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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/sdc4 bs=512
36
37 And that's it. Your usb device is ready to boot!!!
38
39 Installing the "hard" way
40 ****************************************
41 If the "easy" way does not work there is an alternative; you will use
42 the Clonezilla-SysRescCD ISO file (or CD) to copy and modify a couple of
43 files on the USB disk, and finally make it bootable, using syslinux {{
44 http://syslinux.zytor.com }} and its configuration file syslinux.cfg.
45
46 [[ important.png ]]
47 Incorrect use of syslinux could cause your operating system (GNU/Linux /
48 Windows) not to boot. Confirm the command before you run it.
49
50 The only thing that's important is that your USB disk must contain a VFAT
51 (Windows 98 or DOS) file system. If this is not the case, refer to the
52 section "Troubleshooting", to find out how you can format it, before
53 copying files to it.
54
55 The bootable USB disk creation procedure can be performed either from
56 Linux or Windows.
57
58 [[ info.png ]]
59 If you want to create a bootable USB flash drive for this version
60 or later, remember to use the syslinux command from syslinux
61 3.71 or later. Otherwise the boot menu won't work.
62
63 Installation from Linux
64 ---------------------
65 There are two ways you can proceed, if you are going to use Linux to
66 perform the USB installation, either using a running linux box, or using
67 Clonezilla-SysRescCD.
68
69 I will assume that you have saved clonezilla-sysresccd-full-mod-3.1.0.iso
70 in your home directory (~).
71
72 Using a linux box
73 ---------------------
74 If you already have a linux box up and running, you can use it to create
75 your Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB, without even having to burn it to CD
76 beforehand. The only thing here is that you have to have syslinux {{
77 http://syslinux.zytor.com }} installed.
78
79 I will assume that your CD drive is /dev/sr0 and that your USB device
80 is /dev/sdc4. You may have to change any of them to reflect your system
81 configuration.
82
83 Boot into linux, connect your USB device and execute the following commands:
84 mkdir /mnt/mycd
85 mount ~/clonezilla-sysresccd-full-mod-3.1.0.iso /mnt/mycd -o loop
86 mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
87 mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt/usbdevice
88 cp -r /mnt/mycd/* /mnt/usbdevice
89 umount /mnt/mycd; rmdir /mnt/mycd
90 cd /mnt/usbdevice
91 rm isolinux/*.cfg
92 mv isolinux/* .
93 rmdir isolinux
94 cd; umount /dev/sdc4
95 rmdir /mnt/usbdevice
96
97 Finally make your USB device bootable, by executing
98 syslinux /dev/sdc4
99 and you are done.
100
101 > Using Clonezilla-SysRescCD
102 If you already burnt Clonezilla-SysRescCD to CD, you can use it to create
103 your Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB.
104
105 I will assume that your CD drive is /dev/sr0 and that your USB device
106 is /dev/sdc4. You may have to change any of them to reflect your system
107 configuration.
108
109 Boot SystemRescueCD using the option To RAM, and when it is fully loaded,
110 execute the following commands:
111 mkdir /mnt/mycd
112 mount /dev/sr0 /mnt/mycd
113 mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
114 mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt/usbdevice
115 cp -r /mnt/mycd/* /mnt/usbdevice
116 umount /mnt/mycd
117 cd /mnt/usbdevice
118 rm isolinux/*.cfg
119 mv isolinux/* .
120 rmdir isolinux
121 cd; umount /dev/sdc4
122
123 Finally make your USB device bootable, by executing
124 syslinux /dev/sdc4
125 and you are done.
126
127 Installation from Windows
128 ---------------------
129 Installing Clonezilla-SysRescCD from Windows is as easy as
130 it is in Linux. You have to burn Clonezilla-SysRescCD to CD
131 or use a CD/DVD ROM emulator software like Daemon Tools {{
132 http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/announcements.php }} to mount the ISO file.
133
134 I will assume that your USB device is drive K: and your CD drive or mounted
135 ISO file is drive
136 D:. You may have to change any of them, in order to reflect your system
137 configuration.
138
139 You will have to
140
141 * Copy all files from drive D: (CD or mounted ISO file) to drive K:
142 (USB disk)
143 * Delete all cfg files from K:isolinux
144 * Move all files from K:isolinux to K:
145 * Delete folder K:isolinux
146
147 Now all you have to do is make your USB disk bootable. In order to do
148 that you have to open a DOS window (in Windows XP press "Start / Run "
149 and type cmd). Then type at DOS prompt:
150 K:
151 cd bootprog
152 syslinux -ma K:
153
154 Booting from USB
155 ---------------------
156 Before trying to boot from your USB device, you have to set your boot device
157 at your BIOS. This means you have to reboot having your USB device connected,
158 get into your BIOS (usually pressing DEL) and make the appropriate settings
159 in the BOOT section.
160
161 Booting Clonezilla Live should not be a problem. Just select the desired
162 option and press ENTER to boot.
163
164 Booting SystemRescueCD has been made equally simple with SystemRescueCD
165 v 1.0.0, so you shouldn't have any problem (option cdroot is not required
166 any more).
167
168 If you have any problems here, you may try adding any of these boot
169 parameters:
170 usbstick
171 doscsi
172
173 Troubleshooting
174 ---------------------
175 Whether you can successfully boot from a USB disk or not, depends mainly on
176 your BIOS. Chances are that you will not be able to boot on an old computer,
177 with an old (and possibly buggy) BIOS. So I would recommend testing your
178 Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB on a new computer.
179
180 * I can't boot (I don't even see the splash screen)
181 or Clonezilla Live does not boot
182
183 The first thing you should do is double check your BIOS settings. Reboot
184 having your USB device connected, get into your BIOS (usually pressing DEL)
185 and make the appropriate settings in the BOOT section.
186
187 If you are on linux, check that the partition on the USB disk is active
188 (bootable), executing:
189 fdisk -l /dev/sdc
190 You should get something similar to this:
191
192 Disk /dev/sdc: 1031 MB, 1031798272 bytes
193 64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 983 cylinders
194 Units = cylinders of 2048 * 512 = 1048576 bytes
195
196 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
197 /dev/sdc4 * 1 983 1006576 6 FAT16
198
199 If the partition is not active (no astrisk), execute:
200 fdisk /dev/sdc
201 and issue "Command: " a (toggle a bootable flag) and "Partition number:"
202 4 (for /dev/sdc4).
203
204 If you are on Windows, this is taken care of by syslinux (parameters -ma).
205
206 If you still have problems booting, you should try to execute
207 syslinux -s /dev/sdc4
208 from Linux, or
209 syslinux -sma K:
210 from Windows (from folder K:syslinux).
211
212 syslinux man page reads:
213
214 (Option) -s
215 Install a "safe, slow and stupid" version of syslinux. This version may work
216 on some very buggy BIOSes on which syslinux would otherwise fail. If you find
217 a machine on which the -s option is required to make it boot reliably, please
218 send as much info about your machine as you can, and include the failure
219 mode.
220
221 * I still can't boot
222 In this case you will have to format your USB disk.
223
224 If you are using linux to perform the installation, execute the command:
225 mkdosfs -F 16 /dev/sdc4
226 to create a FAT16 file system, or
227 mkdosfs -F 32 /dev/sdc4
228 to create a FAT32 file system.
229
230 When you are done go back to section "Installation from Linux".
231
232 If you are on Windows, you should download the HP-USB Format tool {{
233 http://h50178.www5.hp.com/local_drivers/17550/SP27608.exe }}, install it
234 and format your USB drive using the Fat or Fat32 option. This program can
235 be used to format USB devices that won't boot properly when formatted with
236 Windows format tool.
237
238 When you are done go back to section "Installation from Windows".
239
240 * I still can't boot (after formating)
241 Things are getting tough!!! Try to format your USB disk using the option you
242 did not use previously. So, if you have created a FAT32 file system, create
243 a FAT16 file system this time, and recreate Clonezilla-SysRescCD on USB.
244
245 If nothing works, you are out of luck; you will not be able to use
246 Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB on this computer... If you do manage to boot it,
247 please send me a message.
248
249 * SystemRescueCD does not boot
250 Ok, you have managed to get to the splash screen and successfully booted
251 Clonezilla Live. But you still can't boot SystemRescueCD.
252
253 Refer to section Booting from USB to find out the boot parameters you can
254 use with SystemRescueCD.
255
256 Customizing sysresc.cfg
257 ---------------------
258 As stated previously, Clonezilla-SysRescCD USB is booted by syslinux through
259 its configuration file syslinux.cfg. This file loads sysresc.cfg in order
260 to boot SystemRescueCD.
261
262 If you have to specify any additional boot parameters for SystemRescueCD,
263 you may want to write these changes to the configuration file, so that
264 you don't have to insert them by hand every time.
265
266 The procedure to do that is the following:
267
268 Boot SystemRescueCD (or if that's not possible yet, bot Clonezilla Linux
269 and get to the command line) using the option To RAM, and when it is fully
270 loaded, execute the following commands:
271 mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
272 mount /dev/[device] /mnt/usbdevice
273 cd /mnt/usbdevice
274 cp sysresc.cfg sysresc.bak
275 sed 's|scandelay=5|scandelay=x [additional params]|'
276 sysresc.cfg > sys.cfg
277 mv sys.cfg sysresc.cfg
278 cd; umount /dev/[device]
279 syslinux /dev/[device]
280 reboot
281
282 where x is a number from 1 to 10.
283
284 After executing these commands, you will have a new sysresc.cfg file,
285 and a backup file called sysresc.bak (in case things go wrong).
286
287 If, for example, you want to increase the device scan delay to maximum,
288 the above commands would become:
289 mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
290 mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt/usbdevice
291 cd /mnt/usbdevice
292 cp sysresc.cfg sysresc.bak
293 sed 's|scandelay=5|scandelay=10|' sysresc.cfg > sys.cfg
294 mv sys.cfg sysresc.cfg
295 cd; umount /dev/sdc4
296 syslinux /dev/sdc4
297 reboot
298
299 If, in addition to that, you had to use the boot parameter usbstick,
300 then it would be:
301 mkdir /mnt/usbdevice
302 mount /dev/sdc4 /mnt/usbdevice
303 cd /mnt/usbdevice
304 cp sysresc.cfg sysresc.bak
305 sed 's|scandelay=5|scandelay=10 usbstick|' sysresc.cfg > sys.cfg
306 mv sys.cfg sysresc.cfg
307 cd; umount /dev/sdc4
308 syslinux /dev/sdc4
309 reboot
310
311 In case something goes wrong with your new settings, you can always rename
312 sysresc.bak to sysresc.cfg, either from linux or Windows.
313
314
315
316
317 Boot parameters
318 ==============================================================================
319
320 Intro
321 ****************************************
322 Booting a linux system means loading a kernel, which is actually the
323 operating system. Well, this is not exactly true, and it is not the only
324 thing that happens during boot up phase, but it is not my intension to
325 explain it here.
326
327 The kernel is loaded by Isolinux (the CD boot manager), which is able to pass
328 a number of parameters to it, through its configuration file isolinux.cfg.
329
330 These parameters, called boot parameters, are documented by the kernel
331 itself, and can differentiate its behavior dramatically. In our case,
332 each CD (SystemRescueCD and Clonezilla Live) accept a different set of
333 parameters, because they are based on gentoo {{ http://www.gentoo.org/ }}
334 and debian, respectively.
335
336 While in the splash screen of Clonezilla-SysRescCD, you can edit the boot
337 parameters by pressing TAB. They will be presented to you, and you can
338 add or remove what you want. You must be careful not to change or remove
339 the parameters that are dedicated to the CD itself, as altering them will
340 certainty make it unbootable. When you are done, just press ENTER to boot.
341
342 SystemRescueCD boot parameters
343 ****************************************
344 [[ info.png ]]
345 The following info applies to SystemRescueCD v. 1.3.5. In case
346 you need to get info for a more recent version of SystemRescueCD
347 please see the page "Sysresccd-manual-en Booting the CD-ROM {{
348 http://www.sysresccd.org/Sysresccd-manual-en_Booting_the_CD-ROM }}"
349
350 A typical sysresccd isolinux entry is:
351
352 kernel rescuecd
353 append initrd=initram.igz video=ofonly
354
355 The kernel used is rescuecd, and anything after the word append is a
356 boot parameter.
357
358 Available kernels (boot images):
359
360 * rescuecd This is the default choice for 32bits systems, with Framebuffer
361 disabled, best choice.
362 * altker32 This is an alternative kernel for 32bits systems. Boot with
363 this kernel in case you have problems with rescuecd. altker32 was named
364 vmlinuz2 in versions prior to SystemRescueCd-1.0.0.
365 * rescue64 This is the default 64 bits kernel. Use it if you want to chroot
366 to a 64bits linux system installed on your hard disk, or if you have to run
367 64 bits programs. This kernel is able to boot SystemRescueCd from the cdrom
368 with 32bits programs, and it required a processor with 64bits instructions
369 (amd64 / em64t).
370 * altker64 This is an alternative kernel for 64bits systems. Boot with
371 this kernel in case you have problems with rescue64. Only available from
372 SystemRescueCd-1.0.0 and newer.
373
374 The boot parameters you can use are:
375
376 General boot options
377 Press <TAB> to add additional options.
378
379 * docache: causes the CD-ROM will be fully loaded into memory. A slower
380 start but once complete, programs start faster and the CD drive will be
381 released allowing normal access to other CDs. This requires 400MB of memory
382 to cache everything (including the bootdisks and isolinux directories). Add
383 lowmem if you have less that 400MB of memory of to prevent these directories
384 to be copied.
385
386 During boot you will be prompted for the keyboard configuration, avoid
387 this by using
388
389 * setkmap=kk: which defines the keymap to load where kk (example: setkmap=de
390 for German keyboards)
391 * root=/dev/xdnp: the root=<device> option {{
392 http://www.sysresccd.org/news/2008/06/05/use-systemrescuecd-to-boot-a-linux-os-from-the-hard-disk/
393 }} boots an existing linux system. For example, if you have linux
394 Gentoo installed on /dev/sda6, use rescuecd root=/dev/sda6 to start
395 it. Keep in mind that you must use a 64bit kernel if your system is
396 made of 64bit programs. This option works with LVM volumes. Use rescuecd
397 root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00. Support is also provided for root=auto,
398 which scans all the block devices tfor a linux system. The first linux
399 system found will be started. So with root=auto let you start the system
400 installed from the CD-ROM in case you have problem with your boot loader or
401 kernel. It's also possible to specify a partition using its filesystem label
402 or filesystem uuid. If the label of the partition where linux is installed
403 is mylinux, then boot it using rescuecd root=LABEL=mylinux. Similarly
404 root=UUID=b3d3bec5-997a-413e-8449-0d0ec41ccba7. See more details.
405 * initscript=service:action: This options allows start/stop a service
406 at boot time. For instance if you need the samba service to be started,
407 you can boot with: initscript=samba:start. This does the same thing as
408 /etc/init.d/samba start. Use this option multiple times for different
409 services. All the actions that are supported by an initscript can be used.
410 * backstore=xxx: SystemRescueCd comes with support for the backing-stores {{
411 http://www.sysresccd.org/news/2008/06/29/creating-a-backing-store-to-keep-your-modifications-in-sysresccd/
412 }}. A backing-store saves all the changes you can make. so that you
413 keep these changes the next time you boot it. By default, sysresccd
414 automatically scan removable devices (eg: USB sticks) at boot time and
415 uses the first backing-store it finds. A backing-store is not mandatory
416 and it the scan fails it will store the files which change in memory. To
417 disable the disks scan at boot time specify backstore=off on the boot command
418 line. If you want to save your backing-store file on an harddisk, boot with
419 backstore=alldev to scan all devices (not just removable devices). The
420 default location for backing-stores file is any file named sysrcd.bs
421 located at the root of a disk which is often an USB stick. Change the path
422 by using backstore=/sysrcd/mybackstore.bs. See backing-stores.
423 * isoloop=xxx: Grub2 (currently in development: grub-1.98) provides a new
424 feature to boot from an ISO image which is stored from the hard disk. If you
425 put a copy of systemrescuecd-x86-x.y.z.iso on a partition that Grub2 can read
426 then you can boot SystemRescueCd directly from the ISO image stored on your
427 hard drive. This is very convenient if you frequently update SystemRescueCd
428 and you want to boot it directly from Grub2. Grub2 knows what an ISO image
429 is and it will load the kernel image (rescuecd/rescue64) and the initramfs
430 (initram.igz) from the ISO into memory. It will then do its normal job and
431 execute the kernel. The SystemRescueCd init script must then be aware that
432 its sysrcd.dat file is in an ISO and not directly on the partition. For that
433 reason, this isoloop=xxx boot option is required so you must use it in your
434 grub.cfg. This option is only supported in SystemRescueCd-1.4.0 and more
435 recent. This option specifies the path of the ISO image in the partition
436 that grub considers as its root partition. It's important to understand
437 that the path of the ISO image may be different from the path on your
438 linux system. If you have a separate boot partition mounted on /boot and if
439 you copy this ISO image to /boot/sysrcd/systemrescuecd-x86-x.y.z.iso then
440 the option has to be isoloop=/sysrcd/systemrescuecd-x86-x.y.z.iso. This
441 is because the boot partition is what Grub2 will consider as its root
442 partition during the boot process. Please read the section about isoloop {{
443 http://www.sysresccd.org/Sysresccd-manual-en_Easy_install_SystemRescueCd_on_harddisk#Boot_the_ISO_image_from_the_disk_using_Grub2
444 }} for more details.
445
446 Hardware, drivers and troubleshooting options
447 * dodebug: Enables verbose messages in linuxrc
448
449 * doload=xxx: loads needed modules, multiple occurrences are permitted
450 (example: doload=3c59x)
451 * noload=xxx: prevents loading modules, multiple occurrences are permitted
452 (example: noload=3c59x). Use this option if you have a problem when the
453 system loads a particular module.
454 * nonet: this will disable the network auto detection at startup
455
456 * scandelay=x: pauses x seconds during the startup to allow slow devices
457 to initialize. This is required when you boot an USB device. A delay of
458 only few seconds should be enough.
459
460 * doxdetect: Since version 0.3.5 the auto-configuration is done in X.Org
461 itself, mkxf86config is disabled by default. This option forces the system to
462 run the mkxf86config startup script and to run the hardware auto-detection
463 from this script. Use this option if you have problems with the graphical
464 environment configuration. This option replaces the option noxdetect that
465 was useful in previous versions.
466 * nodetect: prevents generic hardware auto-detection. Use this option if
467 you have problems with the hardware auto-detection.
468
469 * dostartx: load the X.Org graphical environment.
470 * forcevesa: Forces X.Org to use the safe VESA driver instead of the best
471 video driver detected for your video card. Use this option if you cannot
472 get the graphical environment working with the default options.
473 * forcevesa=xxx: The startx command will load the Xvesa server instead
474 of Xorg, and use the screen resolution given as parameter (eg: 1024x768,
475 1280x1024x32).
476
477 * all-generic-ide: In case of problems related to your hard disk, try to
478 enable this option (eg rescuecd all-generic-ide)
479 * nodmraid: Disable dmraid, for some motherboards with built-in RAID
480 controller.
481 * nomdadm: Disable mdadm, for software RAID.
482
483 * acpi-off / noapic / irqpool: use these options if you have problem when
484 the kernel boots: if it hangs on a driver or if it crashes, ...
485
486 * lowmem: For systems with smaller memory, some daemons are not started
487 including sshd and nfsd.
488
489 * skipmount=/dev/xxx: The system mounts all the storage devices at boot
490 time to find the sysrcd.dat file. If your hard disk is broken it should
491 be mounted. Boot with skipmount=/dev/sda1 skipmount=/dev/sda2 to ignore
492 these two partitions.
493
494 Network configuration and remote access
495 * dodhcp: to request a DHCP server provide network attributes including
496 an IP address, gateway... . otherwise,
497 * ethx=ipaddr/cidr: Sets the static IP address of all the ethernet
498 interfaces on the system. The /cidr extension is optional. For instance,
499 if you use option ethx=192.168.0.1 on a machine with two ethernet adapters,
500 both eth0 and eth1 will be configured with 192.168.0.1. You can use the
501 format ethx=10.0.0.1/24 (using the cidr notation) if you don't use the
502 default netmask.
503 * eth0=ipaddr/cidr: This option is similar to ethx=ipaddr/cidr but it
504 configures only one interface at a time. To configure the network on a
505 server that has two interfaces, use: eth0=192.168.10.1/24 eth1=192.168.20.1.
506 * dns=ipaddr: Sets the static IP address of the DNS nameserver you want
507 to use to resolve the names. For instance dns=192.168.0.254 means that
508 you want to use 192.168.0.254 as the DNS server.
509 * gateway=ipaddr: Sets the static IP address of the default route on your
510 network. For instance gateway=192.168.0.254 means that the computer can
511 connect to a computer outside of the local network via 192.168.0.254.
512 * dhcphostname=myhost: Sets the hostname that the DHCP client will send
513 to the DHCP server. This may be required if the default hostname cannot
514 be used with your DHCP configuration. This option has been introduced
515 in SystemRescueCd-1.3.5.
516 * rootpass=123456: Sets the root password of the system running on the
517 livecd to 1234. That way you can connect from the network and ssh on the
518 livecd and give 123456 password as the root password.
519 * vncserver=x:123456: The vncserver boot option {{
520 http://www.sysresccd.org/news/2008/04/12/use-systemrescuecd-remotely-with-vnc-server/
521 }} has been introduced in SystemRescueCd-1.0.2. This options forces the
522 system to configure the VNC-server and to start it automatically at boot
523 time. You have to replace x with the number of displays you want, and 123456
524 with your password The password must be between 5 and 8 characters, else the
525 boot option will be ignored. In other words the vncserver=2:MyPaSsWd option
526 will give you access to two displays (display=1 on tcp/5901 and display=2
527 on tcp/5902). Display 0 is reserved for X.Org since SystemRescueCd-1.1.0.
528 * nameif=xxx: You can can specify what interface name to give {{
529 http://www.sysresccd.org/news/2008/06/28/option-to-define-the-name-of-a-network-interface-using-the-mac-address/
530 }} to a particular interface using the mac address. You need
531 SystemRescueCd-1.1.0 or newer to do that. Here is how you can specify
532 which interface is using which mac address on a machine with two network
533 interfaces: nameif=eth0!00:0C:29:57:D0:6E,eth1!00:0C:29:57:D0:64. Be
534 careful, you have to respect the separator (comma between the interfaces
535 and exclamation marks between the name and the mac address).
536
537 Network boot using PXE
538 SystemRescueCd provides several options for booting from the network
539 using PXE.
540 These options can be combined with other network boot options
541 such as ethx (cf previous section). See PXE network booting {{
542 http://www.sysresccd.org/Sysresccd-manual-en_PXE_network_booting }} to
543 get a global overview of SystemRescueCd and PXE and Manage remote servers
544 using PXE.
545 The second stage downloads the kernel + initramfs using DHCP/TFTP.
546 The third stage of the PXE boot process acquires the root files system.
547 Several protocols are available.
548
549 * netboot=tftp://ip/path/sysrcd.dat: from a TFTP server. The filesystem
550 is loaded into memory. As a consequence computers with less than 400MB of
551 memory won't be able to boot this way. The system will continue to work
552 if the network is disconnected after the boot process.
553 * netboot=http://ip:port/path/sysrcd.dat: from a Web server. The file system
554 is loaded into memory. Computers with smaller memory won't be able to boot
555 this way. The the system continues to work if the network is disconnected
556 after the boot process.
557 * netboot=nfs://ip:/path: mount an NFSv3 directory. The NFS url must be
558 the path of the directory that contains sysrcd.dat. Only NFSv3 can be used,
559 NFSv4 is not supported. NFS it allows computers with smaller memory to boot
560 SystemRescueCd from the network. After the boot process, the connection
561 is required or you will loose the access to the root file system.
562 * netboot=nbd://ip:port: connect to an NBD server configured with sysrcd.dat
563 on ip:port. NBD is easier to configure than NFS (only one TCP port involved)
564 and it allows computers with smaller memort to boot SystemRescueCd from
565 the network. After the boot process, the connection is required the access
566 to the root system.
567
568 For information on activating speakup, see the speakup info page {{
569 http://www.sysresccd.org/Speakup-info }}.
570
571 Options provided for autorun
572 * ar_source=xxx: place where the autorun are stored. It may
573 be the root directory of a partition (/dev/sda1), an nfs
574 share (nfs://192.168.1.1:/path/to/scripts), a samba share
575 (smb://192.168.1.1/path/to/scripts), or an http directory
576 (http://192.168.1.1/path/to/scripts).
577 * autoruns=[0-9]: comma separated list of the autorun scrip to be run. For
578 example autoruns=0,2,7 the autorun sc autorun0, autorun2, autorun7 are
579 run. Use autoruns=no to disable all the autorun scripts with a number.
580 * ar_ignorefail: continue to execute the scripts chain even if a script
581 failed (returned a non-zero status)
582 * ar_nodel: do not delete the temporary copy of the autorun scripts located
583 in /var/autorun/tmp after execution
584 * ar_disable: completely disable autorun, the simple autorun script will
585 not be executed
586 * ar_nowait: do not wait for a keypress after the autorun script have
587 been executed.
588
589 Clonezilla Live boot parameters
590 ****************************************
591 [[ info.png ]]
592 The following info applies to Clonezilla Live v. 1.2.3-27
593 In case you need to get info for a more recent version of Clonezilla Live
594 please see the page "The boot parameters for Clonezilla live {{
595 http://www.clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live/doc/fine-print.php?path=./99_Misc/00_live-initramfs-manual.doc#00_live-initramfs-manual.doc
596 }}"
597
598 A typical Clonezilla Live isolinux entry is:
599
600 kernel /live/vmlinuz1
601 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
602 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general"
603 ocs_live_extra_param="" ocs_live_keymap="" ocs_live_batch="no" ocs_lang=""
604 vga=791 nolocales
605
606 The kernel used is vmlinuz, and anything after the word append is a boot
607 parameter.
