Easy question about backups

dogeymon

Thanks a lot

BobHarris

It didn't work for me. I formatted my Sandisk sd card, but the backup did not fit anymore on the same sd card.
When you plug the sd card for the first time in your Pi, the available space is automatically expanded to the full size of the card. When I made a backup (win32disk imager), the file size was a couple of bytes (literally) larger than the size of the sd card. So if one day I need to use my backup I have to use an sd card double the size.

TMNTturtlguy

@bobharris that is not possible. Disc imager makes an exact copy of every available byte. This happens regardless if retropie expands the file system or not.

When you reformat make sure to do a full reformat and not just a quick format. Use SD formater for best results. If this does not work it means you have a bad SD card with corrupted sectors.

ruckage

@tmntturtlguy
Hi. i've read about @BobHarris problem happening to other people and apparently it genuinely does create an image slightly larger than the SD. I only have a vague memory of it and think it was a specific version of win32diskimager that had the problem. I'll see if I can find the topic as I think there is a fix.

ruckage

@bobharris
There are a lot of topics discussing this problem on the net, the solutions to shrink the image seems quite convoluted but here's a link that may help https://www.reddit.com/r/RetroPie/comments/5s7rrr/sd_card_image_too_big_to_fit_on_new_sd_card_of_a/

BobHarris

@ruckage I would really like to know if there was a solution. I've been using win32disk imager 1.0.
I've looked into shrinking, but it seemed like quite a hassle so I just decided to use a workaround (by using a larger sd card).

@TMNTturtlguy I did do a full format using sd formatter. The sd card shows no signs of corruption, but it is the only card I've used, so I can't say for sure the problem isn't related to the sd card itself.

UDb23

You can use rpi-clone to backup your SD. In this way no issues related to image size as it copies the actual files. Check here.

TMNTturtlguy

@bobharris see if you can find another version of disc imager. I see the links to the issues out there, but I have not experienced them. I have made 6 different builds and currently run 3 different builds. I consistently use disc imager and have not had the issue. I have had instances where a new SD card has less available space than the original card, but never had issues with disc imager creating an image larger than the original. I am not at my computer to check which version of disc imager that I have.

TMNTturtlguy

@udb23 yes! This is a great option and I have used this several times as well to create backups, escpecially moving to smaller SD cards. Make sure to use the most updated version of RPI clone. I did find that I have had some issues with different aspects of using the USB mount. After cloning my splash screen video on startup only runs about half the time. It works Everytime in the original. The work around is to put the splash screen on the sd card and the USB so that if the USB does not start up fast enough, the splash will run from the SD while the USB is recognized.

UDb23

@tmntturtlguy said in Easy question about backups:

I have had instances where a new SD card has less available space than the original card, but never had issues with disc imager creating an image larger than the original.

I have the latest v1.0. I can confirm what you said.

ruckage

@udb23 @TMNTturtlguy

I wonder if it only affects certain brands of SD card as that could explain why it affects some people and not others.
@BobHarris what SD card were you using out of interest?

BobHarris

@ruckage A Sandisk 16 gb, the branding has worn off so can't tell you more specifics.. I can't remember when I bought it. Maybe 5-7 years ago.

@UDb23 Thanks, I will check out RPi clone!

@TMNTturtlguy I might try that some day (different disk imager), but right now I don't want to start all over on a new build in case my backup doesn't fit again on my 16 gb card.

dogeymon

Thanks everyone but this issue is totally resolved....thanks. 4.3 seems really cool!

BobHarris

So today I did some testing. I wanted to see if a different sd card had the same issue (not being able to write the backup image to the card it came from).
I used a Sandisk ultra 32 gb class 10 card. First I formatted the card using SDFormatter 4.0 (Full (overwite) format, size adjustment ON). Then I wrote the Retropie 4.3 image to the card and inserted it into my Pi 3B. I randomly put a few games on there and installed Dosbox. I shut down the Pi and made a backup image using Win32 disk imager 1.0. The image size was 31.104.958.464 bytes.
I always had difficulties getting rid of the Linux partition on the sd card, using Windows based utilities, so I put the sd card into my Sony camera and formatted the card. Afterward I checked how much the available space was on the card: 31.092.277.248 bytes. Total capacity: 31.092.375.552 bytes. (=less than the backup image).
Then I formatted the card again using SDformatter (Full (overwrite), size adjustment ON). Now the available space on the sd card is even less: 31.087.067.136 bytes. (Total capacity: 31.087.198.208).
When I try to put the backup image on the sd card win32 disk imager says: 'More space required than is available. The extra space DOES appear to contain data. Continue anyway?'
So it the problem does not seem to be caused by the sd card. Maybe I mess up the formatting process?

mitu

@bobharris How about if you write the .img directly on the card - no partitioning/formatting involved ? The image file already contains a filesystem and partition structure.

BobHarris

@mitu So basically at this point you are saying I should just ignore the warning 'more space required than is available' and continue anyway?

mitu

@bobharris you could give it a try, but to check I think you might need to a fsck from the OS restored after backup to check if the filesystem is ok.

TMNTturtlguy

@BobHarris since you put it in your camera to reformat did you make sure it reformatted to fat32

BobHarris

@tmntturtlguy Yes, I'm sure.