/[clonezilla-sysresccd]/trunk/www/2doc/README.txt
ViewVC logotype

Contents of /trunk/www/2doc/README.txt

Parent Directory Parent Directory | Revision Log Revision Log


Revision 112 - (show annotations)
Wed Sep 15 13:20:07 2010 UTC (13 years, 6 months ago) by sng
File MIME type: text/plain
File size: 204207 byte(s)
fixing off-line documentation creation
1 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/sdc bs=512
36
37 And that's it. Your usb device is ready to boot!!!
38
39 Using the extra space
40 ---------------------
41 If your usb device is more than 400MB in size, the above command will
42 leave the remaining space unused. To verify it, execute the command:
43
44 fdisk -l /dev/sdc
45
46 You should get something similar to this:
47
48 Disk /dev/sdc: 1048 MB, 1048576000 bytes
49 64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 1000 cylinders, total 2048000 sectors
50 Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
51 Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
52 I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
53 Disk identifier: 0x77a5188f
54
55 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
56 /dev/sdc1 * 1 384 393216 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS
57
58 As you can see, we are currently using 348 out of 1000 cylinders of the
59 disk. The remaining disk space (~600MB) can still be used, executing the
60 following commands:
61
62 fdisk /dev/sdc
63 command (m for help): n (create new partition)
64 command action
65 e extended
66 p primary partition (1-4)
67 p
68 partition number (1-4): 4 (create partition sdc4)
69 first cylinder (385-1000, default 385):
70 using default value 385
71 last cylinder, +cylinders or +size{k,m,g} (385-1000, default 1000):
72 using default value 1000
73
74 command (m for help): p (display partition table)
75
76 disk /dev/sdc: 1048 mb, 1048576000 bytes
77 64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 1000 cylinders
78 units = cylinders of 2048 * 512 = 1048576 bytes
79 sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
80 i/o size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
81 disk identifier: 0x77a5188f
82
83 device boot start end blocks id system
84 /dev/sdc1 * 1 384 393216 17 hidden hpfs/ntfs
85 /dev/sdc4 385 1000 630784 83 linux
86
87 command (m for help): t (change partition type)
88 partition number (1-4): 4
89 hex code (type l to list codes): b
90 changed system type of partition 4 to b (w95 fat32)
91
92 command (m for help): p (display partition table)
93
94 disk /dev/sdc: 1048 mb, 1048576000 bytes
95 64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 1000 cylinders
96 units = cylinders of 2048 * 512 = 1048576 bytes
97 sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
98 i/o size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
99 disk identifier: 0x77a5188f
100
101 device boot start end blocks id system
102 /dev/sdc1 * 1 384 393216 17 hidden hpfs/ntfs
103 /dev/sdc4 385 1000 630784 b w95 fat32
104
105 command (m for help): w (write partition table to disk and exit)
106 The partition table has been altered!
107
108 Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
109
110 WARNING: Re-reading the partition table failed with error 16: Device or
111 resource busy.
112 The kernel still uses the old table. The new table will be used at
113 the next reboot or after you run partprobe(8) or kpartx(8)
114 Syncing disks.
115
116 At this point you should disconnect and reconnect your usb device. When
117 it's recognised, you can format the partition you've just created
118
119 mkdosfs -F 32 /dev/sdc4
120
121 The partition is now ready for use!!!
122
123 Installing the "hard" way
124 ****************************************
125 If the "easy" way does not work there is an alternative; you will use
126 the Clonezilla-SysRescCD ISO file (or CD) to copy and modify a couple of
127 files on the USB disk, and finally make it bootable, using syslinux {{
128 http://syslinux.zytor.com }} and its configuration file syslinux.cfg.
129
130 [[ important.png ]]
131 Incorrect use of syslinux could cause your operating system (GNU/Linux /
132 Windows) not to boot. Confirm the command before you run it.
133
134 The only thing that's important is that your USB disk must contain a VFAT
135 (Windows 98 or DOS) file system. If this is not the case, refer to the
136 section "Troubleshooting", to find out how you can format it, before
137 copying files to it.
138
139 The bootable USB disk creation procedure can be performed either from
140 Linux or Windows.
141
142 [[ info.png ]]
143 If you want to create a bootable USB flash drive for this version
144 or later, remember to use the syslinux command from syslinux
145 3.71 or later. Otherwise the boot menu won't work.
146
147 Installation from Linux
148 ---------------------
149 There are two ways you can proceed, if you are going to use Linux to
150 perform the USB installation, either using a running linux box, or using
151 Clonezilla-SysRescCD.
152
153 I will assume that you have saved clonezilla-sysresccd-full-mod-3.1.0.iso
154 in your home directory (~).
155
156 Using a linux box
157 ---------------------
158 If you already have a linux box up and running, you can use it to create
159 your Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB, without even having to burn it to CD
160 beforehand. The only thing here is that you have to have syslinux {{
161 http://syslinux.zytor.com }} installed.
162
163 I will assume that your CD drive is /dev/sr0 and that your USB device
164 is /dev/sdc4. You may have to change any of them to reflect your system
165 configuration.
166
167 Boot into linux, connect your USB device and execute the following commands:
168 mkdir /mnt/mycd
169 mount ~/clonezilla-sysresccd-full-mod-3.1.0.iso /mnt/mycd -o loop
170 mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
171 mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt/usbdevice
172 cp -r /mnt/mycd/* /mnt/usbdevice
173 umount /mnt/mycd; rmdir /mnt/mycd
174 cd /mnt/usbdevice
175 rm isolinux/*.cfg
176 mv isolinux/* .
177 rmdir isolinux
178 cd; umount /dev/sdc4
179 rmdir /mnt/usbdevice
180
181 Finally make your USB device bootable, by executing
182 syslinux /dev/sdc4
183 and you are done.
184
185 > Using Clonezilla-SysRescCD
186 If you already burnt Clonezilla-SysRescCD to CD, you can use it to create
187 your Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB.
188
189 I will assume that your CD drive is /dev/sr0 and that your USB device
190 is /dev/sdc4. You may have to change any of them to reflect your system
191 configuration.
192
193 Boot SystemRescueCD using the option To RAM, and when it is fully loaded,
194 execute the following commands:
195 mkdir /mnt/mycd
196 mount /dev/sr0 /mnt/mycd
197 mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
198 mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt/usbdevice
199 cp -r /mnt/mycd/* /mnt/usbdevice
200 umount /mnt/mycd
201 cd /mnt/usbdevice
202 rm isolinux/*.cfg
203 mv isolinux/* .
204 rmdir isolinux
205 cd; umount /dev/sdc4
206
207 Finally make your USB device bootable, by executing
208 syslinux /dev/sdc4
209 and you are done.
210
211 Installation from Windows
212 ---------------------
213 Installing Clonezilla-SysRescCD from Windows is as easy as
214 it is in Linux. You have to burn Clonezilla-SysRescCD to CD
215 or use a CD/DVD ROM emulator software like Daemon Tools {{
216 http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/announcements.php }} to mount the ISO file.
217
218 I will assume that your USB device is drive K: and your CD drive or mounted
219 ISO file is drive
220 D:. You may have to change any of them, in order to reflect your system
221 configuration.
222
223 You will have to
224
225 * Copy all files from drive D: (CD or mounted ISO file) to drive K:
226 (USB disk)
227 * Delete all cfg files from K:isolinux
228 * Move all files from K:isolinux to K:
229 * Delete folder K:isolinux
230
231 Now all you have to do is make your USB disk bootable. In order to do
232 that you have to open a DOS window (in Windows XP press "Start / Run "
233 and type cmd). Then type at DOS prompt:
234 K:
235 cd bootprog
236 syslinux -ma K:
237
238 Booting from USB
239 ---------------------
240 Before trying to boot from your USB device, you have to set your boot device
241 at your BIOS. This means you have to reboot having your USB device connected,
242 get into your BIOS (usually pressing DEL) and make the appropriate settings
243 in the BOOT section.
244
245 Booting Clonezilla Live should not be a problem. Just select the desired
246 option and press ENTER to boot.
247
248 Booting SystemRescueCD has been made equally simple with SystemRescueCD
249 v 1.0.0, so you shouldn't have any problem (option cdroot is not required
250 any more).
251
252 If you have any problems here, you may try adding any of these boot
253 parameters:
254 usbstick
255 doscsi
256
257 Troubleshooting
258 ---------------------
259 Whether you can successfully boot from a USB disk or not, depends mainly on
260 your BIOS. Chances are that you will not be able to boot on an old computer,
261 with an old (and possibly buggy) BIOS. So I would recommend testing your
262 Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB on a new computer.
263
264 * I can't boot (I don't even see the splash screen)
265 or Clonezilla Live does not boot
266
267 The first thing you should do is double check your BIOS settings. Reboot
268 having your USB device connected, get into your BIOS (usually pressing DEL)
269 and make the appropriate settings in the BOOT section.
270
271 If you are on linux, check that the partition on the USB disk is active
272 (bootable), executing:
273 fdisk -l /dev/sdc
274 You should get something similar to this:
275
276 Disk /dev/sdc: 1031 MB, 1031798272 bytes
277 64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 983 cylinders
278 Units = cylinders of 2048 * 512 = 1048576 bytes
279
280 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
281 /dev/sdc4 * 1 983 1006576 6 FAT16
282
283 If the partition is not active (no astrisk), execute:
284 fdisk /dev/sdc
285 and issue "Command: " a (toggle a bootable flag) and "Partition number:"
286 4 (for /dev/sdc4).
287
288 If you are on Windows, this is taken care of by syslinux (parameters -ma).
289
290 If you still have problems booting, you should try to execute
291 syslinux -s /dev/sdc4
292 from Linux, or
293 syslinux -sma K:
294 from Windows (from folder K:syslinux).
295
296 syslinux man page reads:
297
298 (Option) -s
299 Install a "safe, slow and stupid" version of syslinux. This version may work
300 on some very buggy BIOSes on which syslinux would otherwise fail. If you find
301 a machine on which the -s option is required to make it boot reliably, please
302 send as much info about your machine as you can, and include the failure
303 mode.
304
305 * I still can't boot
306 In this case you will have to format your USB disk.
307
308 If you are using linux to perform the installation, execute the command:
309
310 mkdosfs -F 16 /dev/sdc4
311
312 to create a FAT16 file system, or
313
314 mkdosfs -F 32 /dev/sdc4
315
316 to create a FAT32 file system.
317
318 When you are done go back to section "Installation from Linux".
319
320 If you are on Windows, you should download the HP-USB Format tool {{
321 http://h50178.www5.hp.com/local_drivers/17550/SP27608.exe }}, install it
322 and format your USB drive using the Fat or Fat32 option. This program can
323 be used to format USB devices that won't boot properly when formatted with
324 Windows format tool.
325
326 When you are done go back to section "Installation from Windows".
327
328 * I still can't boot (after formating)
329 Things are getting tough!!! Try to format your USB disk using the option you
330 did not use previously. So, if you have created a FAT32 file system, create
331 a FAT16 file system this time, and recreate Clonezilla-SysRescCD on USB.
332
333 If nothing works, you are out of luck; you will not be able to use
334 Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB on this computer... If you do manage to boot it,
335 please send me a message.
336
337 * SystemRescueCD does not boot
338 Ok, you have managed to get to the splash screen and successfully booted
339 Clonezilla Live. But you still can't boot SystemRescueCD.
340
341 Refer to section Booting from USB to find out the boot parameters you can
342 use with SystemRescueCD.
343
344 Customizing sysresc.cfg
345 ---------------------
346 As stated previously, Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB is booted by syslinux through
347 its configuration file syslinux.cfg. This file loads sysresc.cfg in order
348 to boot SystemRescueCD.
349
350 If you have to specify any additional boot parameters for SystemRescueCD,
351 you may want to write these changes to the configuration file, so that
352 you don't have to insert them by hand every time.
353
354 The procedure to do that is the following:
355
356 Boot SystemRescueCD (or if that's not possible yet, bot Clonezilla Linux
357 and get to the command line) using the option To RAM, and when it is fully
358 loaded, execute the following commands:
359 mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
360 mount /dev/[device] /mnt/usbdevice
361 cd /mnt/usbdevice
362 cp sysresc.cfg sysresc.bak
363 sed 's|scandelay=5|scandelay=x [additional params]|'
364 sysresc.cfg > sys.cfg
365 mv sys.cfg sysresc.cfg
366 cd; umount /dev/[device]
367 syslinux /dev/[device]
368 reboot
369
370 where x is a number from 1 to 10.
371
372 After executing these commands, you will have a new sysresc.cfg file,
373 and a backup file called sysresc.bak (in case things go wrong).
374
375 If, for example, you want to increase the device scan delay to maximum,
376 the above commands would become:
377 mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
378 mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt/usbdevice
379 cd /mnt/usbdevice
380 cp sysresc.cfg sysresc.bak
381 sed 's|scandelay=5|scandelay=10|' sysresc.cfg > sys.cfg
382 mv sys.cfg sysresc.cfg
383 cd; umount /dev/sdc4
384 syslinux /dev/sdc4
385 reboot
386
387 If, in addition to that, you had to use the boot parameter usbstick,
388 then it would be:
389 mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
390 mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt/usbdevice
391 cd /mnt/usbdevice
392 cp sysresc.cfg sysresc.bak
393 sed 's|scandelay=5|scandelay=10 usbstick|' sysresc.cfg > sys.cfg
394 mv sys.cfg sysresc.cfg
395 cd; umount /dev/sdc4
396 syslinux /dev/sdc4
397 reboot
398
399 In case something goes wrong with your new settings, you can always rename
400 sysresc.bak to sysresc.cfg, either from linux or Windows.
401
402
403
404
405 Boot parameters
406 ==============================================================================
407
408 Intro
409 ****************************************
410 Booting a linux system means loading a kernel, which is actually the
411 operating system. Well, this is not exactly true, and it is not the only
412 thing that happens during boot up phase, but it is not my intension to
413 explain it here.
414
415 The kernel is loaded by Isolinux (the CD boot manager), which is able to pass
416 a number of parameters to it, through its configuration file isolinux.cfg.
417
418 These parameters, called boot parameters, are documented by the kernel
419 itself, and can differentiate its behavior dramatically. In our case,
420 each CD (SystemRescueCD and Clonezilla Live) accept a different set of
421 parameters, because they are based on gentoo {{ http://www.gentoo.org/ }}
422 and debian, respectively.
423
424 While in the splash screen of Clonezilla-SysRescCD, you can edit the boot
425 parameters by pressing TAB. They will be presented to you, and you can
426 add or remove what you want. You must be careful not to change or remove
427 the parameters that are dedicated to the CD itself, as altering them will
428 certainty make it unbootable. When you are done, just press ENTER to boot.
429
430 SystemRescueCD boot parameters
431 ****************************************
432 [[ info.png ]]
433 The following info applies to SystemRescueCD v. 1.5.5. In case
434 you need to get info for a more recent version of SystemRescueCD
435 please see the page "Sysresccd-manual-en Booting the CD-ROM {{
436 http://www.sysresccd.org/Sysresccd-manual-en_Booting_the_CD-ROM }}"
437
438 A typical sysresccd isolinux entry is:
439
440 kernel rescuecd
441 append initrd=initram.igz video=ofonly
442
443 The kernel used is rescuecd, and anything after the word append is a
444 boot parameter.
445
446 Available kernels (boot images):
447
448 * rescuecd Default for 32bit systems, with Framebuffer disabled, best choice.
449 * rescue64 Default 64 bit kernel. Use it if you want to chroot to a 64bit
450 linux system installed on your hard disk, or if you have to run 64 bits
451 programs. This kernel is able to boot with 32bit programs, and it requires
452 a processor with 64bit instructions (amd64 / em64t).
453 * altker32 an alternative kernel for 32bit systems. Boot with this kernel
454 if you have problems with rescuecd
455 * altker64 an alternative kernel for 64bit systems. Boot with this kernel
456 in case you have problems with rescue64.
457
458 The boot parameters you can use are:
459
460 General boot options
461 Press <TAB> to add additional options (in SystemRescueCd-1.5 and more recent)
462
463 * docache: causes the CD-ROM will be fully loaded into memory. A slower
464 start but once complete, programs start faster and the CD drive will be
465 released allowing normal access to other CDs. This requires 400MB of memory
466 to cache everything (including the bootdisks and isolinux directories). Add
467 lowmem if you have less that 400MB of memory of to prevent these directories
468 to be copied.
469 * setkmap=kk: which defines the keymap to load where kk (example: setkmap=de
470 for German keyboards). This way you won't be prompted for the keyboard
471 configuration during the boot.
472 * root=/dev/xdnp: the root=<device> option boots an existing linux
473 system. For example, if you have linux Gentoo installed on /dev/sda6,
474 use rescuecd root=/dev/sda6 to start it. Keep in mind that you must use a
475 64bit kernel if your system is made of 64bit programs. This option works
476 with LVM volumes. Use rescuecd root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00. Support
477 is also provided for root=auto, which scans all the block devices tfor
478 a linux system. The first linux system found will be started. So with
479 root=auto let you start the system installed from the CD-ROM in case
480 you have problem with your boot loader or kernel. It's also possible
481 to specify a partition using its filesystem label or filesystem
482 uuid. If the label of the partition where linux is installed is
483 mylinux, then boot it using rescuecd root=LABEL=mylinux. Similarly
484 root=UUID=b3d3bec5-997a-413e-8449-0d0ec41ccba7. See more details.
485 * initscript=service:action: This options allows start/stop a service
486 at boot time. For instance if you need the samba service to be started,
487 you can boot with: initscript=samba:start. This does the same thing as
488 /etc/init.d/samba start. Use this option multiple times for different
489 services. All the actions that are supported by an initscript can be used.
490 * backstore=xxx: SystemRescueCd comes with support for the backing-stores. A
491 backing-store saves all the changes you can make. so that you keep these
492 changes the next time you boot it. By default, sysresccd automatically
493 scan removable devices (eg: USB sticks) at boot time and uses the first
494 backing-store it finds. A backing-store is not mandatory and it the
495 scan fails it will store the files which change in memory. To disable
496 the disks scan at boot time specify backstore=off on the boot command
497 line. If you want to save your backing-store file on an harddisk, boot with
498 backstore=alldev to scan all devices (not just removable devices). The
499 default location for backing-stores file is any file named sysrcd.bs
500 located at the root of a disk which is often an USB stick. Change the path
501 by using backstore=/sysrcd/mybackstore.bs. See backing-stores.
502 * isoloop=xxx: Grub2 (currently in development: grub-1.98) provides a new
503 feature to boot from an ISO image which is stored from the hard disk. If you
504 put a copy of systemrescuecd-x86-x.y.z.iso on a partition that Grub2 can read
505 then you can boot SystemRescueCd directly from the ISO image stored on your
506 hard drive. This is very convenient if you frequently update SystemRescueCd
507 and you want to boot it directly from Grub2. Grub2 knows what an ISO image
508 is and it will load the kernel image (rescuecd/rescue64) and the initramfs
509 (initram.igz) from the ISO into memory. It will then do its normal job and
510 execute the kernel. The SystemRescueCd init script must then be aware that
511 its sysrcd.dat file is in an ISO and not directly on the partition. For that
512 reason, this isoloop=xxx boot option is required so you must use it in your
513 grub.cfg. This option is only supported in SystemRescueCd-1.4.0 and more
514 recent. This option specifies the path of the ISO image in the partition that
515 grub considers as its root partition. It's important to understand that the
516 path of the ISO image may be different from the path on your linux system. If
517 you have a separate boot partition mounted on /boot and if you copy this
518 ISO image to /boot/sysrcd/systemrescuecd-x86-x.y.z.iso then the option has
519 to be isoloop=/sysrcd/systemrescuecd-x86-x.y.z.iso. This is because the
520 boot partition is what Grub2 will consider as its root partition during
521 the boot process. Please read the section about isoloop for more details.
522
523 Hardware, drivers and troubleshooting options
524 * dodebug: Enables verbose messages in linuxrc
525
526 * doload=xxx: loads needed kernel modules, multiple comma separated
527 occurrences are permitted (example: doload=3c59x,e1000)
528 * noload=xxx: prevents loading kernel modules, multiple comma separated
529 occurrences are permitted (example: noload=3c59x,e1000). Use this option
530 if you have a problem when the system loads a particular module.
531 * nonet: this will disable the network auto detection at startup
532
533 * scandelay=x: pauses x seconds during the startup to allow slow devices
534 to initialize. This is required when you boot an USB device. A delay of
535 only few seconds should be enough.
536
537 * doxdetect: Since version 0.3.5 the auto-configuration is done in X.Org
538 itself, mkxf86config is disabled by default. This option forces the system to
539 run the mkxf86config startup script and to run the hardware auto-detection
540 from this script. Use this option if you have problems with the graphical
541 environment configuration. This option replaces the option noxdetect that
542 was useful in previous versions.
543 * nodetect: prevents generic hardware auto-detection. Use this option if
544 you have problems with the hardware auto-detection.
545
546 * dostartx: load the X.Org graphical environment.
547 * forcevesa: Forces X.Org to use the safe VESA driver instead of the best
548 video driver detected for your video card. Use this option if you cannot
549 get the graphical environment working with the default options.
550 * forcevesa=xxx: The startx command will load the Xvesa server instead
551 of Xorg, and use the screen resolution given as parameter (eg: 1024x768,
552 1280x1024x32).
553
554 * all-generic-ide: In case of problems related to your hard disk, try to
555 enable this option (eg rescuecd all-generic-ide)
556 * nodmraid: Disable dmraid, for some motherboards with built-in RAID
557 controller.
558 * nomdadm: Disable mdadm, for software RAID.
559
560 * acpi-off / noapic / irqpool: use these options if you have problem when
561 the kernel boots: if it hangs on a driver or if it crashes, ...
562
563 * lowmem: For systems with smaller memory, some daemons are not started
564 including sshd and nfsd.
565
566 * skipmount=/dev/xxx: The system mounts all the storage devices at boot
567 time to find the sysrcd.dat file. If your hard disk is broken it should
568 be mounted. Boot with skipmount=/dev/sda1 skipmount=/dev/sda2 to ignore
569 these two partitions.
570
571 Network configuration and remote access
572 * nonm: to disable the Network-Manager service that conflicts with the
573 standard network command line tools such as ifconfig and ip. You can use
574 this option if you want to configure the network using these commands. This
575 option is not necessary when SystemRescueCd is booting from the network
576 since the service is automatically stopped in that case. This option
577 requires SystemRescueCd-1.5.5 or more recent.
578 * dodhcp: to request a DHCP server provide network attributes including
579 an IP address, gateway...
580 * nodhcp: never run the dhcp client in the initramfs boot
581 script. May be useful if you use PXE boot on a computer with
582 several ethernet interfaces. Support for this option is available in
583 SystemRescueCd-1.5.5-beta2 and more recent
584 * ethx=ipaddr/cidr: Sets the static IP address of all the ethernet
585 interfaces on the system. The /cidr extension is optional. For instance,
586 if you use option ethx=192.168.0.1 on a machine with two ethernet adapters,
587 both eth0 and eth1 will be configured with 192.168.0.1. You can use the
588 format ethx=10.0.0.1/24 (using the cidr notation) if you don't use the
589 default netmask.
590 * eth0=ipaddr/cidr: This option is similar to ethx=ipaddr/cidr but it
591 configures only one interface at a time. To configure the network on a
592 server that has two interfaces, use: eth0=192.168.10.1/24 eth1=192.168.20.1.
593 * dns=ipaddr: Sets the static IP address of the DNS nameserver you want
594 to use to resolve the names. For instance dns=192.168.0.254 means that
595 you want to use 192.168.0.254 as the DNS server.
596 * gateway=ipaddr: Sets the static IP address of the default route on your
597 network. For instance gateway=192.168.0.254 means that the computer can
598 connect to a computer outside of the local network via 192.168.0.254.
599 * dhcphostname=myhost: Sets the hostname that the DHCP client will send
600 to the DHCP server. This may be required if the default hostname cannot
601 be used with your DHCP configuration. This option has been introduced
602 in SystemRescueCd-1.3.5.
603 * rootpass=123456: Sets the root password of the system running on the
604 livecd to 1234. That way you can connect from the network and ssh on the
605 livecd and give 123456 password as the root password.
606 * vncserver=x:123456: The vncserver boot option has been introduced in
607 SystemRescueCd-1.0.2. This options forces the system to configure the
608 VNC-server and to start it automatically at boot time. You have to replace
609 x with the number of displays you want, and 123456 with your password The
610 password must be between 5 and 8 characters, else the boot option will be
611 ignored. In other words the vncserver=2:MyPaSsWd option will give you access
612 to two displays (display=1 on tcp/5901 and display=2 on tcp/5902). Display
613 0 is reserved for X.Org since SystemRescueCd-1.1.0.
614 * nameif=xxx: You can can specify what interface name to give to a
615 particular interface using the mac address. You need SystemRescueCd-1.1.0
616 or newer to do that. Here is how you can specify which interface
617 is using which mac address on a machine with two network interfaces:
618 nameif=eth0!00:0C:29:57:D0:6E,eth1!00:0C:29:57:D0:64. Be careful, you have
619 to respect the separator (comma between the interfaces and exclamation
620 marks between the name and the mac address). You can also use the magic
621 keyword BOOTIF with SystemRescueCd-1.5.4 and more recent when you boot from
622 pxelinux. The pxeboot loader will set BOOTIF to the name of the interface
623 used to boot. You can then use something like nameif=eth0!BOOTIF if you
624 want the boot interface to be called eth0 on a computer with several
625 Ethernet interfaces.
626
627 Network boot using PXE
628 SystemRescueCd provides several options for booting from the network
629 using PXE.
630 These options can be combined with other network boot options such as ethx
631 (cf previous section). See PXE network booting to get a global overview
632 of SystemRescueCd and PXE and Manage remote servers using PXE.
