    
3218     Using Bootrec.exe (Windows Vista/7 only)
3219     ---------------------
3220     You need Windows Vista/7 install disc for this. If you don't have one (for
3221     example, if you bought a laptop that was bundled with preinstalled Windows
3222     and manufacturer's recovery disc), download a recovery disc from here.
3223    
3224     Then boot from the disc. After selecting language, time, currency and
3225     keyboard, click Repair your computer. You'll get a list of operating systems
3226     you're able to repair. Choose any of them; that choice doesn't matter.
3227    
3228     After that, you'll see a dialog box named System Recovery Options. Click
3229     Command Prompt. Then you only need to execute one command:
3230    
3231     Bootrec /FixMbr
3232    
3233     Note: The command is case-insensitive. You can type, for example,
3234     "bootrec /fixmbr".
3235    
3236     Using FIXMBR (Windows XP only)
3237     ---------------------
3238     You need Windows XP install disc. Boot from it, and when you see the screen
3239     "Windows XP Home Edition Setup" or "Windows XP Professional Setup", press
3240     R to enter the Recovery Console. Then choose the Windows installation you
3241     want to log onto. If you have only one copy of Windows installed, press
3242     1 and ENTER. After that, enter the administator password and press ENTER.
3243    
3244     There is only one command to run:
3245    
3246     FIXMBR
3247    
3248     Note: The command is case-insensitive. You can type, for example, "fixmbr".
3249    
3250     Using FDISK (Windows 95/98/Me only)
3251     ---------------------
3252     For this, you need a floppy drive. You also need to run a Windows-only
3253     program, so your first challenge is to boot Windows without NTLDR.
3254    
3255     Don't worry, Super Grub Disk makes it possible. Boot into it.
3256    
3257     [[ supergrubdisk-01.png ]]
3258     Just choose the option "!WIN! :(((" and press ENTER.
3259    
3260     When you have Windows up and running, download the boot disk
3261     image appropriate to your version of Windows from Bootdisk.Com {{
3262     http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm }}. Then put a floppy to your floppy
3263     drive.
3264    
3265     If the floppy isn't already formatted, open My Computer, right-click the
3266     floppy drive and select Format....
3267    
3268     At the format window, choose the capacity of 1,44 megabytes and Full format
3269     type. You can enter any label (it means the name of the floppy you can see
3270     next to the floppy drive letter) and disable the summary if you wish. Keep
3271     the Copy system files option disabled.
3272    
3273     When you have a formatted floppy in your drive, double-click the boot disk
3274     image you downloaded. When it's done, shut Windows down and check your
3275     BIOS settings to be able to boot from the floppy. Some BIOSes contain a
3276     boot menu, others require editing settings pernamently. Details can be
3277     found on the manual of the motherboard or laptop.
3278    
3279     Then boot from the floppy. When you're given three boot options, choose
3280     the option 2. Start computer without CD-ROM support. Wait a moment to
3281     enter command line and run this command:
3282    
3283     FDISK /MBR
3284    
3285     Note: The command is case-insensitive. You can type, for example,
3286     "fdisk /mbr".
3287    
3288     Installing syslinux using Super Grub Disk
3289     ---------------------
3290     The above four are the only legal ways I know to restore NTLDR to the
3291     Master Boot Record. Unfortunately, sometimes none of them can be used. If
3292     that's the case, it's time to switch bootloader. GRUB can be configured to
3293     chainload Windows, and usually it even does that automatically, but this
3294     page isn't intended to help configuring GRUB. I assume that if you're
3295     primarily a Windows user and reading this page, you don't want to learn
3296     how to use GNU/Linux, you just want to make Windows bootable again.
3297    
3298     Maybe the easiest way to do so is installing syslinux using Super Grub
3299     Disk. Super Grub Disk configures it automatically to chainload the first
3300     active partition. The partition should contain Windows, Windows can't boot
3301     if its partition isn't active.
3302    
3303     Boot into Super Grub Disk.
3304    
3305     [[ supergrubdisk-01a.png ]]
3306     Choose the option "WIN => MBR & !WIN! :(((((((((((((((((((((" and
3307     press ENTER. Windows will be booted automatically right after installing
3308     syslinux.
3309    
3310     Installing GRUB
3311     ****************************************
3312     Contrary to various ways to restore NTLDR, there is only one way to install
3313     GRUB I recommend. That's Super Grub Disk, because it contains GRUB no
3314     matter what has happened to the hard drive(s). First, I boot into it.
3315    
3316     [[ supergrubdisk-01b.png ]]
3317     I select "Choose Language & HELP :-)))" and press ENTER.
3318    
3319     Screen "S.G.D. Language Selection."
3320     ---------------------
3321     [[ supergrubdisk-02.png ]]
3322     I select "English Super Grub Disk" and press ENTER.
3323    
3324     [[ supergrubdisk-03.png ]]
3325     I press ENTER...
3326    
3327     [[ supergrubdisk-04.png ]]
3328     ...and then ENTER again...
3329    
3330     [[ supergrubdisk-05.png ]]
3331     ...and then ENTER once again...
3332    
3333     [[ supergrubdisk-06.png ]]
3334     ...and finally ENTER one more time.
3335    
3336     Screen "English Super Grub Disk (Help)"
3337     ---------------------
3338     [[ supergrubdisk-07.png ]]
3339     I select "Advanced".
3340    
3341     Screen "Advanced (Help)"
3342     ---------------------
3343     [[ supergrubdisk-08.png ]]
3344     I select "GRUB" and press ENTER.
3345    
3346     Screen "GRUB (Help)"
3347     ---------------------
3348     [[ supergrubdisk-09.png ]]
3349     I select "Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR)" and press ENTER...
3350    
3351     [[ supergrubdisk-10.png ]]
3352     ...and ENTER.
3353    
3354     Screen "Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR) (Help)"
3355     ---------------------
3356     [[ supergrubdisk-11.png ]]
3357     I select "Manual Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR)" and press ENTER. If you
3358     want to install GRUB to the Master Boot Record of the first hard drive,
3359     "Automatically Install" is a better choice. If you don't know if you
3360     want GRUB to the first or some other disk, you most likely want it to the
3361     first disk.
3362    
3363     Screen "Manual Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR) (Help)"
3364     ---------------------
3365     [[ supergrubdisk-12.png ]]
3366     I confirm my decision by selecting "Manual Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR)"
3367     again and pressing ENTER.
3368    
3369     Screen "Partition of GRUB"
3370     ---------------------
3371     [[ supergrubdisk-13.png ]]
3372     In this screen I can select the disk that contains the partition that
3373     contains the files needed by GRUB. In this case, that disk is the external
3374     hard drive. As you can see, the disk is only three megabytes in size -
3375     because the computer used for screenshots is still virtual. Actually, the
3376     "disk" where I'm installing GRUB is just a file.
3377    
3378     Next Screen
3379     ---------------------
3380     [[ supergrubdisk-14.png ]]
3381     This is where I choose the partition where GRUB files reside. This disk
3382     contains only one partition.
3383    
3384     Screen "Restore to MBR of Hard Disk"
3385     ---------------------
3386     [[ supergrubdisk-15.png ]]
3387     I select the external hard drive to install GRUB to its Master Boot Record.
3388    
3389     [[ supergrubdisk-12.png ]]
3390     Some text scrolled in the screen (too fast to read or take a screenshot)
3391     and I was back at this screen. I rebooted the computer. (In this situation,
3392     you can safely do a "hard reboot" by pressing reset button once or power
3393     button twice.)
3394    
3395     [[ grub-loading.png ]]
3396     GRUB booted successfully.
3397    
3398    
3399    
3400    
3401     Booting an old PC
3402     ==============================================================================
3403    
3404     Intro
3405     ****************************************
3406     Have you ever tried to boot an old PC off a CD-ROM, and found out it
3407     wouldn't, because its BIOS does not support it, or it's faulty or for any
3408     other reason? Well, I have. So this page is an effort to solve this problem.
3409    
3410     The only way to do it, is to boot of a floppy disk which will help me
3411     "load" whatever operation system I want from a CD. This means that I will
3412     have to write a boot loader to the floppy disk.
3413    
3414     The software I will use is Smart Boot Manager {{
3415     http://sourceforge.net/projects/btmgr/ }}, a small boot manager with a
3416     nice TUI (Text User Interface). Its floppy image, already accessible from
3417     the "Tools" menu, can be found in the bootdisk folder of the CD under the
3418     name sbm.img.
3419    
3420     Writing the image to a floppy disk
3421     ****************************************
3422     All you have to do is get to a PC equipped with a floppy drive, get a
3423     floppy disk which is in excellent condition (no bad sectors/blocks),
3424     and copy the image file to it.
3425    
3426     1. From Linux
3427     ---------------------
3428     You can either boot Clonezilla Live or SystemRescueCD, and when the system
3429     is fully up, execute the command:
3430    
3431     dd if=/path/to/sbm.img of=/dev/fd0
3432    
3433     where /path/to is
3434     /live/image/bootdisk for Clonezilla Live
3435     /mnt/livecd/bootdisk for SystemRescueCD
3436    
3437     2. From DOS
3438     ---------------------
3439     You can get into any DOS (boot FreeDOS from the CD, for example), and use
3440     any of the following programs found in the rawrite folder of the CD:
3441    
3442     * rawrite.exe: is just here for completeness, as it may be needed for someone
3443     * rawrite2.exe: should be the fastest
3444     * rawrite3.com: should work if rawrite2 fails for some reason
3445     * fdimage.exe: rawrite alternative
3446    
3447     I found these programms at the FreeDOS web site {{
3448     http://www.fdos.org/ripcord/rawrite/ }}, where the following info is
3449     included:
3450    
3451     Basic Usage (Rawrite):
3452     Depending on the exact version, the output and command line support may
3453     vary, i.e. not work
3454     Usage:
3455     MS-DOS prompt> RAWRITE
3456     and follow the prompts, -or-
3457    
3458     MS-DOS prompt> RAWRITE [-f ] [-d ] [-n(owait)] [-h(elp)]
3459     where: -f - name of disk image file
3460     -d - diskette drive to use, must be A or B
3461     -n - don't prompt for user to insert diskette
3462     -h - print usage information to stdout
3463    
3464     The diskette must be formatted or rawrite will not work.
3465     The contents of the disk do not matter and will be overwritten.
3466     When ran interactively (without command line options) you will be prompted
3467     for the disk image filename (you must remember this as there is no file
3468     chooser).
3469     You will also be prompted for the target/destination drive, either A or
3470     B for A: or B: respectively.
3471     Basic Usage (FDImage):
3472     fdimage is an updated DOS program meant to replace rawrite. It does not
3473     require a pre-formatted floppy diskette.
3474    
3475     FDIMAGE - Write disk image to floppy disk
3476     Version 1.5 Copyright (c) 1996-7 Robert Nordier
3477    
3478     Usage: fdimage [-dqsv] [-f size] [-r count] file drive
3479    
3480     -d Debug mode
3481     -f size Specify the floppy disk format by capacity, eg:
3482     160K, 180K, 320K, 360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M, 2.88M
3483     -q Quick mode: don't format the disk
3484     -r count Retry count for format/write operations
3485     -s Single-sector I/O
3486     -v Verbose
3487    
3488     In order to write the image file to a pre-formatted diskette, execute
3489     the commands:
3490    
3491     X:
3492     cd rawrite
3493     rawrite2 -f X:bootdisksbm.img -d b:
3494    
3495     In order to write the image file and format the diskette at the same time,
3496     execute the commands:
3497    
3498     X:
3499     cd rawrite
3500     fdimage -f 1.44M X:bootdisksbm.img b:
3501    
3502     where X: is the drive name in DOS
3503    
3504     3. From Windows
3505     ---------------------
3506     The final alternative is to use Windows program rawwritewin.exe (found in
3507     the utils\rawrite folder of the CD), as shown in the following image:
3508    
3509     [[ rawwritewin.png ]]
3510    
3511    
3512    
3513    
3514     Using SystemRescueCD
3515     ==============================================================================
3516    
3517     Intro
3518     ****************************************
3519     SystemRescueCD is an excellent Live CD. It contains cloning software too
3520     (FSArchiver {{ http://www.fsarchiver.org/Main_Page }} and partimage,
3521     to be spesific), but is unable to clone a whole disk, instead of only
3522     individual partitions.
3523    
3524     Clonezilla Live is a great cloning solution, but it is unable to do anything
3525     but clone. For general system administration, you need a lot more functions
3526     - like these offered by SystemRescueCD.
3527    
3528     Clonezilla-SysRescCD has all of the functions of both discs. It's a
3529     multi boot CD, so switching between CDs requires a reboot, but using
3530     both individual discs requires switching the physical disc - in addition
3531     to rebooting.
3532    
3533     But, of course, to be able to use SystemRescueCD's functions, you need to
3534     know how to use them. We don't have permission to redistribute SystemRescueCD
3535     documentation, so this page contains only just enough information to allow
3536     you to look for more help in SystemRescueCD documentation.
3537    
3538     Which boot option to pick?
3539     ****************************************
3540     You may be confused because of the number of boot options you have. After
3541     choosing "CD 2: System Rescue CD" you have a total of 15 options to boot
3542     SystemRescueCD. Here is a table of them.
3543    
3544     kernel Normal To RAM Graphical Environment VESA Mini Shell
3545     32-bit xxx +++
3546     32-bit (alt)
3547     64-bit xxx +++
3548    
3549     In the table, I have marked the options you most likely need. You should
3550     choose either of the options marked with a '+++' if you have no idea and/or
3551     time to read the next sections.
3552    
3553     Choosing the column
3554     ---------------------
3555     If you're accustomed to graphical environment, choose Graphical
3556     Environment. In Graphical Environment you're able to use graphical programs,
3557     like GParted and Mozilla Firefox. Terminals are also available, so using
3558     Graphical Environment doesn't prevent using command line. The only negative
3559     thing of Graphical Environment is that it slows booting process down a bit -
3560     and it's often just plain unneeded.
3561    
3562     Try VESA, if normal Graphical Environment doesn't work. VESA uses Xvesa
3563     graphical environment instead of X.Org that sometimes doesn't work. The
3564     drawbacks of Xvesa compared to X.Org are that Xvesa isn't optimized to
3565     any hardware (which means poorer performance) and Xvesa requires 32-bit
3566     kernel. Thus, if you use this option, do NOT choose 64-bit kernel, the
3567     combination leaves you at command line.
3568    
3569     If you're accustomed to command line and know already that you're not going
3570     to use any graphical program, choose one of the normal options (just below
3571     "System Rescue CD Menu"). Booting to command line is a bit faster process
3572     than booting to graphical environment, and you can start X manually later.
3573    
3574     You need the option To RAM if you plan to burn discs while using
3575     SystemRescueCD. The option copies the whole SystemRescueCD to the memory of
3576     the computer during the boot process, allowing you to put another disc to
3577     your CD/DVD writer while using SystemRescueCD. The negative thing is that
3578     reading all the contents of the disc slows boot process down a lot. There
3579     is no option which copies the disc to the memory and starts graphical
3580     environment automatically, but you can easily start it manually.
3581    
3582     Mini Shell is probably the least used option. It enters BusyBox
3583     shell after booting. BusyBox is an application that "combines
3584     tiny versions of many common UNIX utilities into a single small
3585     executable." However, SystemRescueCD contains most of these utilities
3586     anyway, so there is not much need to use this option. some information {{
3587     http://www.busybox.net/about.html }} about BusyBox
3588    
3589     Choosing the row (kernel)
3590     ---------------------
3591     After having chosen the column of the above table, you still have three
3592     options. Now you need to choose the kernel.
3593    
3594     The optimal kernel depends on the processor of your computer. If it's an
3595     IA-32 processor, like Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP, you should choose
3596     32-bit kernel, because 64-bit kernel doesn't work at all. If you have
3597     a x86-64 processor, like AMD Athlon 64 or Intel Core 2, you can choose
3598     any kernel - the processor can run all of them. 64-bit kernel should be
3599     preferred, because it allows chrooting on an existing GNU/Linux partition
3600     containing 64-bit programs. Note, though, that you can't use 64-bit kernel
3601     with VESA option.
3602    
3603     If you don't know your processor architecture, try 64-bit kernel. If your
3604     processor architecture is IA-32, you'll see the following error message:
3605    
3606     This kernel requires an x86-64 CPU, but only detected an i686 CPU. Unable
3607     to boot - please use a kernel appropriate for your CPU.
3608    
3609     At this stage, simply press Ctrl-Alt-Del to reboot and use always 32-bit
3610     kernel on the machine.
3611    
3612     There is one more kernel - 32-bit kernel (alternative). It's designed to
3613     support more recent hardware than the regular kernel. Try it if standard
3614     32-bit kernel doesn't work.
3615    
3616     After booting
3617     ****************************************
3618     HELP!!! Where are the desktop and Start menu?
3619     ---------------------
3620     You should have read this section if you're looking for them. However,
3621     you don't need to reboot in order to enter graphical environment. Simply
3622     type this command and press ENTER:
3623    
3624     wizard
3625    
3626     The command asks you to choose a graphical environment. Try first X.Org,
3627     and if it fails, run the command again and choose Xvesa.
3628    
3629     Connecting to the Internet
3630     ---------------------
3631     The CD doesn't contain any SystemRescueCD documentation, because we don't
3632     have permission to redistribute it. In addition, our time is limited and
3633     we can't rewrite it all. So, you need to connect to the Internet to be
3634     able to read SystemRescueCD's official online documentation.
3635    
3636     Luckily, establishing Internet connection should be easy, if you're in a
3637     network using DHCP. Nowadays, most people are. If you're using graphical
3638     mode and terminal isn't already open, open it via the menu that opens when
3639     you click the leftmost icon in the bottom pane.
3640    
3641     Then, type this command and press ENTER:
3642    
3643     dhcpcd eth0
3644    
3645     If the network doesn't use DHCP, you can also configure Internet settings
3646     by hand. You should be able to do so if you've previously configured your
3647     settings in the operating system you normally use. The command to run is
3648    
3649     net-setup
3650    
3651     When you're done
3652     ****************************************
3653     When you're done, you naturally want to either shut the computer down or
3654     reboot. Wait! Don't do it yet!
3655    
3656     Both I and Spiros have found out that letting a live CD to automatically
3657     unmount partitions is often a bad idea. It can damage the filesystems
3658     of the partitions which were mounted when the computer was shut down and
3659     destroy any files in the partitions, even them you didn't use within the CD.
3660    
3661     So, I recommend unmounting them refore shutdown or reboot. Just run these
3662     commands when you're done.
3663    
3664     If you want to reboot:
3665    
3666     cd
3667     umount -a
3668     reboot
3669    
3670     If you want to shut down:
3671     cd
3672     umount -a
3673     poweroff
3674    
3675     More info
3676     ****************************************
3677     Here are some links to the official SystemRescueCD resources.
3678    
3679     SystemRescueCD - http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page
3680     Detailed packages list- http://www.sysresccd.org/Detailed-packages-list
3681     Manual - http://www.sysresccd.org/Online-Manual-EN
3682     FAQ - http://www.sysresccd.org/FAQ
3683     Howto - http://www.sysresccd.org/Howto
3684     Forum - http://www.sysresccd.org/forums/
3685    
3686    
3687    
3688    
3689     Managing partitions
3690     ==============================================================================
3691    
3692     Intro
3693     ****************************************
3694     One of the most important maintenance tasks that can only be done by using
3695     a live CD is partitioning. No operating system allows partitioning the
3696     same disk where the OS itself resides. Trying to do so is like attempting
3697     to repair a car while its engine is turned on.
3698    
3699     Of course, SystemRescueCD contains multiple programs that are related to
3700     partitioning. Most important are GParted (graphical partitioning program),
3701     GNU Parted (text-based partitioning program), fdisk and sfdisk (partition
3702     table editors) and various filesystem tools (like ntfsprogs and e2fsprogs).