608
609 The following info comes from the
610 page titled The boot parameters for Clonezilla live {{
611 http://www.clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live/doc/fine-print.php?path=./99_Misc/00_live-initramfs-manual.doc#00_live-initramfs-manual.doc
612 }}.
613
614 Clonezilla live is based on Debian live {{ http://wiki.debian.org/DebianLive/
615 }} with clonezilla installed. Therefore there are 2 kinds of boot parameters:
616
617 * Boot parameters from live-initramfs. You can refer to this manual of
618 live-initramfs.
619 * Boot parameters specially for Clonezilla. All of them are named as
620 "ocs_*", e.g. ocs_live_run, ocs_live_extra_param, ocs_live_batch, ocs_lang.
621 * ocs_live_run is the main program to run in Clonezilla live to save
622 or restore. or other command. Available program: ocs-live-general,
623 ocs-live-restore or any command you write. Use the Absolute path in
624 Clonezilla live.
625 e.g. ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general"
626 //NOTE// You might have to use "sudo" command inside your own script,
627 or you can assign it like: ocs_live_run="sudo bash /my-clonezilla"
628 * ocs_live_extra_param will be used only when ocs_live_run=ocs-live-restore
629 (not for ocs-live-general or any other), then it will be passed to
630 ocs-sr. Therefore these parameters are actually those of ocs-sr.
631 e.g. ocs_live_extra_param="-b -c restoredisk sarge-r5 hda"
632 * ocs_live_keymap is for keymap used in Clonezilla live. Man install-keymap
633 for more details.
634 e.g. ocs_live_keymap="NONE" (won't change the default layout)
635 ocs_live_keymap="/usr/share/keymaps/i386/azerty/fr-latin9.kmap.gz"
636 (French keyboard)
637 * batch mode or not (yes/no), if no, will run interactively.
638 e.g. ocs_live_batch="no"
639 * ocs_lang is the language used in Clonezilla live. Available value:
640 en_US.UTF-8, zh_TW.UTF-8... (see $DRBL_SCRIPT_PATH/lang/bash/)
641 e.g. ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8"
642 * ocs_debug (or ocs-debug) is for you to enter command line prompt before
643 any clonezilla-related action is run. This is easier for you to debug.
644 * ocs_daemonon, ocs_daemonoff, ocs_numlk, ocs_capslk.
645 Ex. for the first 2 parameters, ocs_daemonon="ssh", then ssh service will
646 be turned on when booting. For the last 2 parameters, use "on" or "off",
647 e.g. ocs_numlk=on to turn on numberlock when booting.
648 * ocs_prerun, ocs_prerun1, ocs_prerun2... is for you to run a shell script
649 before Clonezilla is started. E.g. ocs_prerun="/live/image/myscript.sh". If
650 you have more commands to run, you can assign them in the order:
651 ocs_prerun=..., ocs_prerun1=..., ocs_prerun2=.... If more than 10
652 parameters, remember to use ocs_prerun01, ocs_prerun02..., ocs_prerun11
653 to make it in order.
654 * ocs_live_run_tty. This option allows you to specify the tty where
655 $ocs_live_run is run. By default $ocs_live_run is run on /dev/tty1
656 only. (It was also on /dev/ttyS0 before, but since Clonezilla live >=
657 1.2.3-22 no more this due to a problem). If you want to use ttyS0, for
658 example, add live-getty and console=ttyS0,38400n81 in the boot parameter.
659 //NOTE//
660 * This parameter was added in Clonezilla live 1.2.3-22 or later.
661 * If "live-getty console=$tty,38400n81" are assigned in the boot parameters,
662 ocs_live_run_tty will honor $tty, even other value is assigned to
663 ocs_live_run_tty in boot parameter.
664 * It's recommended to assign ocs_lang and ocs_live_keymap in the boot
665 parameters too.
666 * ip, this option allows you to specify the network parameters for
667 network card. In Clonezilla live a patched live-initramfs is used, which
668 is different from the original live-initramfs so that you can assign
669 DNS server, too. Its format is: ip=ethernet port,IP address, netmask,
670 gateway, DNS. E.g. If you want to assing eth0 with IP address 10.0.100.1,
671 netmask 255.255.255.0, gateway 10.0.100.254, DNS server 8.8.8.8, you can
672 assign the following in the boot parameter:
673 ip=eth0,10.0.100.1,255.255.255.0,10.0.100.254,8.8.8.8
674 If more than one network card, you can use ":" to separate them, e.g.:
675 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,,
676 * Besides, "live-netdev" (yes, not ocs_live_netdev) can be used when
677 using PXE booting, you can force to assign the network device to get
678 filesystem.squashfs. This is useful when there are two or more NICs are
679 linked. E.g. live-netdev="eth1" allows you to force the live-initramfs
680 to use eth1 to fetch the root file system filesystem.squashfs.
681
682 With the above options, we have the following examples:
683
684 * A PXE config example for you to boot Clonezilla live via PXE, and ssh
685 service is on, the password of account "user" is assigned:
686 ----------------------------------------
687 label Clonezilla Live
688 MENU LABEL Clonezilla Live
689 MENU DEFAULT
690 kernel vmlinuz1
691 append initrd=initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs noswap noprompt vga=788
692 fetch=tftp://192.168.120.254/filesystem.squashfs usercrypted=bkuQxLqLRuDW6
693 ocs_numlk="on" ocs_daemonon="ssh"
694 ----------------------------------------
695 The usercrypted password is created by:
696 echo YOUR_PASSWORD | mkpasswd -s
697 ("mkpasswd" is from package "whois" in Debian or Ubuntu. Check your
698 GNU/Linux to see which package provides this command if you are not using
699 Debian or Ubuntu. Replace YOUR_PASSWORD with your plain text password,
700 and remember do not put any " in the boot parameters of live-initramfs
701 (while it's ok for those ocs_* boot parameters), i.e. do NOT use something
702 like usercrypted="bkuQxLqLRuDW6").
703 //NOTE// If you do not assign salt to mkpasswd, the encrypted password
704 will not be the same every time you create it.
705 For more about usercrypted discussion, please check the here.
706
707 * How to put your own binary driver in Clonezilla live without modifying
708 /live/filesystem.squashfs:
709
710 * Boot clonezilla live
711 * Become root by running "sudo su -"
712 * Copy the dir lsi, which contains a precompiled kernel module matching
713 the running kernel in Clonezilla live and a script to run it, to a working
714 dir, e.g.:
715 cp -r /live/image/lsi /home/partimag
716 * cd /home/partimag
717 * /opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-live-dev -c -s -i lsi -u lsi -x
718 "ocs_prerun=/live/image/lsi/prep-lsi.sh"
719 * /opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-iso -s -i lsi -u lsi -x
720 "ocs_prerun=/live/image/lsi/prep-lsi.sh"
721 * ///NOTE/// In this example, the 2 files in dir lsi are: megasr.ko (the
722 binary driver) and prep-lsi.sh. The contents of prep-lsi.sh:
723
724 ------------------------
725 #!/bin/bash
726 cp -f /live/image/lsi/megasr.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/block/
727 chown root.root /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/block/megasr.ko
728 depmod -a modprobe megasr
729 sleep 1
730 ------------------------
731 * To put your customized script with a PXE version of Clonezilla live
732 (You have to use Clonezilla live version 1.2.2-2 or later):
733 In this example, we assume (1) The IP address of your PXE server is
734 192.168.120.254, (2) the customized script (custom-ocs-2) is put on
735 your PXE server's tftpd root dir (E.g. On DRBL server, the path is
736 /tftpboot/nbi_img/. It might be different in your case if you are not use
737 DRBL server as a PXE server).
738 Therefor your pxelinux.cfg/default file is like:
739 ------------------------
740 label Clonezilla Live
741 MENU DEFAULT
742 # MENU HIDE
743 MENU LABEL Clonezilla Live
744 # MENU PASSWD
745 kernel vmlinuz1
746 append initrd=initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs noswap noprompt vga=788
747 ip=frommedia fetch=tftp://192.168.120.254/filesystem.squashfs
748 ocs_prerun="busybox tftp -g -b 10240 -r custom-ocs-2 -l
749 /tmp/custom-ocs-2 192.168.120.254" ocs_live_run="bash /tmp/custom-ocs-2"
750 ocs_live_keymap="NONE" ocs_live_batch="no" ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" nolocales
751 TEXT HELP
752 Boot Clonezilla live via network
753 ENDTEXT
754 ------------------------
755 The content of custom-ocs-2 can be like:
756
757 ------------------------
758 #!/bin/bash
759 . /opt/drbl/sbin/drbl-conf-functions
760 . /opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-functions
761 . /etc/ocs/ocs-live.conf
762
763 # Load language file
764 ask_and_load_lang_set en_US.UTF-8
765
766 # 1. Mount the clonezilla image home.
767 # Types: local_dev, ssh_server, samba_server, nfs_server
768 prep-ocsroot -t nfs_server
769
770 # 2. Restore the image
771 if mountpoint /home/partimag/ &>/dev/null; then
772 ocs-sr -l en_US.UTF-8 -c -p choose restoredisk ask_user ask_user
773 else
774 [ "$BOOTUP" = "color" ] & $SETCOLOR_FAILURE
775 echo "Fail to find the Clonezilla image home /home/partimag!"
776 echo "Program terminated!"
777 [ "$BOOTUP" = "color" ] & $SETCOLOR_NORMAL
778 fi
779 ------------------------
780 live-initramfs manual
781 ---------------------
782 This is the manual of live-initramfs {{
783 http://www.clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live/live-initramfs-param.php }}
784
785 live-initramfs(7)
786 =================
787
788 Name
789 ----
790 live-initramfs - Debian Live initramfs hook
791
792 Synopsis
793 --------
794 BOOT=live
795
796 as kernel parameter at boot prompt.
797
798 Description
799 -----------
800
801 live-initramfs is a hook for the initramfs-tools, used to generate
802 a initramfs
803 capable to boot live systems, such as those created by *live-helper*(7).
804 This includes the Debian Live isos, netboot tarballs, and usb stick images.
805
806 At boot time it will look for a (read-only) media containing a "/live"
807 directory where a root filesystems (often a compressed filesystem image like
808 squashfs) is stored. If found, it will create a writable environment, using
809 aufs, for Debian like systems to boot from.
810
811 You probably do not want to install this package onto a non-live system,
812 although it will do no harm.
813
814 live-initramfs is a fork of link:http://packages.ubuntu.com/casper/[casper].
815 casper was originally written by Tollef Fog Heen <tfheen@canonical.com>
816 and Matt Zimmerman <mdz@canonical.com>.
817
818 Boot options
819 ------------
820
821 Here is the complete list of recognized boot parameters by live-initramfs.
822
823 access=*ACCESS*::
824
825 Set the accessibility level for physically or visually impared users. ACCESS
826 must be one of v1, v2, v3, m1, or m2. v1=lesser visual impairment,
827 v2=moderate
828 visual impairment, v3=blindness, m1=minor motor difficulties, m2=moderate
829 motor
830 difficulties.
831
832 console=*TTY,SPEED*::
833
834 Set the default console to be used with the "live-getty" option. Example:
835 "console=ttyS0,115200"
836
837 debug::
838
839 Makes initramfs boot process more verbose.
840
841 fetch=*URL*::
842
843 Another form of netboot by downloading a squashfs image from a given url,
844 copying to ram and booting it.
845
846 hostname=*HOSTNAME*, username=*USER*, userfullname=*USERFULLNAME*::
847
848 Those parameters lets you override values read from the config file.
849
850 ignore_uuid
851
852 Do not check that any UUID embedded in the initramfs matches the discovered
853 medium. live-initramfs may be told to generate a UUID by setting
854 LIVE_GENERATE_UUID=1 when building the initramfs.
855
856 integrity-check::
857
858 If specified, an MD5 sum is calculated on the live media during boot and
859 compared to the value found in md5sum.txt found in the root directory of the
860 live media.
861
862 ip=**[CLIENT_IP]:[SERVER_IP]:[GATEWAY_IP]:[NETMASK]:[HOSTNAME]:[DEVICE]:[AUTOCONF]
863 [,[CLIENT_IP]:[SERVER_IP]:[GATEWAY_IP]:[NETMASK]:[HOSTNAME]:[DEVICE]:[AUTOCONF]]***::
864
865 Let you specify the name(s) and the options of the interface(s) that
866 should be
867 configured at boot time. Do not specify this if you want to use dhcp
868 (default).
869 It will be changed in a future release to mimick official kernel boot param
870 specification
871 (e.g. ip=10.0.0.1::10.0.0.254:255.255.255.0::eth0,:::::eth1:dhcp).
872
873 ip[=**frommedia**]::
874
875 If this variable is set, dhcp and static configuration are just skipped
876 and the
877 system will use the (must be) media-preconfigured /etc/network/interfaces
878 instead.
879
880 {keyb|kbd-chooser/method}=**KEYBOARD**,
881 {klayout|console-setup/layoutcode}=**LAYOUT**,
882 {kvariant|console-setup/variantcode}=**VARIANT**,
883 {kmodel|console-setup/modelcode}=**CODE**, koptions=**OPTIONS**::
884
885 Configure the running keyboard as specified, if this one misses
886 live-initramfs
887 behaves as if "keyb=us" was specified. It will be interfered from
888 "locale=" if
889 locale is only 2 lowecase letters as a special case. You could also specify
890 console layout, variant, code, and options (no defaults).
891
892 live-getty::
893
894 This changes the auto-login on virtual terminals to use the (experimental)
895 live-getty code. With this option set the standard kernel argument
896 "console=" is
897 parsed and if a serial console is specified then live-getty is used to
898 autologin
899 on the serial console.
900
901 {live-media|bootfrom}=**DEVICE**::
902
903 If you specify one of this two equivalent forms, live-initramfs will
904 first try
905 to find this device for the "/live" directory where the read-only root
906 filesystem should reside. If it did not find something usable, the
907 normal scan
908 for block devices is performed.
909
910 {live-media-encryption|encryption}=**TYPE**::
911
912 live-initramfs will mount the encrypted rootfs TYPE, asking the passphrase,
913 useful to build paranoid live systems :-). TYPE supported so far are
914 "aes" for
915 loop-aes encryption type.
916
917 live-media-offset=**BYTES**::
918
919 This way you could tell live-initramfs that your image starts at offset
920 BYTES in
921 the above specified or autodiscovered device, this could be useful to
922 hide the
923 Debian Live iso or image inside another iso or image, to create "clean"
924 images.
925
926 live-media-path=**PATH**::
927
928 Sets the path to the live filesystem on the medium. By default, it is set to
929 '/live' and you should not change that unless you have customized your media
930 accordingly.
931
932 live-media-timeout=**SECONDS**::
933
934 Set the timeout in seconds for the device specified by "live-media="
935 to become
936 ready before giving up.
937
938 {locale|debian-installer/locale}=**LOCALE**::
939
940 Configure the running locale as specified, if not present the live-media
941 rootfs
942 configured locale will be used and if also this one misses live-initramfs
943 behave
944 as "locale=en_US.UTF-8" was specified. If only 2 lowercase letter are
945 specified
946 (like "it"), the "maybe wanted" locale is generated (like en:EN.UTF-8),
947 in this
948 case if also "keyb=" is unspecified is set with those 2 lowercase letters
949 (keyb=us). Beside that facility, only UTF8 locales are supported by
950 live-initramfs.
951
952 module=**NAME**::
953
954 Instead of using the default optional file "filesystem.module" (see below)
955 another file could be specified without the extension ".module"; it should be
956 placed on "/live" directory of the live medium.
957
958 netboot[=**nfs**|**cifs**]::
959
960 This tells live-initramfs to perform a network mount. The parameter
961 "nfsroot="
962 (with optional "nfsopts="), should specify where is the location of the root
963 filesystem. With no args, will try cifs first, and if it fails nfs.
964
965 nfsopts=::
966
967 This lets you specify custom nfs options.
968
969 noautologin::
970
971 This parameter disables the automatic terminal login only, not touching
972 gdk/kdm.
973
974 noxautologin::
975
976 This parameter disables the automatic login of gdm/kdm only, not touching
977 terminals.
978
979 nofastboot::
980
981 This parameter disables the default disabling of filesystem checks in
982 /etc/fstab. If you have static filesystems on your harddisk and you want
983 them to
984 be checked at boot time, use this parameter, otherwise they are skipped.
985
986 nopersistent::
987
988 disables the "persistent" feature, useful if the bootloader (like syslinux)
989 has
990 been installed with persistent enabled.
991
992 noprompt
993
994 Do not prompt to eject the CD on reboot.
995
996 nosudo::
997
998 This parameter disables the automatic configuration of sudo.
999
1000 swapon::
1001
1002 This parameter enables usage of local swap partitions.
1003
1004 nouser::
1005
1006 This parameter disables the creation of the default user completely.
1007
1008 noxautoconfig::
1009
1010 This parameter disables Xorg auto-reconfiguration at boot time. This
1011 is valuable
1012 if you either do the detection on your own, or, if you want to ship a custom,
1013 premade xorg.conf in your live system.
1014
1015 persistent[=nofiles]::
1016
1017 live-initramfs will look for persistent and snapshot partitions or files
1018 labeled
1019 "live-rw", "home-rw", and files called "live-sn*", "home-sn*" and will
1020 try to,
1021 in order: mount as /cow the first, mount the second in /home, and just
1022 copy the
1023 contents of the latter in appropriate locations (snapshots). Snapshots
1024 will be
1025 tried to be updated on reboot/shutdown. Look at live-snapshot(1) for more
1026 informations. If "nofiles" is specified, only filesystems with matching
1027 labels
1028 will be searched; no filesystems will be traversed looking for archives
1029 or image
1030 files. This results in shorter boot times.
1031
1032 {preseed/file|file}=**FILE**::
1033
1034 A path to a file present on the rootfs could be used to preseed debconf
1035 database.
1036
1037 package/question=**VALUE**::
1038
1039 All debian installed packages could be preseeded from command-line that way,
1040 beware of blanks spaces, they will interfere with parsing, use a preseed
1041 file in
1042 this case.
1043
1044 quickreboot::
1045
1046 This option causes live-initramfs to reboot without attempting to eject the
1047 media and without asking the user to remove the boot media.
1048
1049 showmounts::
1050
1051 This parameter will make live-initramfs to show on "/" the ro filesystems
1052 (mostly compressed) on "/live". This is not enabled by default because could
1053 lead to problems by applications like "mono" which store binary paths on
1054 installation.
1055
1056 textonly
1057
1058 Start up to text-mode shell prompts, disabling the graphical user interface.
1059
1060 timezone=**TIMEZONE**::
1061
1062 By default, timezone is set to UTC. Using the timezone parameter, you can
1063 set it
1064 to your local zone, e.g. Europe/Zurich.
1065
1066 todisk=**DEVICE**::
1067
1068 Adding this parameter, live-initramfs will try to copy the entire read-only
1069 media to the specified device before mounting the root filesystem. It
1070 probably
1071 needs a lot of free space. Subsequent boots should then skip this step
1072 and just
1073 specify the "live-media=DEVICE" boot parameter with the same DEVICE used this
1074 time.
1075
1076 toram::
1077
1078 Adding this parameter, live-initramfs will try to copy the whole read-only
1079 media
1080 to the computer's RAM before mounting the root filesystem. This could need
1081 a lot
1082 of ram, according to the space used by the read-only media.
1083
1084 union=**aufs**|**unionfs**::
1085
1086 By default, live-initramfs uses aufs. With this parameter, you can switch to
1087 unionfs.
1088
1089 utc=**yes**|**no**::
1090
1091 By default, Debian systems do assume that the hardware clock is set to
1092 UTC. You
1093 can change or explicitly set it with this parameter.
1094
1095 xdebconf::
1096
1097 Uses xdebconfigurator, if present on the rootfs, to configure X instead
1098 of the
1099 standard procedure (experimental).
1100
1101 xvideomode=**RESOLUTION**::
1102
1103 Doesn't do xorg autodetection, but enforces a given resolution.
1104
1105 Files
1106 -----
1107
1108 /etc/live.conf
1109
1110 Some variables can be configured via this config file (inside the live
1111 system).
1112
1113 /live/filesystem.module
1114
1115 This optional file (inside the live media) contains a list of white-space or
1116 carriage-return-separated file names corresponding to disk images in the
1117 "/live"
1118 directory. If this file exists, only images listed here will be merged
1119 into the
1120 root aufs, and they will be loaded in the order listed here. The first entry
1121 in this file will be the "lowest" point in the aufs, and the last file in
1122 this list will be on the "top" of the aufs, directly below /cow. Without
1123 this file, any images in the "/live" directory are loaded in alphanumeric
1124 order.
1125
1126 /etc/live-persistence.binds
1127
1128 This optional file (which resides in the rootfs system, not in the live
1129 media)
1130 is used as a list of directories which not need be persistent: ie. their
1131 content does not need to survive reboots when using the persistence features.
1132
1133 This saves expensive writes and speeds up operations on volatile data such as
1134 web caches and temporary files (like e.g. /tmp and .mozilla) which are
1135 regenerated each time. This is achieved by bind mounting each listed
1136 directory
1137 with a tmpfs on the original path.
1138
1139 See also
1140 --------
1141
1142 live-snapshot(1), initramfs-tools(8), live-helper(7), live-initscripts(7),
1143 live-webhelper(7)
1144
1145 Bugs
1146 ----
1147
1148 Report bugs against live-initramfs
1149 link:http://packages.qa.debian.org/live-initramfs[http://packages.qa.debian.org/live-initramfs].
1150
1151 Homepage
1152 --------
1153
1154 More information about the Debian Live project can be found at
1155 link:http://debian-live.alioth.debian.org/[http://debian-live.alioth.debian.org/]
1156 and
1157 link:http://wiki.debian.org/DebianLive/[http://wiki.debian.org/DebianLive/].
1158
1159 Authors
1160 -------
1161
1162 live-initramfs is maintained by Daniel Baumann <daniel@debian.org>
1163 for the Debian project.
1164
1165 live-initramfs is a fork of link:http://packages.ubuntu.com/casper/[casper].
1166 casper was originally written by Tollef Fog Heen <tfheen@canonical.com>
1167 and Matt Zimmerman <mdz@canonical.com>.
1168
1169
1170
1171
1172 About Clonezilla Live
1173 ==============================================================================
1174
1175 Intro
1176 ****************************************
1177 The DRBL-based PXEBoot Clonezilla is used to clone many computers
1178 simultaneously. It is an extremely useful tool, however, it does have several
1179 limitations. In order to use it, you must first prepare a DRBL server AND
1180 the machine to be cloned must boot from a network (e.g. PXE/Etherboot).
1181
1182 To address these limitations, the Free Software Lab at the NCHC has combined
1183 Debian Live {{ http://debian-live.alioth.debian.org/ }} with Clonezilla
1184 to produce "Clonezilla Live", a new software that can be used to easily
1185 clone individual machines.
1186
1187 Clonezilla Live provides two modes of operation:
1188
1189 * device-image
1190 In this mode of operation, a disk/partition can be saved to an
1191 image file. This image file can be used to restore the original
1192 disk/partition. With Clonezilla-SysRescCD, it can also be used to create an
1193 automated restore CD/DVD. This is the mode of operation we will discuss here.
1194
1195 * device-device (cloning)
1196 This mode of operation creates an exact copy of the original disk/partition
1197 on the fly.
1198
1199 When working in device-image mode, you will always have to specify three
1200 things:
1201
1202 * The location of the image file
1203 * The working parameters for the operation
1204 * The disk/partition that will be saved/restored
1205
1206 Clonezilla Live provides a user friendly interface in order to insert
1207 this data.
1208
1209 When Clonezilla Live is booted up, either normally or copied to RAM, the
1210 contents of the whole CD/DVD can be found in folder /live/image. This
1211 is where you will find any extra files, such as the restorecd and the
1212 doc folders.
1213
1214 Starting and stopping Clonezilla Live
1215 ****************************************
1216 When you boot into Clonezilla Live, the program (actually a script) starts
1217 automatically. There are many places where you can stop it, by selecting
1218 Cancel or answering N(o) to a question. When you do that you will probably
1219 get the following:
1220 Now you can choose to:
1221 (0) Poweroff
1222 (1) Reboot
1223 (2) Enter command line prompt
1224 (3) Start over
1225 [2]
1226
1227 Select Poweroff or Reboot, only if you haven't already mounted a disk
1228 partition. I found out by experience, it is not always safe to let any live
1229 CD automatically unmount my partitions. So if you have already specified
1230 the image partition and/or the partition to save/restore, you should enter
1231 command line prompt and type:
1232 sudo su -
1233 mount | grep /dev/[sh]d
1234 and then unmount the partitions shown by the last command. So if the
1235 results of this command is for example:
1236 /dev/hda1 on /home/partimag type vfat (rw)
1237 just type the command:
1238 umount /dev/hda1
1239 and it's now safe to Poweroff of Reboot.
1240
1241 If, on the other hand, you just want to restart the program, type:
1242 ocs-live
1243
1244 About the Image file
1245 ****************************************
1246 One thing should be made clear about the image file: it is not a file,
1247 it is a folder, containing the actual image file and some data about the
1248 disk/partition it is associated with. So when you insert the image file name,
1249 you actually insert the folder name where the image will be saved/restored.
1250
1251 Before you are able to insert the image file name, a list of partitions
1252 will be presented to you, so that you can choose where it should be
1253 saved/found. When you select one of them, it will be mounted under
1254 /home/partimag.
1255
1256 This folder is very important for Clonezilla Live; the image file must be
1257 located under this directory, which means that the image file must be on
1258 the root directory of the mounted partition. So you can not, for example,
1259 create a folder called all_my_images and move all your image files in there;
1260 Clonezilla Live will not be able to find them!!!
1261
1262 Another thing that should be pointed out is that only unmounted partitions
1263 will be included in the above list. This means that if you have stopped
1264 the program at some point after specifying the partition where the image
1265 file resides, and it has been mounted, it will not be present in the list
1266 the next time it is presented to you, and you will not be able to use it.
