Protect your SSD by securely storing a backup copy.
Protect your SSD by securely storing a backup copy.
You're looking to create a portable backup of your entire SSD using a single ISO file. Your current method uses `dd` to copy data, which is effective but risky if you later wipe the drive. To ensure safety, consider verifying the integrity of the ISO after creation. Yes, once the command runs successfully and the ISO is generated, you should be able to access all original data using a dedicated user-level program like `ddrescue` or a file explorer. This way, even if you clear the SSD, the backup remains intact and retrievable.
I acknowledge, I’ve handled this before. The final file will mirror everything on your device and can be attached with virtual drive utilities. Using status=progress gives a sense of progress. Please note: performing this while the SSD is mounted won’t work, so you shouldn’t attempt to save directly to the SSD. Confirm that if= points to the correct SSD and of= directs to the intended file—misconfiguration will erase your data.
You may want to compress the output with gzip for a smaller file size and better performance. This method can reduce large volumes of empty data, turning 80GB into around 15GB. The original Arch Linux dd wiki suggests using a progress message followed by gzip output. Remember to log in as root before starting, as sudo isn't applicable here.
It seems unnecessary to run as root unless you're saving to a directory you lack write access for. Staying non-root is generally more secure because you can't modify files outside your permissions.
I attempted to run it without root access but received permission issues. Using root fixed everything. Keep in mind this was executed from a Lubuntu LiveDVD on a USB drive (a LiveUSB didn’t work because the motherboards weren’t compatible). Those were school computers, and we use AutoCAD (2007) along with CATIA (similarly old). Windows was necessary since I needed to clean the systems from malware and clone one clean drive to others. Windows XP caused problems alongside whatever software the school IT person uses to block changes to the Windows partition and occasional blue screens. Even though the hardware is quite old, Nouveau works smoothly.