Recommended BSD HDD Clone Software from boot CD

Senenmut · February 6, 2021, 11:45pm

hi all,

bsd is written in slices , so normal cloning tools such like Acronis , Partition magic etc.
cannot read the partition indeed.
Are there any suggestions for a bootable cloning tool ?
There is the pkg clonehdd for nomadbsd install , but if you want to restore nomadbsd
from a backup back to the original USBFlashdrive or USBHDD ,
you must use a boot CD to run this clonehdd pkg.
How to do that ?
It might be interesting for nomadbsd users to backup their whole flashdrive and have the option to REPLAY the backup back to the original flashdrive.

UniXstyle · February 8, 2021, 11:41am

Have you tried clonezilla it’s based on linux and resambles the good old norton ghost somewhat. -)

Senenmut · February 8, 2021, 12:30pm

not jet already.

mk1 · February 10, 2021, 4:57pm

Hi @Senenmut,

the partition schemes used by FreeBSD is OS independent. It can use the old MBR (like the NomadBSD image) or GPT. A slice is just a different term for what you know as partition. So you can use any tool to clone a HDD. I use the good old dd (which is available on any NIX(-like) system) to clone devices, and to write images to another device.

ludensen · February 15, 2021, 6:02am

Ahoy @Senenmut,
just like @mk1 I prefer dd to do backups (clone to file or other device).

It is quick and easy from the command line.
You can make a one-liner that compresses the backup file as it writes to disk.
By using a loop device you can mount your file and browse the content (the file has to be uncompressed). Not limited to image-files made by dd of course.

If you prefer a GUI, I can recommend GParted and if you want it in a boot environment, have a look at SystemRescueCd. Was a great tool earlier in my life…
Knoppix also has GParted - if you want a distribution with everything but the kitchen sink

Senenmut · February 17, 2021, 2:00pm

yes , pure dd seems the best.

MARCELO_CORREA · August 26, 2021, 2:09am

Hello Senenmut,

After a long search I found the only backup application with GUI interface capable of recognizing, manipulating, backing up only data from each NomadBSD partition and restoring correctly to any HDD.

Hope this helps!

Best wishes!
Marcelo