I tried the Clonezilla Live CD (ver 1.2.1-39) recently to restore an image created with it successfully; and find this to be the best partition backup/restore & disk clone software IMO (though limited).  Image restored was of a Linux (ext3 - / (root)) partition saved to a Windows partition (NTFS) *.

* Internet connection got disrupted during updating Linux (openSUSE 11.1) & on reboot mouse and keyboard were unusable.

In addition: it can backup MBR and Partition Table (on by default) and you can choose to restore this or not when you restore from the saved partition image; the compression ratio (7 GB used/12 GB total partn. size > 4.7 GB image) is better than NG ⁺/ TI and the speed is faster (average of about 1.2 GB/min for ext3 (SATA HD) > NTFS (also SATA HD) imaging.)

It supports a variety of file system types. Quote from the Clonezilla Home Page -


Quote:

Filesystem supported: ext2, ext3, reiserfs, xfs, jfs of GNU/Linux, FAT, NTFS of MS Windows, and HFS+ of Mac OS (testing feature provided by partclone). Therefore you can clone GNU/Linux, MS windows and Intel-based Mac OS. For these file systems, only used blocks in partition are saved and restored. For unsupported file system, sector-to-sector copy is done by dd in Clonezilla.

Also, for those restoring a Linux / (root) or /boot partition, it can (optionally; on by default) restore GRUB.

[⁺ Like 'TheShadow', I was an almost exclusive user of NG 2003 through a DOS CD, until I installed Linux (openSUSE 11.1, dual-booting with Windows XP Prof) and OSS (Open-Source Software) ... Shadow, how about giving Clonezilla Live CD a spin ? ]

The GUI can be a bit confusing & one needs to know the Linux/Unix-type nomenclature for disks/partitions (as given here). There is however, an online forum and Quick Reference Card (at the Sourceforge Download page). There is also a Clonezilla SE (Server Edition) for unicasting/multicasting in a network environment.

Here are some links to Clonezilla Live CD:

Main Site:
http://www.clonezilla.org/

Wikipedia Entry: (with further links)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonezilla

How to use Clonezilla Live:
http://www.clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live/#use

Forum on SourceForge:
http://www.clonezilla.org/forum/

Clonezilla Quick Reference Card d/l link:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=115473&package_id=125231&release_id=659572

PS:
Am re-posting this info here as a new thread as the earlier one was as a reply in the 'Backup/Restore MBR'  thread. There are not many threads about Clonezilla here.

Thanks for posting this. I'd like to try it when I get time. Reliability is paramount.

zmdmw52 wrote on Apr 8^th, 2009 at 5:19pm:

find this to be the best partition backup/restore & disk clone software IMO

That's a big endorsement.

downloading the stable iso now .. looks like it's 95 MB.

The dang menu top-right here is so small:

http://www.clonezilla.org/

Even with my reading glasses, I could barely see.

Well Rad, everyone is waiting to hear more ... especially the bottom line .... cost. I see something like $40-50+

Is this a trial version for limited period? Full blown workable version? We are all ears... err .... eyes waiting for you to post back.

Jer

Jerry aka Jer wrote on Apr 23^rd, 2009 at 10:28pm:

Well Rad, everyone is waiting to hear more ... especially the bottom line .... cost. I see something like $40-50+

This is open source .. GPL (free).

I transferred my initial impressions using Clonzilla into a blog-post .. see here:

http://mt4.radified.com/2009/05/clonezilla-best-free-hard-drive-backup-solution.html

One can't do a restore from within Windows in the event of failure to boot Windows which is why I won't consider programs that can't be run from bootable media.

A gut feeling it will successfully restore an image isn't good enough IMO.  Why not do a restore to test it?  Obviously this should only be done on a system for which you already have Ghost or other image previously restored successfully in case clonezilla were to fail.

Tator wrote on May 2^nd, 2009 at 8:59am:

One can't do a restore from within Windows in the event of failure to boot Windows which is why I won't consider programs that can't be run from bootable media.

I know of no cloning utility which does not offer bootable media of some sort.


Tator wrote on May 2^nd, 2009 at 8:59am:

A gut feeling it will successfully restore an image isn't good enough IMO.Why not do a restore to test it?Obviously this should only be done on a system for which you already have Ghost or other image previously restored successfully in case clonezilla were to fail.

I will test on non-system partition. I have a little 1-gig partition which contains no important files.

Why does this remind me of the Toyota Camry commercial?, where the narrator is saying "instead of buying a car that is LIKE a Camry, why not just buy a Camry?"

