dd

The following page contains uses for the dd command.

Image a Disk

Using dd, with disk sdX, create a gzipped image:

dd if=/dev/sdX conv=sync,noerror bs=64K | gzip -c  > /path/to/backup.img.gz

If fat32, split into volumes:

dd if=/dev/sdX conv=sync,noerror bs=64K | gzip -c | split -a3 -b2G - /path/to/backup.img.gz

Save the drive geometry.

fdisk -l /dev/sdX > /path/to/list_fdisk.info

To restore a system:

gunzip -c /path/to/backup.img.gz | dd of=/dev/sdX

Or, if it's been split:

cat /path/to/backup.img.gz* | gunzip -c | dd of=/dev/sdX