Dual-Boot System Backup Guide (Windows + Ubuntu) with Clonezilla

🧾 Purpose

This guide documents the steps to back up and restore a dual-boot Windows + Ubuntu system using Clonezilla, a free and open-source disk imaging tool. The goal is to create a restorable image of the entire disk, including both operating systems and the GRUB bootloader.

🔧 Requirements

✅ A USB drive (≥ 1GB) to create the Clonezilla bootable installer
✅ An external hard drive with at least the same capacity as your internal disk (e.g., ≥ 500GB)
✅ A working system with balenaEtcher installed (on Mac, Linux, or Windows)
✅ Basic BIOS/UEFI boot menu access

🚀 Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Download Clonezilla ISO

Go to the official website:
https://clonezilla.org/downloads.php
Download the stable version (alternative works better with UEFI systems).

2. Create Bootable Clonezilla USB

Use balenaEtcher:

Select the downloaded .iso file
Choose your USB drive
Click “Flash”
Safely eject the USB after completion

3. Boot into Clonezilla

Insert the Clonezilla USB and reboot the system
Enter BIOS/UEFI boot menu (usually F2, Esc, or F12)
Select the USB drive to boot

4. Clone the Entire Disk

Once inside Clonezilla:

Choose language and keyboard layout (you can keep default)
Select device-image mode
Choose your external drive (e.g., /dev/sdb1)
Select a directory to store the backup image
Choose savedisk (save entire disk)
Select the source disk (e.g., /dev/nvme0n1)
Name your backup image (e.g., dualboot-june2025)
Start cloning (read-only, no changes to disk)

🧯 Restoring the System (Optional, Future Use)

To restore:

Boot into Clonezilla
Choose restore disk option
Select the saved image
Select the destination disk
Confirm and restore

🛑 Warning: This will overwrite the entire destination disk.

📌 Notes

Both Windows and Ubuntu will be fully restored, including:
- OS partitions
- EFI boot partition
- GRUB boot menu
- Files, settings, installed apps
Backup image is a full disk snapshot — not individual files
Ensure the target disk is equal or larger than the original

🤔 Why Use This?

Quickly recover from OS crashes or misconfigurations
Save a clean system state after a fresh install
Simplifies dual-boot management
Excellent for tech-savvy parents setting up systems for kids 😉

📥 To Do (Pending)

Get a 1TB external drive to store the image
(Optional) Automate backup via script later

✅ Status: Ready for backup. Just need large external drive.

Effendi eL'Mut :

I've got a Dualboot Configuration Win11 & SuSE Tumbleweed (BTRFS), running with secureboot, UEFI, and TPM. I saved and restored with the GRML distribution and which has gparted and clonezilla onboard, using a local network storage. I'm trying to go from a 1TB to 4TB SSD. Although I did the same as you wrote beforehand, my 4TB SSD would not boot. I tried this multiple times with image checking. I finally gave up with GRML, and am currently trying Rescuezilla. Any ideas why clonezilla always reports corrupt image?

2 months ago