Clonezilla-SysRescCD
Creating a Restore DVD
08/02/2009 - v 3.1.0

Copyright: © 2007-2009, Spiros Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>	Single page
Last update: 23/12/2009	Printable version

Intro [^]

Assuming you have used Clonezilla Live to make a backup of your Windows XP system (partition /dev/hda1), which you have saved as win_img, you will probably be wondering what to do with it now. Well, one option would be to keep it to the disk you used to save it in, store the disk, and use it whenever you need it.

Another option would be to create a DVD you can use to restore this image. This procedure will be explained here.

You will use Clonezilla-SysRescCD to create a restore Clonezilla Live System, and burn it to DVD along with your win_img image. Depending on the size of the image and the free disk space, you have three alternatives:

• You can create a restore DVD, containing a restore Clonezilla Live System and one or more image files.
  It can be either a 4.4GB or a 8GB DVD, and it is ideal for packing a number of small image files together. It can be used to restore any of these image files when needed, but the restoration procedure will then be done manually.
• You can create an automated restore DVD with a maximum size of 4.4GB
  This DVD will hold only one image file, which will be automatically restored to its source disk/partition when the corresponding boot menu entry is selected. The drawback is that the working partition (the partition used to create the ISO file) must have an amount of free space equal to the size of the image file plus the Clonezilla Live System size.
• You can create an automated restore DVD with a maximum size of 8GB
  This DVD will hold only one image file, which will be automatically restored to its source disk/partition when the corresponding boot menu entry is selected. You only need to have about 90MB of free space to create it, but there are more commands to be executed to finalise DVD.

Creating a restore DVD [^]

Assuming you have saved your image file win_img in partition hdb4, you have to boot Clonezilla Live to RAM, using Clonezilla-SysRescCD, and when the system is fully up select Enter_shell and type 2 to get to the shell.

Then you mount the partition in /home/partimag

sudo su -
rm /home/partimag
mkdir /home/partimag
mount /dev/hdb4 /home/partimag
cd /home/partimag

Note: It /dev/hdb4 is a NTFS (Windows XP) partition, you will have to use ntfs-3g to mount it, since you need write access to it. In this case you type the commands:

sudo su -
ntfs-3g /dev/hdb4 /home/partimag
cd /home/partimag

If you have problems mounting the partition, refer to section "Saving image files in NTFS partitions".

Create the ISO file by executing the command:

/opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-iso -a restore -V "Win XP Restore" \
-P "Spiros Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>" -s

All tha's left to do is burn the DVD. Remove the CD from the DVD writer, insert a writable DVD disk and burn the ISO file:

growisofs -Z /dev/hdc=restore.iso
eject /dev/hdc

If the computer has only one DVD writer, you can use the following command, which will auto detect it

growisofs -Z $(what-cd -dwb)=restore.iso
eject $(what-cd -dwb)

Finally, add the image file to the DVD, by typing:

growisofs -M /dev/hdc -R -J \
-V "Win XP Restore" --publisher "Spiros Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>" \
-graft-points /win_img/=/home/partimag/win_img

If the computer has only one DVD writer, you can use the following command, which will auto detect it

growisofs -M $(what-cd -dwb) -R -J \
-V "Win XP Restore" --publisher "Spiros Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>" \
-graft-points /win_img/=/home/partimag/win_img

Note: In the last commands I have assumed your writer is /dev/hdc. You will have to replace this with the device name of your writer.

Automated restore [^]

Working parameters can be passed to the Clonezilla Live restore script at DVD mastering time. This is very useful if we want to create an "automated" restore DVD. The restore script (osc-sr) can accept the following parameters:

• -b -c --nogui -e restoredisk <image-file> <disk>
  Example: -b -c --nogui -e restoredisk win_img hda
  This tells the restore script to run in batch mode (-b), to ask for confirmation (-c) and preform a disk restore of image win_img to the first hard disk (hda)
• -b -c --nogui -e restoreparts <image-file> <partition>
  Example: -b -c --nogui -e restoreparts win_img hda1
  This tells the restore script to run in batch mode (-b), to ask for confirmation (-c) and preform a partition restore of image win_img to the first partition of the first hard disk (hda1)

We will use these commands when mastering our restore DVD. According to Clonezilla's documentation, since we will use mkisofs (actually genisoimage) coming with Clonezilla Live, the ISO file must not be over 4.4GB.

