[gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[Paul]

Hi all,

My main harddisk is starting to go, making awful noise and causing the 
computer to freeze.
I have another spare disk and I wondered if somebody would list out the 
procedure I need to follow to create and format the partitions and to copy 
all of the faulty disk contents. Then how to boot from the new disk.
The new disk will need the following partitions:-
/boot		ext2
/swap
/		reiserfs

Thanks for any help
Paul
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Re: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[Allan Spagnol Comar]

You can make a precise copy of your disk with dd command
using dd if=/dev/hdaX of=backupfile.iso

and then on the disk you want to write the data with
dd if=backupfile.iso of=/dev/hdXX;

if bouth disk are in the same machine you can copy it directtly using

dd if=/dev/originpartition of=/dev/destinationpartition

holpe that helps, Allan

On 9/16/05, Paul <gentoo@appjaws.plus.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> My main harddisk is starting to go, making awful noise and causing the
> computer to freeze.
> I have another spare disk and I wondered if somebody would list out the
> procedure I need to follow to create and format the partitions and to copy
> all of the faulty disk contents. Then how to boot from the new disk.
> The new disk will need the following partitions:-
> /boot           ext2
> /swap
> /               reiserfs
> 
> Thanks for any help
> Paul
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> 
>

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RE: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[Michael Kintzios]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paul [mailto:gentoo@appjaws.plus.com] 
> Sent: 16 September 2005 15:23
> To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org
> Subject: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk
> 
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> My main harddisk is starting to go, making awful noise and 
> causing the 
> computer to freeze.
> I have another spare disk and I wondered if somebody would 
> list out the 
> procedure I need to follow to create and format the 
> partitions and to copy 
> all of the faulty disk contents. Then how to boot from the new disk.
> The new disk will need the following partitions:-
> /boot		ext2
> /swap
> /		reiserfs

1. Using the dd command or a cloning software derivative:
If the new disk is *exactly* the same size like the old one, then using
the dd command you can basically clone your failing disk, including MBR
and all partitions, including swap!, bit by bit:
=========================
dd if=/dev/hda  of=/dev/hdb 
=========================

On the other hand, if the new drive is larger then you will need to
partition it, exactly like the old one.  On the new drive, create the
same entries you find with fdisk for your old drive:  # fdisk -l
/dev/hda

Also, don't forget to clone the MBR:
=========================
dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/hdb  bs=446 count=1
=========================
If you also want to clone the partition table (as opposed to writing one
afresh with fdisk) then increase the bs=446 to 512.

2. Using tar
If at the same time you want to alter the partition sizes on the new
drive then you can use the tar command, for each partition except for
swap.  Besides creating partitions of a preferred size on the new drive,
you will also need to mkfs for each partition.  Still have to use dd to
clone the MBR.
=========================
# mkdir -p /mnt/new_boot
# mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt/new_boot
# cd /boot
# tar lcpf - .|(cd /mnt/new_boot; tar xpvf -)
=========================
Repeat for / and also use tar -d (check $ man tar) to verify that the
directories were copied over without any mishaps.  Personally I prefer
tar because it is faster, it defragments the drive's contents and can
verify that the new directory was not corrupted in the tarring/untarring
process.

3. There's a number of backup apps out there which can do more or less
the same using a different front end; e.g. partimage.

Good luck.
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Regards,
Mick

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RE: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[Michael Kintzios]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paul [mailto:gentoo@appjaws.plus.com] 
> Sent: 16 September 2005 15:23
> To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org
> Subject: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk
> 
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> My main harddisk is starting to go, making awful noise and 
> causing the 
> computer to freeze.

Forgot to say: are you sure it is your hdd?  An old box of mine was
making a racket and it transpired that the CPU fan needed oiling!  The
bearing had run dry and was rattling every now and then.  What
temperatures does your CPU show?
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Re: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[Paul]

On Friday 16 Sep 2005 16:37, Michael Kintzios wrote:
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Paul [mailto:gentoo@appjaws.plus.com]
> > Sent: 16 September 2005 15:23
> > To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org
> > Subject: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk
> >
> >
> > Hi all,
> >
> > My main harddisk is starting to go, making awful noise and
> > causing the
> > computer to freeze.
>
> Forgot to say: are you sure it is your hdd?  An old box of mine was
> making a racket and it transpired that the CPU fan needed oiling!  The
> bearing had run dry and was rattling every now and then.  What
> temperatures does your CPU show?
> --
> Regards,
> Mick

Thanks for your replies Mick,
I think it may have been a heat problem, since running the disk out of the 
case everything seem to work fine.  I'm sure your advice will come in handy 
in the near future.
Paul
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Re: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[Paul]

Well I have carried out the procedure outlined in your message, but I have had 
some problems.
When booting the new disc it always failed with a reiserfs problem (I once 
rebuilt the tree), after 3 attempts I still had errors so I formated the 
partition with ext2, copied all the files and rebooted.  IT WORKED.