633 The second stage downloads the kernel + initramfs using DHCP/TFTP.
634 The third stage of the PXE boot process acquires the root files system.
635 Several protocols are available.
636
637 * netboot=tftp://ip/path/sysrcd.dat: from a TFTP server. The filesystem
638 is loaded into memory. As a consequence computers with less than 400MB of
639 memory won't be able to boot this way. The system will continue to work
640 if the network is disconnected after the boot process.
641 * netboot=http://ip:port/path/sysrcd.dat: from a Web server. The file system
642 is loaded into memory. Computers with smaller memory won't be able to boot
643 this way. The the system continues to work if the network is disconnected
644 after the boot process.
645 * netboot=nfs://ip:/path: mount an NFSv3 directory. The NFS url must be
646 the path of the directory that contains sysrcd.dat. Only NFSv3 can be used,
647 NFSv4 is not supported. NFS it allows computers with smaller memory to boot
648 SystemRescueCd from the network. After the boot process, the connection
649 is required or you will loose the access to the root file system.
650 * netboot=nbd://ip:port: connect to an NBD server configured with sysrcd.dat
651 on ip:port. NBD is easier to configure than NFS (only one TCP port involved)
652 and it allows computers with smaller memort to boot SystemRescueCd from
653 the network. After the boot process, the connection is required the access
654 to the root system.
655
656 For information on activating speakup, see the speakup info page.
657
658 Options provided for autorun
659 * ar_source=xxx: place where the autorun are stored. It may
660 be the root directory of a partition (/dev/sda1), an nfs
661 share (nfs://192.168.1.1:/path/to/scripts), a samba share
662 (smb://192.168.1.1/path/to/scripts), or an http directory
663 (http://192.168.1.1/path/to/scripts).
664 * autoruns=[0-9]: comma separated list of the autorun scrip to be run. For
665 example autoruns=0,2,7 the autorun sc autorun0, autorun2, autorun7 are
666 run. Use autoruns=no to disable all the autorun scripts with a number.
667 * ar_ignorefail: continue to execute the scripts chain even if a script
668 failed (returned a non-zero status)
669 * ar_nodel: do not delete the temporary copy of the autorun scripts located
670 in /var/autorun/tmp after execution
671 * ar_disable: completely disable autorun, the simple autorun script will
672 not be executed
673 * ar_nowait: do not wait for a keypress after the autorun script have
674 been executed.
675
676 Clonezilla Live boot parameters
677 ****************************************
678 [[ info.png ]]
679 The following info applies to Clonezilla Live v. 1.2.5-17
680 In case you need to get info for a more recent version of Clonezilla Live
681 please see the page "The boot parameters for Clonezilla live {{
682 http://www.clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live/doc/fine-print.php?path=./99_Misc/00_live-initramfs-manual.doc#00_live-initramfs-manual.doc
683 }}"
684
685 A typical Clonezilla Live isolinux entry is:
686
687 kernel /live/vmlinuz1
688 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
689 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general"
690 ocs_live_extra_param="" ocs_live_keymap="" ocs_live_batch="no" ocs_lang=""
691 vga=791 nolocales
692
693 The kernel used is vmlinuz, and anything after the word append is a boot
694 parameter.
695
696 The following info comes from the
697 page titled The boot parameters for Clonezilla live {{
698 http://www.clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live/doc/fine-print.php?path=./99_Misc/00_live-initramfs-manual.doc#00_live-initramfs-manual.doc
699 }}.
700
701 Clonezilla live is based on Debian live with clonezilla installed. Therefore
702 there are 2 kinds of boot parameters:
703
704 * Boot parameters from live-initramfs. You can refer to this manual of
705 live-initramfs.
706 * Boot parameters specially for Clonezilla. All of them are named as
707 "ocs_*", e.g. ocs_live_run, ocs_live_extra_param, ocs_live_batch, ocs_lang.
708 * ocs_live_run is the main program to run in Clonezilla live to save
709 or restore. or other command. Available program: ocs-live-general,
710 ocs-live-restore or any command you write. Use the Absolute path in
711 Clonezilla live.
712 e.g. ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general"
713 //NOTE// You might have to use "sudo" command inside your own script,
714 or you can assign it like: ocs_live_run="sudo bash /my-clonezilla"
715 * ocs_live_extra_param will be used only when ocs_live_run=ocs-live-restore
716 (not for ocs-live-general or any other), then it will be passed to
717 ocs-sr. Therefore these parameters are actually those of ocs-sr.
718 e.g. ocs_live_extra_param="-b -c restoredisk sarge-r5 hda"
719 * ocs_live_keymap is for keymap used in Clonezilla live. Man install-keymap
720 for more details.
721 e.g. ocs_live_keymap="NONE" (won't change the default layout)
722 ocs_live_keymap="/usr/share/keymaps/i386/azerty/fr-latin9.kmap.gz"
723 (French keyboard)
724 * batch mode or not (yes/no), if no, will run interactively.
725 e.g. ocs_live_batch="no"
726 * ocs_lang is the language used in Clonezilla live. Available value:
727 en_US.UTF-8, zh_TW.UTF-8... (see $DRBL_SCRIPT_PATH/lang/bash/)
728 e.g. ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8"
729 * ocs_debug (or ocs-debug) is for you to enter command line prompt before
730 any clonezilla-related action is run. This is easier for you to debug.
731 * ocs_daemonon, ocs_daemonoff, ocs_numlk, ocs_capslk.
732 Ex. for the first 2 parameters, ocs_daemonon="ssh", then ssh service will
733 be turned on when booting. For the last 2 parameters, use "on" or "off",
734 e.g. ocs_numlk=on to turn on numberlock when booting.
735 * ocs_prerun, ocs_prerun1, ocs_prerun2... is for you to run a shell script
736 before Clonezilla is started. E.g. ocs_prerun="/live/image/myscript.sh". If
737 you have more commands to run, you can assign them in the order:
738 ocs_prerun=..., ocs_prerun1=..., ocs_prerun2=.... If more than 10
739 parameters, remember to use ocs_prerun01, ocs_prerun02..., ocs_prerun11
740 to make it in order.
741 * ocs_live_run_tty. This option allows you to specify the tty where
742 $ocs_live_run is run. By default $ocs_live_run is run on /dev/tty1
743 only. (It was also on /dev/ttyS0 before, but since Clonezilla live >=
744 1.2.3-22 no more this due to a problem). If you want to use ttyS0, for
745 example, add live-getty and console=ttyS0,38400n81 in the boot parameter.
746 //NOTE//
747 * This parameter was added in Clonezilla live 1.2.3-22 or later.
748 * If "live-getty console=$tty,38400n81" are assigned in the boot parameters,
749 ocs_live_run_tty will honor $tty, even other value is assigned to
750 ocs_live_run_tty in boot parameter.
751 * It's recommended to assign ocs_lang and ocs_live_keymap in the boot
752 parameters too.
753 * ip, this option allows you to specify the network parameters for
754 network card. In Clonezilla live a patched live-initramfs is used, which
755 is different from the original live-initramfs so that you can assign
756 DNS server, too. Its format is: ip=ethernet port,IP address, netmask,
757 gateway, DNS. E.g. If you want to assing eth0 with IP address 10.0.100.1,
758 netmask 255.255.255.0, gateway 10.0.100.254, DNS server 8.8.8.8, you can
759 assign the following in the boot parameter:
760 ip=eth0,10.0.100.1,255.255.255.0,10.0.100.254,8.8.8.8
761 If more than one network card, you can use ":" to separate them, e.g.:
762 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,,
763 * Besides, "live-netdev" (yes, not ocs_live_netdev) can be used when
764 using PXE booting, you can force to assign the network device to get
765 filesystem.squashfs. This is useful when there are two or more NICs are
766 linked. E.g. live-netdev="eth1" allows you to force the live-initramfs
767 to use eth1 to fetch the root file system filesystem.squashfs.
768
769 With the above options, we have the following examples:
770
771 * A PXE config example for you to boot Clonezilla live via PXE, and ssh
772 service is on, the password of account "user" is assigned:
773 ----------------------------------------
774 label Clonezilla Live
775 MENU LABEL Clonezilla Live
776 MENU DEFAULT
777 kernel vmlinuz1
778 append initrd=initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs noswap noprompt vga=788
779 fetch=tftp://192.168.120.254/filesystem.squashfs usercrypted=bkuQxLqLRuDW6
780 ocs_numlk="on" ocs_daemonon="ssh"
781 ----------------------------------------
782 The usercrypted password is created by:
783 echo YOUR_PASSWORD | mkpasswd -s
784 ("mkpasswd" is from package "whois" in Debian or Ubuntu. Check your
785 GNU/Linux to see which package provides this command if you are not using
786 Debian or Ubuntu. Replace YOUR_PASSWORD with your plain text password,
787 and remember do not put any " in the boot parameters of live-initramfs
788 (while it's ok for those ocs_* boot parameters), i.e. do NOT use something
789 like usercrypted="bkuQxLqLRuDW6").
790 //NOTE// If you do not assign salt to mkpasswd, the encrypted password
791 will not be the same every time you create it.
792 For more about usercrypted discussion, please check the here.
793
794 * How to put your own binary driver in Clonezilla live without modifying
795 /live/filesystem.squashfs:
796
797 * Boot clonezilla live
798 * Become root by running "sudo su -"
799 * Copy the dir lsi, which contains a precompiled kernel module matching
800 the running kernel in Clonezilla live and a script to run it, to a working
801 dir, e.g.:
802 cp -r /live/image/lsi /home/partimag
803 * cd /home/partimag
804 * /opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-live-dev -c -s -i lsi -u lsi -x
805 "ocs_prerun=/live/image/lsi/prep-lsi.sh"
806 * /opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-iso -s -i lsi -u lsi -x
807 "ocs_prerun=/live/image/lsi/prep-lsi.sh"
808 * ///NOTE/// In this example, the 2 files in dir lsi are: megasr.ko (the
809 binary driver) and prep-lsi.sh. The contents of prep-lsi.sh:
810
811 ------------------------
812 #!/bin/bash
813 cp -f /live/image/lsi/megasr.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/block/
814 chown root.root /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/block/megasr.ko
815 depmod -a modprobe megasr
816 sleep 1
817 ------------------------
818 * To put your customized script with a PXE version of Clonezilla live
819 (You have to use Clonezilla live version 1.2.2-2 or later):
820 In this example, we assume (1) The IP address of your PXE server is
821 192.168.120.254, (2) the customized script (custom-ocs-2) is put on
822 your PXE server's tftpd root dir (E.g. On DRBL server, the path is
823 /tftpboot/nbi_img/. It might be different in your case if you are not use
824 DRBL server as a PXE server).
825 Therefor your pxelinux.cfg/default file is like:
826 ------------------------
827 label Clonezilla Live
828 MENU DEFAULT
829 # MENU HIDE
830 MENU LABEL Clonezilla Live
831 # MENU PASSWD
832 kernel vmlinuz1
833 append initrd=initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs noswap noprompt vga=788
834 ip=frommedia fetch=tftp://192.168.120.254/filesystem.squashfs
835 ocs_prerun="busybox tftp -g -b 10240 -r custom-ocs-2 -l
836 /tmp/custom-ocs-2 192.168.120.254" ocs_live_run="bash /tmp/custom-ocs-2"
837 ocs_live_keymap="NONE" ocs_live_batch="no" ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" nolocales
838 TEXT HELP
839 Boot Clonezilla live via network
840 ENDTEXT
841 ------------------------
842 The content of custom-ocs-2 can be like:
843
844 ------------------------
845 #!/bin/bash
846 . /opt/drbl/sbin/drbl-conf-functions
847 . /opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-functions
848 . /etc/ocs/ocs-live.conf
849
850 # Load language file
851 ask_and_load_lang_set en_US.UTF-8
852
853 # 1. Mount the clonezilla image home.
854 # Types: local_dev, ssh_server, samba_server, nfs_server
855 prep-ocsroot -t nfs_server
856
857 # 2. Restore the image
858 if mountpoint /home/partimag/ &>/dev/null; then
859 ocs-sr -l en_US.UTF-8 -c -p choose restoredisk ask_user ask_user
860 else
861 [ "$BOOTUP" = "color" ] & $SETCOLOR_FAILURE
862 echo "Fail to find the Clonezilla image home /home/partimag!"
863 echo "Program terminated!"
864 [ "$BOOTUP" = "color" ] & $SETCOLOR_NORMAL
865 fi
866 ------------------------
867 live-initramfs manual
868 ---------------------
869 This is the manual of live-initramfs {{
870 http://www.clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live/live-initramfs-param.php }}
871
872 live-initramfs(7)
873 =================
874
875 Name
876 ----
877 live-initramfs - Debian Live initramfs hook
878
879 Synopsis
880 --------
881 BOOT=live
882
883 as kernel parameter at boot prompt.
884
885 Description
886 -----------
887
888 live-initramfs is a hook for the initramfs-tools, used to generate
889 a initramfs
890 capable to boot live systems, such as those created by *live-helper*(7).
891 This includes the Debian Live isos, netboot tarballs, and usb stick images.
892
893 At boot time it will look for a (read-only) media containing a "/live"
894 directory where a root filesystems (often a compressed filesystem image like
895 squashfs) is stored. If found, it will create a writable environment, using
896 aufs, for Debian like systems to boot from.
897
898 You probably do not want to install this package onto a non-live system,
899 although it will do no harm.
900
901 live-initramfs is a fork of casper.
902 casper was originally written by Tollef Fog Heen
903 &lt;tfheen@canonical.com&amp;gt;
904 and Matt Zimmerman &lt;mdz@canonical.com&amp;gt;.
905
906 Boot options
907 ------------
908
909 Here is the complete list of recognized boot parameters by live-initramfs.
910
911 access=*ACCESS*::
912
913 Set the accessibility level for physically or visually impared users. ACCESS
914 must be one of v1, v2, v3, m1, or m2. v1=lesser visual impairment,
915 v2=moderate
916 visual impairment, v3=blindness, m1=minor motor difficulties, m2=moderate
917 motor
918 difficulties.
919
920 console=*TTY,SPEED*::
921
922 Set the default console to be used with the "live-getty" option. Example:
923 "console=ttyS0,115200"
924
925 debug::
926
927 Makes initramfs boot process more verbose.
928
929 fetch=*URL*::
930
931 Another form of netboot by downloading a squashfs image from a given url,
932 copying to ram and booting it.
933
934 hostname=*HOSTNAME*, username=*USER*, userfullname=*USERFULLNAME*::
935
936 Those parameters lets you override values read from the config file.
937
938 ignore_uuid
939
940 Do not check that any UUID embedded in the initramfs matches the discovered
941 medium. live-initramfs may be told to generate a UUID by setting
942 LIVE_GENERATE_UUID=1 when building the initramfs.
943
944 integrity-check::
945
946 If specified, an MD5 sum is calculated on the live media during boot and
947 compared to the value found in md5sum.txt found in the root directory of the
948 live media.
949
950 ip=**[CLIENT_IP]:[SERVER_IP]:[GATEWAY_IP]:[NETMASK]:[HOSTNAME]:
951 [DEVICE]:[AUTOCONF]
952 [,[CLIENT_IP]:[SERVER_IP]:[GATEWAY_IP]:[NETMASK]:[HOSTNAME]:
953 [DEVICE]:[AUTOCONF]]***::
954
955 Let you specify the name(s) and the options of the interface(s) that
956 should be
957 configured at boot time. Do not specify this if you want to use dhcp
958 (default).
959 It will be changed in a future release to mimick official kernel boot param
960 specification
961 (e.g. ip=10.0.0.1::10.0.0.254:255.255.255.0::eth0,:::::eth1:dhcp).
962
963 ip[=**frommedia**]::
964
965 If this variable is set, dhcp and static configuration are just skipped
966 and the
967 system will use the (must be) media-preconfigured /etc/network/interfaces
968 instead.
969
970 {keyb|kbd-chooser/method}=**KEYBOARD**,
971 {klayout|console-setup/layoutcode}=**LAYOUT**,
972 {kvariant|console-setup/variantcode}=**VARIANT**,
973 {kmodel|console-setup/modelcode}=
974 **CODE**, koptions=**OPTIONS**::
975
976 Configure the running keyboard as specified, if this one misses
977 live-initramfs
978 behaves as if "keyb=us" was specified. It will be interfered from
979 "locale=" if
980 locale is only 2 lowecase letters as a special case. You could also specify
981 console layout, variant, code, and options (no defaults).
982
983 live-getty::
984
985 This changes the auto-login on virtual terminals to use the (experimental)
986 live-getty code. With this option set the standard kernel argument
987 "console=" is
988 parsed and if a serial console is specified then live-getty is used to
989 autologin
990 on the serial console.
991
992 {live-media|bootfrom}=**DEVICE**::
993
994 If you specify one of this two equivalent forms, live-initramfs will
995 first try
996 to find this device for the "/live" directory where the read-only root
997 filesystem should reside. If it did not find something usable, the
998 normal scan
999 for block devices is performed.
1000
1001 {live-media-encryption|encryption}=**TYPE**::
1002
1003 live-initramfs will mount the encrypted rootfs TYPE, asking the passphrase,
1004 useful to build paranoid live systems :-). TYPE supported so far are
1005 "aes" for
1006 loop-aes encryption type.
1007
1008 live-media-offset=**BYTES**::
1009
1010 This way you could tell live-initramfs that your image starts at offset
1011 BYTES in
1012 the above specified or autodiscovered device, this could be useful to
1013 hide the
1014 Debian Live iso or image inside another iso or image, to create "clean"
1015 images.
1016
1017 live-media-path=**PATH**::
1018
1019 Sets the path to the live filesystem on the medium. By default, it is set to
1020 '/live' and you should not change that unless you have customized your media
1021 accordingly.
1022
1023 live-media-timeout=**SECONDS**::
1024
1025 Set the timeout in seconds for the device specified by "live-media="
1026 to become
1027 ready before giving up.
1028
1029 {locale|debian-installer/locale}=**LOCALE**::
1030
1031 Configure the running locale as specified, if not present the live-media
1032 rootfs
1033 configured locale will be used and if also this one misses live-initramfs
1034 behave
1035 as "locale=en_US.UTF-8" was specified. If only 2 lowercase letter are
1036 specified
1037 (like "it"), the "maybe wanted" locale is generated (like en:EN.UTF-8),
1038 in this
1039 case if also "keyb=" is unspecified is set with those 2 lowercase letters
1040 (keyb=us). Beside that facility, only UTF8 locales are supported by
1041 live-initramfs.
1042
1043 module=**NAME**::
1044
1045 Instead of using the default optional file "filesystem.module" (see below)
1046 another file could be specified without the extension ".module"; it should be
1047 placed on "/live" directory of the live medium.
1048
1049 netboot[=**nfs**|**cifs**]::
1050
1051 This tells live-initramfs to perform a network mount. The parameter
1052 "nfsroot="
1053 (with optional "nfsopts="), should specify where is the location of the root
1054 filesystem. With no args, will try cifs first, and if it fails nfs.
1055
1056 nfsopts=::
1057
1058 This lets you specify custom nfs options.
1059
1060 noautologin::
1061
1062 This parameter disables the automatic terminal login only, not touching
1063 gdk/kdm.
1064
1065 noxautologin::
1066
1067 This parameter disables the automatic login of gdm/kdm only, not touching
1068 terminals.
1069
1070 nofastboot::
1071
1072 This parameter disables the default disabling of filesystem checks in
1073 /etc/fstab. If you have static filesystems on your harddisk and you want
1074 them to
1075 be checked at boot time, use this parameter, otherwise they are skipped.
1076
1077 nopersistent::
1078
1079 disables the "persistent" feature, useful if the bootloader (like syslinux)
1080 has
1081 been installed with persistent enabled.
1082
1083 noprompt
1084
1085 Do not prompt to eject the CD on reboot.
1086
1087 nosudo::
1088
1089 This parameter disables the automatic configuration of sudo.
1090
1091 swapon::
1092
1093 This parameter enables usage of local swap partitions.
1094
1095 nouser::
1096
1097 This parameter disables the creation of the default user completely.
1098
1099 noxautoconfig::
1100
1101 This parameter disables Xorg auto-reconfiguration at boot time. This
1102 is valuable
1103 if you either do the detection on your own, or, if you want to ship a custom,
1104 premade xorg.conf in your live system.
1105
1106 persistent[=nofiles]::
1107
1108 live-initramfs will look for persistent and snapshot partitions or files
1109 labeled
1110 "live-rw", "home-rw", and files called "live-sn*", "home-sn*" and will
1111 try to,
1112 in order: mount as /cow the first, mount the second in /home, and just
1113 copy the
1114 contents of the latter in appropriate locations (snapshots). Snapshots
1115 will be
1116 tried to be updated on reboot/shutdown. Look at live-snapshot(1) for more
1117 informations. If "nofiles" is specified, only filesystems with matching
1118 labels
1119 will be searched; no filesystems will be traversed looking for archives
1120 or image
1121 files. This results in shorter boot times.
1122
1123 {preseed/file|file}=**FILE**::
1124
1125 A path to a file present on the rootfs could be used to preseed debconf
1126 database.
1127
1128 package/question=**VALUE**::
1129
1130 All debian installed packages could be preseeded from command-line that way,
1131 beware of blanks spaces, they will interfere with parsing, use a preseed
1132 file in
1133 this case.
1134
1135 quickreboot::
1136
1137 This option causes live-initramfs to reboot without attempting to eject the
1138 media and without asking the user to remove the boot media.
1139
1140 showmounts::
1141
1142 This parameter will make live-initramfs to show on "/" the ro filesystems
1143 (mostly compressed) on "/live". This is not enabled by default because could
1144 lead to problems by applications like "mono" which store binary paths on
1145 installation.
1146
1147 textonly
1148
1149 Start up to text-mode shell prompts, disabling the graphical user interface.
1150
1151 timezone=**TIMEZONE**::
1152
1153 By default, timezone is set to UTC. Using the timezone parameter, you can
1154 set it
1155 to your local zone, e.g. Europe/Zurich.
1156
1157 todisk=**DEVICE**::
1158
1159 Adding this parameter, live-initramfs will try to copy the entire read-only
1160 media to the specified device before mounting the root filesystem. It
1161 probably
1162 needs a lot of free space. Subsequent boots should then skip this step
1163 and just
1164 specify the "live-media=DEVICE" boot parameter with the same DEVICE used this
1165 time.
1166
1167 toram::
1168
1169 Adding this parameter, live-initramfs will try to copy the whole read-only
1170 media
1171 to the computer's RAM before mounting the root filesystem. This could need
1172 a lot
1173 of ram, according to the space used by the read-only media.
1174
1175 union=**aufs**|**unionfs**::
1176
1177 By default, live-initramfs uses aufs. With this parameter, you can switch to
1178 unionfs.
1179
1180 utc=**yes**|**no**::
1181
1182 By default, Debian systems do assume that the hardware clock is set to
1183 UTC. You
1184 can change or explicitly set it with this parameter.
1185
1186 xdebconf::
1187
1188 Uses xdebconfigurator, if present on the rootfs, to configure X instead
1189 of the
1190 standard procedure (experimental).
1191
1192 xvideomode=**RESOLUTION**::
1193
1194 Doesn't do xorg autodetection, but enforces a given resolution.
1195
1196 Files
1197 -----
1198
1199 /etc/live.conf
1200
1201 Some variables can be configured via this config file (inside the live
1202 system).
1203
1204 /live/filesystem.module
1205
1206 This optional file (inside the live media) contains a list of white-space or
1207 carriage-return-separated file names corresponding to disk images in the
1208 "/live"
1209 directory. If this file exists, only images listed here will be merged
1210 into the
1211 root aufs, and they will be loaded in the order listed here. The first entry
1212 in this file will be the "lowest" point in the aufs, and the last file in
1213 this list will be on the "top" of the aufs, directly below /cow. Without
1214 this file, any images in the "/live" directory are loaded in alphanumeric
1215 order.
1216
1217 /etc/live-persistence.binds
1218
1219 This optional file (which resides in the rootfs system, not in the live
1220 media)
1221 is used as a list of directories which not need be persistent: ie. their
1222 content does not need to survive reboots when using the persistence features.
1223
1224 This saves expensive writes and speeds up operations on volatile data such as
1225 web caches and temporary files (like e.g. /tmp and .mozilla) which are
1226 regenerated each time. This is achieved by bind mounting each listed
1227 directory
1228 with a tmpfs on the original path.
1229
1230 See also
1231 --------
1232
1233 live-snapshot(1), initramfs-tools(8), live-helper(7), live-initscripts(7),
1234 live-webhelper(7)
1235
1236 Bugs
1237 ----
1238
1239 Report bugs against live-initramfs
1240 http://packages.qa.debian.org/live-initramfs.
1241
1242 Homepage
1243 --------
1244
1245 More information about the Debian Live project can be found at
1246 http://debian-live.alioth.debian.org/ and
1247 http://wiki.debian.org/DebianLive/.
1248
1249 Authors
1250 -------
1251
1252 live-initramfs is maintained by Daniel Baumann &lt;daniel@debian.org&amp;gt;
1253 for the Debian project.
1254
1255 live-initramfs is a fork of casper.
1256 casper was originally written by Tollef Fog Heen
1257 &lt;tfheen@canonical.com&amp;gt;
1258 and Matt Zimmerman &lt;mdz@canonical.com&amp;gt;.
1259
1260
1261
1262
1263 About Clonezilla Live
1264 ==============================================================================
1265
1266 Intro
1267 ****************************************
1268 The DRBL-based PXEBoot Clonezilla is used to clone many computers
1269 simultaneously. It is an extremely useful tool, however, it does have several
1270 limitations. In order to use it, you must first prepare a DRBL server AND
1271 the machine to be cloned must boot from a network (e.g. PXE/Etherboot).
1272
1273 To address these limitations, the Free Software Lab at the NCHC has combined
1274 Debian Live {{ http://debian-live.alioth.debian.org/ }} with Clonezilla
1275 to produce "Clonezilla Live", a new software that can be used to easily
1276 clone individual machines.
