Does Rescuezilla support "cloning" (device-device) mode?

[Benjamin Myers]

But can I use RescueZilla to simply clone a hard drive, as in the case
where I would like to replace a hard drive with an SSD? This small detail
seems to be omitted from the info about Rescuezilla, and it is important to
those of us who use Clonezilla and other software for basic drive cloning.

Ben Myers

[Rescuezilla]

Hi Benjamin,

Unfortunately Rescuezilla v2.0 does not yet support "cloning" (which Clonezilla calls "device-device" mode).

Rescuezilla currently focuses on "imaging" (what Clonezilla calls "device-image" mode). In other words, a backup operation copies your harddrive to files that need to be stored on a hard drive at least temporarily before it can be restored.

In response to your question, I have re-introduced this information in the frequently asked questions page (which had been recently simplified for the v2.0 release).

This task is tracked by Github task #47, but it will realistically be a long time until it is implemented.

You (and anybody reading this) may also be interested in the Rescuezilla Limitations GitHub Wiki page (which I used to prominently link to when the list was much longer). It has a number of items that may be relevant for you.

[MrOgoleman]

Maybe I don't understand, but if you make a back up of one drive, why couldn't that back up be written to another disk. I know I have done that with the old (2016) ReDo with success.

[Rescuezilla]

Hi MrOgoleman,

The workflow you describe is "imaging" (what Clonezilla calls "device-image" mode). In other words, a backup operation copies your harddrive to files that need to be stored on a hard drive at least temporarily before it can be restored. Rescuezilla (and Redo) supports this operation.

Benjamin is asking about "cloning" (which Clonezilla calls "device-device" mode). This is a direct copy between two hard drives without the need to store the backup anywhere.

To achieve Benjamin's goals with "imaging" you need 3 hard drives (the source, the destination, and a temporary storage drive) and it's a two step process. To achieve Benjamin's goals with "cloning" you need 2 hard drives (the source and destination), and it's a one step process.

Github task #47 will implement cloning, but there are higher priorities right now.

By the way, I usually don't rename Sourceforge forum topic titles, but I renaming this from "Important Detail Omitted" to 'Does Rescuezilla support "cloning" (device-device) mode'.

[MrOgoleman]

To achieve Benjamin's goals with "imaging" you need 3 hard drives (the
source, the destination, and a temporary storage drive) and it's a two
step process. To achieve Benjamin's goals with "cloning" you need 2 hard
drives (the source and destination), and it's a one step process.

Thanks for the detailed explanation.