1267
1268 There are two things you can do in this case; either unmount the partition,
1269 as stated above, or select
1270 skip Use existing /home/partimag
1271
1272 instead of any other option, when you restart the program. The later of
1273 course means that you still want to use the previously specified partition
1274 as the image file location.
1275
1276 Fianlly I should say that Clonezilla Live is able to use a remote
1277 disk/partition as the location of the image file, mounted through ssh,
1278 samba or nfs. Using any of these options is a more advanced topic, way
1279 beyond the scope of this presentation.
1280
1281 Scripts' options
1282 ****************************************
1283 This section presents the options which are available at the "Clonezilla
1284 advanced extra parameters" screens, if the "Expert" mode is selected. For
1285 other options, see Getting backups and Restoring data.
1286
1287 Backup options
1288 ---------------------
1289 > Imaging program priority
1290
1291 -q2 Priority: partclone > partimage > dd
1292 -q1 Priority: Only dd (supports all filesystem, but inefficient)
1293 -q Priority: ntfsclone > partimage > dd
1294 Priority: partimage > dd (no ntfsclone)
1295
1296 This option chooses which imaging programs are preferred. By default,
1297 Clonezilla Live uses partclone for nearly all filesystems, including
1298 ext2/3/4, NTFS and FAT32. If a filesystem isn't supported by partclone,
1299 but is supported by partimage (spesifically: if the filesystem is HFS,
1300 HPFS or JFS), it is cloned by partimage. If it isn't supported by either
1301 (for example Linux swap, though it doesn't make any sense to clone swap
1302 partitions), it is cloned by dd. Unlike partclone or partimage, dd copies
1303 all blocks of the partition instead of only used, resulting in slower
1304 imaging process and bigger images.
1305
1306 Normally the default option -q2 should be preferred. Try another option
1307 if you have problems and believe they are caused by the imaging program used.
1308
1309 > Various parameters
1310
1311 These options are available at the second "Clonezilla advanced extra
1312 parameters" screen.
1313 -c Client waits for confirmation before cloning
1314 This option causes Clonezilla Live to ask if you really want to clone the
1315 disk/partition just before it starts cloning. It is enabled by default.
1316
1317 -j2 Clone the hidden data between MBR and 1st partition
1318 If this option is set, the 15 hidden sectors between Master Boot Record
1319 and the first partition are copied. This area usually contains some data
1320 necessary for booting. The option is enabled by default and should be kept
1321 enabled if you are cloning a bootable disk.
1322
1323 -nogui Use text output only, no TUI/GUI output
1324 Causes Clonezilla Live to force the used programs to use only command-line
1325 interface even if text-based or graphical user interface is available.
1326
1327 -a Do NOT force to turn on HD DMA
1328 Prevents Clonezilla Live from using DMA for communicating with hard
1329 drives. Slows cloning down but in some conditions cloning without this
1330 option can be impossible.
1331
1332 -rm-win-swap-hib Remove page and hibernation files in Win if exists
1333 This option prevents Clonezilla Live from cloning your page file if you
1334 are cloning a partition containing Windows. Often the page file is big
1335 and unneeded, and skipping it may speed cloning up without causing any
1336 harm. Mind you, this option is disabled by default because sometimes the
1337 page file may be necessary.
1338
1339 -ntfs-ok Skip checking NTFS integrity, even bad sectors (ntfsclone only)
1340 This option works only if you selected the -q option and you're cloning
1341 a NTFS partition. It prevents the integrity check of NTFS partitions and
1342 speeds the cloning process up a little. However, if the check is disabled,
1343 there is a risk that the filesystem is damaged and the image created from
1344 it is useless.
1345
1346 -gm Generate image MD5 checksums
1347 Causes Clonezilla Live to calculate MD5 checksum(s) of image(s) created. If
1348 the image cets corrupted afterwards, the checksum allows to notice the
1349 corruption before the image is restored. Mind you, calculating the checksum
1350 takes some time and slows the process down a little.
1351
1352 -gs Generate image SHA1 checksums
1353 This option is identical to the above, but creates SHA1 checksum(s) instead
1354 of MD5. SHA1 is considered to be more accurate checksum algorithm than MD5,
1355 but MD5 is more popular.
1356
1357 > Compression method
1358
1359 -z1 gzip compression (fast with a smaller image)
1360 -z2 bzip2 compression (slowest but smallest image)
1361 -z3 lzo compression (faster with image size approx. to that of
1362 gzip)(NOTE!!)
1363 -z4 lzma compression (slowest but also small image, faster
1364 decompression than bzip2)
1365 -z0 No compression (fastest but largest image size)
1366
1367 This option chooses the method which is used to compress the image while
1368 creating it.
1369
1370 If no compression is used at all, there won't be any negative speed impact
1371 caused by compression. However, the image file size is the size of all the
1372 data backed up - for example, if you clone a 160 GB hard drive containing
1373 60 gigabytes of data, the resulting disk image will be 60 gigabytes in size.
1374
1375 Gzip and lzop are fast compression methods. Lzop is many times faster than
1376 gzip, but creates slightly larger images. Clonezilla Live warns that lzop
1377 requires good-quality RAM, but I (the contributor who wrote this chapter)
1378 think other compression methods require good RAM too.
1379
1380 Bzip2 and lzma are powerful compression methods. Lzma creates a little
1381 smaller images than bzip2, and decompressing lzma-compressed images is faster
1382 than decompressing bzip2 images. But there is no free lunch: lzma compression
1383 method is very slow compared even to bzip2, which isn't fast method either.
1384
1385 > Splitting
1386
1387 This option (command line: -i [number]) decides if the created image files
1388 are splitted into smaller pieces, and if yes, how large the pieces are. This
1389 setting doesn't usually matter, but some filesystems (most importantly
1390 FAT32) don't allow files larger than four gigabytes. If you're saving the
1391 disk image to a FAT32 partition, enter 4000 or less. (Value 0 disables
1392 splitting, so don't use it in that case.) If the filesystem allows files
1393 big enough, enter any value which isn't too small (you don't want to split
1394 the image into too many pieces, do you?)
1395
1396 > Postaction
1397
1398 -p true Do nothing when the clone finishes
1399 -p reboot Reboot client when the clone finishes
1400 -p poweroff Shutdown client when the clone finishes
1401
1402 In this screen you can decide what Clonezilla Live does when the
1403 disk/partition is cloned.
1404
1405 Spiros told above that he has found out that it's not always safe to allow
1406 Live CDs automatically unmount partitions, and I have lost data when trying
1407 auto-unmount with a script. So, avoid -p reboot and -p poweroff options
1408 if possible. You have been warned.
1409
1410 Restore options (script ocs-sr)
1411 ---------------------
1412 > Various parameters
1413
1414 These options are available at the first "Clonezilla advanced extra
1415 parameters" screen.
1416 -g auto Reinstall grub in client disk MBR (only if grub config exists)
1417 Causes Clonezilla Live to reinstall GRUB into the Master Boot Record
1418 of the disk if at least one partition contains GRUB config file
1419 (/boot/grub/menu.lst). The option is enabled by default and shouldn't
1420 cause any harm. However, it should be disabled if you for example have
1421 another bootloader in MBR and chainload GRUB with it.
1422
1423 -e1 auto Automatically adjust filesystem geometry for a NTFS boot partition
1424 if exists
1425 The NTLDR bootloader used by Windows isn't able to determine automatically
1426 where the files it needs are stored. It only knows their physical locations,
1427 which sometimes change when the disk or partition is copied. If the locations
1428 are changed and this option is selected, the location information of the
1429 files is changed accordingly. This option is enabled by default and if
1430 it's disabled, the cloned Windows will fail to boot.
1431
1432 -e2 sfdisk uses CHS of hard drive from EDD(for non-grub boot loader)
1433 This option requires that the -e1 auto option is selected. It causes
1434 Clonezilla Live to use disk read interface named EDD for determining the
1435 physical locations of the files when updating the location information
1436 used by NTLDR. The option is enabled by default because it reduces the
1437 risk that Windows doesn't boot.
1438
1439 -hn0 PC Change MS Win hostname (based on IP address) after clone
1440 If this option is selected and a partition containing Microsoft Windows is
1441 cloned, its IP address -based hostname is changed after cloning. Computers
1442 which are on any network simultaneously need to have different hostnames,
1443 so this option is needed if a Windows system is cloned to another computer
1444 and the original computer is still used in addition to the one where the
1445 image was restored to.
1446
1447 -hn1 PC Change MS Win hostname (based on MAC address) after clone
1448 This option causes the MAC address -based hostname of Windows to change. This
1449 option needs also be enabled in the above condition.
1450
1451 -v Prints verbose messages (especially for udpcast)
1452 Causes Clonezilla Live to tell more information of what it does.
1453
1454 -nogui Use text output only, no TUI/GUI output
1455 Causes Clonezilla Live to force the used programs to use only command-line
1456 interface even if text-based or graphical user interface is available.
1457
1458 -b Run clone in batch mode (DANGEROUS!)
1459 Causes Clonezilla Live to run in batch mode. According to Clonezilla
1460 Live reference card, this option is dangerous, though I (the contributor)
1461 don't know why.
1462
1463 -c Client waits for confirmation before cloning
1464 This option causes Clonezilla Live to ask if you really want to clone the
1465 disk/partition just before it starts cloning. It is enabled by default.
1466
1467 -t Client does not restore the MBR (Mater Boot Record)
1468 Do NOT restore the MBR (Mater Boot Record) when restoring image. If this
1469 option is set, you must make sure there is an existing MBR in the current
1470 restored harddisk. Default is Yes.
1471
1472 -t1 Client restores the prebuilt MBR from syslinux (For Windows only)
1473 If this option is set, the MBR is overwritten by prebuilt one which
1474 chainloads Windows. Use this option if you have to restore Windows and
1475 make it bootable, but don't have the original MBR or backup of it.
1476
1477 -r Try to resize the filesystem to fit partition size
1478 This option is useful if you are cloning a small disk to larger one. It
1479 tries to resize the restored filesystem to the size of the partition where
1480 it was restored to. It allows you to use the whole size of your new disk
1481 without resizing the partition afterwards. The option requires that the
1482 disk where the image is copied already contains a partition where the
1483 image is restored or that the option -k1 is enabled.
1484
1485 -e sfdisk uses the CHS value of hard drive from the saved image
1486 Force to use the saved CHS (cylinders, heads, sectors) when using sfdisk. Of
1487 cource, there is no use of it when using any of -j0, -k or -k2 options.
1488
1489 -j1 Write MBR (512 B) again after image is restored. Not OK for partition
1490 table diffe
1491 When a disk image is restored, the partition table must be updated to
1492 reflect the actual partitions in the disk. If you don't want it to happen,
1493 enable this option. Then the Master Boot Record (including the partition
1494 table) is restored again after restoring the image. Note that using this
1495 option can destroy all the data in the target drive.
1496
1497 -j2 Clone the hidden data between MBR and 1st partition
1498 If this option is set, the 15 hidden sectors between Master Boot Record
1499 and the first partition are restored. This area usually contains some data
1500 necessary for booting. The option is enabled by default and should be kept
1501 enabled if you are cloning a bootable disk.
1502
1503 -cm Check image by MD5 checksums
1504 If the image folder contains MD5 checksum(s), this option causes Clonezilla
1505 Live to check if the image has corrupted by calculating its checksum and
1506 comparing it to the precalculated one. Mind you, calculating the checksum
1507 takes some time and slows the process down a little.
1508
1509 -cs Check image by SHA1 checksums
1510 This option is identical to the above, but checks SHA1 checksum(s) instead
1511 of MD5.
1512
1513 -a Do NOT force to turn on HD DMA
1514 Prevents Clonezilla Live from using DMA for communicating with hard
1515 drives. Slows cloning down but in some conditions cloning without this
1516 option can be impossible.
1517
1518 -o0 Run script in $OCS_PRERUN_DIR before clone starts
1519 Run the scripts in the directory $OCS_PRERUN_DIR before clone is
1520 started. The location of the directory can be determined by editing the
1521 file drbl-ocs.conf. By default it is /opt/drbl/share/ocs/prerun.
1522
1523 -o1 Run script in $OCS_POSTRUN_DIR as clone finishes
1524 Run the scripts in the directory $OCS_POSTRUN_DIR when clone is
1525 finished. The location of the directory can be determined by editing the
1526 file drbl-ocs.conf. By default it is /opt/drbl/share/ocs/postrun. The
1527 command will be run before that assigned in -p.
1528
1529 The scripts will be executed by the program "run-parts". run-parts only
1530 accepts that the name of the scripts must consist entirely of upper and
1531 lower case letters, digits and underscores. So if your file name has an
1532 illegal character ".", run-parts won't run it. You can test which files
1533 will be executed by entering the command:
1534 run-parts --test /opt/drbl/share/ocs/postrun
1535
1536 > Partition table
1537
1538 This option decides what is done to the partition table of the target drive.
1539 Use the partition table from the image
1540 This option causes Clonezilla Live to copy the partition table from the
1541 image. Use this option if you are cloning a whole disk or somehow know that
1542 the partition tables are identical (for example, if you are restoring a
1543 partition to the same disk where it was copied from and haven't repartitioned
1544 the drive after creating the backup). This is the default option.
1545
1546 -k Do NOT create a partition table on the target disk
1547 Do NOT create partition in target harddisk. If this option is set,
1548 you must make sure there is an existing partition table in the current
1549 restored harddisk.
1550
1551 -k1 Create partition table proportionally (OK for MRB format, not GPT)
1552 Causes Clonezilla Live to create the partition table automatically using
1553 sfdisk after restoring the images. This option works nearly always, but
1554 sometimes cloned Windows don't boot. Note that this option doesn't work if
1555 you have GUID Partition Table on your disk. (Most likely you don't have one.)
1556
1557 -k2 Enter command line prompt to create partition manually later
1558 Like the -k option, this option doesn't create the partition table
1559 automatically. However, after restoring the image you are led to command
1560 line prompt where you can create the partition table manually. Don't use
1561 this option if you don't know how the partition table can be created.
1562
1563 -j0 Use dd to create partition (NOT OK if logical drives exist)
1564 Use dd to dump the partition table from saved image instead of sfdisk.
1565
1566 We read in DRBL FAQ/Q&A {{
1567 http://drbl.sourceforge.net/faq/fine-print.php?path=./2_System/23_Missing_OS.faq#23_Missing_OS.faq
1568 }}:
1569
1570 When I use clonezilla to clone M$ windows, there is no any problem
1571 when saving an image from template machine. However, after the image
1572 is restored to another machine, it fails to boot, the error message is
1573 "Missing Operating System". What's going on ?
1574
1575 Usually this is because GNU/Linux and M$ windows interpret the CHS (cylinder,
1576 head, sector) value of harddrive differently. Some possible solutions:
1577 1. Maybe you can change the IDE harddrive setting in BIOS, try to use
1578 LBA instead of auto mode.
1579 2. Try to choose
1580 [ ] -j0 Use dd to create partition table instead of sfdisk
1581 and
1582 [ ] -t1 Client restores the prebuilt MBR from syslinux (For Windows only)
1583 when you restore the image.
1584 3. You can try to boot the machine with MS Windows 9x bootable floppy,
1585 and in the DOS command prompt, run: "fdisk /mbr".
1586 4. You can try to boot the machine with MS Windows XP installation
1587 CD, enter recovery mode (by pressing F10 key in MS XP, for example),
1588 then in the console, run "fixmbr" to fix it. Maybe another command
1589 "fixboot" will help, too. For more info, refer to this doc {{
1590 http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B314058&x=7&y=14 }}
1591 5. Use ntfsreloc to adjust FS geometry on NTFS partitions. For more info,
1592 refer to http://www.linux-ntfs.org/doku.php?id=contrib:ntfsreloc
1593
1594 It has been confirmed that activating the -j0 option, fixes the problem.
1595
1596 This option doesn't work if you use LVM (Logical Volume Manager).
1597
1598 exit Exit
1599 This option ends the restore process and enters command line prompt.
1600
1601 > Postaction
1602
1603 -p true Do nothing when the clone finishes
1604 -p reboot Reboot client when the clone finishes
1605 -p poweroff Shutdown client when the clone finishes
1606
1607 When image restoration finishes, do one of the following: choose action
1608 (default), poweroff or reboot.
1609
1610 Saving image files in NTFS partitions
1611 ****************************************
1612 Although not recomended, you may find yourself having to save your image
1613 file in a NTFS (Windows XP) partition. You may never have a problem doing
1614 this, but you may get a message like the following one, when the partition
1615 gets mounted:
1616 Volume is scheduled for check
1617 Please boot into Windows TWICE, or use 'force' mount option"
1618 and the backup procedure fails. There are two things you can do here:
1619
1620 * Exit the program, reboot and use Windows XP Recovery Console to fix the
1621 NTFS file system. From Recovery Console
1622 prompt, execute the command:
1623 chkdsk /f X:
1624
1625 where X: is the drive letter of the disk. When done, boot back into
1626 Clonezilla Live and repeat the backup procedure.
1627
1628 If the Windows version you use is not XP, boot into SystemRescueCD
1629 (graphical mode is not needed) and run the following command:
1630 ntfsfix /dev/hda1
1631
1632 where /dev/hda1 is the partition name in GNU/Linux. When done, boot back
1633 into Clonezilla Live and repeat the backup procedure.
1634
1635 If the disk/partition you are trying to backup is not the Windows System
1636 disk (usually C:), you can boot Windows, and execute the command in a DOS
1637 window. To open a DOS window click Start / Run... and at the prompt Open:
1638 type cmd.
1639
1640 * If Windows XP Recovery Console is not available, you don't have the time
1641 to execute the procedure described above, or even if you have executed it
1642 but you still get the same message, and you are absolutely sure that you
1643 get this message because the NTFS partition is really scheduled for check,
1644 and it's not because Windows crushed or have become corrupt, you can mount
1645 the patririon by hand and tell Clonezilla Live to use it. Assuming the
1646 partition is /dev/hda1, exit the program and execute the commands:
1647 sudo su -
1648 ntfs-3g -o force /dev/hda1 /home/partimag
1649 ocs-live
1650
1651 and when you get to the screen "Mount clonezilla image directory", select
1652 skip Use existing /home/partimag
1653
1654
1655
1656
1657 Getting backups
1658 ==============================================================================
1659
1660 Intro
1661 ****************************************
1662 In this page I will demonstrate the creation of an image file by getting
1663 a backup of a virtual partition (/dev/hdb1). The image file will be saved
1664 in another virtual partition (/dev/hda1).
1665
1666 The first thing you do when you want to get a backup of a disk/partition,
1667 is make sure both the souce (to be backed up) and target (to hold the
1668 image file) partitions are in excellent condition (error free). This is the
1669 logical thing to do, cause I wouldn't want to backup a corrupt partition,
1670 or end up with a corrupt image file.
1671
1672 There is one more step I would want to take: I should check that my BIOS
1673 boot settings are correct, in order to boot from my CD/DVD drive.
1674
1675 Having done all of the above, I am ready to boot from Clonezilla-SysRescCD.
1676
1677 [[ info.png ]]
1678 The following pressentation has been made usingClonezilla Live v 1.2.3-27
1679
1680 Getting the backup
1681 ****************************************
1682 Clonezilla-SysRescCD starting screen
1683 ---------------------
1684 If you're fine with US keymap and English language (available languages are
1685 English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese [both simplified
1686 and traditional]) or don't mind editing the boot parameters, just select
1687 Clonezilla Live at the starting screen and press ENTER. When the system
1688 comes up, it will load the program that will preform the backup. After
1689 that continue from this step.
1690
1691 If you need to change these settings, select one of the available Clonezilla
1692 Live menu entries, and press TAB. The current boot parameters will be
1693 displayed.
1694
1695 The default parameters for booting Clonezilla Live on a 1024x768 screen,
1696 are the following:
1697
1698 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
1699 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
1700 ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
1701 ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" ocs_live_keymap="NONE" vga=791 nolocales
1702
1703 By deleting the words in red, you instruct Clonezilla Live to ask you the
1704 values of these parameters. When the appropriate changes have been done
1705 (as shown bellow), just press ENTER to boot.
1706
1707 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
1708 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
1709 ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
1710 ocs_lang="" ocs_live_keymap="" vga=791 nolocales
1711
1712 Screen "Choose Language"
1713 ---------------------
1714 [[ backup-00.png ]]
1715 I select "en_US.UTF-8 English" and press ENTER.
1716
1717 Screen "Configuring console-data"
1718 ---------------------
1719 [[ backup-01.png ]]
1720 I select "Select keymap from full list" and press ENTER. If you're using
1721 US keymap, the default option "Don't touch keymap" is a better choice.
1722
1723 Screen "Configuring console-data"
1724 ---------------------
1725 [[ backup-02.png ]]
1726 As I (the contributor who wrote a great deal of this page) use Finnish
1727 keyboard, I select "pc / qwerty / Finnish / Standard / Standard". Because
1728 you most likely use a different keyboard, choose the one you use.
1729
1730 Screen "Start Clonezilla"
1731 ---------------------
1732 [[ backup-03.png ]]
1733 I select "Start Clonezilla" and press ENTER.
1734
1735 Screen "Clonezilla"
1736 ---------------------
1737 [[ backup-04.png ]]
1738 I select "device-image" and press ENTER.
1739
1740 Screen "Mount clonezilla image directory"
1741 ---------------------
1742 In this screen I can select the way the image file directory will be saved.
1743 Available options are local directory, remote directory through ssh,
1744 samba or nfs and skip, to use the previously used directory. More info
1745 about the image file can be found at section "About the Image file".
1746
1747 [[ backup-05.png ]]
1748 I select "local_dev" and press ENTER.
1749
1750 Next screen
1751 ---------------------
1752 This is where I choose the location of the image file. It will be saved
1753 at the root directory of the selected partition.
1754
1755 [[ backup-06.png ]]
1756 I select partition hda1 and press ENTER.
1757
1758 [[ backup-07.png ]]
1759 and then ENTER again.
1760
1761 [[ backup-08.png ]]
1762 This screen displays the mounting result.
1763 As we can see, /dev/hda1 has been successfully mounted under /tmp/local-dev.
1764
1765 Next Screen
1766 ---------------------
1767 [[ backup-09.png ]]
1768 I select Beginer mode to accept the default backup options. If you select
1769 Expert mode, you can choose the options yourself. More details can be
1770 found here.
1771
1772 Screen "Select mode"
1773 ---------------------
1774 Here I can select the desired operation.
1775
1776 [[ backup-10.png ]]
1777 I select "savedisk" and press ENTER.
1778
1779 Next Screen
1780 ---------------------
1781 [[ backup-11.png ]]
1782 In this screen I select the image name.
1783 I type "Backup_5-2010_hdb", which in my opinion is more informative name
1784 than the default.
1785
1786 Next Screen
1787 ---------------------
1788 [[ backup-12.png ]]
1789 Finally I am asked to select the partition to save.
1790 I just press ENTER again.
1791
1792 Starting the backup
1793 ---------------------
1794 [[ backup-13.png ]]
1795 Then the program will display the command that will be executed and will
1796 ask me to press ENTER.
1797 Then I will be asked to confirm the operation by pressing y and ENTER.
1798
1799 [[ backup-14.png ]]
1800 After that, the backup begins
1801
1802 [[ backup-15.png ]]
1803 and when it's successfully completed, I will be able to reboot the system
1804 by pressing 1 and ENTER.
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809 Getting backups on Samba
1810 ==============================================================================
1811
1812 Intro
1813 ****************************************
1814 What if you don't have a spare local disk or partition or a USB disk? How
1815 will you be able to get a backup of your system? Well, if your PC is on
1816 the same LAN with another PC running Windows (or linux), you can use Samba
1817 to save your image file on that remote PC (which we will call Samba server
1818 from now on).
1819
1820 Using Samba you will be able to mount a Windows share resource (or
1821 Samba share resource), from within Clonezilla Live, and save the image
1822 file there. Then you can boot that PC using SystemRescueCD and create a
1823 restore DVD.
1824
1825 In this page I will demonstrate the creation of an image file by getting a
1826 backup of my Windows partition (/dev/hda1). The image file will be save in
1827 my Samba server which is my laptop (ip: 10.0.0.2, Windows share resource
1828 name: data).
1829
1830 What is Samba?
1831 ---------------------
1832 We read at http://us1.samba.org/samba/:
1833
1834 Samba is an Open Source/Free Software suite that provides seamless file
1835 and print services to SMB/CIFS clients. Samba is freely available, unlike
1836 other SMB/CIFS implementations, and allows for interoperability between
1837 Linux/Unix servers and Windows-based clients.
1838
1839 Samba is software that can be run on a platform other than Microsoft
1840 Windows, for example, UNIX, Linux, IBM System 390, OpenVMS, and other
1841 operating systems. Samba uses the TCP/IP protocol that is installed on the
1842 host server. When correctly configured, it allows that host to interact
1843 with a Microsoft Windows client or server as if it is a Windows file and
1844 print server.
1845
1846 Gathering info
1847 ****************************************
1848 Before you can use this approach to get a backup, you have to get some
1849 info about the Samba server.
1850
1851 The Samba server I have used for this example was my laptop, so I already
1852 knew most of the info required. If this is not the case for you, just ask
1853 the owner, user or system admin.
1854
1855 The info required is:
1856
1857 * The IP address of the Samba server
1858 * The domain on the Samba server
1859 This may exist if your PC is connected to a larger LAN (a corporation
1860 network, for example). In my case this is empty.
