I'm trying to use Clonezilla Live to clone a multiboot (Ubuntu+Windows) disk. This is my first experience with it, and it isn't a happy one so far.

I thought that if I selected "disk to disk" and "Beginner," then took the default response to everything, I couldn't go wrong. Somehow, though I did.

When I tried to boot the cloned disk it went straight to Windows, although the original is configured to boot Grub. It got part way through the startup process, then reset the machine.

I compared the two disks' partitions with the standalone version of Partition Wizard. The original looks like this:

1. System Reserved; NTFS; capacity 100.00 MB, used 26.489 MB.
2. Unnamed; Ext4; capacity 124.89 GB, used 7.29 GB (this is the Ubuntu system).
3. Unnamed; Linux Swap; capacity 7.99 GB, used 4.00 GB.
4. Unnamed; NTFS; capacity 79.90 GB, used 73.41 GB (this is the Windows 7 system).
5. ARCHIVE; NTFS; capacity 19.99 GB; used 9.75 GB (this is a shared data disk).

The clone looks the same except that:

a. The Windows system shows 72.95 GB used. This is probably different from the original because I've continued using the original since I tried to clone it, and it has some additional stuff on it.
b. The Ubuntu system shows 124.89 GB (100%) used. There's no legitimate reason for this.

Can anyone suggest what went wrong?

It sounds like Clonezilla has replaced GRUB with the Windows boot manager/boot sector.

the other issue is that Clonezilla may not copy the boot sector,
and that also would mean an unbootable disk:
- so you may have to re-install the grub Boot Loader.

also2: when you do clone some HDD, then you should immediately,
boot & check that the HDD clone is A.ok

- so that you can re-do the clone, if things aren't right.

If you still have the original disk, I suggest you try it again and choose "expert". This will reinstall grub on the MBR. Make sure you read each screen that comes up in the expert section!

"disk to disk"

Were they identical disks?

I apologize for the lapse of almost a month since the last post. I've been dealing with other problems that took precedence.

I have a couple of responses.

First: are the disks identical? They're the same size, not the same model (or brand). That was a deliberate choice; if source and destination are difficult to distinguish, the risk of copying in the wrong direction increases. Inviting that sort of error would be foolish.

Is this a problem? Must I deliberately maximize the risk of copying in the wrong direction to get a copy that works? If so, I need to devise a way to mitigate the risk before I proceed.

Second: Running in expert mode and reading every screen sounds like a decisive step in the wrong direction. The whole point of cloning the disk is that it is -- conceptually -- the simplest possible way to make a backup, resulting in the least risk of error.

I came to this adventure expecting Clonezilla or any other disk cloning utility to ask me just two questions: where's the source, and where's the destination? If the utility has an expert mode that can cut the disk's hair and build fairy castles for it to live in, fine -- as long as I don't have to use it, and don't have to think about it unless I want to. If I have to use expert mode and read all the screens to make a bootable copy of a bootable disk, then sorry, I must have come to the wrong place!

I'm not familiar with the world of disk cloning, so maybe I've got an entirely wrong idea of how it works, and my expectations are unreasonable. If so, please help me understand, and I'll adjust. From where I stand now, though, this doesn't make sense.