potentiallynotfelix@lemdro.id 4 weeks 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.
Blemgo@lemmy.world 3 weeks 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.
potentiallynotfelix@lemdro.id 3 weeks ago
The ISO file should be validated, and many installation medias check hashes.
Valid point, even I get nervous when entering dd.
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.