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System Backup

This guide introduces two methods for backing up your system: online script backup and offline backup (using the dd command), allowing users to choose the most suitable method based on their needs.

The final backup file will be in img format.

caution

Before proceeding, ensure you have backed up all important data. The script backup has only been tested on official Radxa systems and does not support Android.

Online System Backup​

Online system backup refers to backing up a running system directly on the development board.

tip

The script backup only supports Linux systems and is the recommended method for backing up Debian and Ubuntu systems.

Download the Script​

Use the curl command on the development board to download the script.

radxa@radxa-4d$
curl -sL https://rock.sh/rockpi-backup -o rockpi-backup.sh

Add Execute Permission​

Make the script executable.

radxa@radxa-4d$
chmod +x rockpi-backup.sh

You can use the -h parameter to view the script's help information.

radxa@radxa-4d$
sudo ./rockpi-backup.sh -h

Example terminal output:

Usage:
  sudo ./rockpi-backup.sh [-o path|-e pattern|-u|-m path]
    -o Specify output position, default is $PWD.
    -e Exclude files matching pattern for rsync.
    -u Unattended, no need to confirm in the backup process.
    -m Back up the root mount point, and support backups from other disks as well.

Backup the System​

Run the script with root privileges. You'll need to manually confirm dependency installation and backup operations during the process.

radxa@radxa-4d$
sudo ./rockpi-backup.sh
tip

The script performs the following operations:

  1. Checks for root privileges
  2. Checks and installs dependencies
  3. Reads the running system kernel name and sets the filename accordingly
  4. Checks partition details
  5. Sets the root mount point to /
  6. Finds other partitions on the same disk as the root path
  7. Installs auto-resize script to the root partition
  8. Creates a disk file based on the filename
  9. Clones non-root partitions
  10. Uses rsync to synchronize root partition contents, excluding currently output files
  11. Cleans up and completes

After the backup is complete, the script will display the path to the backup file!

Example terminal output:

Backup done, the file is /home/radxa/rock-4d-s16-backup-250612-0930.img

Offline System Backup​

Offline system backup involves connecting the development board's system disk to a PC as a removable device for backup.

tip

Offline system backup requires converting the system boot disk to a removable medium before connecting it to a PC for backup.

Converting different boot media to removable media:

  • MicroSD Card Convert the MicroSD card to a removable device using a card reader.

  • Non-onboard eMMC Module Convert the eMMC module to a removable device using an eMMC reader.

  • Non-onboard UFS Module Convert the UFS module to a removable device using a UFS reader.

  • M.2 NVMe SSD Convert the M.2 NVMe SSD to a removable device using an M.2 SSD enclosure.

Connect to PC​

After converting the development board's system boot disk to a removable device, connect it to a PC for backup (recommended to perform the backup on an Ubuntu system).

Confirm the Disk​

Use the lsblk command to confirm the removable disk information.

radxa@radxa-4d$
lsblk

Example terminal output (in this example, sda is the development board's system disk). You can identify the correct device by safely removing and reconnecting the removable media.

sda           8:0    1    58G  0 disk
├─sda1        8:1    1    16M  0 part /media/wml/config
├─sda2        8:2    1   300M  0 part
└─sda3        8:3    1  57.6G  0 part
nvme0n1     259:0    0 953.9G  0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0 952.8G  0 part /var/snap/firefox/common/host-hunspell
│                                     /
└─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0     1G  0 part /boot/efi

Backup the System​

On your PC, open a terminal and use the dd command to back up the system. Adjust the parameters as needed.

PC-Host$
sudo dd if=/dev/sda of=rock-4d-spi-backup.img bs=4M status=progress
  • /dev/sda: The disk corresponding to the development board
  • rock-4d-spi-backup.img: Specifies the output filename
  • bs=4M: Block size
  • status=progress: Shows backup progress and speed

The backup process will display the progress and speed. When complete, it will show the path to the backup file.

Example terminal output:

62205722624 bytes (62 GB, 58 GiB) copied, 1609 s, 38.7 MB/s
14839+0 records in
14839+0 records out
62239277056 bytes (62 GB, 58 GiB) copied, 1609.85 s, 38.7 MB/s

System Restoration​

To restore a system from a *.img file created using the above methods, please refer to the System Installation guide.