Cloning HDD to image file

[Buchanan0204]

I would like to be able to clone a hard drive to an image file or something similar.

The hard drive doesn't have an OS on it as such... so installing software on the drive isn't an option.

I know I can clone from one drive to another OK. However I don't have a spare drive to hand unfortunately. I would like to store the files/image on a hard disk without that hard disk becoming a clone of the source drive.

Is this possible?

N.B. Copy & Paste isn't an option.

 

[Buchanan0204]

Clonezilla live CD can create an image file from a hard disk. Bit hard to get your head around it if you've never used it before or new to Linux terminology though

Smashing. I've used it before... just the other day actually! I was wondering if it did it, however I never remembered seeing an option for an image.

Will take a look now. Cheers!

 

[Buchanan0204]

What about windows back up? You can select drives to back up then it just saves it all in one file IIRC.

No OS installed... No software including Windows. Wasn't an option.

Cheers anyway

 

[Buchanan0204]

Couldn't you put it in another PC? Surely that's what you are doing anyway. Anyway seems like youve got a solution!

EDIT: okay seems you weren't oops!

lol

 

[Buchanan0204]

Two more suggestions:
If the source partition is NTFS, you can use "disk2vhd" from Microsoft Sysinternals (free download) to create a virtual disk file that can be mounter elsewhere or use in a Hyper-V machine.

In all cases, the unix system rescue cd (www.sysresccd.org), free download, has Partimage, and I use that extensively for creating and restoring images of physical disks, both to another disk on the same PC, or to a network share.

Second one sounds like it does what I'm after. Will give it a go next time I need to. Cheers.