1277
1278 Clonezilla Live provides two modes of operation:
1279
1280 * device-image
1281 In this mode of operation, a disk/partition can be saved to an
1282 image file. This image file can be used to restore the original
1283 disk/partition. With Clonezilla-SysRescCD, it can also be used to create an
1284 automated restore CD/DVD. This is the mode of operation we will discuss here.
1285
1286 * device-device (cloning)
1287 This mode of operation creates an exact copy of the original disk/partition
1288 on the fly.
1289
1290 When working in device-image mode, you will always have to specify three
1291 things:
1292
1293 * The location of the image file
1294 * The working parameters for the operation
1295 * The disk/partition that will be saved/restored
1296
1297 Clonezilla Live provides a user friendly interface in order to insert
1298 this data.
1299
1300 When Clonezilla Live is booted up, either normally or copied to RAM, the
1301 contents of the whole CD/DVD can be found in folder /live/image. This
1302 is where you will find any extra files, such as the restorecd and the
1303 doc folders.
1304
1305 Starting and stopping Clonezilla Live
1306 ****************************************
1307 When you boot into Clonezilla Live, the program (actually a script) starts
1308 automatically. There are many places where you can stop it, by selecting
1309 Cancel or answering N(o) to a question. When you do that you will probably
1310 get the following:
1311 Now you can choose to:
1312 (0) Poweroff
1313 (1) Reboot
1314 (2) Enter command line prompt
1315 (3) Start over
1316 [2]
1317
1318 Select Poweroff or Reboot, only if you haven't already mounted a disk
1319 partition. I found out by experience, it is not always safe to let any live
1320 CD automatically unmount my partitions. So if you have already specified
1321 the image partition and/or the partition to save/restore, you should enter
1322 command line prompt and type:
1323 sudo su -
1324 mount | grep /dev/[sh]d
1325 and then unmount the partitions shown by the last command. So if the
1326 results of this command is for example:
1327 /dev/hda1 on /home/partimag type vfat (rw)
1328 just type the command:
1329 umount /dev/hda1
1330 and it's now safe to Poweroff of Reboot.
1331
1332 If, on the other hand, you just want to restart the program, type:
1333 ocs-live
1334
1335 About the Image file
1336 ****************************************
1337 One thing should be made clear about the image file: it is not a file,
1338 it is a folder, containing the actual image file and some data about the
1339 disk/partition it is associated with. So when you insert the image file name,
1340 you actually insert the folder name where the image will be saved/restored.
1341
1342 Before you are able to insert the image file name, a list of partitions
1343 will be presented to you, so that you can choose where it should be
1344 saved/found. When you select one of them, it will be mounted and a list
1345 of folders will be presented to you, so you can select the base image
1346 directory (first level directory within the partition), which will then
1347 be mounted under /home/partimag. This way you can, for example, create a
1348 folder called all_my_images in one of your disk partitions, and move all
1349 your image files in there; Clonezilla Live will be able to find them!!!
1350
1351 Another thing that should be pointed out is that only unmounted partitions
1352 will be included in the above list. This means that if you have stopped
1353 the program at some point after specifying the partition where the image
1354 file resides, and it has been mounted, it will not be present in the list
1355 the next time it is presented to you, and you will not be able to use it.
1356
1357 There are two things you can do in this case; either unmount the partition,
1358 as stated above, or select
1359 skip Use existing /home/partimag
1360
1361 instead of any other option, when you restart the program. The later of
1362 course means that you still want to use the previously specified partition
1363 as the image file location.
1364
1365 Fianlly I should say that Clonezilla Live is able to use a remote
1366 disk/partition as the location of the image file, mounted through ssh,
1367 samba or nfs. Using any of these options is a more advanced topic, way
1368 beyond the scope of this presentation.
1369
1370 Scripts' options
1371 ****************************************
1372 This section presents the options which are available at the "Clonezilla
1373 advanced extra parameters" screens, if the "Expert" mode is selected. For
1374 other options, see Getting backups and Restoring data.
1375
1376 Backup options
1377 ---------------------
1378 > Imaging program priority
1379
1380 -q2 Priority: partclone > partimage > dd
1381 -q1 Priority: Only dd (supports all filesystem, but inefficient)
1382 -q Priority: ntfsclone > partimage > dd
1383 Priority: partimage > dd (no ntfsclone)
1384
1385 This option chooses which imaging programs are preferred. By default,
1386 Clonezilla Live uses partclone for nearly all filesystems, including
1387 ext2/3/4, NTFS and FAT32. If a filesystem isn't supported by partclone,
1388 but is supported by partimage (spesifically: if the filesystem is HFS,
1389 HPFS or JFS), it is cloned by partimage. If it isn't supported by either
1390 (for example Linux swap, though it doesn't make any sense to clone swap
1391 partitions), it is cloned by dd. Unlike partclone or partimage, dd copies
1392 all blocks of the partition instead of only used, resulting in slower
1393 imaging process and bigger images.
1394
1395 Normally the default option -q2 should be preferred. Try another option
1396 if you have problems and believe they are caused by the imaging program used.
1397
1398 > Various parameters
1399
1400 These options are available at the second "Clonezilla advanced extra
1401 parameters" screen.
1402 -c Client waits for confirmation before cloning
1403 This option causes Clonezilla Live to ask if you really want to clone the
1404 disk/partition just before it starts cloning. It is enabled by default.
1405
1406 -j2 Clone the hidden data between MBR and 1st partition
1407 If this option is set, the 15 hidden sectors between Master Boot Record
1408 and the first partition are copied. This area usually contains some data
1409 necessary for booting. The option is enabled by default and should be kept
1410 enabled if you are cloning a bootable disk.
1411
1412 -nogui Use text output only, no TUI/GUI output
1413 Causes Clonezilla Live to force the used programs to use only command-line
1414 interface even if text-based or graphical user interface is available.
1415
1416 -a Do NOT force to turn on HD DMA
1417 Prevents Clonezilla Live from using DMA for communicating with hard
1418 drives. Slows cloning down but in some conditions cloning without this
1419 option can be impossible.
1420
1421 -rm-win-swap-hib Remove page and hibernation files in Win if exists
1422 This option prevents Clonezilla Live from cloning your page file if you
1423 are cloning a partition containing Windows. Often the page file is big
1424 and unneeded, and skipping it may speed cloning up without causing any
1425 harm. Mind you, this option is disabled by default because sometimes the
1426 page file may be necessary.
1427
1428 -ntfs-ok Skip checking NTFS integrity, even bad sectors (ntfsclone only)
1429 This option works only if you selected the -q option and you're cloning
1430 a NTFS partition. It prevents the integrity check of NTFS partitions and
1431 speeds the cloning process up a little. However, if the check is disabled,
1432 there is a risk that the filesystem is damaged and the image created from
1433 it is useless.
1434
1435 -rescue Continue reading next one when disk blocks read errors
1436 If this option is set, Clonezilla Live continues cloning even if a read
1437 error occurs. If there is one, the disk image will be corrupted, but
1438 failing hard drives can only be cloned with this option enabled.
1439
1440 -fsck-src-part Check and repair source file system before saving
1441 This option causes Clonezilla Live to check the integrity of the partition(s)
1442 to be cloned. If the filesystem of the partition is damaged, Clonezilla Live
1443 also attempts to repair it automatically. Enabling this option reduces the
1444 risk that the image contains a damaged filesystem. However, the option is
1445 disabled by default because the automatic filesystem repair attempt may
1446 cause data loss.
1447
1448 -gm Generate image MD5 checksums
1449 Causes Clonezilla Live to calculate MD5 checksum(s) of image(s) created. If
1450 the image gets corrupted afterwards, the checksum allows to notice the
1451 corruption before the image is restored. Mind you, calculating the checksum
1452 takes some time and slows the process down a little.
1453
1454 -gs Generate image SHA1 checksums
1455 This option is identical to the above, but creates SHA1 checksum(s) instead
1456 of MD5. SHA1 is considered to be more accurate checksum algorithm than MD5,
1457 but MD5 is more popular.
1458
1459 > Compression method
1460
1461 -z1p Use parallel gzip compression (testing), for multicore/CPU
1462 -z1 gzip compression (fast with a smaller image)
1463 -z2p Use parallel bzip2 compression (testing), for multicore/CPU
1464 -z2 bzip2 compression (slowest but smallest image)
1465 -z3 lzo compression (faster with image size approx. to that of
1466 gzip)(NOTE!!)
1467 -z4
1468 lzma_compression_(slowest_but_also_small_image,_faster_decompression_than_bzip2)
1469 -z5p Use_parallel_xz_compression_(testing),_for_multicore/CPU
1470 -z5
1471 xz_compression_(slowest_but_also_small_image,_faster_decompression_than_bzip2)
1472 -z6p Use_parallel_lzip_compression_(testing),_for_multicore/CPU
1473 -z6
1474 lzip_compression_(slowest_but_also_small_image,_faster_decompression_than_bzip2)
1475 -z0 No compression (fastest but largest image size)
1476
1477 This option chooses the method which is used to compress the image while
1478 creating it.
1479
1480 If no compression is used at all, there won't be any negative speed impact
1481 caused by compression. However, the image file size is the size of all the
1482 data backed up - for example, if you clone a 160 GB hard drive containing
1483 60 gigabytes of data, the resulting disk image will be 60 gigabytes in size.
1484
1485 Gzip and lzop are fast compression methods. Lzop is many times faster than
1486 gzip, but creates slightly larger images. Clonezilla Live warns that lzop
1487 requires good-quality RAM, but I (the contributor who wrote this chapter)
1488 think other compression methods require good RAM too.
1489
1490 Bzip2, lzma, xz and lzip are powerful compression methods. Lzma creates a
1491 little smaller images than bzip2, and decompressing lzma-compressed images
1492 is faster than decompressing bzip2 images. But there is no free lunch:
1493 lzma compression method is very slow compared even to bzip2, which isn't
1494 fast method either.
1495
1496 Lzma method is becoming obsolete, and both xz and lzip are attempting to
1497 become its successor. They are a bit less powerful compression methods than
1498 lzma, but much faster. The differences between xz and lzip are virtually
1499 non-existent.
1500
1501 If you don't use the i486 version of Clonezilla-SysRescCD and your
1502 processor contains multiple cores and/or supports Hyper-Threading, parallel
1503 gzip, bzip2, xz and lzip compression methods are also available. Parallel
1504 compression means that each processor core compresses a different part of the
1505 image at a time. Without parallel compression one core compresses everything.
1506
1507 The speed impact caused by parallel compression depends on the number
1508 of processor cores available. In addition, Hyper-Threading increases the
1509 speed by about 30 % if parallel compression is used. For example, if your
1510 processor contains four cores and supports Hyper-Threading, speed with
1511 parallel compression is nearly 5,2 times as high as without. However,
1512 parallel compression is currently an experimental feature.
1513
1514 > Splitting
1515
1516 This option (command line: -i [number]) decides if the created image files
1517 are splitted into smaller pieces, and if yes, how large the pieces are. This
1518 setting doesn't usually matter, but some filesystems (most importantly
1519 FAT32) don't allow files larger than four gigabytes. If you're saving the
1520 disk image to a FAT32 partition, enter 4000 or less. (Value 0 disables
1521 splitting, so don't use it in that case.) If the filesystem allows files
1522 big enough, enter any value which isn't too small (you don't want to split
1523 the image into too many pieces, do you?)
1524
1525 Clonezilla Live warns that it is no longer safe to disable splitting because
1526 value 0 can confuse init. I (the contributor) don't know what the warning
1527 exactly means and haven't been able to reproduce the problem. Anyway,
1528 entering a very big value, for example 999999999999, is a safe way to keep
1529 the image in one piece.
1530
1531 > Postaction
1532
1533 -p true Do nothing when the clone finishes
1534 -p reboot Reboot client when the clone finishes
1535 -p poweroff Shutdown client when the clone finishes
1536
1537 In this screen you can decide what Clonezilla Live does when the
1538 disk/partition is cloned.
1539
1540 Spiros told above that he has found out that it's not always safe to allow
1541 Live CDs automatically unmount partitions, and I have lost data when trying
1542 auto-unmount with a script. So, avoid -p reboot and -p poweroff options
1543 if possible. You have been warned.
1544
1545 Restore options (script ocs-sr)
1546 ---------------------
1547 > Various parameters
1548
1549 These options are available at the first "Clonezilla advanced extra
1550 parameters" screen.
1551 -g auto Reinstall grub in client disk MBR (only if grub config exists)
1552 Causes Clonezilla Live to reinstall GRUB into the Master Boot Record
1553 of the disk if at least one partition contains GRUB config file
1554 (/boot/grub/menu.lst). The option is enabled by default and shouldn't
1555 cause any harm. However, it should be disabled if you for example have
1556 another bootloader in MBR and chainload GRUB with it.
1557
1558 -e1 auto Automatically adjust filesystem geometry for a NTFS boot partition
1559 if exists
1560 The NTLDR bootloader used by Windows isn't able to determine automatically
1561 where the files it needs are stored. It only knows their physical locations,
1562 which sometimes change when the disk or partition is copied. If the locations
1563 are changed and this option is selected, the location information of the
1564 files is changed accordingly. This option is enabled by default and if
1565 it's disabled, the cloned Windows will fail to boot.
1566
1567 -e2 sfdisk uses CHS of hard drive from EDD(for non-grub boot loader)
1568 This option requires that the -e1 auto option is selected. It causes
1569 Clonezilla Live to use disk read interface named EDD for determining the
1570 physical locations of the files when updating the location information
1571 used by NTLDR. The option is enabled by default because it reduces the
1572 risk that Windows doesn't boot.
1573
1574 -hn0 PC Change MS Win hostname (based on IP address) after clone
1575 If this option is selected and a partition containing Microsoft Windows is
1576 cloned, its IP address -based hostname is changed after cloning. Computers
1577 which are on any network simultaneously need to have different hostnames,
1578 so this option is needed if a Windows system is cloned to another computer
1579 and the original computer is still used in addition to the one where the
1580 image was restored to.
1581
1582 -hn1 PC Change MS Win hostname (based on MAC address) after clone
1583 This option causes the MAC address -based hostname of Windows to change. This
1584 option needs also be enabled in the above condition.
1585
1586 -v Prints verbose messages (especially for udpcast)
1587 Causes Clonezilla Live to tell more information of what it does.
1588
1589 -nogui Use text output only, no TUI/GUI output
1590 Causes Clonezilla Live to force the used programs to use only command-line
1591 interface even if text-based or graphical user interface is available.
1592
1593 -b Run clone in batch mode (DANGEROUS!)
1594 Causes Clonezilla Live to run in batch mode. According to Clonezilla
1595 Live reference card, this option is dangerous, though I (the contributor)
1596 don't know why.
1597
1598 -c Client waits for confirmation before cloning
1599 This option causes Clonezilla Live to ask if you really want to clone the
1600 disk/partition just before it starts cloning. It is enabled by default.
1601
1602 -t Client does not restore the MBR (Mater Boot Record)
1603 Do NOT restore the MBR (Mater Boot Record) when restoring image. If this
1604 option is set, you must make sure there is an existing MBR in the current
1605 restored harddisk. Default is Yes.
1606
1607 -t1 Client restores the prebuilt MBR from syslinux (For Windows only)
1608 If this option is set, the MBR is overwritten by prebuilt one which
1609 chainloads Windows. Use this option if you have to restore Windows and
1610 make it bootable, but don't have the original MBR or backup of it.
1611
1612 -r Try to resize the filesystem to fit partition size
1613 This option is useful if you are cloning a small disk to larger one. It
1614 tries to resize the restored filesystem to the size of the partition where
1615 it was restored to. It allows you to use the whole size of your new disk
1616 without resizing the partition afterwards. The option requires that the
1617 disk where the image is copied already contains a partition where the
1618 image is restored or that the option -k1 is enabled.
1619
1620 -e sfdisk uses the CHS value of hard drive from the saved image
1621 Force to use the saved CHS (cylinders, heads, sectors) when using sfdisk. Of
1622 cource, there is no use of it when using any of -j0, -k or -k2 options.
1623
1624 -icrc Ignore CRC checking of partclone
1625 This option causes partclone to skip checking the CRC32 checksums of
1626 the image. Enabling this option speeds the restore process up. However,
1627 if this option is enabled and the -cm and -cs options are disabled, there
1628 is no way to notice if the image has corrupted.
1629
1630 -j1 Write MBR (512 B) again after image is restored. Not OK for partition
1631 table diffe
1632 When a disk image is restored, the partition table must be updated to
1633 reflect the actual partitions in the disk. If you don't want it to happen,
1634 enable this option. Then the Master Boot Record (including the partition
1635 table) is restored again after restoring the image. Note that using this
1636 option can destroy all the data in the target drive.
1637
1638 -j2 Clone the hidden data between MBR and 1st partition
1639 If this option is set, the 15 hidden sectors between Master Boot Record
1640 and the first partition are restored. This area usually contains some data
1641 necessary for booting. The option is enabled by default and should be kept
1642 enabled if you are cloning a bootable disk.
1643
1644 -cm Check image by MD5 checksums
1645 If the image folder contains MD5 checksum(s), this option causes Clonezilla
1646 Live to check if the image has corrupted by calculating its checksum and
1647 comparing it to the precalculated one. Mind you, calculating the checksum
1648 takes some time and slows the process down a little.
1649
1650 -cs Check image by SHA1 checksums
1651 This option is identical to the above, but checks SHA1 checksum(s) instead
1652 of MD5.
1653
1654 -a Do NOT force to turn on HD DMA
1655 Prevents Clonezilla Live from using DMA for communicating with hard
1656 drives. Slows cloning down but in some conditions cloning without this
1657 option can be impossible.
1658
1659 -o0 Run script in $OCS_PRERUN_DIR before clone starts
1660 Run the scripts in the directory $OCS_PRERUN_DIR before clone is
1661 started. The location of the directory can be determined by editing the
1662 file drbl-ocs.conf. By default it is /opt/drbl/share/ocs/prerun.
1663
1664 -o1 Run script in $OCS_POSTRUN_DIR as clone finishes
1665 Run the scripts in the directory $OCS_POSTRUN_DIR when clone is
1666 finished. The location of the directory can be determined by editing the
1667 file drbl-ocs.conf. By default it is /opt/drbl/share/ocs/postrun. The
1668 command will be run before that assigned in -p.
1669
1670 The scripts will be executed by the program "run-parts". run-parts only
1671 accepts that the name of the scripts must consist entirely of upper and
1672 lower case letters, digits and underscores. So if your file name has an
1673 illegal character ".", run-parts won't run it. You can test which files
1674 will be executed by entering the command:
1675 run-parts --test /opt/drbl/share/ocs/postrun
1676
1677 > Partition table
1678
1679 This option decides what is done to the partition table of the target drive.
1680 Use the partition table from the image
1681 This option causes Clonezilla Live to copy the partition table from the
1682 image. Use this option if you are cloning a whole disk or somehow know that
1683 the partition tables are identical (for example, if you are restoring a
1684 partition to the same disk where it was copied from and haven't repartitioned
1685 the drive after creating the backup). This is the default option.
1686
1687 -k Do NOT create a partition table on the target disk
1688 Do NOT create partition in target harddisk. If this option is set,
1689 you must make sure there is an existing partition table in the current
1690 restored harddisk.
1691
1692 -k1 Create partition table proportionally (OK for MRB format, not GPT)
1693 Causes Clonezilla Live to create the partition table automatically using
1694 sfdisk after restoring the images. This option works nearly always, but
1695 sometimes cloned Windows don't boot. Note that this option doesn't work if
1696 you have GUID Partition Table on your disk. (Most likely you don't have one.)
1697
1698 -k2 Enter command line prompt to create partition manually later
1699 Like the -k option, this option doesn't create the partition table
1700 automatically. However, after restoring the image you are led to command
1701 line prompt where you can create the partition table manually. Don't use
1702 this option if you don't know how the partition table can be created.
1703
1704 -j0 Use dd to create partition (NOT OK if logical drives exist)
1705 Use dd to dump the partition table from saved image instead of sfdisk.
1706
1707 We read in DRBL FAQ/Q&A {{
1708 http://drbl.sourceforge.net/faq/fine-print.php?path=./2_System/23_Missing_OS.faq#23_Missing_OS.faq
1709 }}:
1710
1711 When I use clonezilla to clone M$ windows, there is no any problem
1712 when saving an image from template machine. However, after the image
1713 is restored to another machine, it fails to boot, the error message is
1714 "Missing Operating System". What's going on ?
1715
1716 Usually this is because GNU/Linux and M$ windows interpret the CHS (cylinder,
1717 head, sector) value of harddrive differently. Some possible solutions:
1718 1. Maybe you can change the IDE harddrive setting in BIOS, try to use
1719 LBA instead of auto mode.
1720 2. Try to choose
1721 [ ] -j0 Use dd to create partition table instead of sfdisk
1722 and
1723 [ ] -t1 Client restores the prebuilt MBR from syslinux (For Windows only)
1724 when you restore the image.
1725 3. You can try to boot the machine with MS Windows 9x bootable floppy,
1726 and in the DOS command prompt, run: "fdisk /mbr".
1727 4. You can try to boot the machine with MS Windows XP installation
1728 CD, enter recovery mode (by pressing F10 key in MS XP, for example),
1729 then in the console, run "fixmbr" to fix it. Maybe another command
1730 "fixboot" will help, too. For more info, refer to this doc {{
1731 http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B314058&x=7&y=14 }}
1732 5. Use ntfsreloc to adjust FS geometry on NTFS partitions. For more info,
1733 refer to http://www.linux-ntfs.org/doku.php?id=contrib:ntfsreloc
1734
1735 It has been confirmed that activating the -j0 option, fixes the problem.
1736
1737 This option doesn't work if you use LVM (Logical Volume Manager).
1738
1739 exit Exit
1740 This option ends the restore process and enters command line prompt.
1741
1742 > Postaction
1743
1744 -p true Do nothing when the clone finishes
1745 -p reboot Reboot client when the clone finishes
1746 -p poweroff Shutdown client when the clone finishes
1747
1748 When image restoration finishes, do one of the following: choose action
1749 (default), poweroff or reboot.
1750
1751 Saving image files in NTFS partitions
1752 ****************************************
1753 Although not recomended, you may find yourself having to save your image
1754 file in a NTFS (Windows XP) partition. You may never have a problem doing
1755 this, but you may get a message like the following one, when the partition
1756 gets mounted:
1757 Volume is scheduled for check
1758 Please boot into Windows TWICE, or use 'force' mount option"
1759 and the backup procedure fails. There are two things you can do here:
1760
1761 * Exit the program, reboot and use Windows XP Recovery Console to fix the
1762 NTFS file system. From Recovery Console
1763 prompt, execute the command:
1764 chkdsk /f X:
1765
1766 where X: is the drive letter of the disk. When done, boot back into
1767 Clonezilla Live and repeat the backup procedure.
1768
1769 If the disk/partition you are trying to backup is not the Windows System
1770 disk (usually C:), you can boot Windows, and execute the command in a DOS
1771 window. To open a DOS window click Start / Run... and at the prompt Open:
1772 type cmd.
1773
1774 If the Windows version you use is not XP and you're trying to backup the
1775 Windows System drive, boot into SystemRescueCD (graphical mode is not
1776 needed) and run the following command:
1777 ntfsfix /dev/hda1
1778
1779 where /dev/hda1 is the partition name in GNU/Linux. When done, boot back
1780 into Clonezilla Live and repeat the backup procedure.
1781
1782 * If Windows XP Recovery Console is not available, you don't have the time
1783 to execute the procedure described above, or even if you have executed it
1784 but you still get the same message, and you are absolutely sure that you
1785 get this message because the NTFS partition is really scheduled for check,
1786 and it's not because Windows crushed or have become corrupt, you can mount
1787 the patririon by hand and tell Clonezilla Live to use it. Assuming the
1788 partition is /dev/hda1, exit the program and execute the commands:
1789 sudo su -
1790 ntfs-3g -o force /dev/hda1 /home/partimag
1791 ocs-live
1792
1793 and when you get to the screen "Mount clonezilla image directory", select
1794 skip Use existing /home/partimag
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799 Getting backups
1800 ==============================================================================
1801
1802 Intro
1803 ****************************************
1804 In this page I will demonstrate the creation of an image file by getting
1805 a backup of a virtual partition (/dev/sdb1). The image file will be saved
1806 in another virtual partition (/dev/sda1).
1807
1808 The first thing you do when you want to get a backup of a disk/partition,
1809 is make sure both the souce (to be backed up) and target (to hold the
1810 image file) partitions are in excellent condition (error free). This is the
1811 logical thing to do, cause I wouldn't want to backup a corrupt partition,
1812 or end up with a corrupt image file.
1813
1814 There is one more step I would want to take: I should check that my BIOS
1815 boot settings are correct, in order to boot from my CD/DVD drive.
1816
1817 Having done all of the above, I am ready to boot from Clonezilla-SysRescCD.
1818
1819 [[ info.png ]]
1820 The following pressentation has been made usingClonezilla Live v 1.2.5-35
1821
1822 Getting the backup
1823 ****************************************
1824 Clonezilla-SysRescCD starting screen
1825 ---------------------
1826 If you're fine with US keymap and English language (available languages are
1827 English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese [both simplified
1828 and traditional]) or don't mind editing the boot parameters, just select
1829 Clonezilla Live at the starting screen and press ENTER. When the system
1830 comes up, it will load the program that will preform the backup. After
1831 that continue from this step.
1832
1833 If you need to change these settings, select one of the available Clonezilla
1834 Live menu entries, and press TAB. The current boot parameters will be
1835 displayed.
1836
1837 The default parameters for booting Clonezilla Live on a 1024x768 screen,
1838 are the following:
1839
1840 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
1841 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
1842 ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
1843 ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" ocs_live_keymap="NONE" vga=791 nolocales
1844
1845 By deleting the words in red, you instruct Clonezilla Live to ask you the
1846 values of these parameters. When the appropriate changes have been done
1847 (as shown bellow), just press ENTER to boot.
