well, if you use dd and you set the input file to be the first device for the HDD in /dev (the root device for the drive), then *everything* should be copied bit for bit. No missing data, no corruptions. In this case, your root drive would probably be /dev/sda (with 1 thru x being the partitions in order).
here is what I use to backup my system: dd if=/dev/sda of=/Volumes/Media/backups/macHD.img that copies the entirety of the primary boot drive (and all its partitions, boot records, etc.) into a single contiguous file. no muss, no fuss. I have room on my 2 TB external for at least 1 months worth of backups at one per week. Considering that the boot drive is only 256 GB, it leaves me a lot of room for other things (including storing backups of documents, installation files, and my talking book library. Not too shabby, eh? -eric On Sep 12, 2015, at 5:09 PM, Joe Quinn wrote: > did i ask this before, i use dd, but then I'd still have same problem with > the corrupt partition issue, right? forgive the question if I asked it before. > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Sep 12, 2015, at 9:14 AM, Eric Oyen <eric.o...@icloud.com> wrote: >> >> well, here is how the drive imaging works with Disk utility. >> >> you can create a hard disk image, partition it and then copy the relevant >> files to it. mind you, this is not exactly a clone. I haven't tried this >> particular method myself, so I am not sure if it would work. >> >> However, if you dd the entire device, all information (including boot >> record, partition map, drive allocation tables, volume bitmaps and >> everything else is preserved as a bit for bit image. with a large enough >> backup drive, you can store the entire image as a single file. This is the >> method I use and it works 100% of the time. THe other method (creating a >> disk image using DU) will not have the same results. you might miss some >> things like the MBR, partition tables and a few other needed items. now, I >> use dd as a matter of course simply because I don't have money to throw at a >> backup program that may, or may not, be entirely accessible for the totally >> blind user. it is also an included command line app that can be run in >> terminal from the recovery partition. SInce I can run this recovery >> partition from either a CD or a USB stick (properly configured), I don't >> have to worry about anything on the system drive that might accidentally get >> wiped (considering that I am wiping it anyway). >> >> if you need more info on dd, you can read here: >> https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/dd.1.html >> >> -eric >> >>> On Sep 12, 2015, at 6:31 AM, Joe Quinn wrote: >>> >>> So if I Image my boot camp partition, then I deleted, reinstall it, and >>> then restore it, would it boot? I assume not because as you said it >>> wouldn't copy everything, only where there is data. I'm just confused. :-) >>> I should just come in and Match the start and sectors of the partition >>> tables. >>> >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>>> On Sep 12, 2015, at 12:41 AM, Eric Oyen <eric.o...@icloud.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> that would work. you can create a sparse image of the drive as an image >>>> file on another volume. the beauty about this is that only those places >>>> that have data will be copied. ANything without data will simply be >>>> ignored (as a zero space allocation). THis generally only works if you >>>> create a sparse image volume to mimic a hard dis and then do a copy of all >>>> the files inside the partition. its not exactly a bit for bit backup, but >>>> it serves as a stopgap. >>>> >>>> -eric >>>> >>>>> On Sep 11, 2015, at 1:24 PM, Joe Quinn wrote: >>>>> >>>>> there's an "image" function in disk utilitity. would that work or do >>>>> anything? it's in the tolbar with firstaid, restore, etc. >>>>> >>>>> Sent from my iPhone >>>>> >>>>>> On Sep 11, 2015, at 8:35 AM, Eric Oyen <eric.o...@icloud.com> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> I mentioned dd. Believe me, its a lot better than msbackup. the last >>>>>> time I used MS Backup, it missed a number of files in my user settings >>>>>> directory. so, these days, I backup the windows partition to an external >>>>>> drive as an image file. I do so once per week and only keep 2 >>>>>> consecutive backups. THis way, I have the next most recent and the most >>>>>> recent backups on hand should something be amiss. >>>>>> >>>>>> -eric >>>>>> >>>>>>> On Sep 11, 2015, at 5:50 AM, - wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Someone mentioned "dd" as a backup utility in terminal. Ditto and >>>>>>> rsync can perform the same function. In google use "os10 backup" and >>>>>>> one of the names for tons of web sites for using them as backup. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> On Thu, 10 Sep 2015, Joe Quinn wrote: >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> What are some good back up programs that will back up my Mac OS X >>>>>>>> drive as well as the Boot Camp partition? I think I'm going to need >>>>>>>> it. :-) >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Sent from my iPhone >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>>> an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> XB >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>> an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>> an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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