sourceforge.net
Though I have not used it, I heard nothing but good words about it. I believe there is a fork called Rescuezilla or sth with a better interface.
Clonezilla
Download Clonezilla for free. A partition and disk imaging/cloning program. Clonezilla is a partition and disk imaging/cloning program similar to True Image®. It saves and restores only used blocks in hard drive.
Clonezilla is a partition and disk imaging/cloning program similar to True Image®. It saves and restores only used blocks in hard drive. Two types of Clonezilla are available, Clonezilla live and Clonezilla SE (Server Edition).
Cloning a drive typically involves creating an exact copy of the source drive, which means the destination drive will be erased in the process. To avoid losing data on the external drive, consider using backup software that allows you to create a backup image instead of a direct clone, which preserves the existing contents. Cloning usually erases the destination drive's contents.
would i be able to install the backup image if the PC will not boot?
I'm not sure. To reinstall Windows in that scenario, you'll need a clone program that will need to format your external drive. Alternatively, you can back up your data, reinstall Windows from a USB drive, and then use the backup program to restore your data to the new Windows installation.
I believe you can use Rescuezilla if you back up your Windows partition and then restore it again, as demonstrated in this video. By the end, you'll notice that the USB didn't get formatted because there were still 2021 files on it that hadn't been erased.
I've done that in the past, if a full image did not do a restore which has not happened for some time, a basic install of Windows done quickly then restore an image on to that will fix almost all problems, esp boot issues, most of the times it is not necessary but worst case scenario, most imaging programs will also do that such as Macrrium or as I now use Hasleo.
