Unix disk copy using dd - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

3 May 2007

--------Original Messages:
From: Doc Shipley <doc at mdrconsult.com>
Subject: Re: Unix disk copy using dd ?
To: General at mdrconsult.com,	"Discussion at mdrconsult.com":On-Topic and
	Off-Topic Posts	<cctalk at classiccmp.org>
Message-ID: <463A0C40.6020707 at mdrconsult.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Andy Piercy wrote:
...
  More disk copy questions..

 Can you copy an entire disk using the UNIX dd command from a smaller 
 disc to
 a larger one and retain the capacity of the larger drive?

 i.e. maybe create a partition on the larger drive which matches the smaller
 drive? 
   Not without other tools, at least on any OS I work with.  dd 
overwrites the filesystem's index, superblock, etc, so even if the 
partition is bigger than the filesystem, you can't use it.

	Doc
------------Reply:

Assuming you have a third disk or a spare partition on the larger drive,
can't you tar the small disk > to a file there and then untar to the final
disk/partition?

m