3703    
3704     This page contains some theory about partitions and filesystems, advice for
3705     choosing the right filesystem and a partitioning example by using GParted.
3706    
3707     [[ important.png ]]
3708     While partitioning, an user error or a bug can damage your
3709     partitions.Creating a disk image of the disk to bepartitioned beforehand
3710     is highly recommended.
3711    
3712     [[ info.png ]]
3713     The following pressentation has been made usingSystemRescueCD v 1.4.0
3714    
3715     Some theory
3716     ****************************************
3717     What is a partition?
3718     ---------------------
3719     A partition is a logical division of a hard disk created so that you can
3720     have different operating systems on the same hard disk or to create the
3721     appearance of having separate hard drives for file management, multiple
3722     users, or other purposes.
3723    
3724     In Windows, a one-partition hard disk is labelled the "C:" drive ("A:" and
3725     "B:" are typically reserved for diskette drives). A two-partition hard drive
3726     would typically contain "C:" and "D:" drives. (CD-ROM drives typically are
3727     assigned the last letter in whatever sequence of letters have been used
3728     as a result of hard disk formatting, or typically with a two-partition,
3729     the "E:" drive.).
3730    
3731     In UNIX-based systems, a partition is used to host the / (root) file system,
3732     and optionally the /opt, /usr and /home file systems. There may also be
3733     a swap partition, which doesn't host any file system.
3734    
3735     Each operatin system provides some kind of tool to create and manage
3736     partitions. Examples of such tools are fdisk in DOS/Windows, fdisk, sfdisk
3737     and parted in Linux, etc.
3738    
3739     What is the difference between primary, extended and logical partitions?
3740     ---------------------
3741     Information about partitions is saved in so-called partition table
3742     in Master Boot Record. MBR itself is only 512 bytes in size,
3743     and only 64 bytes are reserved for partition table. That's not
3744     enough, and there are many workarounds to bypass limitations
3745     caused by the size, for example logical block addressing {{
3746     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_block_addressing#LBA.2C_ATA_devices_and_Enhanced_BIOS
3747     }}. Extended partitions are another workaround.
3748    
3749     Partition table can only store information about four partitions. If one
3750     has, for example, two GNU/Linux distributions on the same disk, both of
3751     them having separate root partitions, shared /home and shared swap, the
3752     partition number limit has been hit already.
3753    
3754     A partition that is mentioned in the partition table is called primary
3755     partition. Because of the limit, one disk can only contain 1-4 primary
3756     partitions.
3757    
3758     An extended partition fixes the problem simply by containing more boot
3759     records, called Extended Boot Records (EBR). Each EBR contains information
3760     about one logical partition and, if the extended partition contains multiple
3761     logical partitions, link to the next EBR. Thus, an extended partition can
3762     contain unlimited amount of logical partitions.
3763    
3764     Extended partition contains only EBRs and logical partitions (and maybe
3765     unallocated space). Extended partition doesn't contain any filesystem and
3766     files can't be stored in it. Of course, logical partition can contain any
3767     filesystem (or be unformatted).
3768    
3769     Extended partition itself must be primary partition: an extended partition
3770     can't be within another extended partition. In addition, a disk can contain
3771     only one extended partition.
3772    
3773     Logical partitions can always be used for storing data: any operating system
3774     can see logical partitions. GNU/Linux distributions can be installed to
3775     logical partitions as well, but Windows requires a lot of tweaking. See
3776     this outdated guide {{ http://www.goodells.net/multiboot/index.htm }}.
3777    
3778     What is LVM?
3779     ---------------------
3780     LVM means "Logical Volume Manager". It allows creating volume groups on top
3781     of hard drives and logical volumes within volume groups. Logical volumes
3782     are NOT the same thing as logical partitions!
3783    
3784     Volume groups can be created very flexibly: a volume group can allocate,
3785     for example, the first half of the first hard drive and the second half
3786     of the third drive. One can even create a massive volume group containing
3787     all storage he/she has.
3788    
3789     The computer sees a logical volume as a partition: logical volume can be
3790     left unformatted or contain any filesystem.
3791    
3792     LVM has many benefits: for example, if one has three hard drives 60 gigabytes
3793     each, he/she can create a 160-gigabyte partition for storing massive files
3794     and/or saving some disk space. In addition, logical volumes can be resized
3795     even when they're in use, so when creating logical volumes one doesn't need
3796     to worry if they're too small or big - if they are, he/she can resize them
3797     at any time.
3798    
3799     However, resizing a logical volume doesn't resize the filesystem in
3800     it, so using a filesystem that can be resized in use (online resizing)
3801     is recommended. Very few filesystems can be shrinked online, but most
3802     GNU/Linux filesystems (including ext3/4, ReiserFS, XFS and btrfs) can be
3803     grown online. It's generally a good idea to leave unallocated space within
3804     volume group, so logical volumes can later be grown without shrinking any
3805     other logical volume.
3806    
3807     Here come bad news for people who dualboot: Windows doesn't support LVM, it
3808     sees volume groups as unformatted partitions. If you try to access volume
3809     group within Windows, you're just prompted to format the partition. That
3810     prompt is annoying at best and dangerous at worst.
3811    
3812     More information about LVM can be found here (almost everything about LVM
3813     in a single page) and here (official SystemRescueCD documentation about LVM).
3814    
3815     What is a file system?
3816     ---------------------
3817     A file system is the way in which files are named and where they are placed
3818     logically for storage and retrieval. The DOS, Windows, OS/2, Macintosh,
3819     and UNIX-based operating systems all have file systems in which files are
3820     placed somewhere in a hierarchical (tree) structure. A file is placed in
3821     a directory (folder in Windows) or subdirectory at the desired place in
3822     the tree structure.
3823    
3824     The most important difference between filesystems is operating system
3825     support. Some filesystems are supported by all modern operating systems,
3826     but especially the newest filesystems are very rarely supported. Other
3827     important limits are maximum file size, journaling support and file
3828     permission metadata support.
3829    
3830     The reason that file size limits exist is that all filesystems reserve a
3831     fixed number of bits for storing the file size. If the size of the file,
3832     in bytes, is bigger than the biggest number that can be stored in file
3833     size bits, the operating system must refuse to store the file at all in
3834     order to prevent data corruption.
3835    
3836     File permission metadata means that the filesystem stores in the metadata
3837     of the file, among other things, information about who owns the file and
3838     what different users are allowed to do with the file. That metadata is
3839     especially useful in multi-user environment because it mostly prevents
3840     users from reading each other's files. Permissions can be bypassed, however.
3841    
3842     What is journaling?
3843     ---------------------
3844     Ideally, data in a partition never corrupts. But, in the real world,
3845     there are power failures and operating system freezes. And if a computer
3846     is forcefully shut down while something is written to the drive, the write
3847     operation can't be finished. That can damage the filesystem and destroy
3848     any files in the partition.
3849    
3850     Journaling partially fixes that problem by writing most changes to the
3851     disk twice: first to a special area called journal and, after that, to
3852     the filesystem itself. If power is lost while writing to the journal was
3853     in progress, the partial change is just ignored and never committed to the
3854     filesystem itself. If power failure or OS freeze happened while writing to
3855     filesystem itself, the write operation is finished by using the information
3856     in journal.
3857    
3858     Journaling helps most of the time when the computer has been forcefully
3859     shut down, but not always. Due to performance reasons, only some
3860     write operations are written to the journal, mostly the biggest
3861     operations. Of course, journaling doesn't help if that particular
3862     operation that was in progress while power was lost didn't go
3863     through the journal. Journaling also doesn't protect from everything:
3864     for example, using ext4 filesystem in conjuction with programs that
3865     write a lot of files in a short time can result in massive data loss {{
3866     http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Possible-data-loss-in-Ext4-740467.html
3867     }}, regardless if journaling is enabled or not.
3868    
3869     In addition, journaling reduces performance. It causes more writes to
3870     the disk. That's not a big problem on mechanical hard drives, but on SSDs
3871     (Solid State Drives) and thumb drives write speed is much slower than read
3872     speed. They also have a limited number of writing cycles, so journaling
3873     reduces their lifetime. I (Jyrki) actually use ext2 and FAT32 filesystems
3874     on my external SSD drive because they do NOT support journaling at all.
3875    
3876     What are the differences between most popular filesystems?
3877     ---------------------
3878     The following table quickly describes the most important differences
3879     between them.
3880    
3881     Operating system support
3882     #############################################################################
3883     Under Under Maximum Journaling Permissions
3884     Windows GNU/Linux file size
3885     #############################################################################
3886     FAT32 Native Built-in 4 GB No No
3887     NTFS Native Included 16 EB Yes Yes
3888     ext2 3rd party driver Native 16 GB-2 TB* No Yes
3889     ext3 3rd party driver Native 16 GB-2 TB* Yes Yes
3890     ext4 No Native 16 GB-16 TB* Yes Yes
3891     exFAT Native (Vista/7)** No 64 ZB No Yes
3892    
3893     * Depends on cluster size
3894     ** This update {{ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955704 }} adds exFAT
3895     support to Windows XP
3896    
3897     Operating system support:
3898    
3899     * "Native" means that the kernel supports the filesystem and the OS can
3900     boot from a partition using that FS.
3901     * "Built-in" means that the kernel supports the filesystem, but booting
3902     from a partition containing such FS is very difficult.
3903     * "Driver included" means that ntfs-3g (the driver that adds NTFS support
3904     to Linux) comes with most GNU/Linux distributions.
3905     * "3rd party driver" means that drivers to add filesystem support are
3906     available, but must be downloaded and installed separately. The drivers
3907     are Ext2 IFS and Ext2fsd.
3908     * "No" means that there is no way to use the filesystem within the
3909     operating system.
3910    
3911     Filesystems
3912     ****************************************
3913     This section contains more information about most popular filesystems.
3914    
3915     FAT32
3916     ---------------------
3917     The initial version of FAT (File Allocation Table), now referred as
3918     FAT12, was designed for floppy disks. A FAT12 partition can only be up
3919     to 32 megabytes in size. After that, PCs equipped with hard drives were
3920     introcuded by IBM and the sizes of hard drives began growing. Microsoft
3921     answered the need by developing first initial FAT16 and then final FAT16.
