CloneZilla Options ?

[n2ize]

I periodically clone the drives on my server and on other computersw as a part of preventative maintenance... namely a periodic cloning and replacement of drives that have been running for a long time. The idea being, replace them before they crash. I always save the cloned driver for a while just in case the new drive decides to head south so I don;t have to reconfig a whole new machine.

Just yesterday I was cloning a Windows XP drive for a Windows system from a 160 Gb drive that was near 100% capacity to a 500 Gb drive so that I could perform some operations that required more disc space. I used Clonezilla and I set the appropriate options which I was under the impression would scale the cloned partition so that it uses the entire 500 Gb rather than just 160 Gb of it., But wen the cloning was finished and I put the drive in the machine all Windows still recognized it as a 160 GB drive. Fortunately I got done the work I had to and it's no matter now because the 500 Gb drive is going to be reformatted and used for a Linux system anyway.

Still, I would like to know if anyone is familiar with how to use Clonezilla to clone a smaller drive to a larger drive such that the partitions, filesystems are scaled to use the full size of the larger drive. The funny thing is that I tried to use GParted to enlarge the Windows partition on the 500 Gb drive but according to GParted the entire 500 Gb was already allocated to Windows. Yet according to Windows it wasn't. Could this possibly be a Windows glitch ? Any suggestions would be helpful. Perhaps I overlooked something simple.

[K7SGJ]

Can't help you with Clonezilla. I have used Acronis True Image for years, and it does that automatically if you choose that option. Whereas Clonezilla is a freebee, for some, Acronis may be kind of pricy for casual use. I use it a lot, and it and has a lot of menu driven features I really like, and it is pretty fast. It can often be found at special reduced prices at Newegg and other such online sellers, usually for 30 to 40 bux. One of the many features is cloning a larger drive to a smaller one and a smaller to a larger.

Good luck

[kb2vxa]

I also use Acronis and love it.

Heh, I can see it now, the clash of the Japanese rubber monsters, a Toho production, Godzilla meets Clonezilla in a race to stamp out all those clones before they take over the world. Pinky and the Brain step aside before you get stepped ON.

[K7SGJ]

I also use Acronis and love it.

Heh, I can see it now, the clash of the Japanese rubber monsters, a Toho production, Godzilla meets Clonezilla in a race to stamp out all those clones before they take over the world. Pinky and the Brain step aside before you get stepped ON.

But............what are we going to do tonight Brain?

[kb2vxa]

Same thing we do every night Pinky, try to take over Japan.

[K7SGJ]

Oushitu

[n2ize]

Clonezilla is supposed to be able to do all that as well. I guess I'll just have to spend more time reading through the docs and experimenting. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually. If I still can;t figure it out then there is always the CloneZilla discussion list.

[W3WN]

Is it possible that the machine's BIOS isn't recognizing the larger drive?

I ran into this on some older Dell & Compaq machines, although with smaller drives. (I ended up decommissioning the Dell, and trashing the Compaq, for other reasons, so I never did bother to update the BIOS on either)

[n2ize]

Is it possible that the machine's BIOS isn't recognizing the larger drive?

I ran into this on some older Dell & Compaq machines, although with smaller drives. (I ended up decommissioning the Dell, and trashing the Compaq, for other reasons, so I never did bother to update the BIOS on either)

I just ordered a new Dell 64 bit desktop system because I had a promo gift card that had to be used. I may use it to replace my aging 32 bit desktop. Naturally it will come with Windows 8 pre-installed in secure boot mode so I'll end up with the same headaches as I had trying to build a similarly configured laptop into a dual boot machine. I'll either put the new machine in legacy mode , reformat the drive for Linux and make it a Linux only machine. Or else I'll have to con Dell into sending me the Windows re-installation media (which they don't like to do) , and then re-install Windows 8 in legacy mode and then install linux on a separate drive or partition and make it dual bootsies. Everything is a pain in the ass.

[n2ize]

Eventually I'll upgrade to a PDP-11.

[W3WN]

I just ordered a new Dell 64 bit desktop system because I had a promo gift card that had to be used. I may use it to replace my aging 32 bit desktop. Naturally it will come with Windows 8 pre-installed in secure boot mode so I'll end up with the same headaches as I had trying to build a similarly configured laptop into a dual boot machine. I'll either put the new machine in legacy mode , reformat the drive for Linux and make it a Linux only machine. Or else I'll have to con Dell into sending me the Windows re-installation media (which they don't like to do) , and then re-install Windows 8 in legacy mode and then install linux on a separate drive or partition and make it dual bootsies. Everything is a pain in the ass.Oh? I don't suppose your aging desktop is a Dell, is it?

Sad to say, I don't have a Dell OEM DVD for Win 8. Win 7, now that I have.

[NM5TF]

I just ordered a new Dell 64 bit desktop system because I had a promo gift card that had to be used. I may use it to replace my aging 32 bit desktop. Naturally it will come with Windows 8 pre-installed in secure boot mode so I'll end up with the same headaches as I had trying to build a similarly configured laptop into a dual boot machine. I'll either put the new machine in legacy mode , reformat the drive for Linux and make it a Linux only machine. Or else I'll have to con Dell into sending me the Windows re-installation media (which they don't like to do) , and then re-install Windows 8 in legacy mode and then install linux on a separate drive or partition and make it dual bootsies. Everything is a pain in the ass.

I thot that Dell was offering desktops with Ubuntu pre-installed now...finally

[n2ize]

I thot that Dell was offering desktops with Ubuntu pre-installed now...finally

Yeah, they are. But I am going to be using Fedora. Plus, I like to customize and set up my Linux systems my own way. But the ones with Ubuntu pre-installed is a great option for those who want an alternative to Windblows and don't want to bother setting it up themselves. You just plug it in and go without having to go through the installation, customization, etc.