Make recovery disk for customers

Question

I hear about other computer shops that sells customers recovery disks that they have created. I'm assuming all that they do is make a image and uses an automation script that allows this to be done.

I have seen where clonezilla does this, but it has to be the same HDD size or they might have problems down the road.

Is there any other freeware that I could do this with that allows you to use on any size disk.

Ghost is really good for this because it automatically fills up empty space with the partition and never needs any user input or "Expert Mode" like clonezilla. But it is not freeware.

Answer 1

There are bunch of tools but i don't know whether they will be appropriate to you , but at-least you can give it a try !

please refer these :-

http://www.howtogeek.com/wiki/Open_Source_or_Free_Disk_Cloning_Utilities

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_disk_cloning_software

Answer 2

Recovery disks became necessary for Windows users, once manufacturers stopped including OEM install CDs and moved recovery images to a partition on the hard drive. Many Windows users don't know this and find out the hard way once their hard drive dies. This model doesn't really apply to Ubuntu, you just go to Ubuntu.com and download it.

For a backup of the OS, you have a few options.

1. You can just give them a standard Ubuntu disc you burned to reinstall from.
2. You can make a custom Live CD/DVD to give them, tailoring languages and applications as you like.
3. You can even buy pressed CDs and DVDs from Canonical that look more professional (this is what I do).
4. Another option is to do an OEM Ubuntu install for them, but this requires that you do most of the work and then hand them the computer once it's almost restored.

Next you need to address how you back up their data and settings. This is usually all contained in /home(verify this is correct, some people have weird set ups). Use the built-in Backup utility to save everything, it works perfectly and you can schedule automatic backups. Save backups to a partition on the same drive, to Ubuntu One, or to an different drive using the built-in Backup utility. Just choose which destination you want in Settings -> Backup -> Storage -> Backup location. Make it automatic, with regularly scheduled backups run.

If you really want to make things easy for customers, you should create your own documentation with easy to follow steps and screenshots. Set everything up correctly, include clear instructions, and offer hourly paid support as an option for those that want it.

If this is all too complicated and you just want to clone the drives that has already been asked, some duplicates are here 1, 2, 3. You'll still be stuck with customers that want you to walk them through the entire process though.