1861 * The user name and password you can use
1862 * The directory on the Samba server you can use to save your backup
1863 This is the name of the Windows share resource (Samba share resource)
1864 as it is known in the network, which is not necessarily the same as the
1865 local directory name. The user whose account will be used to login to the
1866 Samba server, must have write permission to this directory.
1867
1868 Getting the backup
1869 ****************************************
1870 If you're fine with US keymap and English language (available languages are
1871 English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese [both simplified
1872 and traditional]) or don't mind editing the boot parameters, just select
1873 Clonezilla Live at the starting screen and press ENTER. When the system
1874 comes up, it will load the program that will preform the backup.
1875
1876 If you need to change these settings, go to the Getting backups page for
1877 instructions .
1878
1879 Screen "Start Clonezilla"
1880 ---------------------
1881 I select "Start Clonezilla" and press ENTER.
1882
1883 Screen "Clonezilla"
1884 ---------------------
1885 I select "device-image" and press ENTER.
1886
1887 Screen "Mount clonezilla image directory" [^
1888 ---------------------
1889 In this screen I can select the way the image file directory will be saved.
1890 Available options are local directory, remote directory through ssh,
1891 samba or nfs and skip, to use the previously used directory. More info
1892 about the image file can be found at section "About the Image file".
1893
1894 I select "samba server" and press ENTER.
1895
1896 Screen "Mount Samba Server"
1897 ---------------------
1898 This is where I have to enter the IP address of my Samba server. I type
1899 "10.0.0.2" and press ENTER.
1900
1901 Screen "Mount Samba Server" (second time)
1902 ---------------------
1903 This is where I have to enter the account (user) name on my Samba server. I
1904 type "spiros" and press ENTER.
1905
1906 Screen "Mount Samba Server" (third time)
1907 ---------------------
1908 This is where I have to enter the domain name on my Samba server. I select
1909 "Cancel" and press ENTER, as there is no domain in my LAN. If there
1910 is a domain in your network, you have to type its name (something like
1911 my_company.com) and press ENTER.
1912
1913 Screen "Mount Samba Server" (fourth time)
1914 ---------------------
1915 This is where I have to enter the directory name on my Samba server,
1916 in which the image file will be saved. I type "/data" and press ENTER.
1917
1918 At this point I will be asked for the password for user spiros. I will be
1919 able to continue only after entering it correctly.
1920
1921 Screen "Clonezilla - Opensource Clone System (OCS)"
1922 ---------------------
1923 I select Beginner mode to accept the default backup options. If you select
1924 Expert mode, you can choose the options yourself. More details can be
1925 found here.
1926
1927 Screen "Clonezilla: Select mode"
1928 ---------------------
1929 Here I can select the desired operation. Available options are:
1930
1931 savedisk
1932 Save entire disk to image
1933
1934 restoredisk
1935 Restore entire disk from image
1936
1937 saveparts
1938 Save partition to image
1939
1940 restoreparts
1941 Restore partition from image
1942
1943 recovery-iso-zip
1944 Create an automated restore CD/DVD/USB drive
1945
1946 I select "saveparts" and press ENTER.
1947
1948 Screen "Clonezilla - Opensource Clone System (OCS) | Mode: saveparts"
1949 ---------------------
1950 This is the name of the image file. You can insert anything you like,
1951 as long as it makes sence to you, so that you can distinguish the image
1952 file afterwards.
1953
1954 I insert "win_img" and press ENTER.
1955
1956 Next screen
1957 ---------------------
1958 Here I can select the partition that will be backed up. I select "( )
1959 hda1 ntfs" by pressing SPACE and press ENTER, and ENTER again.
1960
1961 Then a message is displayed asking for confirmation in order to continue. I
1962 just press y, and the backup procedure begins.
1963
1964 Rebooting the system
1965 ****************************************
1966 When the backup is done, I get the following:
1967 (0) Poweroff
1968 (1) Reboot
1969 (2) Enter command line prompt
1970 (3) Start over
1971 [2]
1972 Then I press ENTER and get to the shell. I execute the commands:
1973 sudo su -
1974 cd
1975 umount -a
1976 reboot
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981 Restoring data
1982 ==============================================================================
1983
1984 Intro
1985 ****************************************
1986 Image files are always created for one purpose: restoring the data they
1987 contain. Images can be, for example, a backup solution: as long as hardware
1988 works, the computer can be restored to the state it was when creating the
1989 image. Another usage scenario is changing the hard drive: files can be
1990 copy-pasted from the old drive to the new, but that method doesn't make
1991 the new drive bootable. Disk images do.
1992
1993 This page contains a demonstration of the latter case. On the Getting backups
1994 page, a 500 MB virtual disk containing 160 megabytes of data was copied
1995 to a 2 GB virtual disk which was empty. Now the 500 MB disk is changed to
1996 an empty 2 GB disk (still virtual) and I'll restore the data to that disk.
1997
1998 When creating a disk image, one needs to check that both the source and
1999 target partitions are error free. That's not required when the image is
2000 restored, because restoration process can't damage the disk image. Note,
2001 however, that restoring an image erases all the data in the target
2002 disk/partition.
2003
2004 You also need to check the BIOS settings to be able to boot from
2005 Clonezilla-SysRescCD. Some BIOSes contain a boot menu, others require
2006 editing settings pernamently. Details can be found on the manual of the
2007 motherboard or laptop.
2008
2009 Now let's boot.
2010
2011 [[ important.png ]]
2012 Restore process erases all the data on the target disk/partition.Before
2013 restoring make sure you have backup of all the data on the target
2014 disk/partition, even if the filesystem is corrupted.
2015
2016 [[ info.png ]]
2017 The following pressentation has been made usingClonezilla Live v 1.2.3-27
2018
2019 Restoring data
2020 ****************************************
2021 Clonezilla-SysRescCD starting screen
2022 ---------------------
2023 If you're fine with US keymap and English language (available languages are
2024 English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese [both simplified
2025 and traditional]) or don't mind editing the boot parameters, just select
2026 Clonezilla Live at the starting screen and press ENTER. When the system
2027 comes up, it will load the program that will preform the backup. After
2028 that continue from this step.
2029
2030 If you need to change these settings, select one of the available Clonezilla
2031 Live menu entries, and press TAB. The current boot parameters will be
2032 displayed.
2033
2034 The default parameters for booting Clonezilla Live on a 1024x768 screen,
2035 are the following:
2036
2037 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
2038 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
2039 ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
2040 ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" ocs_live_keymap="NONE" vga=791 nolocales
2041
2042 By deleting the words in red, you instruct Clonezilla Live to ask you the
2043 values of these parameters. When the appropriate changes have been done
2044 (as shown bellow), just press ENTER to boot.
2045
2046 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
2047 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
2048 ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
2049 ocs_lang="" ocs_live_keymap="" vga=791 nolocales
2050
2051 Screen "Choose Language"
2052 ---------------------
2053 [[ backup-00.png ]]
2054 This is where the language can be selected. I select "en_US.UTF-8 English"
2055 and press ENTER.
2056
2057 Screen "Configuring console-data"
2058 ---------------------
2059 [[ backup-01.png ]]
2060 I select "Select keymap from full list" and press ENTER. If you're using
2061 US keymap, the default option "Don't touch keymap" is a better choice.
2062
2063 Screen "Configuring console-data"
2064 ---------------------
2065 [[ backup-02.png ]]
2066 Because I haven't changed my keyboard, I select "pc / qwerty / Finnish /
2067 Standard / Standard". Because you most likely use a different keyboard,
2068 choose the one you use.
2069
2070 Screen "Start Clonezilla"
2071 ---------------------
2072 [[ backup-03.png ]]
2073 I select "Start Clonezilla" and press ENTER.
2074
2075 Screen "Clonezilla"
2076 ---------------------
2077 [[ backup-04.png ]]
2078 I select "device-image" and press ENTER.
2079
2080 Screen "Mount clonezilla image directory"
2081 ---------------------
2082 In this screen I can select the way the image file directory has been saved.
2083 Available options are local directory, remote directory through ssh,
2084 samba or nfs and skip, to use the previously used directory. More info
2085 about the image file can be found at section "About the Image file".
2086
2087 [[ backup-05.png ]]
2088 I select "local_dev" and press ENTER.
2089
2090 Next screen
2091 ---------------------
2092 This is where I choose the location of the image file.
2093 [[ restoration-06.png ]]
2094 I select partition hda1 and press ENTER.
2095
2096 [[ backup-07.png ]]
2097
2098 [[ restoration-08.png ]]
2099 This screen displays the mounting result.
2100 As we can see, /dev/hda1 has been successfully mounted under /tmp/local-dev.
2101
2102 Next Screen
2103 ---------------------
2104 [[ backup-09.png ]]
2105 I select Beginer mode to accept the default restore options. If you select
2106 Expert mode, you can choose the options yourself. More details can be
2107 found here.
2108
2109 Screen "Select mode"
2110 ---------------------
2111 Here I can select the desired operation.
2112
2113 [[ restoration-10.png ]]
2114 I select "restoredisk" and press ENTER.
2115
2116 Next Screen
2117 ---------------------
2118 [[ restoration-11.png ]]
2119 In this screen I select the image folder. This partition contains only
2120 one image.
2121
2122 Next Screen
2123 ---------------------
2124 [[ restoration-12.png ]]
2125 Finally I am asked to select which partition the image will be restored
2126 to. After double-checking the disk doesn't contain anything important,
2127 I press ENTER.
2128
2129 Starting the restoration
2130 ---------------------
2131 [[ restoration-13.png ]]
2132 Then the program will display the command that will be executed and will
2133 ask me to press ENTER.
2134 Then I will be asked to confirm the operation by pressing y and ENTER.
2135
2136 [[ restoration-14.png ]]
2137
2138 [[ important.png ]]
2139 This is the last confirmation Clonezilla Live asks.After this step there
2140 is no coming back.
2141 Then my confirmation is asked one last time. After checking one more time
2142 the disk doesn't contain any important data, I press y and ENTER.
2143
2144 [[ restoration-15.png ]]
2145 After that, the restore process begins
2146
2147 [[ restoration-16.png ]]
2148 and when it's successfully completed, I will be able to reboot the system
2149 by pressing 1 and ENTER.
2150
2151
2152
2153
2154 Creating a Restore DVD - Part 1
2155 ==============================================================================
2156
2157 Intro
2158 ****************************************
2159 Assuming you have used Clonezilla Live to make a backup of your Windows XP
2160 system (partition /dev/hda1), which you have saved as win_img, you will
2161 probably be wondering what to do with it now. Well, one option would be
2162 to keep it to the disk you used to save it in, store the disk, and use it
2163 whenever you need it. Another option would be to create a DVD you can use
2164 to restore this image.
2165
2166 Before, up to Clonezilla-SysRescCD 2.6.0, the process to create an automated
2167 restore DVD required entering command line prompt and writing some commands,
2168 that can be uncomfortable or even difficult for many people.
2169
2170 Later, a TUI option to create an automated recovery disc was added to
2171 Clonezilla Live, and ocs-iso script included in Clonezilla-SysRescCD
2172 3.1.0 and newer has a TUI too. Old command-line options are no longer
2173 supported. This page walks you through the creation of an automated restore
2174 DVD via TUI.
2175
2176 Assuming you have saved your image file win_img in partition hdb4, you
2177 have to boot Clonezilla Live, using Clonezilla-SysRescCD.
2178
2179 [[ info.png ]]
2180 The following pressentation has been made usingClonezilla Live v 1.2.3-27
2181
2182 Creating the disk image
2183 ****************************************
2184 Clonezilla-SysRescCD starting screen
2185 ---------------------
2186 If you're fine with US keymap and English language (available languages are
2187 English, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese and Chinese [both simplified
2188 and traditional]) or don't mind editing the boot parameters, just select
2189 Clonezilla Live at the starting screen and press ENTER. When the system
2190 comes up, it will load the program that will preform the backup. After
2191 that continue from this step.
2192
2193 If you need to change these settings, select one of the available Clonezilla
2194 Live menu entries, and press TAB. The current boot parameters will be
2195 displayed.
2196
2197 The default parameters for booting Clonezilla Live on a 1024x768 screen,
2198 are the following:
2199
2200 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
2201 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
2202 ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
2203 ocs_lang="en_US.UTF-8" ocs_live_keymap="NONE" vga=791 nolocales
2204
2205 By deleting the words in red, you instruct Clonezilla Live to ask you the
2206 values of these parameters. When the appropriate changes have been done
2207 (as shown bellow), just press ENTER to boot.
2208
2209 append initrd=/live/initrd1.img boot=live union=aufs
2210 ocs_live_run="ocs-live-general" ocs_live_extra_param=""
2211 ocs_prerun="/live/image/restorecd/prerun.normal" ocs_live_batch="no"
2212 ocs_lang="" ocs_live_keymap="" vga=791 nolocales
2213
2214 Screen "Choose Language"
2215 ---------------------
2216 [[ backup-00.png ]]
2217 I select "en_US.UTF-8 English" and press ENTER.
2218
2219 Screen "Configuring console-data"
2220 ---------------------
2221 [[ backup-01.png ]]
2222 I select "Select keymap from full list" and press ENTER. If you're using
2223 US keymap, the default option "Don't touch keymap" is a better choice.
2224
2225 Screen "Configuring console-data"
2226 ---------------------
2227 [[ backup-02.png ]]
2228 Because I haven't changed my keyboard, I select "pc / qwerty / Finnish /
2229 Standard / Standard". Because you most likely use a different keyboard,
2230 choose the one you use.
2231
2232 Screen "Start Clonezilla"
2233 ---------------------
2234 [[ backup-03.png ]]
2235 I select "Start Clonezilla" and press ENTER.
2236
2237 Screen "Clonezilla"
2238 ---------------------
2239 [[ backup-04.png ]]
2240 I select "device-image" and press ENTER.
2241
2242 Screen "Mount clonezilla image directory"
2243 ---------------------
2244 In this screen I can select the way the image file directory has been saved.
2245 Available options are local directory, remote directory through ssh,
2246 samba or nfs and skip, to use the previously used directory. More info
2247 about the image file can be found at section "About the Image file".
2248
2249 [[ backup-05.png ]]
2250 I select "local_dev" and press ENTER.
2251
2252 Next screen
2253 ---------------------
2254 This is where I choose the location of the image file.
2255 [[ restore-06.png ]]
2256 I select partition hda1 and press ENTER.
2257
2258 [[ backup-07.png ]]
2259 and then ENTER again.
2260
2261 [[ restore-08.png ]]
2262 This screen displays the mounting result.
2263 As we can see, /dev/hda1 has been successfully mounted under /tmp/local-dev.
2264
2265 Next Screen
2266 ---------------------
2267 [[ backup-09.png ]]
2268 I select Beginer mode to accept the default restore options, which are
2269 used if the recovery disk is ever used. If you select Expert mode, you
2270 can choose the options yourself. More details can be found here.
2271
2272 Screen "Clonezilla: Select mode"
2273 ---------------------
2274 Here I can select the desired operation.
2275
2276 [[ restore-10.png ]]
2277 I select "recovery-iso-zip" and press ENTER.
2278
2279 Next Screen
2280 ---------------------
2281 [[ restore-11.png ]]
2282 In this screen I select the image folder. This partition contains only
2283 one image.
2284
2285 Next Screen
2286 ---------------------
2287 [[ restore-12.png ]]
2288 Now I am asked to select which disk the image will be restored to, if the
2289 recovery disc is used. Because this image is a backup, I choose the same
2290 disk where the original data resides. If you're upgrading your hard drive,
2291 choose the new drive.
2292
2293 Next Screen
2294 ---------------------
2295 [[ restore-13.png ]]
2296 In this screen I can select the language that the recovery disc uses. I
2297 choose "en_US.UTF-8".
2298
2299 Next Screen
2300 ---------------------
2301 [[ restore-14.png ]]
2302 This screen allows me to select the keymap that the recovery disc
2303 uses. Unfortunately, changing the keymap requires knowing where the keymap
2304 file resides in Debian GNU/Linux. Because I don't know it, I just press
2305 ENTER to accept US keymap.
2306
2307 Next Screen
2308 ---------------------
2309 [[ restore-15.png ]]
2310 I select "iso" to create a CD/DVD disk image which I can burn to a recordable
2311 CD/DVD disc. The good thing about recordable discs is that overwriting
2312 the backup by accident is impossible. The "zip" option creates a ZIP file
2313 which can be used to create a bootable pendrive or external hard drive.
2314
2315 [[ restore-16.png ]]
2316 Then the program will display the command that will be executed and will
2317 ask me to press ENTER.
2318
2319 [[ cust-menu-01.png ]]
2320 Due to limitations of mkisofs, the script can't create a ISO file which
2321 is over 4,5 gigabytes in size. It causes problems if the size of your
2322 image is over 4,4 gigabytes. Clonezilla-SysRescCD contains a workaround
2323 that creates a ISO file that contains no image, so you can add the image
2324 manually later. This dialog asks if you want to do so. Note that if you
2325 see this dialog, you most likely need a dual layer DVD+R or Blu-ray disc
2326 to burn the image. Growisofs doesn't support multisession burning on dual
2327 layer DVD-R discs, so such disc can't be used either.
2328
2329 Screen "Customization section"
2330 ---------------------
2331 [[ cust-menu-02.png ]]
2332 Now I am asked if I want to customize the boot menu of the disc. I answer
2333 "Yes". If you don't want to customize the menu, continue from this step.
2334
2335 Screen "DVD Title"
2336 ---------------------
2337 [[ cust-menu-03.png ]]
2338 In this screen I select the title of the boot menu. I type "Home PC
2339 Restore DVD".
2340
2341 Screen "Menu Items Caption"
2342 ---------------------
2343 [[ cust-menu-04.png ]]
2344 This screen allows me to select the caption for all menu items. I enter
2345 "Restore Win XP".
2346
2347 Screen "Boot delay"
2348 ---------------------
2349 [[ cust-menu-05.png ]]
2350 I press ENTER to accept the default delay of 30 seconds. It means that
2351 when a computer is booted from the restore disc, it waits 30 seconds
2352 before choosing the default option automatically. You may want to reduce
2353 this delay if, for example, your keyboard doesn't work in boot menu and
2354 you must wait until the delay ends.
2355
2356 Screen "Default Boot Item"
2357 ---------------------
2358 [[ cust-menu-06.png ]]
2359 In this screen I can select the default option of the menu. Selecting one
2360 of the options that restore the image makes using the disc even easier,
2361 but also raises the risk that the image is restored accidentally. Another
2362 reason to select such option may be that your keyboard doesn't work in
2363 boot menu, preventing you from choosing any non-default option. I select
2364 the first option that restores the image using pixel dimensions of 1024*768.
2365
2366 Screen "Boot Screen Image"
2367 ---------------------
2368 [[ cust-menu-07.png ]]
2369 This screen allows me to select the background picture of the menu. Note
2370 that the picture must be in the same partition that contains the disk
2371 image, if you don't mind entering command line and mounting the right
2372 partition manually. I choose picture mysplash.png in the root of the
2373 partition. Because the partition has been mounted in /home/partimag,
2374 the full path of the picture is /home/partimag/mysplash.png.
2375
2376 Screen "ISO Label"
2377 ---------------------
2378 [[ cust-menu-08.png ]]
2379 In this screen I can select the volume label of the disc. Volume label is
2380 the name of the disc you may see in various situations, for example in the
2381 notification you see when you insert the disc into your DVD writer. I type
2382 "Backup_52-2009_hdb".
2383
2384 Screen "Publisher ID"
2385 ---------------------
2386 [[ cust-menu-09.png ]]
2387 This is where I choose the publisher ID of the ISO file
2388 and the disc. Publisher ID means the person or company who
2389 created the disc. However, at least in GNU/Linux reading
2390 the publisher ID is, strictly speaking, a challenge. Here {{
2391 http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/getting-volume-information-from-cds-iso- }}
2392 are instructions to read the publisher ID of a ISO file. I didn't find
2393 any working instructions to read the ID from the disc.
2394
2395 Starting the creation of the disk image
2396 ---------------------
2397 [[ restore-17.png ]]
2398 After that, creation of the disk image begins. Note that no confirmation
2399 is asked it the disk image is small enough to fit to a CD.
2400
2401 [[ cust-menu-10.png ]]
2402
2403 If you have above enabled the workaround to create a ISO file without any
2404 image, you get the info screen, which explains the actions to be taken
2405 in order to burn the ISO file and add the iamge file to the DVD. A script
2406 file is also saved as /tmp/burnISO.
2407
2408 [[ restore-18.png ]]
2409 When the disk image is successfully created, I must reboot in order to
2410 burn the disc because my DVD burner is still in use. Clonezilla Live can
2411 be loaded into computer memory during boot in order to be able to burn
2412 disc(s) within it. However, due to a known bug, the disk image can't
2413 be created if Clonezilla Live has been loaded into memory. (source {{
2414 http://free.nchc.org.tw/clonezilla-live/stable/Known-issues-Clonezilla-live.txt
2415 }}) Thus, I press 1 and ENTER to reboot to another operating system and
2416 burn the image using graphical burning program. For instructions, follow
2417 one of these links:
2418
2419 If the ISO file contains the disk image
2420 If the ISO file contains no image
2421 If you've created a ZIP file
2422
2423
2424
2425
2426 Creating a Restore DVD - Part 2
2427 ==============================================================================
2428
2429 What to do with the disk image
2430 ****************************************
2431 The previous page contains partial instructions to create an automated
2432 recovery DVD. They're partial because they only tell how the disk image
2433 can be created, not what one should do with the image. Of course, partial
2434 instructions are not enough, but don't worry - this page is the other part.
2435
2436 Earlier versions of Clonezilla Live allowed creating the DVD without
2437 reboot, but it's no longer possible due to a known bug. The disk image
2438 can't be created if Clonezilla Live has been loaded into memory (source {{
2439 http://free.nchc.org.tw/clonezilla-live/stable/Known-issues-Clonezilla-live.txt
2440 }}) and the image can't be burned to disc if Clonezilla Live isn't in
2441 memory. And if the computer must be rebooted anyway, it's a good idea to
2442 use one's favorite operating system and a graphical burning program for
2443 burning the disc. Doing so also allows reading these instructions while
2444 burning the disc.
2445
2446 This page walks through burning the disc by using ImgBurn and K3b. The
2447 instructions can be adapted for many other burning programs as well. If
2448 your burning program is too different, download either of the programs
2449 mentioned - they both can be downloaded for free.
2450
2451 In addition to a DVD, bootable pendrive or external hard drive can be
2452 created as well. If you want to do so, follow instructions below.
2453
2454 Before following these instructions, insert a writable DVD or Blu-ray disc
2455 to your burner.
2456
2457 Burning the disc
2458 ****************************************
2459 If the ISO file contains the disk image
2460 ---------------------
2461 > Using ImgBurn
2462
2463 ImgBurn {{ http://www.imgburn.com/ }} is a lightweight but very feature-rich
2464 disc burning program. It only requires about two megabytes disk space
2465 and contains a lot of settings. ImgBurn is closed-source freeware and -
2466 unfortunately - Windows-only software. I (Jyrki) personally use ImgBurn
2467 when burning discs within Windows.
2468
2469 Launch ImgBurn and press Write image file to disc. Select the disk image
2470 you just created.
2471
2472 At the settings window, keep Test Mode disabled. I also recommend
2473 keeping the Verify option enabled. Verifying the integrity of the disc
2474 after burning requires time and doesn't prevent the disc from becoming a
2475 so-called coaster, but it allows you to know immediately if the burning
2476 attempt failed, so you can try burning the disc again.
2477
2478 Keep the number of copies as 1 (or increase it, if you really
2479 want multiple copies of the disc). Use your best judgment while
2480 choosing the burning speed: according to this forum thread {{
2481 http://club.myce.com/f33/high-speed-vs-low-speed-burning-69698/ }} lowering
2482 the burning speed gives very mixed results in quality. I personally use
2483 ¾ of the maximum speed of the disc, for example 12x on a disc rated 16x.
2484
2485 After choosing the settings, press the big picture at the bottom-left of
2486 the window. Don't do anything that requires much computer resources while
2487 burning, because doing so increases the likelihood of burning failure.
2488
2489 That's it. You own now an automated recovery disc.
2490
2491 > Using K3b
2492
2493 K3b (KDE Burn Baby Burn) is the disc burning program included in KDE
2494 Software Compilation. It comes with most, if not all, KDE-based GNU/Linux
2495 distributions. It can also be installed on other distributions, but I
2496 recommend against doing so - K3b requires KDE base packages to be installed,
2497 and it doesn't make much sense to install KDE base only for K3b.
2498
2499 [[ k3b-00.png ]]
2500 I launch K3b and navigate to the folder where the disk image resides.
2501
2502 [[ k3b-01.png ]]
2503 I double-click the file clonezilla-live-Backup_5-2010_hda.iso.
2504
2505 [[ k3b-02.png ]]
2506 This window allows me to choose burning settings. I don't touch Image Type or
2507 Burn Medium, because they're auto-detected anyway. The maximum burning speed
2508 allowed by the disc is 16x, so I choose speed 12x. According to this forum
2509 thread {{ http://club.myce.com/f33/high-speed-vs-low-speed-burning-69698/
2510 }} low burning speed can decrease burning quality, so I always use speed
2511 near the maximum speed of the disc.
2512
2513 I keep Writing Mode as Auto and number of copies as 1. I also keep the
2514 Simulate option disabled and enable the Verify written data option. The
2515 latter allows me to notice immediately if the burning attempt failed, so
2516 I can try burning the disc again, rather than owning a so-called coaster
2517 and relying on it if something happens to my data...
2518
2519 [[ k3b-03.png ]]
2520 I click Start and the burning process begins.
2521
2522 [[ k3b-04.png ]]
2523 Because I enabled the Verify written data option, K3b starts verifying
2524 the integrity of the disc right after burning.
