How to Dump Data in Linux System (dd Command)

The dd command can be used to put data on a disk, or get it off again, depending on the given input and output devices. An example:

gaby:~> dd if=images-without-dir.tar.gz of=/dev/fd0H1440

98+1 records in
98+1 records out

gaby~> dd if=/dev/fd0H1440 of=/var/tmp/images.tar.gz
2880+0 records in
2880+0 records out
gaby:~> ls /var/tmp/images*
/var/tmp/images.tar.gz

Note that the dumping is done on an unmounted device. Floppies created using this method will not be mountable in the file system, but it is of course the way to go for creating boot or rescue disks. For more information on the possibilities of dd, read the man pages.