1848
1849 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
1850 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
1851 ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
1852 ocs_lang="" ocs_live_keymap="" vga=791 nolocales
1853
1854 Screen "Choose Language"
1855 ---------------------
1856 [[ backup-00.png ]]
1857 I select "en_US.UTF-8 English" and press ENTER.
1858
1859 Screen "Configuring console-data"
1860 ---------------------
1861 [[ backup-01.png ]]
1862 I select "Select keymap from full list" and press ENTER. If you're using
1863 US keymap, the default option "Don't touch keymap" is a better choice.
1864
1865 Screen "Configuring console-data"
1866 ---------------------
1867 [[ backup-02.png ]]
1868 As I (the contributor who wrote a great deal of this page) use Finnish
1869 keyboard, I select "pc / qwerty / Finnish / Standard / Standard". Because
1870 you most likely use a different keyboard, choose the one you use.
1871
1872 Screen "Start Clonezilla"
1873 ---------------------
1874 [[ backup-03.png ]]
1875 I select "Start Clonezilla" and press ENTER.
1876
1877 Screen "Clonezilla"
1878 ---------------------
1879 [[ backup-04.png ]]
1880 I select "device-image" and press ENTER.
1881
1882 Screen "Mount clonezilla image directory"
1883 ---------------------
1884 In this screen I can select the way the image file directory will be saved.
1885 Available options are local directory, remote directory through ssh,
1886 samba or nfs and skip, to use the previously used directory. More info
1887 about the image file can be found at section "About the Image file".
1888
1889 [[ backup-05.png ]]
1890 I select "local_dev" and press ENTER.
1891
1892 Next screen
1893 ---------------------
1894 This is where I choose the location of the image file. It will be saved
1895 at the root directory of the selected partition.
1896
1897 [[ backup-06.png ]]
1898 I select partition sda1 and press ENTER.
1899
1900 [[ backup-07.png ]]
1901 and then ENTER again.
1902
1903 [[ backup-08.png ]]
1904 This screen displays the mounting result.
1905 As we can see, /dev/sda1 has been successfully mounted under /tmp/local-dev.
1906
1907 Next Screen
1908 ---------------------
1909 [[ backup-09.png ]]
1910 I select Beginer mode to accept the default backup options. If you select
1911 Expert mode, you can choose the options yourself. More details can be
1912 found here.
1913
1914 Screen "Select mode"
1915 ---------------------
1916 Here I can select the desired operation.
1917
1918 [[ backup-10.png ]]
1919 I select "savedisk" and press ENTER.
1920
1921 Next Screen
1922 ---------------------
1923 [[ backup-11.png ]]
1924 In this screen I select the image name.
1925 I type "Backup_32-2010_sdb", which in my opinion is more informative name
1926 than the default.
1927
1928 Next Screen
1929 ---------------------
1930 [[ backup-12.png ]]
1931 Finally I am asked to select the partition to save.
1932 I just press ENTER again.
1933
1934 Starting the backup
1935 ---------------------
1936 [[ backup-13.png ]]
1937 Then the program will display the command that will be executed and will
1938 ask me to press ENTER.
1939 Then I will be asked to confirm the operation by pressing y and ENTER.
1940
1941 [[ backup-14.png ]]
1942 After that, the backup begins
1943
1944 [[ backup-15.png ]]
1945 and when it's successfully completed, I press ENTER to get to the
1946 shell. Then, I execute the commands:
1947 sudo su -
1948 cd
1949 umount -a
1950 reboot
1951
1952 to reboot the system.
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957 Getting backups on Samba
1958 ==============================================================================
1959
1960 Intro
1961 ****************************************
1962 What if you don't have a spare local disk or partition or a USB disk? How
1963 will you be able to get a backup of your system? Well, if your PC is on
1964 the same LAN with another PC running Windows (or linux), you can use Samba
1965 to save your image file on that remote PC (which we will call Samba server
1966 from now on).
1967
1968 Using Samba you will be able to mount a Windows share resource (or
1969 Samba share resource), from within Clonezilla Live, and save the image
1970 file there. Then you can boot that PC using SystemRescueCD and create a
1971 restore DVD.
1972
1973 In this page I will demonstrate the creation of an image file by getting
1974 a backup of my second disk (/dev/sdb). The image file will be save in my
1975 Samba server which is my laptop (ip: 10.0.0.3, Windows share resource name:
1976 all_my_images).
1977
1978 What is Samba?
1979 ---------------------
1980 We read at http://us1.samba.org/samba/:
1981
1982 Samba is an Open Source/Free Software suite that provides seamless file
1983 and print services to SMB/CIFS clients. Samba is freely available, unlike
1984 other SMB/CIFS implementations, and allows for interoperability between
1985 Linux/Unix servers and Windows-based clients.
1986
1987 Samba is software that can be run on a platform other than Microsoft
1988 Windows, for example, UNIX, Linux, IBM System 390, OpenVMS, and other
1989 operating systems. Samba uses the TCP/IP protocol that is installed on the
1990 host server. When correctly configured, it allows that host to interact
1991 with a Microsoft Windows client or server as if it is a Windows file and
1992 print server.
1993
1994 Gathering info
1995 ****************************************
1996 Before you can use this approach to get a backup, you have to get some
1997 info about the Samba server.
1998
1999 The Samba server I have used for this example was my laptop, so I already
2000 knew most of the info required. If this is not the case for you, just ask
2001 the owner, user or system admin.
2002
2003 The info required is:
2004
2005 * The IP address of the Samba server
2006 * The domain on the Samba server
2007 This may exist if your PC is connected to a larger LAN (a corporation
2008 network, for example). In my case this is empty.
2009 * The user name and password you can use
2010 * The directory on the Samba server you can use to save your backup
2011 This is the name of the Windows share resource (Samba share resource)
2012 as it is known in the network, which is not necessarily the same as the
2013 local directory name. The user whose account will be used to login to the
2014 Samba server, must have write permission to this directory.
2015
2016 Getting the backup
2017 ****************************************
2018 If you're fine with US keymap and English language (available languages are
2019 English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese [both simplified
2020 and traditional]) or don't mind editing the boot parameters, just select
2021 Clonezilla Live at the starting screen and press ENTER. When the system
2022 comes up, it will load the program that will preform the backup.
2023
2024 If you need to change these settings, go to the Getting backups page for
2025 instructions .
2026
2027 Screen "Start Clonezilla"
2028 ---------------------
2029 [[ backup-03.png ]]
2030 I select "Start Clonezilla" and press ENTER.
2031
2032 Screen "Clonezilla"
2033 ---------------------
2034 [[ backup-04.png ]]
2035 I select "device-image" and press ENTER.
2036
2037 Screen "Mount clonezilla image directory"
2038 ---------------------
2039 In this screen I can select the way the image file directory will be saved.
2040 Available options are local directory, remote directory through ssh,
2041 samba or nfs and skip, to use the previously used directory. More info
2042 about the image file can be found at section "About the Image file".
2043
2044 [[ backup-smb-05.png ]]
2045 I select "samba server" and press ENTER.
2046
2047 Screen "Mount Samba Server"
2048 ---------------------
2049 This is where I have to enter the IP address of my Samba server.
2050 [[ backup-smb-06.png ]]
2051 I type "10.0.0.3" and press ENTER.
2052
2053 Screen "Mount Samba Server" (second time)
2054 ---------------------
2055 This is where I have to enter the domain name on my Samba server.
2056 [[ backup-smb-07.png ]]
2057 I just press ENTER, as there is no domain in my LAN. If there is a domain
2058 in your network, you have to type its name (something like my_company.com)
2059 and press ENTER.
2060
2061 Screen "Mount Samba Server" (third time)
2062 ---------------------
2063 This is where I have to enter the account (user) name on my Samba server.
2064 [[ backup-smb-08.png ]]
2065 I type "spiros" and press ENTER.
2066
2067 Screen "Mount Samba Server" (fourth time)
2068 ---------------------
2069 This is where I have to enter the directory name on my Samba server, in
2070 which the image file will be saved. I type "/all_my_images" and press ENTER.
2071 [[ backup-smb-09.png ]]
2072
2073 At this point I'm informed I'm going to be asked for the password for
2074 user spiros.
2075 [[ backup-smb-10.png ]]
2076 I will be able to continue only after entering it correctly.
2077 [[ backup-smb-11.png ]]
2078
2079 Screen "Clonezilla - Opensource Clone System (OCS)"
2080 ---------------------
2081 [[ backup-09.png ]]
2082 I select Beginer mode to accept the default backup options. If you select
2083 Expert mode, you can choose the options yourself. More details can be
2084 found here.
2085
2086 Screen "Select mode"
2087 ---------------------
2088 Here I can select the desired operation.
2089
2090 [[ backup-10.png ]]
2091 I select "savedisk" and press ENTER.
2092
2093 Next Screen
2094 ---------------------
2095 [[ backup-11.png ]]
2096 In this screen I select the image name.
2097 I type "Backup_32-2010_sdb", which in my opinion is more informative name
2098 than the default.
2099
2100 Next Screen
2101 ---------------------
2102 [[ backup-12.png ]]
2103 Finally I am asked to select the partition to save.
2104 I just press ENTER again.
2105
2106 Starting the backup
2107 ---------------------
2108 [[ backup-13.png ]]
2109 Then the program will display the command that will be executed and will
2110 ask me to press ENTER.
2111 Then I will be asked to confirm the operation by pressing y and ENTER.
2112
2113 [[ backup-14.png ]]
2114 After that, the backup begins
2115
2116 [[ backup-15.png ]]
2117 and when it's successfully completed, I press ENTER to get to the
2118 shell. Then, I execute the commands:
2119 sudo su -
2120 cd
2121 umount -a
2122 reboot
2123
2124 to reboot the system.
2125
2126
2127
2128
2129 Restoring data
2130 ==============================================================================
2131
2132 Intro
2133 ****************************************
2134 Image files are always created for one purpose: restoring the data they
2135 contain. Images can be, for example, a backup solution: as long as hardware
2136 works, the computer can be restored to the state it was when creating the
2137 image. Another usage scenario is changing the hard drive: files can be
2138 copy-pasted from the old drive to the new, but that method doesn't make
2139 the new drive bootable. Disk images do.
2140
2141 This page contains a demonstration of the latter case. On the Getting backups
2142 page, a 500 MB virtual disk containing 160 megabytes of data was copied
2143 to a 2 GB virtual disk which was empty. Now the 500 MB disk is changed to
2144 an empty 2 GB disk (still virtual) and I'll restore the data to that disk.
2145
2146 When creating a disk image, one needs to check that both the source and
2147 target partitions are error free. That's not required when the image is
2148 restored, because restoration process can't damage the disk image. Note,
2149 however, that restoring an image erases all the data in the target
2150 disk/partition.
2151
2152 You also need to check the BIOS settings to be able to boot from
2153 Clonezilla-SysRescCD. Some BIOSes contain a boot menu, others require
2154 editing settings pernamently. Details can be found on the manual of the
2155 motherboard or laptop.
2156
2157 Now let's boot.
2158
2159 [[ important.png ]]
2160 Restore process erases all the data on the target disk/partition.Before
2161 restoring make sure you have backup of all the data on the target
2162 disk/partition, even if the filesystem is corrupted.
2163
2164 [[ info.png ]]
2165 The following pressentation has been made usingClonezilla Live v 1.2.5-35
2166
2167 Restoring data
2168 ****************************************
2169 Clonezilla-SysRescCD starting screen
2170 ---------------------
2171 If you're fine with US keymap and English language (available languages are
2172 English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese [both simplified
2173 and traditional]) or don't mind editing the boot parameters, just select
2174 Clonezilla Live at the starting screen and press ENTER. When the system
2175 comes up, it will load the program that will preform the backup. After
2176 that continue from this step.
2177
2178 If you need to change these settings, select one of the available Clonezilla
2179 Live menu entries, and press TAB. The current boot parameters will be
2180 displayed.
2181
2182 The default parameters for booting Clonezilla Live on a 1024x768 screen,
2183 are the following:
2184
2185 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
2186 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
2187 ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
2188 ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" ocs_live_keymap="NONE" vga=791 nolocales
2189
2190 By deleting the words in red, you instruct Clonezilla Live to ask you the
2191 values of these parameters. When the appropriate changes have been done
2192 (as shown bellow), just press ENTER to boot.
2193
2194 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
2195 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
2196 ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
2197 ocs_lang="" ocs_live_keymap="" vga=791 nolocales
2198
2199 Screen "Choose Language"
2200 ---------------------
2201 [[ backup-00.png ]]
2202 This is where the language can be selected. I select "en_US.UTF-8 English"
2203 and press ENTER.
2204
2205 Screen "Configuring console-data"
2206 ---------------------
2207 [[ backup-01.png ]]
2208 I select "Select keymap from full list" and press ENTER. If you're using
2209 US keymap, the default option "Don't touch keymap" is a better choice.
2210
2211 Screen "Configuring console-data"
2212 ---------------------
2213 [[ backup-02.png ]]
2214 Because I haven't changed my keyboard, I select "pc / qwerty / Finnish /
2215 Standard / Standard". Because you most likely use a different keyboard,
2216 choose the one you use.
2217
2218 Screen "Start Clonezilla"
2219 ---------------------
2220 [[ backup-03.png ]]
2221 I select "Start Clonezilla" and press ENTER.
2222
2223 Screen "Clonezilla"
2224 ---------------------
2225 [[ backup-04.png ]]
2226 I select "device-image" and press ENTER.
2227
2228 Screen "Mount clonezilla image directory"
2229 ---------------------
2230 In this screen I can select the way the image file directory has been saved.
2231 Available options are local directory, remote directory through ssh,
2232 samba or nfs and skip, to use the previously used directory. More info
2233 about the image file can be found at section "About the Image file".
2234
2235 [[ backup-05.png ]]
2236 I select "local_dev" and press ENTER.
2237
2238 Next screen
2239 ---------------------
2240 This is where I choose the location of the image file.
2241 [[ restoration-06.png ]]
2242 I select partition sda1 and press ENTER.
2243
2244 [[ backup-07.png ]]
2245
2246 [[ restoration-08.png ]]
2247 This screen displays the mounting result.
2248 As we can see, /dev/sda1 has been successfully mounted under /tmp/local-dev.
2249
2250 Next Screen
2251 ---------------------
2252 [[ backup-09.png ]]
2253 I select Beginer mode to accept the default restore options. If you select
2254 Expert mode, you can choose the options yourself. More details can be
2255 found here.
2256
2257 Screen "Select mode"
2258 ---------------------
2259 Here I can select the desired operation.
2260
2261 [[ restoration-10.png ]]
2262 I select "restoredisk" and press ENTER.
2263
2264 Next Screen
2265 ---------------------
2266 [[ restoration-11.png ]]
2267 In this screen I select the image folder. This partition contains only
2268 one image.
2269
2270 Next Screen
2271 ---------------------
2272 [[ restoration-12.png ]]
2273 Finally I am asked to select which partition the image will be restored
2274 to. After double-checking the disk doesn't contain anything important,
2275 I press ENTER.
2276
2277 Starting the restoration
2278 ---------------------
2279 [[ restoration-13.png ]]
2280 Then the program will display the command that will be executed and will
2281 ask me to press ENTER.
2282 Then I will be asked to confirm the operation by pressing y and ENTER.
2283
2284 [[ restoration-14.png ]]
2285
2286 [[ important.png ]]
2287 This is the last confirmation Clonezilla Live asks.After this step there
2288 is no coming back.
2289 Then my confirmation is asked one last time. After checking one more time
2290 the disk doesn't contain any important data, I press y and ENTER.
2291
2292 [[ restoration-15.png ]]
2293 After that, the restore process begins
2294
2295 [[ restoration-16.png ]]
2296 and when it's successfully completed, I press ENTER to get to the
2297 shell. Then, I execute the commands:
2298 sudo su -
2299 cd
2300 umount -a
2301 reboot
2302
2303 to reboot the system.
2304
2305
2306
2307
2308 Creating a Restore DVD - Part 1
2309 ==============================================================================
2310
2311 Intro
2312 ****************************************
2313 Assuming you have used Clonezilla Live to make a backup of your Windows
2314 XP system (partition /dev/sda1), you will probably be wondering what to
2315 do with it now. Well, one option would be to keep it to the disk you used
2316 to save it in, store the disk, and use it whenever you need it. Another
2317 option would be to create a DVD you can use to restore this image.
2318
2319 Before, up to Clonezilla-SysRescCD 2.6.0, the process to create an automated
2320 restore DVD required entering command line prompt and writing some commands,
2321 that can be uncomfortable or even difficult for many people.
2322
2323 Later, a TUI option to create an automated recovery disc was added to
2324 Clonezilla Live, and ocs-iso script included in Clonezilla-SysRescCD
2325 3.1.0 and newer has a TUI too. Old command-line options are no longer
2326 supported. This page walks you through the creation of an automated restore
2327 DVD via TUI.
2328
2329 You have to boot Clonezilla Live, using Clonezilla-SysRescCD.
2330
2331 [[ info.png ]]
2332 The following pressentation has been made usingClonezilla Live v 1.2.5-17
2333
2334 Creating the disk image
2335 ****************************************
2336 Clonezilla-SysRescCD starting screen
2337 ---------------------
2338 If you're fine with US keymap and English language (available languages are
2339 English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese [both simplified
2340 and traditional]) or don't mind editing the boot parameters, just select
2341 Clonezilla Live at the starting screen and press ENTER. When the system
2342 comes up, it will load the program that will preform the backup. After
2343 that continue from this step.
2344
2345 If you need to change these settings, select one of the available Clonezilla
2346 Live menu entries, and press TAB. The current boot parameters will be
2347 displayed.
2348
2349 The default parameters for booting Clonezilla Live on a 1024x768 screen,
2350 are the following:
2351
2352 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
2353 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
2354 ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
2355 ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" ocs_live_keymap="NONE" vga=791 nolocales
2356
2357 By deleting the words in red, you instruct Clonezilla Live to ask you the
2358 values of these parameters. When the appropriate changes have been done
2359 (as shown bellow), just press ENTER to boot.
2360
2361 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
2362 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
2363 ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
2364 ocs_lang="" ocs_live_keymap="" vga=791 nolocales
2365
2366 Screen "Choose Language"
2367 ---------------------
2368 [[ backup-00.png ]]
2369 I select "en_US.UTF-8 English" and press ENTER.
2370
2371 Screen "Configuring console-data"
2372 ---------------------
2373 [[ backup-01.png ]]
2374 I select "Select keymap from full list" and press ENTER. If you're using
2375 US keymap, the default option "Don't touch keymap" is a better choice.
2376
2377 Screen "Configuring console-data"
2378 ---------------------
2379 [[ backup-02.png ]]
2380 Because I haven't changed my keyboard, I select "pc / qwerty / Finnish /
2381 Standard / Standard". Because you most likely use a different keyboard,
2382 choose the one you use.
2383
2384 Screen "Start Clonezilla"
2385 ---------------------
2386 [[ backup-03.png ]]
2387 I select "Start Clonezilla" and press ENTER.
2388
2389 Screen "Clonezilla"
2390 ---------------------
2391 [[ backup-04.png ]]
2392 I select "device-image" and press ENTER.
2393
2394 Screen "Mount clonezilla image directory"
2395 ---------------------
2396 In this screen I can select the way the image file directory has been saved.
2397 Available options are local directory, remote directory through ssh,
2398 samba or nfs and skip, to use the previously used directory. More info
2399 about the image file can be found at section "About the Image file".
2400
2401 [[ backup-05.png ]]
2402 I select "local_dev" and press ENTER.
2403
2404 Next screen
2405 ---------------------
2406 This is where I choose the location of the image file.
2407 [[ restore-06.png ]]
2408 I select partition sda1 and press ENTER.
2409
2410 [[ backup-07.png ]]
2411 and then ENTER again.
2412
2413 [[ restore-08.png ]]
2414 This screen displays the mounting result.
2415 As we can see, /dev/sda1 has been successfully mounted under /tmp/local-dev.
2416
2417 Next Screen
2418 ---------------------
2419 [[ backup-09.png ]]
2420 I select Beginer mode to accept the default restore options, which are
2421 used if the recovery disk is ever used. If you select Expert mode, you
2422 can choose the options yourself. More details can be found here.
2423
2424 Screen "Clonezilla: Select mode"
2425 ---------------------
2426 Here I can select the desired operation.
2427
2428 [[ restore-10.png ]]
2429 I select "recovery-iso-zip" and press ENTER.
2430
2431 Next Screen
2432 ---------------------
2433 [[ restore-11.png ]]
2434 In this screen I select the image folder. This partition contains only
2435 one image.
2436
2437 Next Screen
2438 ---------------------
2439 [[ restore-12.png ]]
2440 Now I am asked to select which disk the image will be restored to, if the
2441 recovery disc is used. Because this image is a backup, I choose the same
2442 disk where the original data resides. If you're upgrading your hard drive,
2443 choose the new drive.
2444
2445 Next Screen
2446 ---------------------
2447 [[ restore-13.png ]]
2448 In this screen I can select the language that the recovery disc uses. I
2449 choose "en_US.UTF-8".
2450
2451 Next Screen
2452 ---------------------
2453 [[ restore-14.png ]]
2454 This screen allows me to select the keymap that the recovery disc
2455 uses. Unfortunately, changing the keymap requires knowing where the keymap
2456 file resides in Debian GNU/Linux. Because I don't know it, I just press
2457 ENTER to accept US keymap.
2458
2459 Next Screen
2460 ---------------------
2461 [[ restore-15.png ]]
2462 I select "iso" to create a CD/DVD disk image which I can burn to a recordable
2463 CD/DVD disc. The good thing about recordable discs is that overwriting
2464 the backup by accident is impossible. The "zip" option creates a ZIP file
2465 which can be used to create a bootable pendrive or external hard drive.
2466
2467 [[ restore-16.png ]]
2468 Then the program will display the command that will be executed and will
2469 ask me to press ENTER.
2470
2471 Screen "Excessive Image Size"
2472 ---------------------
2473 [[ restore-16a.png ]]
2474 You will see this screen if the image file you're about to create is larger
2475 than a single layer DVD. The screen warns that mkisofs or genisoimage
2476 (the programs which actually create the image) might be unable to process
2477 a disk image that big. However, even bigger problem is that you need a
2478 dual layer DVD or Blu-ray disc to burn the image.
2479
2480 Screen "Customization section"
2481 ---------------------
2482 [[ cust-menu-02.png ]]
2483 Now I am asked if I want to customize the boot menu of the disc. I answer
2484 "Yes". If you don't want to customize the menu, continue from this step.
2485
2486 Screen "DVD Title"
2487 ---------------------
2488 [[ cust-menu-03.png ]]
2489 In this screen I select the title of the boot menu. I type "Home PC
2490 Restore DVD".
2491
2492 Screen "Menu Items Caption"
2493 ---------------------
2494 [[ cust-menu-04.png ]]
2495 This screen allows me to select the caption for all menu items. I enter
2496 "Restore Win XP".
2497
2498 Screen "Boot delay"
2499 ---------------------
2500 [[ cust-menu-05.png ]]
2501 I press ENTER to accept the default delay of 30 seconds. It means that
2502 when a computer is booted from the restore disc, it waits 30 seconds
2503 before choosing the default option automatically. You may want to reduce
2504 this delay if, for example, your keyboard doesn't work in boot menu and
2505 you must wait until the delay ends.
2506
2507 Screen "Default Boot Item"
2508 ---------------------
2509 [[ cust-menu-06.png ]]
2510 In this screen I can select the default option of the menu. Selecting one
2511 of the options that restore the image makes using the disc even easier,
2512 but also raises the risk that the image is restored accidentally. Another
2513 reason to select such option may be that your keyboard doesn't work in
2514 boot menu, preventing you from choosing any non-default option. I select
2515 the first option that restores the image using pixel dimensions of 1024*768.
2516
2517 Screen "Boot Screen Image"
2518 ---------------------
2519 [[ cust-menu-07.png ]]
2520 This screen allows me to select the background picture of the menu. Note
2521 that the picture must be in the same partition that contains the disk
2522 image, if you don't mind entering command line and mounting the right
2523 partition manually. I choose picture mysplash.png in the root of the
2524 partition. Because the partition has been mounted in /home/partimag,
2525 the full path of the picture is /home/partimag/mysplash.png.
2526
2527 Screen "ISO Label"
2528 ---------------------
2529 [[ cust-menu-08.png ]]
2530 In this screen I can select the volume label of the disc. Volume label is
2531 the name of the disc you may see in various situations, for example in the
2532 notification you see when you insert the disc into your DVD writer. I type
2533 "Backup_52-2009_hdb".
2534
2535 Screen "Publisher ID"
2536 ---------------------
2537 [[ cust-menu-09.png ]]
2538 This is where I choose the publisher ID of the ISO file
2539 and the disc. Publisher ID means the person or company who
2540 created the disc. However, at least in GNU/Linux reading
2541 the publisher ID is, strictly speaking, a challenge. Here {{
2542 http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/getting-volume-information-from-cds-iso- }}
2543 are instructions to read the publisher ID of a ISO file. I didn't find
2544 any working instructions to read the ID from the disc.
2545
2546 Starting the creation of the disk image
2547 ---------------------
2548 [[ restore-17.png ]]
2549 After that, creation of the disk image begins. Note that no confirmation
2550 is asked it the disk image is small enough to fit to a CD.
2551
2552 [[ restore-18.png ]]
2553 When the disk image is successfully created, I must reboot in order to
2554 burn the disc because my DVD burner is still in use. Clonezilla Live can
2555 be loaded into computer memory during boot in order to be able to burn
2556 disc(s) within it. However, due to a known bug, the disk image can't
2557 be created if Clonezilla Live has been loaded into memory. (source {{
2558 http://free.nchc.org.tw/clonezilla-live/stable/Known-issues-Clonezilla-live.txt
2559 }}) Thus, I press 1 and ENTER to reboot to another operating system and
2560 burn the image using graphical burning program. Follow this link for
2561 instructions. If you've created a ZIP file, follow this one instead.