The only error I have detected is during boot I get a warning "unable to open 
an initial console", the screen freezes until x is started.
This doesn't seem to be a big problem but I would like to fix it -- any 
ideas????

thanks for all who helped
Paul

On Friday 16 Sep 2005 16:33, Michael Kintzios wrote:
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Paul [mailto:gentoo@appjaws.plus.com]
> > Sent: 16 September 2005 15:23
> > To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org
> > Subject: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk
> >
> >
> > Hi all,
> >
> > My main harddisk is starting to go, making awful noise and
> > causing the
> > computer to freeze.
> > I have another spare disk and I wondered if somebody would
> > list out the
> > procedure I need to follow to create and format the
> > partitions and to copy
> > all of the faulty disk contents. Then how to boot from the new disk.
> > The new disk will need the following partitions:-
> > /boot		ext2
> > /swap
> > /		reiserfs
>
> 1. Using the dd command or a cloning software derivative:
> If the new disk is *exactly* the same size like the old one, then using
> the dd command you can basically clone your failing disk, including MBR
> and all partitions, including swap!, bit by bit:
> =========================
> dd if=/dev/hda  of=/dev/hdb
> =========================
>
> On the other hand, if the new drive is larger then you will need to
> partition it, exactly like the old one.  On the new drive, create the
> same entries you find with fdisk for your old drive:  # fdisk -l
> /dev/hda
>
> Also, don't forget to clone the MBR:
> =========================
> dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/hdb  bs=446 count=1
> =========================
> If you also want to clone the partition table (as opposed to writing one
> afresh with fdisk) then increase the bs=446 to 512.
>
> 2. Using tar
> If at the same time you want to alter the partition sizes on the new
> drive then you can use the tar command, for each partition except for
> swap.  Besides creating partitions of a preferred size on the new drive,
> you will also need to mkfs for each partition.  Still have to use dd to
> clone the MBR.
> =========================
> # mkdir -p /mnt/new_boot
> # mount /dev/hdb1 /mnt/new_boot
> # cd /boot
> # tar lcpf - .|(cd /mnt/new_boot; tar xpvf -)
> =========================
> Repeat for / and also use tar -d (check $ man tar) to verify that the
> directories were copied over without any mishaps.  Personally I prefer
> tar because it is faster, it defragments the drive's contents and can
> verify that the new directory was not corrupted in the tarring/untarring
> process.
>
> 3. There's a number of backup apps out there which can do more or less
> the same using a different front end; e.g. partimage.
>
> Good luck.
> --
> Regards,
> Mick

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RE: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[Michael Kintzios]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paul [mailto:gentoo@appjaws.plus.com] 
> Sent: 19 September 2005 14:39
> To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org
> Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk
>
> 
> Well I have carried out the procedure outlined in your 
> message, but I have had 
> some problems.
> When booting the new disc it always failed with a reiserfs 
> problem (I once 
> rebuilt the tree), after 3 attempts I still had errors so I 
> formated the 
> partition with ext2, copied all the files and rebooted.  IT WORKED.

Which of the different procedures did you try.  Did you run
fsck.reiserfs from a LiveCD or your old disk to see if some corruption
occurred during the data transfer?  (I guess it's too late now).
 
> The only error I have detected is during boot I get a warning 
> "unable to open 
> an initial console", the screen freezes until x is started.
> This doesn't seem to be a big problem but I would like to fix 
> it -- any 
> ideas????

Not entirely sure - others may want to advise better - but are you
running devfs?  It seems that this is an error thrown up when devices
are not recognised.  This would make some sense, after all this is a new
device.  With udev all you should do is restart udev and the new device
parameters would be recognised.  That should happen during a reboot
unless you have configured your machine to cache the device db?  Can you
find your /dev/console and does it have the same sylinks and access
rights as your old disk installation?  I'm not at my Linux machine now
so I can't check myself.