Note: The restore DVD will use a 800x600 screen by dafault; if you have to use 640x480, you have to edit the isolinux/isolinux.cfg file manually.

You can get more info about the available restore script options by executing

/opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-sr -h 2>&1 | less

Caution: It is not possible to concatenate the options, as it usually happens in linux. That is, if you write -bc... instead of -b -c --nogui..., the result will be that the automatic restore will not work. This is because of the way the original restore script was written.

Creating a 4.4GB automated restore DVD [^]

Assuming you have saved your image file win_img in partition hdb4, you have to boot Clonezilla Live to RAM, using Clonezilla-SysRescCD, and when the system is fully up select Enter_shell and type 2 to get to the shell.

Then you mount the partition in /home/partimag

sudo su -
rm /home/partimag
mkdir /home/partimag
mount /dev/hdb4 /home/partimag
cd /home/partimag

Note: It /dev/hdb4 is a NTFS (Windows XP) partition, you will have to use ntfs-3g to mount it, since you need write access to it. In this case you type the commands:

sudo su -
ntfs-3g /dev/hdb4 /home/partimag
cd /home/partimag

If you have problems mounting the partition, refer to section "Saving image files in NTFS partitions".

Assuming the image file is the backup of partition hda1, create the ISO file by executing the command:

/opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-iso -a clonezilla-44-restore-dvd \
-I "Restore Windows XP (Home PC) - hda1" \
-V "Win XP Restore" -P "Spiros Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>" \
-W "-j0 -b -c --nogui restoreparts win_img hda1" win_img

All tha's left to do is burn the DVD. Remove the CD from the DVD writer, insert a writable DVD disk and burn the ISO file:

growisofs -Z /dev/hdc=clonezilla-44-restore-dvd
eject /dev/hdc

Note: In the last commands I have assumed your writer is /dev/hdc. You will have to replace this with the device name of your writer.

If the computer has only one DVD writer, you can use the following command, which will auto detect it

growisofs -Z $(what-cd -dwb)=clonezilla-44-restore-dvd.iso
eject $(what-cd -dwb)

Creating a 8GB automated restore DVD [^]

Assuming you have saved your image file win_img in partition hdb4, you have to boot Clonezilla Live normally (no copy to RAM), using Clonezilla-SysRescCD, and when the system is fully up select Enter_shell and type 2 to get to the shell.

Then you mount the partition in /home/partimag

sudo su -
mount /dev/hdb4 /home/partimag
cd /home/partimag

Note: It /dev/hdb4 is a NTFS (Windows XP) partition, you will have to use ntfs-3g to mount it, since you need write access to it. In this case you type the commands:

sudo su -
ntfs-3g /dev/hdb4 /home/partimag
cd /home/partimag

If you have problems mounting the partition, refer to section "Saving image files in NTFS partitions".

Assuming the image file is the backup of partition hda1, create the ISO file by executing the command:

/opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-iso -a clonezilla-8-rescue-dvd \
-I "Restore Windows XP (Home PC) - hda1" \
-V "Win XP Restore" -P "Spiros Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>" \
-A "-j0 -b -c --nogui restoreparts win_img hda1"

At this point you have to reboot the system, and boot Clonezilla Live to RAM, in order to burn the DVD.

When the system is fully up, select Enter_shell and type 2 to get to the shell and execute the commands:

sudo su -
mount /dev/hdb4 /home/partimag
cd /home/partimag

Note: At this point you don't need write access to /dev/hdb4, so it makes no difference whether it is a NTFS (Windows XP) partition or not.

Remove the CD from the DVD writer, insert a writable DVD disk and burn the ISO file:

growisofs -Z /dev/hdc=clonezilla-8-rescue-dvd.iso
eject /dev/hdc

If the computer has only one DVD writer, you can use the following command, which will auto detect it

growisofs -Z $(what-cd -dwb)=clonezilla-8-rescue-dvd.iso
eject $(what-cd -dwb)

Finally, add the image file to the DVD, by typing:

growisofs -M /dev/hdc -R -J \
-V "Win XP Restore" --publisher "Spiros Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>" \
-graft-points /win_img/=/home/partimag/win_img

If the computer has only one DVD writer, you can use the following command, which will auto detect it

growisofs -M $(what-cd -dwb) -R -J \
-V "Win XP Restore" --publisher "Spiros Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>" \
-graft-points /win_img/=/home/partimag/win_img

Note: In this section I have assumed your writer is /dev/hdc. You will have to replace this with the device name of your writer.

Working with a USB keyboard [^]

Systems equipped witη a USB keyboard, have a problem starting Clonezilla Live, SystemRescueCD or any of the tools in the CD, since the keyboard does not work while in boot menu, and the default boot menu action is to boot from the first hard disc.

One solution would be to connect to the system a PS2 keyboard before booting Clonezilla-SysRescCD. The problem that still remains has to do with systems not equipped with a PS2 connector at all.

In order to use Clonezilla-SysRescCD in such a system, the CD should be remastered changing the default boot menu entries as desired.

In order to use Clonezilla Live on such a system, one could use the network to get a backup, or perform a restore. Creating a restore DVD for such a system, would obviously have to be an auto restore DVD.

The problem of booting an auto restore DVD and performing the restore is still there, since the default boot menu action is again to boot from the first hard disc.

To address this problem, some new parameters have been added to the ISO mastering script (ocs-iso):

• --noKeyboard
  Using this parameter, the default boot menu action is assigned to the first menu entry, which will start the restore operation.
• --defaultItem [item number]
  Using this parameter, you can specify the menu entry which will be assigned to the default boot menu action. The value of [item number] can be
      1 - 1024x768 screen
      2 - 800x600 screen
      3 - 640x480 screen
      4 - Safe graphic settings
      5 - Failsafe mode
  As you can see, using --defaultItem 1 is equivelant to --noKeyboard
• --bootDelay [number of seconds]
  Using this parameter, the value of the boot timeout (default is 30 secs) can be changed so that the restore operation starts sooner.

In order to use these parameters to master the auto restore DVD, the user has to modify the ISO mastering commands.

The command for a 4.4GB DVD would be:

/opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-iso -a clonezilla-44-restore-dvd \
-I "Restore Windows XP (Home PC) - hda1" \
-V "Win XP Restore" -P "Spiros Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>" \
--noKeyboard --bootDelay 10 \
-W "-j0 -b -c --nogui restoreparts win_img hda1" win_img

The command for a 8GB DVD would be:

/opt/drbl/sbin/ocs-iso -a clonezilla-8-rescue-dvd \
-I "Restore Windows XP (Home PC) - hda1" \
-V "Win XP Restore" -P "Spiros Georgaras <sng@hellug.gr>" \
--noKeyboard --bootDelay 10 \
-A "-j0 -b -c --nogui restoreparts win_img hda1"

Using an auto restore DVD mastered using these parameters, is very simple; at system start-up the boot menu is displayed and after [number of seconds], the restore operation will start automatically.

Menu modification parameters [^]

When using any of the -W and -A parameters, you can use two more paremeters to modify the text displayed at the CD/DVD title and the menu items. These parameters are:

• -T or --isolinux-title [title text]
  This parameter will change the CD/DVD title from Clonezilla-SysRescCD v 3.1.0 to [title text]
• -I or ---isolinux-menu-item [items' text]
  This parameter will change the menu items text from Clonezilla Live - XXXXxYYYY to [items' text] - XXXXxYYYY. For example, Clonezilla Live - 1024x768 will be changed to [items' text] - 1024x768.