2562
2563
2564
2565
2566 Creating a Restore DVD - Part 2
2567 ==============================================================================
2568
2569 What to do with the disk image
2570 ****************************************
2571 The previous page contains partial instructions to create an automated
2572 recovery DVD. They're partial because they only tell how the disk image
2573 can be created, not what one should do with the image. Of course, partial
2574 instructions are not enough, but don't worry - this page is the other part.
2575
2576 Earlier versions of Clonezilla Live allowed creating the DVD without
2577 reboot, but it's no longer possible due to a known bug. The disk image
2578 can't be created if Clonezilla Live has been loaded into memory (source {{
2579 http://free.nchc.org.tw/clonezilla-live/stable/Known-issues-Clonezilla-live.txt
2580 }}) and the image can't be burned to disc if Clonezilla Live isn't in
2581 memory. And if the computer must be rebooted anyway, it's a good idea to
2582 use one's favorite operating system and a graphical burning program for
2583 burning the disc. Doing so also allows reading these instructions while
2584 burning the disc.
2585
2586 This page walks through burning the disc by using ImgBurn and K3b. The
2587 instructions can be adapted for many other burning programs as well. If
2588 your burning program is too different, download either of the programs
2589 mentioned - they both can be downloaded for free.
2590
2591 In addition to a DVD, bootable pendrive or external hard drive can be
2592 created as well. If you want to do so, follow instructions below.
2593
2594 Before following these instructions, insert a writable DVD or Blu-ray disc
2595 to your burner.
2596
2597 Burning the disc
2598 ****************************************
2599 Using ImgBurn
2600 ---------------------
2601 ImgBurn {{ http://www.imgburn.com/ }} is a lightweight but very feature-rich
2602 disc burning program. It only requires about two megabytes disk space
2603 and contains a lot of settings. ImgBurn is closed-source freeware and -
2604 unfortunately - Windows-only software. I (Jyrki) personally use ImgBurn
2605 when burning discs within Windows.
2606
2607 Launch ImgBurn and press Write image file to disc. Select the disk image
2608 you just created.
2609
2610 At the settings window, keep Test Mode disabled. I also recommend
2611 keeping the Verify option enabled. Verifying the integrity of the disc
2612 after burning requires time and doesn't prevent the disc from becoming a
2613 so-called coaster, but it allows you to know immediately if the burning
2614 attempt failed, so you can try burning the disc again.
2615
2616 Keep the number of copies as 1 (or increase it, if you really
2617 want multiple copies of the disc). Use your best judgment while
2618 choosing the burning speed: according to this forum thread {{
2619 http://club.myce.com/f33/high-speed-vs-low-speed-burning-69698/ }} lowering
2620 the burning speed gives very mixed results in quality. I personally use
2621 ¾ of the maximum speed of the disc, for example 12x on a disc rated 16x.
2622
2623 After choosing the settings, press the big picture at the bottom-left of
2624 the window. Don't do anything that requires much computer resources while
2625 burning, because doing so increases the likelihood of burning failure.
2626
2627 That's it. You own now an automated recovery disc.
2628
2629 Using K3b
2630 ---------------------
2631 K3b (KDE Burn Baby Burn) is the disc burning program included in KDE
2632 Software Compilation. It comes with most, if not all, KDE-based GNU/Linux
2633 distributions. It can also be installed on other distributions, but I
2634 recommend against doing so - K3b requires KDE base packages to be installed,
2635 and it doesn't make much sense to install KDE base only for K3b.
2636
2637 [[ k3b-00.png ]]
2638 I launch K3b and navigate to the folder where the disk image resides.
2639
2640 [[ k3b-01.png ]]
2641 I double-click the file clonezilla-live-Backup_5-2010_hda.iso.
2642
2643 [[ k3b-02.png ]]
2644 This window allows me to choose burning settings. I don't touch Image Type or
2645 Burn Medium, because they're auto-detected anyway. The maximum burning speed
2646 allowed by the disc is 16x, so I choose speed 12x. According to this forum
2647 thread {{ http://club.myce.com/f33/high-speed-vs-low-speed-burning-69698/
2648 }} low burning speed can decrease burning quality, so I always use speed
2649 near the maximum speed of the disc.
2650
2651 I keep Writing Mode as Auto and number of copies as 1. I also keep the
2652 Simulate option disabled and enable the Verify written data option. The
2653 latter allows me to notice immediately if the burning attempt failed, so
2654 I can try burning the disc again, rather than owning a so-called coaster
2655 and relying on it if something happens to my data...
2656
2657 [[ k3b-03.png ]]
2658 I click Start and the burning process begins.
2659
2660 [[ k3b-04.png ]]
2661 Because I enabled the Verify written data option, K3b starts verifying
2662 the integrity of the disc right after burning.
2663
2664 [[ k3b-05.png ]]
2665 The burning attempt succeeded.
2666
2667 [[ restore-20.png ]]
2668 Here we can see the boot menu of the disc.
2669
2670 ZIP file instructions
2671 ****************************************
2672 Often the image file is way too big to fit to even 8 GB DVD. Some people may
2673 also want to be able to overwrite the backup when it becomes outdated. In
2674 addition, netbooks don't have optical drives at all.
2675
2676 One option is using recovery thumb drive or external hard drive instead
2677 of DVD. If the external HD is big enough, the disk image can be even over
2678 a terabyte in size. Recovery USB drive can also be used on netbooks and
2679 overwritten at will.
2680
2681 Clonezilla Live allows creating a ZIP file instead of disk image. If you
2682 want to do so, follow this step-by-step guide.
2683
2684 Before creating the disk image, make sure it is split to pieces of four
2685 gigabytes or less. It is split automatically if you use Beginner mode,
2686 and if you use Expert mode, you should already know how the splitting
2687 setting can be changed.
2688
2689 Using GNU/Linux
2690 ---------------------
2691 After creating the disk image and booting into GNU/Linux, make sure that the
2692 filesystem of the partition where you plan to put the disk image is FAT32. If
2693 you don't know the filesystem, open terminal and run this command as root:
2694
2695 parted -l
2696
2697 Note: How a command can be run as root depends on the GNU/Linux distribution
2698 you use. If it's Ubuntu or a distro based on it, simply put "sudo" above
2699 the command. For example, the above command can be executed by typing
2700 "sudo parted -l"
2701 Note: The l in parameter -l is lowercase L, not number 1.
2702
2703 If your disk doesn't contain any FAT32 partition, but it contains a
2704 partition which is big enough and doesn't contain any important data,
2705 format the partition as FAT32. The command below needs root access too.
2706
2707 [[ important.png ]]
2708 The command below erases all the data on the target partition.Make sure
2709 you don't format a wrong partition by accident.
2710
2711 mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdc1
2712
2713 Note: In the command replace /dev/sdc1 with the partition you wish to format.
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 After creating the disk image and booting into Windows, make sure that
2752 the filesystem of the partition where you plan to put the disk image is
2753 FAT32. If you don't know the filesystem, open My Computer, right-click the
2754 partition and select Properties. Then read the "File system" column. If
2755 there reads anything but FAT32, check other partitions of the disk too,
2756 if the disk contains multiple partitions. If you have a suitable FAT32
2757 partition, continue from this step.
2758
2759 If your disk doesn't contain any FAT32 partition, but it contains a
2760 partition which is big enough and doesn't contain any important data,
2761 format the partition as FAT32.
2762
2763 [[ important.png ]]
2764 Formatting erases all the data on the target partition.Make sure the
2765 partition contains nothing important.
2766
2767 Right-click the partition and select Format.... If the Windows version
2768 you use is Vista or 7, an UAC prompt asks for admin password. Enter it.
2769
2770 At the format window, choose the FAT32 filesystem. You can enter any volume
2771 label (it means the name of the partition you can see next to the partition
2772 letter) and enable Quick Format if you're in a hurry. If Quick Format is
2773 disabled, Windows checks if the partition is physically OK after formatting
2774 it. Enabling Quick Format makes the formatting process many times faster
2775 and, contrary to popular belief, hardly ever causes any harm.
2776
2777 After formatting the partition or noticing that it was already FAT32, extract
2778 the ZIP archive to the root of the partition. Navigate to the folder where
2779 you've saved the ZIP file and right-click it. Choose Extract all..., and when
2780 you're asked for location where the archive is extracted, enter the letter
2781 of the partition, for example H:\. Do NOT choose any folder in the partition!
2782
2783 After that, browse to the folder X:\utils\win32, where X: is the letter
2784 of the partition. Then, double-click makeboot.bat. If the Windows version
2785 you use is Vista or 7, another UAC prompt appears. Enter the password
2786 again. Then just follow the prompts to make the USB drive bootable.
2787
2788 Now you're done. Your thumb drive or external hard drive should be an
2789 automatic recovery disk.
2790
2791
2792
2793
2794 Restoring to a different location
2795 ==============================================================================
2796
2797 Intro
2798 ****************************************
2799 In the past restoring to a different location was not supported by
2800 Clonezilla Live at all. Because of that, a script called reloc-img was
2801 added to Clonezilla-SysRescCD, which would help the user perform this task.
2802
2803 Recent versions of Clonezilla Live partly support restoring to a
2804 different location, so the reloc-img script is obsolete, and has been
2805 removed. Clonezilla Live now supports:
2806
2807 * Relocation of a disk image (restoring a whole disk)
2808 * Relocation of a partition image (restoring a partition)
2809
2810 Clonezilla Live does not support:
2811
2812 * Relocation of a single partition contained into a disk image.
2813
2814 Imagine you have a disk backup image named hda-2009-02-02. The image
2815 contains three partitions, hda1 (operating system), hda2 (user data)
2816 and hda3 (other data).
2817
2818 You want to restore your other data partition (hda3), to a different system
2819 (partition sdb2) but there is no way to restore (extract) a single partition
2820 from a disk image - you can only restore the whole disk.
2821
2822 In order to address this situation, two new scripts have been written for
2823 Clonezilla-SysRescCD: imginfo and imgconvert
2824
2825 Script imginfo
2826 ****************************************
2827 The script will be used to print info about existing image files.
2828
2829 Its help screen is:
2830
2831 # imginfo -h
2832 Clonezilla Live Image Information
2833 imginfo v. 0.1 - (C) 2009 S. Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>
2834
2835 Usage: imginfo <options> <directory>
2836
2837 Available options:
2838 s Search in sub-directories too
2839 i [name] Pring info for image [name]
2840 v Print version info and exit
2841 h Print this screen and exit
2842
2843 Script imgconvert
2844 ****************************************
2845 The script will be used to convert an existing disk image file to a new
2846 partition image file.
2847
2848 imgconvert can create two type of images:
2849
2850 * Temporary image
2851 This type of image is created by linking the data files of the existing
2852 disk image to the new partition image. This means that the original image
2853 must be present for the new image to be used. This is the default image
2854 type created by imgconvert.
2855
2856 * Permanent image
2857 This type of image is created by copying the data files from the existing
2858 disk image to the new partition image. This means that the original image is
2859 not needed in order to use the new one. Permenant image files are created
2860 using the command line parameter -p.
2861
2862 Its help screen is:
2863
2864 # imgconvert -h
2865 Clonezilla Live Image Conversion
2866 imgconvert v. 0.1 - (C) 2009 S. Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>
2867
2868 Usage: imgconvert <options> [image] [partition] <new partition>
2869
2870 Parameters are:
2871 [image] Disk image to be converted to partition image
2872 [partition] Partition name to convert. It must be a valid device name
2873
2874 Available options:
2875 o [image] Save new imag as [image]
2876 p Save new partition instead of making a link to the old one
2877 v Print version info and exit
2878 h Print this screen and exit
2879
2880 Using the scripts
2881 ****************************************
2882 Restoring to a partition
2883 ---------------------
2884 After booting into Clonezilla Live, I select
2885
2886 Enter_shell Enter command line prompt
2887
2888 when the menu is displayed and then I press 2 to exit to the shell.
2889
2890 At this point I will mount my images partition (in this example /dev/sdc4),
2891 and use script imginfo to get info about my image files.
2892
2893 $ sudo su -
2894 # mount /dev/sdc4 /home/partimag
2895 # cd /home/partimag
2896 # imginfo
2897 Image files found in: /home/partimag
2898 Image: usb250-img, disk: sda, size: 259MB, parts: 1
2899 part: sda4, size: 247.00MB, type: FAT16
2900 Image: sys-bck, disk: hda, size: 320.0GB, parts: 3
2901 part: hda1, size: 22.36GB, type: Linux
2902 part: hda2, size: 39.06GB, type: Linux
2903 part: hda3, size: 233.87GB, type: Linux
2904
2905 As you can see there are two disk images under /home/partimag: usb250-img
2906 and sys-bck.
2907
2908 sys-bck is a backup of my old system, which had three partitions. What
2909 I need to do now is "copy" the hda3 partition to my current system, by
2910 transfering its data to partition sdb2.
2911
2912 The way to proceed is:
2913
2914 * Create a new partition image (containing hda3's data) based on the
2915 existing disk image file, by executing the command:
2916
2917 # imgconvert sys-bck hda3 sdb2
2918 Clonezilla Live Image Conversion
2919 imgconvert v. 0.1 - (C) 2009 S. Georgaras
2920
2921 Determining input image
2922 Input image: "/home/partimag/sys-bck"
2923 Validating image... ok
2924 Determining input partition
2925 Input partition: "hda3"
2926 Validating input partition... ok
2927 Determining output image
2928 Output image: "/home/partimag/sys-bck-cnv"
2929 Validating output image... ok
2930 Checking permissions... ok
2931 Determining output partition
2932 Output partition: "sda2"
2933 Validating output partition... ok
2934 Creating output image: /home/partimag/sys-bck-cnv
2935 Linking files... done
2936 Fixing info files... done
2937
2938 This command will create a temporary partition image file (automatically
2939 named sys-bck-cnv), which contains sdb2 only, as you can see by executing:
2940
2941 # imginfo -i sys-bck-cnv
2942 Image: sys-bck-cnv, part: sdb2, size: 233.87GB, type: Linux
2943
2944 * Restart Clonezilla Live by pressing Control-D twice.
2945
2946 * Restore the new image file into sdb2, by selecting
2947
2948 Screen 1: Start_Clonezilla Start Clonezilla
2949
2950 Screen 2: device-image disk/partition to/from image
2951
2952 Screen 3: skip use existing /home/partimag
2953
2954 Screen 4: Beginer / Expert
2955
2956 Screen 5: restoreparts
2957 Restore_an_image_to_local_partition
2958
2959 and continue as usual to restore the partition.
2960
2961 Converting image files
2962 ---------------------
2963 # imgconvert -p -o other_data sys-bck hda3 sdb2
2964 Clonezilla Live Image Conversion
2965 imgconvert v. 0.1 - (C) 2009 S. Georgaras
2966
2967 Determining input image
2968 Input image: "/home/partimag/sys-bck"
2969 Validating image... ok
2970 Determining input partition
2971 Input partition: "hda3"
2972 Validating input partition... ok
2973 Determining output image
2974 Output image: "/home/partimag/other_data"
2975 Validating output image... ok
2976 Checking permissions... ok
2977 Determining output partition
2978 Output partition: "sda2"
2979 Validating output partition... ok
2980 Creating output image: /home/partimag/other_data
2981 Copying files... done
2982 Fixing info files... done
2983
2984 # imginfo -i other_data
2985 Image: other_data, part: sdb2, size: 233.87GB, type: Linux
2986
2987 # ls -la sys-bck
2988 total 1111972
2989 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2007-11-22 03:21 .
2990 drwxr-xr-x. 34 root root 4096 2009-04-06 21:28 ..
2991 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4 2007-11-20 20:33 disk
2992 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1081716736 2007-11-20 20:32 hda1.aa
2993 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 45453312 2007-11-20 20:33 hda2.aa
2994 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10317824 2007-11-20 20:33 hda3.aa
2995 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37 2007-11-21 18:56 hda-chs.sf
2996 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37 2007-11-21 18:50 hda-chs.sf.orig
2997 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 512 2007-11-20 20:31 hda-mbr
2998 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 259 2007-11-21 18:59 hda-pt.sf
2999 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 259 2007-11-21 18:50 hda-pt.sf.orig
3000 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 15 2007-11-20 20:33 parts
3001 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 17 2007-11-20 20:33 swappt-hda4.info
3002 #
3003 #
3004 # ls -la other_data
3005 total 24
3006 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-06 21:27 .
3007 drwxr-xr-x. 35 root root 4096 2009-04-06 21:27 ..
3008 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5 2009-04-06 21:27 parts
3009 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10317824 2009-04-06 21:27 sdb2.aa
3010 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37 2009-04-06 21:27 sdb-chs.sf
3011 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 106 2009-04-06 21:27 sdb-pt.sf
3012
3013 Booting a restored Linux system
3014 ****************************************
3015 A Linux system that has been restored to a new disk/partition, is usually
3016 not ready to be booted right after the restoration procedure is finished.
3017
3018 There are two more steps that you may have to take:
3019
3020 * Fix /etc/fstab
3021 * Reinstall GRUB.
3022 I will assume GRUB is your boot manager, as it is the usual case nowadays.
3023
3024 For this example I will assume that you have restored a Linux system
3025 (that used to be in sdb), to a new disk (hda), and that it contains three
3026 partitions, / (the root partition), /home (user's partition) and a swap
3027 partition. You must be really careful here, as the name of the new disk
3028 depends on the system to be booted. If it uses one of the newest Linux
3029 kernels (using the libata disk driver), ALL your disks will be recognised
3030 as SCSI. More info: "Identifying devices in Linux" section "SCSI disks
3031 when there are none!!!".
3032
3033 This is what we have:
3034
3035 root partition home partition swap partition
3036 Old system /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdb2 /dev/sdb3
3037 New system /dev/hda1 /dev/hda2 /dev/hda3
3038
3039 Fixing /etc/fstab
3040 ---------------------
3041 Since we are still in Clonezilla Live, right after the restore procedure
3042 has finished, we will use it to mount our restored root partition, and
3043 edit its /etc/fstab. We issue the commands:
3044
3045 mkdir /new-root
3046 mount /dev/hda1 /new-root
3047 vi /new-root/etc/fstab
3048
3049 The contents of /etc/fstab could be something like
3050
3051 /dev/sdb1 / reiserfs acl,user_xattr 1 1
3052 /dev/sdb2 /home reiserfs defaults 1 2
3053 /dev/sdb3 swap swap defaults 0 0
3054
3055 and we have to change ti to
3056
3057 /dev/hda1 / reiserfs acl,user_xattr 1 1
3058 /dev/hda2 /home reiserfs defaults 1 2
3059 /dev/hda3 swap swap defaults 0 0
3060
3061 Finally, we unmount the partition, and we are ready to reboot
3062
3063 umount /new-root
3064 reboot
3065
3066 Reinstalling GRUB
3067 ---------------------
3068 When Clonezilla-SysRescCD menu appears, we select Tools > Super Grub Disk
3069
3070 Then we select Super Grub Disk > Super Grub Disk (WITH HELP) > English
3071 Super Grub Disk > Gnu/Linux > Fix Boot of Gnu/Linux (GRUB). From this
3072 entry we will be able to reinstall GRUB to our hard disk.
3073
3074 You may also want to have a look at Super Grub Disk "documentation {{
3075 http://www.supergrubdisk.org/wiki/SuperGrubDiskDocumentation }}".
3076
3077
3078
3079
3080 Fixing boot problems
3081 ==============================================================================
3082
3083 Intro
3084 ****************************************
3085 Boot problems are probably the most feared computer problems. Without an
3086 operating system you can't access your data, get the work done or even
3087 google for help. That's why it's often a good idea to have an alternative
3088 operating system available for searching help if the main OS doesn't
3089 work. Also a copy of Clonezilla-SysRescCD can be invaluable help.
3090
3091 Actually, the initial reason why I (Jyrki) installed GNU/Linux at all was
3092 that I wanted to be able to fix Windows boot problems if they occur. I
3093 installed both GNU/Linux and GRUB to my external hard drive, completely
3094 separating operating systems. Even if either bootloader stopped working,
3095 I'd still be able to boot one of my OSes.
3096
3097 But such configuration is not easy to create, and when I installed GNU/Linux,
3098 I knew very little about it. If I didn't read the instructions I found
3099 here and there very carefully, I probably would have done a common mistake:
3100 installing GRUB to my internal hard drive. Such mistake would have caused
3101 two problems:
3102
3103 * Inability to boot GNU/Linux at any computer expect the one which was
3104 used for installing
3105 * Inability to boot Windows when the external drive isn't connected
3106
3107 In this page, I simulate that situation in a virtual machine and fix
3108 both problems.
3109
3110 Symptoms
3111 ****************************************
3112 What happens when I try to boot the external hard drive on another computer
3113 depends on the BIOS of the computer. For example, on my computer I see a
3114 Black Screen of Death {{ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Screen_of_Death
3115 }} when I try booting from a disk with empty Master Boot Record. Other
3116 BIOSes may boot the local operating system or display an error message
3117 (for example "Disk boot failure", "Missing operating system" or "Operating
3118 system not found").
3119
3120 The other problem is very easy to determine. When external drive is
3121 disconnected and I try to boot, I'll see this:
3122
3123 [[ error-21.png ]]
3124
3125 Goals
3126 ****************************************
3127 Because I still want to separate my operating systems completely,
3128 I try to restore NTLDR to the Master Boot Record of the internal disk,
3129 if possible. If that's not possible, I install there another bootloader
3130 that chainloads Windows.
3131
3132 I could reinstall GNU/Linux completely and make sure that the GRUB is
3133 installed to the right disk this time, but it's not a good idea if I only
3134 need to overwrite the first 446 bytes (yes, bytes, not kilo- or megabytes)
3135 of the disk. So, I only install GRUB to the external disk, by using Super
3136 Grub Disk.
3137
3138 Your problem (if you have one at all) most likely is different, but goals
3139 are often the same.
3140
3141 You need to restore NTLDR if you...
3142
3143 * ...just installed GNU/Linux, but the boot menu doesn't mention Windows
3144 at all. You're not willing to learn how Windows can be added to the boot
3145 menu, you just need to make your computer to boot Windows again right now.
3146 * ...cloned your Windows partition to your brand new computer but didn't
3147 clone the Master Boot Record.
3148 * ...are about to uninstall GNU/Linux and aren't willing to use GRUB as
3149 your bootloader.
3150
3151 You need to install GRUB if you...
3152
3153 * ...just installed Windows and want to make GNU/Linux bootable again.
3154 * ...cloned your GNU/Linux partition to your brand new computer but didn't
3155 clone the Master Boot Record.
3156 * ...just installed GNU/Linux but installed GRUB to a non-first hard drive
3157 by accident. (The symptom is that your computer still boots to the operating
3158 system you had installed already.)
3159
3160 [[ info.png ]]
3161 The following pressentation has been made usingSuper Grub Disk v0.9799
3162
3163 Restoring NTLDR
3164 ****************************************
3165 There are a lot of ways to restore NTLDR. However, sometimes there is no
3166 legal way to restore it, and I'm NOT telling about the illegal ones. The
3167 last resort is using syslinux to chainload Windows; there is usually no
3168 way to notice that syslinux is used instead of NTLDR.
3169
3170 I've listed here the most important options in order I'd use them.
3171
3172 Restoring NTLDR from a backup
3173 ---------------------
3174 If you've been smart enough to use Clonezilla Live to create a disk image
3175 of your first hard drive, it's very easy to restore NTLDR.
3176
3177 Your NTLDR is safe in a file called hda-mbr or sda-mbr. You can use dd to
3178 overwrite your existing Master Boot Record.
3179
3180 [[ important.png ]]
3181 Don't restore all 512 bytes of your Master Boot Record.The MBR contains
3182 your partition table and restoring it afterrepartitioning your disk erases
3183 all the data on the disk.
3184
3185 If you normally use GNU/Linux, open terminal and run these commands as root:
3186
3187 mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt/usb
3188 dd if=/mnt/usb/Backup/sda-mbr of=/dev/sda bs=446 count=1
3189
3190 Note: In the commands I have assumed that your first hard drive is /dev/sda
3191 and that your disk image resides in the folder Backup in partition
3192 /dev/sdc1. You will have to replace them with the correct pieces of
3193 information.
3194
3195 Note: How a command can be run as root depends on the GNU/Linux distribution
3196 you use. If it's Ubuntu or a distro based on it, simply put "sudo" above
3197 the command. For example, the latter of the above commands can be executed
3198 by typing "sudo dd if=/mnt/usb/Backup/sda-mbr of=/dev/sda bs=446 count=1"
3199
3200 If you normally use another operating system, boot into SystemRescueCD and
3201 run the above commands. In SystemRescueCD all commands are run as root,
3202 so you don't need to add any prefix to the commands.
3203
3204 If you don't know the name of the partition, run this command as root:
3205
3206 fdisk -l
3207
3208 It tells how many hard drives you have, how many partitions they contain
3209 and what filesystems the partitions use. If you know, for example, that
3210 the disk where you've saved the disk image contains only one partition,
3211 look for such disks.
3212
3213 Using Bootrec.exe (Windows Vista/7 only)
3214 ---------------------
3215 You need Windows Vista/7 install disc for this. If you don't have one (for
3216 example, if you bought a laptop that was bundled with preinstalled Windows
3217 and manufacturer's recovery disc), download a recovery disc from here.
3218
3219 Then boot from the disc. After selecting language, time, currency and
3220 keyboard, click Repair your computer. You'll get a list of operating systems
3221 you're able to repair. Choose any of them; that choice doesn't matter.
3222
3223 After that, you'll see a dialog box named System Recovery Options. Click
3224 Command Prompt. Then you only need to execute one command:
3225
3226 Bootrec /FixMbr
3227
3228 Note: The command is case-insensitive. You can type, for example,
3229 "bootrec /fixmbr".