3922    
3923     FAT16 partition can be up to two gigabytes in size. In the middle of 1990s,
3924     that limit was becoming a problem. Microsoft pushed the limit up by updating
3925     FAT again.
3926    
3927     FAT32 was first introduced with Windows 95 OSR2. Windows 98,
3928     Windows Me, Windows 2000 and newer support FAT32 too. Linux
3929     kernel has supported FAT32 almost as long as Windows, but
3930     booting GNU/Linux from FAT32 partition is difficult and actually
3931     requires DOS to be installed in the partition as well. (more information {{
3932     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAT_filesystem_and_Linux#Installing_Linux_on_and_booting_it_from_FAT_volumes_using_umsdos
3933     }})
3934    
3935     FAT32 partition can be up to two terabytes in size. As of now (March 2010),
3936     there are hard drives that hit the limit, but don't exceed it. A single
3937     file within FAT32 partition can be up to four gigabytes in size.
3938    
3939     Because FAT32 is, in the end, based on FAT12, it has very few features. It
3940     doesn't support file permissions, hard/symbolic links, encryption,
3941     compression, alternative data streams, journaling... It lacks support for
3942     nearly anything that defines a modern filesystem. However, due to very
3943     few features, FAT32 is very fast filesystem if it's not fragmented or on
3944     a Flash-based drive. Mind you, FAT32 fragments very fast.
3945    
3946     Due to excellent operating system support, I recommend FAT32 for storing
3947     files which should be accessible in both Windows and GNU/Linux. FAT32
3948     is also a good filesystem on Solid State Drives and thumb drives due to
3949     its performance.
3950    
3951     ext2
3952     ---------------------
3953     Ext2 or ext2fs is the successor of extfs (extended file system). Extfs
3954     didn't support separated timestamps for access, data modification and inode
3955     modification. In order to add support for them, and make the filesystem
3956     extendable, a new filesystem had to be created.
3957    
3958     Ext2 was developed in January 1993, earlier than any other filesystem
3959     mentioned in this page.
3960    
3961     Because ext2 is designed for GNU/Linux, support in Linux kernel was
3962     implemented immediately. The first Windows driver supporting ext2,
3963     Ext2fsd 0.01, was released on 25 January 2002. Both Windows drivers
3964     for ext2 work only on Windows NT operating systems (NT 4.0 up to Vista,
3965     7 isn't supported yet).
3966    
3967     The best property of ext2 is extensibility. The superblock contains
3968     information about which version the filesystem is (ext2, ext3 or ext4)
3969     and which extensions and features are in use. By using these pieces of
3970     information, the operating system or driver can decide whether or not
3971     mounting the partition is safe. That's the most important reason why most
3972     GNU/Linux distributions still use successors of ext2 as default filesystems.
3973    
3974     Depending on cluster size, ext2 partition can be up to 2-32 terabytes in
3975     size. File size limit is 16 GB-2 TB.
3976    
3977     Ext2 supports file permissions, both hard and symbolic links and extended
3978     file attributes. Encryption, compression and journaling are unsupported.
3979    
3980     Due to lack of journaling support and existence of Windows drivers, I
3981     recommend using ext2 if you're going to install GNU/Linux on a SSD drive
3982     and want to be able to access files within Windows too. In fact, that's
3983     exactly the setup I have.
3984    
3985     However, lack of journaling support is the worst limitation of ext2. And
3986     what was done in order to get rid of the limitation?
3987    
3988     ext3
3989     ---------------------
3990     Ext3, the successor of ext2, was introduced in Linux kernel on November
3991     2001. It supports journaling, can be grown online and indexes large
3992     directories.
3993    
3994     Ext2 IFS and Ext2fsd can mount ext3 partition as ext2 if the journal
3995     is empty. (If it's not, something is wrong - journal is always emptied
3996     when the partition is unmounted or the computer is shut down.) Thus,
3997     ext3 support under Windows is just as good/bad as ext2 support.
3998    
3999     Partition and file size limits are the same as in ext2: partition size
4000     limit is 2-32 TB and file size limit 16 GB-2 TB, depending on cluster size.
4001    
4002     Due to journaling support and existence of Windows drivers, ext3 is a good
4003     choice if you're going to install GNU/Linux on a mechanical hard drive
4004     and want to be able to access files within Windows.
4005    
4006     ext4
4007     ---------------------
4008     Linux kernel support for ext4, the successor of ext3, was marked stable
4009     code on October 2008. Ext4 contains multiple performance and stability
4010     improvements over ext3.
4011    
4012     The most important new feature is extents. An extent is a contiguous area of
4013     storage that has been reserved for a file. When a process starts to write
4014     to a file, the whole extent is allocated even before the write operation
4015     begins. The idea is that even if the file is larger than expected, it
4016     doesn't fragment if it doesn't exceed the size of the extent.
4017    
4018     Another important improvement is larger partition size limit: an ext4
4019     partition can be even one exabyte in size. (An exabyte is a million
4020     terabytes.) In addition, a directory within an ext4 partition can contain up
4021     to 64 000 subdirectories (instead of 32 000, as in ext2/3) and timestamps
4022     are much more accurate. The file size limit is 16 GB-16 TB, depending on
4023     cluster size.
4024    
4025     Unfortunately, Ext2 IFS and Ext2Fsd don't support ext4 and are unable
4026     to mount ext4 partition if extents are enabled. They can be disabled,
4027     but other improvements of ext4 aren't that important for most people -
4028     using ext2 or ext3 is just easier.
4029    
4030     Due to its features, ext4 is a good filesystem on computers that only have
4031     GNU/Linux installed. Because journaling can be disabled, it is suitable
4032     for Solid State Drives and thumb drives too.
4033    
4034     NTFS
4035     ---------------------
4036     At the end of 1980s, IBM and Microsoft were developing OS/2 operating
4037     system. Both companies expected OS/2 1.1, released on 1988, to be the first
4038     popular operating system having a GUI, Presentation Manager. Even though it
4039     didn't become too popular during its first years, Microsoft didn't complain:
4040     Windows 2 didn't sell any better.
4041    
4042     But on May 1990, Microsoft released Windows 3.0. Millions of copies of it
4043     were sold during its first year, and Microsoft began to believe that OS/2
4044     had failed due to decisions of IBM. At autumn 1990, Microsoft stopped
4045     cooperating with IBM, recasted OS/2 3.0 as Windows NT and continued
4046     developing it alone, leaving IBM alone with OS/2.
4047    
4048     Windows NT was targeted for network file servers, and there were already
4049     competition, most importantly Novell NetWare and OS/2. Among other things,
4050     the filesystem of Windows NT had to be fast, space efficient and reliable.
4051    
4052     NTFS (New Technology File System) was introcuded with Windows NT 3.1. Newer
4053     versions of NTFS have been introduced with newer versions of Windows NT,
4054     and the filesystem is most likely still under development. All versions
4055     of Windows NT support NTFS, but support in Linux kernel was implemented
4056     as late as on December 2003.
4057    
4058     NTFS is still, in my opinion, the most feature-filled filesystem around. It
4059     supports file permissions, both hard and symbolic links, encryption,
4060     compression, alternative data streams, journaling... There are very few
4061     features NTFS doesn't support.
4062    
4063     Depending on cluster size, a NTFS partition can be up to 8 ZB-1 YB in
4064     size. (A zettabyte (ZB) is a milliard terabytes and a yottabyte (YB)
4065     a billion terabytes.) File size limit is 16 EB.
4066    
4067     Windows 7 can only be installed on a NTFS
4068     partition, and Vista requires a work-around {{
4069     http://www.computersplace.com/install-windows-vista-on-a-fat32-partition/windows-vista
4070     }} if one wants to install it on a FAT32 partition. Of course NTFS partitions
4071     can be used for data storage as well: due to features of NTFS, I recommend
4072     doing so on mechanical hard drives on Windows-only computers.
4073    
4074     exFAT
4075     ---------------------
4076     NTFS is a great filesystem, but due to its complexity and journaling, it's
4077     not suitable for Flash-based drives. Even Microsoft itself has recommended
4078     using FAT32 on removable Flash media.
4079    
4080     However, FAT32 only allows files up to four gigabytes in size. The limit
4081     is already becoming too small, for example a DVD disc image can exceed
4082     that limit. In addition, FAT32 lacks file permission support. In order
4083     to get rid of these limitations, Microsoft took FAT from its grave and
4084     updated it one more time.
4085    
4086     ExFAT (extended FAT), also known as FAT64, was introduced with Windows CE
4087     6.0, on November 2006. Windows Vista SP1, Windows 7 and newer support exFAT
4088     too, and by installing this update {{ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955704
4089     }} Windows XP can be extended to support exFAT as well. Unfortunately,
4090     the only read-write exFAT driver for GNU/Linux (Tuxera exFAT for Embedded
4091     Systems) is payware.
4092    
4093     The partition and file size limits of exFAT are the same: 64
4094     zettabytes. Another important improvement is file permission support that,
4095     oddly, is lacking in Windows Vista. In addition, a directory within an
4096     exFAT partition can contain up to 2 796 202 files (instead of 65 536,
4097     as in FAT32) and timestamps have become more accurate.
