So, you’ve finally got your Raspberry Pi configured perfectly. The services are running, the configs are tweaked, and it works. Now, before you tinker with it again and accidentally break everything, back it up.
Since you are using Linux Mint, you don’t need to download any sketchy third-party tools. You already have everything you need built right in.
Step 1: Create the Backup Image
We will use the Disks utility (also known as gnome-disks). It creates a 1:1 clone of your SD card.
- Insert your Raspberry Pi’s SD card into your computer.
- Open your menu and type Disks, then launch the app.
- On the left sidebar, click on your SD Card (verify the size to ensure you don’t pick your hard drive).
- Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner.
- Select Create Disk Image…
- Choose a folder to save it in, give it a name (like pi_backup.img), and click Start Creating.
Note: This process reads the entire card, empty space and all. If you have a 32GB card, the file will be 32GB. This usually takes about 10–15 minutes.
Step 2: Restore the Image
When disaster strikes (or you just want to revert to a clean slate), flashing your backup is just as easy.
- Insert your SD card.
- Open Disks and select the card on the left.
- Click the three-dot menu (⋮) again.
- Select Restore Disk Image…
- Select your backup file (pi_backup.img) and click Start Restoring.
Warning: This will wipe everything currently on the SD card.
Pro-Tip: Save Space with Gzip
Because Disks creates a raw copy, the backup file equals the total size of your SD card, not just the data on it. To fix this, compress the file after creating it.
The GUI Way:
Right-click your .img file in the file manager and select Compress. Choose .gz or .zip.
The Terminal Way:
Open a terminal in the folder where you saved the image and run the following command:
gzip pi_backup.imgThis will replace your massive pi_backup.img with a much smaller pi_backup.img.gz. When you need to restore it later, simply extract it first.
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