cim imaging

The cim and im scripts were created to make the cloning of NTFS (ie Windows) partitions under Linux as easy as possible. They are intended to be included with live admin and rescue distributions such as System Rescue CD and Finnix and can image Windows installs to both local and network storage with one short, simple command.

im and cim are intentionally restricted to only being able to use the first partition on the first storage device for both its image source and destination, which was the default location for Windows until 7 introduced its hidden boot partition. Hence, if you wish to clone Windows 7 with cim you must have installed 7 into a single partition and you must also sysprep your install before imaging to avoid having to use the Windows 7 install DVD repair tool after to get it to boot.