3230
3231 Using FIXMBR (Windows XP only)
3232 ---------------------
3233 You need Windows XP install disc. Boot from it, and when you see the screen
3234 "Windows XP Home Edition Setup" or "Windows XP Professional Setup", press
3235 R to enter the Recovery Console. Then choose the Windows installation you
3236 want to log onto. If you have only one copy of Windows installed, press
3237 1 and ENTER. After that, enter the administator password and press ENTER.
3238
3239 There is only one command to run:
3240
3241 FIXMBR
3242
3243 Note: The command is case-insensitive. You can type, for example, "fixmbr".
3244
3245 Using FDISK (Windows 95/98/Me only)
3246 ---------------------
3247 For this, you need a floppy drive. You also need to run a Windows-only
3248 program, so your first challenge is to boot Windows without NTLDR.
3249
3250 Don't worry, Super Grub Disk makes it possible. Boot into it.
3251
3252 [[ supergrubdisk-01.png ]]
3253 Just choose the option "!WIN! :(((" and press ENTER.
3254
3255 When you have Windows up and running, download the boot disk
3256 image appropriate to your version of Windows from Bootdisk.Com {{
3257 http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm }}. Then put a floppy to your floppy
3258 drive.
3259
3260 If the floppy isn't already formatted, open My Computer, right-click the
3261 floppy drive and select Format....
3262
3263 At the format window, choose the capacity of 1,44 megabytes and Full format
3264 type. You can enter any label (it means the name of the floppy you can see
3265 next to the floppy drive letter) and disable the summary if you wish. Keep
3266 the Copy system files option disabled.
3267
3268 When you have a formatted floppy in your drive, double-click the boot disk
3269 image you downloaded. When it's done, shut Windows down and check your
3270 BIOS settings to be able to boot from the floppy. Some BIOSes contain a
3271 boot menu, others require editing settings pernamently. Details can be
3272 found on the manual of the motherboard or laptop.
3273
3274 Then boot from the floppy. When you're given three boot options, choose
3275 the option 2. Start computer without CD-ROM support. Wait a moment to
3276 enter command line and run this command:
3277
3278 FDISK /MBR
3279
3280 Note: The command is case-insensitive. You can type, for example,
3281 "fdisk /mbr".
3282
3283 Installing syslinux using Super Grub Disk
3284 ---------------------
3285 The above four are the only legal ways I know to restore NTLDR to the
3286 Master Boot Record. Unfortunately, sometimes none of them can be used. If
3287 that's the case, it's time to switch bootloader. GRUB can be configured to
3288 chainload Windows, and usually it even does that automatically, but this
3289 page isn't intended to help configuring GRUB. I assume that if you're
3290 primarily a Windows user and reading this page, you don't want to learn
3291 how to use GNU/Linux, you just want to make Windows bootable again.
3292
3293 Maybe the easiest way to do so is installing syslinux using Super Grub
3294 Disk. Super Grub Disk configures it automatically to chainload the first
3295 active partition. The partition should contain Windows, Windows can't boot
3296 if its partition isn't active.
3297
3298 Boot into Super Grub Disk.
3299
3300 [[ supergrubdisk-01a.png ]]
3301 Choose the option "WIN => MBR & !WIN! :(((((((((((((((((((((" and
3302 press ENTER. Windows will be booted automatically right after installing
3303 syslinux.
3304
3305 Installing GRUB
3306 ****************************************
3307 Contrary to various ways to restore NTLDR, there is only one way to install
3308 GRUB I recommend. That's Super Grub Disk, because it contains GRUB no
3309 matter what has happened to the hard drive(s). First, I boot into it.
3310
3311 [[ supergrubdisk-01b.png ]]
3312 I select "Choose Language & HELP :-)))" and press ENTER.
3313
3314 Screen "S.G.D. Language Selection."
3315 ---------------------
3316 [[ supergrubdisk-02.png ]]
3317 I select "English Super Grub Disk" and press ENTER.
3318
3319 [[ supergrubdisk-03.png ]]
3320 I press ENTER...
3321
3322 [[ supergrubdisk-04.png ]]
3323 ...and then ENTER again...
3324
3325 [[ supergrubdisk-05.png ]]
3326 ...and then ENTER once again...
3327
3328 [[ supergrubdisk-06.png ]]
3329 ...and finally ENTER one more time.
3330
3331 Screen "English Super Grub Disk (Help)"
3332 ---------------------
3333 [[ supergrubdisk-07.png ]]
3334 I select "Advanced".
3335
3336 Screen "Advanced (Help)"
3337 ---------------------
3338 [[ supergrubdisk-08.png ]]
3339 I select "GRUB" and press ENTER.
3340
3341 Screen "GRUB (Help)"
3342 ---------------------
3343 [[ supergrubdisk-09.png ]]
3344 I select "Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR)" and press ENTER...
3345
3346 [[ supergrubdisk-10.png ]]
3347 ...and ENTER.
3348
3349 Screen "Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR) (Help)"
3350 ---------------------
3351 [[ supergrubdisk-11.png ]]
3352 I select "Manual Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR)" and press ENTER. If you
3353 want to install GRUB to the Master Boot Record of the first hard drive,
3354 "Automatically Install" is a better choice. If you don't know if you
3355 want GRUB to the first or some other disk, you most likely want it to the
3356 first disk.
3357
3358 Screen "Manual Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR) (Help)"
3359 ---------------------
3360 [[ supergrubdisk-12.png ]]
3361 I confirm my decision by selecting "Manual Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR)"
3362 again and pressing ENTER.
3363
3364 Screen "Partition of GRUB"
3365 ---------------------
3366 [[ supergrubdisk-13.png ]]
3367 In this screen I can select the disk that contains the partition that
3368 contains the files needed by GRUB. In this case, that disk is the external
3369 hard drive. As you can see, the disk is only three megabytes in size -
3370 because the computer used for screenshots is still virtual. Actually, the
3371 "disk" where I'm installing GRUB is just a file.
3372
3373 Next Screen
3374 ---------------------
3375 [[ supergrubdisk-14.png ]]
3376 This is where I choose the partition where GRUB files reside. This disk
3377 contains only one partition.
3378
3379 Screen "Restore to MBR of Hard Disk"
3380 ---------------------
3381 [[ supergrubdisk-15.png ]]
3382 I select the external hard drive to install GRUB to its Master Boot Record.
3383
3384 [[ supergrubdisk-12.png ]]
3385 Some text scrolled in the screen (too fast to read or take a screenshot)
3386 and I was back at this screen. I rebooted the computer. (In this situation,
3387 you can safely do a "hard reboot" by pressing reset button once or power
3388 button twice.)
3389
3390 [[ grub-loading.png ]]
3391 GRUB booted successfully.
3392
3393
3394
3395
3396 Booting an old PC
3397 ==============================================================================
3398
3399 Intro
3400 ****************************************
3401 Have you ever tried to boot an old PC off a CD-ROM, and found out it
3402 wouldn't, because its BIOS does not support it, or it's faulty or for any
3403 other reason? Well, I have. So this page is an effort to solve this problem.
3404
3405 The only way to do it, is to boot of a floppy disk which will help me
3406 "load" whatever operation system I want from a CD. This means that I will
3407 have to write a boot loader to the floppy disk.
3408
3409 The software I will use is Smart Boot Manager {{
3410 http://sourceforge.net/projects/btmgr/ }}, a small boot manager with a
3411 nice TUI (Text User Interface). Its floppy image, already accessible from
3412 the "Tools" menu, can be found in the bootdisk folder of the CD under the
3413 name sbm.img.
3414
3415 Writing the image to a floppy disk
3416 ****************************************
3417 All you have to do is get to a PC equipped with a floppy drive, get a
3418 floppy disk which is in excellent condition (no bad sectors/blocks),
3419 and copy the image file to it.
3420
3421 1. From Linux
3422 ---------------------
3423 You can either boot Clonezilla Live or SystemRescueCD, and when the system
3424 is fully up, execute the command:
3425
3426 dd if=/path/to/sbm.img of=/dev/fd0
3427
3428 where /path/to is
3429 /live/image/bootdisk for Clonezilla Live
3430 /mnt/livecd/bootdisk for SystemRescueCD
3431
3432 2. From DOS
3433 ---------------------
3434 You can get into any DOS (boot FreeDOS from the CD, for example), and use
3435 any of the following programs found in the rawrite folder of the CD:
3436
3437 * rawrite.exe: is just here for completeness, as it may be needed for someone
3438 * rawrite2.exe: should be the fastest
3439 * rawrite3.com: should work if rawrite2 fails for some reason
3440 * fdimage.exe: rawrite alternative
3441
3442 I found these programms at the FreeDOS web site {{
3443 http://www.fdos.org/ripcord/rawrite/ }}, where the following info is
3444 included:
3445
3446 Basic Usage (Rawrite):
3447 Depending on the exact version, the output and command line support may
3448 vary, i.e. not work
3449 Usage:
3450 MS-DOS prompt> RAWRITE
3451 and follow the prompts, -or-
3452
3453 MS-DOS prompt> RAWRITE [-f ] [-d ] [-n(owait)] [-h(elp)]
3454 where: -f - name of disk image file
3455 -d - diskette drive to use, must be A or B
3456 -n - don't prompt for user to insert diskette
3457 -h - print usage information to stdout
3458
3459 The diskette must be formatted or rawrite will not work.
3460 The contents of the disk do not matter and will be overwritten.
3461 When ran interactively (without command line options) you will be prompted
3462 for the disk image filename (you must remember this as there is no file
3463 chooser).
3464 You will also be prompted for the target/destination drive, either A or
3465 B for A: or B: respectively.
3466 Basic Usage (FDImage):
3467 fdimage is an updated DOS program meant to replace rawrite. It does not
3468 require a pre-formatted floppy diskette.
3469
3470 FDIMAGE - Write disk image to floppy disk
3471 Version 1.5 Copyright (c) 1996-7 Robert Nordier
3472
3473 Usage: fdimage [-dqsv] [-f size] [-r count] file drive
3474
3475 -d Debug mode
3476 -f size Specify the floppy disk format by capacity, eg:
3477 160K, 180K, 320K, 360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M, 2.88M
3478 -q Quick mode: don't format the disk
3479 -r count Retry count for format/write operations
3480 -s Single-sector I/O
3481 -v Verbose
3482
3483 In order to write the image file to a pre-formatted diskette, execute
3484 the commands:
3485
3486 X:
3487 cd rawrite
3488 rawrite2 -f X:bootdisksbm.img -d b:
3489
3490 In order to write the image file and format the diskette at the same time,
3491 execute the commands:
3492
3493 X:
3494 cd rawrite
3495 fdimage -f 1.44M X:bootdisksbm.img b:
3496
3497 where X: is the drive name in DOS
3498
3499 3. From Windows
3500 ---------------------
3501 The final alternative is to use Windows program rawwritewin.exe (found in
3502 the utils\rawrite folder of the CD), as shown in the following image:
3503
3504 [[ rawwritewin.png ]]
3505
3506
3507
3508
3509 Using SystemRescueCD
3510 ==============================================================================
3511
3512 Intro
3513 ****************************************
3514 SystemRescueCD is an excellent Live CD. It contains cloning software too
3515 (FSArchiver {{ http://www.fsarchiver.org/Main_Page }} and partimage,
3516 to be spesific), but is unable to clone a whole disk, instead of only
3517 individual partitions.
3518
3519 Clonezilla Live is a great cloning solution, but it is unable to do anything
3520 but clone. For general system administration, you need a lot more functions
3521 - like these offered by SystemRescueCD.
3522
3523 Clonezilla-SysRescCD has all of the functions of both discs. It's a
3524 multi boot CD, so switching between CDs requires a reboot, but using
3525 both individual discs requires switching the physical disc - in addition
3526 to rebooting.
3527
3528 But, of course, to be able to use SystemRescueCD's functions, you need to
3529 know how to use them. We don't have permission to redistribute SystemRescueCD
3530 documentation, so this page contains only just enough information to allow
3531 you to look for more help in SystemRescueCD documentation.
3532
3533 Which boot option to pick?
3534 ****************************************
3535 You may be confused because of the number of boot options you have. After
3536 choosing "CD 2: System Rescue CD" you have a total of 15 options to boot
3537 SystemRescueCD. Here is a table of them.
3538
3539 kernel Normal To RAM Graphical Environment VESA Mini Shell
3540 32-bit xxx +++
3541 32-bit (alt)
3542 64-bit xxx +++
3543
3544 In the table, I have marked the options you most likely need. You should
3545 choose either of the options marked with a '+++' if you have no idea and/or
3546 time to read the next sections.
3547
3548 Choosing the column
3549 ---------------------
3550 If you're accustomed to graphical environment, choose Graphical
3551 Environment. In Graphical Environment you're able to use graphical programs,
3552 like GParted and Mozilla Firefox. Terminals are also available, so using
3553 Graphical Environment doesn't prevent using command line. The only negative
3554 thing of Graphical Environment is that it slows booting process down a bit -
3555 and it's often just plain unneeded.
3556
3557 Try VESA, if normal Graphical Environment doesn't work. VESA uses Xvesa
3558 graphical environment instead of X.Org that sometimes doesn't work. The
3559 drawback of Xvesa compared to X.Org is that Xvesa isn't optimized to any
3560 hardware, which means poorer performance.
3561
3562 If you're accustomed to command line and know already that you're not going
3563 to use any graphical program, choose one of the normal options (just below
3564 "System Rescue CD Menu"). Booting to command line is a bit faster process
3565 than booting to graphical environment, and you can start X manually later.
3566
3567 You need the option To RAM if you plan to burn discs while using
3568 SystemRescueCD. The option copies the whole SystemRescueCD to the memory of
3569 the computer during the boot process, allowing you to put another disc to
3570 your CD/DVD writer while using SystemRescueCD. The negative thing is that
3571 reading all the contents of the disc slows boot process down a lot. There
3572 is no option which copies the disc to the memory and starts graphical
3573 environment automatically, but you can easily start it manually.
3574
3575 Mini Shell is probably the least used option. It enters BusyBox
3576 shell after booting. BusyBox is an application that "combines
3577 tiny versions of many common UNIX utilities into a single small
3578 executable." However, SystemRescueCD contains most of these utilities
3579 anyway, so there is not much need to use this option. some information {{
3580 http://www.busybox.net/about.html }} about BusyBox
3581
3582 Choosing the row (kernel)
3583 ---------------------
3584 After having chosen the column of the above table, you still have three
3585 options. Now you need to choose the kernel.
3586
3587 The optimal kernel depends on the processor of your computer. If it's an
3588 IA-32 processor, like Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP, you should choose
3589 32-bit kernel, because 64-bit kernel doesn't work at all. If you have
3590 a x86-64 processor, like AMD Athlon 64 or Intel Core 2, you can choose
3591 any kernel - the processor can run all of them. 64-bit kernel should be
3592 preferred, because it allows chrooting on an existing GNU/Linux partition
3593 containing 64-bit programs.
3594
3595 If you don't know your processor architecture, try 64-bit kernel. If your
3596 processor architecture is IA-32, you'll see the following error message:
3597
3598 This kernel requires an x86-64 CPU, but only detected an i686 CPU. Unable
3599 to boot - please use a kernel appropriate for your CPU.
3600
3601 At this stage, simply press Ctrl-Alt-Del to reboot and use always 32-bit
3602 kernel on the machine.
3603
3604 There is one more kernel - 32-bit kernel (alternative). It's designed to
3605 support more recent hardware than the regular kernel. Try it if standard
3606 32-bit kernel doesn't work.
3607
3608 After booting
3609 ****************************************
3610 HELP!!! Where are the desktop and Start menu?
3611 ---------------------
3612 You should have read this section if you're looking for them. However,
3613 you don't need to reboot in order to enter graphical environment. Simply
3614 type this command and press ENTER:
3615
3616 wizard
3617
3618 The command asks you to choose a graphical environment. Try first X.Org,
3619 and if it fails, run the command again and choose Xvesa.
3620
3621 Connecting to the Internet
3622 ---------------------
3623 The CD doesn't contain any SystemRescueCD documentation, because we don't
3624 have permission to redistribute it. In addition, our time is limited and
3625 we can't rewrite it all. So, you need to connect to the Internet to be
3626 able to read SystemRescueCD's official online documentation.
3627
3628 Luckily, establishing Internet connection should be easy, if you're in a
3629 network using DHCP. Nowadays, most people are. If you're using graphical
3630 mode and terminal isn't already open, open it via the menu that opens when
3631 you click the leftmost icon in the bottom pane.
3632
3633 Then, type this command and press ENTER:
3634
3635 dhcpcd eth0
3636
3637 If the network doesn't use DHCP, you can also configure Internet settings
3638 by hand. You should be able to do so if you've previously configured your
3639 settings in the operating system you normally use. The command to run is
3640
3641 net-setup
3642
3643 When you're done
3644 ****************************************
3645 When you're done, you naturally want to either shut the computer down or
3646 reboot. Wait! Don't do it yet!
3647
3648 Both I and Spiros have found out that letting a live CD to automatically
3649 unmount partitions is often a bad idea. It can damage the filesystems
3650 of the partitions which were mounted when the computer was shut down and
3651 destroy any files in the partitions, even them you didn't use within the CD.
3652
3653 So, I recommend unmounting them refore shutdown or reboot. Just run these
3654 commands when you're done.
3655
3656 If you want to reboot:
3657
3658 cd
3659 umount -a
3660 reboot
3661
3662 If you want to shut down:
3663 cd
3664 umount -a
3665 poweroff
3666
3667 More info
3668 ****************************************
3669 Here are some links to the official SystemRescueCD resources.
3670
3671 SystemRescueCD - http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page
3672 Detailed packages list- http://www.sysresccd.org/Detailed-packages-list
3673 Manual - http://www.sysresccd.org/Online-Manual-EN
3674 FAQ - http://www.sysresccd.org/FAQ
3675 Howto - http://www.sysresccd.org/Howto
3676 Forum - http://www.sysresccd.org/forums/
3677
3678
3679
3680
3681 Managing partitions
3682 ==============================================================================
3683
3684 Intro
3685 ****************************************
3686 One of the most important maintenance tasks that can only be done by using
3687 a live CD is partitioning. No operating system allows partitioning the
3688 same disk where the OS itself resides. Trying to do so is like attempting
3689 to repair a car while its engine is turned on.
3690
3691 Of course, SystemRescueCD contains multiple programs that are related to
3692 partitioning. Most important are GParted (graphical partitioning program),
3693 GNU Parted (text-based partitioning program), fdisk and sfdisk (partition
3694 table editors) and various filesystem tools (like ntfsprogs and e2fsprogs).
3695
3696 This page contains some theory about partitions and filesystems, advice for
3697 choosing the right filesystem and a partitioning example by using GParted.
3698
3699 [[ important.png ]]
3700 While partitioning, an user error or a bug can damage your
3701 partitions.Creating a disk image of the disk to bepartitioned beforehand
3702 is highly recommended.
3703
3704 [[ info.png ]]
3705 The following pressentation has been made usingSystemRescueCD v 1.5.8
3706
3707 Some theory
3708 ****************************************
3709 What is a partition?
3710 ---------------------
3711 A partition is a logical division of a hard disk created so that you can
3712 have different operating systems on the same hard disk or to create the
3713 appearance of having separate hard drives for file management, multiple
3714 users, or other purposes.
3715
3716 In Windows, a one-partition hard disk is labelled the "C:" drive ("A:" and
3717 "B:" are typically reserved for diskette drives). A two-partition hard drive
3718 would typically contain "C:" and "D:" drives. (CD-ROM drives typically are
3719 assigned the last letter in whatever sequence of letters have been used
3720 as a result of hard disk formatting, or typically with a two-partition,
3721 the "E:" drive.).
3722
3723 In UNIX-based systems, a partition is used to host the / (root) file system,
3724 and optionally the /opt, /usr and /home file systems. There may also be
3725 a swap partition, which doesn't host any file system.
3726
3727 Each operatin system provides some kind of tool to create and manage
3728 partitions. Examples of such tools are fdisk in DOS/Windows, fdisk, sfdisk
3729 and parted in Linux, etc.
3730
3731 What is the difference between primary, extended and logical partitions?
3732 ---------------------
3733 Information about partitions is saved in so-called partition table
3734 in Master Boot Record. MBR itself is only 512 bytes in size,
3735 and only 64 bytes are reserved for partition table. That's not
3736 enough, and there are many workarounds to bypass limitations
3737 caused by the size, for example logical block addressing {{
3738 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_block_addressing#LBA.2C_ATA_devices_and_Enhanced_BIOS
3739 }}. Extended partitions are another workaround.
3740
3741 Partition table can only store information about four partitions. If one
3742 has, for example, two GNU/Linux distributions on the same disk, both of
3743 them having separate root partitions, shared /home and shared swap, the
3744 partition number limit has been hit already.
3745
3746 A partition that is mentioned in the partition table is called primary
3747 partition. Because of the limit, one disk can only contain 1-4 primary
3748 partitions.
3749
3750 An extended partition fixes the problem simply by containing more boot
3751 records, called Extended Boot Records (EBR). Each EBR contains information
3752 about one logical partition and, if the extended partition contains multiple
3753 logical partitions, link to the next EBR. Thus, an extended partition can
3754 contain unlimited amount of logical partitions.
3755
3756 Extended partition contains only EBRs and logical partitions (and maybe
3757 unallocated space). Extended partition doesn't contain any filesystem and
3758 files can't be stored in it. Of course, logical partition can contain any
3759 filesystem (or be unformatted).
3760
3761 Logical partitions can always be used for storing data: any operating
3762 system can see logical partitions. GNU/Linux supports both multiple primary
3763 extended partitions and extended partitions within each other, while
3764 Windows supports only the latter. GNU/Linux distributions can be installed
3765 to logical partitions as well, but Windows requires a lot of tweaking. See
3766 this outdated guide {{ http://www.goodells.net/multiboot/index.htm }}.
3767
3768 What is LVM?
3769 ---------------------
3770 LVM means "Logical Volume Manager". It allows creating volume groups on top
3771 of hard drives and logical volumes within volume groups. Logical volumes
3772 are NOT the same thing as logical partitions!
3773
3774 Volume groups can be created very flexibly: a volume group can allocate,
3775 for example, the first half of the first hard drive and the second half
3776 of the third drive. One can even create a massive volume group containing
3777 all storage he/she has.
3778
3779 The computer sees a logical volume as a partition: logical volume can be
3780 left unformatted or contain any filesystem.
3781
3782 LVM has many benefits: for example, if one has three hard drives 60 gigabytes
3783 each, he/she can create a 160-gigabyte partition for storing massive files
3784 and/or saving some disk space. In addition, logical volumes can be resized
3785 even when they're in use, so when creating logical volumes one doesn't need
3786 to worry if they're too small or big - if they are, he/she can resize them
3787 at any time.
3788
3789 However, resizing a logical volume doesn't resize the filesystem in
3790 it, so using a filesystem that can be resized in use (online resizing)
3791 is recommended. Very few filesystems can be shrinked online, but most
3792 GNU/Linux filesystems (including ext3/4, ReiserFS, XFS and btrfs) can be
3793 grown online. It's generally a good idea to leave unallocated space within
3794 volume group, so logical volumes can later be grown without shrinking any
3795 other logical volume.
3796
3797 Here come bad news for people who dualboot: Windows doesn't support LVM, it
3798 sees volume groups as unformatted partitions. If you try to access volume
3799 group within Windows, you're just prompted to format the partition. That
3800 prompt is annoying at best and dangerous at worst.
3801
3802 More information about LVM can be found here (almost everything about LVM
3803 in a single page) and here (official SystemRescueCD documentation about LVM).
3804
3805 What is a file system?
3806 ---------------------
3807 A file system is the way in which files are named and where they are placed
3808 logically for storage and retrieval. The DOS, Windows, OS/2, Macintosh,
3809 and UNIX-based operating systems all have file systems in which files are
3810 placed somewhere in a hierarchical (tree) structure. A file is placed in
3811 a directory (folder in Windows) or subdirectory at the desired place in
3812 the tree structure.
3813
3814 The most important difference between filesystems is operating system
3815 support. Some filesystems are supported by all modern operating systems,
3816 but especially the newest filesystems are very rarely supported. Other
3817 important limits are maximum file size, journaling support and file
3818 permission metadata support.
3819
3820 The reason that file size limits exist is that all filesystems reserve a
3821 fixed number of bits for storing the file size. If the size of the file,
3822 in bytes, is bigger than the biggest number that can be stored in file
3823 size bits, the operating system must refuse to store the file at all in
3824 order to prevent data corruption.
3825
3826 File permission metadata means that the filesystem stores in the metadata
3827 of the file, among other things, information about who owns the file and
3828 what different users are allowed to do with the file. That metadata is
3829 especially useful in multi-user environment because it mostly prevents
3830 users from reading each other's files. Permissions can be bypassed, however.
3831
3832 What is journaling?
3833 ---------------------
3834 Ideally, data in a partition never corrupts. But, in the real world,
3835 there are power failures and operating system freezes. And if a computer
3836 is forcefully shut down while something is written to the drive, the write
3837 operation can't be finished. That can damage the filesystem and destroy
3838 any files in the partition.
3839
3840 Journaling partially fixes that problem by writing most changes to the
3841 disk twice: first to a special area called journal and, after that, to
3842 the filesystem itself. If power is lost while writing to the journal was
3843 in progress, the partial change is just ignored and never committed to the
3844 filesystem itself. If power failure or OS freeze happened while writing to
3845 filesystem itself, the write operation is finished by using the information
3846 in journal.
3847
3848 Journaling is always a trade-off between reliability and performance. In
3849 fact, the ext3 and ext4 filesystems support multiple journaling modes in
3850 order to allow the user to choose the optimal compromise. The most popular
3851 choices are ordered and writeback.