Finally, reset your BIOS before a reboot if you have
disconnected/reconnected drives, to recognise the new devices and their
boot order.
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Re: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[Paul]

Thanks for the response, I do have an entry /dev/console, user root, group 
tty.  It has no symlinks.  I would have to reconnect the suspect disk to 
check if it is the same.

Thanks
Paul

On Monday 19 Sep 2005 15:23, Michael Kintzios wrote:
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Paul [mailto:gentoo@appjaws.plus.com]
> > Sent: 19 September 2005 14:39
> > To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org
> > Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk
> >
> >
> > Well I have carried out the procedure outlined in your
> > message, but I have had
> > some problems.
> > When booting the new disc it always failed with a reiserfs
> > problem (I once
> > rebuilt the tree), after 3 attempts I still had errors so I
> > formated the
> > partition with ext2, copied all the files and rebooted.  IT WORKED.
>
> Which of the different procedures did you try.  Did you run
> fsck.reiserfs from a LiveCD or your old disk to see if some corruption
> occurred during the data transfer?  (I guess it's too late now).
>
> > The only error I have detected is during boot I get a warning
> > "unable to open
> > an initial console", the screen freezes until x is started.
> > This doesn't seem to be a big problem but I would like to fix
> > it -- any
> > ideas????
>
> Not entirely sure - others may want to advise better - but are you
> running devfs?  It seems that this is an error thrown up when devices
> are not recognised.  This would make some sense, after all this is a new
> device.  With udev all you should do is restart udev and the new device
> parameters would be recognised.  That should happen during a reboot
> unless you have configured your machine to cache the device db?  Can you
> find your /dev/console and does it have the same sylinks and access
> rights as your old disk installation?  I'm not at my Linux machine now
> so I can't check myself.
>
> Finally, reset your BIOS before a reboot if you have
> disconnected/reconnected drives, to recognise the new devices and their
> boot order.
> --
> Regards,
> Mick

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Re: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[S. ancelot]

Hi,
Download linux sysrescue live cd on the web
and use dd_rescue
bye


Allan Spagnol Comar wrote:

>You can make a precise copy of your disk with dd command
>using dd if=/dev/hdaX of=backupfile.iso
>
>and then on the disk you want to write the data with
>dd if=backupfile.iso of=/dev/hdXX;
>
>if bouth disk are in the same machine you can copy it directtly using
>
>dd if=/dev/originpartition of=/dev/destinationpartition
>
>holpe that helps, Allan
>
>On 9/16/05, Paul <gentoo@appjaws.plus.com> wrote:
>  
>
>>Hi all,
>>
>>My main harddisk is starting to go, making awful noise and causing the
>>computer to freeze.
>>I have another spare disk and I wondered if somebody would list out the
>>procedure I need to follow to create and format the partitions and to copy
>>all of the faulty disk contents. Then how to boot from the new disk.
>>The new disk will need the following partitions:-
>>/boot           ext2
>>/swap
>>/               reiserfs
>>
>>Thanks for any help
>>Paul
>>--
>>This message has been sent using kmail with gentoo linux
>>--
>>gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list
>>
>>
>>    
>>
>
>  
>
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Re: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[Paul]

On Monday 19 Sep 2005 18:22, S. ancelot wrote:
> Hi,
> Download linux sysrescue live cd on the web
> and use dd_rescue
> bye
>
<snip> 
Do you mean the install-x86-universal-2005.1.iso?  I could not find any 
sysrescue live cd listed.
If I do a "dd_rescue" what would I do to get the initial console working?

Thanks
Paul

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Re: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[Noah Roberts]

Paul wrote:

>On Monday 19 Sep 2005 18:22, S. ancelot wrote:
>  
>
>>Hi,
>>Download linux sysrescue live cd on the web
>>and use dd_rescue
>>bye
>>
>>    
>>
><snip> 
>Do you mean the install-x86-universal-2005.1.iso?  I could not find any 
>sysrescue live cd listed.
>If I do a "dd_rescue" what would I do to get the initial console working?
>
>Thanks
>Paul
>
>  
>
I think he is talking about this:

http://www.sysresccd.org/
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Re: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[Philip Webb]

050919 Paul wrote:
> On Monday 19 Sep 2005 18:22, S. ancelot wrote:
>> use dd_rescue
> I could not find any sysrescue live cd listed.

