is it safe to backup ext4 partition with partimage , which is detected as a ext3 partition

Question

I use partimage to backup my ext4 partition, but during backup, the partition was detected as an ext3 partition. So I'm wondering if this can cause something bad.

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 30 '12 at 16:14

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http://www.partimage.org/Main_Page

Limitations - Partimage does not support ext4 or btrfs filesystems.

It is unwise to use it for ext4 as long as that message is on their website.

answered Apr 30 '12 at 16:14

jippie

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score 0 · Answer 2 · answered May 09 '12 at 11:14

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If you don't use extents, ext4 can be mounted as ext3.

answered May 09 '12 at 11:14

Serpens

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If I don't know the details of filesystem technology, does it mean that there is no problem and nothing will be lost? – mattdm May 09 '12 at 11:19

Doe · Answer 3 · 2020-12-31T12:45:24.003

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You need partclone.ext4. It copy partitions without zero sectors. Works like a charm https://partclone.org/

Backup partition example: partclone.ext4 -c -s /dev/sda1 -o dir_with_backups/sda1.img

-c means copy mode

-s means source (what to backup)

-o means output (where to save backup)

Restore partition example: partclone.ext4 -r -o /dev/sda1 -s dir_with_backups/sda1.img

-r means recover mode

edited Dec 31 '20 at 12:45

answered Dec 31 '20 at 12:09

Doe

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This is true, now in 2020. It presumably wasn't true in 2012 when the question was asked, because of [a reference](https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/37638/100397) to `partimage` not yet supporting `ext4` or `btrfs` filesystems – roaima Dec 31 '20 at 12:32
(And no, I didn't downvote you.) – roaima Dec 31 '20 at 12:33
This user is spraying multiple sites in the Stack Exchange network with this link. Flagging as spam. – tripleee Dec 31 '20 at 12:33
I believe the answer attracted spam flags due to its phrasing and nearly-bare link. A little explanation of how to use the tool would go a long way towards making this a more useful answer. – Jeff Schaller Dec 31 '20 at 12:34

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 30 '13 at 19:31

Use fsarchiver instead. fsarchiver supports ext4.

It can be thought of as a successor to Partimage, which has mostly ceased development since 2009. It is written by one of the Partimage developers, Francois Dupoux, and has other features which Partimage lacks. See the comparison table FSARCHIVER VS PARTIMAGE.

is it safe to backup ext4 partition with partimage , which is detected as a ext3 partition

4 Answers4