DD utility can copy and convert simple files, device drivers (e.g for CD ROM, LAN, Speakers, HDD etc) and can access boot sector information that is why it can be used to prepare bootable backup and restore images. There are other ways to clone a hard drive! Overall, Linux provides a good experience, regardless of how you run it. This is the difference between image backup and file (or data) backup where selected files are copied. For others, that means copying a hidden folder. sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt. Everything. If there was an update that made your system non-bootable and they have fixed it in the repositories, you can use the Live CD to run apt-get to get the new files to fix your system. Other possible scenarios to loss space is to install some recovery software, to install some live Ubuntu (or other Linux) distribution or for example to use Dell Diagnostic tool or any other PC makers diagnostic tools that write bootable image to USB flash drives. The Service Tag or product ID of the device you need a recovery image for. For example, restore the whole hard disk from the image file "disk1.img": dd if=disk1.img of=/dev/sda Restore the first partition of /dev/sda from the image file "disk2.img": dd if=disk2.img of=/dev/sda1 To save your apps, you can have to learn how to back up each individual one. An absent mind can, at worst, ruin hardware and, more likely, result in data loss. You will need administrator rights to execute any dd commands. dd began as a Unix command, so in addition to Linux, it supports other Unix-like operating systems such as FreeBSD and macOS. sdX and sdY refer to the drives you are interacting with. Cloning a Drive. The time for completion may vary from one backup task to another depending various parameters such as disk size, I/O wait, load on machine and compression level and technique used. A hard drive or removable media with access rights and at least 8GB of available data storage space for the download. Update Failure. Your email address will not be published. Image backup is a process which creates a copy of a disk partition or the entire disk. There is no space after the comma. Graphical user interface of dd Utility makes complex disk operations so easy and keeps the user involved. Cloning a drive is a surefire way to make a backup of your computer. Boot the Ubuntu Live CD. Now, let's make sense of what's going on. He values ethics over features and helps others take control over their digital lives. Whichever is appropriate to the media you have. conv=sync adds input blocks with zeroes whenever there are any read errors. There's also a great write-up on the Arch Linux wiki. For some, that means exporting a specific file. DD Utility - Easily Backup and Restore Disk Image Files in Ubuntu Key Features. Now it's on Spotify too! All rights reserved, DD Utility - Easily Backup and Restore Disk Image Files in Ubuntu. In case you're interested, dd's name refers to a statement in IBM's Job Control Language. By default, dd can take a while to transfer data. Then dd replaces the existing drive with this image. Use this command instead: To be clear, gunzip is g unzip, as in the opposite of g zip This command decrompresses your backup. Cloning a drive is a surefire way to make a backup of your computer. dd is also fast. The disk may also be dragged and dropped to the dd Utility in order to initiate the backup process. Similarly, you can create disk images for other partitions of primary hard disk in external storage medium. You will then be alerted that Rufus has detected that the Ubuntu ISO is an ISOHybrid image.