I got it from  www.garloff.de/kurt/linux/ddrescue/
& installed it in  /usr/local , but it appears to be in Portage :

  sys-fs/dd-rescue

I haven't had need to use it, but it seemed a useful emergency aid.

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RE: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk

[Michael Kintzios]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paul [mailto:gentoo@appjaws.plus.com] 
> Sent: 19 September 2005 19:48
> To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org
> Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] Replacing main harddisk
> 
> 
> On Monday 19 Sep 2005 18:22, S. ancelot wrote:
> > Hi,
> > Download linux sysrescue live cd on the web
> > and use dd_rescue
> > bye
> >
> <snip> 
> Do you mean the install-x86-universal-2005.1.iso?  I could 
> not find any 
> sysrescue live cd listed.
> If I do a "dd_rescue" what would I do to get the initial 
> console working?

dd_rescue is a very good command for rescuing data from damaged media.
You use it just like the dd command, although it has different options
(read the documentation to familiarise yourself with its intricacies).
BTW, if you enable the creation of a log file you'll be able to know if
some/which of your original data is corrupt.  It may well be the case
that your data is not corrupt at all.

I had another thought about your console problem.  It seems to me that
symlinks got screwed up.  Did you by any chance tried to back up your
system while running it?  Not sure if I mentioned it, but the advised
way to create a complete drive/system back up is to use a LiveCD, so
that your OS is in a totally inert condition.  Otherwise you will be
copying a number of temporary files which are created only for the
particular session.

So, as a solution I suggest that you use a LiveCD (Gentoo, Knoppix,
sysresque, will do) and then execute any of the methods I mentioned to
back up your data.  Thereafter, replace the old drive, reset your BIOS
and boot up.

Good luck,
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[gentoo-user] missing console (was Replacing main harddisk)

[Paul]

<snip> This doesn't seem to be a big problem but I would like to fix
> > it -- any
> > ideas????
Hi,
Since using the new disc all seems to be well except for the warning message 
on boot "unable to open an initial console", the screen freezes until x is 
started.  The computer then works fine nut on shutdown I have a scrolling 
message on the screen, something about creating a dir /mnt/fixit --- etc.  It 
scrolls so fast that I can't read it.  I have tried the pause key but the 
screen kept on scrolling.  I have checked my logs but can't see any mention 
of the advise.
How can I 
a) stop the screen scrolling on shutdown and stay displayed long enough to 
read, or
b) can I force the messages into a file so that I can read them on the next 
boot?

Thanks for any help
Paul

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Re: [gentoo-user] missing console (was Replacing main harddisk)

[John Jolet]

On Tue, 2005-09-20 at 13:38 +0100, Paul wrote:
> <snip> This doesn't seem to be a big problem but I would like to fix
> > > it -- any
> > > ideas????
> Hi,
> Since using the new disc all seems to be well except for the warning message 
> on boot "unable to open an initial console", the screen freezes until x is 
> started.  The computer then works fine nut on shutdown I have a scrolling 
> message on the screen, something about creating a dir /mnt/fixit --- etc.  It 
> scrolls so fast that I can't read it.  I have tried the pause key but the 
> screen kept on scrolling.  I have checked my logs but can't see any mention 
> of the advise.
> How can I 
> a) stop the screen scrolling on shutdown and stay displayed long enough to 
> read, or
> b) can I force the messages into a file so that I can read them on the next 
> boot?
> 
> Thanks for any help
> Paul
> 
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This is caused by the fact that, at that time, there is no /dev/console
file.  There's a readme on the  gentoo site somewhere I read the other
day that talks about how to fix this.  I apologize, but I cannot recall
the exact url.  Has to do with udev versus devfs.

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Re: [gentoo-user] missing console (was Replacing main harddisk)

[Paul]

On Tuesday 20 Sep 2005 13:47, John Jolet wrote:
<snip>

> > Since using the new disc all seems to be well except for the warning
> > message on boot "unable to open an initial console", the screen freezes
> > until x is started.  
<snip>
 
>
> This is caused by the fact that, at that time, there is no /dev/console
> file.  There's a readme on the  gentoo site somewhere I read the other
> day that talks about how to fix this.  I apologize, but I cannot recall
> the exact url.  Has to do with udev versus devfs.

Well thanks John, that fixed it.
If anybody else needs this the reference is 
www.gentoo.org/doc/en/udev-guide.xml

regards
Paul
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