FAQ

1. I didn't understand a term you used, could you clarify ____?

Here are a few of the terms that i've used that could clarify what I'm talking about.

GUI(Graphical User Interface) -This is what Windows and OS X are. They are a graphical representation of the information stored on a computer, and applications that you use. Most users are familiar with GUI's and don't realize that everything down to a click is multiple commands to the computer to create another image.

Live CD- This is a CD that has a bootable program on it. Clonezilla and GParted are programs that are bootable from CD, and as such are called Live CD's.

Hard Drive- This is the area in a computer that stores all of the information on your computer. If something is running, it is taken from the hard drive, and placed in the RAM, which is sorta like our Short Term Memory vs our long term memory which would be a representation of a hard drive.

FAT32- This is a filing system that windows uses to allow the computer to understand where files begin on a hard drive and where files end. NTSF is almost always a superior filing system, but wasn't introduced till after FAT32.

Gb(Gigabyte)- A gigabyte is a unit of measurement of data which is approximately 1000 Megabytes, which is approximately 1,000,000 KiloBytes, which is approximately 1,000,000,000 bytes. A byte is 8 zeroes and ones that are put together to form a piece of data. This allows for 256 different representations from one byte. So a Gigabyte is approximately 8,000,000,000 zeroes and ones. A lot of information right? Not today considering some programs are 3-5 Gb in size, and a HD movie is 4Gb, and sometimes larger.

Linux - Linux the term used for any program that uses the linux kernal. A kernal is the base that any program is written on, so that the computer can understand the code.

Source Code- The code before the program was compiled and linked into a program.

Compiled- This is the process of the computer changing all the programming language into computer code. This is the step before the linker puts the correct code into the program so that the computer knows what to do with the code so it can execute the program.

GNU- This is in reference to the GNU Public License which Copy-Lefts the program, and makes it free to everyone, and open source so it can continue to be developed.

Copy-Lefting - This is the opposite of Copy Righting, where a program is free for all to use, and continue to develop so long as they keep their program free and open source.

2. Ok, so how do i use Clonezilla?
A Step by step guide would be redundant because clonezilla has instructions for every step of the way. If you need specific help with a problem you have encountered, you can talk with the community that built it here.

And just to be nice, here is a video if you need a hand to walk you though it.



3. I have further Questions...
You can contact me by dropping an email at Warhero89@gmail.com. I will most likely leave a post about it so the same question isn't asked twice.

Clonezilla Overview

By the end of this article, i will answer 3 questions. What is Clonezilla? Why would I use it? Is this product for me?

Clonezilla is a Linux based Cloning Software that runs of a live cd. Because it is a linux product, it falls under the GNU which makes it free for us. Inserting the cd before starting up the computer, then having the computer boot off the cd will start clonezilla. Clonezilla has multiple modes it can run in. Imaging, Cloning, or Burning the image. Can't say that is exactly what they call them, but those are pretty much the modes Clonezilla will ask you if you would like to run it in. Imaging mode is where you would copy the hard drive of your choice exactly the way it is, compress that file, and store the image file on another mediam(Cd, Dvd, External Hard drive).

Cloning is where you take a hard drive, and directly connect your computer to another hard drive that you would like to make into an exact copy of the one you have. This can allow you to quickly copy your hard drive, and swap it out with a new one without having to reload anything, and get right back to what you are doing.

Burning is the other side of imaging. You want to burn when you have a hard drive image that you want to put on a hard drive. I've used this several times to copy my hard drive that i had in my computer to an image on an external hard drive. Then i took the hard drive out of my computer(After turning it off of coarse...) and swapped in my new larger hard drive.

I then went back into clonezilla, and had it burn the image onto my new hard drive, which gave me back all of my old files, drivers, programs, and even settings. But if you are to put a larger hard drive in, you will probably also want to use Gparted, which is another free linux utility that allows you to expand the partitians on your hard drive so you can take advantage of that new space you have.

Clonezilla is very good about knowing the limitations of file formats and avoids running into problems by defaulting to break the image file up into 2 Gb files. FAT32 has a file size limitation of 4Gb's, which some people have their external hard drives set to.

Clonezilla is a very easy program to use, if you read the instructions as you are prompted. If you are like me, and try things out with occasional reading here and there, you are going to have a hard time with Clonezilla, and this product isn't for you. If you don't know what the C:/ is, then this product isn't for you. And if you don't have the patience to wait close to 4 hours for a 160 Gb hard drive, then this product isn't for you.

But if you didn't fall into those categories, and want the piece of mind that you can get your computer back to normal in hours even if the hard drive was to explode, get run over by a truck, and every horrible thing you can think of happened to your hard drive at once, then you should try Clonezilla.

Computer Saving Options

Norton Ghost Review Here

Norton Ghost is one of the best hard drive cloning softwares for windows on the market right now. It can do everything from within windows, and so long as you know how to use a mouse and keyboard, you should be ok running this software. CNet usually gets sponsored to do reviews and they are usually very informative. They are a decent news source for tech related products. If you don't want to spend money though, the next option is for you.

Clonezilla Information Here

Clonezilla is a cloning software that is written in linux and was developed in the sourceforge community. The software is copy-lefted, which means that it will remain free so long as any piece of it's code is implimented in future produces, and must have open source code so others can improve the produce indefinitally. Sourceforge is a very useful website with people that actually developed and are still developing the product you are using, and can help you with any problem you encounter. Clonezilla requires you to be tech savy enough to not freak out when the screen isn't a GUI. Clonezilla makes a decent effort to guide you though what you will need to do, but if you cringe at the idea of selecting from a menu with arrow keys, then this isn't for you.

Guide Covering Norton and HdDrive Link Here

The review above is done by PCStats.com, which is a website that dedicates itself to everything tech related and has quite a few beginners guides for those that would like to become more tech savy. This review goes over how to use Nortan Ghost and another utility HdDrive.

Blog Review: Ye Olde Rad Blog III

Ye Olde Rad Blog III

I chose to review Ye Olde Rad Blog III because it has an extensive article on Clonezilla and how it works. The Blog has been around since January of 2008 and has on average 8 posts per month. The theme of the website is very spuratic ranging from topics of Books, to economy, fatherhood, politics, programming and many more. The website offers its articles by month or category, and has a search feature to make it easier to find what you are looking for.

The website itself is very easy to find information on, very rich in information on topics they do hit, but if it has something that would interest you would be a hit or miss here. Personally the name doesn't seem to explain much about the blog, and the blog's topics are a little too sporadic for me.

Blog Review: KingBeetle Linux Blog

KingBeetle Linux Blog

I selected this blog for review because this site dedicates itself to Exploring linux programs, and Clonezilla happens to be a Linux program. They even have an article on Clonezilla.

The blog itself has been around since August of this year, and has accumulated over 19 Articles in the form of blog posts.He is rather active with his blogging considering the length of some of these posts. Most of the articles have to do with linux, with 1-2 that are tangents on other neat stuff.

The blog has a link list to other blogs that KingBeetle is running, and an active tag list to help find topics of interest in his blog posts. The articles themselves are the only help you will find on the site. The site itself has most of it's important links to the articles placed higher to the top them some of the less useful gadgets, making browsing easier.

Overall, i like the site for it's content, but the theme that the user picked is extremely annoying to the eyes, and he has far too many gadgets. A little bit of clean up is in order.