i want to test debian trixie (13) so i can report bugs and troubleshoot before the release later this year. i thought about simply installing trixie alongside my current bookworm installation, but that won’t be my scenario when the time comes, since i’ve been updating my system instead of reinstalling it since debian jessie (8) and this time it won’t be different. how can i clone my current system so i can simulate an update to trixie? do i simply create a new partition and copy my files over, then chroot to it and install grub?

  • harsh3466@lemmy.ml
    0·
    2 days ago

    You can do this with the dd command. To prep:

    Set up a live boot USB stick with your distro of choice.

    Install another SSD/nvme/HDD at least the same size as your bookworm install into your bookworm machine. If that’s not an option connect a USB drive that’s at least the same size as the drive with your bookworm installation.

    Boot into the live USB on the bookworm machine.

    Make sure the partition(s) from your bookworm install are unmounted.

    Quadruple check the drives/devices for the dd command. Here’s the basics of the command:

    dd if=/device/where/bookworm/is/installed of=USB/or/second/drive/in/machine bs=8M status=progress

    So, if your bookworm install is on /dev/sda, and the USB or secondary is /dev/sdb, then the Cmand would be:

    dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb bs=8M status=progress