Simple Backup

[cgb]

Hello. I am somewhat new to Linux and I am looking for a way to back up my HD with all my Linux files. I have a Toshiba laptop running Windows 7. The HD has been partitioned so that the computer can run Red Hat Scientific Linux . Using Grub I can dual boot to either Windows 7 or Linux on start up.

I want a simple way of backing up the entire contents of my HD (both partitions - everything) -so that in the event of my laptop being damaged I can reconstruct my set up and data as before with all my files and settings in both Windows 7 and Linux intact.

Is there a simple program that will enable me to copy everything to an external HD for back up. Can anyone recommend a package that will do this?

Many Thanks

[oz]

Welcome to the forums!

Drive imaging tools work well for that purpose. I personally use a Linux version of Acronis True Image, but you could also use various free tools such as Clonezilla, PartImage, or the dd command.

You can find some other options for your consideration here:

Backup & Recovery | Linux App Finder

[cgb]

Thank you for your swift reply Ozar. I will look into these.

[cgb]

Ozar, a question if I may. I gather that the Acronis True Image package comes in either Windows 7 or Linux versions.

Am I correct in assuming that if bought the Windows 7 version I could copy everything to a HD from running it in Window 7 as if I bought a Linux version and copied everything from running it in Linux?

Thank you for your advice in this. I am writing a thesis at the moment and I want to make backups to an external HD.

[oz]

Ozar, a question if I may. I gather that the Acronis True Image package comes in either Windows 7 or Linux versions.

Am I correct in assuming that if bought the Windows 7 version I could copy everything to a HD from running it in Window 7 as if I bought a Linux version and copied everything from running it in Linux?

Thank you for your advice in this. I am writing a thesis at the moment and I want to make backups to an external HD.

If you are a registered user of the Windows version, you can freely download the bootable media (which is actually Linux based) from their website, burn it to a CD, and then boot with that to image your system partitions. My own system partitions can be written to images in about 3 or 4 minutes, and it takes about the same amount of time to restore the images should I need to do so.

Of course, you can use the Windows version to image all partitions as well. It's just that I prefer to it all from the liveCD which is Linux-based, plus I don't have Windows installed. Note that should you decide to purchase True Image, you can usually find it cheaper with some online searching.

[oz]

I should add that there is a Linux server version of True Image but it's really expensive if I remember correctly. You can also use the free Linux tools as found in the link mentioned above to do the same tasks, but you might not find them quite as simple to use.