3852
3853 Both modes only write metadata changes to the journal before committing
3854 them: data itself is written directly to the main filesystem. The difference
3855 between the modes is that ordered mode guarantees that the data is written
3856 before the change is marked as committed. The difference may sound small, but
3857 in some cases ordered mode causes horrible performance. In Linux 2.6.30, the
3858 default journaling mode was changed to writeback - and it was quickly found
3859 out that writeback mode may cause massive data loss. See this forum post {{
3860 http://forums.raiden.net/viewtopic.php?p=155912#155912 }} for details. Most
3861 GNU/Linux distributions are now using ordered mode as the default again.
3862
3863 In addition, on SSDs (Solid State Drives) and thumb drives write speed is
3864 much slower than read speed. They also have a limited number of writing
3865 cycles, so journaling reduces their lifetime. Thus, I (Jyrki) recommend
3866 against using journaling fileystems on such drives.
3867
3868 What are the differences between most popular filesystems?
3869 ---------------------
3870 The following table quickly describes the most important differences
3871 between them.
3872
3873 Operating system support
3874 #############################################################################
3875 Under Under Maximum Journaling Permissions
3876 Windows GNU/Linux file size
3877 #############################################################################
3878 FAT32 Native Built-in 4 GB No No
3879 NTFS Native Included 16 EB Yes Yes
3880 ext2 3rd party driver Native 16 GB-2 TB* No Yes
3881 ext3 3rd party driver Native 16 GB-2 TB* Yes Yes
3882 ext4 No*** Native 16 GB-16 TB* Yes Yes
3883 exFAT Built-in (Vista/7)** Driver 64 ZB No Yes
3884
3885 * Depends on cluster size
3886 ** This update {{ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955704 }} adds exFAT
3887 support to Windows XP
3888 *** Ext2read makes accessing ext4 partitions possible, but it's not a
3889 driver and the access is read-only
3890
3891 Operating system support:
3892
3893 * "Native" means that the kernel supports the filesystem and the OS can
3894 boot from a partition using that FS.
3895 * "Built-in" means that the kernel supports the filesystem, but booting
3896 from a partition containing such FS is very difficult.
3897 * "Driver included" means that ntfs-3g (the driver that adds NTFS support
3898 to Linux) comes with most GNU/Linux distributions.
3899 * "3rd party driver" means that drivers to add filesystem support are
3900 available, but must be downloaded and installed separately. The ext2/3
3901 drivers are Ext2 IFS and Ext2fsd and the exFAT driver is exfat {{
3902 http://code.google.com/p/exfat/ }}.
3903 * "No" means that there is no way to get read-write filesystem support.
3904
3905 Filesystems
3906 ****************************************
3907 This section contains more information about most popular filesystems.
3908
3909 FAT32
3910 ---------------------
3911 The initial version of FAT (File Allocation Table), now referred as
3912 FAT12, was designed for floppy disks. A FAT12 partition can only be up
3913 to 32 megabytes in size. After that, PCs equipped with hard drives were
3914 introcuded by IBM and the sizes of hard drives began growing. Microsoft
3915 answered the need by developing first initial FAT16 and then final FAT16.
3916
3917 FAT16 partition can be up to two gigabytes in size. In the middle of 1990s,
3918 that limit was becoming a problem. Microsoft pushed the limit up by updating
3919 FAT again.
3920
3921 FAT32 was first introduced with Windows 95 OSR2. Windows 98,
3922 Windows Me, Windows 2000 and newer support FAT32 too. Linux
3923 kernel has supported FAT32 almost as long as Windows, but
3924 booting GNU/Linux from FAT32 partition is difficult and actually
3925 requires DOS to be installed in the partition as well. (more information {{
3926 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAT_filesystem_and_Linux#Installing_Linux_on_and_booting_it_from_FAT_volumes_using_umsdos
3927 }})
3928
3929 FAT32 partition can be up to two terabytes in size. As of now (July 2010),
3930 there are hard drives that hit the limit, but don't exceed it. A single
3931 file within FAT32 partition can be up to four gigabytes in size.
3932
3933 Because FAT32 is, in the end, based on FAT12, it has very few features. It
3934 doesn't support file permissions, hard/symbolic links, encryption,
3935 compression, alternative data streams, journaling... It lacks support for
3936 nearly anything that defines a modern filesystem. However, due to very
3937 few features, FAT32 is very fast filesystem if it's not fragmented or on
3938 a Flash-based drive. Mind you, FAT32 fragments very fast.
3939
3940 Due to excellent operating system support, I recommend FAT32 for storing
3941 files which should be accessible in both Windows and GNU/Linux. FAT32
3942 is also a good filesystem on Solid State Drives and thumb drives due to
3943 its performance.
3944
3945 ext2
3946 ---------------------
3947 Ext2 or ext2fs is the successor of extfs (extended file system). Extfs
3948 didn't support separated timestamps for access, data modification and inode
3949 modification. In order to add support for them, and make the filesystem
3950 extendable, a new filesystem had to be created.
3951
3952 Ext2 was developed in January 1993, earlier than any other filesystem
3953 mentioned in this page.
3954
3955 Because ext2 is designed for GNU/Linux, support in Linux kernel was
3956 implemented immediately. The first Windows driver supporting ext2,
3957 Ext2fsd 0.01, was released on 25 January 2002. Both Windows drivers
3958 for ext2 work only on Windows NT operating systems (NT 4.0 up to Vista,
3959 7 isn't supported yet).
3960
3961 The best property of ext2 is extensibility. The superblock contains
3962 information about which version the filesystem is (ext2, ext3 or ext4)
3963 and which extensions and features are in use. By using these pieces of
3964 information, the operating system or driver can decide whether or not
3965 mounting the partition is safe. That's the most important reason why most
3966 GNU/Linux distributions still use successors of ext2 as default filesystems.
3967
3968 Depending on cluster size, ext2 partition can be up to 2-32 terabytes in
3969 size. File size limit is 16 GB-2 TB.
3970
3971 Ext2 supports file permissions, both hard and symbolic links and extended
3972 file attributes. Encryption, compression and journaling are unsupported.
3973
3974 Due to lack of journaling support and existence of Windows drivers, I
3975 recommend using ext2 if you're going to install GNU/Linux on a SSD drive
3976 and want to be able to access files within Windows too.
3977
3978 However, lack of journaling support is the worst limitation of ext2. And
3979 what was done in order to get rid of the limitation?
3980
3981 ext3
3982 ---------------------
3983 Ext3, the successor of ext2, was introduced in Linux kernel on November
3984 2001. It supports journaling, can be grown online and optionally indexes
3985 large directories.
3986
3987 Ext2 IFS and Ext2fsd can mount ext3 partition as ext2 if the journal
3988 is empty. (If it's not, something is wrong - journal is always emptied
3989 when the partition is unmounted or the computer is shut down.) Thus,
3990 ext3 support under Windows is just as good/bad as ext2 support.
3991
3992 Partition and file size limits are the same as in ext2: partition size
3993 limit is 2-32 TB and file size limit 16 GB-2 TB, depending on cluster size.
3994
3995 Due to journaling support and existence of Windows drivers, ext3 is a good
3996 choice if you're going to install GNU/Linux on a mechanical hard drive
3997 and want to be able to access files within Windows.
3998
3999 ext4
4000 ---------------------
4001 Linux kernel support for ext4, the successor of ext3, was marked stable
4002 code on October 2008. Ext4 contains multiple performance and stability
4003 improvements over ext3.
4004
4005 The most important new feature is extents. An extent is a contiguous area of
4006 storage that has been reserved for a file. When a process starts to write
4007 to a file, the whole extent is allocated even before the write operation
4008 begins. The idea is that even if the file is larger than expected, it
4009 doesn't fragment if it doesn't exceed the size of the extent.
4010
4011 Another important improvement is larger partition size limit: an ext4
4012 partition can be even one exabyte in size. (An exabyte is a million
4013 terabytes.) In addition, a directory within an ext4 partition can contain up
4014 to 64 000 subdirectories (instead of 32 000, as in ext2/3) and timestamps
4015 are much more accurate. The file size limit is 16 GB-16 TB, depending on
4016 cluster size.
4017
4018 Unfortunately, Ext2 IFS and Ext2Fsd don't support ext4 and are unable
4019 to mount ext4 partition if extents are enabled. They can be disabled,
4020 but other improvements of ext4 aren't that important for most people -
4021 using ext2 or ext3 is just easier. It is also possible to keep extents
4022 enabled and browse the partition using Ext2read, but Ext2read doesn't
4023 allow the user to write to the partition.
4024
4025 Due to its features, ext4 is a good filesystem on computers that only have
4026 GNU/Linux installed. Because journaling can be disabled, it is suitable
4027 for Solid State Drives and thumb drives too.
4028
4029 NTFS
4030 ---------------------
4031 At the end of 1980s, IBM and Microsoft were developing OS/2 operating
4032 system. Both companies expected OS/2 1.1, released on 1988, to be the first
4033 popular operating system having a GUI, Presentation Manager. Even though it
4034 didn't become too popular during its first years, Microsoft didn't complain:
4035 Windows 2 didn't sell any better.
4036
4037 But on May 1990, Microsoft released Windows 3.0. Millions of copies of it
4038 were sold during its first year, and Microsoft began to believe that OS/2
4039 had failed due to decisions of IBM. At autumn 1990, Microsoft stopped
4040 cooperating with IBM, recasted OS/2 3.0 as Windows NT and continued
4041 developing it alone, leaving IBM alone with OS/2.
4042
4043 Windows NT was targeted for network file servers, and there were already
4044 competition, most importantly Novell NetWare and OS/2. Among other things,
4045 the filesystem of Windows NT had to be fast, space efficient and reliable.
4046
4047 NTFS (New Technology File System) was introcuded with Windows NT 3.1. Newer
4048 versions of NTFS have been introduced with newer versions of Windows NT,
4049 and the filesystem is most likely still under development. All versions
4050 of Windows NT support NTFS, but support in Linux kernel was implemented
4051 as late as on December 2003.
4052
4053 NTFS is still, in my opinion, the most feature-filled filesystem around. It
4054 supports file permissions, both hard and symbolic links, encryption,
4055 compression, alternative data streams, journaling... There are very few
4056 features NTFS doesn't support.
4057
4058 Depending on cluster size, a NTFS partition can be up to 8 ZB-1 YB in
4059 size. (A zettabyte (ZB) is a milliard terabytes and a yottabyte (YB)
4060 a billion terabytes.) File size limit is 16 EB.
4061
4062 Windows 7 can only be installed on a NTFS
4063 partition, and Vista requires a work-around {{
4064 http://www.computersplace.com/install-windows-vista-on-a-fat32-partition/windows-vista
4065 }} if one wants to install it on a FAT32 partition. Of course NTFS partitions
4066 can be used for data storage as well: due to features of NTFS, I recommend
4067 doing so on mechanical hard drives on Windows-only computers.
4068
4069 exFAT
4070 ---------------------
4071 NTFS is a great filesystem, but due to its complexity and journaling, it's
4072 not suitable for Flash-based drives. Even Microsoft itself has recommended
4073 using FAT32 on removable Flash media.
4074
4075 However, FAT32 only allows files up to four gigabytes in size. The limit
4076 is already becoming too small, for example a DVD disc image can exceed
4077 that limit. In addition, FAT32 lacks file permission support. In order
4078 to get rid of these limitations, Microsoft took FAT from its grave and
4079 updated it one more time.
4080
4081 ExFAT (extended FAT), also known as FAT64, was introduced with Windows CE
4082 6.0, on November 2006. Windows Vista SP1, Windows 7 and newer support exFAT
4083 too, and by installing this update {{ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955704
4084 }} Windows XP can be extended to support exFAT as well. GNU/Linux drivers
4085 are available too, but currently none of them are both stable and free. The
4086 best option seems to be exfat, an open-source driver in beta stage.
4087
4088 The partition and file size limits of exFAT are the same: 64
4089 zettabytes. Another important improvement is file permission support that,
4090 oddly, is lacking in Windows Vista. In addition, a directory within an
4091 exFAT partition can contain up to 2 796 202 files (instead of 65 536,
4092 as in FAT32) and timestamps have become more accurate.
4093
4094 No operating system can be installed to an exFAT partition, so such
4095 partitions can only be used for data storage. Due to lack of journaling
4096 and support for huge files, exFAT is a good filesystem on Solid State
4097 Drives and thumb drives that are only used within Windows Vista and/or 7.
4098
4099 Partition list
4100 ---------------------
4101 The following table presents known partition types along with their IDs:
4102
4103 0 Empty 80 Old Minix
4104 1 FAT12 81 Minix / old Linux
4105 2 XENIX root 82 Linux swap / Solaris
4106 3 XENIX usr 83 Linux
4107 4 FAT16 <32M 84 OS/2 hidden C: drive
4108 5 Extended 85 Linux extended
4109 6 FAT16 86 NTFS volume set
4110 7 HPFS/NTFS 87 NTFS volume set
4111 8 AIX 88 Linux plaintext
4112 9 AIX bootable 8e Linux LVM
4113 a OS/2 Boot Manager 93 Amoeba
4114 b W95 FAT32 94 Amoeba BBT
4115 c W95 FAT32 (LBA) 9f BSD/OS
4116 e W95 FAT16 (LBA) a0 IBM Thinkpad hibernation
4117 f W95 Ext'd (LBA) a5 FreeBSD
4118 10 OPUS a6 OpenBSD
4119 11 Hidden FAT12 a7 NeXTSTEP
4120 12 Compaq diagnostics a8 Darwin UFS
4121 14 Hidden FAT16 <32M a9 NetBSD
4122 16 Hidden FAT16 ab Darwin boot
4123 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS b7 BSDI fs
4124 18 AST SmartSleep b8 BSDI swap
4125 1b Hidden W95 FAT32 bb Boot Wizard hidden
4126 1c Hidden W95 FAT32 (LBA) be Solaris boot
4127 1e Hidden W95 FAT16 (LBA) bf Solaris
4128 24 NEC DOS c1 DRDOS/sec (FAT-12)
4129 39 Plan 9 c4 DRDOS/sec (FAT-16
4130 3c PartitionMagic recovery c6 DRDOS/sec (FAT-16)
4131 40 Venix 80286 c7 Syrinx
4132 41 PPC PReP Boot da Non-FS data
4133 42 SFS db CP/M / CTOS / ...
4134 4d QNX4.x de Dell Utility
4135 4e QNX4.x 2nd part df BootIt
4136 4f QNX4.x 3rd part e1 DOS access
4137 50 OnTrack DM e3 DOS R/O
4138 51 OnTrack DM6 Aux1 e4 SpeedStor
4139 52 CP/M eb BeOS fs
4140 53 OnTrack DM6 Aux3 ee EFI GPT
4141 54 OnTrackDM6 ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)
4142 55 EZ-Drive f0 Linux/PA-RISC boot
4143 56 Golden Bow f1 SpeedStor
4144 5c Priam Edisk f4 SpeedStor
4145 61 SpeedStor f2 DOS secondary
4146 63 GNU HURD or SysV fd Linux raid autodetect
4147 64 Novell Netware 286 fe LANstep
4148 65 Novell Netware 386 ff BBT
4149 70 DiskSecure Multi-Boot
4150 75 PC/IX
4151
4152 The partitions you are most likely to see in use, are:
4153
4154 * HPFS/NTFS (ID = 7)
4155 This is the Windows XP partition, also known as NTFS
4156
4157 * W95 FAT32 (LBA) (ID = c)
4158 This is the Windows 95 - 98 partition
4159 It is used in any kind of disk and large USB devices (1 GB and more)
4160
4161 * W95 Ext'd (LBA) (ID = f)
4162 Extended partition. It acts as a container for other partitions
4163
4164 * Extended (ID = 5)
4165 Another extended partition type. It acts as a container for other partitions
4166 There is one more extended partition type (ID = 85), but Windows doesn't
4167 recognise it
4168
4169 * Linux swap / Solaris (ID = 82)
4170 Swap partition, acting as Virtual Memory
4171 Modern computers with 1 - 2 GB of memory may not use it at all
4172
4173 * Linux (ID = 83)
4174 Linux partitions, such as ext2, ext3 and reiserfs
4175
4176 Partitioning example
4177 ****************************************
4178 This section contains a partitioning example. I simulate the following
4179 situation in a virtual machine:
4180
4181 I have two partitions in my disk: /dev/sda1 that contains a GNU/Linux
4182 distribution, and /dev/sda2 that is a swap partition. Here we can see the
4183 output of fdisk:
4184
4185 root@sysresccd /root % fdisk -l
4186
4187 Disk /dev/sda: 2097 MB, 2097152000 bytes
4188 64 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1015 cylinders
4189 Units = cylinders of 4032 * 512 = 2064384 bytes
4190 Disk identifier: 0x00058a4a
4191
4192 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
4193 /dev/sda1 * 1 812 1636960+ 83 Linux
4194 /dev/sda2 813 1015 409248 82 Linux swap / Solaris
4195
4196 Now I'm going to install another distribution on the same disk. First of
4197 all, I need one more partition, because only one distro can be installed on
4198 one partition. In addition, I want to separate /home to its own partition
4199 in order to be able to share it between distributions.
4200
4201 Because the whole disk is already allocated, I must shrink at least one
4202 existing partition in order to create new partitions. I'll shrink both of
4203 them to half (/dev/sda1 from 1,6 gigabytes to 800 megabytes, and /dev/sda2
4204 from 400 MB to 200 MB). In addition, I'll move /dev/sda2 right next to
4205 /dev/sda1 to keep the partitions in order.
4206
4207 But how many partitions there will be in total? One, two,
4208 three... four! Phew, I was near to paint myself into a corner. If I created
4209 only primary partitions, I'd be unable to create any more partitions on
4210 the disk. Thus, I'll create an extended partition instead and two logical
4211 partitions within it. Then I'll be able to create more logical partitions
4212 later if required.
4213
4214 There is one more challenge: moving /home to a separate partition. It's
4215 very easy to move the folder itself, but the distro in /dev/sda1 will
4216 surely be confused if it doesn't find /home when it boots next time. Thus,
4217 I must edit its /etc/fstab and configure it to mount the /home partition
4218 automatically - before booting the distro itself.
4219
4220 Now there are only two decisions left: the numbers and sizes of the new
4221 partitions. I decide to install the new distro to /dev/sda5 and move /home
4222 to /dev/sda6. Let /dev/sda5 be 800 megabytes and /dev/sda6 200 MB in size.
4223
4224 Now it's time to boot into SystemRescueCD. Graphical mode is required
4225 this time.
4226 [[ systemrescuecd.png ]]
4227 I close the terminal and open GParted by clicking the third icon in the
4228 bottom pane.
4229 [[ gparted-00.png ]]
4230 I right-click the partition /dev/sda1 and select Resize/Move.
4231 [[ gparted-01.png ]]
4232 I enter 799 MB as the new size, click the Free Space Following (MiB)
4233 combo box and press Resize/Move.
4234 [[ gparted-02.png ]]
4235 I right-click now /dev/sda2 and select Resize/Move.
4236 [[ gparted-03.png ]]
4237 I enter 0 MB as preceding free space and 200 MB as partition size, click
4238 the Free Space Following (MiB) combo box and press Resize/Move.
4239 [[ gparted-04.png ]]
4240 I right-click the unallocated area and select New.
4241 [[ gparted-05.png ]]
4242 I select Extended Partition as the partition type. The size was already
4243 1000 megabytes (the maximum) and as said, an extended partition doesn't
4244 contain any filesystem. I click Add.
4245 [[ gparted-06.png ]]
4246 I right-click the unallocated area within the extended partition and
4247 select New.
4248 [[ gparted-07.png ]]
4249 I choose the ext4 filesystem and enter 799 MB as the partition size. After
4250 that, I click first the Free Space Following (MiB) combo box and then Add.
4251 [[ gparted-08.png ]]
4252 I right-click the remaining unallocated space and select New one more time.
4253 [[ gparted-09.png ]]
4254 I choose the ext4 filesystem again. The partition size setting was already
4255 200 megabytes (the whole available space), so I just press Add.
4256 [[ gparted-10.png ]]
4257 [[ important.png ]]
4258 The next step is to commit the changes.After that some operations, for
4259 examplepartition deletion, can no longer be undone.
4260
4261 Finally I commit the changes by pressing the rightmost icon in the main bar.
4262 [[ gparted-11.png ]]
4263 After slowly reading the warning, I confirm my decisions by pressing Apply.
4264 [[ gparted-12.png ]]
4265 GParted begins to commit the changes...
4266 [[ gparted-13.png ]]
4267 ...and when everything is done, it shows me this window that I close.
4268 [[ gparted-14.png ]]
4269 Then I can see the brand new partitions.
4270
4271 Moving /home
4272 ---------------------
4273 I close GParted and launch Terminal by pressing the second icon in the
4274 bottom pane.
4275
4276 I create directories as mount points:
4277
4278 mkdir /mnt/sda1
4279 mkdir /mnt/sda6
4280
4281 Then I mount the partitions:
4282
4283 mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1
4284 mount /dev/sda6 /mnt/sda6
4285
4286 I copy the directory to the new partition:
4287
4288 cd /mnt/sda1
4289 rsync -aAPSX home/ /mnt/sda6
4290
4291 I move the original directory out of my way and create a new directory in
4292 place of it:
4293
4294 mv home home-old
4295 mkdir home
4296
4297 After that, I unmount /dev/sda6, because it no longer needs to be mounted:
4298
4299 umount /dev/sda6
4300 [[ terminal.png ]]
4301 Now I close Terminal and launch Geany by pressing the fourth icon in the
4302 bottom pane.
4303 [[ geany-00.png ]]
4304 I select File -> Open.
4305 [[ geany-01.png ]]
4306 I press File System and navigate to folder /mnt/sda1/etc.
4307 [[ geany-02.png ]]
4308 I double-click the file fstab.
4309 [[ geany-03.png ]]
4310 I add the following line:
4311
4312 /dev/sda6 /home ext4 defaults 0 2
4313
4314 Finally, I select File -> Save.
4315 [[ geany-04.png ]]
4316 It's a good idea to reboot the computer now and check if the distribution
4317 in /dev/sda1 still works. If yes, the /home-old directory can be removed
4318 and the disk is ready for the new distro.
4319
4320
4321
4322
4323 Data Recovery
4324 ==============================================================================
4325
4326 Intro
4327 ****************************************
4328 Deleted or "lost" files can be recovered from failed or formatted drives
4329 and partitions, cdroms and memory cards using the software available in
4330 SystemRescueCD.
4331
4332 Unless you can rule out hardware failure, you must not write to the failed
4333 device. The following software will passively try to recover your data
4334 from failed or failing hardware. If your data is not replaceable, do not
4335 attempt to write to the failed device if the following applications do
4336 not work but seek professional advice instead.
4337
4338 If your device is damaged, it is advisable to image the device and work on
4339 the image file for data recovery. If hardware failure is not the problem,
4340 you can recover data directly from the device.
4341
4342 To recover data from a failed device, you will need another device of equal
4343 or greater storage capacity onto which to save your data. If you need to make
4344 an image of the failed device, you will need yet another quantity of space.
4345
4346 I should state here, that I haven't used any of these tools recently (other
4347 than plain and simple dd, a long time ago, which I found to be very slow),
4348 so I couldn't recommend any of them. Any comments on a tool's usability
4349 found in this page, is just what I found on the Net.
4350
4351 Partition recovery
4352 ****************************************
4353 If you made a mistake while partitioning and the partition no longer appears
4354 in the partition table, so long as you have not written data in that space,
4355 all your data is still there and can be restored.
4356
4357 When changing the partition table on your hard drive, you must ensure that
4358 no partition on the disk is mounted. This includes swap space. In order
4359 to restore your partition, execute:
4360
4361 swapoff -a
4362 parted /dev/old_disk
4363
4364 Then, use the rescue option:
4365
4366 rescue START END
4367
4368 where START is the area of the disk where you believe the partition began
4369 and END is it's end. If parted finds a potential partition, it will ask
4370 you if you want to add it to the partition table.
4371
4372 Note: TestDisk can also be used to recover a "lost" partition.
4373
4374 Disk / files recovery
4375 ****************************************
4376 Using dd
4377 ---------------------
4378 In order to duplicate a disk to another disk, execute
4379
4380 dd if=/dev/old_disk of=/dev/new_disk conv=noerror,sync
4381
4382 or to create an image file
4383
4384 dd if=/dev/old_disk of=image_file conv=noerror
4385
4386 Be careful, if you are copying a disk, the destination must also be a disk,
4387 not a partition. If you are copying a partition, the destination partition
4388 must be large enough. Copying the whole disk is recommended.
4389
4390 To speed up the copy process, you can append bs=8k, it will read/write
4391 the disk by 16 sectors at a time.
4392
4393 Using dd_rescue
4394 ---------------------
4395 Like dd, dd_rescue {{ http://www.garloff.de/kurt/linux/ddrescue/ }} does
4396 copy data from one file or block device to another. You can specify file
4397 positions (called seek and skip in dd). There are several differences:
4398
4399 * dd_rescue does not provide character conversions.
4400 * The command syntax is different. Call dd_rescue -h.
4401 * dd_rescue does not abort on errors on the input file, unless you specify a
4402 maximum error number. Then dd_rescue will abort when this number is reached.
4403 * dd_rescue does not truncate the output file, unless asked to.
4404 * You can tell dd_rescue to start from the end of a file and move backwards.
4405 * It uses two block sizes, a large (soft) block size and a small (hard)
4406 block size. In case of errors, the size falls back to the small one and
4407 is promoted again after a while without errors.
4408 * It does not (yet) support non-seekable in- or output.
4409
4410 In order to duplicate a disk to another disk, execute
4411
4412 dd_rescue -A -v /dev/old_disk /dev/new_disk
4413
4414 or to create an image file
4415
4416 dd_rescue -A -v /dev/old_disk image_file
4417
4418 The copying should go very quickly until it hits a bad sector and then it
4419 will slow down to take smaller chunks of data. People have reported very
4420 good results with this technique.
