Top 5 Best Open Source Clone Software for 2024 [100% Free, Clone Your Hard Disk Anytime]

Page Content:

Both system administrators and ordinary users need to be able to create reliable, one-to-one disk clones quickly, for backup and recovery, and to streamline deployments, upgrades, and repairs of existing systems.

To ensure you have an identical and undamaged copy of the original disk, you must use a disk cloning tool. For many years, Clonezilla and the Disk Copy utility have been the go-to disk cloning apps for administrators and tech enthusiasts alike. However, the market has grown, and there are now several open source cloning utilities that rival or surpass proprietary solutions in performance.

Let's discuss five open-source disk cloning tools, each with its own purpose.

We tested and reviewed 12 open-source cloning software and recorded some data during the tests. Based on their overall performance, cloning speed, and compatible hard drives, we narrowed down the list to the top 5 best software. Here's a breakdown of our evaluation stats:

Here is a list of the five best open source cloning software options:

• 1. Clonezilla
• 2. Cobian Backup11
• 3. Fog
• 4. Partimage
• 5. Win32 Disk Imager

Open-source cloning software refers to tools that can be freely obtained and modified by users, including access to their source code. This type of software allows users not only to utilize the software but also to inspect, modify, and distribute its inner workings. Open-source cloning software is typically developed collaboratively by a global community of developers who are dedicated to improving the software and ensuring its quality. Reasons to use open-source cloning software include: 1. **Cost-effectiveness**: Open-source software is often free, reducing expenses associated with purchasing and maintaining proprietary software. 2. **Transparency**: Users can view the source code, enhancing trust in how the software operates. 3. **Customization**: Modify and tailor the software according to specific requirements. 4. **Community support**: Extensive user and developer communities provide assistance, updates, and problem-solving. 5. **Continuous improvement**: Open-source projects tend to evolve continually as contributors worldwide add new features and fix issues. Open-source cloning software is suitable for: - Individual users seeking cost-effective solutions. - Developers interested in understanding software mechanics or customizing functionality. - Enterprises looking to reduce costs and have more control. - Educational institutions wanting students to engage with and learn about open-source technology. Use open-source cloning software when: - You have specific customization needs not met by existing commercial software. - High-quality cloning or replication tools are required on a limited budget. - You want to contribute your skills and knowledge to software development. - A long-term solution with ongoing support and evolution to adapt to future business needs is needed. However, it's important to note that while open-source software offers many advantages, challenges such as less comprehensive technical support compared to commercial software and security and privacy concerns should be assessed. Evaluate your requirements and risks before choosing to use open-source cloning software.

In this section, you can get an overview of Open-Source Cloning and its features. Additionally, you'll learn who needs Open-Source Cloning and when to use it.

What is open-source cloning?

As [explained by Arcserve](https://www.arcserve.com/blog/disk-imaging-vs-disk-cloning-key-differences), disk cloning involves creating an exact, uncompressed copy of an entire hard drive or selected partitions. Since the cloned disk is not compressed, you can immediately copy it to a target backup drive or the cloud, providing an exact replica of your current data. One major advantage of disk cloning is its speed, allowing you to quickly remove and replace a failing drive with its cloned counterpart.

Why are open-source clones so popular?

The paid version offers additional features, such as the ability to clone the logical structure of a drive, which allows you to copy everything, file by file, from one disk to another.

But open-source clones with good user interfaces and backup features are available.

• It supports multi-platform Windows, Linux, and Mac, just like its paid counterparts.
• It provides web-based access for full network functionality.
• It can significantly reduce downtime since cloned disks can be used immediately.
• Open-source cloning software offers flexibility.

Who needs and when to use open-source cloning software

It is a reliable and free data-cloning and recovery tool, used by organizations including IBM, Lockheed-Martin, HP, Siemens, and the US Department of Agriculture.

It is often used to clone hard disks for backup and upgrades. After using it to copy an active system disk, the target disk can boot. If you want to replace the HDD in your laptop with an SSD or a larger drive, a cloning tool is the way to go.

