Windows – How to clone/backup/restore Windows 10 from Linux

cloningwindows

Case scenario:

$ sudo fdisk -l
Disk /dev/sda: 223,6 GiB, 240057409536 bytes, 468862128 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x13a30a5a

Device  Boot     Start     Final  Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda1  *           2048   1333247   1331200   650M 27 WinRE NTFS hidden
/dev/sda2           1333248 264058879 262725632 125,3G  7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda3         264060926 468860927 204800002  97,7G  5 Extended
/dev/sda5         264060928 434049023 169988096  81,1G  7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT
/dev/sda6         434051072 464771775  30720704  14,7G 83 Linux
/dev/sda7         464773120 468860927   4087808     2G 82 Linux swap / Solaris

Windows 10 is installed on /dev/sda2 and I assume that /dev/sda1 is a hidden partition from the same Windows system.

How can I backup my Windows 10 installation from Linux in order to restore it later?

Further data upon request:

  • By "Installation" I mean the "full partition" (or partitions) required to return Windows to the moment the cloning was made.
  • Being able to restore to the same system (computer, hardware) and even hard drive would enough. I.e: I installed Windows 10, made backup, and a few months ago I want to restore the backup I made, so there is no need to perform the full installation of Windows 10 (drivers, printers, programs…etc) again.

Tested until now (all tests performed on the same computer with the same partition layout):

  • PartImage (cloning sda1 and sda2): not working. The restored operating system will not boot.
  • FSArchiver (cloning sda1 and sda2): not working. The restored operating system will not boot.

Best Answer

pv method

You could use pv (man page) utility like so:

sudo sh -c 'pv < /dev/sda > /destination'

Of course you could become root first:

sudo -i

And then just do the backup:

pv < /dev/sda > /BackupDestination

And then when needed do the restore:

pv < /BackupDestination > /dev/sda

Notes

  • This basically does the same job as dd in the other answer, but is faster and shows progress.

  • This method may be slower than rsync, but that just copies files, which is not intended.

  • It copies everything 1:1, a perfect copy might you say.

  • You need also the boot sector for it to boot later on. The simplest method is to backup the whole drive.

  • To show progress with dd (man page), you could just add to the command:

    status=progress

Tip

For you to be able to effectively compress the image afterwards, don't forget to zero free space.

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