for RPI the Image Backup is a big question, not so much for your work ( privat files...)
but for system, setup: installs and tweaks, change of SD cards and USB system drives.
as i start usually from a Windows 7 PC, download RASPBIAN desktop .img.zip or NOOBS / PINN .zip
i am used to the win7 tools
++ SD Formatter (v5.0)
++ win32 disk imager (v1.0)
++ etcher (v1.3.1)
+++ guiformat32 and h2testw ( for special jobs )
i was used to use win32diskimager to read back SD cards to .img files and zip it.
but much changed my working style when i find the
RASPBIAN desktop menu SD card copier tool (piclone)
( or rpi_clone CLI version )
it copies a running system to a SD card or USB stick / makes it bootable,
works for smaller drives ( as long the content fits ) and for bigger drives ( with automatic enlarging the last partition )
i now have a MASTER SD card / my slowest 8GB SD card / with the RASPBIAN image, updated and customized.
and when i need a new system i boot that / update again / use SD card copier tool from desktop menu.
* * the 2 variable points are later to be changed manually:
RPI_IP: change in dhcpcd.conf eth0: 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.103 and wlan0: 192.168.1.200 to 192.168.1.203
name: change with sudo raspi-config RPI0 to RPI3..
reboot
but still wanting a .img file i read it back to PC by win32 disk imager. ( a 8GB file ) and zip it down.
all runs well, but at forum more people have problems with the windows tools
possible all related with the latest
windows 10 / anniversary update / to
Windows 10, version 1607
+ + now can read / make partitions on USB drives and SD cards
- - but the old tools what are used to see only the first partition / but dealing with the full drive
now not work any more?
( i only have win7 SP0, so its lot of guesswork what i say about windows 10 )
but see this interesting update:
one of the latest forum posts is here
so i start to play about creating a .img file by RPI instead by win32 disk imager.
-1- a pre condition is that you have that space, minimal the size of the content of the system drive. use
* example on a system on a 32GB USB stick: df -Th and lsblk
so minimal needed 6GB / a image file on windows by win32diskimager would be 32GB / .zip 2.2GB /
-2- DD
the official way with linux dd
-- on PC or RPI
-- with the source in a USB card reader ( offline )
-- with the target a big empty system SD card or a other USB drive
and i found some smart command...
so need to test with a 2 commandline thing with separate .img and .img.zip again.
what i not have clear if the required space is different?
p.s. i got that command from official docu backup
-3- image-backup hereRONR introduces us to ?his? backup bash script
what can work on a running system and makes .img files.
so he give the warning: Do NOT create the backup image file on the running SD card
i not find any homepage / related forum post /
also CLI image-backup -h --help not work
and i learned the hard way
-a- if the target is a USB stick in FAT32 the created .img file will only be possible up to 4GB
-b- if i make ( gparted) it a EXT4 file system the win7 PC can not read it
-c- if i later format it back to FAT32 ( gparted) and just store the zipped file ( under 4GB )
the windows PC still refuse to read it ( and want format the stick )
-d- the image-backup tool does only
too late, i already trashed my NOOBS/PINN system camera tools setup.
but now i think i got it:
here at try 4th i do:
SOURCE: system SD 8GB ( my master RASPBIAN desktop ( from image / 2 partitions ) running
TARGET: 8GB USB stick (FAT32) #___-a- format USB stick to ext4 #___-b- image-backup #___-c- incremental backup #___-d- look inside that backup .img file ( like for restore one file only ) #___-e- reconfig SAMBA so windows PC can read that .img file #___-f- network transfer and zip to PC #___-g- burn to 16GB SD card with etcher and boot in RPI and increase file system
but i consider that all as TEMPORARY:
i hope that one day there might be a option in SD card copier tool "create .img file"
what even would work for NOOBS/PINN systems.