4098    
4099     No operating system can be installed to an exFAT partition, so such
4100     partitions can only be used for data storage. Due to lack of journaling
4101     and support for huge files, exFAT is a good filesystem on Solid State
4102     Drives and thumb drives that are only used within Windows Vista and/or 7.
4103    
4104     Partition list
4105     ---------------------
4106     The following table presents known partition types along with their IDs:
4107    
4108     0 Empty 80 Old Minix
4109     1 FAT12 81 Minix / old Linux
4110     2 XENIX root 82 Linux swap / Solaris
4111     3 XENIX usr 83 Linux
4112     4 FAT16 <32M 84 OS/2 hidden C: drive
4113     5 Extended 85 Linux extended
4114     6 FAT16 86 NTFS volume set
4115     7 HPFS/NTFS 87 NTFS volume set
4116     8 AIX 88 Linux plaintext
4117     9 AIX bootable 8e Linux LVM
4118     a OS/2 Boot Manager 93 Amoeba
4119     b W95 FAT32 94 Amoeba BBT
4120     c W95 FAT32 (LBA) 9f BSD/OS
4121     e W95 FAT16 (LBA) a0 IBM Thinkpad hibernation
4122     f W95 Ext'd (LBA) a5 FreeBSD
4123     10 OPUS a6 OpenBSD
4124     11 Hidden FAT12 a7 NeXTSTEP
4125     12 Compaq diagnostics a8 Darwin UFS
4126     14 Hidden FAT16 <32M a9 NetBSD
4127     16 Hidden FAT16 ab Darwin boot
4128     17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS b7 BSDI fs
4129     18 AST SmartSleep b8 BSDI swap
4130     1b Hidden W95 FAT32 bb Boot Wizard hidden
4131     1c Hidden W95 FAT32 (LBA) be Solaris boot
4132     1e Hidden W95 FAT16 (LBA) bf Solaris
4133     24 NEC DOS c1 DRDOS/sec (FAT-12)
4134     39 Plan 9 c4 DRDOS/sec (FAT-16
4135     3c PartitionMagic recovery c6 DRDOS/sec (FAT-16)
4136     40 Venix 80286 c7 Syrinx
4137     41 PPC PReP Boot da Non-FS data
4138     42 SFS db CP/M / CTOS / ...
4139     4d QNX4.x de Dell Utility
4140     4e QNX4.x 2nd part df BootIt
4141     4f QNX4.x 3rd part e1 DOS access
4142     50 OnTrack DM e3 DOS R/O
4143     51 OnTrack DM6 Aux1 e4 SpeedStor
4144     52 CP/M eb BeOS fs
4145     53 OnTrack DM6 Aux3 ee EFI GPT
4146     54 OnTrackDM6 ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)
4147     55 EZ-Drive f0 Linux/PA-RISC boot
4148     56 Golden Bow f1 SpeedStor
4149     5c Priam Edisk f4 SpeedStor
4150     61 SpeedStor f2 DOS secondary
4151     63 GNU HURD or SysV fd Linux raid autodetect
4152     64 Novell Netware 286 fe LANstep
4153     65 Novell Netware 386 ff BBT
4154     70 DiskSecure Multi-Boot
4155     75 PC/IX
4156    
4157     The partitions you are most likely to see in use, are:
4158    
4159     * FAT16 (ID = 6)
4160     This is the old DOS partition type
4161     You may still find it in pure DOS installations, like vendor diagnostics
4162     tool partitions, and small USB sticks (128 - 250 MB)
4163    
4164     * HPFS/NTFS (ID = 7)
4165     This is the Windows XP partition, also known as NTFS
4166    
4167     * W95 FAT32 (LBA) (ID = c)
4168     This is the Windows 95 - 98 partition
4169     It is used in any kind of disk and large USB devices (1 GB and more)
4170    
4171     * W95 Ext'd (LBA) (ID = f)
4172     Extended partition. It acts as a container for other partitions
4173     There is one more extended partition type (ID = 5), but it does not seem
4174     to be in use as much
4175    
4176     * Linux swap / Solaris (ID = 82)
4177     Swap partition, acting as Virtual Memory
4178     Modern computers with 1 - 2 GB of memory may not use it at all
4179    
4180     * Linux (ID = 83)
4181     Linux partitions, such as ext2, ext3 and reiserfs
4182    
4183     Partitioning example
4184     ****************************************
4185     This section contains a partitioning example. I simulate the following
4186     situation in a virtual machine:
4187    
4188     I have two partitions in my disk: /dev/sda1 that contains a GNU/Linux
4189     distribution, and /dev/sda2 that is a swap partition. Here we can see the
4190     output of fdisk:
4191    
4192     root@sysresccd /root % fdisk -l
4193    
4194     Disk /dev/sda: 2097 MB, 2097152000 bytes
4195     64 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1015 cylinders
4196     Units = cylinders of 4032 * 512 = 2064384 bytes
4197     Disk identifier: 0x00058a4a
4198    
4199     Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
4200     /dev/sda1 * 1 812 1636960+ 83 Linux
4201     /dev/sda2 813 1015 409248 82 Linux swap / Solaris
4202    
4203     Now I'm going to install another distribution on the same disk. First of
4204     all, I need one more partition, because only one distro can be installed on
4205     one partition. In addition, I want to separate /home to its own partition
4206     in order to be able to share it between distributions.
4207    
4208     Because the whole disk is already allocated, I must shrink at least one
4209     existing partition in order to create new partitions. I'll shrink both of
4210     them to half (/dev/sda1 from 1,6 gigabytes to 800 megabytes, and /dev/sda2
4211     from 400 MB to 200 MB). In addition, I'll move /dev/sda2 right next to
4212     /dev/sda1 to keep the partitions in order.
4213    
4214     But how many partitions there will be in total? One, two,
4215     three... four! Phew, I was near to paint myself into a corner. If I created
4216     only primary partitions, I'd be unable to create any more partitions on
4217     the disk. Thus, I'll create an extended partition instead and two logical
4218     partitions within it. Then I'll be able to create more logical partitions
4219     later if required.
4220    
4221     There is one more challenge: moving /home to a separate partition. It's
4222     very easy to move the folder itself, but the distro in /dev/sda1 will
4223     surely be confused if it doesn't find /home when it boots next time. Thus,
4224     I must edit its /etc/fstab and configure it to mount the /home partition
4225     automatically - before booting the distro itself.
4226    
4227     Now there are only two decisions left: the numbers and sizes of the new
4228     partitions. I decide to install the new distro to /dev/sda5 and move /home
4229     to /dev/sda6. Let /dev/sda5 be 800 megabytes and /dev/sda6 200 MB in size.
4230    
4231     Now it's time to boot into SystemRescueCD. Graphical mode is required
4232     this time.
4233     [[ systemrescuecd.png ]]
4234     I close the terminal and open GParted by clicking the third icon in the
4235     bottom pane.
4236     [[ gparted-00.png ]]
4237     I right-click the partition /dev/sda1 and select Resize/Move.
4238     [[ gparted-01.png ]]
4239     I enter 799 MB as the new size, click the Free Space Following (MiB)
4240     combo box and press Resize/Move.
4241     [[ gparted-02.png ]]
4242     I right-click now /dev/sda2 and select Resize/Move.
4243     [[ gparted-03.png ]]
4244     I enter 0 MB as preceding free space and 200 MB as partition size, click
4245     the Free Space Following (MiB) combo box and press Resize/Move.
4246     [[ gparted-04.png ]]
4247     I right-click the unallocated area and select New.
4248     [[ gparted-05.png ]]
4249     I select Extended Partition as the partition type. The size was already
4250     998 megabytes (the maximum) and as said, an extended partition doesn't
4251     contain any filesystem. I click Add.
4252     [[ gparted-06.png ]]
4253     I right-click the unallocated area within the extended partition and
4254     select New.
4255     [[ gparted-07.png ]]
4256     I choose the ext4 filesystem and enter 798 MB as the partition size. After
4257     that, I click first the Free Space Following (MiB) combo box and then Add.
4258     [[ gparted-08.png ]]
4259     I right-click the remaining unallocated space and select New one more time.
4260     [[ gparted-09.png ]]
4261     I choose the ext4 filesystem again. The partition size setting was already
4262     201 megabytes (the whole available space), so I just press Add.
4263     [[ gparted-10.png ]]
4264     [[ important.png ]]
4265     The next step is to commit the changes.After that some operations, for
4266     examplepartition deletion, can no longer be undone.
4267    
4268     Finally I commit the changes by pressing the rightmost icon in the main bar.
4269     [[ gparted-11.png ]]
4270     After slowly reading the warning, I confirm my decisions by pressing Apply.
4271     [[ gparted-12.png ]]
4272     GParted begins to commit the changes...
4273     [[ gparted-13.png ]]
4274     ...and when everything is done, it shows me this window that I close.
4275     [[ gparted-14.png ]]
4276     Then I can see the brand new partitions.
4277    
4278     Moving /home
4279     ---------------------
4280     I close GParted and launch Terminal by pressing the second icon in the
4281     bottom pane.
4282    
4283     I create directories as mount points:
4284    
4285     mkdir /mnt/sda1
4286     mkdir /mnt/sda6
4287    
4288     Then I mount the partitions:
4289    
4290     mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1
4291     mount /dev/sda6 /mnt/sda6
4292    
4293     I move the directory:
4294    
4295     mv /mnt/sda1/home/* /mnt/sda6/
4296    
4297     After that, I unmount /dev/sda6, because it no longer needs to be mounted:
4298    
4299     sync
4300     umount /dev/sda6
4301     [[ terminal.png ]]
4302     As you can see, under Linux it's perfectly normal that the terminal doesn't
4303     answer to the commands. Don't worry - they are really executed.
4304    
4305     Now I close Terminal and launch Geany by pressing the fourth icon in the
4306     bottom pane.
4307     [[ geany-00.png ]]
4308     I select File -> Open.
4309     [[ geany-01.png ]]
4310     I press File System and navigate to folder /mnt/sda1/etc.
4311     [[ geany-02.png ]]
4312     I double-click the file fstab.
4313     [[ geany-03.png ]]
4314     I add the following line:
4315    
4316     /dev/sda6 /home ext4 defaults 0 2
4317    
4318     Finally, I select File -> Save.
4319     [[ geany-04.png ]]
4320     It's a good idea to reboot the computer now and check if the distribution
4321     in /dev/sda1 still works. Anyway, the disk should now be ready for the
4322     new distro.
4323    
4324    
4325    
4326    
4327     Data Recovery
4328     ==============================================================================
4329    
4330     Intro
4331     ****************************************
4332     Deleted or "lost" files can be recovered from failed or formatted drives
4333     and partitions, cdroms and memory cards using the software available in
4334     SystemRescueCD.
4335    
4336     Unless you can rule out hardware failure, you must not write to the failed
4337     device. The following software will passively try to recover your data
4338     from failed or failing hardware. If your data is not replaceable, do not
4339     attempt to write to the failed device if the following applications do
4340     not work but seek professional advice instead.
4341    
4342     If your device is damaged, it is advisable to image the device and work on
4343     the image file for data recovery. If hardware failure is not the problem,
4344     you can recover data directly from the device.
4345    
4346     To recover data from a failed device, you will need another device of equal
4347     or greater storage capacity onto which to save your data. If you need to make
4348     an image of the failed device, you will need yet another quantity of space.
4349    
4350     I should state here, that I haven't used any of these tools recently (other
4351     than plain and simple dd, a long time ago, which I found to be very slow),
4352     so I couldn't recommend any of them. Any comments on a tool's usability
4353     found in this page, is just what I found on the Net.
4354    
4355     Partition recovery
4356     ****************************************
4357     If you made a mistake while partitioning and the partition no longer appears
4358     in the partition table, so long as you have not written data in that space,
4359     all your data is still there and can be restored.
4360    
4361     When changing the partition table on your hard drive, you must ensure that
4362     no partition on the disk is mounted. This includes swap space. In order
4363     to restore your partition, execute:
4364    
4365     swapoff -a
4366     parted /dev/old_disk
4367    
4368     Then, use the rescue option:
4369    
4370     rescue START END
4371    
4372     where START is the area of the disk where you believe the partition began
4373     and END is it's end. If parted finds a potential partition, it will ask
4374     you if you want to add it to the partition table.
4375    
4376     Note: TestDisk can also be used to recover a "lost" partition.
4377    
4378     Disk / files recovery
4379     ****************************************
4380     Using dd
4381     ---------------------
4382     In order to duplicate a disk to another disk, execute
4383    
4384     dd if=/dev/old_disk of=/dev/new_disk conv=noerror,sync
4385    
4386     or to create an image file
4387    
4388     dd if=/dev/old_disk of=image_file conv=noerror
4389    
4390     Be careful, if you are copying a disk, the destination must also be a disk,
4391     not a partition. If you are copying a partition, the destination partition
4392     must be large enough. Copying the whole disk is recommended.
4393    
4394     To speed up the copy process, you can append bs=8k, it will read/write
4395     the disk by 16 sectors at a time.
4396    
4397     Using dd_rescue
4398     ---------------------
4399     Like dd, dd_rescue {{ http://www.garloff.de/kurt/linux/ddrescue/ }} does
4400     copy data from one file or block device to another. You can specify file
4401     positions (called seek and skip in dd). There are several differences:
4402    
4403     * dd_rescue does not provide character conversions.
4404     * The command syntax is different. Call dd_rescue -h.
4405     * dd_rescue does not abort on errors on the input file, unless you specify a
4406     maximum error number. Then dd_rescue will abort when this number is reached.
4407     * dd_rescue does not truncate the output file, unless asked to.
4408     * You can tell dd_rescue to start from the end of a file and move backwards.
4409     * It uses two block sizes, a large (soft) block size and a small (hard)
4410     block size. In case of errors, the size falls back to the small one and
4411     is promoted again after a while without errors.
4412     * It does not (yet) support non-seekable in- or output.
4413    
4414     In order to duplicate a disk to another disk, execute
4415    
4416     dd_rescue -A -v /dev/old_disk /dev/new_disk
4417    
4418     or to create an image file
4419    
4420     dd_rescue -A -v /dev/old_disk image_file
4421    
4422     The copying should go very quickly until it hits a bad sector and then it
4423     will slow down to take smaller chunks of data. People have reported very
4424     good results with this technique.
4425    
4426     Using GNU ddrescue
4427     ---------------------
4428     The GNU site describes GNU ddrescue as a data recovery tool, and lists
4429     these features:
4430    
4431     * It copies data from one file or block device (hard disc, CD-ROM, etc)
4432     to another, trying hard to rescue data in case of read errors.
4433     * It does not truncate the output file if not asked to, so every time you
4434     run it on the same output file, it tries to fill in the gaps.
4435     * It is designed to be fully automatic.
4436     * If you use the log file feature of GNU ddrescue, the data is rescued very
4437     efficiently (only the needed blocks are read). Also you can interrupt the
4438     rescue at any time and resume it later at the same point.
4439     * The log file is periodically saved to disc. So in case of a crash you
4440     can resume the rescue with little recopying.
4441     * If you have two or more damaged copies of a file, CD-ROM, etc, and run
4442     GNU ddrescue on all of them, one at a time, with the same output file,
4443     you will probably obtain a complete and error-free file. The probability
4444     of having damaged areas at the same places on different input files is
4445     very low. Using the log file, only the needed blocks are read from the
4446     second and successive copies.
4447     * The same log file can be used for multiple commands that copy different
4448     areas of the file, and for multiple recovery attempts over different subsets.
4449    
4450     The algorithm of GNU ddrescue is as follows:
4451    
4452     * Optionally read a log file describing the status of a multi-part or
4453     previously interrupted rescue.
4454     * Read the non-damaged parts of the input file, skipping the damaged areas,
4455     until the requested size is reached, or until interrupted by the user.
4456     * Try to read the damaged areas, splitting them into smaller pieces and
4457     reading the non-damaged pieces, until the hardware block size is reached,
4458     or until interrupted by the user.
4459     * Try to read the damaged hardware blocks until the specified number of
4460     retries is reached, or until interrupted by the user.
4461     * Optionally write a log file for later use.
4462    
4463     Note: GNU ddrescue is considered to be the best recovery tool available.
4464    
4465     In order to duplicate a disk to another disk, execute
4466    
4467     ddrescue -vr3 /dev/old_disk /dev/new_disk logfile
4468    
4469     or to create an image file
4470    
4471     ddrescue -vr3 /dev/old_disk image_file logfile
4472    
4473     If the disk is failing fast and you want to get the most data out of it
4474     on the first try, you should probably use "-n" on the first run. This
4475     will avoid splitting error areas. Subsequent runs can use "-r1" or "-r3",
4476     without "-n", to retry those error areas.
4477    
4478     To summarise, we execute:
4479    
4480     ddrescue -vn /dev/old_disk image_file logfile
4481     ddrescue -v -r3 -C /dev/old_disk image_file logfile
4482    
4483     Note: When working with CD-ROMs you should probably specific "-b 2048"
4484    
4485     Using Foremost
4486     ---------------------
4487     Foremost {{ http://foremost.sourceforge.net/ }} is a console program
4488     to recover files based on their headers, footers, and internal data
4489     structures. This process is commonly referred to as data carving. Foremost
4490     can work on image files, such as those generated by dd, Safeback, Encase,
4491     etc, or directly on a drive. The headers and footers can be specified
4492     by a configuration file or you can use command line switches to specify
4493     built-in file types. These built-in types look at the data structures of
4494     a given file format allowing for a more reliable and faster recovery.
4495    
4496     It can be run on an image file created with any of the above tools, to
4497     extract files:
4498    
4499     foremost -i image -o /recovery/foremost
4500    
4501     Foremost can be instructed to recover only specific file types, using the
4502     -t command line parameter. In the following example Foremost will extract
4503     only jpg files:
4504    
4505     foremost -t jpg -i image -o /recovery/foremost
4506    
4507     Available types are: jpg, gif, png, bmp, avi, exe (Windows binaries and
4508     DLLs), wav, riff, wmv (will extract wma also), mov, pdf, ole (will extract
4509     any file using the OLE file structure; this includes PowerPoint, Word,
4510     Excel, Access, and StarWriter), doc, zip (will extract .jar files and Open
4511     Office docs as well; this includes SXW, SXC, SXI, and SX? for undetermined
4512     OpenOffice files), rar, html and cpp.
4513    
4514     Using TestDisk
4515     ---------------------
4516     TestDisk {{ http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk }} was primarily
4517     designed to help recover "lost" partitions and/or make non-booting disks
4518     bootable again when these symptoms are caused by faulty software, certain
4519     types of viruses or human error (such as accidentally deleting a Partition
4520     Table). Partition table recovery using TestDisk is really easy.
4521    
4522     TestDisk can
4523    
4524     * Fix partition table, recover deleted partition
4525     * Recover FAT32 boot sector from its backup
4526     * Rebuild FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 boot sector
4527     * Fix FAT tables
4528     * Rebuild NTFS boot sector
4529     * Recover NTFS boot sector from its backup
4530     * Fix MFT using MFT mirror
4531     * Locate ext2/ext3 Backup SuperBlock
4532    
4533     Some great tutorials are available at TestDisk's site: "TestDisk Step
4534     By Step {{ http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step }}",
4535     "Running TestDisk", "Data Recovery Examples" etc.
4536    
4537     Using PhotoRec
4538     ---------------------
4539     PhotoRec {{ http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec }} is file data recovery
4540     software designed to recover "lost" files including video, documents
4541     and archives from Hard Disks and CDRom and "lost" pictures (thus, its
4542     'Photo Recovery' name) from digital camera memory. PhotoRec ignores the
4543     filesystem and goes after the underlying data, so it will still work even
4544     if your media's filesystem has been severely damaged or re-formatted.
4545    
4546     For more safety, PhotoRec uses read-only access to handle the drive or
4547     memory support you are about to recover "lost" data from.
4548    
4549     Important: As soon as a pic or file is accidentally deleted, or you discover
4550     any missing, do NOT save any more pics or files to that memory device or
4551     hard disk drive; otherwise you may overwrite your "lost" data. This means
4552     that even using PhotoRec, you must not choose to write the recovered files
4553     to the same partition they were stored on.