Top 5 Recommended Open-Source Clone Software with Free Downloads 1. Clonezilla Clonezilla is a powerful open-source disk cloning and image backup tool. It supports multiple operating systems and allows cloning of individual partitions or entire hard drives. Clonezilla features a graphical user interface, making it user-friendly. 2. G4L (GNU/Linux Diskless Live) G4L is an open-source disk cloning utility based on Linux, used for backing up and restoring disks or partitions. It offers a command-line interface suitable for advanced users and also supports network cloning. 3. ddrescue ddrescue is an open-source data recovery tool that can also be used for disk cloning. It includes error detection and correction capabilities, enabling cloning even when data loss or disk issues are present. 4. Partclone Partclone is an open-source project specifically designed for partition cloning at the file system level. It supports various file systems and allows cloning operations over a network. 5. FTK Imager While not entirely open-source, FTK Imager offers a free version for disk cloning and forensic analysis. This tool supports the Windows operating system and has a user-friendly interface. These are some of the best recommended open-source clone software options, each with its own unique features and use cases. Choose the one that suits your needs and ensure you understand its functions and limitations before use.

In this part, we have mentioned 5 open-source cloning software along with their reviews to help you choose the best one. So, read through this part and get yourself enlightened.

Our Selection and Criteria

Here are the criteria we used to choose open-source cloning software:

• Safe and virus-free
• 100% free and open-source
• Compatible with most Windows operating systems
• Fast recovery speed
• User-friendly management
• Takes up minimal storage space

Here are some detailed specifics about the comment page:

We've tested five different tools, and we've run them for longer to recommend the best option for your operating system. Prices for open-source cloning software vary depending on the unique features they offer, and the operating systems they support.

Let's take these tools in turn, starting with the next heading.

1. Clonezilla - Best Overall

Clonezilla (opens in new tab) is a free, open-source disk cloning software that supports various Linux, macOS, Windows, and Chrome OS file systems. While user support is somewhat limited, the software is powerful, feature-packed, and reliable. Clonezilla offers unattended options, encryption, and high customization, and can be used as a Live CD or USB for single-machine backup and restore or as a server for large-scale, multi-computer cloning.

Rating: 4.6 out of 5

Review: Clonezilla is a free and open-source partition, disk imaging, and cloning tool that supports a variety of Linux, macOS, Windows, and Chrome OS file systems. While user support is limited, the software is feature-rich, powerful, and reliable. - Christian Rigg from techradar.com

?Related Reading: Free Windows 10/11 HDD Clone Software to Clone Your Hard Drive

Technical Specifications

• X86 or x86-64 processor
• 196 MB of system memory (RAM)
• A boot device, such as a CD/DVD drive, USB port, PXE, or hard drive

Advantages

• A trustworthy cloning/backup solution that excels at reducing the size of copied disks. We use it to quickly restore test PCs to a clean state via images.
• Reliable with fast read/write operations and a wide range of choices and configuration options.
• Impressive for an open-source software; it easily and swiftly duplicates disks and partitions, outperforming many paid solutions.
• Clonezilla is a powerful disk utility that supports partitioning, cloning, and backing up drives.

The downside is that…

The boot configuration can be complex for those who are not computer-savvy, though one is never far from a manual. The user interface is unappealing and difficult to navigate, adding to the product's steep learning curve. And those unfamiliar with Linux will be puzzled by its references to disks as “sda,” “sdb,” and so on.

2. Cobian Backup11

BEST FOR REMOTE OPERATION

Cobian Backup might not be the most attractive with its outdated looks and user interface, but like many oldies, it works just as well – if not better – than newer tools. If you're looking for something more reliable and customizable than the File History that comes with Windows, give it a try.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Review: Cobian Backup is tailor-made for the job, with just about every applicable option, including remote operation. It's easy to use, and thoughtful – a single job can back up multiple locations. - Jon Jacobi from pcworld.com

Technical Specifications

Cobian is not suitable for system recovery, as it does plain file backups instead of image backups. But it's great for data, and it can compress and encrypt your files if you need it to. Most users should keep their files uncompressed and unencrypted, so they can be restored without the program in an emergency.

Advantages

• Straightforward with multiple options
• Can run as an application or a service
• Supports remote access

The downside is that…

• Backs up files only
• Outdated interface design

3. Fog – The Most Resilient

The FOG Project offers a web-based disk-imaging tool designed to simplify the process of providing image deployment for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS systems by integrating many open-source technologies. Using PXE (Preboot Execution Environment) to boot a small Linux client for imaging over the network is much easier than physically moving disks around to maintain multiple machines.

Rating: 4.5/5

Review: I haven't found a need to deploy this across my whole system yet, but from testing it has some very useful features. — Bryan Young from community.spiceworks.com

Technical Specifications

As long as the image is no larger than 40GB, FOG can clone an 80GB partition onto a 40GB disk. It can also change a computer's hostname and, if a task has been created for it, reboot the machine. A graphical Windows service, which comes with FOG, automatically imports hosts into the FOG database. The service also handles simple plugin and printer installations.

