Since we are creating an image of our drive, select the first option ( Figure B) and tab down to OK.įigure B Both methods do clone/restore, but only one method creates an image of your drive. Creating an image is always best, especially for a first-time clone or backup. In this step you are going to choose between creating an image or doing a direct, device-to-device copy. You don't want to monkey with console here, unless you are a seasoned Clonezilla veteran. At this step you can either drop into a console or start Clonezilla. I have used this option for both workstations and laptops without issue. Most likely the Don't Touch My Keymap setting will work just fine. This step should be fairly self-explanatory. From the language screen, you need to select the language you want to use for the process.
You will now see a Debian boot sequence appear.įigure A You can select a resolution to better suit your monitor from this menu. For the task of creating an image, you will want to select Clonzezilla Live (Default settings) and press Enter.
What you will see is the Clonzilla boot screen ( Figure A). You have to boot from the Clonezilla media for this to work. Step 2Īttach your external drive (or, if you are using a USB, insert a burnable CD/DVD) and then insert your Clonezilla media. After you have burned your media, you are almost ready. NOTE: If you want to use it on a USB drive, use a tool like UNetbootin to make this process simple. Once you have the file downloaded, you need to burn it onto a disk. Make sure you download a stable version of this tool.
The first step is to download the ISO image from the Clonezilla Web site. And in this blog, I am going to illustrate to you just how simple this task is with Clonezilla. In fact, Clonezilla is remarkably easy to use, considering the complexity of the task at hand. But that doesn't mean it's difficult to use. Clonezilla is a curses-based tool that is basically text-based. Now, unlike some of its competition, Clonezilla does not have a fancy GUI.
Clonezilla can be run from its own bootable environment from a CD/DVD or from a USB flash drive.įor a review, check out " Product Spotlight: Clonezilla System Imaging." This blog post is also available in PDF format in a free TechRepublic download. That cloned partition (or drive) can then be stored on an internal drive, an external USB drive, a CD/DVD drive, or a networked drive (using Samba, SSH, or NFS). The cloned data can be stored as an image file or as a duplicate copy of the data. With Clonezilla you can clone a single drive or even a single partition within a drive and then recover that drive later.
So wouldn't it be great if there was a free and easy-to-use cloning application? Good news.there is.Ĭlonezilla is a free, disaster-recovery software developed by the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) software labs in Taiwan. Only problem is that most cloning software is either too expensive to own or too difficult to use. How many times have you wished you had an image of that now-defunct PC? At least with an image you could easily restore that system once the dead hardware was replaced.