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## 2. General questions

## 2.1 If I make an image file of a partition, can I restore it to an unpartitioned hard disk?

The current version can only read/write from/to a partition. Partimage doesn't use the partition table at all. (The Linux kernel reads it, and Partimage can directly use hda1, hda2, ...). But I'd like to implement this in the future, to allow users to select partition to save/restore from a list (with name, size, filesys, usage, ...), and Partimage would be able to create the partition if needed at restore, or resize it...

## 2.2 Can I restore it to a smaller or bigger partition ?

You can't restore to a smaller partition (you will have an error), but it's possible to restore to a lager one. In this case, some space will be lost (I suppose the OS cannot use all the size). Partimage don't have a resize feature, but you can use other tools. I'd like to add this in the future too. It will allow to restore into a smaller or larger partition. Indeed, as Partimage is low level it uses data blocks. So resizing is possible, but that's a complex feature to implement. With some File Systems made to be easily re-sizable (as NTFS, ext2, ReiserFS), it may be easy, but with FAT, it's hard to do. For example, when resizing from 1,5 GB to 3 GB, you must change FAT16 into FAT32... You can use GNU Parted to do it.

## 2.3 I need a write support for NTFS. It exists in kernel-2.4, but it's not enabled in partimage boot disk. How can I use it ?

NTFS write support, as UFS write support are dangerous and supported only by experimental drivers. It can damage partitions, and corrupt data. That's why it's not enabled in partimage-bootdisk. Users who weren't aware of this problem could lose their data if the support was enabled.

If you need the write support, you will have to use another boot disk. Please, have a look at the question in this FAQ which explains how to build your own boot disk.

## 2.4 Partimage says "Segmentation Fault". What does this mean and how can I fix this problem?

A segmentation fault means that some part of the program was not coded correctly. Report this to authors. Give as many details as you can (architecture, package version, what you did, /proc/partitions file, output of dmesg, logfiles...). If you can reproduce the matter, tell us what you did step by step. In any case, if you can, try with -g10 option to create full log file. We may need your help so don't delete images or don't erase your partition.

## 2.5 I have a non i386 architecture machine, will partimage/partimaged work on it?

Quick answer: no. A bit longer, partimage/partimaged 0.6.x can't work on Big Endian machine. On Little Endian machine, you may have luck any make it working but you'll be on your own because we won't be able to help you. If someone has an old SPARC, HP-UX, MIPS or whatever he doesn't use, please, give it to us and we'll be able to make partimage working on non-i386.

## 2.6 Is there a batch mode to use partimage in a script?

Yes. You just need to use -b (batch) option on command line. You may use something like this: partimage -b -z3 save /dev/sda9 /mnt/image_sda9.

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