Advantages

1. Reduces network bandwidth usage: Fog computing is more efficient than other cloud services in terms of network bandwidth consumption.
2. Solves security issues: Security is a major concern across the network, and thus, fog computing proves to be more secure.
3. Fog computers operate continuously and can make decisions promptly.
4. These computers collect and protect diverse data.

The downside is that…

• Entity Location

While data in the cloud can be accessed from anywhere on the planet, fog computing is more limited in this regard.

• Safety

In fog computing, the platform is different, and some experts doubt that a decentralized network will be up to the job of protecting data.

• Puzzled

The public is confused by a proliferation of networks, both private and public, and of protocols.

4. Partimage

Partimage can create images of partitions on which it finds one of the file systems it supports, sector by sector. Although it runs under Linux, it supports both Windows and most Linux file systems. Images can be compressed to save disk space and reduce transfer times, and they can be split into multiple files for copying to CDs or DVDs.

With network support using Samba, NFS, or Partimage, partitions can be network-mounted (network file system). This allows users to recover their partitions in case of hard disk failure.

Partimage copies only the used portions of a partition. (This also means that it supports only certain file systems, and, for speed and efficiency, omits copying unused disk blocks to the image file, whereas other programs copy all unused blocks.) For very full partitions, this is especially effective, since Partimage reads the partition sequentially, minimizing both disk-transfer time and seek time. A 1-GB partition, for example, can be compressed down to 400 MB.

Note: The Partimage project is no longer maintained. Consider using alternatives such as fsarchiver, partclone, or xfsdump.

Technical Specifications

• Supports the following file systems: Ext2fs/Ext3fs, Reiser3, FAT16/FAT32, HPFS, JFS, and XFS. • Beta support for UFS and HFS. • Experimental support for NTFS.

Advantages

• No need to "track" file fragments – less head movement and better use of disk caching. Only the currently used clusters are read and saved.
• The backup is an exact copy, including metadata such as last access date. Source partition integrity is maintained.
• Location independence: backup media can be a different partition on the same harddisk, another local disk or a network-connected file.

Disadvantages

• Partimage does not support the Ext4 or Btrfs file systems. • The backup and restore processes are not defragmented for security reasons. • The file system to be backed up must be unmounted and unavailable to other processes. This means that to back up a "system" file system, the operating system must be offline. • Individual files or directories cannot be restored. However, you can restore the backup to a temporary or spare partition and then use that spare partition to recover specific files or folders.

5. Win32 Disk Imager - Best Source Cloning Software for Windows

This tool can backup a live system to an image file, or restore an image file to a device. It's very useful for embedded development, especially for ARM projects (like Android, Ubuntu on ARM, and so on). The project is open for anyone to fork and modify, and we're always happy to receive patches.

It works on Windows 7/8.1/10. It should also be compatible with Windows Server 2008, 2012, and 2016 (though the developer hasn't tested these). Use version 0.9 for Windows XP and Vista (available in the file archive).

Warning: There have been reports of problems with USB floppies (and occasionally other USB devices, though very rarely). While this has been fixed in v1.0, it is highly recommended that you do this before writing the image to the device.

Rating: 3.7 out of 5

Comment: For those having the problem with Win32 formatting your SD cards in MB instead of GB, I had the same issue. I found that formatting them in the digital camera fixed this. After that, format them on the computer and then run Win32. – Anonymous user from sourceforge.net

Technical specifications: It works with Windows 7/8.1/10. In theory, though untested by the developer, it should also be compatible with Windows Server 2008, 2012, and 2016. Use version 0.9 for support for Windows XP and Vista (found in the file archive).

Advantages

• Win32 Disk Imager has an excellent design.
• It helps people get started quickly and maintain their interest.
• It performs exceptionally well.
• Win32 Disk Imager is compatible with many devices.

Disadvantage

• Low rating
• Supports only Windows operating system

Editor's Pick: The Best Open Source Clone Software for You

Overall, Clonezilla and Win32 Disk Imager are the best.

For beginners: You could use Clonezilla, an impressive open-source offering that's super-fast and easy to use for cloning disks and partitions, outperforming many paid alternatives.

For advanced users: Win32 Disk Imager can be used by professionals to write a bootable image (such as ubuntu-12.04-preinstalled-desktop-armhf+omap4.img) to an SD card or USB stick.

If you need more powerful disk cloning software, read on for the best disk cloning solutions.

Suggestion: Best Disk Clone Software - Disk Copy Tools

A powerful cloning tool is embedded in the unique Windows application utility, Disk Copy. It offers an all-inclusive solution for Microsoft Windows users with PC disk cloning, partition cloning, OS migration, HDD/SSD to SSD cloning, C drive/boot drive cloning, and creation of Windows portable USB.

Characteristics

- Supports all previous versions of Windows, including Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11. - Compatible with various types of HDDs and SSDs from almost all manufacturers, such as Western Digital, Samsung, SanDisk, Crucial, Seagate, Intel, and more. - Allows you to migrate your operating system to a new or larger drive when upgrading, saving you the hassle of reinstalling everything. - During system cloning, check the "Clone by sector" option. This method only copies the used space on the source disk, thus preserving more available space on the target disk. - Clone a larger HDD to a smaller SSD to boost your computer's read and write speeds. The software automatically monitors disk sizes during the cloning process. - Offers round-the-clock technical support to assist you whenever you need it.

Price: $19.90 per month, with a 30-day free trial.

If needed, you can download and use it following these steps:

Advance notice:

• "Clone by sector" requires the target disk to be the same size or larger than the source disk. Do not check this if you want to clone a larger hard drive to a smaller one. • All data on the target disk will be completely erased. Proceed with caution.

Step 1: To start cloning the entire disk to another, select it as the “Source Disk” in this mode, and click “Next”.

Step 2: Select another disk as the target disk.

Step 3: Check the disk layout of both disks. You can manage the layout of the target disk by choosing "Adjust Target Disk Size Automatically," "Keep the Same as Source," or "Edit Disk Layout."

• "Automatically resize partitions" makes some default changes to the target disk layout for optimal performance.
• "Copy as is" doesn't change anything on the target disk, and its layout remains identical to the source disk.
• "Edit partition layout" lets you manually adjust/move the partition layout of this target disk.

Check the “Optimize for SSD” option for best performance.

A warning appears, telling you that your data will be lost. Tap OK, then tap Next.

Step 4: Click “Proceed” to actually carry out the task.

Is an open-source clone better than a paid one?

So we chose to pit the open-source Clonezilla against the commercial Disk Copy tool to see which of these popular cloning programs comes out on top. Here are the results:

Which is best?

After a detailed comparison of both, we can conclude that for beginners, the paid version of Disk Copy is the better choice due to its simplicity and faster disk cloning speed. Clonezilla, on the other hand, takes more time because it is slower. Although Disk Copy is a paid tool, the features it offers make it worth the investment.

wrap-up work

In this article, we discussed open-source cloning software and paid software. One of the best paid software is Disk Copy, which offers user support in case of errors, and is great for beginners due to its ease of use.

Frequently Asked Questions About Open-Source Cloning Software

1. Is Clonezilla really free?

Yes, Clonezilla is a free disk imaging and cloning tool, and what sets it apart from similar solutions is that it runs from a Live CD or Live USB, rather than being installed as a Windows application.

Cloning versus imaging: which is better?

Clones are great for quick recovery, while images offer more backup options. You can take incremental backup snapshots and save multiple versions without taking up too much space.

3. What Is the Best Free Disk Imaging Software?

Here are some of the best disk imaging software options: 1. Acronis True Image: Offers a comprehensive data backup and recovery solution, including disk imaging, file, and folder backups. It also features cloud storage options and active protection. 2. Clonezilla: A free, open-source tool for creating and restoring disk images. Suitable for both personal and business users, supporting various operating systems. 3. Macrium Reflect: A powerful disk cloning and imaging software for Windows users. Features fast backups and incremental/differential backup capabilities. 4. tools Todo Backup: Provides disk imaging, system backup, file, and partition backup functions. User-friendly interface suitable for beginners and professionals. 5. Norton Ghost: Although older, it still offers robust disk imaging and backup features, supporting automatic scheduling and encryption. 6. AOMEI Backupper: A comprehensive backup and recovery tool with disk, partition, system, and file backup options. The free version includes many practical functions. 7. Deep Freeze: Primarily used for system restoration, but it can also create disk images for emergencies. Especially useful in public computer environments like schools and libraries. 8. Paragon Backup & Recovery: Offers advanced disk backup and recovery options, including dynamic volume support and a Linux recovery environment. Choose the software that best suits your requirements.

• Disk cloning tool
• Clonezilla
• Win32 Disk Imager
• Fog
• Cobian Backup 11