Comment

Comment on Do Linux distros and BSDs recommend using the command line to set up bootable USBs because most machines should be able to do it without additional software?

potentiallynotfelix@lemdro.id ⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

I feel like for the most part though using something like balenaEtcher is so much easier.

Take 5 minutes to learn to use DD, and you’ll never need to install etcher again. Also DD can do primitive backups of drives, and so much more.

Sort:hotnew top

Blemgo@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
While I agree that dd can be easily used, it still is a dumb command (as in its only purpose is to write and nothing else), which can result in some issues regarding validating the integrity of the installation, at least for a beginner.

Furthermore, it can be disastrous if you don’t pay attention to what you type in, as it will happily overwrite anything you type in.

Also, I don’t think that dd alone should be used as a backup, as it might result in inconsistent backups. The best simple backup system, no matter whether you are a beginner or an expert, are snapshots, and maybe using dd to backup those to an external drive to be sure.

source
- potentiallynotfelix@lemdro.id ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  
  validating the integrity of the installation
  
  The ISO file should be validated, and many installation medias check hashes.
  
  it can be disastrous if you don’t pay attention to what you type in
  
  Valid point, even I get nervous when entering dd.
  
  I don’t think that dd alone should be used as a backup
  
  Absolutely it shouldn’t. I said primitive backups, which are not a replacement for things like snapshots. DD backups are space-inefficient, easily corruptible, and often result in broken systems.
  
  source