Re: Is it safe to replace dd?

[David Both]

I only use the dd command. Ever. I like the better control I have to 
specify block size and number of blocks to copy, when necessary.

dd if=archlinux-2020.01.01-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=2048

Works perfect every time. Theoretically cp, cat and others should work, 
too. But I know dd works so that is what I use. It is all about data 
streams and everything is a file. None of what you are suggesting is 
"unsafe" any more than dd is unsafe. dd is called "disk destroyer" for a 
reason. But only if you target the wrong disk. Same with all of the 
others. Just use whatever you are comfortable with. If it works for you, 
just keep doing it that way. But be aware of WHY it works for you and 
the failure possibilities.

I hope this helps.


On 1/20/20 7:14 AM, microsoft gaofei wrote:
> Many people suggest using dd to create bootable USB, 
> https://www.archlinux.org/download/ . But cp and mv also writes to USB, e.g., cp 
> archlinux-2020.01.01-x86_64.iso /dev/sdb, cat archlinux-2020.01.01-x86_64.iso > 
> /dev/sdb. Is it safe to use these commands instead of dd? If it's unsafe, I want 
> to know the reason.

--


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David P. Both, RHCE
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