Fab labs often have many computers and it’s a chore to install the operating systems and programs on each one individually.  If the computers are exactly the same, we can fully install one and clone it on to the other computers.  Additionally, if something goes wrong with a computer we can restore to a clean install by cloning it’s original image.

Putting an Image Onto A Computer

1. Put the Clonezilla CD in the computer or plug in a USB stick with Clonezilla live.
2. Do not plug in the external hard drive with the image
   
3. Reboot computer; hit the appropriate Function key (F-#) to get to the computer’s set up menu.
4. Change boot priority so the CD or USB drive containing Clonezilla has top priority.
5. Reboot computer.
6. Select Clonezilla live (Default selection).
7. Select English as language (Default selection).
8. Select “Start Clonezilla”.
9. Select “device-image” mode.
10. Select “local_dev” and hit Enter.
    
11. At the prompt, DO NOT hit Enter yet.  Plug in the external hard drive and WAIT.
12. A bunch of text will scroll by.  After about a minute, the last message will be along the lines of “drive attached”.  Now, hit Enter to continue.
    
13. Select the drive containing the desired image.  Most likely there are two options.  One with start with “sda” and the other may be “sda1″ or “sdb”.  Choose the one that does NOT begin with sda.
14. Select “restore disk”.
15. At the “advanced options” menu, choose “use defaults”, hit enter.
16. At the “clonezilla advanced extra parameters” menu, choose “use defaults”, hit enter.
17. Select desired image (images are likely named Maker_Model_DATE; choose the most recent date for your model of computer), hit enter.
18. Select both hard drives (highlight each and hit enter).  An asterisk denotes selections.  Once both are selected, hit enter.
19. Follow directions (y for yes when asked, Enter when needed).

Making An Image of a Computer

1. Attach a (large) external drive and a thumb drive containing the Clonezilla program to the computer.
2. Change the boot priority so the thumb drive containing Clonezilla is highest in priority.  Hit enter upon startup to enter the BIOS.  In “Advanced BIOS Features”, select “Hard Disk Boot Priority”.  Find the thumb drive, and hit plus until it is at the top of the list.  Hit F10 to save and exit.
3. The computer should boot to Clonezilla’s main screen.  Select the default toption.
4. When prompted, select English as the default language.
5. Select “Don’t touch keymap”.
6. Select “Start Clonezilla”.
7. Choose “device-image” mode.
8. Choose “local_dev” to manipulate the images on local devices.
9. Hit enter when prompted.
10. When asked to select a device to mount as “/home/partimag”, choose the partition which is the external hard drive.
11. Hit enter when prompted.
12. Choose “savedisk” mode to create an image of a local disk.
13. There are several screens for “advanced extra parameters”.  Leave the settings to the defaults (by simply pressing enter), until you come upon the image name input.
14. Type the desired name for your image (e.g. “FAB_##-##-##, where ## is the date).
15. When choosing the source for the image, you need to select both hard drives.  Do this by hitting space when a source is highlighted.  An asterisk should appear, marking your selection.  Once both drives are selected, hit enter.
16. Hit enter when prompted.  Select y for yes when prompted.
17. When completed, hit enter.  You can then select 0 to power off the computer, and the external devices can be removed.

(Instructions courtesy of Trip Vest)
modified 3/09 A.Sun