Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

dunric29a · 2012-10-07 16:48:57

Hello,

as I finally fine-tuned and repeatedely tested Windows installation in Virtualbox to my complete satisfaction I have no use for the stock Win7 installation on the 1st partition more.
I know I can format it to ext4 and mount as additional partition or use LVM but I would like to copy/move my current ArchLinux system to this 1st partition and then extend it to use the whole disk as a single ext4 partition + one swap partition. I'm asking if it's enough to copy whole contents with

cp -r --preserve-all /mnt/oldpartition/ /mnt/newpartition

to do "verbatim" copy/clone or am I missing something here ? The previous code should copy all file attributes and capabilities. The original install is on Ext4 partition. As the last step is to update etc/fstab and grub config of course.

Lennie · 2012-10-07 17:42:16

Even simpler, you don't even need a live-cd for this. It's in the wiki.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Fu … with_rsync

ewaller · 2012-10-07 17:44:45

That might work. It does avoid the pitfalls of recursively moving down the /mnt directory. I am not sure what happens to links -- be they hard or soft.

You might check out this article: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Fu … with_rsync

Edit: Rats, snaked again !

Last edited by ewaller (2012-10-07 17:45:30)

dunric29a · 2012-10-07 18:28:13

Nice idea to use rsync, thanks. Anybody with a personal experience ? Are there some pitfalls or is such method on par with cp concerning reliability and completeness ?

DSpider · 2012-10-07 19:44:25

If you plan on moving it, you may need to reinstall the bootloader, which is very easy: chroot and reinstall like it says in the Beginners' Guide. Use an Arch "live" medium to be able to run the "arch-chroot" script instead of typing all of that.

Last edited by DSpider (2012-10-07 19:46:52)

WonderWoofy · 2012-10-07 20:21:11

I have used rsync and tar to move a filesystem. I wanted to change filesystems, and it worked no problem. That is be beauty of everything being a file.

I think I may end up doing this again soon, as I read reports that jfs will support trim in an upcoming kernel release.

hunterthomson · 2012-10-08 01:21:34

You would be better off useing 'cp' with the '--archive' flag. That will make sure everything is correct i.e. symlinks, bla, bla. When doing things like this I always do them one directory at a time i.e. /root /bin /sbin . . . to avoid any problems.

If the current Arch partition and the Windows partition are back-to-back then you could just delete the Win part and expand the Arch part. Then expand the ext4 filesystem.

Last edited by hunterthomson (2012-10-08 01:25:07)

WonderWoofy · 2012-10-08 02:32:22

I don't understand why cp would be better than rsync or tar, since they all have options to preserve permissions, acls, etc.

DSpider · 2012-10-08 07:48:21

If the reason for the move is because of a space issue, you should look into LVM. With that you can adjust the partition size on-the-fly.

Roken · 2012-10-08 17:15:06

I've migrated my system to different drives on two occasions, the first time using cp and the second time using rsync.

I learned that cp doesn't necessarilly preserve ALL attributes (case in point was that "ping" stopped working unless I was root, because the SUID got messed up), whereas rsync preserved everything. I also quite like the --exclude option of rsync, allowing for a selective migration in a single command whilst not copying stuff you don't need to.

dunric29a · 2012-10-10 11:32:33

Roken wrote:

I've migrated my system to different drives on two occasions, the first time using cp and the second time using rsync.
I learned that cp doesn't necessarilly preserve ALL attributes (case in point was that "ping" stopped working unless I was root, because the SUID got messed up), whereas rsync preserved everything. I also quite like the --exclude option of rsync, allowing for a selective migration in a single command whilst not copying stuff you don't need to.

That's why you have to pass --preserve-all option. In your case file capabilities (see man 7 capabilities) were not preserved.

DSpider · 2012-10-10 11:51:09

man cp wrote:

-a, --archive
same as -dR --preserve=all

Arch Linux

#1 2012-10-07 16:48:57

Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

#2 2012-10-07 17:42:16

Re: Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

#3 2012-10-07 17:44:45

Re: Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

#4 2012-10-07 18:28:13

Re: Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

#5 2012-10-07 19:44:25

Re: Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

#6 2012-10-07 20:21:11

Re: Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

#7 2012-10-08 01:21:34

Re: Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

#8 2012-10-08 02:32:22

Re: Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

#9 2012-10-08 07:48:21

Re: Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

#10 2012-10-08 17:15:06

Re: Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

#11 2012-10-10 11:32:33

Re: Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

#12 2012-10-10 11:51:09

Re: Move ArchLinux installation to other partition

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