shriek Posted September 10, 2005 Share Posted September 10, 2005 Hi, By installing osx86 I thought about using the same technic (dd'ing) a previous created image of pristine windows installation (with a bunch of standart software already installed) to a formated partition or disk. Can I do it with a live cd? I wanted to backup the image to USB HDD, but it is formated in FAT32 and it does not support files larger than 4GB. Also, my windows installation is NTFS. Live CDs I've tried only mount my USB HDD and NTFS partition as read-only so I can't write too it. Also, dd copies even blank space and it would take hours to backup a 60GB HDD. I though about reducing the instalation partition to as minum as possible and after I restore it I would resize back the partition to the maximum size. If you know of any alternative I could use I would be glad. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/2283-using-dd-to-back-up-and-restore-windows/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith04 Posted September 16, 2005 Share Posted September 16, 2005 Hi, By installing osx86 I thought about using the same technic (dd'ing) a previous created image of pristine windows installation (with a bunch of standart software already installed) to a formated partition or disk. Can I do it with a live cd? I wanted to backup the image to USB HDD, but it is formated in FAT32 and it does not support files larger than 4GB. Also, my windows installation is NTFS. Live CDs I've tried only mount my USB HDD and NTFS partition as read-only so I can't write too it. Also, dd copies even blank space and it would take hours to backup a 60GB HDD. I though about reducing the instalation partition to as minum as possible and after I restore it I would resize back the partition to the maximum size. If you know of any alternative I could use I would be glad. the dd method will work, but there are a few better(?) ways to do it. There are utilities like Norton Ghost that will only copy the used portion of the disk/partition, and can either copy the image to a parition, or seperate disk. Only downside is it isnt free (although if you're installing OS X, that probably wont stop you ) Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/2283-using-dd-to-back-up-and-restore-windows/#findComment-16734 Share on other sites More sharing options...
shriek Posted September 16, 2005 Author Share Posted September 16, 2005 the dd method will work, but there are a few better(?) ways to do it. There are utilities like Norton Ghost that will only copy the used portion of the disk/partition, and can either copy the image to a parition, or seperate disk. Only downside is it isnt free (although if you're installing OS X, that probably wont stop you ) I tried ghost but I thought it would only work with windows installed system. I mean, I could only restore the image with a installed ghost. I'm thinking about restoring after formating a partition and without having to install windows. with Norton ghost I would have to have windows installed... or would I not...? That's why I was thinking about using any tools I could find on a linux LIveCD because I would not need to have anything installed before installing... Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/2283-using-dd-to-back-up-and-restore-windows/#findComment-16763 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tornado Posted September 16, 2005 Share Posted September 16, 2005 Ghost is an AWESOME application for what you want to do. I use it all the time. Do NOT get the newest version of Ghost however, because it no longer will boot without windows being installed first. I think I have v8 and it boots from two floppy disks right into the application and you either copy or create and image file of an entire hard drive or just a partition. You will need at least two hard drives though, as it cannot save an image from one partition to another partition on the same drive. It is a GREAT application, I use it all the time. Install a clean windows xp environment, get all the current updates, activate it, and then image the drive. Never have to do all that work again until you upgrade the mainboard. Check it out.... If you look around, you can still find the older verision, I think v8 is 2003, in stores, like office depot. They are looking to unload this older stuff, so sometimes you can get good deals. (yes, BUY IT!) Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/2283-using-dd-to-back-up-and-restore-windows/#findComment-16767 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuxedo Jack Posted September 16, 2005 Share Posted September 16, 2005 V7.5 boots from one floppy, and it's quite light on disk and such. The compression algorithms aren't that good, though, but hey, for a disk image, it's pretty dang good. Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/2283-using-dd-to-back-up-and-restore-windows/#findComment-16832 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesown Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 You can definitly use the DD method, so long as the livecd supports the USB drive you are using. Just run this command: DD if=<source driver> of=<destination drive> Link to comment https://www.insanelymac.com/forum/topic/2283-using-dd-to-back-up-and-restore-windows/#findComment-18831 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts