TechJhola: Clone a System using Clonezilla

For me Cloning is another term for copying. Cloning is performing a mass copy paste operation but not just normal files like movies and documents. You want to clone an operating system in multiple blank hard disks, what will you do? Will you insert the bootable CS/USB everytime in all of those machines and install them on and on taking a week? I suggest you not to, because I've an alternative which can perform that task. And that is "CLONEZILLA"

Clonezilla is a partition and disk imaging/cloning program which helps us to install or creating a working system via system deployment. We can also perform system recovery tasks with Clonezilla. We can download the iso from its official website.

There are two types of Clonezilla which can choose based upon our need and they are: Clonezilla live and Clonezilla SE (server edition).

Clonezilla live is suitable for single machine backup and restore.
Clonezilla SE is for massive deployment, it can clone many (40 plus!) computers simultaneously.

Clonezilla saves and restores only used blocks in the hard disk. This increases the clone efficiency. With some high-end hardware in a 42-node cluster, a multicast restoring at rate 8 GB/min was reported.

Today I will be demonstrating the Clonig Operation on my blog:

Here are few things which you will need prior to begin Cloning.

Clonezilla iso
Bootable Pendrive(conezilla bootable)
A source hard drive for clonning
A destination hard drive to clone.

1. Download Clonezilla iso file and make a bootable pendrive and boot from it.

2. It will show the boot menu as in the Image 1 below.

Image 1

3. Choose the Clonezilla live (Default settings, VGA 800x600) option and press enter.

Image 2

4. Choose your preferred Language

Image 3

5. Now Choose Don’t touch Keymap option as in Image 3.

6. Choose Start_Clonezilla Start Clonezilla option and press enter as in Image 4 below.

Image 4

7. Choose device-device option and press enter as in Image 5 below.

Image 5

8. Choose Beginner Beginner mode: Accept the default options option and press enter as in the Image 6 below.

Image 6

9. Choose disk_to_local_disk local_disk_to_local_disk_clone option and press enter as in the Image 7 below.

Image 7

10. Be careful in this step, this is the crucial part. Now you have to choose the Hard Disk from which data is to be transferred. So, check the Serial Number of Hard disk from which data is to be transferred (known as SOURCE) and accordingly choose the option with that serial number and press enter. Double Check the serial number of hard disk because it can cause the reverse process which we wouldn’t want.

Image 8

11. Now in this step, it will show only one option which is the hard disk where the data will be copied (Known as Destination). That is in this hard disk we’ll clone our updated data or contents. Be sure and double check if it is the disk where we want to clone our updated hard disk. To be sure Check the serial number of the hard disk.

Image 9

12. Choose Skip checking/repairing source file system option and press enter as in Image 10 below.

Image 10

13. Press ENTER to proceed as in Image 11 below.

Image 11

14. Type Y and press ENTER for confirmation as in the Image 12 below.

Image 12

15. Again for confirmation type Y and press ENTER as in the Image 13 below.

Image 13

16. Now the partition table will be created on the destination disk. You don’t have to do anything in this step just for info, screen like Image 14 will be appeared.