4421
4422 Using GNU ddrescue
4423 ---------------------
4424 The GNU site describes GNU ddrescue as a data recovery tool, and lists
4425 these features:
4426
4427 * It copies data from one file or block device (hard disc, CD-ROM, etc)
4428 to another, trying hard to rescue data in case of read errors.
4429 * It does not truncate the output file if not asked to, so every time you
4430 run it on the same output file, it tries to fill in the gaps.
4431 * It is designed to be fully automatic.
4432 * If you use the log file feature of GNU ddrescue, the data is rescued very
4433 efficiently (only the needed blocks are read). Also you can interrupt the
4434 rescue at any time and resume it later at the same point.
4435 * The log file is periodically saved to disc. So in case of a crash you
4436 can resume the rescue with little recopying.
4437 * If you have two or more damaged copies of a file, CD-ROM, etc, and run
4438 GNU ddrescue on all of them, one at a time, with the same output file,
4439 you will probably obtain a complete and error-free file. The probability
4440 of having damaged areas at the same places on different input files is
4441 very low. Using the log file, only the needed blocks are read from the
4442 second and successive copies.
4443 * The same log file can be used for multiple commands that copy different
4444 areas of the file, and for multiple recovery attempts over different subsets.
4445
4446 The algorithm of GNU ddrescue is as follows:
4447
4448 * Optionally read a log file describing the status of a multi-part or
4449 previously interrupted rescue.
4450 * Read the non-damaged parts of the input file, skipping the damaged areas,
4451 until the requested size is reached, or until interrupted by the user.
4452 * Try to read the damaged areas, splitting them into smaller pieces and
4453 reading the non-damaged pieces, until the hardware block size is reached,
4454 or until interrupted by the user.
4455 * Try to read the damaged hardware blocks until the specified number of
4456 retries is reached, or until interrupted by the user.
4457 * Optionally write a log file for later use.
4458
4459 Note: GNU ddrescue is considered to be the best recovery tool available.
4460
4461 In order to duplicate a disk to another disk, execute
4462
4463 ddrescue -vr3 /dev/old_disk /dev/new_disk logfile
4464
4465 or to create an image file
4466
4467 ddrescue -vr3 /dev/old_disk image_file logfile
4468
4469 If the disk is failing fast and you want to get the most data out of it
4470 on the first try, you should probably use "-n" on the first run. This
4471 will avoid splitting error areas. Subsequent runs can use "-r1" or "-r3",
4472 without "-n", to retry those error areas.
4473
4474 To summarise, we execute:
4475
4476 ddrescue -vn /dev/old_disk image_file logfile
4477 ddrescue -v -r3 -C /dev/old_disk image_file logfile
4478
4479 Note: When working with CD-ROMs you should probably specific "-b 2048"
4480
4481 Using Foremost
4482 ---------------------
4483 Foremost {{ http://foremost.sourceforge.net/ }} is a console program
4484 to recover files based on their headers, footers, and internal data
4485 structures. This process is commonly referred to as data carving. Foremost
4486 can work on image files, such as those generated by dd, Safeback, Encase,
4487 etc, or directly on a drive. The headers and footers can be specified
4488 by a configuration file or you can use command line switches to specify
4489 built-in file types. These built-in types look at the data structures of
4490 a given file format allowing for a more reliable and faster recovery.
4491
4492 It can be run on an image file created with any of the above tools, to
4493 extract files:
4494
4495 foremost -i image -o /recovery/foremost
4496
4497 Foremost can be instructed to recover only specific file types, using the
4498 -t command line parameter. In the following example Foremost will extract
4499 only jpg files:
4500
4501 foremost -t jpg -i image -o /recovery/foremost
4502
4503 Available types are: jpg, gif, png, bmp, avi, exe (Windows binaries and
4504 DLLs), wav, riff, wmv (will extract wma also), mov, pdf, ole (will extract
4505 any file using the OLE file structure; this includes PowerPoint, Word,
4506 Excel, Access, and StarWriter), doc, zip (will extract .jar files and Open
4507 Office docs as well; this includes SXW, SXC, SXI, and SX? for undetermined
4508 OpenOffice files), rar, html and cpp.
4509
4510 Using TestDisk
4511 ---------------------
4512 TestDisk {{ http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk }} was primarily
4513 designed to help recover "lost" partitions and/or make non-booting disks
4514 bootable again when these symptoms are caused by faulty software, certain
4515 types of viruses or human error (such as accidentally deleting a Partition
4516 Table). Partition table recovery using TestDisk is really easy.
4517
4518 TestDisk can
4519
4520 * Fix partition table, recover deleted partition
4521 * Recover FAT32 boot sector from its backup
4522 * Rebuild FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 boot sector
4523 * Fix FAT tables
4524 * Rebuild NTFS boot sector
4525 * Recover NTFS boot sector from its backup
4526 * Fix MFT using MFT mirror
4527 * Locate ext2/ext3 Backup SuperBlock
4528
4529 Some great tutorials are available at TestDisk's site: "TestDisk Step
4530 By Step {{ http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step }}",
4531 "Running TestDisk", "Data Recovery Examples" etc.
4532
4533 Using PhotoRec
4534 ---------------------
4535 PhotoRec {{ http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec }} is file data recovery
4536 software designed to recover "lost" files including video, documents
4537 and archives from Hard Disks and CDRom and "lost" pictures (thus, its
4538 'Photo Recovery' name) from digital camera memory. PhotoRec ignores the
4539 filesystem and goes after the underlying data, so it will still work even
4540 if your media's filesystem has been severely damaged or re-formatted.
4541
4542 For more safety, PhotoRec uses read-only access to handle the drive or
4543 memory support you are about to recover "lost" data from.
4544
4545 Important: As soon as a pic or file is accidentally deleted, or you discover
4546 any missing, do NOT save any more pics or files to that memory device or
4547 hard disk drive; otherwise you may overwrite your "lost" data. This means
4548 that even using PhotoRec, you must not choose to write the recovered files
4549 to the same partition they were stored on.
4550
4551 A great tutorial titled "PhotoRec Step By Step {{
4552 http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec_Step_By_Step }}" can be found at
4553 PhotoRec's site.
4554
4555 Links & resources
4556 ****************************************
4557 This page is a compilation of the following pages:
4558
4559 DataRecovery
4560 https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DataRecovery
4561
4562 Hard Drive Recovery, Ubuntu-Style
4563 http://blogs.sun.com/superpat/tags/ddrescue
4564
4565 Recover Data and (deleted) Partition with Linux from Hard Drives, CD-ROMs
4566 or DVDs
4567 http://sysblogd.wordpress.com/2008/01/05/data-recovery-with-linux-from-hard-drives-cd-roms-or-dvds/
4568
4569 dd_rescue
4570 http://www.garloff.de/kurt/linux/ddrescue/
4571
4572 gddrescue: a tool for recovering data from damaged media
4573 http://debaday.debian.net/2007/12/12/gddrescue-a-tool-for-recovering-data-from-damaged-media/
4574
4575 Foremost
4576 http://foremost.sourceforge.net/
4577
4578 TestDisk
4579 http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk
4580
4581 PhotoRec
4582 http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec
4583
4584
4585
4586
4587 Clonezilla-SysRescCD own scripts
4588 ==============================================================================
4589
4590 Intro
4591 ****************************************
4592 In this page I will present the scripts I have ever written for
4593 Clonezilla-SysRescCD
4594
4595 what-cd
4596 ****************************************
4597 Included in: SystemRescueCD
4598
4599 This script determines the device names for your CDs/DVDs, and whether
4600 they can read/write CD/DVD-ROMs
4601
4602 Its help screen is the following:
4603
4604 # what-cd -h
4605 what-cd - v 1.0.0 - S. Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>
4606
4607 what-cd will try to identify your CD/DVDs
4608 You can use it to identify the device name of your CD-Reader (default),
4609 CD-Writer, DVD-Reader, and DVD-Writer.
4610
4611 Usage: what-cd [options]
4612 Availabe options are:
4613 d Print info about DVDs
4614 w Print info about writers
4615 b Batch mode. Only print one device name.
4616 If more than one device is found, print
4617 nothing. For use with scripts
4618 e deviceID Eject device deviceID
4619 Accecpable values: -1...num of devices
4620 Use -1 when in batch mode
4621 v Print version info and exit
4622 h Print this screen and exit
4623
4624 Its typical usage would be to identify the DVD writer:
4625
4626 # what-cd -dw
4627 Device /dev/hdd (id=0) can not write DVDs
4628 Device /dev/hdc (id=1) can write DVDs
4629
4630 When used in batch mode, it will only print a device name. This is
4631 especially useful in scripts, but also in the command line, as shown in
4632 section "Burning the DVD".
4633
4634 # what-cd -dwb
4635 /dev/hdc
4636
4637 continue-multi-cd
4638 ****************************************
4639 Included in: SystemRescueCD
4640
4641 continue-multi-cd helps you append data to a multi session CD; that is
4642 it helps you prepare and burn any consecutive sessions to it. It may lack
4643 some of the functionality you would have had if you used the command line
4644 tools themselves (mksiofs and cdrecord), but because of it, it keeps you
4645 away from writing a lot of parameters.
4646
4647 You could use it for example, to burn some extra documentation to
4648 Clonezilla-SysRescCD CD, but you cannot use it to change the configuration
4649 files of isolinux, as it just reads the first session when booting.
4650
4651 Its help screen is the following:
4652
4653 # continue-multi-cd -h
4654 continue-multi-cd - v 2.0.0 - S. Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>
4655
4656 Usage: continue-multi-cd [options] <path to be added to CD>
4657
4658 Available options are:
4659 d Specify write device (in case auto detection does
4660 not work)
4661 c Close the CD. No more burning will be possible
4662 Default is to leave it open
4663 l Don't burn the CD after image creation
4664 o <image name> Save the image file as <image name>
4665 r Remove the image file after burning
4666 f On the fly burning of the CD. No image file will
4667 be created
4668 v Print version info and exit
4669 h Print this screen and exit
4670
4671 You have to note one thing though: the folder <path to be added to CD>
4672 will not be present on the CD; only its contents will.
4673
4674 Let's suppose that you want to add to the CD the folder extra-doc,
4675 which contains q-a.html and faq.html, and that its full path is
4676 /home/user/extra-doc. If you issue the command
4677
4678 continue-multi-cd -mwr /home/user/extra-doc
4679
4680 you will not have a extra-doc folder on the root of your CD, but the files
4681 q-a.html and faq.html will be present there.
4682
4683 In order to have extra-doc on the CD, you have to copy it to a temporary
4684 location and pass that path to continue-multi-cd. Let's see how it's done:
4685
4686 mkdir -p /tmp/for-the-cd
4687 cp -r /home/user/extra-doc /tmp/for-the-cd
4688 continue-multi-cd -r /tmp/for-the-cd
4689 rm -rf /tmp/for-the-cd
4690
4691
4692
4693
4694 Identifying devices in Linux
4695 ==============================================================================
4696
4697 Intro
4698 ****************************************
4699 This page is intended to help new Linux users and Windows users identify
4700 their hard disks / CD ROMs in a Linux box.
4701
4702 Linux disks and partition names may be different from other operating
4703 systems. You need to know the names that Linux uses when you format,
4704 mount or select partitions or disks.
4705
4706 Linux uses the so called device name to access disks and partitions. You
4707 can think of it as a link to the actual driver of the disk. All available
4708 devices have a corresponding file in /dev (e.g. /dev/hda1).
4709
4710 In general, each disk / CD-ROM has a three letter name, for example hda. Each
4711 partition in such a disk has a number associated with it, starting from 1. So
4712 the first partition of disk hda would be hda1, the second hda2 and so on.
4713
4714 Depending on the device type, Linux gives the following names to devices:
4715
4716 * IDE (ATA) floppies
4717 The first floppy drive is named /dev/fd0.
4718 The second floppy drive is named /dev/fd1.
4719
4720 * IDE (ATA) disks /CD-ROMs
4721 The master disk on IDE primary controller is named /dev/hda.
4722 The slave disk on IDE primary controller is named /dev/hdb.
4723 The master and slave disks of the secondary controller can be called
4724 /dev/hdc and /dev/hdd, respectively.
4725
4726 Linux represents the primary partitions as the drive name, plus the numbers
4727 1 through 4. For example, the first primary partition on the first IDE
4728 drive is /dev/hda1. The logical partitions are numbered starting at 5,
4729 so the first logical partition on that same drive is /dev/hda5. Remember
4730 that the extended partition, that is, the primary partition holding the
4731 logical partitions, is not usable by itself. This applies to SCSI disks
4732 as well as IDE disks.
4733
4734 * SCSI disks
4735 The first SCSI disk (SCSI ID address-wise) is named /dev/sda.
4736 The second SCSI disk (address-wise) is named /dev/sdb, and so on.
4737
4738 * SCSI CD-ROMs
4739 The first SCSI CD-ROM is named /dev/scd0, also known as /dev/sr0.
4740 The second SCSI CD-ROM is named /dev/scd1, also known as /dev/sr1, and so on.
4741
4742 * USB disks
4743 They are named just like SCSI disks. The only difference is that the
4744 partition number has to do with the file system on the disk. If it's
4745 /dev/sdx4, then it's a VFAT file system and if it's /dev/sdx1 it's probably
4746 a linux (ext2, ext3) file system.
4747
4748 Examples
4749 ****************************************
4750 In order to identify the disks of a system you have to work with, a basic
4751 knowledge of its configuration (how many disks it has, whether it's a
4752 dual-boot system etc.) is welcomed but not required. A more experienced
4753 user will not have to worry about it, though.
4754
4755 Linux systems based on a 2.6.x kernel (like Clonezilla Live and
4756 SystemRescueCD) provide all the necessary support to identify a system's
4757 disk configuration, with just a couple of commands.
4758
4759 Example 1
4760 ---------------------
4761 The first system I have to work with is a dual-boot system (Windows -
4762 Linux), with two disks and two DVD-ROMs.
4763
4764 The first command will tell me what disks and partitions exist in the
4765 system. So here it is:
4766
4767 # cat /proc/partitions
4768 major minor #blocks name
4769
4770 3 0 312571224 hda
4771 3 1 23446836 hda1
4772 3 2 40957717 hda2
4773 3 3 245240257 hda3
4774 3 4 2923830 hda4
4775 3 64 244198584 hdb
4776 3 65 41945683 hdb1
4777 3 66 2104515 hdb2
4778 3 67 1 hdb3
4779 3 68 125909437 hdb4
4780 3 69 74236333 hdb5
4781
4782 The output of this command tells me that the system has two disks (hda
4783 and hdb) which are the primary master and slave devices.
4784
4785 The first disk contains four primary partitions (hda1-hda4) and the second
4786 one four primary partitions (hdb1-hdb4) and a logical one (hdb5). Wait a
4787 minute!!! this can't be right... In order to have a logical partition, I
4788 must have a primary that contains it, which means that in this case I can't
4789 have four primary partitions. So what is really happening here is that I have
4790 two primary and two logical, plus an extended primary which contains them.
4791
4792 What remains to be found is what type of partitions they are. I will find
4793 that out by executing the following commands:
4794
4795 # fdisk -l /dev/hda
4796
4797 Disk /dev/hda: 320.0 GB, 320072933376 bytes
4798 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders
4799 Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
4800
4801 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
4802 /dev/hda1 * 1 2919 23446836 7 HPFS/NTFS
4803 /dev/hda2 2920 8018 40957717+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
4804 /dev/hda3 8019 38549 245240257+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
4805 /dev/hda4 38550 38913 2923830 82 Linux swap / Solaris
4806
4807 # fdisk -l /dev/hdb
4808
4809 Disk /dev/hdb: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
4810 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
4811 Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
4812
4813 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
4814 /dev/hdb1 * 1 5222 41945683+ 83 Linux
4815 /dev/hdb2 5223 5484 2104515 82 Linux swap / Solaris
4816 /dev/hdb3 5485 14726 74236365 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
4817 /dev/hdb4 14727 30401 125909437+ 83 Linux
4818 /dev/hdb5 5485 14726 74236333+ 83 Linux
4819
4820 Ok, this clears things up. The first disk contains three Windows XP
4821 partitions (NTFS) and a Linux Swap partition. In fact, /dev/hda1 is the
4822 system "disk" for Windows, since Windows will always be installed in the
4823 first partition of the primary master disk.
4824
4825 The second disk, on the other hand, contains a Linux partition (/dev/hdb1),
4826 a Linux Swap partition /dev/hdb2, and an extended partition /dev/hdb3
4827 which contains two more Linux partitions (/dev/hdb4 and /dev/hdb5).
4828
4829 The final thing we need to know about this system is what CD/DVD-ROMs it
4830 has. So I execute the command:
4831
4832 # cat /proc/sys/dev/cdrom/info
4833 CD-ROM information, Id: cdrom.c 3.20 2003/12/17
4834
4835 drive name: hdd hdc
4836 drive speed: 0 126
4837 drive # of slots: 1 1
4838 Can close tray: 1 1
4839 Can open tray: 1 1
4840 Can lock tray: 1 1
4841 Can change speed: 1 1
4842 Can select disk: 0 0
4843 Can read multisession: 1 1
4844 Can read MCN: 1 1
4845 Reports media changed: 1 1
4846 Can play audio: 1 1
4847 Can write CD-R: 0 1
4848 Can write CD-RW: 0 1
4849 Can read DVD: 1 1
4850 Can write DVD-R: 0 1
4851 Can write DVD-RAM: 0 1
4852 Can read MRW: 1 0
4853 Can write MRW: 1 0
4854 Can write RAM: 0 1
4855
4856 The system has two DVD-ROMs, hdc which is the secondary master and is a
4857 DVD writer, and hdd which is the secondary slave and is a DVD reader.
4858
4859 At this point I will connect my USB stick, wait for a while and execute
4860 the command:
4861
4862 # cat /proc/partitions
4863 major minor #blocks name
4864
4865 3 0 312571224 hda
4866 3 1 23446836 hda1
4867 3 2 40957717 hda2
4868 3 3 245240257 hda3
4869 3 4 2923830 hda4
4870 3 64 244198584 hdb
4871 3 65 41945683 hdb1
4872 3 66 2104515 hdb2
4873 3 67 1 hdb3
4874 3 68 125909437 hdb4
4875 3 69 74236333 hdb5
4876 8 0 1007615 sda
4877 8 4 1006576 sda4
4878
4879 As you can see, we have two more lines here, that reflect the changes to
4880 our system (the connection of the USB device). So my USB stick is recognized
4881 by the system as sda, and the disk itself contains a VFAT file system.
4882
4883 Example 2
4884 ---------------------
4885 The second system is a Linux box with one SCSI disk and a CD-ROM. Again
4886 I issue the command:
4887
4888 # cat /proc/partitions
4889 major minor #blocks name
4890
4891 8 0 156290904 sda
4892 8 1 64228 sda1
4893 8 2 15735667 sda2
4894 8 3 15735667 sda3
4895 8 4 124744725 sda4
4896
4897 From its output I see I only have one disk sda, which contains four
4898 partitions.
4899
4900 Then I execute fdisk, which shows me that the disk contains one DOS and
4901 three Linux partitions.
4902
4903 # fdisk -l /dev/sda
4904 Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
4905 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
4906 Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
4907
4908 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
4909 /dev/sda1 1 8 64228+ 6 FAT16
4910 /dev/sda2 9 1967 15735667+ 83 Linux
4911 /dev/sda3 1968 3926 15735667+ 83 Linux
4912 /dev/sda4 3927 19456 124744725 83 Linux
4913
4914 Finally I query its CD-ROMs, by executing the command:
4915
4916 # cat /proc/sys/dev/cdrom/info
4917 CD-ROM information, Id: cdrom.c 3.20 2003/12/17
4918
4919 drive name: hda
4920 drive speed: 0
4921 drive # of slots: 1
4922 Can close tray: 1
4923 Can open tray: 1
4924 Can lock tray: 1
4925 Can change speed: 1
4926 Can select disk: 0
4927 Can read multisession: 1
4928 Can read MCN: 1
4929 Reports media changed: 1
4930 Can play audio: 1
4931 Can write CD-R: 1
4932 Can write CD-RW: 1
4933 Can read DVD: 1
4934 Can write DVD-R: 0
4935 Can write DVD-RAM: 0
4936 Can read MRW: 1
4937 Can write MRW: 1
4938 Can write RAM: 0
4939
4940 Which tells me that I only have an IDE CD-ROM, (hda), which is actually
4941 a CD writer.
4942
4943 Then I connect my USB stick, and I get:
4944
4945 # cat /proc/partitions
4946 major minor #blocks name
4947
4948 8 0 156290904 sda
4949 8 1 64228 sda1
4950 8 2 15735667 sda2
4951 8 3 15735667 sda3
4952 8 4 124744725 sda4
4953 8 16 1007615 sdb
4954 8 20 1006576 sdb4
4955
4956 Although it's the same stick I used with the previous system, which was
4957 recognized as sda there, now its name is sdb. So, its name depends on the
4958 system it is connected to, and will not always be the same.
4959
4960 SCSI disks when there are none!!!
4961 ****************************************
4962 I am confused!!! I am on a disk with two ATA (PATA) disks, but when I
4963 query the partition list, this is what I get:
4964
4965 # cat /proc/partitions
4966 major minor #blocks name
4967
4968 3 0 312571224 sda
4969 3 1 23446836 sda1
4970 3 2 40957717 sda2
4971 3 3 245240257 sda3
4972 3 4 2923830 sda4
4973 3 64 244198584 sdb
4974 3 65 41945683 sdb1
4975 3 66 2104515 sdb2
4976 3 67 1 sdb3
4977 3 68 125909437 sdb4
4978 3 69 74236333 sdb5
4979
4980 According to what's discussed up to now, the system seems to have two SCSI
4981 disks, but I know it actually has two ATA (PATA) disks. What's going on?.
4982
4983 What is really happening here is that you have one of the newest Linux
4984 kernels (using the libata disk driver), which shows ALL disks as SCSI. That
4985 does not mean that the system thinks it has SCSI disks, it just names them
4986 as such.
4987
4988 To make is clear, execute the commands:
4989
4990 # hdparm -i /dev/sda
4991
4992 /dev/sda:
4993
4994 Model=WDC WD3200AAJB-00TYA0, FwRev=00.02C01, SerialNo= WD-WCAPZ0648927
4995 Config={ HardSect NotMFM HdSw>15uSec SpinMotCtl Fixed DTR>5Mbs FmtGapReq }
4996 RawCHS=16383/16/63, TrkSize=0, SectSize=0, ECCbytes=50
4997 BuffType=unknown, BuffSize=8192kB, MaxMultSect=16, MultSect=?16?
4998 CurCHS=16383/16/63, CurSects=16514064, LBA=yes, LBAsects=268435455
4999 IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
5000 PIO modes: pio0 pio3 pio4
5001 DMA modes: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
5002 UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 *udma5
5003 AdvancedPM=no WriteCache=enabled
5004 Drive conforms to: Unspecified: ATA/ATAPI-1,2,3,4,5,6,7
5005
5006 * signifies the current active mode
5007
5008 # hdparm -i /dev/sdb
5009
5010 /dev/sdb:
5011
5012 Model=WDC WD2500JB-00GVC0, FwRev=08.02D08, SerialNo= WD-WCAL76141931
5013 Config={ HardSect NotMFM HdSw>15uSec SpinMotCtl Fixed DTR>5Mbs FmtGapReq }
5014 RawCHS=16383/16/63, TrkSize=57600, SectSize=600, ECCbytes=74
5015 BuffType=DualPortCache, BuffSize=8192kB, MaxMultSect=16, MultSect=?16?
5016 CurCHS=16383/16/63, CurSects=16514064, LBA=yes, LBAsects=268435455
5017 IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
5018 PIO modes: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4
5019 DMA modes: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
5020 UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 *udma5
5021 AdvancedPM=no WriteCache=enabled
5022 Drive conforms to: Unspecified: ATA/ATAPI-1,2,3,4,5,6
5023
5024 * signifies the current active mode
5025
5026 This is also valid for the CDs/DVDs of the system:
5027
5028 # cat /proc/sys/dev/cdrom/info
5029 CD-ROM information, Id: cdrom.c 3.20 2003/12/17
5030
5031 drive name: sr1 sr0
5032 drive speed: 0 126
5033 drive # of slots: 1 1
5034 Can close tray: 1 1
5035 Can open tray: 1 1
5036 Can lock tray: 1 1
5037 Can change speed: 1 1
5038 Can select disk: 0 0
5039 Can read multisession: 1 1
5040 Can read MCN: 1 1
5041 Reports media changed: 1 1
5042 Can play audio: 1 1
5043 Can write CD-R: 0 1
5044 Can write CD-RW: 0 1
5045 Can read DVD: 1 1
5046 Can write DVD-R: 0 1
5047 Can write DVD-RAM: 0 1
5048 Can read MRW: 1 0
5049 Can write MRW: 1 0
5050 Can write RAM: 0 1
5051
5052 While the hdparm shows they are ATA devices:
5053
5054 # hdparm -i /dev/sr0
5055
5056 /dev/sr0:
5057
5058 Model=HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H42L, FwRev=SL01 , SerialNo=K286CQF2231
5059 Config={ Fixed Removeable DTR10Mbs nonMagnetic }
5060 RawCHS=0/0/0, TrkSize=0, SectSize=0, ECCbytes=0
5061 BuffType=unknown, BuffSize=0kB, MaxMultSect=0
5062 (maybe): CurCHS=0/0/0, CurSects=0, LBA=yes, LBAsects=0
5063 IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
5064 PIO modes: pio0 pio3 pio4
5065 DMA modes: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
5066 UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 *udma2 udma3 udma4
5067 AdvancedPM=no
5068 Drive conforms to: unknown: ATA/ATAPI-4,5,6,7
5069
5070 * signifies the current active mode
5071
5072
5073
5074

Properties

Name Value
svn:executable *

webmaster@linux.gr
ViewVC Help
Powered by ViewVC 1.1.26