Arch Linux

cb474

Member

Registered: 2009-04-04

Posts: 476

Partclone and 64 bit systems

Is it still true, as it says in the ArchWiki, that Partclone cannot be installed in 64 bit systems? (See: http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Partclone).

How would I know this from looking at AUR? I don't see anything in the entry for Partclone that indicates this? (See: http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=23841).

Also, as side question: Can does anyone know if partclone can make an image of the / partition from which the system is currently booted? Or would I have to boot into a live CD or some other environment to make an image of my / partition?

Thanks.

Fackamato

Member

Registered: 2006-03-31

Posts: 579

Re: Partclone and 64 bit systems

It builds on 64-bit here:

==> Tidying install...
  -> Compressing man pages...
  -> Stripping debugging symbols from binaries and libraries...
==> Creating package...
  -> Generating .PKGINFO file...
  -> Compressing package...
==> Leaving fakeroot environment.
==> Finished making: partclone-svn 213-1 x86_64 (lör apr  4 21:57:54 IST 2009)
[fackamato@fackamato-pc partclone-svn]$ sudo pacman -U partclone-svn-213-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.gz 
loading package data...
checking dependencies...
(1/1) checking for file conflicts                   [######################################################################################################################] 100%
(1/1) installing partclone-svn                      [######################################################################################################################] 100%
[fackamato@fackamato-pc partclone-svn]$ partclone.
partclone.dd         partclone.fat12      partclone.fat32      partclone.hfsp       partclone.info       partclone.ntfsreloc  partclone.restore    
partclone.fat        partclone.fat16      partclone.hfs+       partclone.hfsplus    partclone.ntfs       partclone.reiserfs   partclone.vfat       
[fackamato@fackamato-pc partclone-svn]$ partclone.info 
Please give the image file name.
[fackamato@fackamato-pc partclone-svn]$ partclone.dd
(null) v0.1.0 (Rev:213M) www.partclone.org, partclone.nchc.org.tw
Usage: (null) [OPTIONS]
    Efficiently clone to a image, device or standard output.

    -o,  --output FILE      Output FILE
    -O   --overwrite FILE   Output FILE, overwriting if exists
    -s,  --source FILE      Source FILE
    -c,  --clone            Save to the special image format
    -r,  --restore          Restore from the special image format
    -b,  --dd-mode          Save to sector-to-sector format
    -R,  --rescue           Continue after disk read errors
    -dX, --debug=X          Set the debug level to X = [0|1|2]
    -C,  --no_check         Don't check device size and free space
    -N,  --ncurses          Using Ncurses User Interface
    -X,  --dialog           output message as Dialog Format
    -F,  --force            force progress
    -h,  --help             Display this help
[fackamato@fackamato-pc partclone-svn]$

MoonSwan

Member

From: Great White North

Registered: 2008-01-23

Posts: 881

Re: Partclone and 64 bit systems

Look at the pkgbuild file itself and look for a line like this -

arch=('i686')

That usually tells you if something will compile or not, but in this case judging by Fackamato's post, it seems it does compile so you can probably just add the x86_64 code in the pkgbuild safely & compile away.

As an aside, why use this tool instead of say Clonezilla ?  Do let us know how you fare & mark this solved if it does compile for you!

Last edited by MoonSwan (2009-04-05 07:17:54)

cb474

Member

Registered: 2009-04-04

Posts: 476

Re: Partclone and 64 bit systems

Thanks for the replies. I'm in the process of installing Arch for the first time, so I'll probably get back to trying this out in a couple days.  Where would I add x86_64 in the code? Does that mean I can't use yaourt to install partclone? This is all completely new to me.

I prefer to install partclone directly rather than use clonezilla, because I don't want to have to always boot off of a cd or usb key to run partclone. I'll be dual booting Debian Testing (my old system) and Arch on my laptop, so I can always boot into one or the other system, if I need to run partclone not from my root directory (although it's still unclear to me if this is necessary). This means that if I screw up something on my system that I can't figure out how to fix, I can always return to a backup image of the system, even if I'm not at home, without having to worry if I have a certain cd or usb key with me.

In the past, I've done this by using Acronis from Windows on a secondary hard drive in my laptop, which has worked perfectly well for me. But I'd just like to try it the linux way and not be dependent on Windows for my backups.