2525
2526 [[ k3b-05.png ]]
2527 The burning attempt succeeded.
2528
2529 If the ISO file contains no image
2530 ---------------------
2531 If you have enabled the workaround to create a ISO file that contains
2532 no disk image (required if the size of the image is over 4,4 gigabytes),
2533 things become much more problematic. The ISO file and the image can't be
2534 burned to the disc simultaneously, they must be written one-by-one. That
2535 requires two burning sessions: the first for writing the ISO file to the
2536 disc and the second for adding the disk image. Many burning programs don't
2537 even support multisession burning at all. About the programs I've mentioned
2538 in this page: K3b supports multisession burning, ImgBurn doesn't.
2539
2540 I didn't find any instructions for adding an additional file to a
2541 spesific directory by using K3b. Actually, I don't even know if that's
2542 possible at all. Thus, I recommend using growisofs for burning the disc
2543 if the workaround has been enabled, because growisofs allows adding
2544 any file to any directory. However, there's one more limitation:
2545 growisofs doesn't support multisession burning on dual layer DVD-R
2546 discs, so you must use dual layer DVD+R or Blu-ray disc. (source {{
2547 http://fy.chalmers.se/~appro/linux/DVD+RW/-RW/#nomultisess }})
2548
2549 Growisofs is a command-line program and a part of dvd+rw-tools that is
2550 installed on most GNU/Linux distributions. Dvd+rw-tools is Linux-only
2551 software, so if you use a competing operating system, you must boot into
2552 SystemRescueCD (graphical mode is not needed) in order to burn the disc.
2553
2554 Open terminal and mount the partition that contains the image. The commands
2555 below must be run as root.
2556
2557 mkdir /media/usb
2558 mount /dev/sdc1 /media/usb
2559
2560 Note: How a command can be run as root depends on the GNU/Linux distribution
2561 you use. If it's Ubuntu or a distro based on it, simply put "sudo" above the
2562 command. For example, the latter of the above commands can be executed by
2563 typing "sudo mount /dev/sdc1 /media/usb". If you're using SystemRescueCD,
2564 all commands are run as root, so you don't need to add any prefix to
2565 the commands.
2566
2567 Note: In the command replace /dev/sdc1 with the partition where the disk
2568 image resides. It's the same partition you mounted as /home/partimag when
2569 creating the image.
2570
2571 Go to root of the partition:
2572
2573 cd /media/usb
2574
2575 Burn the ISO file to the disc:
2576
2577 growisofs -Z /dev/dvd=clonezilla-live-Backup_5-2010_hdb.iso
2578
2579 Note: In the last command I have assumed your ISO file is
2580 clonezilla-live-Backup_5-2010_hdb.iso. You will have to replace this with
2581 the actual name of the file.
2582
2583 Note: If your computer has multiple DVD drives, replace /dev/dvd with the
2584 name of your DVD writer.
2585
2586 The disc must be ejected because it's the only known way to force the
2587 drive to reread the disc. Do it:
2588
2589 eject /dev/dvd
2590
2591 Note: If your drive can't reload the disc, insert the disc back right
2592 after ejecting it.
2593
2594 Finally, add the image file to the disc:
2595
2596 growisofs -M /dev/dvd -R -J -V "Backup_5-2010_hdb" --publisher "Your Name"
2597 -graft-points /Backup_5-2010_hdb/=/media/usb/Backup_5-2010_hdb
2598
2599 Note: In the command replace Your Name with anything you want to be the
2600 publisher ID of the disc. If you don't want the disc to have any publisher
2601 ID, run this command instead:
2602
2603 growisofs -M /dev/dvd -R -J -V "Backup_5-2010_hdb" -graft-points
2604 /Backup_5-2010_hdb/=/media/usb/Backup_5-2010_hdb
2605
2606 [[ restore-20.png ]]
2607
2608 ZIP file instructions
2609 ****************************************
2610 Often the image file is way too big to fit to even 8 GB DVD. Some people may
2611 also want to be able to overwrite the backup when it becomes outdated. In
2612 addition, netbooks don't have optical drives at all.
2613
2614 One option is using recovery thumb drive or external hard drive instead
2615 of DVD. If the external HD is big enough, the disk image can be even over
2616 a terabyte in size. Recovery USB drive can also be used on netbooks and
2617 overwritten at will.
2618
2619 Clonezilla Live allows creating a ZIP file instead of disk image. If you
2620 want to do so, follow this step-by-step guide.
2621
2622 Before creating the disk image, make sure it is split to pieces of four
2623 gigabytes or less. It is split automatically if you use Beginner mode,
2624 and if you use Expert mode, you should already know how the splitting
2625 setting can be changed.
2626
2627 Using GNU/Linux
2628 ---------------------
2629 After creating the disk image and booting into GNU/Linux, make sure that the
2630 filesystem of the partition where you plan to put the disk image is FAT32. If
2631 you don't know the filesystem, open terminal and run this command as root:
2632
2633 fdisk -l /dev/sdc
2634
2635 Note: How a command can be run as root depends on the GNU/Linux distribution
2636 you use. If it's Ubuntu or a distro based on it, simply put "sudo" above
2637 the command. For example, the above command can be executed by typing
2638 "sudo fdisk -l /dev/sdc"
2639
2640 Note: In the command replace /dev/sdc with the name of your USB disk.
2641
2642 Note: The l in parameter -l is lowercase L, not number 1.
2643
2644 If your disk doesn't contain any FAT32 partition, but it contains a
2645 partition which is big enough and doesn't contain any important data,
2646 format the partition as FAT32. The command below needs root access too.
2647
2648 [[ important.png ]]
2649 The command below erases all the data on the target partition.Make sure
2650 you don't format a wrong partition by accident.
2651
2652 mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sdc1
2653
2654 After formatting the partition or noticing that it was already FAT32,
2655 extract the ZIP archive to the root of the partition. Also these commands
2656 need root rights.
2657
2658 mount /dev/sdc1 /media/usb
2659 unzip clonezilla-live-Backup_5-2010_hdb.zip -d /media/usb/
2660
2661 Note: In the last command I have assumed your image file is
2662 clonezilla-live-Backup_5-2010_hdb.zip. You will have to replace this with
2663 the actual name of the file.
2664
2665 ZIP package contains a script to make the USB drive bootable. Let's run
2666 it. The latter of these commands needs root access.
2667
2668 [[ important.png ]]
2669 The latter of the commands below replaces theexisting bootloader of the
2670 target disk, if there is one.Make sure you don't select a wrong disk
2671 by accident.
2672
2673 cd /media/usb/utils/linux
2674 ./makeboot.sh /dev/sdc1
2675
2676 That's all. Your thumb drive or external hard drive should be now an
2677 automatic recovery disk.
2678
2679 Using Windows
2680 ---------------------
2681 If the Windows version you use is not Vista or 7, you need to be logged in
2682 as administrator. If you're not, but you have access to an admin account,
2683 log out and then log again in as admin.
2684
2685 If you don't have admin rights at all, boot into SystemRescueCD (you don't
2686 need graphical mode this time) and follow the instructions for GNU/Linux. In
2687 SystemRescueCD all commands are run as root, so you don't need to add any
2688 prefix to the commands.
2689
2690 If you normally use Windows, you maybe don't know the name of your USB
2691 disk in GNU/Linux. If that's the case, don't specify any disk in the first
2692 command. It causes fdisk to tell about all disks in the computer and you
2693 should be able to identify both the right disk and the right partition.
2694
2695 After creating the disk image and booting into Windows, make sure that
2696 the filesystem of the partition where you plan to put the disk image is
2697 FAT32. If you don't know the filesystem, open My Computer, right-click the
2698 partition and select Properties. Then read the "File system" column. If
2699 there reads anything but FAT32, check other partitions of the disk too,
2700 if the disk contains multiple partitions. If you have a suitable FAT32
2701 partition, continue from this step.
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.
2706
2707 [[ important.png ]]
2708 Formatting erases all the data on the target partition.Make sure the
2709 partition contains nothing important.
2710
2711 Right-click the partition and select Format.... If the Windows version
2712 you use is Vista or 7, an UAC prompt asks for admin password. Enter it.
2713
2714 At the format window, choose the FAT32 filesystem. You can enter any volume
2715 label (it means the name of the partition you can see next to the partition
2716 letter) and enable Quick Format if you're in a hurry. If Quick Format is
2717 disabled, Windows checks if the partition is physically OK after formatting
2718 it. Enabling Quick Format makes the formatting process many times faster
2719 and, contrary to popular belief, hardly ever causes any harm.
2720
2721 After formatting the partition or noticing that it was already FAT32, extract
2722 the ZIP archive to the root of the partition. Navigate to the folder where
2723 you've saved the ZIP file and right-click it. Choose Extract all..., and when
2724 you're asked for location where the archive is extracted, enter the letter
2725 of the partition, for example H:\. Do NOT choose any folder in the partition!
2726
2727 After that, browse to the folder X:\utils\win32, where X: is the letter
2728 of the partition. Then, double-click makeboot.bat. If the Windows version
2729 you use is Vista or 7, another UAC prompt appears. Enter the password
2730 again. Then just follow the prompts to make the USB drive bootable.
2731
2732 Now you're done. Your thumb drive or external hard drive should be an
2733 automatic recovery disk.
2734
2735
2736
2737
2738 Restoring to a different location
2739 ==============================================================================
2740
2741 Intro
2742 ****************************************
2743 In the past restoring to a different location was not supported by
2744 Clonezilla Live at all. Because of that, a script called reloc-img was
2745 added to Clonezilla-SysRescCD, which would help the user perform this task.
2746
2747 Recent versions of Clonezilla Live partly support restoring to a
2748 different location, so the reloc-img script is obsolete, and has been
2749 removed. Clonezilla Live now supports:
2750
2751 * Relocation of a disk image (restoring a whole disk)
2752 * Relocation of a partition image (restoring a partition)
2753
2754 Clonezilla Live does not support:
2755
2756 * Relocation of a single partition contained into a disk image.
2757
2758 Imagine you have a disk backup image named hda-2009-02-02. The image
2759 contains three partitions, hda1 (operating system), hda2 (user data)
2760 and hda3 (other data).
2761
2762 You want to restore your other data partition (hda3), to a different system
2763 (partition sdb2) but there is no way to restore (extract) a single partition
2764 from a disk image - you can only restore the whole disk.
2765
2766 In order to address this situation, two new scripts have been written for
2767 Clonezilla-SysRescCD: imginfo and imgconvert
2768
2769 Script imginfo
2770 ****************************************
2771 The script will be used to print info about existing image files.
2772
2773 Its help screen is:
2774
2775 # imginfo -h
2776 Clonezilla Live Image Information
2777 imginfo v. 0.1 - (C) 2009 S. Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>
2778
2779 Usage: imginfo <options> <directory>
2780
2781 Available options:
2782 s Search in sub-directories too
2783 i [name] Pring info for image [name]
2784 v Print version info and exit
2785 h Print this screen and exit
2786
2787 Script imgconvert
2788 ****************************************
2789 The script will be used to convert an existing disk image file to a new
2790 partition image file.
2791
2792 imgconvert can create two type of images:
2793
2794 * Temporary image
2795 This type of image is created by linking the data files of the existing
2796 disk image to the new partition image. This means that the original image
2797 must be present for the new image to be used. This is the default image
2798 type created by imgconvert.
2799
2800 * Permanent image
2801 This type of image is created by copying the data files from the existing
2802 disk image to the new partition image. This means that the original image is
2803 not needed in order to use the new one. Permenant image files are created
2804 using the command line parameter -p.
2805
2806 Its help screen is:
2807
2808 # imgconvert -h
2809 Clonezilla Live Image Conversion
2810 imgconvert v. 0.1 - (C) 2009 S. Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>
2811
2812 Usage: imgconvert <options> [image] [partition] <new partition>
2813
2814 Parameters are:
2815 [image] Disk image to be converted to partition image
2816 [partition] Partition name to convert. It must be a valid device name
2817
2818 Available options:
2819 o [image] Save new imag as [image]
2820 p Save new partition instead of making a link to the old one
2821 v Print version info and exit
2822 h Print this screen and exit
2823
2824 Using the scripts
2825 ****************************************
2826 Restoring to a partition
2827 ---------------------
2828 After booting into Clonezilla Live, I select
2829
2830 Enter_shell Enter command line prompt
2831
2832 when the menu is displayed and then I press 2 to exit to the shell.
2833
2834 At this point I will mount my images partition (in this example /dev/sdc4),
2835 and use script imginfo to get info about my image files.
2836
2837 $ sudo su -
2838 # mount /dev/sdc4 /home/partimag
2839 # cd /home/partimag
2840 # imginfo
2841 Image files found in: /home/partimag
2842 Image: usb250-img, disk: sda, size: 259MB, parts: 1
2843 part: sda4, size: 247.00MB, type: FAT16
2844 Image: sys-bck, disk: hda, size: 320.0GB, parts: 3
2845 part: hda1, size: 22.36GB, type: Linux
2846 part: hda2, size: 39.06GB, type: Linux
2847 part: hda3, size: 233.87GB, type: Linux
2848
2849 As you can see there are two disk images under /home/partimag: usb250-img
2850 and sys-bck.
2851
2852 sys-bck is a backup of my old system, which had three partitions. What
2853 I need to do now is "copy" the hda3 partition to my current system, by
2854 transfering its data to partition sdb2.
2855
2856 The way to proceed is:
2857
2858 * Create a new partition image (containing hda3's data) based on the
2859 existing disk image file, by executing the command:
2860
2861 # imgconvert sys-bck hda3 sdb2
2862 Clonezilla Live Image Conversion
2863 imgconvert v. 0.1 - (C) 2009 S. Georgaras
2864
2865 Determining input image
2866 Input image: "/home/partimag/sys-bck"
2867 Validating image... ok
2868 Determining input partition
2869 Input partition: "hda3"
2870 Validating input partition... ok
2871 Determining output image
2872 Output image: "/home/partimag/sys-bck-cnv"
2873 Validating output image... ok
2874 Checking permissions... ok
2875 Determining output partition
2876 Output partition: "sda2"
2877 Validating output partition... ok
2878 Creating output image: /home/partimag/sys-bck-cnv
2879 Linking files... done
2880 Fixing info files... done
2881
2882 This command will create a temporary partition image file (automatically
2883 named sys-bck-cnv), which contains sdb2 only, as you can see by executing:
2884
2885 # imginfo -i sys-bck-cnv
2886 Image: sys-bck-cnv, part: sdb2, size: 233.87GB, type: Linux
2887
2888 * Restart Clonezilla Live by pressing Control-D twice.
2889
2890 * Restore the new image file into sdb2, by selecting
2891
2892 Screen 1: Start_Clonezilla Start Clonezilla
2893
2894 Screen 2: device-image disk/partition to/from image
2895
2896 Screen 3: skip use existing /home/partimag
2897
2898 Screen 4: Beginer / Expert
2899
2900 Screen 5: restoreparts
2901 Restore_an_image_to_local_partition
2902
2903 and continue as usual to restore the partition.
2904
2905 Converting image files
2906 ---------------------
2907 # imgconvert -p -o other_data sys-bck hda3 sdb2
2908 Clonezilla Live Image Conversion
2909 imgconvert v. 0.1 - (C) 2009 S. Georgaras
2910
2911 Determining input image
2912 Input image: "/home/partimag/sys-bck"
2913 Validating image... ok
2914 Determining input partition
2915 Input partition: "hda3"
2916 Validating input partition... ok
2917 Determining output image
2918 Output image: "/home/partimag/other_data"
2919 Validating output image... ok
2920 Checking permissions... ok
2921 Determining output partition
2922 Output partition: "sda2"
2923 Validating output partition... ok
2924 Creating output image: /home/partimag/other_data
2925 Copying files... done
2926 Fixing info files... done
2927
2928 # imginfo -i other_data
2929 Image: other_data, part: sdb2, size: 233.87GB, type: Linux
2930
2931 # ls -la sys-bck
2932 total 1111972
2933 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2007-11-22 03:21 .
2934 drwxr-xr-x. 34 root root 4096 2009-04-06 21:28 ..
2935 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4 2007-11-20 20:33 disk
2936 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1081716736 2007-11-20 20:32 hda1.aa
2937 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 45453312 2007-11-20 20:33 hda2.aa
2938 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10317824 2007-11-20 20:33 hda3.aa
2939 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37 2007-11-21 18:56 hda-chs.sf
2940 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37 2007-11-21 18:50 hda-chs.sf.orig
2941 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 512 2007-11-20 20:31 hda-mbr
2942 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 259 2007-11-21 18:59 hda-pt.sf
2943 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 259 2007-11-21 18:50 hda-pt.sf.orig
2944 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 15 2007-11-20 20:33 parts
2945 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 17 2007-11-20 20:33 swappt-hda4.info
2946 #
2947 #
2948 # ls -la other_data
2949 total 24
2950 drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2009-04-06 21:27 .
2951 drwxr-xr-x. 35 root root 4096 2009-04-06 21:27 ..
2952 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5 2009-04-06 21:27 parts
2953 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10317824 2009-04-06 21:27 sdb2.aa
2954 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 37 2009-04-06 21:27 sdb-chs.sf
2955 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 106 2009-04-06 21:27 sdb-pt.sf
2956
2957 Booting a restored Linux system
2958 ****************************************
2959 A Linux system that has been restored to a new disk/partition, is usually
2960 not ready to be booted right after the restoration procedure is finished.
2961
2962 There are two more steps that you may have to take:
2963
2964 * Fix /etc/fstab
2965 * Reinstall GRUB.
2966 I will assume GRUB is your boot manager, as it is the usual case nowadays.
2967
2968 For this example I will assume that you have restored a Linux system
2969 (that used to be in sdb), to a new disk (hda), and that it contains three
2970 partitions, / (the root partition), /home (user's partition) and a swap
2971 partition. You must be really careful here, as the name of the new disk
2972 depends on the system to be booted. If it uses one of the newest Linux
2973 kernels (using the libata disk driver), ALL your disks will be recognised
2974 as SCSI. More info: "Identifying devices in Linux" section "SCSI disks
2975 when there are none!!!".
2976
2977 This is what we have:
2978
2979 root partition home partition swap partition
2980 Old system /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdb2 /dev/sdb3
2981 New system /dev/hda1 /dev/hda2 /dev/hda3
2982
2983 Fixing /etc/fstab
2984 ---------------------
2985 Since we are still in Clonezilla Live, right after the restore procedure
2986 has finished, we will use it to mount our restored root partition, and
2987 edit its /etc/fstab. We issue the commands:
2988
2989 mkdir /new-root
2990 mount /dev/hda1 /new-root
2991 vi /new-root/etc/fstab
2992
2993 The contents of /etc/fstab could be something like
2994
2995 /dev/sdb1 / reiserfs acl,user_xattr 1 1
2996 /dev/sdb2 /home reiserfs defaults 1 2
2997 /dev/sdb3 swap swap defaults 0 0
2998
2999 and we have to change ti to
3000
3001 /dev/hda1 / reiserfs acl,user_xattr 1 1
3002 /dev/hda2 /home reiserfs defaults 1 2
3003 /dev/hda3 swap swap defaults 0 0
3004
3005 Finally, we unmount the partition, and we are ready to reboot
3006
3007 umount /new-root
3008 reboot
3009
3010 Reinstalling GRUB
3011 ---------------------
3012 When Clonezilla-SysRescCD menu appears, we select Tools > Super Grub Disk
3013
3014 Then we select Super Grub Disk > Super Grub Disk (WITH HELP) > English
3015 Super Grub Disk > Gnu/Linux > Fix Boot of Gnu/Linux (GRUB). From this
3016 entry we will be able to reinstall GRUB to our hard disk.
3017
3018 You may also want to have a look at Super Grub Disk "documentation {{
3019 http://www.supergrubdisk.org/wiki/SuperGrubDiskDocumentation }}".
3020
3021
3022
3023
3024 Fixing boot problems
3025 ==============================================================================
3026
3027 Intro
3028 ****************************************
3029 Boot problems are probably the most feared computer problems. Without an
3030 operating system you can't access your data, get the work done or even
3031 google for help. That's why it's often a good idea to have an alternative
3032 operating system available for searching help if the main OS doesn't
3033 work. Also a copy of Clonezilla-SysRescCD can be invaluable help.
3034
3035 Actually, the initial reason why I (Jyrki) installed GNU/Linux at all was
3036 that I wanted to be able to fix Windows boot problems if they occur. I
3037 installed both GNU/Linux and GRUB to my external hard drive, completely
3038 separating operating systems. Even if either bootloader stopped working,
3039 I'd still be able to boot one of my OSes.
3040
3041 But such configuration is not easy to create, and when I installed GNU/Linux,
3042 I knew very little about it. If I didn't read the instructions I found
3043 here and there very carefully, I probably would have done a common mistake:
3044 installing GRUB to my internal hard drive. Such mistake would have caused
3045 two problems:
3046
3047 * Inability to boot GNU/Linux at any computer expect the one which was
3048 used for installing
3049 * Inability to boot Windows when the external drive isn't connected
3050
3051 In this page, I simulate that situation in a virtual machine and fix
3052 both problems.
3053
3054 Symptoms
3055 ****************************************
3056 What happens when I try to boot the external hard drive on another computer
3057 depends on the BIOS of the computer. For example, on my computer I see a
3058 Black Screen of Death {{ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Screen_of_Death
3059 }} when I try booting from a disk with empty Master Boot Record. Other
3060 BIOSes may boot the local operating system or display an error message
3061 (for example "Disk boot failure", "Missing operating system" or "Operating
3062 system not found").
3063
3064 The other problem is very easy to determine. When external drive is
3065 disconnected and I try to boot, I'll see this:
3066
3067 [[ error-21.png ]]
3068
3069 Goals
3070 ****************************************
3071 Because I still want to separate my operating systems completely,
3072 I try to restore NTLDR to the Master Boot Record of the internal disk,
3073 if possible. If that's not possible, I install there another bootloader
3074 that chainloads Windows.
3075
3076 I could reinstall GNU/Linux completely and make sure that the GRUB is
3077 installed to the right disk this time, but it's not a good idea if I only
3078 need to overwrite the first 446 bytes (yes, bytes, not kilo- or megabytes)
3079 of the disk. So, I only install GRUB to the external disk, by using Super
3080 Grub Disk.
3081
3082 Your problem (if you have one at all) most likely is different, but goals
3083 are often the same.
3084
3085 You need to restore NTLDR if you...
3086
3087 * ...just installed GNU/Linux, but the boot menu doesn't mention Windows
3088 at all. You're not willing to learn how Windows can be added to the boot
3089 menu, you just need to make your computer to boot Windows again right now.
3090 * ...cloned your Windows partition to your brand new computer but didn't
3091 clone the Master Boot Record.
3092 * ...are about to uninstall GNU/Linux and aren't willing to use GRUB as
3093 your bootloader.
3094
3095 You need to install GRUB if you...
3096
3097 * ...just installed Windows and want to make GNU/Linux bootable again.
3098 * ...cloned your GNU/Linux partition to your brand new computer but didn't
3099 clone the Master Boot Record.
3100 * ...just installed GNU/Linux but installed GRUB to a non-first hard drive
3101 by accident. (The symptom is that your computer still boots to the operating
3102 system you had installed already.)
3103
3104 [[ info.png ]]
3105 The following pressentation has been made usingSuper Grub Disk v0.9799
3106
3107 Restoring NTLDR
3108 ****************************************
3109 There are a lot of ways to restore NTLDR. However, sometimes there is no
3110 legal way to restore it, and I'm NOT telling about the illegal ones. The
3111 last resort is using syslinux to chainload Windows; there is usually no
3112 way to notice that syslinux is used instead of NTLDR.
3113
3114 I've listed here the most important options in order I'd use them.
3115
3116 Restoring NTLDR from a backup
3117 ---------------------
3118 If you've been smart enough to use Clonezilla Live to create a disk image
3119 of your first hard drive, it's very easy to restore NTLDR.
3120
3121 Your NTLDR is safe in a file called hda-mbr or sda-mbr. You can use dd to
3122 overwrite your existing Master Boot Record.
3123
3124 [[ important.png ]]
3125 Don't restore all 512 bytes of your Master Boot Record.The MBR contains
3126 your partition table and restoring it afterrepartitioning your disk erases
3127 all the data on the disk.
3128
3129 If you normally use GNU/Linux, open terminal and run these commands as root:
3130
3131 mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt/usb
3132 dd if=/mnt/usb/Backup/sda-mbr of=/dev/sda bs=446 count=1
3133
3134 Note: In the commands I have assumed that your first hard drive is /dev/sda
3135 and that your disk image resides in the folder Backup in partition
3136 /dev/sdc1. You will have to replace them with the correct pieces of
3137 information.
3138
3139 Note: How a command can be run as root depends on the GNU/Linux distribution
3140 you use. If it's Ubuntu or a distro based on it, simply put "sudo" above
3141 the command. For example, the latter of the above commands can be executed
3142 by typing "sudo dd if=/mnt/usb/Backup/sda-mbr of=/dev/sda bs=446 count=1"
3143
3144 If you normally use another operating system, boot into SystemRescueCD and
3145 run the above commands. In SystemRescueCD all commands are run as root,
3146 so you don't need to add any prefix to the commands.
3147
3148 If you don't know the name of the partition, run this command as root:
3149
3150 fdisk -l
3151
3152 It tells how many hard drives you have, how many partitions they contain
3153 and what filesystems the partitions use. If you know, for example, that
3154 the disk where you've saved the disk image contains only one partition,
3155 look for such disks.
3156
3157 Using Bootrec.exe (Windows Vista/7 only)
3158 ---------------------
3159 You need Windows Vista/7 install disc for this. If you don't have one (for
3160 example, if you bought a laptop that was bundled with preinstalled Windows
3161 and manufacturer's recovery disc), download a recovery disc from here.
3162
3163 Then boot from the disc. After selecting language, time, currency and
3164 keyboard, click Repair your computer. You'll get a list of operating systems
3165 you're able to repair. Choose any of them; that choice doesn't matter.
3166
3167 After that, you'll see a dialog box named System Recovery Options. Click
3168 Command Prompt. Then you only need to execute one command:
3169
3170 Bootrec /FixMbr
3171
3172 Note: The command is case-insensitive. You can type, for example,
3173 "bootrec /fixmbr".
