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An issue I had while working on Raspberry Pi projects was the Micro SD Card would beome corrupt. I've done many things to prevent this from happening. In general, Linux prefers an orderly shutdown, rather than just pulling the power cord. Overtime, I became more careful about doing an orderly shutdown, but my family would just power cycle the device. Micro SD cards don't always become corrupt when power-cycled, but it occurs often enough to be annoying.
Also, I often made many copies of a Micro SD Card (RPi-based computers for students, Kodi medi centers for TVs, etc.)
I shouldn't admit this, but sometimes when building a system from scratch, I didn't write down a step. And I couldn't figure out what I missed.
Anyways, this step allows a running MicroSD Card to be cloned to another MicroSD Card. It is a very easy process.
Notes:
Raspberry Pi Imager CANNOT create a clone of a running MicroSD Card. (Or at least I could not get it to work).
I use a MacBook. So, windisk imager is not available to me.
The linux dd command approach is complicated. I work on linux projects rarely, and want something that is close to idiot proof.
Requirements:
Raspberry Pi running Raaspberry Pi OS with Pixel (desktop)
Monitor, Keyboard and mouse
a MicroSD Card that is equal to or larger than the one inserted in the Raspberry Pi
Step 1. Install SD Card Copier
Open a terminal window on a Raspberry Pi, and run the command:
$ sudo apt install piclone
piclone will show as SD Card Copier in the Pixel desktop drop down.
Step 2. Find Source SD Card
With no MicroSD Card in one of the 4 USB ports, open Pixel Desktop ($ startx from the terminal), select the top left dropdown menu, go to Accessories and then SD Card Copier.
See what can be selected as the source e.g.,: SD16G (/dev/mmcblk0)
Step 3. Make a Copy
Insert a MicroSD Card with a USB reader/adapter in one of the 4 USB ports, open Pixel Desktop ($ startx from the terminal), select the top left dropdown menu, go to Accessories and then SD Card Copier.
Copy from: Micro SD Card identified in Step 2
Destination is the new one
If required, click the ... UUID check box (one miroSD card required it, and another did not)
Click Start
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