4554    
4555     A great tutorial titled "PhotoRec Step By Step {{
4556     http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec_Step_By_Step }}" can be found at
4557     PhotoRec's site.
4558    
4559     Links & resources
4560     ****************************************
4561     This page is a compilation of the following pages:
4562    
4563     DataRecovery
4564     https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DataRecovery
4565    
4566     Hard Drive Recovery, Ubuntu-Style
4567     http://blogs.sun.com/superpat/tags/ddrescue
4568    
4569     Recover Data and (deleted) Partition with Linux from Hard Drives, CD-ROMs
4570     or DVDs
4571     http://sysblogd.wordpress.com/2008/01/05/data-recovery-with-linux-from-hard-drives-cd-roms-or-dvds/
4572    
4573     dd_rescue
4574     http://www.garloff.de/kurt/linux/ddrescue/
4575    
4576     gddrescue: a tool for recovering data from damaged media
4577     http://debaday.debian.net/2007/12/12/gddrescue-a-tool-for-recovering-data-from-damaged-media/
4578    
4579     Foremost
4580     http://foremost.sourceforge.net/
4581    
4582     TestDisk
4583     http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk
4584    
4585     PhotoRec
4586     http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec
4587    
4588    
4589    
4590    
4591     Clonezilla-SysRescCD own scripts
4592     ==============================================================================
4593    
4594     Intro
4595     ****************************************
4596     In this page I will present the scripts I have ever written for
4597     Clonezilla-SysRescCD
4598    
4599     what-cd
4600     ****************************************
4601     Included in: SystemRescueCD
4602    
4603     This script determines the device names for your CDs/DVDs, and whether
4604     they can read/write CD/DVD-ROMs
4605    
4606     Its help screen is the following:
4607    
4608     # what-cd -h
4609     what-cd - v 1.0.0 - S. Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>
4610    
4611     what-cd will try to identify your CD/DVDs
4612     You can use it to identify the device name of your CD-Reader (default),
4613     CD-Writer, DVD-Reader, and DVD-Writer.
4614    
4615     Usage: what-cd [options]
4616     Availabe options are:
4617     d Print info about DVDs
4618     w Print info about writers
4619     b Batch mode. Only print one device name.
4620     If more than one device is found, print
4621     nothing. For use with scripts
4622     e deviceID Eject device deviceID
4623     Accecpable values: -1...num of devices
4624     Use -1 when in batch mode
4625     v Print version info and exit
4626     h Print this screen and exit
4627    
4628     Its typical usage would be to identify the DVD writer:
4629    
4630     # what-cd -dw
4631     Device /dev/hdd (id=0) can not write DVDs
4632     Device /dev/hdc (id=1) can write DVDs
4633    
4634     When used in batch mode, it will only print a device name. This is
4635     especially useful in scripts, but also in the command line, as shown in
4636     section "Burning the DVD".
4637    
4638     # what-cd -dwb
4639     /dev/hdc
4640    
4641     continue-multi-cd
4642     ****************************************
4643     Included in: SystemRescueCD
4644    
4645     continue-multi-cd helps you append data to a multi session CD; that is
4646     it helps you prepare and burn any consecutive sessions to it. It may lack
4647     some of the functionality you would have had if you used the command line
4648     tools themselves (mksiofs and cdrecord), but because of it, it keeps you
4649     away from writing a lot of parameters.
4650    
4651     You could use it for example, to burn some extra documentation to
4652     Clonezilla-SysRescCD CD, but you cannot use it to change the configuration
4653     files of isolinux, as it just reads the first session when booting.
4654    
4655     Its help screen is the following:
4656    
4657     # continue-multi-cd -h
4658     continue-multi-cd - v 2.0.0 - S. Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>
4659    
4660     Usage: continue-multi-cd [options] <path to be added to CD>
4661    
4662     Available options are:
4663     d Specify write device (in case auto detection does
4664     not work)
4665     c Close the CD. No more burning will be possible
4666     Default is to leave it open
4667     l Don't burn the CD after image creation
4668     o <image name> Save the image file as <image name>
4669     r Remove the image file after burning
4670     f On the fly burning of the CD. No image file will
4671     be created
4672     v Print version info and exit
4673     h Print this screen and exit
4674    
4675     You have to note one thing though: the folder <path to be added to CD>
4676     will not be present on the CD; only its contents will.
4677    
4678     Let's suppose that you want to add to the CD the folder extra-doc,
4679     which contains q-a.html and faq.html, and that its full path is
4680     /home/user/extra-doc. If you issue the command
4681    
4682     continue-multi-cd -mwr /home/user/extra-doc
4683    
4684     you will not have a extra-doc folder on the root of your CD, but the files
4685     q-a.html and faq.html will be present there.
4686    
4687     In order to have extra-doc on the CD, you have to copy it to a temporary
4688     location and pass that path to continue-multi-cd. Let's see how it's done:
4689    
4690     mkdir -p /tmp/for-the-cd
4691     cp -r /home/user/extra-doc /tmp/for-the-cd
4692     continue-multi-cd -r /tmp/for-the-cd
4693     rm -rf /tmp/for-the-cd
4694    
4695    
4696    
4697    
4698     Identifying devices in Linux
4699     ==============================================================================
4700    
4701     Intro
4702     ****************************************
4703     This page is intended to help new Linux users and Windows users identify
4704     their hard disks / CD ROMs in a Linux box.
4705    
4706     Linux disks and partition names may be different from other operating
4707     systems. You need to know the names that Linux uses when you format,
4708     mount or select partitions or disks.
4709    
4710     Linux uses the so called device name to access disks and partitions. You
4711     can think of it as a link to the actual driver of the disk. All available
4712     devices have a corresponding file in /dev (e.g. /dev/hda1).
4713    
4714     In general, each disk / CD-ROM has a three letter name, for example hda. Each
4715     partition in such a disk has a number associated with it, starting from 1. So
4716     the first partition of disk hda would be hda1, the second hda2 and so on.
4717    
4718     Depending on the device type, Linux gives the following names to devices:
4719    
4720     * IDE (ATA) floppies
4721     The first floppy drive is named /dev/fd0.
4722     The second floppy drive is named /dev/fd1.
4723    
4724     * IDE (ATA) disks /CD-ROMs
4725     The master disk on IDE primary controller is named /dev/hda.
4726     The slave disk on IDE primary controller is named /dev/hdb.
4727     The master and slave disks of the secondary controller can be called
4728     /dev/hdc and /dev/hdd, respectively.
4729    
4730     Linux represents the primary partitions as the drive name, plus the numbers
4731     1 through 4. For example, the first primary partition on the first IDE
4732     drive is /dev/hda1. The logical partitions are numbered starting at 5,
4733     so the first logical partition on that same drive is /dev/hda5. Remember
4734     that the extended partition, that is, the primary partition holding the
4735     logical partitions, is not usable by itself. This applies to SCSI disks
4736     as well as IDE disks.
4737    
4738     * SCSI disks
4739     The first SCSI disk (SCSI ID address-wise) is named /dev/sda.
4740     The second SCSI disk (address-wise) is named /dev/sdb, and so on.
4741    
4742     * SCSI CD-ROMs
4743     The first SCSI CD-ROM is named /dev/scd0, also known as /dev/sr0.
4744     The second SCSI CD-ROM is named /dev/scd1, also known as /dev/sr1, and so on.
4745    
4746     * USB disks
4747     They are named just like SCSI disks. The only difference is that the
4748     partition number has to do with the file system on the disk. If it's
4749     /dev/sdx4, then it's a VFAT file system and if it's /dev/sdx1 it's probably
4750     a linux (ext2, ext3) file system.
4751    
4752     Examples
4753     ****************************************
4754     In order to identify the disks of a system you have to work with, a basic
4755     knowledge of its configuration (how many disks it has, whether it's a
4756     dual-boot system etc.) is welcomed but not required. A more experienced
4757     user will not have to worry about it, though.
4758    
4759     Linux systems based on a 2.6.x kernel (like Clonezilla Live and
4760     SystemRescueCD) provide all the necessary support to identify a system's
4761     disk configuration, with just a couple of commands.
4762    
4763     Example 1
4764     ---------------------
4765     The first system I have to work with is a dual-boot system (Windows -
4766     Linux), with two disks and two DVD-ROMs.
4767    
4768     The first command will tell me what disks and partitions exist in the
4769     system. So here it is:
4770    
4771     # cat /proc/partitions
4772     major minor #blocks name
4773    
4774     3 0 312571224 hda
4775     3 1 23446836 hda1
4776     3 2 40957717 hda2
4777     3 3 245240257 hda3
4778     3 4 2923830 hda4
4779     3 64 244198584 hdb
4780     3 65 41945683 hdb1
4781     3 66 2104515 hdb2
4782     3 67 1 hdb3
4783     3 68 125909437 hdb4
4784     3 69 74236333 hdb5
4785    
4786     The output of this command tells me that the system has two disks (hda
4787     and hdb) which are the primary master and slave devices.
4788    
4789     The first disk contains four primary partitions (hda1-hda4) and the second
4790     one four primary partitions (hdb1-hdb4) and a logical one (hdb5). Wait a
4791     minute!!! this can't be right... In order to have a logical partition, I
4792     must have a primary that contains it, which means that in this case I can't
4793     have four primary partitions. So what is really happening here is that I have
4794     two primary and two logical, plus an extended primary which contains them.
4795    
4796     What remains to be found is what type of partitions they are. I will find
4797     that out by executing the following commands:
4798    
4799     # fdisk -l /dev/hda
4800    
4801     Disk /dev/hda: 320.0 GB, 320072933376 bytes
4802     255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders
4803     Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
4804    
4805     Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
4806     /dev/hda1 * 1 2919 23446836 7 HPFS/NTFS
4807     /dev/hda2 2920 8018 40957717+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
4808     /dev/hda3 8019 38549 245240257+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
4809     /dev/hda4 38550 38913 2923830 82 Linux swap / Solaris
4810    
4811     # fdisk -l /dev/hdb
4812    
4813     Disk /dev/hdb: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
4814     255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
4815     Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
4816    
4817     Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
4818     /dev/hdb1 * 1 5222 41945683+ 83 Linux
4819     /dev/hdb2 5223 5484 2104515 82 Linux swap / Solaris
4820     /dev/hdb3 5485 14726 74236365 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
4821     /dev/hdb4 14727 30401 125909437+ 83 Linux
4822     /dev/hdb5 5485 14726 74236333+ 83 Linux
4823    
4824     Ok, this clears things up. The first disk contains three Windows XP
4825     partitions (NTFS) and a Linux Swap partition. In fact, /dev/hda1 is the
4826     system "disk" for Windows, since Windows will always be installed in the
4827     first partition of the primary master disk.
