Howto: Backup with Partimage

[wieman01]

0. Prerequisites:

• Reference: http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=226402
• Download "Rescue CD": http://www.sysresccd.org/Download

REMARK: The credit goes to user "Frank Golden" whose thread I have taken as a reference in the first place.

1. Boot from RESCUE CD & type:

• Create mount-point:
  

  mkdir /backup

• Checking partition tables:
  

  fdisk -l

• Mount backup partition; xxxx stands for your partition that serves as a backup device (e.g. hda1, sda1):
  

  mount /dev/xxxx /backup

• Start Partimage:
  

  partimage

2.1. Backing up (screenshot 1):

• Choose partition you want to backup.
• Type "Image file to create/use":
  

  /backup/your_backup_file

• Choose "Action to be done" = "Save partition into a new image file".
• Press F5.

2.2. Backing up (screenshot 2):

• Choose "Compression level" = "None".
• Choose "Image split mode" = "Into files whose size is:...".
• Select size bigger than your partition in MB (left).
• Hit F5.

2.3. Backing up (screenshot 3):

• Enter any description (or leave it blank).
• Press <enter> to continue.

2.4. Finalizing backup:

• Hit <enter> when prompted to confirm backup size, disk space, etc.
• That's it!

IMPORTANT NOTE: When I used "Compression level" Gzip to compress my backup file I was unable to restore it later on. I cannot remember the exact error message, but I have avoided it ever since. When backing up your data, I recommend to use option A which is "None" (no compression). It's also the faster option.

3.1. Restoring (screenshot 4):

• Select partition to restore.
• Type "Image file to create/use" (note the extension .000):
  

  /backup/your_backup_file.000

• Choose "Action to be done" = "Restore partition from an image file".
• Press F5.

3.2. Restoring (screenshot 5):

• Select "Options" = "Simulation of the restoration..." in order to test your backup file. I highly recommend this extra step. Leave it blank to go ahead without simulation.
• Hit F5.

3.3. Finalizing restoring:

• Confirm all remaining operations with <enter> when prompted.

Partimage has been fairly reliable so far (well, except for the mentioned issue with GZip compression) but I appreciate if anybody else can contribute ideas & comments. Should I have left out important (or less important) step, please drop me a line.