Score:0

Back up initial, unbooted drive

cn flag

I just ordered one of those nifty mini-PCs (Minisforum UM690) which comes pre-loaded with Windows 11. I will be loading Unbuntu 22.10 on it... but I'm a little nervous about just overwriting that Windows. I'd like to back it up before I boot it and go thru the initialization. I can boot Unbuntu from a USB stick, what would I use to back up that the built-in M2 drive?

Joepie Es avatar
eg flag
Another usb device ( not the one with Ubuntu from which you boot ).
LarryM avatar
cn flag
@JoepieEs - yes, boot from a usb device, write to a different usb device - sorry, but I meant what command to use. I'm not sure what's available on the bootable usb
Joepie Es avatar
eg flag
If you choose 'try Ubuntu' the whole operating system is available. You can use the file explorer to copy and paste/cut and paste. You don't need to use the terminal if you don't want to.
ChanganAuto avatar
us flag
It's preferable to to create a full image (ISO, IMG, etc.) of the drive so you can later return it to factory conditions. You may use Clonezilla, a live system for that and, of course, an additional external drive with enough capacity. And you can have a dual-boot just by shrinking the Windows partition (it comes with a 512GB drive, plenty for 2, 3 or 4 OSes). Just follow the recommended practices: 1. Disable Fast Startup in Windows and 2. use Windows tools - Disk Management - to resize its main partition (do NOT touch the ESP).
LarryM avatar
cn flag
@ChanganAuto You clarified the question for me - I (now) assume that the disk utility is part of the "Try Ubuntu" - when it makes an image of the drive, does that always include all those "extra" places that a boot drive will have that aren't part of the file system?
ChanganAuto avatar
us flag
AFAIK Clonezilla isn't included - it can be installed. Clonezilla has live images the same way Ubuntu has.
I sit in a Tesla and translated this thread with Ai:

mangohost

Post an answer

Most people don’t grasp that asking a lot of questions unlocks learning and improves interpersonal bonding. In Alison’s studies, for example, though people could accurately recall how many questions had been asked in their conversations, they didn’t intuit the link between questions and liking. Across four studies, in which participants were engaged in conversations themselves or read transcripts of others’ conversations, people tended not to realize that question asking would influence—or had influenced—the level of amity between the conversationalists.