4828    
4829     The second disk, on the other hand, contains a Linux partition (/dev/hdb1),
4830     a Linux Swap partition /dev/hdb2, and an extended partition /dev/hdb3
4831     which contains two more Linux partitions (/dev/hdb4 and /dev/hdb5).
4832    
4833     The final thing we need to know about this system is what CD/DVD-ROMs it
4834     has. So I execute the command:
4835    
4836     # cat /proc/sys/dev/cdrom/info
4837     CD-ROM information, Id: cdrom.c 3.20 2003/12/17
4838    
4839     drive name: hdd hdc
4840     drive speed: 0 126
4841     drive # of slots: 1 1
4842     Can close tray: 1 1
4843     Can open tray: 1 1
4844     Can lock tray: 1 1
4845     Can change speed: 1 1
4846     Can select disk: 0 0
4847     Can read multisession: 1 1
4848     Can read MCN: 1 1
4849     Reports media changed: 1 1
4850     Can play audio: 1 1
4851     Can write CD-R: 0 1
4852     Can write CD-RW: 0 1
4853     Can read DVD: 1 1
4854     Can write DVD-R: 0 1
4855     Can write DVD-RAM: 0 1
4856     Can read MRW: 1 0
4857     Can write MRW: 1 0
4858     Can write RAM: 0 1
4859    
4860     The system has two DVD-ROMs, hdc which is the secondary master and is a
4861     DVD writer, and hdd which is the secondary slave and is a DVD reader.
4862    
4863     At this point I will connect my USB stick, wait for a while and execute
4864     the command:
4865    
4866     # cat /proc/partitions
4867     major minor #blocks name
4868    
4869     3 0 312571224 hda
4870     3 1 23446836 hda1
4871     3 2 40957717 hda2
4872     3 3 245240257 hda3
4873     3 4 2923830 hda4
4874     3 64 244198584 hdb
4875     3 65 41945683 hdb1
4876     3 66 2104515 hdb2
4877     3 67 1 hdb3
4878     3 68 125909437 hdb4
4879     3 69 74236333 hdb5
4880     8 0 1007615 sda
4881     8 4 1006576 sda4
4882    
4883     As you can see, we have two more lines here, that reflect the changes to
4884     our system (the connection of the USB device). So my USB stick is recognized
4885     by the system as sda, and the disk itself contains a VFAT file system.
4886    
4887     Example 2
4888     ---------------------
4889     The second system is a Linux box with one SCSI disk and a CD-ROM. Again
4890     I issue the command:
4891    
4892     # cat /proc/partitions
4893     major minor #blocks name
4894    
4895     8 0 156290904 sda
4896     8 1 64228 sda1
4897     8 2 15735667 sda2
4898     8 3 15735667 sda3
4899     8 4 124744725 sda4
4900    
4901     From its output I see I only have one disk sda, which contains four
4902     partitions.
4903    
4904     Then I execute fdisk, which shows me that the disk contains one DOS and
4905     three Linux partitions.
4906    
4907     # fdisk -l /dev/sda
4908     Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
4909     255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
4910     Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
4911    
4912     Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
4913     /dev/sda1 1 8 64228+ 6 FAT16
4914     /dev/sda2 9 1967 15735667+ 83 Linux
4915     /dev/sda3 1968 3926 15735667+ 83 Linux
4916     /dev/sda4 3927 19456 124744725 83 Linux
4917    
4918     Finally I query its CD-ROMs, by executing the command:
4919    
4920     # cat /proc/sys/dev/cdrom/info
4921     CD-ROM information, Id: cdrom.c 3.20 2003/12/17
4922    
4923     drive name: hda
4924     drive speed: 0
4925     drive # of slots: 1
4926     Can close tray: 1
4927     Can open tray: 1
4928     Can lock tray: 1
4929     Can change speed: 1
4930     Can select disk: 0
4931     Can read multisession: 1
4932     Can read MCN: 1
4933     Reports media changed: 1
4934     Can play audio: 1
4935     Can write CD-R: 1
4936     Can write CD-RW: 1
4937     Can read DVD: 1
4938     Can write DVD-R: 0
4939     Can write DVD-RAM: 0
4940     Can read MRW: 1
4941     Can write MRW: 1
4942     Can write RAM: 0
4943    
4944     Which tells me that I only have an IDE CD-ROM, (hda), which is actually
4945     a CD writer.
4946    
4947     Then I connect my USB stick, and I get:
4948    
4949     # cat /proc/partitions
4950     major minor #blocks name
4951    
4952     8 0 156290904 sda
4953     8 1 64228 sda1
4954     8 2 15735667 sda2
4955     8 3 15735667 sda3
4956     8 4 124744725 sda4
4957     8 16 1007615 sdb
4958     8 20 1006576 sdb4
4959    
4960     Although it's the same stick I used with the previous system, which was
4961     recognized as sda there, now its name is sdb. So, its name depends on the
4962     system it is connected to, and will not always be the same.
4963    
4964     SCSI disks when there are none!!!
4965     ****************************************
4966     I am confused!!! I am on a disk with two ATA (PATA) disks, but when I
4967     query the partition list, this is what I get:
4968    
4969     # cat /proc/partitions
4970     major minor #blocks name
4971    
4972     3 0 312571224 sda
4973     3 1 23446836 sda1
4974     3 2 40957717 sda2
4975     3 3 245240257 sda3
4976     3 4 2923830 sda4
4977     3 64 244198584 sdb
4978     3 65 41945683 sdb1
4979     3 66 2104515 sdb2
4980     3 67 1 sdb3
4981     3 68 125909437 sdb4
4982     3 69 74236333 sdb5
4983    
4984     According to what's discussed up to now, the system seems to have two SCSI
4985     disks, but I know it actually has two ATA (PATA) disks. What's going on?.
4986    
4987     What is really happening here is that you have one of the newest Linux
4988     kernels (using the libata disk driver), which shows ALL disks as SCSI. That
4989     does not mean that the system thinks it has SCSI disks, it just names them
4990     as such.
4991    
4992     To make is clear, execute the commands:
4993    
4994     # hdparm -i /dev/sda
4995    
4996     /dev/sda:
4997    
4998     Model=WDC WD3200AAJB-00TYA0, FwRev=00.02C01, SerialNo= WD-WCAPZ0648927
4999     Config={ HardSect NotMFM HdSw>15uSec SpinMotCtl Fixed DTR>5Mbs FmtGapReq }
5000     RawCHS=16383/16/63, TrkSize=0, SectSize=0, ECCbytes=50
5001     BuffType=unknown, BuffSize=8192kB, MaxMultSect=16, MultSect=?16?
5002     CurCHS=16383/16/63, CurSects=16514064, LBA=yes, LBAsects=268435455
5003     IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
5004     PIO modes: pio0 pio3 pio4
5005     DMA modes: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
5006     UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 *udma5
5007     AdvancedPM=no WriteCache=enabled
5008     Drive conforms to: Unspecified: ATA/ATAPI-1,2,3,4,5,6,7
5009    
5010     * signifies the current active mode
5011    
5012     # hdparm -i /dev/sdb
5013    
5014     /dev/sdb:
5015    
5016     Model=WDC WD2500JB-00GVC0, FwRev=08.02D08, SerialNo= WD-WCAL76141931
5017     Config={ HardSect NotMFM HdSw>15uSec SpinMotCtl Fixed DTR>5Mbs FmtGapReq }
5018     RawCHS=16383/16/63, TrkSize=57600, SectSize=600, ECCbytes=74
5019     BuffType=DualPortCache, BuffSize=8192kB, MaxMultSect=16, MultSect=?16?
5020     CurCHS=16383/16/63, CurSects=16514064, LBA=yes, LBAsects=268435455
5021     IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
5022     PIO modes: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4
5023     DMA modes: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
5024     UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 *udma5
5025     AdvancedPM=no WriteCache=enabled
5026     Drive conforms to: Unspecified: ATA/ATAPI-1,2,3,4,5,6
5027    
5028     * signifies the current active mode
5029    
5030     This is also valid for the CDs/DVDs of the system:
5031    
5032     # cat /proc/sys/dev/cdrom/info
5033     CD-ROM information, Id: cdrom.c 3.20 2003/12/17
5034    
5035     drive name: sr1 sr0
5036     drive speed: 0 126
5037     drive # of slots: 1 1
5038     Can close tray: 1 1
5039     Can open tray: 1 1
5040     Can lock tray: 1 1
5041     Can change speed: 1 1
5042     Can select disk: 0 0
5043     Can read multisession: 1 1
5044     Can read MCN: 1 1
5045     Reports media changed: 1 1
5046     Can play audio: 1 1
5047     Can write CD-R: 0 1
5048     Can write CD-RW: 0 1
5049     Can read DVD: 1 1
5050     Can write DVD-R: 0 1
5051     Can write DVD-RAM: 0 1
5052     Can read MRW: 1 0
5053     Can write MRW: 1 0
5054     Can write RAM: 0 1
5055    
5056     While the hdparm shows they are ATA devices:
5057    
5058     # hdparm -i /dev/sr0
5059    
5060     /dev/sr0:
5061    
5062     Model=HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H42L, FwRev=SL01 , SerialNo=K286CQF2231
5063     Config={ Fixed Removeable DTR10Mbs nonMagnetic }
5064     RawCHS=0/0/0, TrkSize=0, SectSize=0, ECCbytes=0
5065     BuffType=unknown, BuffSize=0kB, MaxMultSect=0
5066     (maybe): CurCHS=0/0/0, CurSects=0, LBA=yes, LBAsects=0
5067     IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
5068     PIO modes: pio0 pio3 pio4
5069     DMA modes: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
5070     UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 *udma2 udma3 udma4
5071     AdvancedPM=no
5072     Drive conforms to: unknown: ATA/ATAPI-4,5,6,7
5073    
5074     * signifies the current active mode
5075    
5076    
5077    
5078    

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