3174
3175 Using FIXMBR (Windows XP only)
3176 ---------------------
3177 You need Windows XP install disc. Boot from it, and when you see the screen
3178 "Windows XP Home Edition Setup" or "Windows XP Professional Setup", press
3179 R to enter the Recovery Console. Then choose the Windows installation you
3180 want to log onto. If you have only one copy of Windows installed, press
3181 1 and ENTER. After that, enter the administator password and press ENTER.
3182
3183 There is only one command to run:
3184
3185 FIXMBR
3186
3187 Note: The command is case-insensitive. You can type, for example, "fixmbr".
3188
3189 Using FDISK (Windows 95/98/Me only)
3190 ---------------------
3191 For this, you need a floppy drive. You also need to run a Windows-only
3192 program, so your first challenge is to boot Windows without NTLDR.
3193
3194 Don't worry, Super Grub Disk makes it possible. Boot into it.
3195
3196 [[ supergrubdisk-01.png ]]
3197 Just choose the option "!WIN! :(((" and press ENTER.
3198
3199 When you have Windows up and running, download the boot disk
3200 image appropriate to your version of Windows from Bootdisk.Com {{
3201 http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm }}. Then put a floppy to your floppy
3202 drive.
3203
3204 If the floppy isn't already formatted, open My Computer, right-click the
3205 floppy drive and select Format....
3206
3207 At the format window, choose the capacity of 1,44 megabytes and Full format
3208 type. You can enter any label (it means the name of the floppy you can see
3209 next to the floppy drive letter) and disable the summary if you wish. Keep
3210 the Copy system files option disabled.
3211
3212 When you have a formatted floppy in your drive, double-click the boot disk
3213 image you downloaded. When it's done, shut Windows down and check your
3214 BIOS settings to be able to boot from the floppy. Some BIOSes contain a
3215 boot menu, others require editing settings pernamently. Details can be
3216 found on the manual of the motherboard or laptop.
3217
3218 Then boot from the floppy. When you're given three boot options, choose
3219 the option 2. Start computer without CD-ROM support. Wait a moment to
3220 enter command line and run this command:
3221
3222 FDISK /MBR
3223
3224 Note: The command is case-insensitive. You can type, for example,
3225 "fdisk /mbr".
3226
3227 Installing syslinux using Super Grub Disk
3228 ---------------------
3229 The above four are the only legal ways I know to restore NTLDR to the
3230 Master Boot Record. Unfortunately, sometimes none of them can be used. If
3231 that's the case, it's time to switch bootloader. GRUB can be configured to
3232 chainload Windows, and usually it even does that automatically, but this
3233 page isn't intended to help configuring GRUB. I assume that if you're
3234 primarily a Windows user and reading this page, you don't want to learn
3235 how to use GNU/Linux, you just want to make Windows bootable again.
3236
3237 Maybe the easiest way to do so is installing syslinux using Super Grub
3238 Disk. Super Grub Disk configures it automatically to chainload the first
3239 active partition. The partition should contain Windows, Windows can't boot
3240 if its partition isn't active.
3241
3242 Boot into Super Grub Disk.
3243
3244 [[ supergrubdisk-01a.png ]]
3245 Choose the option "WIN => MBR & !WIN! :(((((((((((((((((((((" and
3246 press ENTER. Windows will be booted automatically right after installing
3247 syslinux.
3248
3249 Installing GRUB
3250 ****************************************
3251 Contrary to various ways to restore NTLDR, there is only one way to install
3252 GRUB I recommend. That's Super Grub Disk, because it contains GRUB no
3253 matter what has happened to the hard drive(s). First, I boot into it.
3254
3255 [[ supergrubdisk-01b.png ]]
3256 I select "Choose Language & HELP :-)))" and press ENTER.
3257
3258 Screen "S.G.D. Language Selection."
3259 ---------------------
3260 [[ supergrubdisk-02.png ]]
3261 I select "English Super Grub Disk" and press ENTER.
3262
3263 [[ supergrubdisk-03.png ]]
3264 I press ENTER...
3265
3266 [[ supergrubdisk-04.png ]]
3267 ...and then ENTER again...
3268
3269 [[ supergrubdisk-05.png ]]
3270 ...and then ENTER once again...
3271
3272 [[ supergrubdisk-06.png ]]
3273 ...and finally ENTER one more time.
3274
3275 Screen "English Super Grub Disk (Help)"
3276 ---------------------
3277 [[ supergrubdisk-07.png ]]
3278 I select "Advanced".
3279
3280 Screen "Advanced (Help)"
3281 ---------------------
3282 [[ supergrubdisk-08.png ]]
3283 I select "GRUB" and press ENTER.
3284
3285 Screen "GRUB (Help)"
3286 ---------------------
3287 [[ supergrubdisk-09.png ]]
3288 I select "Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR)" and press ENTER...
3289
3290 [[ supergrubdisk-10.png ]]
3291 ...and ENTER.
3292
3293 Screen "Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR) (Help)"
3294 ---------------------
3295 [[ supergrubdisk-11.png ]]
3296 I select "Manual Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR)" and press ENTER. If you
3297 want to install GRUB to the Master Boot Record of the first hard drive,
3298 "Automatically Install" is a better choice. If you don't know if you
3299 want GRUB to the first or some other disk, you most likely want it to the
3300 first disk.
3301
3302 Screen "Manual Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR) (Help)"
3303 ---------------------
3304 [[ supergrubdisk-12.png ]]
3305 I confirm my decision by selecting "Manual Restore GRUB in Hard Disk (MBR)"
3306 again and pressing ENTER.
3307
3308 Screen "Partition of GRUB"
3309 ---------------------
3310 [[ supergrubdisk-13.png ]]
3311 In this screen I can select the disk that contains the partition that
3312 contains the files needed by GRUB. In this case, that disk is the external
3313 hard drive. As you can see, the disk is only three megabytes in size -
3314 because the computer used for screenshots is still virtual. Actually, the
3315 "disk" where I'm installing GRUB is just a file.
3316
3317 Next Screen
3318 ---------------------
3319 [[ supergrubdisk-14.png ]]
3320 This is where I choose the partition where GRUB files reside. This disk
3321 contains only one partition.
3322
3323 Screen "Restore to MBR of Hard Disk"
3324 ---------------------
3325 [[ supergrubdisk-15.png ]]
3326 I select the external hard drive to install GRUB to its Master Boot Record.
3327
3328 [[ supergrubdisk-12.png ]]
3329 Some text scrolled in the screen (too fast to read or take a screenshot)
3330 and I was back at this screen. I rebooted the computer. (In this situation,
3331 you can safely do a "hard reboot" by pressing reset button once or power
3332 button twice.)
3333
3334 [[ grub-loading.png ]]
3335 GRUB booted successfully.
3336
3337
3338
3339
3340 Booting an old PC
3341 ==============================================================================
3342
3343 Intro
3344 ****************************************
3345 Have you ever tried to boot an old PC off a CD-ROM, and found out it
3346 wouldn't, because its BIOS does not support it, or it's faulty or for any
3347 other reason? Well, I have. So this page is an effort to solve this problem.
3348
3349 The only way to do it, is to boot of a floppy disk which will help me
3350 "load" whatever operation system I want from a CD. This means that I will
3351 have to write a boot loader to the floppy disk.
3352
3353 The software I will use is Smart Boot Manager {{
3354 http://sourceforge.net/projects/btmgr/ }}, a small boot manager with a
3355 nice TUI (Text User Interface). Its floppy image, already accessible from
3356 the "Tools" menu, can be found in the bootdisk folder of the CD under the
3357 name sbm.img.
3358
3359 Writing the image to a floppy disk
3360 ****************************************
3361 All you have to do is get to a PC equipped with a floppy drive, get a
3362 floppy disk which is in excellent condition (no bad sectors/blocks),
3363 and copy the image file to it.
3364
3365 1. From Linux
3366 ---------------------
3367 You can either boot Clonezilla Live or SystemRescueCD, and when the system
3368 is fully up, execute the command:
3369
3370 dd if=/path/to/sbm.img of=/dev/fd0
3371
3372 where /path/to is
3373 /live/image/bootdisk for Clonezilla Live
3374 /mnt/livecd/bootdisk for SystemRescueCD
3375
3376 2. From DOS
3377 ---------------------
3378 You can get into any DOS (boot FreeDOS from the CD, for example), and use
3379 any of the following programs found in the rawrite folder of the CD:
3380
3381 * rawrite.exe: is just here for completeness, as it may be needed for someone
3382 * rawrite2.exe: should be the fastest
3383 * rawrite3.com: should work if rawrite2 fails for some reason
3384 * fdimage.exe: rawrite alternative
3385
3386 I found these programms at the FreeDOS web site {{
3387 http://www.fdos.org/ripcord/rawrite/ }}, where the following info is
3388 included:
3389
3390 Basic Usage (Rawrite):
3391 Depending on the exact version, the output and command line support may
3392 vary, i.e. not work
3393 Usage:
3394 MS-DOS prompt> RAWRITE
3395 and follow the prompts, -or-
3396
3397 MS-DOS prompt> RAWRITE [-f ] [-d ] [-n(owait)] [-h(elp)]
3398 where: -f - name of disk image file
3399 -d - diskette drive to use, must be A or B
3400 -n - don't prompt for user to insert diskette
3401 -h - print usage information to stdout
3402
3403 The diskette must be formatted or rawrite will not work.
3404 The contents of the disk do not matter and will be overwritten.
3405 When ran interactively (without command line options) you will be prompted
3406 for the disk image filename (you must remember this as there is no file
3407 chooser).
3408 You will also be prompted for the target/destination drive, either A or
3409 B for A: or B: respectively.
3410 Basic Usage (FDImage):
3411 fdimage is an updated DOS program meant to replace rawrite. It does not
3412 require a pre-formatted floppy diskette.
3413
3414 FDIMAGE - Write disk image to floppy disk
3415 Version 1.5 Copyright (c) 1996-7 Robert Nordier
3416
3417 Usage: fdimage [-dqsv] [-f size] [-r count] file drive
3418
3419 -d Debug mode
3420 -f size Specify the floppy disk format by capacity, eg:
3421 160K, 180K, 320K, 360K, 720K, 1.2M, 1.44M, 2.88M
3422 -q Quick mode: don't format the disk
3423 -r count Retry count for format/write operations
3424 -s Single-sector I/O
3425 -v Verbose
3426
3427 In order to write the image file to a pre-formatted diskette, execute
3428 the commands:
3429
3430 X:
3431 cd rawrite
3432 rawrite2 -f X:bootdisksbm.img -d b:
3433
3434 In order to write the image file and format the diskette at the same time,
3435 execute the commands:
3436
3437 X:
3438 cd rawrite
3439 fdimage -f 1.44M X:bootdisksbm.img b:
3440
3441 where X: is the drive name in DOS
3442
3443 3. From Windows
3444 ---------------------
3445 The final alternative is to use Windows program rawwritewin.exe (found in
3446 the utils\rawrite folder of the CD), as shown in the following image:
3447
3448 [[ rawwritewin.png ]]
3449
3450
3451
3452
3453 Using SystemRescueCD
3454 ==============================================================================
3455
3456 Intro
3457 ****************************************
3458 SystemRescueCD is an excellent Live CD. It contains cloning software too
3459 (FSArchiver {{ http://www.fsarchiver.org/Main_Page }} and partimage,
3460 to be spesific), but is unable to clone a whole disk, instead of only
3461 individual partitions.
3462
3463 Clonezilla Live is a great cloning solution, but it is unable to do anything
3464 but clone. For general system administration, you need a lot more functions
3465 - like these offered by SystemRescueCD.
3466
3467 Clonezilla-SysRescCD has all of the functions of both discs. It's a
3468 multi boot CD, so switching between CDs requires a reboot, but using
3469 both individual discs requires switching the physical disc - in addition
3470 to rebooting.
3471
3472 But, of course, to be able to use SystemRescueCD's functions, you need to
3473 know how to use them. We don't have permission to redistribute SystemRescueCD
3474 documentation, so this page contains only just enough information to allow
3475 you to look for more help in SystemRescueCD documentation.
3476
3477 Which boot option to pick?
3478 ****************************************
3479 You may be confused because of the number of boot options you have. After
3480 choosing "CD 2: System Rescue CD" you have a total of 15 options to boot
3481 SystemRescueCD. Here is a table of them.
3482
3483 kernel Normal To RAM Graphical Environment VESA Mini Shell
3484 32-bit xxx +++
3485 32-bit (alt)
3486 64-bit xxx +++
3487
3488 In the table, I have marked the options you most likely need. You should
3489 choose either of the options marked with a '+++' if you have no idea and/or
3490 time to read the next sections.
3491
3492 Choosing the column
3493 ---------------------
3494 If you're accustomed to graphical environment, choose Graphical
3495 Environment. In Graphical Environment you're able to use graphical programs,
3496 like GParted and Mozilla Firefox. Terminals are also available, so using
3497 Graphical Environment doesn't prevent using command line. The only negative
3498 thing of Graphical Environment is that it slows booting process down a bit -
3499 and it's often just plain unneeded.
3500
3501 Try VESA, if normal Graphical Environment doesn't work. VESA uses Xvesa
3502 graphical environment instead of X.Org that sometimes doesn't work. The
3503 drawbacks of Xvesa compared to X.Org are that Xvesa isn't optimized to
3504 any hardware (which means poorer performance) and Xvesa requires 32-bit
3505 kernel. Thus, if you use this option, do NOT choose 64-bit kernel, the
3506 combination leaves you at command line.
3507
3508 If you're accustomed to command line and know already that you're not going
3509 to use any graphical program, choose one of the normal options (just below
3510 "System Rescue CD Menu"). Booting to command line is a bit faster process
3511 than booting to graphical environment, and you can start X manually later.
3512
3513 You need the option To RAM if you plan to burn discs while using
3514 SystemRescueCD. The option copies the whole SystemRescueCD to the memory of
3515 the computer during the boot process, allowing you to put another disc to
3516 your CD/DVD writer while using SystemRescueCD. The negative thing is that
3517 reading all the contents of the disc slows boot process down a lot. There
3518 is no option which copies the disc to the memory and starts graphical
3519 environment automatically, but you can easily start it manually.
3520
3521 Mini Shell is probably the least used option. It enters BusyBox
3522 shell after booting. BusyBox is an application that "combines
3523 tiny versions of many common UNIX utilities into a single small
3524 executable." However, SystemRescueCD contains most of these utilities
3525 anyway, so there is not much need to use this option. some information {{
3526 http://www.busybox.net/about.html }} about BusyBox
3527
3528 Choosing the row (kernel)
3529 ---------------------
3530 After having chosen the column of the above table, you still have three
3531 options. Now you need to choose the kernel.
3532
3533 The optimal kernel depends on the processor of your computer. If it's an
3534 IA-32 processor, like Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP, you should choose
3535 32-bit kernel, because 64-bit kernel doesn't work at all. If you have
3536 a x86-64 processor, like AMD Athlon 64 or Intel Core 2, you can choose
3537 any kernel - the processor can run all of them. 64-bit kernel should be
3538 preferred, because it allows chrooting on an existing GNU/Linux partition
3539 containing 64-bit programs. Note, though, that you can't use 64-bit kernel
3540 with VESA option.
3541
3542 If you don't know your processor architecture, try 64-bit kernel. If your
3543 processor architecture is IA-32, you'll see the following error message:
3544
3545 This kernel requires an x86-64 CPU, but only detected an i686 CPU. Unable
3546 to boot - please use a kernel appropriate for your CPU.
3547
3548 At this stage, simply press Ctrl-Alt-Del to reboot and use always 32-bit
3549 kernel on the machine.
3550
3551 There is one more kernel - 32-bit kernel (alternative). It's designed to
3552 support more recent hardware than the regular kernel. Try it if standard
3553 32-bit kernel doesn't work.
3554
3555 After booting
3556 ****************************************
3557 HELP!!! Where are the desktop and Start menu?
3558 ---------------------
3559 You should have read this section if you're looking for them. However,
3560 you don't need to reboot in order to enter graphical environment. Simply
3561 type this command and press ENTER:
3562
3563 wizard
3564
3565 The command asks you to choose a graphical environment. Try first X.Org,
3566 and if it fails, run the command again and choose Xvesa.
3567
3568 Connecting to the Internet
3569 ---------------------
3570 The CD doesn't contain any SystemRescueCD documentation, because we don't
3571 have permission to redistribute it. In addition, our time is limited and
3572 we can't rewrite it all. So, you need to connect to the Internet to be
3573 able to read SystemRescueCD's official online documentation.
3574
3575 Luckily, establishing Internet connection should be easy, if you're in a
3576 network using DHCP. Nowadays, most people are. If you're using graphical
3577 mode and terminal isn't already open, open it via the menu that opens when
3578 you click the leftmost icon in the bottom pane.
3579
3580 Then, type this command and press ENTER:
3581
3582 dhcpcd eth0
3583
3584 If the network doesn't use DHCP, you can also configure Internet settings
3585 by hand. You should be able to do so if you've previously configured your
3586 settings in the operating system you normally use. The command to run is
3587
3588 net-setup
3589
3590 When you're done
3591 ****************************************
3592 When you're done, you naturally want to either shut the computer down or
3593 reboot. Wait! Don't do it yet!
3594
3595 Both I and Spiros have found out that letting a live CD to automatically
3596 unmount partitions is often a bad idea. It can damage the filesystems
3597 of the partitions which were mounted when the computer was shut down and
3598 destroy any files in the partitions, even them you didn't use within the CD.
3599
3600 So, I recommend unmounting them refore shutdown or reboot. Just run these
3601 commands when you're done.
3602
3603 If you want to reboot:
3604
3605 cd
3606 umount -a
3607 reboot
3608
3609 If you want to shut down:
3610 cd
3611 umount -a
3612 poweroff
3613
3614 More info
3615 ****************************************
3616 Here are some links to the official SystemRescueCD resources.
3617
3618 SystemRescueCD - http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page
3619 Detailed packages list- http://www.sysresccd.org/Detailed-packages-list
3620 Manual - http://www.sysresccd.org/Online-Manual-EN
3621 FAQ - http://www.sysresccd.org/FAQ
3622 Howto - http://www.sysresccd.org/Howto
3623 Forum - http://www.sysresccd.org/forums/
3624
3625
3626
3627
3628 Managing partitions
3629 ==============================================================================
3630
3631 Intro
3632 ****************************************
3633 One of the most important maintenance tasks that can only be done by using
3634 a live CD is partitioning. No operating system allows partitioning the
3635 same disk where the OS itself resides. Trying to do so is like attempting
3636 to repair a car while its engine is turned on.
3637
3638 Of course, SystemRescueCD contains multiple programs that are related to
3639 partitioning. Most important are GParted (graphical partitioning program),
3640 GNU Parted (text-based partitioning program), fdisk and sfdisk (partition
3641 table editors) and various filesystem tools (like ntfsprogs and e2fsprogs).
3642
3643 This page contains some theory about partitions and filesystems, advice for
3644 choosing the right filesystem and a partitioning example by using GParted.
3645
3646 [[ important.png ]]
3647 While partitioning, an user error or a bug can damage your
3648 partitions.Creating a disk image of the disk to bepartitioned beforehand
3649 is highly recommended.
3650
3651 [[ info.png ]]
3652 The following pressentation has been made usingSystemRescueCD v 1.4.0
3653
3654 Some theory
3655 ****************************************
3656 What is a partition?
3657 ---------------------
3658 A partition is a logical division of a hard disk created so that you can
3659 have different operating systems on the same hard disk or to create the
3660 appearance of having separate hard drives for file management, multiple
3661 users, or other purposes.
3662
3663 In Windows, a one-partition hard disk is labelled the "C:" drive ("A:" and
3664 "B:" are typically reserved for diskette drives). A two-partition hard drive
3665 would typically contain "C:" and "D:" drives. (CD-ROM drives typically are
3666 assigned the last letter in whatever sequence of letters have been used
3667 as a result of hard disk formatting, or typically with a two-partition,
3668 the "E:" drive.).
3669
3670 In UNIX-based systems, a partition is used to host the / (root) file system,
3671 and optionally the /opt, /usr and /home file systems. There may also be
3672 a swap partition, which doesn't host any file system.
3673
3674 Each operatin system provides some kind of tool to create and manage
3675 partitions. Examples of such tools are fdisk in DOS/Windows, fdisk, sfdisk
3676 and parted in Linux, etc.
3677
3678 What is the difference between primary, extended and logical partitions?
3679 ---------------------
3680 Information about partitions is saved in so-called partition table
3681 in Master Boot Record. MBR itself is only 512 bytes in size,
3682 and only 64 bytes are reserved for partition table. That's not
3683 enough, and there are many workarounds to bypass limitations
3684 caused by the size, for example logical block addressing {{
3685 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_block_addressing#LBA.2C_ATA_devices_and_Enhanced_BIOS
3686 }}. Extended partitions are another workaround.
3687
3688 Partition table can only store information about four partitions. If one
3689 has, for example, two GNU/Linux distributions on the same disk, both of
3690 them having separate root partitions, shared /home and shared swap, the
3691 partition number limit has been hit already.
3692
3693 A partition that is mentioned in the partition table is called primary
3694 partition. Because of the limit, one disk can only contain 1-4 primary
3695 partitions.
3696
3697 An extended partition fixes the problem simply by containing more boot
3698 records, called Extended Boot Records (EBR). Each EBR contains information
3699 about one logical partition and, if the extended partition contains multiple
3700 logical partitions, link to the next EBR. Thus, an extended partition can
3701 contain unlimited amount of logical partitions.
3702
3703 Extended partition contains only EBRs and logical partitions (and maybe
3704 unallocated space). Extended partition doesn't contain any filesystem and
3705 files can't be stored in it. Of course, logical partition can contain any
3706 filesystem (or be unformatted).
3707
3708 Extended partition itself must be primary partition: an extended partition
3709 can't be within another extended partition. In addition, a disk can contain
3710 only one extended partition.
3711
3712 Logical partitions can always be used for storing data: any operating system
3713 can see logical partitions. GNU/Linux distributions can be installed to
3714 logical partitions as well, but Windows requires a lot of tweaking. See
3715 this outdated guide {{ http://www.goodells.net/multiboot/index.htm }}.
3716
3717 What is LVM?
3718 ---------------------
3719 LVM means "Logical Volume Manager". It allows creating volume groups on top
3720 of hard drives and logical volumes within volume groups. Logical volumes
3721 are NOT the same thing as logical partitions!
3722
3723 Volume groups can be created very flexibly: a volume group can allocate,
3724 for example, the first half of the first hard drive and the second half
3725 of the third drive. One can even create a massive volume group containing
3726 all storage he/she has.
3727
3728 The computer sees a logical volume as a partition: logical volume can be
3729 left unformatted or contain any filesystem.
3730
3731 LVM has many benefits: for example, if one has three hard drives 60 gigabytes
3732 each, he/she can create a 160-gigabyte partition for storing massive files
3733 and/or saving some disk space. In addition, logical volumes can be resized
3734 even when they're in use, so when creating logical volumes one doesn't need
3735 to worry if they're too small or big - if they are, he/she can resize them
3736 at any time.
3737
3738 However, resizing a logical volume doesn't resize the filesystem in
3739 it, so using a filesystem that can be resized in use (online resizing)
3740 is recommended. Very few filesystems can be shrinked online, but most
3741 GNU/Linux filesystems (including ext3/4, ReiserFS, XFS and btrfs) can be
3742 grown online. It's generally a good idea to leave unallocated space within
3743 volume group, so logical volumes can later be grown without shrinking any
3744 other logical volume.
3745
3746 Here come bad news for people who dualboot: Windows doesn't support LVM, it
3747 sees volume groups as unformatted partitions. If you try to access volume
3748 group within Windows, you're just prompted to format the partition. That
3749 prompt is annoying at best and dangerous at worst.
3750
3751 More information about LVM can be found here (almost everything about LVM
3752 in a single page) and here (official SystemRescueCD documentation about LVM).
3753
3754 What is a file system?
3755 ---------------------
3756 A file system is the way in which files are named and where they are placed
3757 logically for storage and retrieval. The DOS, Windows, OS/2, Macintosh,
3758 and UNIX-based operating systems all have file systems in which files are
3759 placed somewhere in a hierarchical (tree) structure. A file is placed in
3760 a directory (folder in Windows) or subdirectory at the desired place in
3761 the tree structure.
3762
3763 The most important difference between filesystems is operating system
3764 support. Some filesystems are supported by all modern operating systems,
3765 but especially the newest filesystems are very rarely supported. Other
3766 important limits are maximum file size, journaling support and file
3767 permission metadata support.
3768
3769 The reason that file size limits exist is that all filesystems reserve a
3770 fixed number of bits for storing the file size. If the size of the file,
3771 in bytes, is bigger than the biggest number that can be stored in file
3772 size bits, the operating system must refuse to store the file at all in
3773 order to prevent data corruption.
3774
3775 File permission metadata means that the filesystem stores in the metadata
3776 of the file, among other things, information about who owns the file and
3777 what different users are allowed to do with the file. That metadata is
3778 especially useful in multi-user environment because it mostly prevents
3779 users from reading each other's files. Permissions can be bypassed, however.
3780
3781 What is journaling?
3782 ---------------------
3783 Ideally, data in a partition never corrupts. But, in the real world,
3784 there are power failures and operating system freezes. And if a computer
3785 is forcefully shut down while something is written to the drive, the write
3786 operation can't be finished. That can damage the filesystem and destroy
3787 any files in the partition.
3788
3789 Journaling partially fixes that problem by writing most changes to the
3790 disk twice: first to a special area called journal and, after that, to
3791 the filesystem itself. If power is lost while writing to the journal was
3792 in progress, the partial change is just ignored and never committed to the
3793 filesystem itself. If power failure or OS freeze happened while writing to
3794 filesystem itself, the write operation is finished by using the information
3795 in journal.
