Although free disk imaging sounds enticing, Clonezilla Live is only for more advanced users. The program runs off of a Linux Live CD (or USB flash drive), and it worked perfectly for me. But to be blunt: The Linux command line and character-based dialog UI makes R-Drive Image's character-based GUI, which most people find intimidating, look like Mac OS X.
Clonezilla Live is actually a locally bootable implementation of Clonezilla Server Edition, a program based on several Linux utilities, whose raison d'etre is rolling out workstation installations across a network. The authors claim they cloned a 5.6GB image to 41 workstations using multi-casting across a network in about 10 minutes. I have no reason to doubt them so that makes the CSE a handy alternative to pay programs such as Norton Ghost for IT departments.
As I said, Clonezilla Live worked perfectly for me and there's no complaining about the price. However, most users will be far better off with something that's easier to use, such as the free versions of Macrium Reflect or Easeus Todo Backup. If you do wind up using Clonezilla Live, the authors accept donations.
--Jon L. Jacobi
Reviewed by: Darr247
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