2

The title says the idea, i need to make my ubuntu server and all the modifications & instalations i do on it be imaged into a CD, with the idea, of course of use this CD to install the clone in another machine, so that way i can easy pass all the info to a new & better machine than the one who was holding it before.

The "why" is because i just can do it through CD (because the pc i want to receive the image is old and can't boot from a USB)

The partition i wanna clone used space in the HDD is very little but the size of the partition counting the not used space is bigger than the CD, in any case i'm thinking reducing it using the ubuntu live cd, if is possible and necesary to create the clone CD

So, i'm gonna make a list of questions:

1) Is it really necesary reduce it? it consider the free space to make the clone or just the used space?

And separated from the "Reduce partition/image bussisness"

2) What is the best method to create the clone to the goal i wanna reach?

Please feel free to ask any question you need to solve this questions

Thanks in advance

PS: i'm a very noobish CentOS & Ubuntu user, linux in general.

2
  • 1
    You do not need to make the image bootable. You just need to have the img somewhere so you can clone the image onto the new HDD.
    – ChrisR.
    Mar 31, 2014 at 4:06
  • @ChrisR. re-read my question and understand your confusion, what you say is true but i need to put this image on a CD and find a way to make than from that CD i can make a clone of the original HDD in another machine. i edit it to clarify this on the question that way i can find the answer i need. thanks
    – user57129
    Mar 31, 2014 at 11:16

1 Answer 1

0

Technically what you are asking is possible. There is remastersys and its successor respin (follow the remastersys link above). They support some Debian and Ubuntu versions, you should check whether your source system is supported. Since I haven't tried them, I don't know whether they copy all data, and how seamless the installation on the new system is.

Alternatively, you may hack it together for yourself, using a dozen open source tools, with lots of trial and error. If it's a one-off, probably there is an easier way to copy the files to the new system, such as booting a Linux live CD or USB, copying the old hard drive to an image file on an USB external HDD, and then on the target system booting the same Linux live CD or USB, copying the image file to the hard drive, adjusting some boot settings in the BIOS, and with a bit of luck if will boot.

Going back to your original question, please keep in mind that a single CD (or DVD) may be too small to hold your Ubuntu Server files. The maximum capacity of a CD is about 700 MB, and the maximum capacity of a DVD is about 4700 MB. From that subtract about 100 MB (10 MB for the Linux i386 kernel, 50 MB for the Linux initrd, 40 MB for the Linux text-mode userspace programs), so you have about 600 MB (CD) or 4600 MB (DVD) storage left for storing your Linux files in a compressed archive. Recommended algorithm for good compression ratio is LZMA2, it's supported by the .tar.xz or .7z files. A compression ratio of 5 is an optimistic estimate, so it can hold 3 GB (CD) or 23 GB (DVD) of data before compression. This may not be enough, especially 3 GB is too small for the files of a contemporary Ubuntu Server.

2
  • There used to be a tool that did this called remastersys but sadly, there was a bit of messy drama, and the fork stalled. I think there's a few modern alternatives
    – Journeyman Geek
    Apr 27, 2023 at 23:14
  • @JourneymanGeek: Thank you, I've updated my answer.
    – pts
    Apr 27, 2023 at 23:24

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .