Are you looking for a program that can assist you in cloning hard disks? Clonezilla is one of the tools you shouldn't forget to consider when you want to make backup copies of the contents of your PC. And if you are afraid of losing all kinds of files or documents stored on your computer, there is no better option than using a third-party service to give you a hand.

Before we continue, it is important to note that Clonezilla cannot be run directly on the computer, considering that it comes packaged as an ISO image, so it is necessary to burn it to a disk or store it on a USB drive, which we can then use as a LiveCD, previously performing the BIOS configuration, of course.

Apart from that, the first thing you must consider about Clonezilla is that it is a tool that has been developed to allow us to clone disks and partitions for free, something that already gives it an advantage over paid programs. To that, you have to add that it has a series of classic functions, such as those found in Norton Ghost, probably the reference in the segment.

But there is a substantial difference between both proposals, and it has to do with the fact that Clonezilla is an open-source application, which not only means that you will never have to pay for it but also that you will be able to modify it if you have the necessary knowledge. Thanks to it, you can make partial or complete copies of your disk to store them or recover your system from them.

Which file systems are Clonezilla compatible? With most of those used at present, we will mention the following ones: REISERFS, XFS, JFS, FAT, NTFS, HFS+, UFS, VMFS, and of course, EXT2, EXT3, or EXT4. We also didn't want to fail to mention that this application has support for LVM2, something that doesn't always happen and is attractive.

And if you want to reinstall the boot loader, even using Grub or Syslinux, you have to know that thanks to Clonezilla, you will be able to do it without any problems. The same when you want to restore an image on local devices at your fingertips. And if you want the images you have generated to be stored on the network instead of being saved on the disk to access them from anywhere, you will also be able to do so.

In case you are the administrator of a series of networked computers, you will also find in this utility a first-class ally, taking into account that it has a Multicast Mode , thanks to which you will be able to back up or eventually restore a group of computers. This way, you will save an enormous amount of time.

Now finishing with the analysis of Clonezilla, you need to know that it is software that should be handled only by people with previous knowledge in dealing with this application. We say this because making backups is not for everyone, so you'd better be an experienced user or have one help you take advantage of this program.

In the meantime, the user interface of Clonezilla seemed acceptable to us, as we returned a bit to the previous point when analyzing its design. While anyone who has tried similar systems in the past will probably find it quite normal, it's possible that if you've never made a disk copy before, you'll be faced with so much information that you won't know how to handle it, and that could cause you all sorts of problems.

The best thing about Clonezilla then is the power of this service, and thanks to it, we have many options related to the copy of disks to store later both in the computer and in the network. In the same way, we found the time it takes to perform its tasks to be correct, without too many delays.

As a consequence of its enormous potential, Clonezilla also has some negative points, the first of them being, without a doubt, the fact that we have to run it from an ISO image, so you will have to know how to manipulate this kind of content. To that, you have to add that the interface displays such a large amount of data that if you are not used to these applications, you will probably discard it before taking advantage of it.

In summary, if you want to make partial or total backup copies of your disk, have experience, and are looking for the most powerful free program in this segment, Clonezilla should be your application. However, if you do not meet all of the above requirements, there is a good chance that some simpler applications will be more useful to you.