Thanks again

Fackamato

Member

Registered: 2006-03-31

Posts: 579

Re: Partclone and 64 bit systems

Thanks for the replies. I'm in the process of installing Arch for the first time, so I'll probably get back to trying this out in a couple days.  Where would I add x86_64 in the code? Does that mean I can't use yaourt to install partclone? This is all completely new to me.

I prefer to install partclone directly rather than use clonezilla, because I don't want to have to always boot off of a cd or usb key to run partclone. I'll be dual booting Debian Testing (my old system) and Arch on my laptop, so I can always boot into one or the other system, if I need to run partclone not from my root directory (although it's still unclear to me if this is necessary). This means that if I screw up something on my system that I can't figure out how to fix, I can always return to a backup image of the system, even if I'm not at home, without having to worry if I have a certain cd or usb key with me.

In the past, I've done this by using Acronis from Windows on a secondary hard drive in my laptop, which has worked perfectly well for me. But I'd just like to try it the linux way and not be dependent on Windows for my backups.

Thanks again

Note: I haven't actually tried to use partclone under x86_64. I know it builds, but that's all. To build under 64-bit just change the PKGBUILD:

arch=('i686')

to:

arch=('i686' 'x86_64')

MoonSwan

Member

From: Great White North

Registered: 2008-01-23

Posts: 881

Re: Partclone and 64 bit systems

If I get my arch to run on my crashbox with internet, I'll test this happily & report back.  It is also an x86_64 system.

Fackamato

Member

Registered: 2006-03-31

Posts: 579

Re: Partclone and 64 bit systems

There is no documentation so I could not get it to work. It just spewed out like --help.

cb474

Member

Registered: 2009-04-04

Posts: 476

Re: Partclone and 64 bit systems

There is no documentation so I could not get it to work. It just spewed out like --help.

Hmm. Thanks for trying. I really appreciate! As I said, once I get further along in building my Arch system I'll see what I can figure out myself and report back too. If it doesn't work, perhaps Partimage will be a better option for me.

How unusual is it, now that Arch is moving away from i686 and to only 64 bit, that there are packages that still only work in 32 bit?

Fackamato

Member

Registered: 2006-03-31

Posts: 579

Re: Partclone and 64 bit systems

There is no documentation so I could not get it to work. It just spewed out like --help.

Hmm. Thanks for trying. I really appreciate! As I said, once I get further along in building my Arch system I'll see what I can figure out myself and report back too. If it doesn't work, perhaps Partimage will be a better option for me.

How unusual is it, now that Arch is moving away from i686 and to only 64 bit, that there are packages that still only work in 32 bit?

Archlinux is not moving away from 32 bit, that was an April fool's joke!

cb474

Member

Registered: 2009-04-04

Posts: 476

Re: Partclone and 64 bit systems

Archlinux is not moving away from 32 bit, that was an April fool's joke!

Oops. I totally believed that. I guess I am a true April fool. Sigh. In fact, it was the basis of my decision to install 64bit. Hmm. Okay, so this is now completely off topic, but in actually non-April Fool's reality, how does 64 bit compare to 32 bit for package availability? What are other pros and cons?

Also, is it safe to assume that at some point in the (perhaps near) future Arch64 will become the default/dominant distribution and be more complete? If so, at what point might that be? Thanks.

Last edited by cb474 (2009-04-07 02:52:02)

Fackamato

Member

Registered: 2006-03-31

Posts: 579

Re: Partclone and 64 bit systems

Archlinux is not moving away from 32 bit, that was an April fool's joke!

Oops. I totally believed that. I guess I am a true April fool. Sigh. In fact, it was the basis of my decision to install 64bit. Hmm. Okay, so this is now completely off topic, but in actually non-April Fool's reality, how does 64 bit compare to 32 bit for package availability? What are other pros and cons?

You're missing out on some games only. 64-bit is very complete, I have yet to find a problem with it.

Also, is it safe to assume that at some point in the (perhaps near) future Arch64 will become the default/dominant distribution and be more complete? If so, at what point might that be? Thanks.

Probably not in many years.

cb474

Member

Registered: 2009-04-04

Posts: 476

Re: Partclone and 64 bit systems

Thanks for the info.