Someone once said, "When you've got the best, you can forget the rest".
I can't remember who said that, but is seems to fit my own personal feelings.
Oh yes......I only use Ghost, from a bootable DOS disk.
It's quick, easy and runs like a scalded dog on my PC.
My average backup time, using Ghost's FAST compression is about five+ minutes, when the Image file is written to another SATA2 HD.
Backing up with HIGH compression to a DVD takes a bit longer. ;)

Thanks guys, I've enjoyed reading this thread.
It reminds me to make another Ghost backup.   ;D ;D ;D

I too used Ghost for many years without problem until recently.  I have a Compaq Armada 7400 laptop that Ghost 2003 will not reliably backup and restore.  Every time I try backup with Ghost it screws up the drive, and I have to run chkdsk /f at minimum to get it going again.  When I try to restore Ghost image it results in anything from unbootable system to unpartitioned free space for restore target.  Seagate Disc Wizard backs up and restores without problem to this laptop. I've backed up and restored a half dozen or more systems using Ghost without problem, but this 1 Compaq was an exception for some reason.

On the other hand Seagate Disc Wizard was unable to restore images of 2 smaller drives to 3 partitions on a larger drive like I wanted while Ghost did it perfectly the way I wanted and more quickly than Seagate Disc Wizard was able to do it not like I wanted.  I think there are many good imaging programs, but all may encounter problems eventually.  Thus one can never have too many backup utilities IMO.

Is there an easy Clonezilla SE (Server) guide? I find their guide difficult.

I'm trying to use Clonezilla to back up my ext3 partition to an NTFS partition that has enough free space. However, it fails when it tries to create the backup folder on the NTFS partition. I mount it like this:

mount -t auto /dev/hda4 /home/partimag

I'm fairly new to Linux, so I'm guessing it's marking the partition as read only (even the though the messages when mounting seem to indicate it's RW) . How can I make it mount it read-write? What command did you use to mount the destination NTFS partition?

Is there any error when it fails? That would be most helpful.

You can verify that it is being mounted with the command:
mount | grep partimag

MOSPOGI wrote on May 20^th, 2009 at 3:42am:

Is there an easy Clonezilla SE (Server) guide? I find their guide difficult.

You don't neceissiarily need the server in order to use Clonezilla.

The guide isn't that bad if you just go through it step-by-step.  I know it looks pretty long and involved, but its not too bad one step at a time.  Do you have any specific questions?

Rad wrote on May 1^st, 2009 at 10:30pm:

I transferred my initial impressions using Clonzilla into a blog-post .. see here: http://mt4.radified.com/2009/05/clonezilla-best-free-hard-drive-backup-solution.html

Well, I guess I have to be glad in starting this thread and bringing Clonezilla into focus in this (appropriate) forum. Last few months, I have used Clonezilla to backup and restore mainly Linux (ext3) partitions (restore only twice) and have been impressed by it's speed, stability, compression ratio and ability to backup not only the data itself, but also the MBR, and MFT (Master File Table)-this is especially true of Linux (ext3 & ext4) file systems (see this post).
About support; there are active  mailing lists and forum(at Sourceforge.net). Steven Shiau, the Project Manager often answers questions on mailing lists & forums personally.


Quote:

From your review: SPEED » Not as fast as Ghost. CloneZilla imaged my 27-gig C_drive in 42 mins, averaging 650MB/sec.

I just used the Ubuntu edn⁺, that is capable of imaging the newer ext4 type of Linux FS and was impressed by the 2 GB+/min transfer rate for ext3/ext4 > NTFS partition transfer rate.


Rad wrote on May 1^st, 2009 at 10:30pm:

This is open source .. GPL (free).

... they do accept donations from users who have found it useful  ;).


For Windows partitions though, I still often end up using my Norton Ghost 2003 DOS boot CD, something TheShadow would whole-heartedly approve of (don't see him around much :(). Norton Ghost 2003 also has Ghost Explorer to browse (and copy /extract from) the image.

⁺ Rad, I believe you also use Ubuntu Linux.

Addendum:

Re - MBR, Partition Table/MFT (Master File Table) backup by Clonezilla, see here:

http://radified.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1197239819/22#22

MOSPOGI wrote on May 20^th, 2009 at 3:42am:

Is there an easy Clonezilla SE (Server) guide? I find their guide difficult.

The Clonezilla interface can be a bit intimidating as only the keyboard is available to navigate through the "GUI"; (actually it's a TUI (Text-mode User Interface) rather than a GUI), for those used to Norton Ghost/ Acronis TI/ other similar image programs where point-and-click w/ mouse is available, here is a step-by-step guide to using Clonezilla Live CD (i.e. for use on a single PC)
http://www.howtoforge.com/back-up-restore-hard-drives-and-partitions-with-clonezilla-live

On the same website (www.howtoforge.com), there is also a guide to using Clonezilla Server Edn, in a network environment:
http://www.howtoforge.com/cloning-linux-systems-with-clonezilla-server-edition-clonezilla-se

I found these easier to understand for a novice than those hosted at the Clonezilla Project website or in the 'Quick Reference Card', so thought might mention them here.