First off, I'm using 2.6.13 kernel and have an ITE 8212F IDE RAID (raid off) controller that apparently isn't supported out of the box in older kernels, and since my boot drive is hooked up to this controller I really need something that supports that controller out of the box.
I've looked at a bunch of different offerings:
1. partimage - skips unused sectors, which is what I want, but apparently doesn't work
with 2.6.x kernels. I also believe it's based on 2.4.x kernel and doesn't support
my controller.
2. g4l - latest version comes with a kernel that does support my controller, but it
takes forever to zero out unused sectors using this method, and I didn't have
much success the first time I tried it so I'd prefer something easier to use or
better documented.
3. deviceimage - does a bit for bit backup and should work fine, but not being able
to skip unused sectors means long backup times.
4. mondo - looked like a good solution as well, but apparently doesn't work with
2.6.x kernels.
5. acronis TI - was most hopeful about this one working. created a bootable rescue cd
but when it came time to select partitions to image, after i made the
selections and was ready to have it image the desired partitions I got
an error message.
So I haven't found anything that's easy for a n00b to use and is also reliable, saves time by not copying unused sectors, and works with 2.6.13+ kernels.
I have about 8GB "core" system I want to backup so that if I ever wish to experiment with other OSes/distros/software and screwup or have to format my HD, I can simply restore this "core" system I imaged and be back in business again.
I'd like a bootable backup CD that enables me to select partitions to image and will allow me to store those images in a temp directory on one of my hard drives and/or burn the images to CD-R/DVD-R (it would be nice if it could do the splitting calculations for me). Then all I have to do to restore is format my HDs, pop in this bootable backup CD, pop in my backup images or point to the temp directory they're stored in, and come back to my system in 30 mins to a fully restored "core" system.
Is this possible? I'd really appreciate some help with this. Thanks in advance!
I've looked at a bunch of different offerings:
1. partimage - skips unused sectors, which is what I want, but apparently doesn't work
with 2.6.x kernels. I also believe it's based on 2.4.x kernel and doesn't support
my controller.
2. g4l - latest version comes with a kernel that does support my controller, but it
takes forever to zero out unused sectors using this method, and I didn't have
much success the first time I tried it so I'd prefer something easier to use or
better documented.
3. deviceimage - does a bit for bit backup and should work fine, but not being able
to skip unused sectors means long backup times.
4. mondo - looked like a good solution as well, but apparently doesn't work with
2.6.x kernels.
5. acronis TI - was most hopeful about this one working. created a bootable rescue cd
but when it came time to select partitions to image, after i made the
selections and was ready to have it image the desired partitions I got
an error message.
So I haven't found anything that's easy for a n00b to use and is also reliable, saves time by not copying unused sectors, and works with 2.6.13+ kernels.
I have about 8GB "core" system I want to backup so that if I ever wish to experiment with other OSes/distros/software and screwup or have to format my HD, I can simply restore this "core" system I imaged and be back in business again.
I'd like a bootable backup CD that enables me to select partitions to image and will allow me to store those images in a temp directory on one of my hard drives and/or burn the images to CD-R/DVD-R (it would be nice if it could do the splitting calculations for me). Then all I have to do to restore is format my HDs, pop in this bootable backup CD, pop in my backup images or point to the temp directory they're stored in, and come back to my system in 30 mins to a fully restored "core" system.
Is this possible? I'd really appreciate some help with this. Thanks in advance!
It should be REALLY easy to compile it if for some reason it needs to be compiled for a certain version of kernel.
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