Cloning XBMCbuntu to new SSD
#1
Hi,

I have XBMCBuntu which works great despite a couple of niggles. Wanting to move it from a HDD to an SSD to take advantage of fast boot times. I have only limited experience with XBMCbuntu, but was wondering how I'd go about cloning the drive to the new SSD.

Thanks
Reply
#2
If you can get hold of an Acronis boot disk you can clone the drive right over. Well, worked for me with my Windows 7 install anway!
CPU: AMD Llano A6-3500 2.40GHz APU - MoBo: Gigabyte A75N-USB3 AMD A75 - RAM: Corsair Value 4GB DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz - Storage: 128GB SSD, 500GB HD - Case: Streacom FC7 Silver - ODD: Sony AD-7640S Slot Load DVD+RW Drive
Reply
#3
Will it work with Ubuntu?
Reply
#4
no need for paid software Smile on linux there are several options: (g)parted, dd, partimage, clonezilla
Easiest is probably to boot from a live CD/USB and use gparted. If it is not available, just apt-get install gparted.
Reply
#5
I tried a live cd version of Ubuntu. Using Gparted I created a new partition on my SSD. I then reduced the size of the partition on my old disc (so the old partition could fit on the new) then I copied and pasted the partition onto the new drive. Unfortunately on the new drive its stuck on "Loading OS".
Reply
#6
You likely copied the grub too and it's looking for the the old partition. I'd personally install xbmcubuntu from scratch on your newly-formatted (ext4) SSD, then copy your ~/.XBMC/userdata directory over from the old drive.
Reply
#7
Tried with Clonezilla, same problem. I'd like to avoid another clean install as it took me a while to get imonlcd working to my satisfaction (including perl scripts) and have no idea how to transfer that across. I've finally got the system working as I want it and I just want to transfer it to another driver. Any way to get around the Grub issue?
Reply
#8
your problem must be a wrong /etc/fstab.

when you create a partition on the ssd, a uuid is generate for this one. Your old drive have another uuid.

you have to edit /etc/fstab of the new drive with the correct uuid.

check for uuid in /boot/grub/menu.lst too (if you have one).

use blkid to check uuid.

I'm not sure, but I think you can't change UUID of a partition with tune2fs.
Reply
#9
There is. Boot from a Ubuntu installation CD or flash drive and select the repair option. You can then do what you need to do from the repair shell. You'll have to Google for repair details - its been a couple years since I've done it and don't recall exact steps. I'd probably give you just enough info to truly bork your system...
Reply
#10
Where is my user data directory if I installed xbmc in linux mint? I look @ the path rick said but it's not there. Tried a search but came up m-t. I know it's somewhere xbmc works.

thx
HTPC
i3 2100
Asrock H67m itx
2x4 Gskill 1333
GT 430 gpu
2 x 500 GB 7200rpm Seagate Hybrid SSD-HDD
Slim DVD drive

Reply
#11
(2013-01-24, 14:56)The Bagwan Wrote: Tried with Clonezilla, same problem.

Then I doubt you did it right.
This is the EXACT purpose of clonezilla. It works.


Reply
#12
(2013-01-26, 07:57)Travalon Wrote: Where is my user data directory if I installed xbmc in linux mint? I look @ the path rick said but it's not there. Tried a search but came up m-t. I know it's somewhere xbmc works.

thx

~/.xbmc is hidden by default. Control-h from your home folder will show it if you're using the nautilis file manager. I assume its the same if you're using nemo.
Reply
#13
(2013-01-24, 14:56)The Bagwan Wrote: Tried with Clonezilla, same problem. I'd like to avoid another clean install as it took me a while to get imonlcd working to my satisfaction (including perl scripts) and have no idea how to transfer that across. I've finally got the system working as I want it and I just want to transfer it to another driver. Any way to get around the Grub issue?

Did you get this working? Trolly's right in that you'll have to update the UUID in your fstab unless Clonezilla does this for you. Use the blkid command from an install disk / thumbdrive's repair CLI to get the new one (probably blkid /dev/sda1).

Another very simple thing that comes to mind that I've done before myself ...
When you cloned your HDD you presumably set your BIOS to boot from a flash drive. Did you set it back to boot from your new SSD? Depending on what you've got plugged into your USB ports you might get what you're seeing.
Reply
#14
Ended up just doing what you originally suggested and re-installed. Took a while and stuffing around with the LCD display, but finally working. I did a Linux boot repair and it ended up stopping my original drive from working.

I think the problem was the way SSD's are formatted using Linux, specifically Gparted. Formatting using Gparted left the GRUB, so no matter what I did the GRUB remained. I'm not completely familiar with the way SSD'd work in linux, but a format was instant instead of say with a normal HDD where the head would format each sector. When I used clonezilla on what I thought was a freshly formatted drive, the GRUB remained. In fact when I did a new install the old GRUB stayed on it and I ended up having to hide the GRUB on boot to hide the 8 boot options which were in it and get it to start immediately. I am suprosed how long it takes to shut down, seems no difference from when it had a standard HDD, and my fully decked out Windows 7 on SSD on my PC opens faster than a stripped down XBMCbuntu on SSD on my HTPC.

Thanks Rick for all your help. Much appreciated :-)
Reply

Logout Mark Read Team Forum Stats Members Help
Cloning XBMCbuntu to new SSD0