Partition backup using DD

[ChrisB]

Hi,
Just a quicky, I'm going to make a backup of my existing debian system using dd to an external USB drive. I'm planning on keeping the OS booted during the process.

I'm not too familiar with DD but will is cope with the OS still running?
If it wont does anyone know of any alternatives

I really don't want to have boot into a live disk and do it that way...
Cheers.

 

[ChrisB]

doh
I just wanted to save faffing with the box, as it has no keyboard/mouse or monitor and it's in a fiddly position
I log in mainly though SSH to do anything that needs attention.

I backup individual directories on a cron, so the most important stuff is safe, although admittedly I forgot to backup the whole OS initially

I'll have a look at partimage in more detail
A quick look and it looks ideal. Thanks

System backup is always something I've overlooked....
Cheers.

PS:
Its a PPC MiniMac running debian and I've also noticed it's a bit hit and miss (mostly miss), when booting from a CD....

 

[ChrisB]

Cheers to everyones suggestions, I ended up just going the tar route.

I also found out that my cron backing up important stuff wan't zipping up the tar