3796
3797 Journaling helps most of the time when the computer has been forcefully
3798 shut down, but not always. Due to performance reasons, only some
3799 write operations are written to the journal, mostly the biggest
3800 operations. Of course, journaling doesn't help if that particular
3801 operation that was in progress while power was lost didn't go
3802 through the journal. Journaling also doesn't protect from everything:
3803 for example, using ext4 filesystem in conjuction with programs that
3804 write a lot of files in a short time can result in massive data loss {{
3805 http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Possible-data-loss-in-Ext4-740467.html
3806 }}, regardless if journaling is enabled or not.
3807
3808 In addition, journaling reduces performance. It causes more writes to
3809 the disk. That's not a big problem on mechanical hard drives, but on SSDs
3810 (Solid State Drives) and thumb drives write speed is much slower than read
3811 speed. They also have a limited number of writing cycles, so journaling
3812 reduces their lifetime. I (Jyrki) actually use ext2 and FAT32 filesystems
3813 on my external SSD drive because they do NOT support journaling at all.
3814
3815 What are the differences between most popular filesystems?
3816 ---------------------
3817 The following table quickly describes the most important differences
3818 between them.
3819
3820 Operating system support
3821 #############################################################################
3822 Under Under Maximum Journaling Permissions
3823 Windows GNU/Linux file size
3824 #############################################################################
3825 FAT32 Native Built-in 4 GB No No
3826 NTFS Native Included 16 EB Yes Yes
3827 ext2 3rd party driver Native 16 GB-2 TB* No Yes
3828 ext3 3rd party driver Native 16 GB-2 TB* Yes Yes
3829 ext4 No Native 16 GB-16 TB* Yes Yes
3830 exFAT Native (Vista/7)** No 64 ZB No Yes
3831
3832 * Depends on cluster size
3833 ** This update {{ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955704 }} adds exFAT
3834 support to Windows XP
3835
3836 Operating system support:
3837
3838 * "Native" means that the kernel supports the filesystem and the OS can
3839 boot from a partition using that FS.
3840 * "Built-in" means that the kernel supports the filesystem, but booting
3841 from a partition containing such FS is very difficult.
3842 * "Driver included" means that ntfs-3g (the driver that adds NTFS support
3843 to Linux) comes with most GNU/Linux distributions.
3844 * "3rd party driver" means that drivers to add filesystem support are
3845 available, but must be downloaded and installed separately. The drivers
3846 are Ext2 IFS and Ext2fsd.
3847 * "No" means that there is no way to use the filesystem within the
3848 operating system.
3849
3850 Filesystems
3851 ****************************************
3852 This section contains more information about most popular filesystems.
3853
3854 FAT32
3855 ---------------------
3856 The initial version of FAT (File Allocation Table), now referred as
3857 FAT12, was designed for floppy disks. A FAT12 partition can only be up
3858 to 32 megabytes in size. After that, PCs equipped with hard drives were
3859 introcuded by IBM and the sizes of hard drives began growing. Microsoft
3860 answered the need by developing first initial FAT16 and then final FAT16.
3861
3862 FAT16 partition can be up to two gigabytes in size. In the middle of 1990s,
3863 that limit was becoming a problem. Microsoft pushed the limit up by updating
3864 FAT again.
3865
3866 FAT32 was first introduced with Windows 95 OSR2. Windows 98,
3867 Windows Me, Windows 2000 and newer support FAT32 too. Linux
3868 kernel has supported FAT32 almost as long as Windows, but
3869 booting GNU/Linux from FAT32 partition is difficult and actually
3870 requires DOS to be installed in the partition as well. (more information {{
3871 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FAT_filesystem_and_Linux#Installing_Linux_on_and_booting_it_from_FAT_volumes_using_umsdos
3872 }})
3873
3874 FAT32 partition can be up to two terabytes in size. As of now (March 2010),
3875 there are hard drives that hit the limit, but don't exceed it. A single
3876 file within FAT32 partition can be up to four gigabytes in size.
3877
3878 Because FAT32 is, in the end, based on FAT12, it has very few features. It
3879 doesn't support file permissions, hard/symbolic links, encryption,
3880 compression, alternative data streams, journaling... It lacks support for
3881 nearly anything that defines a modern filesystem. However, due to very
3882 few features, FAT32 is very fast filesystem if it's not fragmented or on
3883 a Flash-based drive. Mind you, FAT32 fragments very fast.
3884
3885 Due to excellent operating system support, I recommend FAT32 for storing
3886 files which should be accessible in both Windows and GNU/Linux. FAT32
3887 is also a good filesystem on Solid State Drives and thumb drives due to
3888 its performance.
3889
3890 ext2
3891 ---------------------
3892 Ext2 or ext2fs is the successor of extfs (extended file system). Extfs
3893 didn't support separated timestamps for access, data modification and inode
3894 modification. In order to add support for them, and make the filesystem
3895 extendable, a new filesystem had to be created.
3896
3897 Ext2 was developed in January 1993, earlier than any other filesystem
3898 mentioned in this page.
3899
3900 Because ext2 is designed for GNU/Linux, support in Linux kernel was
3901 implemented immediately. The first Windows driver supporting ext2,
3902 Ext2fsd 0.01, was released on 25 January 2002. Both Windows drivers
3903 for ext2 work only on Windows NT operating systems (NT 4.0 up to Vista,
3904 7 isn't supported yet).
3905
3906 The best property of ext2 is extensibility. The superblock contains
3907 information about which version the filesystem is (ext2, ext3 or ext4)
3908 and which extensions and features are in use. By using these pieces of
3909 information, the operating system or driver can decide whether or not
3910 mounting the partition is safe. That's the most important reason why most
3911 GNU/Linux distributions still use successors of ext2 as default filesystems.
3912
3913 Depending on cluster size, ext2 partition can be up to 2-32 terabytes in
3914 size. File size limit is 16 GB-2 TB.
3915
3916 Ext2 supports file permissions, both hard and symbolic links and extended
3917 file attributes. Encryption, compression and journaling are unsupported.
3918
3919 Due to lack of journaling support and existence of Windows drivers, I
3920 recommend using ext2 if you're going to install GNU/Linux on a SSD drive
3921 and want to be able to access files within Windows too. In fact, that's
3922 exactly the setup I have.
3923
3924 However, lack of journaling support is the worst limitation of ext2. And
3925 what was done in order to get rid of the limitation?
3926
3927 ext3
3928 ---------------------
3929 Ext3, the successor of ext2, was introduced in Linux kernel on November
3930 2001. It supports journaling, can be grown online and indexes large
3931 directories.
3932
3933 Ext2 IFS and Ext2fsd can mount ext3 partition as ext2 if the journal
3934 is empty. (If it's not, something is wrong - journal is always emptied
3935 when the partition is unmounted or the computer is shut down.) Thus,
3936 ext3 support under Windows is just as good/bad as ext2 support.
3937
3938 Partition and file size limits are the same as in ext2: partition size
3939 limit is 2-32 TB and file size limit 16 GB-2 TB, depending on cluster size.
3940
3941 Due to journaling support and existence of Windows drivers, ext3 is a good
3942 choice if you're going to install GNU/Linux on a mechanical hard drive
3943 and want to be able to access files within Windows.
3944
3945 ext4
3946 ---------------------
3947 Linux kernel support for ext4, the successor of ext3, was marked stable
3948 code on October 2008. Ext4 contains multiple performance and stability
3949 improvements over ext3.
3950
3951 The most important new feature is extents. An extent is a contiguous area of
3952 storage that has been reserved for a file. When a process starts to write
3953 to a file, the whole extent is allocated even before the write operation
3954 begins. The idea is that even if the file is larger than expected, it
3955 doesn't fragment if it doesn't exceed the size of the extent.
3956
3957 Another important improvement is larger partition size limit: an ext4
3958 partition can be even one exabyte in size. (An exabyte is a million
3959 terabytes.) In addition, a directory within an ext4 partition can contain up
3960 to 64 000 subdirectories (instead of 32 000, as in ext2/3) and timestamps
3961 are much more accurate. The file size limit is 16 GB-16 TB, depending on
3962 cluster size.
3963
3964 Unfortunately, Ext2 IFS and Ext2Fsd don't support ext4 and are unable
3965 to mount ext4 partition if extents are enabled. They can be disabled,
3966 but other improvements of ext4 aren't that important for most people -
3967 using ext2 or ext3 is just easier.
3968
3969 Due to its features, ext4 is a good filesystem on computers that only have
3970 GNU/Linux installed. Because journaling can be disabled, it is suitable
3971 for Solid State Drives and thumb drives too.
3972
3973 NTFS
3974 ---------------------
3975 At the end of 1980s, IBM and Microsoft were developing OS/2 operating
3976 system. Both companies expected OS/2 1.1, released on 1988, to be the first
3977 popular operating system having a GUI, Presentation Manager. Even though it
3978 didn't become too popular during its first years, Microsoft didn't complain:
3979 Windows 2 didn't sell any better.
3980
3981 But on May 1990, Microsoft released Windows 3.0. Millions of copies of it
3982 were sold during its first year, and Microsoft began to believe that OS/2
3983 had failed due to decisions of IBM. At autumn 1990, Microsoft stopped
3984 cooperating with IBM, recasted OS/2 3.0 as Windows NT and continued
3985 developing it alone, leaving IBM alone with OS/2.
3986
3987 Windows NT was targeted for network file servers, and there were already
3988 competition, most importantly Novell NetWare and OS/2. Among other things,
3989 the filesystem of Windows NT had to be fast, space efficient and reliable.
3990
3991 NTFS (New Technology File System) was introcuded with Windows NT 3.1. Newer
3992 versions of NTFS have been introduced with newer versions of Windows NT,
3993 and the filesystem is most likely still under development. All versions
3994 of Windows NT support NTFS, but support in Linux kernel was implemented
3995 as late as on December 2003.
3996
3997 NTFS is still, in my opinion, the most feature-filled filesystem around. It
3998 supports file permissions, both hard and symbolic links, encryption,
3999 compression, alternative data streams, journaling... There are very few
4000 features NTFS doesn't support.
4001
4002 Depending on cluster size, a NTFS partition can be up to 8 ZB-1 YB in
4003 size. (A zettabyte (ZB) is a milliard terabytes and a yottabyte (YB)
4004 a billion terabytes.) File size limit is 16 EB.
4005
4006 Windows 7 can only be installed on a NTFS
4007 partition, and Vista requires a work-around {{
4008 http://www.computersplace.com/install-windows-vista-on-a-fat32-partition/windows-vista
4009 }} if one wants to install it on a FAT32 partition. Of course NTFS partitions
4010 can be used for data storage as well: due to features of NTFS, I recommend
4011 doing so on mechanical hard drives on Windows-only computers.
4012
4013 exFAT
4014 ---------------------
4015 NTFS is a great filesystem, but due to its complexity and journaling, it's
4016 not suitable for Flash-based drives. Even Microsoft itself has recommended
4017 using FAT32 on removable Flash media.
4018
4019 However, FAT32 only allows files up to four gigabytes in size. The limit
4020 is already becoming too small, for example a DVD disc image can exceed
4021 that limit. In addition, FAT32 lacks file permission support. In order
4022 to get rid of these limitations, Microsoft took FAT from its grave and
4023 updated it one more time.
4024
4025 ExFAT (extended FAT), also known as FAT64, was introduced with Windows CE
4026 6.0, on November 2006. Windows Vista SP1, Windows 7 and newer support exFAT
4027 too, and by installing this update {{ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955704
4028 }} Windows XP can be extended to support exFAT as well. Unfortunately,
4029 the only read-write exFAT driver for GNU/Linux (Tuxera exFAT for Embedded
4030 Systems) is payware.
4031
4032 The partition and file size limits of exFAT are the same: 64
4033 zettabytes. Another important improvement is file permission support that,
4034 oddly, is lacking in Windows Vista. In addition, a directory within an
4035 exFAT partition can contain up to 2 796 202 files (instead of 65 536,
4036 as in FAT32) and timestamps have become more accurate.
4037
4038 No operating system can be installed to an exFAT partition, so such
4039 partitions can only be used for data storage. Due to lack of journaling
4040 and support for huge files, exFAT is a good filesystem on Solid State
4041 Drives and thumb drives that are only used within Windows Vista and/or 7.
4042
4043 Partition list
4044 ---------------------
4045 The following table presents known partition types along with their IDs:
4046
4047 0 Empty 80 Old Minix
4048 1 FAT12 81 Minix / old Linux
4049 2 XENIX root 82 Linux swap / Solaris
4050 3 XENIX usr 83 Linux
4051 4 FAT16 <32M 84 OS/2 hidden C: drive
4052 5 Extended 85 Linux extended
4053 6 FAT16 86 NTFS volume set
4054 7 HPFS/NTFS 87 NTFS volume set
4055 8 AIX 88 Linux plaintext
4056 9 AIX bootable 8e Linux LVM
4057 a OS/2 Boot Manager 93 Amoeba
4058 b W95 FAT32 94 Amoeba BBT
4059 c W95 FAT32 (LBA) 9f BSD/OS
4060 e W95 FAT16 (LBA) a0 IBM Thinkpad hibernation
4061 f W95 Ext'd (LBA) a5 FreeBSD
4062 10 OPUS a6 OpenBSD
4063 11 Hidden FAT12 a7 NeXTSTEP
4064 12 Compaq diagnostics a8 Darwin UFS
4065 14 Hidden FAT16 <32M a9 NetBSD
4066 16 Hidden FAT16 ab Darwin boot
4067 17 Hidden HPFS/NTFS b7 BSDI fs
4068 18 AST SmartSleep b8 BSDI swap
4069 1b Hidden W95 FAT32 bb Boot Wizard hidden
4070 1c Hidden W95 FAT32 (LBA) be Solaris boot
4071 1e Hidden W95 FAT16 (LBA) bf Solaris
4072 24 NEC DOS c1 DRDOS/sec (FAT-12)
4073 39 Plan 9 c4 DRDOS/sec (FAT-16
4074 3c PartitionMagic recovery c6 DRDOS/sec (FAT-16)
4075 40 Venix 80286 c7 Syrinx
4076 41 PPC PReP Boot da Non-FS data
4077 42 SFS db CP/M / CTOS / ...
4078 4d QNX4.x de Dell Utility
4079 4e QNX4.x 2nd part df BootIt
4080 4f QNX4.x 3rd part e1 DOS access
4081 50 OnTrack DM e3 DOS R/O
4082 51 OnTrack DM6 Aux1 e4 SpeedStor
4083 52 CP/M eb BeOS fs
4084 53 OnTrack DM6 Aux3 ee EFI GPT
4085 54 OnTrackDM6 ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)
4086 55 EZ-Drive f0 Linux/PA-RISC boot
4087 56 Golden Bow f1 SpeedStor
4088 5c Priam Edisk f4 SpeedStor
4089 61 SpeedStor f2 DOS secondary
4090 63 GNU HURD or SysV fd Linux raid autodetect
4091 64 Novell Netware 286 fe LANstep
4092 65 Novell Netware 386 ff BBT
4093 70 DiskSecure Multi-Boot
4094 75 PC/IX
4095
4096 The partitions you are most likely to see in use, are:
4097
4098 * FAT16 (ID = 6)
4099 This is the old DOS partition type
4100 You may still find it in pure DOS installations, like vendor diagnostics
4101 tool partitions, and small USB sticks (128 - 250 MB)
4102
4103 * HPFS/NTFS (ID = 7)
4104 This is the Windows XP partition, also known as NTFS
4105
4106 * W95 FAT32 (LBA) (ID = c)
4107 This is the Windows 95 - 98 partition
4108 It is used in any kind of disk and large USB devices (1 GB and more)
4109
4110 * W95 Ext'd (LBA) (ID = f)
4111 Extended partition. It acts as a container for other partitions
4112 There is one more extended partition type (ID = 5), but it does not seem
4113 to be in use as much
4114
4115 * Linux swap / Solaris (ID = 82)
4116 Swap partition, acting as Virtual Memory
4117 Modern computers with 1 - 2 GB of memory may not use it at all
4118
4119 * Linux (ID = 83)
4120 Linux partitions, such as ext2, ext3 and reiserfs
4121
4122 Partitioning example
4123 ****************************************
4124 This section contains a partitioning example. I simulate the following
4125 situation in a virtual machine:
4126
4127 I have two partitions in my disk: /dev/sda1 that contains a GNU/Linux
4128 distribution, and /dev/sda2 that is a swap partition. Here we can see the
4129 output of fdisk:
4130
4131 root@sysresccd /root % fdisk -l
4132
4133 Disk /dev/sda: 2097 MB, 2097152000 bytes
4134 64 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1015 cylinders
4135 Units = cylinders of 4032 * 512 = 2064384 bytes
4136 Disk identifier: 0x00058a4a
4137
4138 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
4139 /dev/sda1 * 1 812 1636960+ 83 Linux
4140 /dev/sda2 813 1015 409248 82 Linux swap / Solaris
4141
4142 Now I'm going to install another distribution on the same disk. First of
4143 all, I need one more partition, because only one distro can be installed on
4144 one partition. In addition, I want to separate /home to its own partition
4145 in order to be able to share it between distributions.
4146
4147 Because the whole disk is already allocated, I must shrink at least one
4148 existing partition in order to create new partitions. I'll shrink both of
4149 them to half (/dev/sda1 from 1,6 gigabytes to 800 megabytes, and /dev/sda2
4150 from 400 MB to 200 MB). In addition, I'll move /dev/sda2 right next to
4151 /dev/sda1 to keep the partitions in order.
4152
4153 But how many partitions there will be in total? One, two,
4154 three... four! Phew, I was near to paint myself into a corner. If I created
4155 only primary partitions, I'd be unable to create any more partitions on
4156 the disk. Thus, I'll create an extended partition instead and two logical
4157 partitions within it. Then I'll be able to create more logical partitions
4158 later if required.
4159
4160 There is one more challenge: moving /home to a separate partition. It's
4161 very easy to move the folder itself, but the distro in /dev/sda1 will
4162 surely be confused if it doesn't find /home when it boots next time. Thus,
4163 I must edit its /etc/fstab and configure it to mount the /home partition
4164 automatically - before booting the distro itself.
4165
4166 Now there are only two decisions left: the numbers and sizes of the new
4167 partitions. I decide to install the new distro to /dev/sda5 and move /home
4168 to /dev/sda6. Let /dev/sda5 be 800 megabytes and /dev/sda6 200 MB in size.
4169
4170 Now it's time to boot into SystemRescueCD. Graphical mode is required
4171 this time.
4172 [[ systemrescuecd.png ]]
4173 I close the terminal and open GParted by clicking the third icon in the
4174 bottom pane.
4175 [[ gparted-00.png ]]
4176 I right-click the partition /dev/sda1 and select Resize/Move.
4177 [[ gparted-01.png ]]
4178 I enter 799 MB as the new size, click the Free Space Following (MiB)
4179 combo box and press Resize/Move.
4180 [[ gparted-02.png ]]
4181 I right-click now /dev/sda2 and select Resize/Move.
4182 [[ gparted-03.png ]]
4183 I enter 0 MB as preceding free space and 200 MB as partition size, click
4184 the Free Space Following (MiB) combo box and press Resize/Move.
4185 [[ gparted-04.png ]]
4186 I right-click the unallocated area and select New.
4187 [[ gparted-05.png ]]
4188 I select Extended Partition as the partition type. The size was already
4189 998 megabytes (the maximum) and as said, an extended partition doesn't
4190 contain any filesystem. I click Add.
4191 [[ gparted-06.png ]]
4192 I right-click the unallocated area within the extended partition and
4193 select New.
4194 [[ gparted-07.png ]]
4195 I choose the ext4 filesystem and enter 798 MB as the partition size. After
4196 that, I click first the Free Space Following (MiB) combo box and then Add.
4197 [[ gparted-08.png ]]
4198 I right-click the remaining unallocated space and select New one more time.
4199 [[ gparted-09.png ]]
4200 I choose the ext4 filesystem again. The partition size setting was already
4201 201 megabytes (the whole available space), so I just press Add.
4202 [[ gparted-10.png ]]
4203 [[ important.png ]]
4204 The next step is to commit the changes.After that some operations, for
4205 examplepartition deletion, can no longer be undone.
4206
4207 Finally I commit the changes by pressing the rightmost icon in the main bar.
4208 [[ gparted-11.png ]]
4209 After slowly reading the warning, I confirm my decisions by pressing Apply.
4210 [[ gparted-12.png ]]
4211 GParted begins to commit the changes...
4212 [[ gparted-13.png ]]
4213 ...and when everything is done, it shows me this window that I close.
4214 [[ gparted-14.png ]]
4215 Then I can see the brand new partitions.
4216
4217 Moving /home
4218 ---------------------
4219 I close GParted and launch Terminal by pressing the second icon in the
4220 bottom pane.
4221
4222 I create directories as mount points:
4223
4224 mkdir /mnt/sda1
4225 mkdir /mnt/sda6
4226
4227 Then I mount the partitions:
4228
4229 mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/sda1
4230 mount /dev/sda6 /mnt/sda6
4231
4232 I move the directory:
4233
4234 mv /mnt/sda1/home/* /mnt/sda6/
4235
4236 After that, I unmount /dev/sda6, because it no longer needs to be mounted:
4237
4238 sync
4239 umount /dev/sda6
4240 [[ terminal.png ]]
4241 As you can see, under Linux it's perfectly normal that the terminal doesn't
4242 answer to the commands. Don't worry - they are really executed.
4243
4244 Now I close Terminal and launch Geany by pressing the fourth icon in the
4245 bottom pane.
4246 [[ geany-00.png ]]
4247 I select File -> Open.
4248 [[ geany-01.png ]]
4249 I press File System and navigate to folder /mnt/sda1/etc.
4250 [[ geany-02.png ]]
4251 I double-click the file fstab.
4252 [[ geany-03.png ]]
4253 I add the following line:
4254
4255 /dev/sda6 /home ext4 defaults 0 2
4256
4257 Finally, I select File -> Save.
4258 [[ geany-04.png ]]
4259 It's a good idea to reboot the computer now and check if the distribution
4260 in /dev/sda1 still works. Anyway, the disk should now be ready for the
4261 new distro.
4262
4263
4264
4265
4266 Data Recovery
4267 ==============================================================================
4268
4269 Intro
4270 ****************************************
4271 Deleted or "lost" files can be recovered from failed or formatted drives
4272 and partitions, cdroms and memory cards using the software available in
4273 SystemRescueCD.
4274
4275 Unless you can rule out hardware failure, you must not write to the failed
4276 device. The following software will passively try to recover your data
4277 from failed or failing hardware. If your data is not replaceable, do not
4278 attempt to write to the failed device if the following applications do
4279 not work but seek professional advice instead.
4280
4281 If your device is damaged, it is advisable to image the device and work on
4282 the image file for data recovery. If hardware failure is not the problem,
4283 you can recover data directly from the device.
4284
4285 To recover data from a failed device, you will need another device of equal
4286 or greater storage capacity onto which to save your data. If you need to make
4287 an image of the failed device, you will need yet another quantity of space.
4288
4289 I should state here, that I haven't used any of these tools recently (other
4290 than plain and simple dd, a long time ago, which I found to be very slow),
4291 so I couldn't recommend any of them. Any comments on a tool's usability
4292 found in this page, is just what I found on the Net.
4293
4294 Partition recovery
4295 ****************************************
4296 If you made a mistake while partitioning and the partition no longer appears
4297 in the partition table, so long as you have not written data in that space,
4298 all your data is still there and can be restored.
4299
4300 When changing the partition table on your hard drive, you must ensure that
4301 no partition on the disk is mounted. This includes swap space. In order
4302 to restore your partition, execute:
4303
4304 swapoff -a
4305 parted /dev/old_disk
4306
4307 Then, use the rescue option:
4308
4309 rescue START END
4310
4311 where START is the area of the disk where you believe the partition began
4312 and END is it's end. If parted finds a potential partition, it will ask
4313 you if you want to add it to the partition table.
4314
4315 Note: TestDisk can also be used to recover a "lost" partition.
4316
4317 Disk / files recovery
4318 ****************************************
4319 Using dd
4320 ---------------------
4321 In order to duplicate a disk to another disk, execute
4322
4323 dd if=/dev/old_disk of=/dev/new_disk conv=noerror,sync
4324
4325 or to create an image file
4326
4327 dd if=/dev/old_disk of=image_file conv=noerror
4328
4329 Be careful, if you are copying a disk, the destination must also be a disk,
4330 not a partition. If you are copying a partition, the destination partition
4331 must be large enough. Copying the whole disk is recommended.
4332
4333 To speed up the copy process, you can append bs=8k, it will read/write
4334 the disk by 16 sectors at a time.
4335
4336 Using dd_rescue
4337 ---------------------
4338 Like dd, dd_rescue {{ http://www.garloff.de/kurt/linux/ddrescue/ }} does
4339 copy data from one file or block device to another. You can specify file
4340 positions (called seek and skip in dd). There are several differences:
4341
4342 * dd_rescue does not provide character conversions.
4343 * The command syntax is different. Call dd_rescue -h.
4344 * dd_rescue does not abort on errors on the input file, unless you specify a
4345 maximum error number. Then dd_rescue will abort when this number is reached.
4346 * dd_rescue does not truncate the output file, unless asked to.
4347 * You can tell dd_rescue to start from the end of a file and move backwards.
4348 * It uses two block sizes, a large (soft) block size and a small (hard)
4349 block size. In case of errors, the size falls back to the small one and
4350 is promoted again after a while without errors.
4351 * It does not (yet) support non-seekable in- or output.
4352
4353 In order to duplicate a disk to another disk, execute
4354
4355 dd_rescue -A -v /dev/old_disk /dev/new_disk
4356
4357 or to create an image file
4358
4359 dd_rescue -A -v /dev/old_disk image_file
4360
4361 The copying should go very quickly until it hits a bad sector and then it
4362 will slow down to take smaller chunks of data. People have reported very
4363 good results with this technique.
