I just bought an external drive (seagate backup plus) to make backups of my ubuntu system. There's something I've been thinking about: is it possible to make a copy of my system on the drive, so I can plug it into another computer with, say, a windows system, and boot my ubuntu copy from it? So I'd be able to work as if I brought my computer with me? Then I could just replace the files I changed back on my computer. How would I do that?
2 Answers
You can use the dd command but it's a bad idea as it most likely won't work properly if it even boots at all.
The best way to do it is to use software like Clonezilla (it's free) or Acronis to back up your Ubuntu installation and restore it to your external drive but even while that will have your system booting properly, there's a significant chance that it won't function properly.
You also need to make sure that the external drive is the same size or bigger than drive to which Ubuntu is installed.
answered Mar 24, 2018 at 22:51
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Is the problem a question of compatibility between the drive and the computer? Like the backup was made for the computer but restored to a drive? Otherwise thanks, I'll try that. Fortunately, my computer storage is ridiculously small compared to my drive so that's not a problem. Commented Mar 25, 2018 at 22:02
As @Nasir Riley states, a clone of a system from one PC to another might not work for a few reasons, such as specific drivers being needed for different model PC's and EFI preventing boot. You could give it a quick try, anyway, if you'd use the clone on just one other PC.
That said, a Ubuntu Live USB drive with persistent storage is practical. This starts out as the basic .ISO to test or install Linux, and then can be customized to add data and applications of your choice, such as Kate text editor, Synaptics package manager, or even a Windows application like IrfanView (I copied the Program Files\IrfanView folder to a new folder in my /home directory, and it works well under wine).
N.B. Flash drive write time is slower than HDD, so such a system is lethargic. An inexpensive external SSD or HDD should be speedier.
answered Mar 25, 2018 at 2:10
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Even if the boot is from the drive (I wasn't clear, an hdd drive in my case), I could get driver problems from the PC? I mean, can't we boot the Ubuntu Live USB drive on any PC, why would it be different from a complete system? Commented Mar 25, 2018 at 22:05
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A Live CD or USB is not a clone of an an existing system drive, as you stated: " is it possible to make a copy of my system on the drive, so I can plug it into another computer." Commented Mar 26, 2018 at 0:09
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Yes, maybe I wasn't clear, but my question was more about the details of what's different that give rise to the problem. I'm not really an expert on these things. But anyway, the reason is not really important. Commented Mar 26, 2018 at 3:53
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Live CD's are made to include additional drivers for various PC's, or even to find them on the web. Unneeded drivers are usually not included after installation. Commented Mar 26, 2018 at 23:37