Image files show filetype as DATA
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I have a Clonezille backup created which contains multiple part files. All of the files show DATA as the file type using Linux file. When using Clonezilla to restore the image, it shows the image is corrupt so I am trying to recover the data manually. The backup is a Windows 10 machine and the filenames reference zst in the filename. I tried using zstd to uncompress the files and they are not recognized. I no longer have the Windows 10 machine so I'm pretty stuck with what I'm working with. Feel free to contact me with any questions and I appreciate all help!
"I tried using zstd to uncompress the files and they are not recognized." -> What was the full command you ran?
What were the error messages on the screen? Please take some photos and share them.
Thanks.
Sorry for the late reply.
I'm trying to restore a Clonezilla image. I boot with the iso and the
partition table name is garbage and
no matter how I try to restore the image, Clonezilla shows it is corrupt.
I then went down the path of manually combining the images. I have the
following files;
- sda1.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.aa
- sda2.vfat-ptcl-img.zst.aa
- sda3.dd-ptcl-img.zst.aa
- sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.aa - bl
I first tried to combine the files using cat to create the image;
cat sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.aa sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ab
sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ac sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zs
t.ad sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ae sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.af
sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ag sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ah s
da4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ai sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.aj
sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ak sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.al sda4.nt
fs-ptcl-img.zst.am sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.an sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ao
sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ap sda4.ntfs-ptc
l-img.zst.aq sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ar sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.as
sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.at sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.
zst.au sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.av sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.aw
sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ax sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ay
sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.az sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.ba
sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.bb sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.bc sda4.
ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.bd sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.be sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.bf
sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.bg sda4.ntfs-p
tcl-img.zst.bh sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.bi sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.bj
sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.bk sda4.ntfs-ptcl-
img.zst.bl > /media/sump/Expansion/output.img
I tried using gzip and zst to uncompress the file and it was not recognized
as a valid file. Renamed the file with
either the .zip or .zst extension just in case the apps needed the
extension name.
zstd -d -o /media/sump/Expansion/test.img
zstd sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst.aa -d -o /media/sump/Expansion/test.img
I also tried using partclone to restore the image files into one file using
the multiple options below.
sudo cat sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst. | partclone.restore -W -o
/media/sump/Expansion/test.img
sudo cat sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst. | partclone.ntfs -W -o
/media/sump/Expansion/test.img
sudo cat sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst. | partclone.ntfs -C -r -W - -O
/media/sump/Expansion/test.img
sudo cat sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst. | sudo partclone.ntfs -C -r -W - -O
/media/sump/Expansion/test.img
sudo cat sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst. | sudo partclone.ntfs -r -W -s - -O
/media/sump/Expansion/test.img
sudo cat sda4.ntfs-ptcl-img.zst. | sudo partclone.ntfs -r -I -i -F -W -s
- -O /media/sump/Expansion/te
st.img
I always get the following in the log file;
cat /var/log/partclone.log
Opening User Interface mode.
Partclone v0.3.27 http://partclone.org
Starting to restore image (-) to device (/media/sump/Expansion/test.img)
This is not partclone image.
The image version is not supported [lf]
I'm not sure where to go from here. I have never had a Clonezilla backup
fail. I used a 1TB
USB storage device to make the backup and I'm thinking the drive is going
bad causing a corrupt backup. I've already installed
Linux Mint on the machine so I can't create another backup. I'm trying to
restore the email contact list from this backup.
Please let me know if you have any ideas or need further info!
On Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 8:54 AM Steven Shiau steven_shiau@users.sourceforge.net wrote:
--
Steve Umpirowicz
724.992.0983
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees
the opportunity in every difficulty."
Not very sure actually.
It's possible this was due to a hardware issue, like in RAM or hard drive and that caused the data to be broken.
Maybe you can try to move the data to another machine to do a image file check using "sudo ocs-chkimg" in Clonezilla live command line prompt.