4364
4365 Using GNU ddrescue
4366 ---------------------
4367 The GNU site describes GNU ddrescue as a data recovery tool, and lists
4368 these features:
4369
4370 * It copies data from one file or block device (hard disc, CD-ROM, etc)
4371 to another, trying hard to rescue data in case of read errors.
4372 * It does not truncate the output file if not asked to, so every time you
4373 run it on the same output file, it tries to fill in the gaps.
4374 * It is designed to be fully automatic.
4375 * If you use the log file feature of GNU ddrescue, the data is rescued very
4376 efficiently (only the needed blocks are read). Also you can interrupt the
4377 rescue at any time and resume it later at the same point.
4378 * The log file is periodically saved to disc. So in case of a crash you
4379 can resume the rescue with little recopying.
4380 * If you have two or more damaged copies of a file, CD-ROM, etc, and run
4381 GNU ddrescue on all of them, one at a time, with the same output file,
4382 you will probably obtain a complete and error-free file. The probability
4383 of having damaged areas at the same places on different input files is
4384 very low. Using the log file, only the needed blocks are read from the
4385 second and successive copies.
4386 * The same log file can be used for multiple commands that copy different
4387 areas of the file, and for multiple recovery attempts over different subsets.
4388
4389 The algorithm of GNU ddrescue is as follows:
4390
4391 * Optionally read a log file describing the status of a multi-part or
4392 previously interrupted rescue.
4393 * Read the non-damaged parts of the input file, skipping the damaged areas,
4394 until the requested size is reached, or until interrupted by the user.
4395 * Try to read the damaged areas, splitting them into smaller pieces and
4396 reading the non-damaged pieces, until the hardware block size is reached,
4397 or until interrupted by the user.
4398 * Try to read the damaged hardware blocks until the specified number of
4399 retries is reached, or until interrupted by the user.
4400 * Optionally write a log file for later use.
4401
4402 Note: GNU ddrescue is considered to be the best recovery tool available.
4403
4404 In order to duplicate a disk to another disk, execute
4405
4406 ddrescue -vr3 /dev/old_disk /dev/new_disk logfile
4407
4408 or to create an image file
4409
4410 ddrescue -vr3 /dev/old_disk image_file logfile
4411
4412 If the disk is failing fast and you want to get the most data out of it
4413 on the first try, you should probably use "-n" on the first run. This
4414 will avoid splitting error areas. Subsequent runs can use "-r1" or "-r3",
4415 without "-n", to retry those error areas.
4416
4417 To summarise, we execute:
4418
4419 ddrescue -vn /dev/old_disk image_file logfile
4420 ddrescue -v -r3 -C /dev/old_disk image_file logfile
4421
4422 Note: When working with CD-ROMs you should probably specific "-b 2048"
4423
4424 Using Foremost
4425 ---------------------
4426 Foremost {{ http://foremost.sourceforge.net/ }} is a console program
4427 to recover files based on their headers, footers, and internal data
4428 structures. This process is commonly referred to as data carving. Foremost
4429 can work on image files, such as those generated by dd, Safeback, Encase,
4430 etc, or directly on a drive. The headers and footers can be specified
4431 by a configuration file or you can use command line switches to specify
4432 built-in file types. These built-in types look at the data structures of
4433 a given file format allowing for a more reliable and faster recovery.
4434
4435 It can be run on an image file created with any of the above tools, to
4436 extract files:
4437
4438 foremost -i image -o /recovery/foremost
4439
4440 Foremost can be instructed to recover only specific file types, using the
4441 -t command line parameter. In the following example Foremost will extract
4442 only jpg files:
4443
4444 foremost -t jpg -i image -o /recovery/foremost
4445
4446 Available types are: jpg, gif, png, bmp, avi, exe (Windows binaries and
4447 DLLs), wav, riff, wmv (will extract wma also), mov, pdf, ole (will extract
4448 any file using the OLE file structure; this includes PowerPoint, Word,
4449 Excel, Access, and StarWriter), doc, zip (will extract .jar files and Open
4450 Office docs as well; this includes SXW, SXC, SXI, and SX? for undetermined
4451 OpenOffice files), rar, html and cpp.
4452
4453 Using TestDisk
4454 ---------------------
4455 TestDisk {{ http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk }} was primarily
4456 designed to help recover "lost" partitions and/or make non-booting disks
4457 bootable again when these symptoms are caused by faulty software, certain
4458 types of viruses or human error (such as accidentally deleting a Partition
4459 Table). Partition table recovery using TestDisk is really easy.
4460
4461 TestDisk can
4462
4463 * Fix partition table, recover deleted partition
4464 * Recover FAT32 boot sector from its backup
4465 * Rebuild FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 boot sector
4466 * Fix FAT tables
4467 * Rebuild NTFS boot sector
4468 * Recover NTFS boot sector from its backup
4469 * Fix MFT using MFT mirror
4470 * Locate ext2/ext3 Backup SuperBlock
4471
4472 Some great tutorials are available at TestDisk's site: "TestDisk Step
4473 By Step {{ http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step }}",
4474 "Running TestDisk", "Data Recovery Examples" etc.
4475
4476 Using PhotoRec
4477 ---------------------
4478 PhotoRec {{ http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec }} is file data recovery
4479 software designed to recover "lost" files including video, documents
4480 and archives from Hard Disks and CDRom and "lost" pictures (thus, its
4481 'Photo Recovery' name) from digital camera memory. PhotoRec ignores the
4482 filesystem and goes after the underlying data, so it will still work even
4483 if your media's filesystem has been severely damaged or re-formatted.
4484
4485 For more safety, PhotoRec uses read-only access to handle the drive or
4486 memory support you are about to recover "lost" data from.
4487
4488 Important: As soon as a pic or file is accidentally deleted, or you discover
4489 any missing, do NOT save any more pics or files to that memory device or
4490 hard disk drive; otherwise you may overwrite your "lost" data. This means
4491 that even using PhotoRec, you must not choose to write the recovered files
4492 to the same partition they were stored on.
4493
4494 A great tutorial titled "PhotoRec Step By Step {{
4495 http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec_Step_By_Step }}" can be found at
4496 PhotoRec's site.
4497
4498 Links & resources
4499 ****************************************
4500 This page is a compilation of the following pages:
4501
4502 DataRecovery
4503 https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DataRecovery
4504
4505 Hard Drive Recovery, Ubuntu-Style
4506 http://blogs.sun.com/superpat/tags/ddrescue
4507
4508 Recover Data and (deleted) Partition with Linux from Hard Drives, CD-ROMs
4509 or DVDs
4510 http://sysblogd.wordpress.com/2008/01/05/data-recovery-with-linux-from-hard-drives-cd-roms-or-dvds/
4511
4512 dd_rescue
4513 http://www.garloff.de/kurt/linux/ddrescue/
4514
4515 gddrescue: a tool for recovering data from damaged media
4516 http://debaday.debian.net/2007/12/12/gddrescue-a-tool-for-recovering-data-from-damaged-media/
4517
4518 Foremost
4519 http://foremost.sourceforge.net/
4520
4521 TestDisk
4522 http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk
4523
4524 PhotoRec
4525 http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec
4526
4527
4528
4529
4530 Clonezilla-SysRescCD own scripts
4531 ==============================================================================
4532
4533 Intro
4534 ****************************************
4535 In this page I will present the scripts I have ever written for
4536 Clonezilla-SysRescCD
4537
4538 what-cd
4539 ****************************************
4540 Included in: SystemRescueCD
4541
4542 This script determines the device names for your CDs/DVDs, and whether
4543 they can read/write CD/DVD-ROMs
4544
4545 Its help screen is the following:
4546
4547 # what-cd -h
4548 what-cd - v 1.0.0 - S. Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>
4549
4550 what-cd will try to identify your CD/DVDs
4551 You can use it to identify the device name of your CD-Reader (default),
4552 CD-Writer, DVD-Reader, and DVD-Writer.
4553
4554 Usage: what-cd [options]
4555 Availabe options are:
4556 d Print info about DVDs
4557 w Print info about writers
4558 b Batch mode. Only print one device name.
4559 If more than one device is found, print
4560 nothing. For use with scripts
4561 e deviceID Eject device deviceID
4562 Accecpable values: -1...num of devices
4563 Use -1 when in batch mode
4564 v Print version info and exit
4565 h Print this screen and exit
4566
4567 Its typical usage would be to identify the DVD writer:
4568
4569 # what-cd -dw
4570 Device /dev/hdd (id=0) can not write DVDs
4571 Device /dev/hdc (id=1) can write DVDs
4572
4573 When used in batch mode, it will only print a device name. This is
4574 especially useful in scripts, but also in the command line, as shown in
4575 section "Burning the DVD".
4576
4577 # what-cd -dwb
4578 /dev/hdc
4579
4580 continue-multi-cd
4581 ****************************************
4582 Included in: SystemRescueCD
4583
4584 continue-multi-cd helps you append data to a multi session CD; that is
4585 it helps you prepare and burn any consecutive sessions to it. It may lack
4586 some of the functionality you would have had if you used the command line
4587 tools themselves (mksiofs and cdrecord), but because of it, it keeps you
4588 away from writing a lot of parameters.
4589
4590 You could use it for example, to burn some extra documentation to
4591 Clonezilla-SysRescCD CD, but you cannot use it to change the configuration
4592 files of isolinux, as it just reads the first session when booting.
4593
4594 Its help screen is the following:
4595
4596 # continue-multi-cd -h
4597 continue-multi-cd - v 2.0.0 - S. Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>
4598
4599 Usage: continue-multi-cd [options] <path to be added to CD>
4600
4601 Available options are:
4602 d Specify write device (in case auto detection does
4603 not work)
4604 c Close the CD. No more burning will be possible
4605 Default is to leave it open
4606 l Don't burn the CD after image creation
4607 o <image name> Save the image file as <image name>
4608 r Remove the image file after burning
4609 f On the fly burning of the CD. No image file will
4610 be created
4611 v Print version info and exit
4612 h Print this screen and exit
4613
4614 You have to note one thing though: the folder <path to be added to CD>
4615 will not be present on the CD; only its contents will.
4616
4617 Let's suppose that you want to add to the CD the folder extra-doc,
4618 which contains q-a.html and faq.html, and that its full path is
4619 /home/user/extra-doc. If you issue the command
4620
4621 continue-multi-cd -mwr /home/user/extra-doc
4622
4623 you will not have a extra-doc folder on the root of your CD, but the files
4624 q-a.html and faq.html will be present there.
4625
4626 In order to have extra-doc on the CD, you have to copy it to a temporary
4627 location and pass that path to continue-multi-cd. Let's see how it's done:
4628
4629 mkdir -p /tmp/for-the-cd
4630 cp -r /home/user/extra-doc /tmp/for-the-cd
4631 continue-multi-cd -r /tmp/for-the-cd
4632 rm -rf /tmp/for-the-cd
4633
4634
4635
4636
4637 Identifying devices in Linux
4638 ==============================================================================
4639
4640 Intro
4641 ****************************************
4642 This page is intended to help new Linux users and Windows users identify
4643 their hard disks / CD ROMs in a Linux box.
4644
4645 Linux disks and partition names may be different from other operating
4646 systems. You need to know the names that Linux uses when you format,
4647 mount or select partitions or disks.
4648
4649 Linux uses the so called device name to access disks and partitions. You
4650 can think of it as a link to the actual driver of the disk. All available
4651 devices have a corresponding file in /dev (e.g. /dev/hda1).
4652
4653 In general, each disk / CD-ROM has a three letter name, for example hda. Each
4654 partition in such a disk has a number associated with it, starting from 1. So
4655 the first partition of disk hda would be hda1, the second hda2 and so on.
4656
4657 Depending on the device type, Linux gives the following names to devices:
4658
4659 * IDE (ATA) floppies
4660 The first floppy drive is named /dev/fd0.
4661 The second floppy drive is named /dev/fd1.
4662
4663 * IDE (ATA) disks /CD-ROMs
4664 The master disk on IDE primary controller is named /dev/hda.
4665 The slave disk on IDE primary controller is named /dev/hdb.
4666 The master and slave disks of the secondary controller can be called
4667 /dev/hdc and /dev/hdd, respectively.
4668
4669 Linux represents the primary partitions as the drive name, plus the numbers
4670 1 through 4. For example, the first primary partition on the first IDE
4671 drive is /dev/hda1. The logical partitions are numbered starting at 5,
4672 so the first logical partition on that same drive is /dev/hda5. Remember
4673 that the extended partition, that is, the primary partition holding the
4674 logical partitions, is not usable by itself. This applies to SCSI disks
4675 as well as IDE disks.
4676
4677 * SCSI disks
4678 The first SCSI disk (SCSI ID address-wise) is named /dev/sda.
4679 The second SCSI disk (address-wise) is named /dev/sdb, and so on.
4680
4681 * SCSI CD-ROMs
4682 The first SCSI CD-ROM is named /dev/scd0, also known as /dev/sr0.
4683 The second SCSI CD-ROM is named /dev/scd1, also known as /dev/sr1, and so on.
4684
4685 * USB disks
4686 They are named just like SCSI disks. The only difference is that the
4687 partition number has to do with the file system on the disk. If it's
4688 /dev/sdx4, then it's a VFAT file system and if it's /dev/sdx1 it's probably
4689 a linux (ext2, ext3) file system.
4690
4691 Examples
4692 ****************************************
4693 In order to identify the disks of a system you have to work with, a basic
4694 knowledge of its configuration (how many disks it has, whether it's a
4695 dual-boot system etc.) is welcomed but not required. A more experienced
4696 user will not have to worry about it, though.
4697
4698 Linux systems based on a 2.6.x kernel (like Clonezilla Live and
4699 SystemRescueCD) provide all the necessary support to identify a system's
4700 disk configuration, with just a couple of commands.
4701
4702 Example 1
4703 ---------------------
4704 The first system I have to work with is a dual-boot system (Windows -
4705 Linux), with two disks and two DVD-ROMs.
4706
4707 The first command will tell me what disks and partitions exist in the
4708 system. So here it is:
4709
4710 # cat /proc/partitions
4711 major minor #blocks name
4712
4713 3 0 312571224 hda
4714 3 1 23446836 hda1
4715 3 2 40957717 hda2
4716 3 3 245240257 hda3
4717 3 4 2923830 hda4
4718 3 64 244198584 hdb
4719 3 65 41945683 hdb1
4720 3 66 2104515 hdb2
4721 3 67 1 hdb3
4722 3 68 125909437 hdb4
4723 3 69 74236333 hdb5
4724
4725 The output of this command tells me that the system has two disks (hda
4726 and hdb) which are the primary master and slave devices.
4727
4728 The first disk contains four primary partitions (hda1-hda4) and the second
4729 one four primary partitions (hdb1-hdb4) and a logical one (hdb5). Wait a
4730 minute!!! this can't be right... In order to have a logical partition, I
4731 must have a primary that contains it, which means that in this case I can't
4732 have four primary partitions. So what is really happening here is that I have
4733 two primary and two logical, plus an extended primary which contains them.
4734
4735 What remains to be found is what type of partitions they are. I will find
4736 that out by executing the following commands:
4737
4738 # fdisk -l /dev/hda
4739
4740 Disk /dev/hda: 320.0 GB, 320072933376 bytes
4741 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 38913 cylinders
4742 Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
4743
4744 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
4745 /dev/hda1 * 1 2919 23446836 7 HPFS/NTFS
4746 /dev/hda2 2920 8018 40957717+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
4747 /dev/hda3 8019 38549 245240257+ 7 HPFS/NTFS
4748 /dev/hda4 38550 38913 2923830 82 Linux swap / Solaris
4749
4750 # fdisk -l /dev/hdb
4751
4752 Disk /dev/hdb: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes
4753 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 30401 cylinders
4754 Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
4755
4756 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
4757 /dev/hdb1 * 1 5222 41945683+ 83 Linux
4758 /dev/hdb2 5223 5484 2104515 82 Linux swap / Solaris
4759 /dev/hdb3 5485 14726 74236365 f W95 Ext'd (LBA)
4760 /dev/hdb4 14727 30401 125909437+ 83 Linux
4761 /dev/hdb5 5485 14726 74236333+ 83 Linux
4762
4763 Ok, this clears things up. The first disk contains three Windows XP
4764 partitions (NTFS) and a Linux Swap partition. In fact, /dev/hda1 is the
4765 system "disk" for Windows, since Windows will always be installed in the
4766 first partition of the primary master disk.
4767
4768 The second disk, on the other hand, contains a Linux partition (/dev/hdb1),
4769 a Linux Swap partition /dev/hdb2, and an extended partition /dev/hdb3
4770 which contains two more Linux partitions (/dev/hdb4 and /dev/hdb5).
4771
4772 The final thing we need to know about this system is what CD/DVD-ROMs it
4773 has. So I execute the command:
4774
4775 # cat /proc/sys/dev/cdrom/info
4776 CD-ROM information, Id: cdrom.c 3.20 2003/12/17
4777
4778 drive name: hdd hdc
4779 drive speed: 0 126
4780 drive # of slots: 1 1
4781 Can close tray: 1 1
4782 Can open tray: 1 1
4783 Can lock tray: 1 1
4784 Can change speed: 1 1
4785 Can select disk: 0 0
4786 Can read multisession: 1 1
4787 Can read MCN: 1 1
4788 Reports media changed: 1 1
4789 Can play audio: 1 1
4790 Can write CD-R: 0 1
4791 Can write CD-RW: 0 1
4792 Can read DVD: 1 1
4793 Can write DVD-R: 0 1
4794 Can write DVD-RAM: 0 1
4795 Can read MRW: 1 0
4796 Can write MRW: 1 0
4797 Can write RAM: 0 1
4798
4799 The system has two DVD-ROMs, hdc which is the secondary master and is a
4800 DVD writer, and hdd which is the secondary slave and is a DVD reader.
4801
4802 At this point I will connect my USB stick, wait for a while and execute
4803 the command:
4804
4805 # cat /proc/partitions
4806 major minor #blocks name
4807
4808 3 0 312571224 hda
4809 3 1 23446836 hda1
4810 3 2 40957717 hda2
4811 3 3 245240257 hda3
4812 3 4 2923830 hda4
4813 3 64 244198584 hdb
4814 3 65 41945683 hdb1
4815 3 66 2104515 hdb2
4816 3 67 1 hdb3
4817 3 68 125909437 hdb4
4818 3 69 74236333 hdb5
4819 8 0 1007615 sda
4820 8 4 1006576 sda4
4821
4822 As you can see, we have two more lines here, that reflect the changes to
4823 our system (the connection of the USB device). So my USB stick is recognized
4824 by the system as sda, and the disk itself contains a VFAT file system.
4825
4826 Example 2
4827 ---------------------
4828 The second system is a Linux box with one SCSI disk and a CD-ROM. Again
4829 I issue the command:
4830
4831 # cat /proc/partitions
4832 major minor #blocks name
4833
4834 8 0 156290904 sda
4835 8 1 64228 sda1
4836 8 2 15735667 sda2
4837 8 3 15735667 sda3
4838 8 4 124744725 sda4
4839
4840 From its output I see I only have one disk sda, which contains four
4841 partitions.
4842
4843 Then I execute fdisk, which shows me that the disk contains one DOS and
4844 three Linux partitions.
4845
4846 # fdisk -l /dev/sda
4847 Disk /dev/sda: 160.0 GB, 160041885696 bytes
4848 255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 19457 cylinders
4849 Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes
4850
4851 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
4852 /dev/sda1 1 8 64228+ 6 FAT16
4853 /dev/sda2 9 1967 15735667+ 83 Linux
4854 /dev/sda3 1968 3926 15735667+ 83 Linux
4855 /dev/sda4 3927 19456 124744725 83 Linux
4856
4857 Finally I query its CD-ROMs, by executing the command:
4858
4859 # cat /proc/sys/dev/cdrom/info
4860 CD-ROM information, Id: cdrom.c 3.20 2003/12/17
4861
4862 drive name: hda
4863 drive speed: 0
4864 drive # of slots: 1
4865 Can close tray: 1
4866 Can open tray: 1
4867 Can lock tray: 1
4868 Can change speed: 1
4869 Can select disk: 0
4870 Can read multisession: 1
4871 Can read MCN: 1
4872 Reports media changed: 1
4873 Can play audio: 1
4874 Can write CD-R: 1
4875 Can write CD-RW: 1
4876 Can read DVD: 1
4877 Can write DVD-R: 0
4878 Can write DVD-RAM: 0
4879 Can read MRW: 1
4880 Can write MRW: 1
4881 Can write RAM: 0
4882
4883 Which tells me that I only have an IDE CD-ROM, (hda), which is actually
4884 a CD writer.
4885
4886 Then I connect my USB stick, and I get:
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 8 16 1007615 sdb
4897 8 20 1006576 sdb4
4898
4899 Although it's the same stick I used with the previous system, which was
4900 recognized as sda there, now its name is sdb. So, its name depends on the
4901 system it is connected to, and will not always be the same.
4902
4903 SCSI disks when there are none!!!
4904 ****************************************
4905 I am confused!!! I am on a disk with two ATA (PATA) disks, but when I
4906 query the partition list, this is what I get:
4907
4908 # cat /proc/partitions
4909 major minor #blocks name
4910
4911 3 0 312571224 sda
4912 3 1 23446836 sda1
4913 3 2 40957717 sda2
4914 3 3 245240257 sda3
4915 3 4 2923830 sda4
4916 3 64 244198584 sdb
4917 3 65 41945683 sdb1
4918 3 66 2104515 sdb2
4919 3 67 1 sdb3
4920 3 68 125909437 sdb4
4921 3 69 74236333 sdb5
4922
4923 According to what's discussed up to now, the system seems to have two SCSI
4924 disks, but I know it actually has two ATA (PATA) disks. What's going on?.
4925
4926 What is really happening here is that you have one of the newest Linux
4927 kernels (using the libata disk driver), which shows ALL disks as SCSI. That
4928 does not mean that the system thinks it has SCSI disks, it just names them
4929 as such.
4930
4931 To make is clear, execute the commands:
4932
4933 # hdparm -i /dev/sda
4934
4935 /dev/sda:
4936
4937 Model=WDC WD3200AAJB-00TYA0, FwRev=00.02C01, SerialNo= WD-WCAPZ0648927
4938 Config={ HardSect NotMFM HdSw>15uSec SpinMotCtl Fixed DTR>5Mbs FmtGapReq }
4939 RawCHS=16383/16/63, TrkSize=0, SectSize=0, ECCbytes=50
4940 BuffType=unknown, BuffSize=8192kB, MaxMultSect=16, MultSect=?16?
4941 CurCHS=16383/16/63, CurSects=16514064, LBA=yes, LBAsects=268435455
4942 IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
4943 PIO modes: pio0 pio3 pio4
4944 DMA modes: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
4945 UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 *udma5
4946 AdvancedPM=no WriteCache=enabled
4947 Drive conforms to: Unspecified: ATA/ATAPI-1,2,3,4,5,6,7
4948
4949 * signifies the current active mode
4950
4951 # hdparm -i /dev/sdb
4952
4953 /dev/sdb:
4954
4955 Model=WDC WD2500JB-00GVC0, FwRev=08.02D08, SerialNo= WD-WCAL76141931
4956 Config={ HardSect NotMFM HdSw>15uSec SpinMotCtl Fixed DTR>5Mbs FmtGapReq }
4957 RawCHS=16383/16/63, TrkSize=57600, SectSize=600, ECCbytes=74
4958 BuffType=DualPortCache, BuffSize=8192kB, MaxMultSect=16, MultSect=?16?
4959 CurCHS=16383/16/63, CurSects=16514064, LBA=yes, LBAsects=268435455
4960 IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
4961 PIO modes: pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4
4962 DMA modes: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
4963 UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 *udma5
4964 AdvancedPM=no WriteCache=enabled
4965 Drive conforms to: Unspecified: ATA/ATAPI-1,2,3,4,5,6
4966
4967 * signifies the current active mode
4968
4969 This is also valid for the CDs/DVDs of the system:
4970
4971 # cat /proc/sys/dev/cdrom/info
4972 CD-ROM information, Id: cdrom.c 3.20 2003/12/17
4973
4974 drive name: sr1 sr0
4975 drive speed: 0 126
4976 drive # of slots: 1 1
4977 Can close tray: 1 1
4978 Can open tray: 1 1
4979 Can lock tray: 1 1
4980 Can change speed: 1 1
4981 Can select disk: 0 0
4982 Can read multisession: 1 1
4983 Can read MCN: 1 1
4984 Reports media changed: 1 1
4985 Can play audio: 1 1
4986 Can write CD-R: 0 1
4987 Can write CD-RW: 0 1
4988 Can read DVD: 1 1
4989 Can write DVD-R: 0 1
4990 Can write DVD-RAM: 0 1
4991 Can read MRW: 1 0
4992 Can write MRW: 1 0
4993 Can write RAM: 0 1
4994
4995 While the hdparm shows they are ATA devices:
4996
4997 # hdparm -i /dev/sr0
4998
4999 /dev/sr0:
5000
5001 Model=HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H42L, FwRev=SL01 , SerialNo=K286CQF2231
5002 Config={ Fixed Removeable DTR10Mbs nonMagnetic }
5003 RawCHS=0/0/0, TrkSize=0, SectSize=0, ECCbytes=0
5004 BuffType=unknown, BuffSize=0kB, MaxMultSect=0
5005 (maybe): CurCHS=0/0/0, CurSects=0, LBA=yes, LBAsects=0
5006 IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
5007 PIO modes: pio0 pio3 pio4
5008 DMA modes: mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
5009 UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 *udma2 udma3 udma4
5010 AdvancedPM=no
5011 Drive conforms to: unknown: ATA/ATAPI-4,5,6,7
5012
5013 * signifies the current active mode
5014
5015
5016
5017

Properties

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